For the average ammo seeker, buying bullets from local suppliers is the preferred method. Many times, however, a brick-&-mortar retailer does not have the capacity to stock the wide array of options that dedicated shooters prefer to buy. The rapidly widening gap between ammunition demand & supply has generated an increasing need for gun owners to be able to discover new or additional supply options for their ammo of choice.

Companies like AmmoSeek.com serve as a search engine for gun enthusiasts to locate where to find & compare ammo prices easily, buy it at the lowest cost, & ship it quickly. They provide access to a database of over 200,000 products from over 100 retailers, which are updated 24/7.

An Easier Way To Search

Prior to aggregated sites like these, it used to require hours of searching individual retailer sites to find available ammo at a reasonable price. Buying gun supplies online benefits the consumer in main ways:

1. Lower Prices: Since there is significantly less overhead cost for storage or employees, online retailers can offer lower prices & often discounts for bulk purchases.
2. Wide Selection: A larger collection of suppliers means shooters are more likely to find be ammunition to their specifications.
3. Straight-Forward Delivery: No standing in line or having to arrange for future pickup of an ammo order. Supplies are delivered right to your door & may even arrive more rapidly than a store could restock (depending upon supply/demand).

The year 2009 saw a similar but less extreme shortage of munition supply. This served as a catalyst event that brought to life firearms search engines like Ammoseek.com, WikiArms.com & Gun.Deals. Each is similar in its mission to make gun supplies easy to locate, but with some variance in which marketplaces they track.

As one of the longest-standing websites of its kind, Ammoseek has one of the largest databases of retailers available in one place. WikiArms tracks online ammo sellers & pulls inventory from Walmart’s website, enabling the user to search what’s available in their area with a zip code. Gun.Deals takes a bit different approach in that registered users - in addition to the suppliers themselves - can post deals to the feed.

Legitimized Businesses

Gun enthusiasts like to know they are buying quality items from a reputable distributor.

The CEO’s of Ammoseek state: “We charge retailers for the privilege of having their products listed, we don't play favorites…[& we] only list retailers that have an ongoing business selling online via an ecommerce site.”

While Ammoseek.com & related companies cannot “vet” every individual retailer, site users have the insight of 100’s of customer reviews at their fingertips (must create a free account to view). Had a poor experience with a retailer & don’t want them to appear in your search? A free user account enables you to activate the “retailer exclusion” feature, so you never have to manually sort through them in a search.

“Search by caliber,” is the default setting to hunt for equipment. Expert AmmoSeek folks can find more advanced and specific search forms by selecting from the buttons above the search box. Bullets, brass, magazine type, gun type, & even ammo by firearm model are just a few of the alternative search options.

Results are sorted by cost per round (not including shipping). A pre-estimated shipping “level” is included in the listing with a range of low/med/high. Be sure to do some of your own digging into the shipping costs before buying as this can have a significant impact in the cost per round bottom line price.

Up-To-Date Information

Especially in light of the current supply shortage, those in the market for munitions supplies are having to rely on real-time notification of in-stock items. AmmoSeek works hard to keep website users up-to-date with any changes to the site itself as well as important notices in the munitions world. Alerts related to retailers, supply, or regulations can be found at the top of the homepage.

Registered users can set up Ammoseek alerts to notify your phone or email when an item comes in stock or even if an already in stock item drops into your preferred price range. For most suppliers, data updates every 1-2 minutes. Alerts are currently available in the form of only an email or text message, but downloading the app may streamline the purchasing process if mobile is your only option.

AmmoSeek recommends you act quickly on any notification as the current shortage means a minute could be the difference between waiting a week or a year for more bullets.

Supporting local businesses is going to continue to be a significant way to keep brick-&-mortar gun supply stores running. But if you find a need to expand your purchasing power, sign up for accounts/alerts with an ammo supply aggregate site.