This Week In Guns, April 4th, 2015 subject logo: RKBA
2015-04-04
Posted by: badanov

By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com

The quarterly ammunition prices report is below and the result are as I have suspected. Bone crunching price increases due to a ban based on a spurious reason.

The latest news is the best news possible in the Long March to restore Constitutional rights for gun owners, if you live in Kansas, which became the fifth state to allow Constitutional Carry. Now the real job is ahead of Kansans: to start teaching their youngest about the rights and responsibilities inherent in owning and carrying a firearm.

Another bit of good news, at least for online ammunition and gun accessory sellers is the Brady Campaign lawsuit in the wake of the 2013 Colorado theater shooting was dismissed by a federal judge. Federal judges rarely do the right thing, so this is worth noting.

The subtext from the news story from Indiana is that there are enough crazy people in the USA who will threaten, not only your livelihood, but also your very substance if they do not get their way, and it illustrates that taking back rights to keep and bear arms is an existential issue.

From Donetsk, in southeastern Ukraine, the communist government there has ordered all guns to be turned in unless you are one of the few the government says can have them. I wrote in the Facebook timeline of the story: The rifle is the only thing standing between an individual and tyranny. Don't give up your guns. Fat lot of good it will do, but maybe a tiny idea was planted in a region that desperately needs them. Who knows?

I lost the link, and only had the link to the subsequent story where the Donetsk government made good on its threats. I have the text of the decree, which I will post as a comment.

Too much propaganda by leftists to deal with each one.

Loads.

Rantburg's summary for arms and ammunition:

Prices for pistol ammunition were mostly lower, while prices for rifle ammunition were mostly unchanged.

Prices for used rifles were mixed, while prices for used pistols were mostly lower.

Quarterly Summary for Ammunition

Prices have declined or have remained unchanged for pistol ammunition, but have increased for rifle ammunition for commonly used semiautomatic rifles by an average of more than 13 percent since the government attempt to ban several commonly used classes of .223/5.56mm ammunition in January. If you put that in the same terms that the government does for its inflation reports, the annualized rate of inflation for rifle ammunition is 55 percent per annum. That's Zimbabwean territory.

I am more worried that the government, while deciding not to ban M855 ammunition, keeps the ban on imported 7N6 5.45x39mm ammunition in place. Not as popular as 5.56mm, the ban was for the same reason: steel core equals armor piercing.

A lot of people, I suspect mostly liberals, will ridicule the contention that the government is responsible for the increase in prices in these classes of ammunition, except in this case the correlation is direct, provable and stark in its effect.

Pistol Ammunition

.45 Caliber, 230 grain, From Last Week: -.01 Each
(From Q4, 2014: .28 per round, -.01 Each)
Cheapest, 50 rounds: Blok Tactical, FMJ, reloads, .27 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 500 rounds: LAX Ammunition, Tulammo, steel cased, .28 per round (From Last Week: Unchanged (4Q, 2014))

.40 Caliber Smith & Wesson, 180 grain, From Last Week: Unchanged (5 Weeks)
(From Q4, 2014: .24 per round, Unchanged)
Cheapest, 50 rounds: I.Q. Metals, HSM, FMJ, reloads, .24 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 500 rounds: I.Q. Metals, HSM, FMJ, reloads, .22 per round (From Last Week: -.01 Each After Unchanged (2 Weeks))

9mm Parabellum, 115 grain, From Last Week: -.01 each After Unchanged (4Q, 2014)

(From Q4, 2014: .20 per round, Unchanged)
Cheapest, 50 rounds: Cheaper Than Dirt!, Tulammo, steel cased, FMJ, .20 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 500 rounds: LAX Ammunition, FMJ, Steel cased, Reloads, FMJ, .19 per round (From Last Week: Unchanged (7 Weeks))

.357 Magnum, 158 grain, From Last Week: Unchanged (4 Weeks)

(From Q4, 2014: .41 per round, -.06 Each (!))
Cheapest, 50 rounds: Cheaper Than Dirt, Armscor USA, FMJ, .35 per round
Cheapest Bulk: 1,000 Rounds: SG Ammo, Geco, Bulk, FMJ, .34 per round (From Last Week: Unchanged (2 Weeks))

Rifle Ammunition

.223 Caliber/5.56mm 55 grain, From Last Week: Unchanged (4 Weeks)
(From Q4, 2014: .23 per round, +.04 Each (!))
Cheapest, 20 rounds: Munire USA, Tulammo, steel cased, FMJ, .27 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 1,000 rounds: Cheaper Than Dirt!, Tulammo, steel cased, .22 per round (From Last Week: -.04 Each (!) After Unchanged (2 Weeks))

.308 NATO 145 grain, From Last Week: Unchanged (5 Weeks)
(From Q4, 2014: .41 per round, +.07 Each (!))
Cheapest, 20 rounds: Munire USA, Brown Bear, steel cased, .48 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 500 rounds: SG Ammo, Wolf WPA, steel cased, .45 per round (From Last Week: Unchanged (4 Weeks))

7.62x39 AK 123 Grain, From Last Week: Unchanged (3 Weeks)
(From Q4, 2014: .22 per round, +.02 Each)
Cheapest, 20 rounds: Ammunition Depot, Wolf WPA, steel case, .24 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 500 rounds: SG Ammo, Wolf WPA, steel case, .23 per round (From Last Week: Unchanged (4 Weeks))

.22 LR 40 Grain, From Last Week: -.01 Each
(From Q4, 2014: .08 per round, Unchanged)
Cheapest, 50 rounds: Ammomen, Federal Agme Shok, RNL, .08 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 325 rounds: Trop Gun Shop, Aguila, RNL, .10 per round (From Last Week: +.01 Each After Unchanged (2 Weeks))

