Last week Gander Mtn. had Federal 525 bulk packs for $22 in Rogers, MN. I had gone to Mpls. and stopped at Cabelas while visiting there. Cabelas did not have any 22LR, very poor selection of bullets or powder.
When we left I drove past a new Gander Mtn. which had a grand opening banner out, so we swung in. They had 2 tables, 4 x4 stacked 6 high with these bulk packs, but a limit of one only. There was a bit of a flap over them. . There was a donkey customer who was all upset because the ad that was placed in the local paper said there was a limit of 10 boxes per customer, he was demanding 10.
I asked a employee if they had any powder and bullets. They are kept under lock and key. I got 2 lbs. of imr 8208 and 2 boxes of 6 mm v-max 87 gr.
Powder was $29 a lb. and bullets were $23 a box of 100. I didn't really consider those scalping prices, more like inflation.
When we do come back to a normal supply, prices will be remain high. Just like the fuel we buy, we have shown the industry we are willing to pay the high prices. The shooting community has grown by leaps and bounds. The newbies never experienced the low prices that we have. They are willing to pay the high dollar price, its as simple as that. Supply and demand drove the price up. New shooters will only welcome a stable supply and the high price will be the new norm which they will agree with.
We that belong to the shooting community prior to 2008 are in the minority now. We can rant all we want about the old days, but the newbies will only listen to the rant and pass it off as old fools who are entertaining to listen to.