I’ve said it before, but ammo prices are down pretty much across the board, and have been for some time now. Here’s a very brief look at where the deals are, how to find them, and a call to action for Monderno readers: buy now.
Obligatory disclaimer: the deals linked to herein may no longer be available when you read this. Also, I’m not saying these are the absolute best deals on the web. If you find better deals, by all means, post them up in the comments.
Here’s a snapshot of where prices are at for a few popular rounds.
5.56 NATO
5.56 NATO is “core” cartridge for me, and by that I mean it’s one of the rounds that I shoot often, and therefore stock up on, and most importantly, buy in bulk. There are lots of 5.56 options out there, but personally, I stick with Federal XM193 with very few exceptions. Right now XM193 prices are ~.32/round.
Example: 1,000 rounds Federal XM193 for $319.99 from Palmetto State Armory
7.62x39mm
I don’t have any rifles chambered for 7.62×39 (yeah yeah I know I should buy an AK) but I know a lot of you do, and that’s cool. I like the 7.62×39 round, especially the prices. Right now 7.62×39 prices are as low as ~.20/round.
Example: 1,000 rounds of Wolf 123gr FMJ from J&G Sales
.308 Winchester/7.62 NATO
.308 Winchester is another “core” cartridge for me, and one of the main rounds I use for hunting. I haven’t seen .308 prices come down nearly as much as I would like, but they aren’t bad. I stock 168gr match hollow point boat tail with a few exceptions. Right now .308 prices are as low as .40/round for 150gr Wolf.
Examples:
1,000 rounds of Wolf 150gr FMJ from Ammunition Store
Prvi Partizan Match 168gr BTHP from Ammo Supply Warehouse
.22 LR
.22 LR prices really haven’t recovered yet, but there are still good deals out there depending on what you’re looking for. Everyone should have at least one .22 LR rifle, if for no other reason than cheap fun. For hunting, I prefer the 36gr CCI Mini-Mag hollow points, but there are lots of good options. For plinking/practice just about anything will work. Right now .22 LR prices are as low as .10/round.
Examples:
500 rounds of Remington 36gr TCSB Viper from Palmetto State Armory
100 rounds of CCI Mini-Mag 36gr Hollow Point from Surplus Ammo
How much do you need?
The all-important, long-debated, no right answer question is how much ammo do you need. Some people will tell you that you should store a minimum of 1,000 rounds per caliber, others will say more or less.
My answer: look at your situation and buy as much as you can afford. In the near term, prices may come down a little more or they may not, but in the long run, they will most definitely go up. So it only makes sense to buy as much as you can afford while prices are good. As we’ve seen many times in the past, elections and current events can drastically affect ammo prices and availability. Don’t wait for the next panic, buy now.
How much ammo do I have? I’ll never tell.
I just picked up 6 boxes of 100 CCI 2LR 40gr at Walmart for $7.47 a box. My Walmart has the 3 boxes per purchase limit, so I had to make two stops to get the full 6 boxes.
Walmart even had a large hand made sign that said “Yes, we have 22LR ammo”
Nice.
Walmart had 20% off the ZQI ammo over the weekend the 7.62×51 was $7.50 a box the 124 grain 9mm was $10.50, and I think the SS109 was like $7 a box but they are 30 round boxes. They had 100 round boxes of CCI Standard velocity on sale and in stock too. Saw guys all over Youtube and Facebook with it so must have had quite a bit all over the country. To bad I didn’t know about it till Mon morning or I would have hit a few stores we only have 8 Walmart stores within an hour of my house lol 3 within a 10 min or less drive. Only limits are on rimfire buy all that you want any other caliber don’t think they had any limit on this either know somebody that got 35 boxes of the 7.62, 25 boxes of the 9mm and think he got 40 boxes of the 5.56, as well as 6 boxes of the CCI standard velocity. I got so much .22 though few weeks back could have got a lot more should have I guess. Was a grand opening of a Field and Stream and they had a 4 limit and I got 3 of the 1400 Rem Buckets of Golden Bullet $69, and I got an ammo can of Win M22 containing 4 500 round bricks $129, then I went next door to Gander Mt and they had loads of .22 too at least 25 different flavors. I got a 1600 round ammo can 16 boxes of CCI Mini Mag $119, 2 Federal 525 packs $25, one 800 round brick of Win M22 $50. I already have a nice stock so didn’t think I should have bought more anyway gave a bunch to my dad and sold one brick to a friend that had none. Know a lot of guys get all ass hurt when they see guys buying .ammo especially rimfire. This was at 7pm too so not like I was at the store early in the morning been open all day and I went back 2 days later both stores still had tons but none of the larger amounts. Both had the 333 Win packs $18, 500 round bricks of CCI Standard Velocity crazy for $40 each I think, 525 bricks Golden Bullet $26 then there was a bunch of 50 round boxes at Gander, Rem Thunderbolt like $2.99, some Fed match $25 and some others.
Vermont has no ammo like what was just listed and when it’s at Wal-Mart or dicks sporting goods it goin in the same day. That’s all the major store’s I’m my area. I try doing business will small business owners. So it’s not bad getting a little ammo but nothing like what was listed.
Walmart’s in my neck of the woods don’t sell ammo. So I went and got some from the recommended store. Thanks.