any end in sight?

thomasbrooks07 · 03-22-2008, 01:42 AM

I have been shooting a lot over the last year or so and over that time ive noticed that ammo prices are shooting threw the roof pun intended lol. Is this just the start or are prices gonna plateau or hopefully have the bottom drop out and go down anytime soon?

AKHunter · 03-22-2008, 01:59 AM

Remember there is a war going on. Anything related to the manufacture of ammo is becoming scarce and therefor expensive.

GlockMeister · 03-22-2008, 02:04 AM

Ammo is going up because for one China bought up most of the dam raw materials. Second of all, the ammo the military uses, the .223/5.56 probably .308 and whatever else is sometimes hard to come by, so then you have supply and demand. But mainly it's that the raw materials were bought by China so they can kind of set the price. Then the stuff has to be imported. At least that's what i read in one of the Shooting Times or American Rifleman magazines. The subject of that particular story was on the .223 shortage. The raw materials portion I got out of a magazine while waiting for a script to be filled at K-Marts Pharmacy.

But yea, da chits gotten real expensive. Personally, I'm looking into reloading. It's gonna have to wait a while longer me thinks. Got to sell some stuff first, not only for the DO-Jo but top make the space. lol

thomasbrooks07 · 03-22-2008, 02:15 AM

I have been filling my shooting cravings with my .22 long rifles. I have wanted to get a larger calibur for a while now but with the cost of ammo going up I just couldnt afford to shoot it much so I picked up a 2nd more accurate .22 long rifle. I am about to be extreamly strapped for cash since im going to be going to college full time soon and will only be able to work part time and have to pay for school before my favorite hobby lol. When I turn 21 this september I wanted to pick up a .38 special or 9mm hand gun but with the way ammo is rising I might have to go with a .22 lr or .22 magnum instead.

Ron AKA · 03-22-2008, 08:19 AM

I suspect most of it is due to the weakness of the US$. Imports to the US are still catching up to the steep decline in the value of the US$. I've noticed that rimfire ammo in the Canada is now the same price as the US or cheaper. Before it was far cheaper in the US.

Ron

HAWKEYE50 · 03-22-2008, 09:37 AM

Don't forget, as all wars come to an end. Then there will be a surplus available. I have heard that china is directly responsible for the shortages of many of the more expensive raw materials. With the OLYMPICS comming up they are into a major face lift to misrepresent what thier country is, and will be.

rfc357 · 03-22-2008, 10:52 AM

During WWII, there was no sporting ammunition available in the US. No new guns. No new automobiles or automobile tires either, and precious little gasoline or sugar. We ain't got it so bad.

Cyrano · 03-22-2008, 11:12 AM

Folks have the right of it when they put the 'blame' on China. The Three Rivers Gorge hydroelectric project, the ChiCom equivalent of the TVA electrificiation project here in the 1930s, requires an immense amount of copper for the transmission lines. And the major metal in brass is copper. It's driven up the price of copper and reduced the availability of it simultaneously.

The situation is so bad, the US Army is shredding overage .50 caliber cartridge cases in order to make more scrap brass available to the cartridge manufacturers here.

The analogy to World War II rationing isn't correct. It is true that the military had absolute priority on gasoline and foodstuffs, and that cars were not being made for the civilian market. But the real reason for the rationing of gasoline was to discourage driving and tire wear. With the fall of the Dutch East Indies and Southeast Asia to the Japanese Empire, our sources of rubber had been cut off. The chemical industry could make up the shortfall with synthetic rubber, and did; but it was not until mid-1944 that America's chemical industry was producing enough synthetic rubber to meet all demands.

I also think, entirely subjectively and without a shred of evidence to back it up, is that one reason for the popularity of ComBloc-chambered firearms here is the lack of demand for those cartridges by the US military. We civilians can still buy 7.62x54R, 7.62x39, and 9x18 Mak ammo at prices we can afford to pay.

