Bulk Ammo Buying: Is It Worth It?

What are the advantages of buying ammunition in bulk? Are there any downsides? As always, we’re going to lay out the good, the bad, and the ugly for you right here.

But first, let’s consider why we might want to have a significant amount of ammunition on hand. Who needs so many rounds lying around the house? Well, we all probably should.

As we’ve seen in the past few years, supply lines aren’t what we’d hope them to be. They can be disrupted or flat-out cut off due to various factors such as natural or man-made disasters (such as plagues, for example). While many people were going berserk in their quest for toilet paper, dedicated shooters were doing the very same thing in our quest to secure ammunition. And when we did find it, prices were so much higher than any of us ever dreamed they might be.

We saw panic buying like never before during the pandemic. No one knew how long the world would be shut down, which vital supplies we’d be lacking, and for how long. If there’s anything that will drive up gun and ammo buying, it is uncertainty and fear.

All that said, let’s discuss bulk ammo, what it is, and why it’s worth it.

What is Bulk Ammo?

What do you think of when we say “Bulk Ammunition”?

For some, it’s one of those 100-round boxes of 9mm or .45ACP ammo at a big box store. Or maybe a 500-round brick of .22 Long Rifle. To be fair, the .22LR ammo is a bit of an exception, as it is routinely sold in quantities of a few hundred rounds, often up to 500 rounds, given its small size and modest price.

For most calibers, though, a case of ammo typically comes in 500 and/or 1,000-round configurations.

Why Bulk?

Cost Savings

The more we buy, the cheaper it normally is. This is true with toilet paper, which we can buy in bulk at discount stores such as Costco or Sam’s Club. It is also true of ammunition. With toilet paper, the only time we’d use a lot of extra paper is if rampant dysentery hits, and with ammo, if society were to collapse.

Companies throw out incentives for us to buy more, which equates to savings for us.

For example, I did a quick check on 5.56mm green tip. One seller has it for $15.99 per box of 20, which is about $0.80 per round.

Another seller sells it for $670.99 for 1,000 rounds with free shipping, which comes out to $0.67 per round. That’s a pretty decent deal. These are just the first two companies I found that I’m comparing; there are tons of others out there, so shopping around will most likely result in bigger savings. Many sellers will offer free shipping with orders over a certain amount of money, which helps us out a lot.

Convenience

Another huge asset is having ammunition available and on hand. In short, it’s there when we need it; we don’t need to run to the store and hunt it down or search for it online. We can open up the closet, fill our mags, and presto, it’s done.

High-volume shooters, such as those who compete or train a lot. A weekend training class can often expend 1,000 or more rounds. These folks can go through ammo at a voracious rate, and having an interruption in their ammo supply is seriously frustrating, especially for professional shooters who make a living at it.

But how about casual shooters who don’t routinely shoot ultra-high volumes of rounds? They might get to the range once a month or even every couple of months. For their infrequent range trips, having a mound of ammo available is also a good thing because now they can expend more rounds during those infrequent trips. More bang for the buck, if you will.

And if you can locate a hard-to-find caliber in bulk, it’s even better, as you can stock up on a glut of it rather than incessantly hunting for a box of it here and there.

Training

Ideally, we want to have enough ammo on hand to train, even during dry spells. However, I think most of us seriously reduced our ammo expenditures during dry spells. Many expressed that they were dry firing a lot more rather than blasting rounds away on the range.

Again, this was caused by the uncertainty of not knowing when or even if ammo would be available to us again.

What if, right now, ammunition was cut off forever, and you could buy no more? How many rounds would you want to have for each of your calibers? It’s kind of a scary proposition, isn’t it? So, how many rounds do you actually have right now?

For me, this is where the .22LR comes into play. My goal is to have enough of that caliber stored away so that if I run out of all the other calibers I have, I can have enough .22 squirreled away to last a lifetime. At least, that’s the plan.

The Downsides

Shipping Costs

Sometimes the shipping cost can bite us in the butt. One trick that sellers might use is to price the ammo considerably cheaper than other sellers but then hit us with a very high shipping cost. And sometimes, that cost isn’t revealed until we’re in the checkout portion of our online order, so be vigilant!

On the other hand, plenty of sellers offer free shipping if we spend over a certain amount (often, the cutoff is $100). Sometimes, it’s worth paying a few cents more per round with free shipping because we might make out okay in the end.

Of course, there is the fact that when we buy a large quantity of ammunition, there’s just a larger up-front cost associated with bulk orders, regardless of how great of a deal we’re getting. Some people have a pile of money sitting around, and some don’t.

Then again, sometimes, we can find bulk ammunition for sale locally, such as at our favorite gun shop. Typically, we’ll pay a little bit more buying it this way, but then we don’t have to worry about shipping (trust me, you’re already paying it because the gun shop probably paid it to have the ammo shipped there in the first place). Plus, we get to walk out of the store with our ammo purchase perched proudly up on our shoulders in the case. There’s always that gratification of walking out of the store right now with the purchase as opposed to waiting for it to be shipped, which can be gratifying. Plus, we’re supporting a local business.

Storage

Having a large volume of ammo on hand takes up space. Do you have enough extra space to store ammo? If stored properly, ammunition lasts for decades upon decades. People are still shooting ammunition manufactured during World War I, but only that which has been stored in a cool, dry place. Humidity and dampness are the enemies of ammunition and will take their toll if not kept at bay.

Closing Thoughts

We’ve seen ammo famines hit several times now, so it’s not an urban legend; it’s a real thing. Hopefully, we’ve taken heed and have some ammunition stored away for a rainy day. If not, now is the time to get some ammo.

I don’t mean to imply that buying in bulk is the only way to get ammunition, just that it can be cheaper. Saving a few bucks any time that we can is always a good thing. And it brings in a bunch of rounds right now.

However, for those who are not able to order 1,000 rounds or more at a time, don’t despair; do the best that you can. That might mean stopping by the local gun shop after each payday and buying a couple of boxes of ammunition as we can afford it. Hey, it’s better than nothing! And don’t feel bad if that’s the case because I’ve found myself in this very position many times.

Once we get a respectable stash of ammunition, it’s a good idea to replace whatever we use in training as it is used. That way, our supply never dwindles.

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