Alternative to Walmart for ammo purchase?

Status
Not open for further replies.
I do FFL orders and often Target Sports is lower on some ammo than we can get elsewhere.
I will not, however, buy range ammo just because it is simply cheap. Blazer 9mm throws a fireball that Aguila doesn't. I'll choose the slightly more expensive stuff that acts more civilized.

If Walmart ammo was $5 less per case, I think I might simply shoot the non-Walmart ammo $5 slower, if it bothered me.
 
Maybe this isn't the case among many people of THR, but why are so many people seem uncomfortable about ordering online, if they are within the operating radius of Fedex or UPS etc? Many state that they only want to pay cash and buy it locally.

Do they actually believe that the US govt. goes to the trouble of monitoring and documenting people's ammo orders (i.e. > 5,000 rds of centerfire./year, or whatever...), and one day, will send agents to seize the ammo, even if most of the ammo has been used up?

Even with shipping, the total price is a fair bit less than the total price (with 9% tax) at nearby Academy.

*A fairly recent order I made (the Amm. Store) from OH to TN had Zero State Sales Tax.*
 
Last edited:
If Wal Mart is going to stop selling handgun ammo and 223/556 then so be it. The demand for ammo from Wal Mart will go someplace else. The demand for the ammo will still be there. Wal Mart is not keeping us from buying ammo. It is only changing the place some people buy ammo and probably for the good.
 
Maybe this isn't the case among many people of THR, but why are so many people afraid to order online, if they are within the operating radius of Fedex or UPS etc?

Do they actually believe that the US govt. goes to the trouble of monitoring and documenting people's ammo orders (i.e. > 5,000 rds of centerfire./year, or whatever...), and one day, will send agents to seize the ammo, even if most of the ammo has been used up?

Even with shipping, the total price is a fair bit less than the total price (with 9% tax) at nearby Academy.

*A fairly recent order I made (the Amm. Store) from OH to TN had Zero State Sales Tax.*

I can't speak for others... But here in NY State, the SAFE act put an end to online ammo purchases. Actually, we can still make online ammo purchases, but it has to be delivered to an FFL and picked up. The FFL's charge a fee for this service just like they would for a firearm transfer (and rightly so - their time is valuable of course). But between the fee and shipping, any potential savings disappears pretty quickly. So it's more hassle, costs more... really not much point. Frankly, it's a rotten situation all around.

Like many others here I saw the writing on the wall and got into reloading earlier this year. But I also liked the Walmart Federal brass 9mm (I think they call it Federal "Champion") that the OP is talking about. For whatever reason, I found it burned cleaner than the Winchester white box. Because I liked it and started off using it, that's the brass I had on hand when I started loading. All my recipes were worked up using that brass, and it's all I really use at the moment.

So I now find myself with my cheap supply of factory ammo cut off, my supply of reloading brass cut off, and no means to replace that source with cheap online purchases. Locally, Dicks Sporting Goods/Field and Stream are really the only other stores that sell ammo, along with a half dozen small LGS's. I'd rather not give Dicks my business anymore, and I've found the LGS ammo pricing to be absurdly high around here for some reason. Interesting that others are finding LGS pricing to be lower than Walmart.

I think I'm just going to have to dial my loads back a touch and work them back up with different brass, and stop being so picky about headstamps. I'll also probably have to break down and actually buy a pile of once-fired brass or something too. At least that (along with all the other reloading components) I can still order online and have delivered to my door. Frustrating times...
 
Anyone who shoots and is not reloading by now I believe is a fool. The writing is on the wall if we will jut read it and it doesn't bode well for us. I haven't bought any factory ammo in over 8 years and I shoot a lot. Well I did buy some CMP Greek.30-06 but that was a gift for my son.
 
I said BRASS in my post. Fiocchi was one brand off the top of my head.

I shared my source, care to share yours and help the OP out?

Really not hard to beat Walmart’s price online. Don’t know how you are not able to find 9mm for 0.17/round shipped?

https://gun.deals/product/browning-fmj-9mm-124-grain-centerfire-ammunition-150-rounds-2499
$0.17/round free S&H over $25

https://gun.deals/product/cci-blaze...-rnds-loose-pack-17499-shipped-wcode-fs181015
$0.17/round shipped with code

https://gun.deals/product/sellier-b...luger-115gr-180-shipped-after-filler-code-m8y
$0.17/round shipped

Took me about 1 minute to find those, one really isn’t trying hard or doesn’t know about AmmoSeek.com or gun.deals
 
Harriw:
Even before NY's "Safe" Act, and the CA legislative insanity, a number of people at SKSboards and other websites stated that they don't want any records of their ammo purchases.
 
