Less bang for your buck — ammo prices expected to shoot up this year
HARRISVILLE — The cost of ammunition is expected to rise in 2024 according to Vista Outdoor, but it likely won’t deter sales in Butler County, according to Sheriff Mike Slupe.
Brent Nelson — vice president of sales and sporting products for Vista Outdoor, the parent company to many firearms businesses including Remington, Alliant Powder, CCI, Federal, Sevei-shot and Speersent — sent letters late last year to customers explaining the price increase slated for Jan. 1.
“Due to world events, our suppliers have notified us of unprecedented demand and an anticipated global shortage of gunpowder, and this has increased our prices substantially,” the December letter said. “We must therefore raise our pricing to help offset those increases.”
According to the letter, handgun ammunition and primers are expected to rise 1 to 5%. Shot shells, rifle, 22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire and .17 Hornady Magnum Rimfire are expected to increase 1 to 7%. Alliant powder is also expected to see a 10% increase.
Slupe estimated there are more than 50,000 licenses to carry in Butler County but said he did not foresee the increase is ammunition prices prompting a change in sales.
“Butler County is rich with law-abiding gun owners,” Slupe said. “The increased price of ammunition will most likely not deter the purchase of ammunition. The price of everything else is going up, and people still buy.”
According to the annual firearms report from Pennsylvania State Police, there are 61 license firearm dealers in the county, and 7,686 people newly obtained a license to carry a firearm in 2022.
David Chutz, the co-owner for Gun World in Harrisville agreed with the sheriff, but he said he has experienced customers being upset with the continuous increase in ammunition prices.
“It’s hard to fire a gun without ammo,” said Chutz. “I see people paying it and complaining, and they are preaching to the choir. We don’t like these prices either.”
Though frustrated about the increase, Chutz said he wasn’t surprised at the news.
“It has not gone down almost 11 months,” Chutz said. “We’ve been here about 14 months, and ammo has done nothing but rise.”
Chutz said he recently got a letter from wholesalers stating that prices are expected to “go up anywhere from 5 to 8%.”
Chutz said he believes the reason for the increase in price of ammunition is due to recent global conflicts such as the war in Ukraine and the closing of ammunition manufacturing plants.
“People don’t care much about the hunter or the gun enthusiast,” Chutz said. “(Manufacturers) care more about the government contract, and you can understand that, that’s guaranteed money, and lots of it.”
According to the U.S. Department of State, the country has given more than 400 million rounds of small-arms ammunition in support of Ukraine.
The increase in the manufacturing of military ammunition has caused scarcity in popular ammunition such as the 30-30 and the .32 Winchester Special.
Chutz said he and his sales managers spend about three hours every morning trying to “hunt down” the hunting ammo.
“They’ve been around for over 120 years,” Chutz said. “And now these calibers are so hard to get.”
Michael Dunlap, owner of Trigger Mike’s Firearms, operates a firearms training facility for civilians and law enforcement in Butler County.
Dunlap said while his business currently is not effected by the ammunition price increase, it could have an impact on his customers that are focused on self-defense.
“People that shoot for enjoyment will find a way, but for the people who really are focusing in on self-defense,” Dunlap said. “it could make it harder for them to get better.”
Dunlap said he has started tailoring some of his programs to incorporate more “dry firing,” a military training practice that allows the shooter to fire a weapon without live ammunition.
“There are valuable lessons in dry firing,” Dunlap said. “It allows the shooter to focus.”
Dunlap said if the cost of ammunition continues to go up “it will have an adverse effect” on his company, but he remains motivated to keep providing his customers with a “valuable service.”
“We have to be vigilant,” Dunlap said.
