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Our friends at Sniper Country shared their take on the major factors influencing never before seen sky high ammo prices. In their article, “What is Really Driving Up Ammunition Costs?”, they state there are four key factors to explain why the prices of ammo are at an all time high.
The first factor is inflation. Inflation causes the prices of everything to rise including, gas, food, housing, and ammunition. With the prices of raw materials and wages going up, you can bet the cost of everything else will rise too. Supply and demand have a big role to play because so many people who have never owned a gun before are purchasing their first firearm as a result of the events of 2020.
This ties into the second factor which is gun ownership continues to increase. The current state of the world, with the pandemic, political division, and civil unrest have caused people to be motivated to protect themselves, their families, and their property. Hunting and shooting also became a more popular hobby since it’s something you can do away from crowds. More people are taking marksmanship classes or practicing on their own, which all requires more ammunition.
Legislation is the third factor because we never know what future laws might be passed regarding gun control. The Sniper Country article explains this best when they say, “American ammunition manufacturers have been operating at or near capacity for the past decade and are reluctant to expand production operations to meet demand in case any new legislation affects their business.”
Finally, scalpers are contributing to the high prices as well. When the pandemic began in early 2020, customers began hoarding ammunition. Now, with the demand so high, people are reselling their excess at a much higher price to local stores, who then have to mark their prices up even higher. Online scalpers are affecting prices as well because they are selling to desperate customers who can’t find what they need anywhere else.
All of these factors are causing the high ammo prices we’re seeing today. Shout out to Dylan at Sniper Country for sharing this information with us. Please check out that article, which includes a helpful infographic with statistics and more information.
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