Ammunition and Trump Tariffs – A Good Time to Buy?

AmmoLand ^ | April 23, 2025 | Dean Weingarten

[marktwain]

President Trump has entered office at full throttle. He has been enacting significant parts of his trade policies much faster than most previous presidents. One of his stated goals is to stop unfair trade practices against the United States. Part of that effort has been the widespread use of tariffs to bring other countries to the bargaining table.

Ammunition supplies inside the United States have been fairly stable for many months. Prices have been steady or dropping. The shortages associated with the Obama years were not duplicated during the Biden years, although future importation permits for Russian ammunition were blocked by Biden executive orders. There was a failed attempt to prevent Lake City ammunition from being sold to the public. In spite of these efforts, most ammunition was generally available at prices somewhat lower than previous spikes. Most of the ammunition consumed inside the United States is manufactured inside the United States. There are exceptions. During the .22 rimfire shortage, Aquila Ammunition quadrupled its production capacity in Mexico. About half of that capacity is exported to the United States. There are several other manufacturers who export .22 rimfire to the United States, such as Armscorp from the Philippines, Ely from the UK, and Fiocci from Italy. Altogether, rimfire imports are estimated at about 10% of the consumption in the USA.

Imported centerfire cartridges and shotgun shells have found niches in the United States market. At present, many of the imports offer price advantages compared to American made products. Some European producers, such as Fiocci, Sellier & Bellot, Prvi Partizan and others offer cartridges which are not produced by American manufacturers, such as .30 Luger, 7×57 rimmed, and 9.3x72mm rounds. General tariffs on European manufactured goods could have an effect on those prices

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TOPICS:
KEYWORDS: ammunition; banglist; purchase; tariffs

[marktwain]

Ammunition prices have slowly trended downward. It may be a good time to purchase specialty ammunition before tariffs kick in.

[Worldtraveler once upon a time]

--- "A Good Time to Buy?"

Always a good time to buy.

[Lurker]

I believe PMC is manufactured in Korea. It’s good stuff and the brass is fine for reloading. I do quite a bit of that.

L

[Texas Fossil]

Thanks for the heads up.

My supply finally got caught up last year. I bought a fair amount before the sell off of Vista Outdoor inventory, and prices went up in January 2025.

You are correct, there is a slight downward trend in prices.

The value of the dollar affects the balance. Since the Biden Regime is gone, the public is in less of a panic, but sale of firearms is still more than 1 million a month.

Trump has done more in 4 months to help our nation than ComDems have done in 50 years.

And Trump has just started.

[Paal Gulli]

There is a clear principle that you can’t tax a constitutionally-enumerated right. Ergo the federal excise tax on firearms an ammunition (11% on long guns and ammo; 10% on handguns) should never have passed constitutional muster. Why aren’t we turning the noise up to 11 on this? Did you think that tax stamp on every box of ammo you bought was free?

But the FET on firearms is paid by the wholesaler so there is no stamp and you never see it on the sales receipt. So much of what shooting stuff you buy is (at least) 10% more expensive than it should be because the Feds are lining their pockets at yours and the US Constitution’s expense.

That federal excise tax should have been repealed or challenged in SCOTUS ages ago.

https://www.ttb.gov/firearms/taxes-and-tax-exemptions

“The tax rates are 10% of the sale price of pistols and revolvers; 11% of the sale price of firearms other than pistols and revolvers, shells and cartridges. See 26 USC Section 4181(a); 27 CFR Section 53.61(a).”

[gundog]

A bit of history....

I’ve seen Pittman-Robertson described as a tax that sportsmen and outdoorsmen wanted.

[tumblindice]

Remember the Glaser Safety Slug? I was happy to learn about the Corbon Urban Defense round.
Same polymer tip—hollow point performance, but solid, not little pellets. Good penetration.
Believe any 1911 types finicky with “ashtray” hollow points shouldn’t have trouble digesting these. A little pricey, but ...

[ridesthemiles]

CORRECT-—

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A “BAD TIME TO BUY AMMO”.

[Worldtraveler once upon a time]

---- THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A “BAD TIME TO BUY AMMO”.

Yup.