Alternative to Walmart for ammo purchase?

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With the massive explosion of internet sales, states are finally realizing how much revenue they are losing and most - if not all - will soon require companies to collect that tax.
 
The bad thing about them is they hit you for taxes now. SGammo doesn't, just shipping charge
It depends on your state. If your state has a sales tax, it likely has a "use tax"....meaning if the seller didn't collect your states sales tax, then you are legally obligated to remit the equivalent use tax to your state.

As of today, Palmetto isn't collecting sales tax for Texas. Mostly because Texas has been a little slow to apprise out of state businesses on how to calculate and remit those taxes.
 
It depends on your state. If your state has a sales tax, it likely has a "use tax"....meaning if the seller didn't collect your states sales tax, then you are legally obligated to remit the equivalent use tax to your state.

As of today, Palmetto isn't collecting sales tax for Texas. Mostly because Texas has been a little slow to apprise out of state businesses on how to calculate and remit those taxes.
And that will be a nightmare if online sellers have to collect the tax based on the total sales tax and not just the state portion. Almost every city and county add different percentages
 
Understood. I reload all my ammo. Reloading supplies aren't available at Walmart.

My local Walmarts both carry primers, bullets, powder, dies, and a bunch of RCBS equipment. I buy all of my Hornady XTPs from them. My habit of late has been stopping by the gun counter and grabbing two or three trays of CCI small pistol primers when I went in for groceries. Now, I'll start buying those items from the LGS for a couple of bucks more. But, the local LGS is just the gun section of a store called Tri-State Outfitters, which also sells hardware, outdoor clothing, housewares, fishing supplies, etc.
 
Online ammo sales are not the answer for those of us who are casual shooters or limited income.

I typically will do my grocery shopping at Walmart and swing by the ammo counter and pick up a box or two of ammo and some primers. That's all I can afford most times.

I went online in search of .450 Bushmaster since the cases are so expensive, it makes sense to just buy loaded ammo and reload the spent cases. Sportsman's Warehouse is the ONLY place in my region that sells that caliber, and only the Hornady Black flavor. They are 50 miles from me. Box of those, if they have them in stock, is $30. I went online and the best price was... $30. But I also had to pay $12 in shipping for that box. Still cheaper than gas, but I will just continue to pick up a box from SW when I happen to be in that town for something else, which I will be next week to visit the Home Depot for materials for a bathroom remodel.

The bottom line is that not everyone has the same resources, financial or retail-wise, than everyone else.

Please stop declaring that online ammo is the solution for everyone and that Walmart turning anti-RKBA is not a big deal.
 
Publix grocery chain asks customers to not openly carry gun
Publix is a Florida based chain. We shop there all the time. Probably the best Supermarket in the USA.


I guess I will nave to buy my food someplace else now!

Oh wait, there is no open carry in Florida! What do I do??

Guess you folks in Georgia, North Carolina, Alabama and Virginia. will have to boycott for us!:uhoh:


https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-brie...chain-asks-customers-to-not-openly-carry-guns
 
I’m right with ya OP, got no advice. I added the Ammoseek app and all these “good” deals are on ammo (tula,wolf) that I won’t buy so....
Fin Feather Fur. Always has good deals on 9mm. I think $8-50 now. Sign up for their email alerts and they do a magnificent 7 deal every Tuesday. I think it went as low as $6 for Aluminum federal.
 
Depending on the caliber, the whole 1st page and more can be only steel cased.

Click on Advance Search Options and you can filter for bass case only.


On a side note,
IMO, looking only for lowest Internet pricing is worst for your local economy than buying from your local big box store
.
Couldn't agree more. We have a large mom and pop store that went from one very small store to a larger store and now like 6 stores. Prices went up a little bit and its a little bit of a drive but I am keeping people in my state and county working with spending an extra .50ct on a box of ammo and my sales tax. I don't agree with what Wal-Mart is doing because it wont solve anything but just like most of the gun community who is not willing to shop there, there is a large portion of anti gun people who refuse to shop there because of the multiple shootings that happened in their stores.
 
