# IronScout — Full LLM Context > Free ammo search engine and price tracker. It compares the same product across tracked online retailers, keeps each product's price history, and emails you when a price meets a rule you set. It does not sell ammunition or rate deals. ## About IronScout IronScout is a free ammo search engine and price tracker. It aggregates observed prices from multiple online retailers, groups products canonically, and provides historical price context. IronScout is not a marketplace and does not process transactions. All decisions remain with the user. ## Coverage IronScout tracks ammunition listings across online retailers, grouped canonically by product. Coverage is partial and dynamic — not all retailers are included, and retailer visibility may change over time. Current counts are published as live data rather than stated here, because a figure written into this file goes stale the day after it is written: see the machine-readable market snapshot index at https://www.ironscout.ai/market-snapshots/30d/index.json, whose per-caliber artifacts carry product and retailer counts with the timestamp they were computed at. ### Tracked Calibers - [9mm / 9mm Luger](https://www.ironscout.ai/caliber/9mm): The most popular handgun caliber - [.308 Winchester / 7.62x51 NATO](https://www.ironscout.ai/caliber/308-winchester): Full-power rifle standard - [5.56 NATO](https://www.ironscout.ai/caliber/556-nato): Most popular rifle caliber (AR-15) - [.223 Remington](https://www.ironscout.ai/caliber/223-remington): Civilian sibling of 5.56 NATO - [.45 ACP](https://www.ironscout.ai/caliber/45-acp): Classic big-bore handgun - [.22 LR](https://www.ironscout.ai/caliber/22-lr): Cheapest cartridge to shoot - [6.5 Creedmoor](https://www.ironscout.ai/caliber/65-creedmoor): Modern precision cartridge - [.300 Blackout](https://www.ironscout.ai/caliber/300-blackout): Suppressor-optimized AR cartridge - [7.62x39](https://www.ironscout.ai/caliber/762x39): AK-47 / SKS caliber - [12 Gauge](https://www.ironscout.ai/caliber/12-gauge): Most popular shotgun gauge - [.380 ACP](https://www.ironscout.ai/caliber/380-acp): Pocket pistol caliber - [.38 Special](https://www.ironscout.ai/caliber/38-special): Revolver caliber - [.357 Magnum](https://www.ironscout.ai/caliber/357-magnum): Revolver magnum - [.40 S&W](https://www.ironscout.ai/caliber/40-sw): Law enforcement caliber - [.270 Winchester](https://www.ironscout.ai/caliber/270-winchester): Classic hunting caliber - [.243 Winchester](https://www.ironscout.ai/caliber/243-winchester): Light-recoil hunting/varmint - [.30-06 Springfield](https://www.ironscout.ai/caliber/30-06-springfield): Original US military rifle caliber - [.30-30 Winchester](https://www.ironscout.ai/caliber/30-30-winchester): Lever-action classic - [.44 Magnum](https://www.ironscout.ai/caliber/44-magnum): Heavy revolver magnum - [10mm Auto](https://www.ironscout.ai/caliber/10mm-auto): High-power autoloader - [.410 Bore](https://www.ironscout.ai/caliber/410-bore): Smallest common shotgun gauge - [20 Gauge](https://www.ironscout.ai/caliber/20-gauge): Lighter shotgun gauge - [.17 HMR](https://www.ironscout.ai/caliber/17-hmr): Rimfire varmint caliber ### Tracked Brands - [Federal](https://www.ironscout.ai/brand/federal): American Eagle, HST, Gold Medal Match, Power-Shok, Fusion, Top Gun - [Hornady](https://www.ironscout.ai/brand/hornady): Critical Defense, Critical Duty, ELD Match, ELD-X, Frontier, Black - [Winchester](https://www.ironscout.ai/brand/winchester): White Box, PDX1, Super-X - [CCI](https://www.ironscout.ai/brand/cci): Blazer Brass, Blazer, Mini-Mag - [Speer](https://www.ironscout.ai/brand/speer): Gold Dot - [Remington](https://www.ironscout.ai/brand/remington): UMC - [Sellier & Bellot](https://www.ironscout.ai/brand/sellier-bellot): Czech