Is .223 ammo really getting scarce/expensive??

[gordon21]

One of my buddies is encouraging me to buy an AR-15 or clone. He tells me that a basic model will be $600-800, something nicer will be $800-1000 and that anything over $1000 is match grade and I don't need it. (plus lights and other stuf to mount on the rails)

Today at the grocery store magazine rack, I notice a cover story on a gun magazine talking about the shortage of .223 ammo and how to make your own jacketed .223 bullets out of used .22LR casings. You take a used .22LR, cut off the base, crimp the top closed and fill with scrap lead. I can appreciate the skill that reloaders have in developing super accurate rounds for long range shooting. However, there is no way I would ever try to make my own bullets. My schedule is busy. If I did buy a .223 rifle, I would want to be able to merely walk into a store, plunk down $50 and walk out with at least 150 rounds. My 9MM ammo runs about $0.18 per round. I don't mind paying up to $0.33 per round for .223. If it is going to be more expensive that that or I have to reload, then forget the whole thing. I will not buy a rifle like that to look at. It will be shot on a regular basis if I buy it. It will not be a collector item.

Was that a tactic to sell magazines or is there really a .223 crisis looming? What is a reasonable price for .223 ammo per round?? I can think of a lot of other guns to buy with that $800 that have readily available and cheap ammo.

 

[wushaw]

I haven't bought any .223 ammo lately but I used to get no name brand for $5.00 a box of 20 for hard ball and $10.00 for Remington hunting ammo.

This was before 9-11.

 

[thatguy]

Along with most items, the price of ammo is rising/had risen quite a bit over the last few years.. I think there is plenty out there to buy, IF you want to pay the price..

if you get the AR drop the $200 (kit and 1 ten rd mag) on a ceiner conversion kit which will allow you to shoot .22 ammo from the rifle.. If you want better accuracy get a dedicated upper (mine is from RCS unlimited and uses a ruger 1022 barrel and is quite accurate).

Good luck

Brian

 

[gordon21]

I haven't really started looking at differnt models/ brands yet. Is there a "pre-made" AR-15 lookalike that comes factory set up to shoot only 22's? If so, that would be the way to go. 22LR ammo is dirt cheap at $0.02 per round. You could go and wear out a barrel for $500 worth of ammo. $500 is 25,000 rounds.

Ammo is like buying ink cartridges. You will spend far more on them than the original purchase if you use it a lot.

 

[bulletproof1510]

I have an Olympic Arms .223 that is a great weapon. I use it out in the field and carry it while on duty with SWAT. I have heard of ammo prices rising but I do not think there is a shortage. I do know that an article stated that ammo was not being stockpiled by the government. I believe it is kind of like gas prices. When in a demand raise the price. Since the war is still going strong the price will probaly continue to rise just as gas does. Not sure if this helps but also the Olypic Arms 223 has a lifetime warranty. Olympic Arms, Inc. - Home

 

[KennethBrown]

Gander Mountain had a notice posted about 223. They said that when their current stock was deleted that they would not be able to get anymore due to the sandbox. That being said they had a ton of it, Walmart had a ton of it, the last 2 gun shows I went to had a ton of it, and it was all reasonably priced. I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[DieselPower]

All the gun stores I frequent are over flowing with black rifle ammo. There may be shortages from manufacturers that make ammo for the military but there are numerous other manufacturers around. Wolf came out with their Gold line of ammo a year or so ago, brass reloadable cartridges at a fairly good price. At least from what I have seen there is no shortage. Better yet, load your own.

Some .223 ammo sources.

Natchez Shooters Supplies

Here's a food example. Note military suppliers [like Lake City Arsenal] are out of stock, others are in stock.
Show Search Results

AIM .223 .223

223 Remington

Midsouth AMMUNITION   CENTERFIRE RIFLE   223 REMINGTON

 

[gordon21]

Thanks Dieselpower. Those were great links. There were lots of listings for ammo under $0.30 per round.

.223 casings are pretty big compared to .22LR casings. Maybe it would be worth picking them all up off the ground after shooting a couple hundred and giving them to someone that could reload them. Maybe I could swap 500 casings for a 50ct box of reloads.

 

[scott_vt]

Mornin DieselPower,
Along with Lewis' comment, those are great links on ammo and thanks ! I dont own a .223 but do shoot my 22/250 when I can. Im not sure why the prices are so much higher on the 22/250 ammo ? Although I did find some reasonably priced rounds in your links ! As with everything else, cheap is not always best especially when looking for accuracy ! I think its one of those deals that you need try some of these bargains and see what kind of performance you get from your firearm !

 

[texbaylea]

One of my buddies is encouraging me to buy an AR-15 or clone. He tells me that a basic model will be $600-800, something nicer will be $800-1000 and that anything over $1000 is match grade and I don't need it. (plus lights and other stuf to mount on the rails)

Today at the grocery store magazine rack, I notice a cover story on a gun magazine talking about the shortage of .223 ammo and how to make your own jacketed .223 bullets out of used .22LR casings. You take a used .22LR, cut off the base, crimp the top closed and fill with scrap lead. I can appreciate the skill that reloaders have in developing super accurate rounds for long range shooting. However, there is no way I would ever try to make my own bullets. My schedule is busy. If I did buy a .223 rifle, I would want to be able to merely walk into a store, plunk down $50 and walk out with at least 150 rounds. My 9MM ammo runs about $0.18 per round. I don't mind paying up to $0.33 per round for .223. If it is going to be more expensive that that or I have to reload, then forget the whole thing. I will not buy a rifle like that to look at. It will be shot on a regular basis if I buy it. It will not be a collector item.

Was that a tactic to sell magazines or is there really a .223 crisis looming? What is a reasonable price for .223 ammo per round?? I can think of a lot of other guns to buy with that $800 that have readily available and cheap ammo.

Lewis
That article was describing what reloaders did in the 50's and 60's. Bullet makers like Speer and Hornady were just getting started and the selection of weights and sizes were limited. A lot of reloaders made their own bullets using swaging dies. As I remember they had dies to iron out the rim and trim the hulls to length. They used lead wire to place in the prepared hull and then swaged the bullet to be. I did not do any of this then but a buddy did and it was interested to watch this thread of excess lead being squeezed out of the top of the dies as pressure was applied. I have been reloading off and on for over 50 years and seen a lot fads..er..techniques and tricks come and go.

Vernon