Support your local LGS. They need your business and you will be thanking them if/when internet sales of ammo is no longer allowed.

If have very mixed feelings about supporting LGS’s.

I believe LGS’s, like many other small Mom & Pop shops, need to rethink their business models.

Speaking only from MY POV, it is an inconvenience for me to search out and shop the vast majority of LGS’s around me. From my experience:

1. Their hours suck! They are mostly open Mon-Fri from 0900 - 1700, and the ones That do open on Saturday close by noon

2. Their stock is hit and miss, and limited. Folks out there treasure hunting, I get it. That’s not me. I go in for something specific, and most times, I’m disappointed. And as far as ammo goes, if I’m looking for more than a few boxes, it’s way more expensive with much less selection.

3. Their “counter people” can be very opinionated. I get they probably deal with clown customers, but when I go in and ask if they have any Glock OEM magazines and they start telling me how good the Korean mags are and I tell them “thanks but no thanks” and they keep it up a couple more times, I’m done and leave.

Added: I am am NOT anti small business. I only eat (as possible) at local restaurants...no big chains. And I shop small hardware stores a lot.

But I work until 1700 daily and gym afterwards, so if you close after 1800 and aren’t open Saturday, you lost me.

Not looking to anger anyone, just my experience. YMMV.
 
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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.
Hello Sir,
I feel that for most of us in gun community and general population (including myself), hitting a gym regularly instead of a gun range would be much more beneficial "essential life skill that requires regular maintenance" :)
So, unless you are law enforcement or in certain government agency, to me this is just the hobby b/c it is fun.
Now, if you carry a gun as a part of the profession, I would assume that your employer (government) will pay for those range visits and ammo.
Best regards,
dekibg
 
Fin Feather Fur. Always has good deals on 9mm. I think $8-50 now. Sign up for their email alerts and they do a magnificent 7 deal every Tuesday. I think it went as low as $6 for Aluminum federal.
yes Ohiohunter2014 !
FFF has everything you need. Their store in Middleburg Heights is super nice.
 
Hello Sir,
So, unless you are law enforcement or in certain government agency, to me this is just the hobby b/c it is fun.
Now, if you carry a gun as a part of the profession, I would assume that your employer (government) will pay for those range visits and ammo.
Best regards,
dekibg
Respectfully, there are a lot of people who have everyday uses of firearms that do not have a profession that require one, or even allow one. I am one such person, and the fact that I'm prohibited from carrying a gun on the job is silly.

My point is that for folks like me, who live and work in a rural place, there are large predators around that can be dangerous. There are at times sick and injured animals that need to be humanely dispatched. I hit a big buck last fall and it was suffering. As I walked towards it to put it down and end its suffering, it already expired, but I was prepared. And for some of us spending time in the woods is a very regular thing that happens in our work, but also in our personal lives. I live in a small town in the woods, and have animals roaming through my yard every single day.

I am alone in the woods a great deal actually between my job and my private life. Additionally, law enforcement is a very small presence in a lot of remote rural places, and cell reception will not always allow you to make contact with them at all. There are many places where I live that calling for help isn't an option.

I also venture to the city when need be, and there is crime there. I actually feel I have more need of a gun around people than animals in a lot of cases.

So for many of us myself included, gun handling and proficient marksmanship is not just a hobby. It's an everyday part of life, and when that skill is needed, we want to ensure our own safety and the safety of others by knowing what we are doing. That requires regular practice. No one is paying for it but us in many cases.

So non-reloaders tend to care about the cost of ammo. And reloaders buy components in bulk so we get better deals. As far as the percentages go, no comment. You may be exactly right that the majority of shooters see it as a hobby.

But we don't all do the same things, or lead the same lifestyles.
 
