Live Ammo for sale in Canada
1409 live ammo listings currently for sale across Canada, posted by GunEx members and gathered from public Canadian classifieds. Updated daily.
Ammunition is the category where private classifieds beat retail most often in Canada, because the things that go out of stock nationally — .22 LR in volume, surplus 7.62x39 and 7.62x54R, 6.5 Creedmoor match, non-toxic waterfowl loads — keep circulating between shooters long after the shelves empty.
Listings price by the box, the brick or the case, so read the quantity before you compare two asks. A 500-round brick of .22 and a 50-round box are both “one listing”. Headstamp, projectile weight in grains, and whether the brass is once-fired or factory new all move the price more than the brand does.
A valid firearms licence is required to buy ammunition in Canada, and ammunition is dangerous goods that cannot be sent by regular post. That combination is why almost everything here changes hands in person, and why the province and city links below matter more in this category than in any other.
Live Ammo by province
What to check before you buy
Read the quantity, then the price per round
Case, brick, box and “partial” all appear in listing titles. Divide the ask by the actual round count before you decide anything is cheap. A partial box of a discontinued load can still be the best value on the page, and a full case of something common can be above retail.
Match the exact chambering, not the family name
.223 Remington and 5.56 NATO, .308 Winchester and 7.62x51, .38 Special and .357 Magnum are related but not interchangeable in every firearm. Confirm what your gun is actually chambered for and what the box actually says.
Check for corrosive primers on surplus
Much of the surplus 7.62x54R and 7.62x39 in Canada is corrosively primed. It shoots fine and is often the cheapest way to feed a milsurp rifle, but the barrel needs cleaning the same day. Ask the seller what the lot is, and assume corrosive if nobody knows.
Inspect storage condition
Ammunition kept dry lasts decades. Ammunition kept in an unheated shed does not. Look for green verdigris on the case necks, corrosion on the rims, and any sign the box has been damp. Reloads from an unknown source are worth avoiding entirely.
Confirm it is non-toxic if it is for waterfowl
Non-toxic shot is required for migratory game bird hunting in Canada. Lead shotshells are still legal and widely sold for other uses, so a cheap case of lead loads is not a substitute for steel or bismuth if waterfowl is what you bought it for.
Common questions
Do you need a PAL to buy ammunition in Canada?
Yes. The RCMP Canadian Firearms Program states that ammunition may be acquired by an individual or business holding a valid firearms licence, or by a public agency with a valid Public Agency Identification Number. For adults that licence is the Possession and Acquisition Licence. A Minor's Licence also permits the purchase of ammunition, subject to any age restriction under provincial or territorial law. A seller should ask to see your licence, and it is reasonable to expect that.
Can ammunition be shipped in Canada?
Not by regular post. Ammunition is classed as dangerous goods, so it moves only through carriers set up to handle it, under their own packaging and labelling rules and at a cost that often exceeds the value of a small lot. That is why most ammunition on GunEx is sold for local pickup, and why it is worth starting from your own province.
Is it safe to buy used or reloaded ammunition?
Factory ammunition that has been stored dry is generally fine, and surplus military ammunition decades old is still routinely shot. Reloads are a different proposition: you are trusting a stranger's powder charge in your chamber. Unless you know the reloader and the load data, factory ammunition is the safer buy, and most experienced sellers will say the same.
Why is .22 LR so hard to find in Canada?
Rimfire supply has been intermittent for years, and demand is high because it is the cheapest centrefire alternative for practice and small game. Retail stock sells out in batches, so the private market is where bricks and cases sit between owners. Saved searches are worth setting up for a specific load rather than checking the page each day.
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