Who else has changed their ammo buying habits lately?

judging by most of the comments, it appears I am now a hoarder, as I before I used to buy a brick at a time, now its by the case, that's a 10 fold increase, if all of us buyers did that that is an instant 1000% increase in demand overnight, no wonder the ammo makers can't keep up.
 
I would not give any big box store the benefit of the doubt on price gouging....supply and demand...prices will not drop until there is a surplus, which is not in the foreseeable couple of years

my buying habits went from buying the day before I plan to shoot, to buying as much as I can afford when I see it...and buying a lot more online
 
Yukoner89 said:
Well, when I asked my local store owner (Whitehorse, YT) about it I was told very concisely that because they can't keep stock they chose to raise prices because that's what businesses do in a capitalist economy. Yes, I was openly told by the owner that their price increases were due to shortages and not from a significant price increase from suppliers. I posted sometime last fall about this shortly after the conversation took place. I'd like to add that I'm not complaining about capitalism but rather that price jumps like this drive away business when people have other options.

Take it or leave it, you act as though I think they're conspiring against us. I simply think they made a poor business decision and since this capitalist economy works two ways, I choose not to support them (at all).

I also spent some time speaking with the assistant manager regarding the concerns I had. If the .22lr is coming from the company and wasn't sourced by the individual store then the prices are set by CTC and not the store owner. Furthering that point, CTC can import or purchase through many of the wholesalers/distributors. They can (and do) look for good pricing like anyone else. This was also discussed (more than once on different days/weeks).

I actually had several great conversations with the owner and assistant manager over time... One example item that I convinced them to reprice was their henry AR7. It was $499.95 for several months at my local CT but that price was insane and set by the corporation because that's where they were purchased. After bringing in print outs from several competing retailers that showed their price was significantly lower, they dropped their price down to around $349? (Haven't been in there in a while now) and shortly after they went on sale for $270. They called me to let me know about the sale and I bought two.

Summary: I took the owner + assistant manager (have known them both through the store for 5+ years) at their word when they both told me the same thing on the same day within a couple minutes of each other on opposite ends of the store. I guess there is a very slight chance they could have had a discussion regarding the price of 22lr at the start of the day but I really doubt it.
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Well not all CT stores are run the same, and I also know a store owner and the general mgr quite well myself. Both personally and professionally. They are ethical businessman and I can say they would not and have not ever engaged in price gouging. I also know for a fact that they set firearm and ammo prices at store level in their store.
So as I said, different stores are on different levels than others.
 
When I was competing a lot more in pistol, I'd buy standard velocity .22LR by the case for practice ammo, and by the brick for match-grade ammo (it's always been expensive).
When I was pasting gophers more regularly (they don't live here in Ontario so the 10-22 doesn't see that much use) I bought Federal bulk packs for about $18 after tax at the big W.

Now most of the ammo stays in the basement unless there's a chance to go shoot some food or pests...
.223 and .308, on the other hand, like to go downrange at the ORA competitions, and that's mostly reloaded. Powder's getting expensive and match-grade bullets aren't cheeeeeep either.
 
EL34/6L6 said:
Well not all CT stores are run the same, and I also know a store owner and the general mgr quite well myself. Both personally and professionally. They are ethical businessman and I can say they would not and have not ever engaged in price gouging. I also know for a fact that they set firearm and ammo prices at store level in their store.
So as I said, different stores are on different levels than others.
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Please re-read my post, you missed several key points not limited to but including: The part where I said if the items are ordered through the company (CTC) the prices get set by head office. If the items are purchased through a third party by the stores individual owner they get to choose their own price.

Summary of this post: CTC sets prices on most items and the owners are required to follow the CTC price structure if purchased through CTC.

Edit: They can order through large distributors at a individual store level quite often. Some CT owners definitely do order a lot of their stock from places that aren't CTC, feel free to ask your friend at CTC about their ordering habits if you're friendly enough with them.
 
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Porkchopsandwhich said:
Ammo is a commodity, rules of supply and demand apply.
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Agreed but with that being said when 90% (pulling that number out of thin air but it feels somewhat accurate) don't raise their prices nearly as much as CTC, I personally (my opinion) feel completely gouged (if I had bought any).

I'm just making my opinions known with my wallet when I do or don't go shopping somewhere. This capitalism thing works great both ways.
 
lone ranger said:
If its on the store shelf................It ends up on my shelf. Its slim pickens. I take as much as I can, when I can.
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A mindset commonly known as "hoarding".

Untill these people run out of room in their basments to stuff in one more box of ammo, we will not return to a normal supply availability.

In the old days, if I went into my local co-op and there were only a few boxes of a certain ammo, I would always leave some for the next guy. Now, people panic "MY GOD THERE IS A SHORTAGE" and buy up everything they can lay their hands on, often way more than they can use over a resonable period. Thus creating the shortage you see today.
 
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I have quite buying any. I would pick up a few bricks now and then and a couple cases of target and gopher stuff when I found them. I have enough mini mags and yellowjoackets for the next while and SK+ are still available . So I shoot what I have and wait for more supply to show up.
 
My 22lr buying habits haven't changed much since there hasn't been a major shortage on premium target/match/club/practice ammo.

Margucci said:
isnt the inflated price of primers and powder just as bad as .22 rounds? i heard they are just as bad if not worse.
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Powder and primer prices are pretty reasonable if you buy from reasonable retailers. There's loads of horror stories about $50-60/lbs but most people are paying $35-40 when they were paying $30-35 before the panic.
My records show primers as costing me 4.6 cents each before the panic. Now I'm paying 5.5 cents each. That's after tax.
 
Prior to this ammo thing I never bought a case of ammo, ever, just as it was starting to brew, I began buying by the case, maybe a year before the shortage really hit, now I only buy by the case, that goes for centerfire as well, 300wm, 50, 338, whatever its all by the case, never by the box.
 
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