The average price enthusiasts paid for ammunition, rifles, optics and suppressors dropped in 2025, according to a recently released RetailBI Report. The results are a compilation of sales and inventory numbers volunteered by more than 300 retailers nationwide.
“Average ammunition prices declined 4.8% YOY [year over year], reflecting increasing price pressure as retailers work through elevated inventory levels amid softer demand conditions,” the report states. Total volume sold last year dropped by more than 10 percent. The biggest declines in demand were in rifle, shotgun, rimfire and handgun fodder, respectively.
Despite that fact, enthusiasts are still buying 2.6 percent more than they did in 2019—prior to the Covid-19 rush. Inventory in stores, however, remains 33 percent higher than pre-pandemic levels.
That fact is a major player in the current savings at the cash register. Stock collecting dust on shelves makes it tough for a retailer to make payroll or pay rent. Stores are reducing ammunition prices in response. The savings may not last long in 2026. Inventories will adjust, and gun sales estimates from the National Shooting Sports Foundation for 2024 and 2025 hint that this is the year a long-overdue, post-pandemic stabilization—or increase—finally arrives.
The average amount spent on a new rifle last year dropped by 2.1 percent. Demand also declined. Semi-automatics led that trend, followed by lever actions and bolt actions.
The price of optics declined 0.2 percent and suppressors by 0.5 percent. The report notes in 2025 demand was down in the latter category, likely due to “…purchase timing behavior, as some consumers delayed suppressor purchases in anticipation of the elimination of federal tax stamp fees.”
Price Increases Elsewhere
Cost for a handgun nudged up 1.3 percent. Self-defense concerns in some areas of the country may have fueled part of the increase, but the report also notes inventory on hand was below 2019 levels.
Prices paid for shotguns jumped up 2.1 percent. That increase, according to the study was, “…supported by continued strength in higher-priced segments such as over-under shotguns, while unit volumes across value-oriented segments remained under pressure.”
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