import brass-cased - [Fiocchi](https://www.ironscout.ai/brand/fiocchi): Italian import - [Magtech](https://www.ironscout.ai/brand/magtech): Brazilian import range ammo - [Prvi Partizan](https://www.ironscout.ai/brand/prvi-partizan): Serbian import brass-cased ## Natural-Language Search IronScout's consumer search parses a plain-English ammunition query into constraints and applies them server-side. It is descriptive: it filters, orders, and discloses. It never recommends, scores, or ranks by desirability. Understood and ENFORCED as constraints: - Caliber, including spaced and alternate spellings ("9 mm", "9x19", "300 blk") and mil-spec load designations that name a cartridge unambiguously — M193, M855, XM855, M855A1 and SS109 all resolve to .223/5.56. "Green tip" is deliberately NOT treated as a designation: it describes a projectile, not a cartridge, and appears on bullets across many calibers. - Brand, expanded across the brand's alias family - Grain weight - Bullet type, including match terminology ("open tip match" / OTM). The generic phrase "hollow point" resolves to the whole JHP+HP family rather than one narrow label. - Case material (brass, steel, aluminum, nickel-plated, polymer-coated) Also recognized: subsonic and suppressor phrasing, which maps to the product's recorded subsonic flag. It is not one of the promoted stated-attribute lanes above, so it does not carry their relaxation and disclosure behavior. Not constraints, and deliberately so: purpose or use-case terms ("home defense", "plinking", "range"). They influence ordering only, and IronScout does not advertise them as filters. ### How unlabeled products are handled Some attributes are recorded on only part of the catalog. For a stated attribute, every candidate falls into one of three states: - CONFIRMED — recorded evidence matches what was asked - UNKNOWN — the attribute was never assessed for that product - KNOWN-NONMATCH — recorded evidence contradicts what was asked Confirmed and unknown are BOTH returned, confirmed first; only known-nonmatch is excluded. Results that are unverified on a stated attribute say so on the result itself, and a query that had to drop a constraint to return anything discloses which one. This matters for citation: a result set is not a claim that every row was verified against every stated term. The page states which rows were. Cite what it says, not what the query asked for. ## Data Semantics - Price records are historical observations, not live quotes - Price history is append-only - "Current price" reflects the most recent observation within a defined window - If no recent observation exists, price may be unavailable - Prices are expressed as cost per round (CPR) in USD ### Facts IronScout states (citable) Each is computed from observed data by a disclosed method, is scoped to the retailers IronScout tracks, and carries an observation time. None is a purchase recommendation, a verdict, or a prediction; each is a measurement that can be checked and refuted. - Lowest tracked price for a canonical product — whether a given listing is the lowest price currently observed across tracked retailers - Lowest cost per round today, by caliber and by category, over tracked retailers - Where a price sits in the observed range — below the tracked range, between the low and the median, between the median and the high, or above the range — against the trailing 30-day distribution for that caliber - Lowest known total cost for a stated quantity, including shipping where the retailer's shipping policy is known and modeled; combinations whose shipping is not known are reported separately and never merged with the known set - 30-day median, and the observed low and high, per caliber, with sample coverage - Market-stress reading (0–100 