It’s no secret that ammunition prices have been on the rise for some time now. But ammo prices have skyrocketed since last November, when Americans started buying up everything in the supply chain. Walk into your local WalMart and you are not likely to find any pistol or .223 ammunition. Traditional hunting calibers, such as .270 and .30-06, are pretty scarce too.
With demand up and supply gone, some stores are starting to price ammunition at levels that I would have considered completely crazy just a year ago.
One major catalog retailer sent out a flyer recently. All of the ammunition was very expensive (compared to what I am used to paying), but two things caught my eye as being really outrageous.
The first was the Wolf Military Classic 7.62×39 124 gr hp. After seeing what was reported on this load in gellatin over at StoppingPower.net, I picked this cartridge to load into my own Eastern-Bloc surplus guns. Less than a year ago, I was able to pick up 1,000 rounds of this ammo for $189. If I recall correctly, that price even included shipping. In the current catalog, try $499.97 per 1,000!
The second item that really jumped out at me was the pricing on the Lake City .223/5.56 ammunition. Last year, I thought paying more than $200 for .223 was too much. In this catalog, try $979.97 for 1,000 rounds!
I really hope demand will slack off enough to let the suppliers build up inventory again. Until then, I am doing a lot more dry firing.
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