www.ammopricesnow.com

Not sure how valuable knowing the average hourly or best day to buy ammo is, but the daily ave pricing trend for the ammo going back 9 months is interesting. Hopefully the recent trend continues downward on many of the calibers.

Interesting thanks for posting.

An interesting undertaking but I don't see the practical application for it.

ammoseek updated their website in late February and the Search Parameters no longer include Bullet Type (FMJ, JHP, etc.). Seems to me that was an important or useful parameter.

A way around it is to put the bullet type in the "match these words" box.

quote:

An interesting undertaking but I don't see the practical application for it.

^^^^^^^^^^
If you are interested in speculating in ammunition it could be a useful tool. I am sure the military is interested in locking in prices of ammunition if possible. As a corollary, Southwest Air locked in the price of jet fuel saving a ton over the other carriers when the price went up.

It's interesting to see the trend lines, but I'm uncertain if the data has any real practical value for Joe Blow consumers. The price data likely comes from the lowest listed prices on a given day -- possibly from a search engine site such as ammoseek. For 223/5.56 the lowest price almost always will be 55 FMJ -- possibly steel case, possibly manufactured outside of USA, possibly with bi-metal bullets. There are many factors which go into the lowest possible price for a given day.

I see similar situations for 22lr, 9mm, and 308 Win.

When sales volume outstrips ammo distribution, the lowest prices on a given day might be radically skewed upwards. For example, 55 FMJ might have sold out, but ammoseek lists a few options of distributors gouging customers at $4 to $5 per round for 69 SMK .223 Remy loads.

Furthermore, not everyone buys or shoots the cheapest FMJ ammo. Match-grade, self-defense, and varmint ammo have all been hard to find -- but when manufacturing lots become available to the public, some distributors are selling their allocation at fairly reasonable prices.

I would assume the military wants to pay rock bottom prices on ammo. What they use is rather predictable in peacetime. I would bet some poor officer somewhere is tasked with price checking.

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:
I would assume the military wants to pay rock bottom prices on ammo. What they use is rather predictable in peacetime. I would bet some poor officer somewhere is tasked with price checking.

I think the government aquires ammo via contracts - they're not buying it like we do.

The price on that website for .22 WMR is almost twice what I pay for it locally.

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:

...I would bet some poor officer somewhere is tasked with price checking.

Minor technicality: I'm sure it's a civilian. Most ammo (I think ALL small arms) is managed at the Rock Island Arsenal (RIA) by the Joint Munitions Command (JMC).

https://www.jmc.army.mil/Default.aspx

I retired from a different agency on RIA four years ago.

quote:

Originally posted by mikeyspizza:

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:
I would assume the military wants to pay rock bottom prices on ammo. What they use is rather predictable in peacetime. I would bet some poor officer somewhere is tasked with price checking.

I think the government aquires ammo via contracts - they're not buying it like we do.

mikey is correct. Winchester operates Lake City Army Ammunition Plant, producing 5.56mm, 7.62mm and .50 cal ammo. Winchester has a 7-year initial term contract that may be extended for 3 additional years. Ammunition pricing is included in the contract.

Winchester also has the contract for M882 9mm ball ammunition while SigSauer has the contract for the Modular Handgun System ammunition (M1152 & M1153).