The price on ammunition has skyrocketed in the past couple of years. This is mostly due to shortage in supply and a higher than expected demand on two fronts – the military demand and the public demand. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan had the ammo manufacturer’s pushing their production limits on military loads, making the .223 and 7.62x39 rounds very expensive. The slowing economy and a liberal president helped to increase the demand on the home front. It appeared that a lot of Americans were adopting a “bunker” mentality. For a while, it was difficult to find bulk ammo in common calibers. The ammunition that you could find had increased by 50-80% in some cases. It appeared to me that it might just get too expensive to enjoy shooting any longer. It was not uncommon to go down to the local gun shop only to find that they were out of what I needed. It was the same story with online vendors. I could always rely on a couple of good sources to get bulk ammo from, but I found the “Sold out” comment next to the item I was seeking far more times than I expected.
The combination of the war, the economy, liberal politics and the increase in the price of metal had impacted the cost of ammunition so much, it seemed as if the end was coming. When the dust settled, however, it was just another passing storm in the urgency of the moment.
The supply is slowly catching up with the demand and we are starting to see more bulk ammunition on the market. The trusty web dealers that I have relied on for my ammo purchases are again stocked, but the high prices remain.
I do not expect to see the prices coming down much in the near future. This is in part due to the chattering about new federal policy to better regulate ammunition/firearms by implementing one or both of the following:
serial numbers on individual rounds and/or firing pin impressions
The former is something that anti-gun groups have lobbied about for years. Having the ability to track each individual round with a unique number is going to somehow hold someone accountable for crimes associated with guns. I can only see the proposed regulation as another stab at the firearms industry. This would undoubtedly increase the cost of ammo exponentially.
Lawmakers have also been debating the idea of requiring every new handgun to be fitted with a special firing pin, by which, a unique serial number is cast in the primer of a center fire round as it is discharged. The idea being that each crime committed with a handgun can be traced back to the owner of the weapon. The problem here is that most crimes involving handguns are committed with stolen or unregistered weapons.
Ultimately, it will be the consumer who pays the highest price. Whether it is the increasing cost of ammunition or the additional costs associated with purchasing a new gun with a unique firing pin, it is bound to get too expensive to shoot as a hobby.