Some online suppliers ship for free, which makes them fairly competitive. You still have to compare prices, but I haven't bought
much ammo over the counter in five years.
 
I never bought ammo in bulk from Walmart, it was only when I had made plans to go shooting a day or two before and didn't have time to order ammo online and didn't have any ammo on hand or loaded up. Now that I'm set up for .38/.357 I don't need to go to Walmart anymore as if it's a caliber I don't load (generally semi auto) I'll buy that online during a sale or discount in large quantities so I always have some on hand.

My alternative for those times when I don't have the ammo and don't have time to wait for an order to come in is the LGS. Yeah, a bit more money but when I'm only buying a box or two, it's not gonna put me in the poor house.

One company I'd like to see get involved with selling ammo is Harbor Freight. With how they buy direct from manufacturers, I could see them selling 9mm for $5 a box of 50.
 
I would like to see the NRA start entering the shooting hard goods business; there are all kinds of business options they could entertain with their membership numbers and I do believe that their membership would increase dramatically as any retail squeeze increases. Lots of members and lots of clout where they decide to use it.
 
SGammo and TargetSportsUSA are the two I've used for online ammo purchases. My bulk purchases have all been .22LR and 9mm. My $0.02 on online purchases is that it only makes sense if you're buying in bulk, between the shipping costs and the hassle of dealing with delivery. (My location means that I don't want to leave a case of 9mm sitting out for the porch pirates.)
 
Anyone who shoots and is not reloading by now I believe is a fool. The writing is on the wall if we will jut read it and it doesn't bode well for us. I haven't bought any factory ammo in over 8 years and I shoot a lot. Well I did buy some CMP Greek.30-06 but that was a gift for my son.

I really thought it was bad enough that SF has declared I'm a terrorist. But now some stranger is calling me a "Fool?" Really? You do not know me and you never will and you really do NOT want to know me. I have many reasons not to reload, one being I don't need to since I have the money to purchase as much ammo as I need; the other is I don't purchase ammo from Wally world, and I do not believe ammo will suddenly disappear off the face of the earth. If you have that big of a concern, maybe it's time to move to a more gun friendly state.

If you want to reload, I sure don't mind, so why should you go to the extreme and call those who don't do what you do, fools?

And if you haven't thought it out, if somehow ammo for civilians suddenly disappears off the shelves of all retailers in the USA, I would almost guarantee the same people will make sure your reloading supplies are gone too. Do you really think they will allow you to reload those nasty rounds?

But you will have a nice shiny reloading machine to play with!
 
I also thought fool was a bit tough language. But I can handle it, cause, I'm tough. Perhaps foolish or dumber than smart would have been more appropriate? Never posted anything on 1st impulse myself:scrutiny:


Ok...back to ammo! And under the leaky umbrella of recent retails sellers saying, they are not going to be retail sellers anymore. And worse, they WILL take you $$ and donate it to organizations AGAINST you.

Soooo.... if I cannot find ammo online except a wee wee bit more, I will not wee wee about it. I proudly proclaim, it may be the cost of FREEDOM. That said, PSA, AimSurplus,SGAmmo,Brownells, and yes even MidwayUSA has ammo SALES and CLEARANCES. Those sale ads, wOw sometimes dirt cheep. And, BlackFriday sales are a coming up:)...

Changing ammo supply is NOTHING in comparison to what the antis want to do, and are doing; best to invest your time into phoning your Fed electeds instead of worrying over $.0000003 per cartridge dif.
They came back into offices Washington DC just Monday, call early call often, the 2A you save just might be your own. And kids. And grandkids. And...
 
omg, we are still discussing this Wal Mart ammo thing ?
I really hate when people are complaining about the prices of non-essentials.
I am assuming that most of us here (myself included), have enough ammo not only for home defense, but for a shtf scenario as well.
Going to the range is a hobby, and hobby does not always come cheap. After I accumulated enough ammo for those two scenarios mentioned above, and that was several years ago, I buy ammo on a " one visit to the range" basis. If I have time and money at the moment, I will buy ammo and hit the range.
On a grand scheme of things, even spending few extra bucks on ammo, buying it from local range is OK.
p.s. you can still buy 22LR very cheap (if you find that caliber satisfactory)
 
I got to Walmart from time to time to get all sorts of things. I have never purchased anything firearms related from them. After reading all the posts I might have a reason, but looking back I didn't have any reason or axe to grind by not buying from them. Maybe it was because there are other sources just as cheap. Maybe it was dealing with the firearms counter. Never really gave it much thought.

I always figured if gun and gun product makers made each state comply with the same laws as their citizens maybe we would get some traction of some issues. Maybe not. But worth a try. For example not selling mags to NY State Agencies that have more than 10 rounds.
 