Taurus Fan · 03-22-2008, 12:57 PM

Odd, I just bought some CCI Blazer 9mm ammo, $8.95 for a box of 50, seems like it wasn't much less than that 20+ years ago. Federal +P+ good stuff was $17.95, less than what premium loads were going for in 1985. I was suprised, guns are nightmarishly expensive, but ammo has remained almost flat, unless my memory is defective.

allen1980 · 03-23-2008, 10:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Taurus Fan

Odd, I just bought some CCI Blazer 9mm ammo, $8.95 for a box of 50, seems like it wasn't much less than that 20+ years ago. Federal +P+ good stuff was $17.95, less than what premium loads were going for in 1985. I was suprised, guns are nightmarishly expensive, but ammo has remained almost flat, unless my memory is defective.

no you better hold on to your azz cause ammo is/has gone up!my brother when he bought his 300 rem ultra mag 4 years a go he was buying ammo for 34.99 a box of twenty.now this past season it was 60.00 the cheapest he could find.the shells even came with a free dvd!lol thats when you know you have been screwed!i think he wants to sell the gun.

Taurus Fan · 03-23-2008, 10:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by allen1980

no you better hold on to your azz cause ammo is/has gone up!my brother when he bought his 300 rem ultra mag 4 years a go he was buying ammo for 34.99 a box of twenty.now this past season it was 60.00 the cheapest he could find.the shells even came with a free dvd!lol thats when you know you have been screwed!i think he wants to sell the gun.

Time to start reloading. Three bucks every time you pull the trigger? Jebus.

elmer fudd · 03-23-2008, 10:26 AM

ya the war is a big problem with prices but it is taking a long time to settle it becouse they wont let the solders do there jobslike a while ago they were sueing a solder for killing someone inocent on iraq i mean i would shoot at them too if someone was yelling in a differnt language running right at me wouldnt you?

dyeager535 · 03-23-2008, 12:52 PM

It's always been economical to reload, time to start thinking about it!

Global demand has skyrocketed as mentioned, our war usage probably has very little effect...we don't have the industrial base (whether it be ammunition production, steel production, or vehicle production) left to use materials that fast, regardless of the rumors out there.

Even lead went through the roof on prices, so no way to avoid the price hikes. I have heard that lead prices have recently started falling again, but I've not looked up any figures.

Personally I think we're seeing our economy finally catch up to the rest of the developed world, our amount of discretionary income is going to be better matched with everyone elses. Not that it's a good thing, but even with fuel prices rising we aren't at the $5-6/gallon most of the rest of the developed world is paying.

03-22-2008, 01:42 AM	#1
thomasbrooks07 Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Washington Posts: 185	any end in sight? I have been shooting a lot over the last year or so and over that time ive noticed that ammo prices are shooting threw the roof pun intended lol. Is this just the start or are prices gonna plateau or hopefully have the bottom drop out and go down anytime soon?

03-22-2008, 02:04 AM	#3
GlockMeister Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Northern Illinois Posts: 5,358	Ammo is going up because for one China bought up most of the dam raw materials. Second of all, the ammo the military uses, the .223/5.56 probably .308 and whatever else is sometimes hard to come by, so then you have supply and demand. But mainly it's that the raw materials were bought by China so they can kind of set the price. Then the stuff has to be imported. At least that's what i read in one of the Shooting Times or American Rifleman magazines. The subject of that particular story was on the .223 shortage. The raw materials portion I got out of a magazine while waiting for a script to be filled at K-Marts Pharmacy. But yea, da chits gotten real expensive. Personally, I'm looking into reloading. It's gonna have to wait a while longer me thinks. Got to sell some stuff first, not only for the DO-Jo but top make the space. lol __________________ I'd rather be tried by 12 than carried by 6!

03-22-2008, 09:37 AM	#6
HAWKEYE50 Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: HOLLY MI Posts: 166 Blog Entries: 20	Don't forget, as all wars come to an end. Then there will be a surplus available. I have heard that china is directly responsible for the shortages of many of the more expensive raw materials. With the OLYMPICS comming up they are into a major face lift to misrepresent what thier country is, and will be. __________________ "KEEPIN MY POWDER DRY"

03-23-2008, 10:26 AM	#12
elmer fudd Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: pheasant country USA! Posts: 1,911	ya the war is a big problem with prices but it is taking a long time to settle it becouse they wont let the solders do there jobslike a while ago they were sueing a solder for killing someone inocent on iraq i mean i would shoot at them too if someone was yelling in a differnt language running right at me wouldnt you? __________________ spur hard, shoot straight, party hardy!