Publix grocery chain asks customers to not openly carry gun
Publix is a Florida based chain. We shop there all the time. Probably the best Supermarket in the USA.


I guess I will nave to buy my food someplace else now!

Oh wait, there is no open carry in Florida! What do I do??

Guess you folks in Georgia, North Carolina, Alabama and Virginia. will have to boycott for us!:uhoh:


https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-brie...chain-asks-customers-to-not-openly-carry-guns
Don't forget they're in Alabama also.- personally, I find OC to not be a wise choice in crowded stores; in the field is one thing altogether different.
 
Walmart did have some pretty nice deals with some rollback pricing incentives. I bought some 9mm Federal brass just before the background check in CA went in and with tax it was less than SGA coming in at $167 for 1K rounds. The LGS typically run $.18-$.25+/round before taxes. LAX Ammo that is cross town has the next best deals. I really miss buying from SGA which was my main go to.
 
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.
This is no longer true, and hasn't been for several years. The long-and-short is that the database for ammo background checks ended up being too expensive to develop, so the state legislature de-funded it. It's still in the law and could be activated later, but until such time as it becomes operational, direct-to-consumer online sales are legal.

https://www.nysenate.gov/newsroom/p...-young/safe-act-ammunition-database-suspended

The problem is that many (most?) online retailers don't know or care to learn the details, and so will not ship directly to NY customers. There are some who will, though, including some of those named above in this thread.
 
But I work until 1700 daily and gym afterwards, so if you close after 1800 and aren’t open Saturday, you lost me.

Ha! You made me laugh at myself, Buzznrose. I’m long time retired, live out of town, and detest going to gunstores (which there aren’t any within 30 miles anyway) on Saturdays; it seems like on Saturdays the gunstores are usually crowded with know-little, first time gun buyers. So my wife (also retired) and I usually try to do our gun/ammo/reloading shopping during the week.

However, last Monday we drove clear into town just to go to a fairly new gunstore our daughter’s fiancé has been talking up. The darned place was closed! The sign on the door said they’re only open Tuesday thru Saturday, and I was so mad I didn’t even bother to look at the hours.:mad:

So, when I read your post, I had to laugh. It reminded me that most people probably aren’t like me – retired, would rather sit home and watch TV on Saturdays than deal with the crowds, and get cranky(er) when stores aren’t open on my schedule.:D
 
This thread just reminded me that I need to go to Wal-Mart after work and see if they clearance any long guns and grab some steak sauce and salad. :)

Wal-Mart isn't a gun or ammo store and I don't really understand why everyone is so up in arms and willing to pay more for the same or get even less and in the end screw over their local economy. When I lived in the city they closed our Walmart because no one wanted to go there because it was a hoodlum hang out and dump so they packed up and moved to the township 20min away. A lot of people went without a job for awhile because of the distance it created and the store didn't actually open until a few months after the old one closed. Ohio used to have large factories and steel mills, large malls, etc and now everything is purchased online to save $1-2. I shop online if a local store doesn't have it or over $10. Anything over $10-15 gets purchased online and accessories purchased locally. I need some hunting supplies I cant find locally so I will order most of it online, but the remainder will be locally. Slowly but surely we will kill our economies and our cities to follow a crowd. :(. Now, if Midwayusa or Midsouth Shooters pulled some crap with ammo then I can see being up in arms, but like a poster in another thread said, I am not rich and cannot afford to pay $3 for a gallon of Milk at Kroger or Heinens so I grocery shop at Walmart. They are getting rid of ammo, which no one seems to buy anyway and don't want open carry in their stores. I love guns but every time I see one of these OC yahoo's walking around Walmart with a belt full of magazines it makes me nervous and the first thing that enters my mind is this guy a good guy or bad guy and that's the good thoughts that enter my mind? OC in a crowded store or shopping center/mall seems more of an ego stroke than anything else. Cover the damn thing up like a responsible adult, get a permit like a responsible adult and if your that scared to go to the store than I would move. We are our own worst enemies when it comes to this stuff. Oh, Walmart stopped selling ammo that I bitch about not being able to get because they don't staff the gun counter, that no one visits anyways, or priced to high so I'm going to screw over everyone else that works there and not buy their food or other items and order my toilet paper from Amazon cause I'm pissed about some ammo that I don't even buy anyways. WTH is wrong with everyone!