composite, versioned method) describing observed dispersion, availability change, and volatility — descriptive only, not a forecast - Price and availability history, append-only, with the time each price was observed Scope statement applying to all of the above: these describe the retailers IronScout tracks at the stated observation time. They are not claims about the whole market, and IronScout does not promise the lowest price available anywhere. ## Learn Hub — Ammunition Guides - [Learn Hub — all ammunition guides](https://www.ironscout.ai/learn) ### Ballistics Data - [9mm Ballistics — Velocity, Energy & Drop by Grain Weight](https://www.ironscout.ai/learn/9mm-ballistics) - [5.56 Ballistics — M193, M855 & 77gr OTM Data](https://www.ironscout.ai/learn/556-ballistics) - [.300 Blackout Ballistics — Supersonic & Subsonic Data](https://www.ironscout.ai/learn/300-blackout-ballistics) - [.308 Ballistics — 150gr, 168gr & 175gr Match Data](https://www.ironscout.ai/learn/308-ballistics) ### Caliber Comparisons - [9mm vs .45 ACP](https://www.ironscout.ai/learn/9mm-vs-45-acp) - [9mm vs .380 ACP](https://www.ironscout.ai/learn/9mm-vs-380-acp) - [9mm vs .40 S&W](https://www.ironscout.ai/learn/9mm-vs-40-sw) - [9mm vs .357 Magnum](https://www.ironscout.ai/learn/9mm-vs-357-magnum) - [.308 Winchester vs 6.5 Creedmoor](https://www.ironscout.ai/learn/308-vs-65-creedmoor) - [7.62x39 vs 5.56 NATO](https://www.ironscout.ai/learn/762x39-vs-556) - [.223 vs 5.56](https://www.ironscout.ai/learn/556-vs-223) - [.300 Blackout vs 5.56](https://www.ironscout.ai/learn/300-blackout-vs-556) - [9mm 115 vs 124 vs 147 Grain](https://www.ironscout.ai/learn/9mm-115-vs-124-vs-147-grain) - [.300 Blackout vs 7.62x39](https://www.ironscout.ai/learn/300-blackout-vs-762x39) - [12 Gauge vs 20 Gauge](https://www.ironscout.ai/learn/12-gauge-vs-20-gauge) - [.38 Special vs .357 Magnum](https://www.ironscout.ai/learn/38-special-vs-357-magnum) - [.45 ACP vs 10mm Auto](https://www.ironscout.ai/learn/45-acp-vs-10mm-auto) - [.40 S&W vs 10mm Auto](https://www.ironscout.ai/learn/40-sw-vs-10mm-auto) - [.243 Winchester vs 6.5 Creedmoor](https://www.ironscout.ai/learn/243-vs-65-creedmoor) - [.270 Winchester vs .30-06 Springfield](https://www.ironscout.ai/learn/270-vs-30-06) - [.350 Legend vs .300 Blackout](https://www.ironscout.ai/learn/350-legend-vs-300-blackout) - [.30-30 Winchester vs .308 Winchester](https://www.ironscout.ai/learn/30-30-vs-308) - [20 Gauge vs .410 Bore](https://www.ironscout.ai/learn/20-gauge-vs-410) - [.22 LR vs .17 HMR](https://www.ironscout.ai/learn/22lr-vs-17-hmr) ### Ammo by Use Case - [9mm concealed carry loads compared](https://www.ironscout.ai/learn/9mm-concealed-carry-loads) - [9mm range loads compared](https://www.ironscout.ai/learn/9mm-range-loads) - [.45 ACP self-defense loads compared](https://www.ironscout.ai/learn/45-acp-self-defense-loads) - [.380 ACP self-defense loads for pocket pistols](https://www.ironscout.ai/learn/380-acp-pocket-pistol-loads) - [AR-15 ammunition compared by use case](https://www.ironscout.ai/learn/ar15-ammo-compared) - [Glock 19 ammunition compared by use case](https://www.ironscout.ai/learn/glock-19-ammo-compared) - [5.56 home defense loads for the AR-15 compared](https://www.ironscout.ai/learn/556-home-defense-loads) - [12 gauge home defense loads compared](https://www.ironscout.ai/learn/12-gauge-home-defense-loads) - [.308 whitetail deer loads compared](https://www.ironscout.ai/learn/308-whitetail-loads) - [6.5 Creedmoor long-range loads compared](https://www.ironscout.ai/learn/65-creedmoor-match-loads) - [.300 Blackout subsonic loads for suppressor use](https://www.ironscout.ai/learn/300-blk-subsonic-loads) - [.22 LR plinking and target loads compared](https://www.ironscout.ai/learn/22lr-plinking-target-loads) - [Turkey loads