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Friday, March 3, 2017

Are You Enjoying the Ammo Glut of 2017?

I get ads all the time for more ammo, and I couldn't help but notice this one for a Remington "Bucket o' Bullets" in .22LR; 1400 rounds for $80.  (No, I didn't order one - truth be told, I haven't opened the last one I bought).  That price is on par with what was being asked in 2013, if you could find one, and I know that because 18 months ago I posted this:
Just about 22 months ago: November 28, 2013 to be exact, Midway USA was running a sale on these: Remington "Bucket O Bullets", 1400 rounds of .22LR.  The price was $60 - at a time when the next closest price was $20 more and gun show vendors were asking $90 for a brick of 500 - and it was listed as OK to backorder.
I told the story of waiting on a backorder with Midway until it expired, and then another 10 months.  The day I wrote that piece, I ordered one of those buckets for $100.  In a way, I'm really happy to see the $80 advertised prices again.  It seems to mean .22 is still sliding down, even if it's in fits and starts.

I'm routinely seeing 9mm in the $10/box range, .223 at 30cents/round - including shipping- and everything seems plentiful.  Before Christmas, I got some Federal Eagle 45 for about $12/box, after a mail in rebate.  I know it's rough on the manufacturers, but Life is Good for ammo buying.

One of the pieces of scuttlebutt I heard was on Michael Bane's podcast when he quoted a gun store owner as saying, "if I gave away an AR-15 with every concealed carry gun I sold, I might be able to reduce my inventory enough".   The daily gunwinner.com newsletter has had fully built ARs for $399 - I assume shipping, FFL and all those other fees still apply, but "starting at $399" is pretty good place to start from. 

While I'm on the topic of happy gun news, remember this
I've groused here about the Taurus Millennium recall a few times, most recently in December, and how I've been without my PT145 since August of '15.   This may be premature congratulations, but last Wednesday as I was having a lunchtime cup of tea, the phone rang and Caller ID said Taurus International.  The nice young lady verified who I was and informed me a new replacement for my pistol is in the works, and I should have it "in 2-3 weeks".  I was given a choice of a few models, and settled for a PT111.  She said they did not have a .45 pistol to offer, and my choice was essentially this one in 9mm or a PT140 in 40S&W.
Today at about 5:30, my FFL called and said they had a gun for me.  The situation was all news to them, but it appears tomorrow I'll go up to the Friendly Family Licensee and see what we can work out.  I don't feel much need for another 9mm handgun, but maybe we work something out.  I was telling a friend just last night that if they had made it in under 2 weeks, I'd give them extra "grace and class" points.  If they had taken 3 weeks, then, well, no extra points for them.  Now that we're at twice the estimated time, I'm back to the "never another Taurus" camp.  FWIW, the day they told me that was February 1, so it's 4 weeks. 


9 comments:

  1. I'm pretty well stocked for now, but once we move to Colorado I'll be shooting more.

    Good to hear the prices are returning to pre-obama levels!

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    Replies
    1. Well ... the prices are dropping, but they are definitely NOT at 'pre-obama" levels - Yet!
      I hope they get there; I'd love to find 22LR for $10 or $12 a brick again!

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  2. While it's pleasant to be able to walk into a store and actually find ammo on the shelves I suspect that our new future is going to be different from the past. While ammo is plentiful now something will happen in the future to create another shortage. And after a while that shortage will wane and ammo will again be available...till the next swing of the pendulum. Modern society moves so fast now that radical swings and cycles in many things are becoming the norm.

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    Replies
    1. It's as inevitable as the tides. Now think of trying to plan your business for that. With machinery that is a very substantial investment when you need to add capacity. When .22 is 12-15 cents/round and you can't keep up with contracts, do you buy machinery only to have the price go back down to 5 cents/rd? If you do, can you pay for that machinery?

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    2. Oh come on now, SiG. Surely you know that:

      "Two is one, and one is none".

      And you surely don't wanna have to carry mags for a gun with a different caliber all the time now, do you?

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    3. That is why I long ago took the "long view" on things...especially as it relates to 'prepping'.
      Stock up as you can when you can as long as the price
      is bearable...a subjective thing. After decades of
      doing so if my house were to be searched I have zero doubts
      that it would make the evening news, probably national....as
      a "compound filled with an arsenal and a stockpile'. The only downside to my 'collection' is if I ever need to move it's going to be a gold plated bitch.

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  3. One of your options from Taurus should have been "...a full refund of the price you paid for the gun."

    The fact that it wasn't means that I will steer clear of Taurus products as well.

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    Replies
    1. In fairness to Taurus, I'm not the original owner of the gun; I bought it in a FTF sale. Taurus is going beyond the "lifetime warranty for the original owner" idea and making it "lifetime warranty for the life of the gun". They've replaced my gun with a brand new gun. My only beef is that I bought that Taurus because I wanted a .45 and it was my first .45 at the time. Meanwhile, Taurus has discontinued .45 in that series and I don't need another 9mm.

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  4. I find that in 22 and 9 mm the really good deals have been in local stores - for example, I bought one of those 'Bucket of Bullets' a year ago for $72 at my local Walmart. I've been buying 9mm when it is $10/box or less over the last 2 years - the difference now is that it is becoming a regular price instead of a sale or limited quantity on hand.
    I'm looking forward to further drops, so I have paused stocking up for the time being and am putting my ammo budget elsewhere at the moment.

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