.50 cal. Ammo cans at Academy

[Guest ThePunisher]

Academy Sports has the .50 cal. Ammo cans on sale for $14.97- regular price was $19.97.

[Westwindmike]

When did they get so high? The last ones I bought were $5 each at the gun show.

[netmindr]

Saw 2 guys at the Murfreesboro show this past weekend that had them for $10. Of course they weren't new and has some minor rust, but you can't complain at that price.

[Guest ThePunisher]

I bought some new cans about a year and half ago at Guns and Leather for $10.00. Cheapest I've ever found new. I've even seen used ones going $20.00.

[Luke E.]

When did they get so high? The last ones I bought were $5 each at the gun show.

 

For some reason unknown to me they went up right along with AR's and ammo after Sandy Hook. I stopped by the Nashville gun show a week or so afterwards and while I waited in line (for a long time) I watched person after person pouring out of there carrying ammo cans! I got inside and saw .223 for well over a dollar per round at most tables and pretty much no AR's or AK's so I figured they much have had money burning a hole in their pockets and nothing to spend it on...?

[A.J. Holst]

Based on the responses, is it safe to say if I buy new I'll pay $10 for a great deal - $15 would be fair; used $5 - $15 depending on condition? 

[whitewolf001]

Based on the responses, is it safe to say if I buy new I'll pay $10 for a great deal - $15 would be fair; used $5 - $15 depending on condition? 

Yes, used ones should NOT be $15 but sometimes that's what they go for. New ones hover right around $20, Aim has them for around $15 but the shipping makes them right there with everybody else.

[Luke E.]

Based on the responses, is it safe to say if I buy new I'll pay $10 for a great deal - $15 would be fair; used $5 - $15 depending on condition?

The last 4 gun shows I've been to I've seen used ones for $15 and I don't recall seeing any cheaper than that. There are a couple guys in the mid state area that were pricining them at $15 on Saturday and $10 on Saturday.
Outpost Armory in Murfreesboro went INSANE on their ammo cans after Sandy Hook! They used to have them priced at $7-$8 for 30-50cal cans and last time I looked the 30cal were $15 or so and the 50cal were like $20. These are used cans btw.
As much as it pains me to give $15 each for them, anything else comparable will be the same or more. Just check the gaskets when selecting used cans. If the metal is fairly straight and the gasket is good it really doesn't matter to me whether it's new or used because with a quick light sanding and a couple thin coats of spray paint all are pretty much equal.
I was fortunate to notice a friend had quite a few empty ones in his shop that had been sitting untouched for a really long time and he just gave me almost all of them.

[tartanphantom]

The last 4 gun shows I've been to I've seen used ones for $15 and I don't recall seeing any cheaper than that. There are a couple guys in the mid state area that were pricining them at $15 on Saturday and $10 on Saturday.
Outpost Armory in Murfreesboro went INSANE on their ammo cans after Sandy Hook! They used to have them priced at $7-$8 for 30-50cal cans and last time I looked the 30cal were $15 or so and the 50cal were like $20. These are used cans btw.
As much as it pains me to give $15 each for them, anything else comparable will be the same or more. Just check the gaskets when selecting used cans. If the metal is fairly straight and the gasket is good it really doesn't matter to me whether it's new or used because with a quick light sanding and a couple thin coats of spray paint all are pretty much equal.
I was fortunate to notice a friend had quite a few empty ones in his shop that had been sitting untouched for a really long time and he just gave me almost all of them.

 

Prices on 40mm "Thumper" cans got really stupid too... one place you mentioned was charging $40 apiece for used ones. I use the thumper cans for bulk ammo storage and they are a little harder to find these days.

Edited November 5, 2013 by tartanphantom

[Luke E.]

Prices on 40mm "Thumper" cans got really stupid too... one place you mentioned was charging $40 apiece for used ones. I use the thumper cans for bulk ammo storage and they are a little harder to find these days.

Ammo cans weren't the only items that underwent a price change but that's another topic.
One thing that I have been thinking of doing with my ammo cans is to sandblast and paint them. I keep everything from prepped and unprepped brass to primers to projectiles etc.,. I've put labels on the tops but the way I have them stacked and stored, I end up having to dig out a bunch that I didn't need because I can't always see the label. So my idea has been to paint primer cans FDE and projectile cans foliage green or what have you just to separate one from the other. Of course those project isn't at the top of my project list so we'll see how long this takes.