Why is the cost of Firearms, Ammo and accessories escalating in price ?* Your Thoughts?*?

Question

Give some credible, valid, justifiable reasons for the dramatic increases in Firearms, Ammo and accessories*. Is there something sinister and conspiratorial behind it?* How can these prices not be considered Inflated?* How can these prices be justified and considered reasonable?* Who and What is responsible for these dramatic increases in Firearms and components in this industry?* Why is there a shortage on ammo in certain calibers?* Why, Why, Why?*

Answer 1

Multiple things.

More people are into surplus guns and surplus ammo. Prior to the internet, there was only a small following, now days anyone who has access to the internet can find these guns and ammo and with minimal effort, they can find a dealer that sells them. Then with surplus guns, you almost have to have the accessories; what fun is a gun without a bunch of gadgety stuff.

Supply and demand. Surplus ammo and guns are finite and when its gone its gone. Plus, when demand is high, I suppose some companies withhold some ammo and then announce it was "sold out" that way, they can mysterious find a "hidden cache" or get a "once in a lifetime find" and raise the price. I wathced this happen with AMD-65 parts kits. I didnt buy one when they were $80. Now I finally had to have one and had to pay $200 when they reappeared on the market.

Stockpiling. When a can of 7.62X54R surplus costed only $35 for 440 rounds, you would be foolish to buy Wolf Gold 20 rounds for $15

Politics is fueling all of the above. Some people worry about the future of guns and ammo based off who is elected and will stockpile. This mass buying is relatively independant of the price; meaning that people will still buy a lot even if the price rises some.

Specifically with 223, 308 and maybe 7.62x39, there is alledgedly a war occuring (Despite lack of congressional declaration of war). Anyway, the first two are heavily used by NATO forces and as such, you shouldn't expect much surplus available yet. There has been rumor of America spending money to purchase 7.62x39 for Iraq and Afganistan to continue the war, if America leaves the conflict. As such, this diverts ammo from the supply for the consumer market.

Lastly, I feel greed is part of it too. Everyone wants to make a dollar, and if an ammo seller can raise prices and still sell ammo, they will.

Now to specifically answer your question, anyone who at one point purchases, sells, or imports ammo, guns, or accessories; no matter how big or small is to some extent contributing to the price increase. If demand falls, price will too. Sinister conspiracies? Isn't that what capitalism is all about? Seriously, it is a possiblity the BATF doesnt want us to have guns so they regulate and tax, these get passed on to the end purchaser; us. Inflated prices are somewhat justified by supply and demand, and the declining value of the dollar; which is true, but to how much of an extent? I think only slight, greed is the bigger factor here.

Answer 2

Well I asked my dealer, who I have used for many years the same question.

I don’t buy ammo, I reload and see that too going up in price.

His response was these 3 basics.
1= price of scrap metal is at an all time high which affect Lead, Copper and Brass prices when it comes back around as ammo or components for reloading.
2= the increasing fuel price increase is added from manufacturer to wholesalers then to retailers, that add up to shipping fee increase X 2 by the time it gets to the shelf at the new fuel prices.
3= the war has depleted all surplus and that manufactures are running just to feed both demands the public and the military, supply and demand.

Now don’t expect it to go away soon because we are not done yet in the middle east.
Before Bush leaves all signs point to a border jump from Iraqi to Iran.
Why do you thank we are still in Iraqi? We need a base of operations to jump from.
Remember how much trouble we had getting in to position just to get to Iraqi just a few years back.

I just read a report that “all Stealth boomers” are being fitted with the latest and greatest of the New deep penetration Bunker Busters?
I don’t thank it’s gophers or moles in the white house lawn that there planning to use those latest and greatest on?

Old Bush still has time for just one more run of the War Machines, and the motors are being revved as we speak.

But do we really wont to let the Terrorist Nuts get the Nukes?
Terrorist with Nukes, that would make 9/11 look like a scratched knee.

I don’t see the ammo prices going down any time soon.


Or to sum it up in just one word, “Causality”

D58


Hunting with Rifle, Pistol, Muzzle loader and Bow for over 3 decades.
Reloading Rifle, Pistol and shotgun for over 3 decades.

Answer 3

Check out the commodity prices that go into it. Copper has gone up significantly in the past couple of years. (as has home wiring.).
Much production ammo has been diverted to milops. My guess is some of the overseas surplus ammo has been subverted to the bad guys as will.

4 years ago I bought 1000 rounds of 7.62x39 at $89.00 now it's $189.00, copper is the driving force on brass price increases.
Nothing sinister (although keep an eye out on CPSC proposals to restrict how much ammo one can have) ..

Answer 4

Why? Because, is why. Visit any store and price any item that you may have bought 6 months or so ago. Higher fuel prices translate into higher shelf prices. Ammunition is heavy stuff so we see it more there. The cost of metal extraction makes itself felt all the way down the production line to the finished product; mining ore, hauling ore, smelting ore, fabricating ore, the list goes on. Since plastic comes from crude oil guess where the price of all plastic goes?; right; up, up and away. All the manufacturers compete for a finite supply of product to use in their processes; look at silver; I bought a little of it several years ago for around three dollars an ounce; today it is about twelve dollars an ounce and has been as high as fifteen in past months. With escelating mining costs and yada it will probably be over twenty dollars an ounce in a year. Look up the word inflation in the dictionary.

Answer 5

Prices of copper and lead are at or near all time highs. What's a bullet made of? Lead wrapped in Copper. What's the case made of? Brass, which is mostly Copper.
how do bullets get to where you can buy them? Trucks, which run on petroleum fuels, which are at obscenely high prices, as is everything else made of Oil - like any gunstock not made of wood.
Add to that major military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, causing the military to buy all the ammo it can get in a number of common calibers, and some producers decreasing manufacture of everything else to meet military contracts. Since the DOD contracted for that ammunition before the prices of components went up, the rest of us pay for the loss.
Since the answers to these questions are well documented and common sense, really, the only Why I see is "Why are you asking? Twice?"

Answer 6

one name CAROLYN McCARTHY.

due to the anti gun fanatics our children are being raised in a society that as a whole believes guns to be a dangerous and unnecessary part of our world.they are teaching our kids that guns are only important to criminals and racist rednecks.as a result the manufacturers of the arms and ammo are not able to make the volume of sales that they use to.yet they still have the need for pay checks.so how do they counter this? up the price of course.that on top of the cost of materials going up add on top of that tax increases and you can get the picture

Answer 7

Supply and demand. With 2 wars going on they arent slinging mud pies at each other, once you fire a round its gone and needs to be replaced. The fact that the ammo manufactures can wack us a little harder is good for them, bad for us. Look at gas prices up 300% in 4 years they raise prices cause they can.

Answer 8

No conspiracy at ball. Processing, machining, milling, etc. steel has gotten very expensive. Injection-molded plastic parts (frames) are expensive until the company has been around long enough to pay off the cost of all the operating equipment. And after all of that, haven't you ever heard of inflation? You should be complaining about how expensive vehicles have been getting. If guns had a price-raisnign scale like automobiles then we would all be screwed.

Answer 9

Fuel prices, raw materials (copper), the war, people stocking up because OSHA was going to redefine ammo as an explosive, the democrats taking over congress causing more people to stock up more, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Answer 10

It must be the state you live in, here in Montana the prices are better than ever, right now you can buy a Remmington model 710 composite stock, with a Burris 3X9 scope, your choice 270, 30-06, 7mm, or 300 win mag for $299.95 at Big R, I just bought 4 boxes of 300 win mag shells for $14.95 a box.
So it must be a state tax where you live, because here guns, ammo, and accessories are cheaper than ever.