Ammo & Reloading componants on the rise !!!!
- Thread starter jr1968
- Start date
Guy Miner
Master Loader
- Apr 6, 2006
- 17,837
- 6,314
It's not going to end.
Car prices, gas prices, housing costs, food costs... and yes, ammo costs, keep going up.
Still, handloading expenses are less than shooting factory ammo, and I do find myself shooting an awful lot of .22 rimfire anymore... instead of so much centerfire.
Car prices, gas prices, housing costs, food costs... and yes, ammo costs, keep going up.
Still, handloading expenses are less than shooting factory ammo, and I do find myself shooting an awful lot of .22 rimfire anymore... instead of so much centerfire.
- Oct 30, 2004
- 24,389
- 3,306
Makes sense to me. Shoot the crap out of them 22's!
G
Guest
Guest
Just for the sake of argument, I did a comparison a while back, and even using Norma brass (at about $1 per piece), and figuring that cost over 5-7 loads per piece of brass, it still only costs about $12-15 for a "box" of 20rds for my 270Wby. It is about $.15-.25 per round cheaper (so best case, about $8.25-11.25 per "box" of 20rds) for standard calibers using Remington brass. All that was figured at the prices from a month or two ago, so not much has changed there. Handloading is getting more expensive, but it is still way, way cheaper than buying factory ammo. I think what will end up happening at my house is that I will anneal more case necks (to make brass last longer) and shoot about the same. I do shoot a lot of Hornady and Speer bullets, as they offer just about the best bang for the buck, pun intended.
Guy Miner
Master Loader
- Apr 6, 2006
- 17,837
- 6,314
Years ago I figured out that I do a lot more shooting than hunting, and that I have a lot of fun shooting. So... How to shoot more without messing up the family budget?
The .22's were an obvious and fun choice. Each son has his own rifle, I have a target .22 and a plinker, and even Mama has her .22 rifle. Also have one .22 pistol that sees a whole mess of rounds through it every year.
Then to the centerfires... Oldest son blazes away with his .223 AR-15 varminter. That little .223 is still one of the less expensive centerfire rifles to shoot.
I went with the .308 Win so I could have a rifle for competition, and it's still useful in some hunting situations. Also the barrels tend to last a long time, 5000+ rounds is typical in my experience.
Buying in bulk and choosing components with care. A fellow can buy Nosler match bullets in boxes of 250, and sometimes I can get in on a drop shipment deal at a gun club or something for 1000+ bullets at a time. That really cuts the cost down. Watch for sales too. I know a lot of guys who use the heck out of those Nosler Seconds and get great results.
Powder? Hmmm. I figured out what powder I "needed" most - turned out to be Hodgdon's Varget - and I buy it in 8 lb containers. Watch for sales, but that's a tough one. Sometimes a group will get together, like trap shooters, and place a big bulk-powder order. Nice thing to get in on if you can.
Primers - again - figure out what you want - and buy them 1000 - 5000+ at a time. Same thing with brass, larger quantities generally result in a price break.
I've got a standard target load that I use in my .308 and seldom deviate from it, so it's easy to know what components are useful to me, and to stock up on those.
Yeah - I still spend money on what gun writers have called "Boutique Bullets" from time to time - premium, controlled expansion hunting bullets of one kind or another - but I rarely buy them in quantity.
Having a standard load really helps streamline the purchasing/loading process and saves me money while I'm at it.
I used to buy a box of these bullet, a pound of that powder and whatever primers were avail - now I stock up on exactly what I want, in quantity, and watch for good deals. Depending on the year, how much competition shooting I'm doing, and if I go do a lot of varmint shooting or not, but it's rare for me to shoot less than 1500 rounds of centerfire rifle ammo in a year. The vast majority of it is .308 Winchester, I just don't see a need to shoot my magnum hunting rifles a bunch. Expensive components, lots of powder, great bullets... I shoot a lot of .308, and very little 7mm mag, .25-06, .300 mag, .45-70 etc... I know up front that I'm going to spend a few hundred bucks every year on loading components for the rifles, and that I need to set aside a bit of money for that new .308 barrel that I seem to need every few years...
Pistol? A lot more shooting. :grin: That's standardized too - with the .45 ACP and inexpensive lead bullets. A .38 is cheaper to feed, but I like the .45, and it's worthwhile to me.
Regards, Guy
The .22's were an obvious and fun choice. Each son has his own rifle, I have a target .22 and a plinker, and even Mama has her .22 rifle. Also have one .22 pistol that sees a whole mess of rounds through it every year.
Then to the centerfires... Oldest son blazes away with his .223 AR-15 varminter. That little .223 is still one of the less expensive centerfire rifles to shoot.
I went with the .308 Win so I could have a rifle for competition, and it's still useful in some hunting situations. Also the barrels tend to last a long time, 5000+ rounds is typical in my experience.
Buying in bulk and choosing components with care. A fellow can buy Nosler match bullets in boxes of 250, and sometimes I can get in on a drop shipment deal at a gun club or something for 1000+ bullets at a time. That really cuts the cost down. Watch for sales too. I know a lot of guys who use the heck out of those Nosler Seconds and get great results.
Powder? Hmmm. I figured out what powder I "needed" most - turned out to be Hodgdon's Varget - and I buy it in 8 lb containers. Watch for sales, but that's a tough one. Sometimes a group will get together, like trap shooters, and place a big bulk-powder order. Nice thing to get in on if you can.
Primers - again - figure out what you want - and buy them 1000 - 5000+ at a time. Same thing with brass, larger quantities generally result in a price break.
I've got a standard target load that I use in my .308 and seldom deviate from it, so it's easy to know what components are useful to me, and to stock up on those.
Yeah - I still spend money on what gun writers have called "Boutique Bullets" from time to time - premium, controlled expansion hunting bullets of one kind or another - but I rarely buy them in quantity.
Having a standard load really helps streamline the purchasing/loading process and saves me money while I'm at it.
I used to buy a box of these bullet, a pound of that powder and whatever primers were avail - now I stock up on exactly what I want, in quantity, and watch for good deals. Depending on the year, how much competition shooting I'm doing, and if I go do a lot of varmint shooting or not, but it's rare for me to shoot less than 1500 rounds of centerfire rifle ammo in a year. The vast majority of it is .308 Winchester, I just don't see a need to shoot my magnum hunting rifles a bunch. Expensive components, lots of powder, great bullets... I shoot a lot of .308, and very little 7mm mag, .25-06, .300 mag, .45-70 etc... I know up front that I'm going to spend a few hundred bucks every year on loading components for the rifles, and that I need to set aside a bit of money for that new .308 barrel that I seem to need every few years...
Pistol? A lot more shooting. :grin: That's standardized too - with the .45 ACP and inexpensive lead bullets. A .38 is cheaper to feed, but I like the .45, and it's worthwhile to me.
Regards, Guy
- Nov 4, 2004
- 25,465
- 9,305
Guy,
Great suggestions!
JD338
Great suggestions!
JD338
longwinters
Handloader
- Oct 10, 2004
- 1,476
- 1
Yep, good advice. But for me that means than I have to stop trading rifles and stick to what I have. I think I can do it . . . :roll:
Long
Long
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