03-22-2008, 01:59 AM	#2
AKHunter Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Alaska Posts: 899	Remember there is a war going on. Anything related to the manufacture of ammo is becoming scarce and therefor expensive.

03-22-2008, 02:15 AM	#4
thomasbrooks07 Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Washington Posts: 185	I have been filling my shooting cravings with my .22 long rifles. I have wanted to get a larger calibur for a while now but with the cost of ammo going up I just couldnt afford to shoot it much so I picked up a 2nd more accurate .22 long rifle. I am about to be extreamly strapped for cash since im going to be going to college full time soon and will only be able to work part time and have to pay for school before my favorite hobby lol. When I turn 21 this september I wanted to pick up a .38 special or 9mm hand gun but with the way ammo is rising I might have to go with a .22 lr or .22 magnum instead.

03-22-2008, 08:19 AM	#5
Ron AKA Banned Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Alberta, Canada Posts: 704	I suspect most of it is due to the weakness of the US$. Imports to the US are still catching up to the steep decline in the value of the US$. I've noticed that rimfire ammo in the Canada is now the same price as the US or cheaper. Before it was far cheaper in the US. Ron

03-22-2008, 10:52 AM	#7
rfc357 Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 741	During WWII, there was no sporting ammunition available in the US. No new guns. No new automobiles or automobile tires either, and precious little gasoline or sugar. We ain't got it so bad.

03-22-2008, 11:12 AM	#8
Cyrano Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: New York Posts: 2,283	Folks have the right of it when they put the 'blame' on China. The Three Rivers Gorge hydroelectric project, the ChiCom equivalent of the TVA electrificiation project here in the 1930s, requires an immense amount of copper for the transmission lines. And the major metal in brass is copper. It's driven up the price of copper and reduced the availability of it simultaneously. The situation is so bad, the US Army is shredding overage .50 caliber cartridge cases in order to make more scrap brass available to the cartridge manufacturers here. The analogy to World War II rationing isn't correct. It is true that the military had absolute priority on gasoline and foodstuffs, and that cars were not being made for the civilian market. But the real reason for the rationing of gasoline was to discourage driving and tire wear. With the fall of the Dutch East Indies and Southeast Asia to the Japanese Empire, our sources of rubber had been cut off. The chemical industry could make up the shortfall with synthetic rubber, and did; but it was not until mid-1944 that America's chemical industry was producing enough synthetic rubber to meet all demands. I also think, entirely subjectively and without a shred of evidence to back it up, is that one reason for the popularity of ComBloc-chambered firearms here is the lack of demand for those cartridges by the US military. We civilians can still buy 7.62x54R, 7.62x39, and 9x18 Mak ammo at prices we can afford to pay.

03-22-2008, 12:57 PM	#9
Taurus Fan Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Cobra Command Headquarters Posts: 781	Odd, I just bought some CCI Blazer 9mm ammo, $8.95 for a box of 50, seems like it wasn't much less than that 20+ years ago. Federal +P+ good stuff was $17.95, less than what premium loads were going for in 1985. I was suprised, guns are nightmarishly expensive, but ammo has remained almost flat, unless my memory is defective.

03-23-2008, 12:52 PM	#13
dyeager535 Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 52	It's always been economical to reload, time to start thinking about it! Global demand has skyrocketed as mentioned, our war usage probably has very little effect...we don't have the industrial base (whether it be ammunition production, steel production, or vehicle production) left to use materials that fast, regardless of the rumors out there. Even lead went through the roof on prices, so no way to avoid the price hikes. I have heard that lead prices have recently started falling again, but I've not looked up any figures. Personally I think we're seeing our economy finally catch up to the rest of the developed world, our amount of discretionary income is going to be better matched with everyone elses. Not that it's a good thing, but even with fuel prices rising we aren't at the $5-6/gallon most of the rest of the developed world is paying.