Guns for Private Sale
Rifles


.223/5.56mm (AR Pattern Semiautomatic) Average Price: $570 Last Week Avg: $600 (-) ($616 (4 Weeks), $515 (8 Weeks))
California (218, 213): ATI Omni Hybrid: $600 ($650 (11 Weeks), $425 (14 Weeks))
Texas (251, 251): DPMS: $350 (!) ($700 (4 Weeks), $350)
Pennsylvania (131, 125): Bushmaster Carbon 15: $650 ($650 (4 Weeks), $490 (15 Weeks))
Virginia (196, 186): DSA: $650 ($750 (4 Weeks), $500 (9 Weeks))
Florida (319, 307): Palmetto State Armory Carbine: $600 ($600 (7 Weeks), $450 (23 Weeks))

.308 NATO (AR-10 Pattern Semiautomatic) Average Price: $1,030 Last Week Avg: $1,190 (-) ($1,359 (3 Weeks), $953 (20 Weeks))
California (49, 46): Palmetto State Armory: $1,300 ($1,700 (16 Weeks), $1,000 (17 Weeks))
Texas (72, 66): Smith & Wesson M&P-10: $1,200 ($1,500 (19 Weeks), $900 (24 Weeks))
Pennsylvania (33, 30): DPMS LR-308T: $900 ($1,500 (4 Weeks), $800 (12 Weeks))
Virginia (45, 44): DPMS LR-308: $1,000 ($1,600 (4 Weeks), $900 (20 Weeks))
Florida (48, 47): Smith & Wesson M&P 10: $750 (!) ($1,500 (20 Weeks), $750 (8 Weeks))

7.62x39mm (AK Pattern Semiautomatic) Average Price: $534 Last Week Avg: $500 (+) ($626 (5 Weeks), $462 (19 Weeks))
California (53, 45): WASR: $599 ($700 (3 Weeks), $320 (14 Weeks))
Texas (45, 38): WASR VZ 2008 Sportster : $450 ($750 (3 Weeks), $350 (21 Weeks))
Pennsylvania (59, 57): Zastava M70B1: $600 ($750 (9 Weeks), $450 (22 Weeks))
Virginia (55, 54): VZ58 : $525 ($625 (7 Weeks), $350 (9 Weeks))
Florida (103, 100): VZ2008 : $500 ($625 (7 Weeks), $300 (19 Weeks))

30-30 Winchester Lever Action Average Price: $386 Last Week Avg: $360 (+) ($489 (12 Weeks), $320 (11 Weeks))
California (10, 10): Marlin 30AS: $375 ($400 (12 Weeks), $375 (14 Weeks))
Texas (13, 11): Marlin 336W: $400 ($550 (9 Weeks), $300 (14 Weeks))
Pennsylvania (10, 10): Marlin: $350 ($450 (9 Weeks), $250 (14 Weeks))
Virginia (8, 8): Marlin 30AS: $375 ($425 (10 Weeks), $350 (11 Weeks))
Florida (20, 23): Ted Williams: $430 ($500 (6 Weeks), $300 (13 Weeks))

Pistols

.45 caliber ACP (M1911 Pattern Semiautomatic Pistol) Average Price: $365 Last Week Avg: $414 (-) ($450 (11 Weeks), $360 (6 Weeks))
California (145, 144): Rock Island Armory 1911: $350 ($600 (8 Weeks), $350 (19 Weeks))
Texas (197, 193): Llama Max 1911: $350 ($600 (18 Weeks), $350 (5 Weeks))
Pennsylvania (127, 130): Auto Ordnance: $400 ($525 (16 Weeks), $325 (18 Weeks))
Virginia (159, 152): Rock Island Armory: $425 ($495 (11 Weeks), $250 (16 Weeks))
Florida (308, 304): Llama 1911: $300 ($450 (9 Weeks), $250 (5 Weeks))

9mm (Beretta 92FS or other Semiautomatic) Average Price: $331 Last Week Avg: $309 (+) ($336 (6 Weeks), $286 (11 Weeks))
California (149, 152): Kahr CW-9: $350 ($450 (8 Weeks), $250 (13 Weeks))
Texas (234, 222): Smith & Wesson SD9VE: $300 ($355 (7 Weeks), $235 (15 Weeks))
Pennsylvania (238, 240): Ruger SR9: $325 ($350 (24 Weeks), $240 (3 Weeks))
Virginia (160, 161): EAA Witness: $380 ($380, $275 (20 Weeks))
Florida (354, 366): Smith & Wesson SW9VE: $300 ($375 (15 Weeks), $250 (4 Weeks))

.40 caliber S&W (Glock or other semiautomatic) Average Price: $331 Last Week Avg: $342 (-) ($345 (21 Weeks), $300 (23 Weeks))
California (64, 73): Ruger SR40: $380 ($380 (2 Weeks), $250 (13 Weeks))
Texas (100, 91): Glock 22: $325 ($425 (18 Weeks), $280 (4 Weeks))
Pennsylvania (104, 100): Smith & Wesson SD40VE: $300 ($340 (21 Weeks), $250 (8 Weeks))
Virginia (87, 89): Ruger P94: $350 ($450 (6 Weeks), $275 (12 Weeks))
Florida (129, 122):Beretta 9000S: $300 ($400 (7 Weeks), $275 (21 Weeks))

Used Gun of the Week: (Ohio)
Fabrique Nationale Bolt Action Rifle Chambered in 30-06 Springfield

Chris Covert writes for Rantburg.com. He can be reached at grurkka@gmail.com

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