AMMO in Canada...

[cie]

I agree - to a point. Its easy to say that "Canadians didnt support our local stores/manufacturers" - and Im sure to an extent that was true; people just pinching pennies when they could have been shoring up a Canadian business.

However there are also instances where 'local stores' are selling at unreasonable markups. My local 'hunting store' sells .22LR bricks for $35.00. The Wally World (where I feel a part of my soul slough off, every time I walk through the bloody door) sells the same brand brick for $25.00.
I mentioned this to the proprietor of store A, suggesting I would happily buy from him, if he at least came closer to the WW price, and he got very shirty and essentially told me to get lost.

I compromised by getting to know the owner of my local corner store which sells basic hunting gear and ammo come season - and then sells whatever he hasnt moved at 15% off the rest of the year - and having him order in what I want, at an excellent price.

If there was a Canadian Ammunition manufacturer who sold to the public, I would buy stock. I'd also make a concerted effort to make sure that any factory ammo I needed would be bought from them, for the simple reasons that it would be Canadian, and likely alot better than the watery U.S prison gravy we seem to be reliant on.

What I dont understand is why IVI/Dominion doesnt sell even a portion of its ammo to the public? Isnt the CF changing its ammo in the future? Surely it would be reasonable for any surplus of the 'old' stuff to see circulation in the civilian market?

The first time I ever shot was at Connaught - invited there by my safety instructor - he handed me a milking pail full of IVI Steel Cased 7.62x51 and told me to fill my boots at the 300m line. If I knew then what I do now, I'd have filled my boots indeed. And my pockets, and whatever else I could.

you realize that Wal Mart buys huge quantities directly from the manufacturer, while smaller stores buy from a distributor at a higher price. This means that your local guy is probably not marking things up by the huge amounts you imply, but is likely making about the same profit as Wal Mart

 

[CanAm]

Wal-Mart also only pays for it once it sells. I could live on 5% too on those terms.

 

[someuser]

There is a huge diffrence between new and surplus ammo production costs FWIW

And to think that new mfg .223, 7.62, x54, 8mm etc etc ammo will hit the shelf at a lower cost then 20+ yr old stock is a fantasy... I can understand how it would be nice to be able to get some hard to find stuff but if the bottom dollar is the motivation then buy a nice reloading setup and stop paying the insurance and packaging costs all companys pass on to the end user.

I noticed over the holidays that the americans dont have it as good as some of you let on, at bass pro in Mesa AZ winchester AA target is $80+ a flat, 9mm is $60+ for 250rnd bulk packs and most hunting ammo is par with canadian prices! Surplus ammo prices are not a fair representation of the whole market when canada is a country of 30mil with 3 million firearms owners and the USA is a country of 300 million with a higher percentage of arms per person..... They have buying power we simply cant match.

My biggest eye opener was a savage .308 at walmart was $340 while the same rifle here sells around the $600 mark with tax.... Me thinks there is alot of markup on the average hunting rifle....

Hotwheels81, I agree with you on the ammo cost in USA being about the same as Canada. For examples, In California a box of American Eagles 9mm 124 gr is sold for $15, so as my local stores.

I think the surplus ammo we get here are way cheaper then the states sometime. The Americans probably would love to have an opportunity to buy 1120 rounds of 7.63x39 for $160.(I checked my December 2009 Canadian Access to Firearms)

I don't think us Canadian always gets the short end of the stick with ammunition.

Like Hotweels81, I too noticed the price differences between the prices of firearms down there. I was reading the LA times one day and there was a flyer showing a Mossberg lever action for $200 and it's about $400 in Canada. Also with Glocks 17s the differences in price are apparent. Again the price difference is about $200 more in Canada. Which makes me guess that a Canadian seller will want to charge about $200 for importing a gun from the USA. Which is the price the importers will charge you anyway if you use their import service.

 

[Steiner]

I think the surplus ammo we get here are way cheaper then the states sometime. The Americans probably would love to have an opportunity to buy 1120 rounds of 7.63x39 for $160.(I checked my December 2009 Canadian Access to Firearms)

I think the US market has cheaper ammo all the time.

7.62x39 is about the ONLY ammo available here that is cheaper than in the US. It isn't that much cheaper here than in the states. Once this Czech inventory runs out I'm not sure what we will have available as cheap surplus.Thank goodness we have this ammo available. Overall, I think the US shooters are in a much better surplus ammo price and availabilty situation.

For example 308/7.62x51 Nato. Czech Surplus about $560/1060rds from one of our vendors. That is the cheapest surplus 308 in Canada, and it is corrosive, and LIMITED SUPPLY. The same ammo is $309/1060rd case in the US.
http://ammoseek.com/?gun=rifle&cal=159&grains=0&mfg=&keywords=&sortby=cpr

Current production 308/7.62x51mm made in Russian 'Wolf/Brown Bear', or whatever other names it goes under, is common at $350/1000rds in the US. Unlimited supply, in current production, non-corrosive. Non of this will be foreseeably available to us due to our government rules/ammo testing requirements, etc.. Our vendors cannot bring this in to sell.

If only our importers like CanadaAmmo, Marstar, and others didn't have to jump through all the Fed Govt' hoops and red tape, we could most likely have a much better surplus ammo supply. Just like the good old days in the 1980's, before all this super regulation by the govt. There was LOTS of nicely priced surplus ammo on the Canadian market. Thanks again to our vendors, bring in what you can, and we shooters appreciate when we get some wonderful deals like x39 now on the market.

 

[Canadian_Eh]

Wal-Mart also only pays for it once it sells. I could live on 5% too on those terms.

+ 1. And therein lies the danger to local shopkeepers in any town that has a Walmart.

 

[fiddler]

Wal-Mart also only pays for it once it sells. I could live on 5% too on those terms.

And that is exactly how every Mom n Pop hardware and sporting good store across North America ceased to exist.

When we buy at Walmart the short term conclusion is : Wow, look how much I saved! The long term result is that all the local little vendors in your own neighborhood, who's profit stays in your neighborhood, who offers employment in your neighborhood are all gone. So are the manufacturing jobs and factories. The profits go to other regions and countries. Our exports decrease while our dollar goes down, and we have nothing but shopping malls full of ghetto jobs where experts and service have gone the way of the dinosaur.

If Walmart is the only one carrying the product, its because they've already killed the little guy.

 

[MosinNagantM44]

"1120 rounds of 7.63x39 for $160"
Not any more.

 

[fiddler]

"1120 rounds of 7.63x39 for $160"
Not any more.

Thats why I bought it by the truck load. Not just me, all the shooting buddies. We all have a stack that goes to the roof... or more. We've seen this with .303, 7.62 Nato, 5.56, X54 Russian, ect ect. Buy it when you can, This is not a new market trend. It goes back 35 years in my recollection.