Lots of folks on here like to talk about how online is so much better than WM on ammo and it's mostly not true.

I was buying the same ammo the OP was but 1k rounds at a time. Cost out the door was around $175.

Since last Wednesday I was searching everywhere, all the links provided on here, and I could not find a comparable deal. Shipping is something be aware of. Some sites add it in and "claim" free shipping and others advertise a reasonable price but you pay shipping. 1k rounds of 9mm isn't light.

I have settled on the Sportsman Guide of which I was already a member. I can get a couple of different brand name brass cased 9mm for around $170 shipped, which was about what I was paying at WM. They also have some great deals on guns.


Thats my .02

Brother GoB,

Couple questions...

1. Ammo at a local store...are you considering the total cost including tax, gas, and time (the trip was simply for ammo..)

2. Are you counting trips where you went to WM or elsewhere only to find the ammo you went for was out of stock and had to drive to another place?

3. Are you counting the other junk you bought that you saw at the store you would not have bought otherwise (candy/drink/etc.)

For me, a trip to WM or Academy is an inconvenience at best and a hassle at worst. I honestly hate those places. I do go there (well, just Academy now...) for clay targets and shotgun shells, but I much prefer to comparison shop in the evening over a cold beverage on an iPad and let the UPS guy deliver the order in a few days to my door.

Anyway, back to ammo...I may not get a much better price than you, but I guarantee I have WAY MORE options to choose from than you do at any single store.

So be sure you are capturing all your costs and then tell me how much that WM ammo cost you. I’ll bet you spent at least another $3-5 in fuel and taxes for that box of 250 rounds, bringing the cost per round significantly.

For $0.20 per round delivered to my home, I can generally buy (in bulk) CCI, Fiocchi, S&B, Magtec, Winchester, and Geco brass case ammo.

Not trying to call you out, just want to make sure you are taking all true costs into account.

YMMV
 
omg, we are still discussing this Wal Mart ammo thing ?
I really hate when people are complaining about the prices of non-essentials.
I am assuming that most of us here (myself included), have enough ammo not only for home defense, but for a shtf scenario as well.
Going to the range is a hobby, and hobby does not always come cheap. After I accumulated enough ammo for those two scenarios mentioned above, and that was several years ago, I buy ammo on a " one visit to the range" basis. If I have time and money at the moment, I will buy ammo and hit the range.
On a grand scheme of things, even spending few extra bucks on ammo, buying it from local range is OK.
p.s. you can still buy 22LR very cheap (if you find that caliber satisfactory)
Some of us shoot a lot though, and consider it an essential life skill and one that requires very regular maintenance, not a non-essential. It is fun and strictly a hobby to some folks, but not all.

But I hear what you are saying about people complaining about the cost. There are other much more viable options than Walmart. But that's all we are doing here, listing them off to help people find good alternatives..

Reloading is the best option in my opinion.
 
At the Wal-Mart we shop at has all of rifle and handgun ammunition locked behind a glass display case.

They also have fishing reels along with some fishing supplies and battery operated lanterns along with some other stuff locked in glass display cases.

I suppose they choose to do this because most of the time there is not a associate working in that department or even in that side of the store. Spending 10 minutes to find a associate to tell them I need help and another 10- 20 minutes waiting for someone with the keys to the display cases isn’t worth it to me.

The last time I went to the Sporting Goods Department was earlier this Spring and I was wanting to buy at least one battery operated lantern in preparation for the usual power failures we have doing severe thunderstorms. All of the lanterns were locked in a glass display case. Even worse it was not possible to read information on the boxes for the lumens rating and type and number of batteries needed. As is usual there was not a employee insight. So they lost a sale of lanterns along with a bunch of batteries.

Of course there was not a associate to be seen in that side of the store.

The bean counters look at the sale results and conclude that there is not enough customer demand to continue to carry those orders items. Of course they never actually go to the stores and look at how the merchandise is displayed and lack of employees to help the customers.
 
Last edited:
Maybe this isn't the case among many people of THR, but why are so many people seem uncomfortable about ordering online, if they are within the operating radius of Fedex or UPS etc? Many state that they only want to pay cash and buy it locally.

Do they actually believe that the US govt. goes to the trouble of monitoring and documenting people's ammo orders (i.e. > 5,000 rds of centerfire./year, or whatever...), and one day, will send agents to seize the ammo, even if most of the ammo has been used up?

Even with shipping, the total price is a fair bit less than the total price (with 9% tax) at nearby Academy.

*A fairly recent order I made (the Amm. Store) from OH to TN had Zero State Sales Tax.*

Legally, you are required to voluntarily pay it. It is called a Use Tax
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top