Ammo Prices Have Doubled Since December At 'America's Largest Gun Shop'

CNS News ^ | February 21, 2013 | Gregory Gwyn-Williams, Jr.

[2ndDivisionVet]

The price of his store's ammunition has more than doubled since mid-December, says Larry Hyatt, owner of Hyatt Gun Shop in Charlotte, N.C., which bills itself "America's Largest Gun Shop."

I spoke to Mr. Hyatt today about the increase in the price of ammunition since mid-December (when the gun control debate began to heat up). Hyatt said that the ammo market is "very volatile" and that he "doesn't know when the next shipment will be."

His best seller right now is .22LR caliber. Gun owners like to shoot this caliber because it is typically a cheaper round and also optimal for target shooting, known as "plinking"

A box containing 500 rounds of .22LR was selling for approximately $20/box back in December. Today, Mr. Hyatt tells me he is selling the same box for $49. This represents a 145 percent increase in price.

We "immediately started rationing" as there are "a lot of unknowns for deliveries of products," Hyatt said.

The 5.56mm was selling for $0.50 a round in mid-December. Today it sells for $1.00/round; a 100 percent increase in price...

[IYAS9YAS]

They are buying guns, but the ammo shelves are bare.

Around here, I can buy all the .22-250, .300Win Mag, .300WSM, .25-06, 7mm Mag, and a few other oddball calibers, I want. However, none of them go for less than $1/round.

[Gaffer]

You and me have opposite problems...I’ve got scads and scads of 223/5.56 and 7.62X39, 30’06, etc. but very little 22 LR....

[Gaffer]

This employee bought 3 boxes, I’m assuming 500 rds, for about $100 and change...

[Gaffer]

The price I quoted was for the 22 LRs, not the .223s

[Durus]

I want the government to place a moratorium on what it itself buys not on what private sellers sell or what civilians buy. Sorry for my lack of clarity.

[TigersEye]

I’ve got plenty. Good thing because there’s nothing to be found now even at double last year’s high prices.

[exnavy]

I love a story with a happy ending!!

[exnavy]

Yup!

[exnavy]

Well, where to begin? Hoarding, no, i need another 5 or 6 thousand rounds to get into the hoarding range.

The word of the Lord tells us in proverbs, "It's a wise man who see's danger and prepares."

I want to be wise in the eyes of our Lord and savior. All of us have to figure that out on our own.

[William Tell]

SWAMPSNIPER said: "Hoarding prevents other people from obtaining what they might need, this isn't a time to be thinking of getting rich."

I can't think of a less successful way to get rich than to buy ammunition today at $1 per round that will, in all probability, be selling for a third that price in several years.

Ammunition makers with the ability to ramp up production, which typically reduces the per unit manufacturing cost, will stand to make a tidy profit selling ammunition while it is in great demand. For that reason, we can expect the supply of ammo to increase rapidly.

The only thing to fear today is government interference in the right to manufacture and sell ammunition. If such were occurring, it would be a duty to hoard as much ammunition as possible in preparation for the outbreak of hostilities.