Wal-Mart Firearms and Ammo Policy Change

[mmc45414]

Profit on ammo has been in the tanks for a while.

Yeah, of all the stuff they sell generating another $9 in the process of selling something controversial is probably juice that is not worth the squeeze. The beer and smokes bring a lot more volume and profit. If they were really selling a lot of 9mm ammo it wouldn't be on a tiny locked shelf in the back of the store, it would be on the endcap next to the Snickers and National Enquirer.

ETA: While I know this impacts others in other areas and situations more, but retail is plenty challenged by mail order right now anyway, conceding the guns and ammo category is probably an easy decision.

[corneileous]

Yeah, of all the stuff they sell generating another $9 in the process of selling something controversial is probably juice that is not worth the squeeze. The beer and smokes bring a lot more volume and profit. If they were really selling a lot of 9mm ammo it wouldn't be on a tiny locked shelf in the back of the store, it would be on the endcap next to the Snickers and National Enquirer.

I wondered about that since they made that stance to no longer sell to anyone under 21 quite a few months back.


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[Crow Hunter]

I think this is exactly right. Profit on ammo has been in the tanks for a while.

My assumption is that ammo is there as a "loss leader" or near to no profit in an effort to gain sales on other items that are more profitable like camouflage or other hunting/sporting items.

It might even be a requirement for pricing on other items that they get in bulk from their distributors. As in you must commit to buy XXMillion rounds of ammo to get a price of $XXXX on these items.

I honestly imagine that they will be selling "evil" ammo for a while yet since they said that they were going to finish out their current "commitments" not even existing stocks. They probably agreed to buy several million rounds of ammo from ATK/Olin/etc that they will have to get rid of before they stop buying more.

I also hope that the ammo companies hose them on 22 LR etc once their contracts are up and Crapmart loses that business too.

Speaking of which. Since .22 LR is used in handguns as often as rifles, are they dropping that too? What about the "evil" .308 and .30-06 and 12 ga that are also used in weapons of war?

[Malamute]

I havent been able to afford much bulk centerfire buying for some time. For comparison, one local store i was in recently still had 500 rd boxes of 22s for $45, walmart has them for a little under $20. I still buy a little now and then to keep shooting stock in a usable range if we have another drought, and if i can get back to shooting more regularly.

I also think this will be a really big deal to a lot of shooters. There arent many affordable places to buy ammo in many smaller towns. The closest place with anything considered affordable ammo is about 80 miles away.

[Duelist]

LGS I visited yesterday was actually excited about the announcement. “Woohoo! I’ll actually be able to sell ammo again!”

[mmc45414]

They probably agreed to buy several million rounds of ammo from ATK/Olin/etc that they will have to get rid of before they stop buying more.

Ya know, I really wonder how much they really sell? I have been reloading all my pistol ammo for decades, but when the shelves were bare I would be looking for 22LR and came to know they would get their weekly supply on a given day of the week, implying that they only get ammo once a week, and there never is really all that much in the cabinet. If there are ten bulk packs that would be a lot, so they are probably selling 1k-2k of 9mm a week, and it that worth the bother?

[corneileous]

Attempting to equate a uniformed police officer with a citizen who openly carries a firearm is a strawman argument, better suited for the short school bus than this forum.

Well that all depends- are you saying all that just because open carry is part of the job of a uniformed officer, or are you saying that unless... you’re a police officer... that you don’t think any civilian is smart enough, qualified enough or even trained enough to openly carry a firearm? What if the [civilian] you saw was an ex or retired cop? Ex or retired military? Are they “retarded butt-cracks” too, or whatever the hell it was you called them? What if it was just some regular Joe who did happen to have quite a bit of extensive handgun training classes that taught tactics and self-defense fundamentals? He in that category as well? A complete stranger you don’t even know? I’m just curious.

I’ve already stated that I’m not necessarily for open carry but holy shit, I don’t automatically think of anybody I see doing it as the stupidest person in the world.


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[corneileous]

Ya know, I really wonder how much they really sell? I have been reloading all my pistol ammo for decades, but when the shelves were bare I would be looking for 22LR and came to know they would get their weekly supply on a given day of the week, implying that they only get ammo once a week, and there never is really all that much in the cabinet. If there are ten bulk packs that would be a lot, so they are probably selling 1k-2k of 9mm a week, and it that worth the bother?

Seems to me that the only time really that I’ve ever bought any ammunition from Walmart was only because I needed some right away and didn’t want to give it time to order any cheaper somewhere else online and that at least in my little town, Walmart did sell a lot of ammunition that was cheaper than my local gun stores.


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[Crow Hunter]

Ya know, I really wonder how much they really sell? I have been reloading all my pistol ammo for decades, but when the shelves were bare I would be looking for 22LR and came to know they would get their weekly supply on a given day of the week, implying that they only get ammo once a week, and there never is really all that much in the cabinet. If there are ten bulk packs that would be a lot, so they are probably selling 1k-2k of 9mm a week, and it that worth the bother?

At an individual store, probably not necessarily a huge amount but they probably buy several million rounds and put it in their distribution warehouses and send them out as each of the stores runs out on their normal weekly delivery runs.

I bet they still don't have all the ammo they have contracts to purchase either. They probably still have millions of rounds that haven't been produced yet that they have to purchase within X months or even X years.

That is how they get such good prices on stuff (not just ammo). They buy literal tons of it at one time. They probably purchase entire runs of production to get their pricing.

I foresee several months (if not over a year) in the future a sudden outcry on the Intardwebs when ammo is gone off Crap-mart shelves when all this has fallen off the collective Cleeti short attention span radar.

[Trooper224]

Well that all depends- are you saying all that just because open carry is part of the job of a uniformed officer, or are you saying that unless... you’re a police officer... that you don’t think any civilian is smart enough, qualified enough or even trained enough to openly carry a firearm? What if the [civilian] you saw was an ex or retired cop? Ex or retired military? Are they “retarded butt-cracks” too, or whatever the hell it was you called them? What if it was just some regular Joe who did happen to have quite a bit of extensive handgun training classes that taught tactics and self-defense fundamentals? He in that category as well? A complete stranger you don’t even know? I’m just curious.

I’ve already stated that I’m not necessarily for open carry but holy shit, I don’t automatically think of anybody I see doing it as the stupidest person in the world.


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A uniformed LEO is required to openly carry a firearm. This sole fact takes that position out of relevance for this discussion. If you can't see that, or, if you refuse to acknowledge that lack of correlation we really have nothing else to discuss on that matter.

I'm not going to waste my time by again laying out the various and sundry reasons why I think open carry is a bad idea, from any of the various positions of tactics, security and social responsibility. On that point the search function is your friend.