OP-Buy local to support the economy in your state, city or county and do what you wanna do and don't be a follower. I didn't like Wal-mart 15yrs ago because of low wages, no benefits, etc. I now have family and friends who make $10-15hr and have benefits and Wal-mart also provides a nominal discount to their employees. Until they say no guns at all or actually start blaming guns for crimes like the real anti's do ill be shopping there. When they do come out with the no guns at all or anti gun I will move onto another store.

Its pretty sad we shut down Remembering 9/11 posts that help us come together and Wal-mart sales threads but nonsense like these Wal-Mart threads fill the page daily.

Okay I'm done. Ill take a 2 day ban please. :)
 
If have very mixed feelings about supporting LGS’s.

I believe LGS’s, like many other small Mom & Pop shops, need to rethink their business models.

Speaking only from MY POV, it is an inconvenience for me to search out and shop the vast majority of LGS’s around me. From my experience:

1. Their hours suck! They are mostly open Mon-Fri from 0900 - 1700, and the ones That do open on Saturday close by noon

2. Their stock is hit and miss, and limited. Folks out there treasure hunting, I get it. That’s not me. I go in for something specific, and most times, I’m disappointed. And as far as ammo goes, if I’m looking for more than a few boxes, it’s way more expensive with much less selection.

3. Their “counter people” can be very opinionated. I get they probably deal with clown customers, but when I go in and ask if they have any Glock OEM magazines and they start telling me how good the Korean mags are and I tell them “thanks but no thanks” and they keep it up a couple more times, I’m done and leave.

Added: I am am NOT anti small business. I only eat (as possible) at local restaurants...no big chains. And I shop small hardware stores a lot.

But I work until 1700 daily and gym afterwards, so if you close after 1800 and aren’t open Saturday, you lost me.

Not looking to anger anyone, just my experience. YMMV.
Nailed it.
The local gun stores around me could put me out of business tomorrow if they:
-treated customers better
-didn't charge $30-50 for a simple transfer
-had working man hours

I've been in business for eleven years and have averaged 2,000 firearm transfers a year in that time. That means the LGS have missed out on not just transfers, but the traffic that 20,000 customer visits brings to their store. And they wonder why people are buying off the internet.

Give your business to a business that earns it. It doesn't matter if its a kitchen table dealer, a mom and pop or a worldwide conglomerate.....buy from the business that gives you the best service/price/selection. It doesn't have to be all three and buying "local" doesn't necessarily mean small. Guess who else is local? Your local WalMart, your local Academy, your local Cabelas.....all employ your neighbors and contribute to YOUR local economy. Everyone loves to rag on WalMart, Bud's, Academy, Palmetto and the internet killing off the local mom and pop gun shop. Many are ignorant of the history of the gun business in this country when Sears, JC Penney, Montgomery Ward, Dillards, Target, KMart and other giant retailers carried guns and ammunition. The more, the better.
 
