Price of rising ammo in The Dallas Morning news

The Dallas Morning News has a pretty decent article on the rising cost of ammunition on their website today.

The headline is a real groaner... "Price of ammo to shoot up". But aside from that, the article is accurate on the current state of ammunition sales.

The gist of the problem is summarized in the third paragraph of the article. "The price increases began after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, then were compounded by a double whammy: the war in Iraq, which pushed up overall demand, and growing industrial powers such as China, which bid up the cost of needed raw materials."

The article goes on to say that some hunters are now making their own ammunition. That's a fact I can attest to from the customers I have coming in asking for re-loading parts and supplies as opposed to cases of new ammunition.

As a dealer, my cost to purchase ammunition has risen considerably. Its an increase I have had to pass on, but everything I get in still sells out. However, as some of my customers have pointed out, it is quickly becoming more economical to keep brass from the range and take the time to re-load it at home.

You know it is getting bad when even the white box ammunition at Wal-Mart has gone up in price.

There really is nothing to reloading, and when I get a good bench and reloading press of my own, I plan to photo-blog the process.

Beware of the cheap cheap ammunition, though. I am of the firm opinion you always get what you pay for. I would rather save up and get high-grade name brand ammunition with proven track records. It is always better to hit your target with one expensive round than miss with a dozen cheap ones.

The article is available through this link.

-end-