I spent about an hour on saturday afternoon calling the local gunshops about .35 Rem ammo in the hopes of finding some that weren't marked up while they were sitting on the shelf, which it seems is a common practice around here. Out of about 7 places that I called, about half were sold out only one was under the average price of $22.
One guy I called still had some at under $17 a box, and another guy I called quoted me $30 a box, so there is still a broad high/low difference in price. I suppose it depends on when they ordered last.
I can also report that the guy who had them at under $17 a box looked at me real funny when he checked the price he will have to pay for his next order from his supplier. ( I am guessing that I bought them way under what his next bill will be) And the guy who had them at $30 a box and I couldn't come to terms. But we did have a nice 10 minute conversation about future ammo and component prices and availability.
Looking at prices on the shelf for all calibers shows a substantial price increase, with more likely to come. Depending on what you shoot, you could be looking at $2.00 to $2.50 a pop or more. I think I am fortunate to find those .35's for under $1 a shot. If you can afford a 10 box case of your favorite caliber, that might be the way to go at this point. Last year at this time I bought a 10 box case of .308 150gr, which now seems to be paying off.
Rumors about higher Ammo prices began circulating about 5 years ago, which is why I started preparing for this almost 3 years ago. I was up on everything I own except .35 Rem.
Now I can die happy.