This thread just reminded me that I need to go to Wal-Mart after work and see if they clearance any long guns and grab some steak sauce and salad. :)

Wal-Mart isn't a gun or ammo store and I don't really understand why everyone is so up in arms and willing to pay more for the same or get even less and in the end screw over their local economy. When I lived in the city they closed our Walmart because no one wanted to go there because it was a hoodlum hang out and dump so they packed up and moved to the township 20min away. A lot of people went without a job for awhile because of the distance it created and the store didn't actually open until a few months after the old one closed. Ohio used to have large factories and steel mills, large malls, etc and now everything is purchased online to save $1-2. I shop online if a local store doesn't have it or over $10. Anything over $10-15 gets purchased online and accessories purchased locally. I need some hunting supplies I cant find locally so I will order most of it online, but the remainder will be locally. Slowly but surely we will kill our economies and our cities to follow a crowd. :(. Now, if Midwayusa or Midsouth Shooters pulled some crap with ammo then I can see being up in arms, but like a poster in another thread said, I am not rich and cannot afford to pay $3 for a gallon of Milk at Kroger or Heinens so I grocery shop at Walmart. They are getting rid of ammo, which no one seems to buy anyway and don't want open carry in their stores. I love guns but every time I see one of these OC yahoo's walking around Walmart with a belt full of magazines it makes me nervous and the first thing that enters my mind is this guy a good guy or bad guy and that's the good thoughts that enter my mind? OC in a crowded store or shopping center/mall seems more of an ego stroke than anything else. Cover the damn thing up like a responsible adult, get a permit like a responsible adult and if your that scared to go to the store than I would move. We are our own worst enemies when it comes to this stuff. Oh, Walmart stopped selling ammo that I bitch about not being able to get because they don't staff the gun counter, that no one visits anyways, or priced to high so I'm going to screw over everyone else that works there and not buy their food or other items and order my toilet paper from Amazon cause I'm pissed about some ammo that I don't even buy anyways. WTH is wrong with everyone!

OP-Buy local to support the economy in your state, city or county and do what you wanna do and don't be a follower. I didn't like Wal-mart 15yrs ago because of low wages, no benefits, etc. I now have family and friends who make $10-15hr and have benefits and Wal-mart also provides a nominal discount to their employees. Until they say no guns at all or actually start blaming guns for crimes like the real anti's do ill be shopping there. When they do come out with the no guns at all or anti gun I will move onto another store.

Its pretty sad we shut down Remembering 9/11 posts that help us come together and Wal-mart sales threads but nonsense like these Wal-Mart threads fill the page daily.

Okay I'm done. Ill take a 2 day ban please. :)

They didn't just stop selling guns and some ammo. Their CEO is actively pushing for more gun control, making him IMO one of the real anti's you referenced. We all need to make our own decisions in regards to who we support with our money, but I will not give my money to a store who's CEO is pushing for more restrictions on our 2A rights.
 
Academy if you have one close. They have decent prices if you do not want to order online. Buying in bulk is the best way. Bought a bunch from targetsports.com free shipping on bulk.
That's the problem, closest one to me is 150 miles away as with similar sports stores while there are four Walmarts within a 10 mile radius of me. Except a Rural King 20 miles away thankfully
 
George P: if TN wants to tax me for that case of 7.62x39 ammo, they can bill me. The bureaucrats in Nashville seem unaware of my “bootleg” ammo.

If OH had required it, about four months ago, I would imagine that the online transaction would have included a tax?
 
This is no longer true, and hasn't been for several years. The long-and-short is that the database for ammo background checks ended up being too expensive to develop, so the state legislature de-funded it. It's still in the law and could be activated later, but until such time as it becomes operational, direct-to-consumer online sales are legal.

https://www.nysenate.gov/newsroom/p...-young/safe-act-ammunition-database-suspended

The problem is that many (most?) online retailers don't know or care to learn the details, and so will not ship directly to NY customers. There are some who will, though, including some of those named above in this thread.

You, sir, just made my day. I was well aware if the demise of the ammunition purchase background check system (as well as the 7-round limit being ruled unconstitutional), but didn't realize that the BC system was tied so closely to the online ammo purchase ban that it would remove that ban as well. My Google-fu so far confirms what you've said. Makes sense of course, but nothing else about that law makes sense so I wasn't expecting it. Looks like I have some research to do tonight... I'll post back whatever I find regarding online sources willing to ship ammo directly to NYers.

Thanks for posting!
 
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