Maybe today's ammo prices aren't so out of line?

S

spacecoast

New member
I ran into this "retro" box of .22LR (full :) ) with paperwork inside dating it from 1979. Using $10 as a real-world price in 1979 (assuming the rounds inside are overpriced by 20% due to the cool tin box and the small store it was probably sold at), those 475 rounds cost over $25 in today's dollars... still less than what you find at Wal-Mart - if you could find them of course.

photo3_zpsf79e1dde.jpg
 
The era of inexpensive ammo that we enjoyed in the recent past isn't all that normal.
With the exception of military surplus, after wars, in just a few calibers, ammo has more usually been kind of pricey.
The main reason I got into reloading, way back, was simply because factory ammo was way too expensive to actually go shooting much.
Relatively speaking, todays ammo, thought of as over priced, is probably more affordable for most folks than it was decades ago.
 
I base things on minimum wage,,,

I base things on minimum wage,,,
In 1968 Minimum wage was $1.15/hour,,,
A box of 50 .22 LR cartridges was (IIRC) 85 cents.

That means for an hours work,,,
I could buy 1.35 boxes of .22 ammo.

Today the minimum wage is $7.25/hour,,,
Last week I paid $2.47 for a box of 50 CCI Blazer .22 cartridges.

That means for an hours work,,,
I could buy 2.93 boxes of .22 ammo.

looking at it this way,,,
.22 ammo is cheaper than when I graduated high school.

Go figure.

Aarond

.
 
My father has a few dozen of those Remington tins, my grandfather probably still has a few cases, and I have a couple tins in my rimfire supply. I believe all of ours are from 1976/1977. (Mine are, anyway. I'm still debating whether or not to send in the coupons for the 1978 calendars. ;))


Our price tags range from $4.79 to $6.29. Methinks the original seller of your tin was gouging.


Regardless.... It's some of the best rimfire ammo I've ever had. It really makes you hate the trash they're peddling these days. :rolleyes:
 
Where I lived, Remington Golden Bullets were $0.39 back in 68...and that was single box (50) price, bricks were cheaper, per box.

How does that change your numbers?
 
When I moved to Houston in 1990 a 550 round box of Federal bulk pack .22 was $8.88 at Walmart. Last year, before the ammo crunch, it was about $14-$15.

If you go to www.measuringworth.com and click on Relative Values - US and put 1990 and $8.88, and ask for 2012 (latest year available) you get about $15-$16 depending on which of the measures of value used. Seems fishy but there it is.

Of course, there is no data for 2013 and no accounting for the ammo panic, but I think the conclusion is that today's prices aren't really out of line, they just seem like it because the currency is so degraded.
 
This thread just makes me wish for today's wages and yesterdays prices.
When I started reloading a lb of powder was $3.99
I have a few old cans of powder is store parts in bought from stores that have been out of business for over 30 years.
Time sure fly's when ya having fun.
 
Ammo prices started to fall in the late 80s and early 90s. Before that ammo, especially centerfire ammo, was much more expensive than it is today, adjusted for inflation.
 
Where I lived, Remington Golden Bullets were $0.39 back in 68...and that was single box (50) price, bricks were cheaper, per box.

How does that change your numbers?
Click to expand...

Using a 1968 inflation deflator of 21.02 (2009=100), that would put the price of 50 bullets at $1.99, 500 at $20 (less some bulk discount). So not that much different than today. Govt.-based inflation deflators are debatable, of course.
 
When I was in high school in 1975, my friends and I would go blasting with our Ruger 10/22's.We would buy bricks of Remington Mohawks for about $5 at the local Woolworth.
I still have that Ruger and recently found the manual with the sales receipt stapled to it, $76.15 tax included. I probably over paid at that time.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top