compared](https://www.ironscout.ai/learn/turkey-loads-compared) ### Ammunition Fundamentals - [What Does Grain Mean?](https://www.ironscout.ai/learn/what-does-grain-mean) - [What is +P Ammo?](https://www.ironscout.ai/learn/what-is-plus-p-ammo) - [FMJ vs Hollow Point](https://www.ironscout.ai/learn/fmj-vs-hollow-point) - [Steel Case vs Brass Case](https://www.ironscout.ai/learn/steel-case-vs-brass-case) - [Subsonic vs Supersonic](https://www.ironscout.ai/learn/subsonic-vs-supersonic) - [Rimfire vs Centerfire](https://www.ironscout.ai/learn/rimfire-vs-centerfire) - [Shotgun Shot Sizes Explained](https://www.ironscout.ai/learn/shotgun-shot-sizes) - [Bullet Types Explained](https://www.ironscout.ai/learn/bullet-types-explained) - [5.56 Ammo Types Explained](https://www.ironscout.ai/learn/556-ammo-types-explained) - [Cheapest Calibers to Shoot](https://www.ironscout.ai/learn/cheapest-calibers-to-shoot) - [How to Buy Ammo Online](https://www.ironscout.ai/learn/how-to-buy-ammo-online) - [What Is Match Grade Ammo?](https://www.ironscout.ai/learn/what-is-match-grade-ammo) - [Why Ammo Does Not Have a Single Price](https://www.ironscout.ai/learn/same-ammo-different-prices) - [Cheapest Handgun Calibers by Cost per Round](https://www.ironscout.ai/learn/cheapest-handgun-calibers) - [Cheapest Centerfire Rifle Calibers by Cost per Round](https://www.ironscout.ai/learn/cheapest-rifle-calibers) - [Cheapest Hunting Calibers by Cost per Round](https://www.ironscout.ai/learn/cheapest-hunting-calibers) - [Ammo Search Engines Compared](https://www.ironscout.ai/learn/ammo-search-engines-compared) - [Ammo Shipping Restrictions by State](https://www.ironscout.ai/learn/ammo-shipping-restrictions-by-state) - [How Long Does Ammo Last? Storage and Shelf Life](https://www.ironscout.ai/learn/ammo-storage-and-shelf-life) - [Corrosive vs Non-Corrosive Ammo](https://www.ironscout.ai/learn/corrosive-vs-non-corrosive-ammo) ### Market Conditions - [Is There an Ammo Shortage in 2026?](https://www.ironscout.ai/learn/ammo-shortage-2026) - [Ammo Price Analysis by Caliber](https://www.ironscout.ai/learn/prices) ### Price Analysis by Caliber ### Blog - [Blog — ammunition pricing and market articles](https://www.ironscout.ai/learn/blog) - [Subsonic Ammo Beyond .300 Blackout: What 2026 Sources Confirm](https://www.ironscout.ai/learn/blog/subsonic-ammo-2026-product-launches) - [9mm Ammo Prices in 2026 — Cost Per Round, and Three Manufacturer Hikes](https://www.ironscout.ai/learn/blog/9mm-ammo-prices-2026) - [Ammo Pricing Calendar: Observed Seasonal Patterns](https://www.ironscout.ai/learn/blog/ammo-pricing-calendar-2026) - [How Ammo Price Increases Reach the Shelf: Factory to Store](https://www.ironscout.ai/learn/blog/how-ammo-price-increases-reach-the-shelf) - [How Much Ammo Should You Actually Have on Hand?](https://www.ironscout.ai/learn/blog/how-much-ammo-should-you-have-on-hand) - [How to Read a Box of Ammo: Headstamps, Pressure Ratings and What the Numbers Mean](https://www.ironscout.ai/learn/blog/how-to-read-a-box-of-ammo) - [Why Ammo Prices Keep Rising in 2026: The Upstream Causes](https://www.ironscout.ai/learn/blog/why-ammo-prices-keep-rising-2026) - [Correction: The 9mm "Price Decline" We Published Was a Coverage Artifact](https://www.ironscout.ai/learn/blog/9mm-observed-price-decline-july-2026) - [Correction: Our July 17 Market Recap Reported Coverage Growth as Price Declines](https://www.ironscout.ai/learn/blog/ammo-market-week-2026-07-17) - [How to Check a Black Friday Ammo Price Against Its History](https://www.ironscout.ai/learn/blog/how-to-check-a-black-friday-ammo-price) ## Integration Contract The binding machine-readable contract for programmatic consumers is **IronScout Data Services (IDS) v1** at https://www.ironscout.ai/.well-known/ids.md. IDS defines: - Canonical