Who can explain this price mystery?

[Gary in Pennsylvania]

So there I was.....in Gander Mountain yesterday.

I like the layout of the store......Rifles & shotguns are all within customer reach - I fondled generously.

I also find it interesting that all ammo it out in the open. Lemme tell ya....there ain't many rounds more intimidating than holding a .450 Marlin Leverevolution Tip in your hand.


Anyway......while looking through all the rifle ammo - I noticed a trend -

What is with rifle ammo prices????? Or, more appropriately stated, what's with the price of .30-30 ammo???

I see that the entry price to a 20round box of about any rifle caliber is about $25 (Gander prices) .243 to .270 to .308 to .30-06 to .35 Remington etc... Entry to a box of rifle ammo is $25 minimum. And those are COMMON calibers!
.45-70 starts at $40!

BUT - .30-30??? $13. At Wal-Mart....you get a box of Federal 150gr or 170gr for just $10.
WHAT'S UP WITH .30-30?

I know (Or it's been said) that no other caliber has taken more deer that the venerable .30-30. Yeah....it's popular (thanks to Marlin & Winchester). But damn......what is it that makes the .30-30 so inexpensive? I mean by a LOT!

I guess I lucked out because the Marlin 336Y I just bought is chambered in .30-30. 80 rounds came really quick!

[Kaos]

Yeah the prices make me LOL for sure. In a sick kind of way.

Really.

I'm buying reloading equipment ASAP.

[jahwarrior72]

i noticed that gander mountain's ammo prices have gone way up, but then, i only buy handgun calibers.

[Karys]

Originally Posted by Gary in Pennsylvania

....there ain't many rounds more intimidating than holding a .450 Marlin Leverevolution Tip in your hand.

You should feel what it's like to touch one of those babies off! The deer I hit with one last year was turned inside out.

BTW, .450 Leverevolution ammo was running $28-$30 a box last year. Did you happen to notice the price at Gander?

[str8shooter]

Originally Posted by Gary in Pennsylvania

BUT - .30-30??? $13. At Wal-Mart....you get a box of Federal 150gr or 170gr for just $10.
WHAT'S UP WITH .30-30?

I know (Or it's been said) that no other caliber has taken more deer that the venerable .30-30. Yeah....it's popular (thanks to Marlin & Winchester). But damn......what is it that makes the .30-30 so inexpensive? I mean by a LOT!

I guess I lucked out because the Marlin 336Y I just bought is chambered in .30-30. 80 rounds came really quick!

I think you answered your own question. It's such a popular round that everyone makes it, and the manufacturers not only have to compete with each other, but reloaders as well. If Gander Mtn can buy it in big enough lots to get a good price and pass it on down to the consumers, I'm sure the hope is to get you into the store for some cheap .30-30, but then you'll stock up on other calibers while your there too.

[Dredly]

we could be over thinking it guys... round lead bullet with poor accuracy for a .30-30 vs high tech copper jacketed or ballistic tipped rounds with very good accuracy. Its a lot cheaper to have melted lead pour into a mold then it is to have a machine make perfectly sized bullets.

[str8shooter]

Originally Posted by Dredly

we could be over thinking it guys... round lead bullet with poor accuracy for a .30-30 vs high tech copper jacketed or ballistic tipped rounds with very good accuracy. Its a lot cheaper to have melted lead pour into a mold then it is to have a machine make perfectly sized bullets.

But where's the conspiracy in that? There's got to be a conspiracy.

[Wasz]

Call Scooby and the Gang see if they can unmask the problem.

[Xringshooter]

30-30 rounds are not just lead bullets (not as long as I can remember, and I've been hunting for 43 years now) they are copper jacketed and come in a couple of different styles as not all 30-30's are lever action any more. The LeverEvolution style gives the lever actions better ballastics because the tip doesn't have to be flat or round nose. On accuracy, the lever guns are plenty accurate out to 150 yds but in PA that is probably a very rare shot. Where I hunt (Scotia area, just outside State College) it is very thick and a long shot would be 50-75 yds. The 30-30 is made for those kinds of shots.

As for the price, don't know except that it is a relatively simple case and load which lends itself to being loaded at low cost. I can remember buying a box of 170 grain, jacketed flat points for $2.99-$3.99 as a young adult (30.06 were about $6.99 at the same time, so you can see that it still runs about half the cost for 30-30).

[Cyo]

It used to be I could shoot my .444 Marlin for fun. Now it's something I have to budget for. Ouch!