As I expected, ammo was priced in the stratosphere. There was Federal XM193 at the bargain price of…$1.25 per round. Yeah, $25 per 20 round box. 9mm was at least fifty cents per. AR mags, notably Pmags, were around $18 which was mildly surprising. I suspect the guys at Magpul have been hedging their bets for the last few months and have a lot of product sitting around ready to meet demand. Guns themselves were no bargains. Cheapest Glocks were $550 for used and I didnt see any new. AR’s of various flavors were all in the $800+ range. The closest thing to a bargain I could find were complete PSA AR lowers with telestocks for $250.
All in all, about what I expected (except for Pmags remaining pretty flat). Did I buy anything? Nope, not a thing. Saw some ammo cans I wanted but that was about it. Still, it was nice to see familiar faces and being among ‘my own kind’. And nobody was wearing a mask.
Hit all the gun stores on the way back and they were pretty well picked over. So, really, no surprises. I have a sense of vindication for my purchasing habits of the last several years.
I got an add from one of the places I do business with. One case of Federal 9mm was over $350 bucks for a thousand. That same case at the beginning of the year was about 180. Well hell. At least I have plenty of black powder and lead for projectiles if the self contained stuff runs out.
I’m sure glad that I’m in a similar situation as you are…….
Which style of ammo can are you interested in? Maybe I can get Santa to send you some. I’m downsizing and just don’t have the room for dozens of cans anymore. 40mm, 20mm, tall 50’s, fat 50’s, 30 cal, giant ones (with a glass pressure gauge) that I can barely pick up, etc.
I keep forgetting that youre somewhat local. I can use the tall 50’s, the 120mm, the 40mm, and that sorta thing. Basically everything except .30 and .50 cans. Come up with some quantities and numbers and lets see if we can make something happen that benefits both of us.
I just picked up 2 cases of 240 rounds of surplus Hirtenberger 7.62X51 Nato at $192.50 per case. That translates into $147.36 USD or $0.61 USD per round shipped to my door. Reading this post, I think I’m going to stop complaining.
Where I am, 147 grain 9mm is running $60 per box of 50. It is actually cheaper to shoot rifle ammo than handgun. I am set for ammo, but I have cut my range trips WAY back. I’m only going about every other month now to conserve what I have. Even when I do go, I mostly try to shoot .22 and limit myself to one box of handgun ammo and 2 mags of whatever rifle I bring. Never know how long you need to make it last or what you may need it for.
I was building throw away AR’s for less than $300 each less than a year ago.
I’ve been rounding out my collection of vintage Smith and Wesson revolvers during all this. Sure they are still expensive but they are down from some of the highs I’ve seen. I’m guessing due to less competition as people try to buy all the sexy ban-likely stuff I already spent the last number of years buying cheap….plus I just love classic wheel guns.
Being located across the Republic from your AO…S.C.
We have a show on the 19th…not sure what to expect.
As the last two shows were cancelled.
Cannot remember when our last show was…
must have been Feb. if we even had one then.
Will try to provide an aar…if they don’t cancel this one too.
That is sad. My last gun show was just before the pandemic went nationwide (March 2020) and a gun show without ammunition that has real world prices is pretty much wasted.
Here in God’s Waiting Room AKA FL. Gun shows have restarted big time. 95% of attendees desperate to fill in what they think Biden-Harris will ban. The other 5% are still looking for the $300 Glock or $10 box of 9mm. AKA known as delusional dreamers.
A few good deals to be found, ie excellent 1950s Sako Sporter scoped in .222 for $500. Grabbed it right up. Odd rifle calibers still available with reasonable price tag. Choice pre-98 items are being brought in to sell in wonderful condition at reasonable $$ to raise $$ for whatever. Hard to believe that one could buy 9mm by the case of 500 for only $90 a year ago. One must be an ant not a grasshopper when it comes to stocking up.
Supply and Demand remains in effect. AR magazines are in plentiful supply in retail gun and sporting-goods stores in my area. Prices really haven’t budged.
My theory: “The Pandemic” followed by the “Social Unrest” created a whole new category of first-time gun owners. These gun owners are political centrists or even left-of-center. They have a sense that they need a gun, and also understand that they need ammo for their new gun(s). They observe ammo is in scare supply, so they are willing to pay more for it when they find it. Being new to the game, they also don’t have a baseline idea for what ammo SHOULD cost.
They were not gun owners during Sandy Hook or any of the other national headline events which precipitated talk of gun bans or magazine restrictions. They also haven’t been shooting much yet, so they don’t really understand why you’d need more than 2-3 magazines anyhow. Also, when you can’t find more than 100 rounds of ammo, what are you going to load those extra magazines with anyhow?
I’m sure Magpul, Brownells, Okay, Lancer, Hexmag, etc., etc. are also running production lines around the clock.
Anyhow, that’s my theory on why magazines are still easy to find and relatively inexpensive.
Alternate theory: Magazines are easier to produce quickly and in quantity than guns, which are complicated tools, and ammunition, which requires specific chemical components. Additionally, both items are taxed, so if you try to produce a stockpile of them in anticipation of a buying frenzy you need to come up with the money for the taxes upfront.
Harbor Freight sells brand new ammo cans. 50 BMG size. Not fat fifties. But those are brand new for 11.99. With a coupon you can get 3. I have some and they are great. The last time I saw them used at a gun show they were 18 bucks.
I suspect that the ones at Harbor Freight are the Chinese knock offs, which Im not willing to take chances on.