Where and how to buy ammunition

Thomas GomezStaff - June 29, 2020

How to find the best prices, what’s in stock, and what local laws might apply.

[See the full post at: Where and how to buy ammunition]

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Good article.  I’m glad you pointed out that most exhibitors at gun shows, at least all from which I have purchased, had FFL.  I have found that to be 100% when it comes firearms.

 

I do believe ammo sales are final and returns are not allowed.  Also its usually the shipping cost that get you. Sgammo.com is a good site with flat rate shipping.

 

Love SGAmmo! Added to our list. Thank you. 

 

Ammo Supply Warehouse is another good one! They package well (no spilled ammo en route) and their packaging is entertaining. They are often listed on ammo seek with some of the best prices. 

 

Tell me more about this packaging…?

 

Added! Thank you!

 

I have more than enough ammo for defensive needs to last my lifetime, luckily. I’ve been hearing that there was an ammo shortage here in the states recently, but since I wasn’t looking for any I really didn’t pay it much attention.  I was at a Walmart today and glanced at the ammo case.  It wasn’t just low, there wasn’t a single round of any caliber at all.  I had seen in the past where there wasn’t much of the common rounds at times, but there was always some of the uncommon stuff.  Was really impressed by the lack of anything at all.  Likely this will pass but it was a bit unnerving.

 

I went to Cabelas yesterday (12/17/20) and saw the same thing. They only had very uncommon calibers.

Could be a prepping strategy to have a gun with an uncommon caliber. When all the 9mm and 30-06 are out, the uncommon one might still be available for purchase. 

I still would rather stock up on the common calibers though. I think stores will be low on ammo for most of this next year.

 

yes alot of our stores in va low if not there when it hits the store you ant getting

 

BulkMunitions.com review: I just received a test box from this site, sharing notes here.

• I checked prices for a few common calibers on BM versus the same product and quantity (eg. box of 1,000) through the price search engines. BM was always in the cheapest 3-4 vendors.
• Their main pitch is buying in bulk + they tithe 10% of profits to “Christian-based 2A groups.”
• The shipping box arrived fine, was packaged a little better than average for online ammo delivery. The interior ammo box arrived in average condition.
• Ammo seems fine, no dings, etc. 
• But the rounds do look a little stale… not to the point I doubt they’re new, but perhaps there’s a reason why they’re bought/sold in bulk, where it’s been sitting on a shelf and trading hands for a while.

 

I had a few people ask for ammunition as their Christmas present last year and let me tell you, it was harder to find than Arnold Schwarzenegger trying to buy a TurboMan doll.

I didn’t wait until the last minute like Arnold did in the movie Jingle All The Way though, and kept an eye out for it months before Christmas. No physical store I went to had any of the wanted calibers in stock, and trying to order on the big box stores’ websites led to nothing either. The chocolate advent calendar was getting more and more empty by the day and I still didn’t have any ammo to give family members for Christmas. But then I remembered this article and decided to give it a try. 

I was able to compare multiple online stores for prices and availability and ended up going with MidwayUSA because they had free shipping if you order more than $50. The ammo arrived quickly, securely shipped, and the boxes were in mint condition so I felt comfortable giving them out as gifts.

An interesting thing I noticed though is that I didn’t have to share ID, ship to a gun shop, or prove my age. I haven’t bought ammo in years from a store but I think they at least check my ID to make sure I am over 21. I’m all for being able to buy ammo easily but was just surprised that there wasn’t more scrutiny or gun regulations in place.

Thanks to this article directing me where to go, Christmas was saved! I definitely will consult this resource next time I need ammo and find the best deal.

 

CheapAmmo.com review and $10 coupon code “THE-PREPARED” off any >$150 order.

I placed an order from CA and they reached out to offer the code above to this community. In short, it was a fine experience and I’ll order from them again if their pricing is on-market. My order notes:

• When I shopped, and double checking today, pricing would vary between “one of the cheapest on the web” to 5-10% behind the cheapest. For example, the AK ammo was very competitive, but a 50-round box of Federal HST JHP 147gr 9mm was $50 compared to $40-41 elsewhere.
• Never experienced any culture-war junk.
• Somewhat limited selection, but I’d rather a store have a few of the right things than a whole bunch of junk.
• Website software a little outdated, but fine and functional. 
• ID upload / age verification is required to checkout. The processor claims to delete your ID upload file. I still hate the anxiety this causes ;(
• Shipping was fast. 
• The outer cardboard box (the one exposed during shipping) could’ve been better quality. Arrived a little beat up, and I just feel better when big ammo buys arrived in sturdy packaging.
• The actual ammo boxes were in great shape, as were the rounds inside. I inspected a sampling of rounds/boxes and found no problems.

 

The CA guys followed up to say they used to be on the aggregate search engines like AmmoSeek, but they chose to withdraw since AS charges retailers to be listed. 

 

Someone emailed in this question, pasting it and my answer here:

“I’ve heard that every purchase of ammunition throughout the USA includes a donation to the NRA. Is this true? Does the NRA receive any contribution at all from ammunition purchases within the USA? Or, outside of the USA? If so, is it possible to purchase ammunition from another country and not contribute so much as a half penny to that horrid, evil organization?”

No, there’s absolutely nothing like that in the US. The NRA is a private group without that kind of power, and sometimes independent private ammo sellers (or gun sellers, etc) choose to make donations, add a check box in the website checkout flow for “donate $__ to NRA,” and so on. They do it because they’re proud to, it’s part of their marketing and identity politics, so it’s not something that’s usually hidden. You’d see it mentioned.

I also go out of my way to not give money to NRA, such as not going to certain shooting ranges that require NRA membership (which again is an independent private decision on the range’s part to ‘support the cause.’)

FYI there are a growing number of sane pro-2A organizations founded out of unhappiness with NRA; similar to what The Prepared did in the survival market.