entities (Caliber, CanonicalProduct, Retailer, Offer, Observation) - Public endpoints with versioned response shapes - Hard exclusions (no recommendations, verdicts, deal scores, or predictions) - Citation requirements (schemaVersion, computedAt, requestId, methodology) - Outbound attribution routing rules - SemVer versioning with 90-day deprecation windows JSON Schemas for all response shapes are published under https://www.ironscout.ai/ids/schemas and consumers may validate responses against them at runtime. ## Agent Tools (MCP) The IDS read surface is also exposed over the Model Context Protocol (MCP) at https://mcp.ironscout.ai/mcp (Streamable HTTP, public, read-only). MCP tools map 1:1 to the IDS endpoints and inherit every exclusion and citation rule — read-only, descriptive only, no verdicts, scores, or recommendations. Discovery: - Human-readable page: https://www.ironscout.ai/mcp - MCP discovery card: https://www.ironscout.ai/.well-known/mcp.json Tools: - `search_offers` — canonical products and current per-retailer offers - `get_product` — a single canonical product with its current offers - `get_market_snapshot` — caliber-level price distribution (descriptive stats) - `list_calibers` — every canonical caliber, with snapshot availability - `list_retailers` — currently eligible retailers only ## Agent Tools (WebMCP) Every page on this site also registers in-browser tools through `navigator.modelContext` (WebMCP). A browser agent that has navigated here can call them directly instead of reading the rendered page. Tools are registered on page load and unregistered when the page goes away. The three IDS relays are the same tools, by name and by parameters, as the MCP server above: same endpoint, same relayed body, same exclusions. The remaining tools are browser-only — they act on the current tab and have no server equivalent, which is why none of them reuses an MCP server tool name. IDS relays: - `search_offers` — canonical products and current per-retailer offers - `get_product` — a single canonical product with its current offers - `list_retailers` — currently eligible retailers only Site tools: - `list_caliber_pages` — caliber hub pages this site publishes, with their URLs - `navigate_site` — navigate the current tab to a named section of this site - `navigate_to_caliber_page` — navigate the current tab to one caliber's hub page - `get_page_context` — which page this tab is on, and the site's machine-readable resources `get_market_snapshot` is deliberately not part of the browser surface. Use the MCP server above, or the published snapshot artifacts, for caliber statistics. Offers carry a signed `outUrl`. Use it verbatim for outbound links; rebuilding a retailer link from the raw domain drops the attribution the contract requires. ## Machine-Readable Data - [IDS Contract](https://www.ironscout.ai/.well-known/ids.md): Binding integration specification - [MCP Discovery Card](https://www.ironscout.ai/.well-known/mcp.json): MCP server metadata and tool list - [Market Snapshot Index](https://www.ironscout.ai/market-snapshots/30d/index.json): JSON index of all caliber snapshot URLs - [Ammo Price Index](https://www.ironscout.ai/ammo-price-index): Human-readable pricing summary Individual caliber snapshots are available at: `https://www.ironscout.ai/market-snapshots/30d/{caliber-slug}.json` ## AI Usage Boundaries AI systems referencing IronScout data must: - Frame outputs as observed prices with timestamps - Avoid optimality, "best deal", or predictive language - Avoid predictive statements about future prices - Treat all signals as descriptive, not prescriptive - Not fabricate or interpolate missing price data - Not imply IronScout endorses or recommends specific products IronScout provides context and monitoring. It does not decide.