Guy Miner
Master Loader
- Apr 6, 2006
- 17,747
- 5,827
So you think you shoot a lot? 
Most of the fine people on this forum seem to be hunters, who do some tinkering with their loads, and do some shooting, year-round. That's a fine thing. A few are pretty enthusiastic varmint shooters, and it appears that there are very few competition shooters.
I used to compete, and hope to again. When I did, I shot my rifle a LOT more. Take an honest look at how much ammo you expend in a year and compare it to these:
A cowboy-action shooter I know here in town goes through about 30,000 rounds annually. Lever action rifle and single action handguns! .38's for the most part. Not 3,000, but 30,000 rounds... Yes, he's "pretty good."
NRA High Power rifle shooting is extremely popular in many areas of the country. There are thousands of competitors. A middle-of-the-road competitor may shoot two matches a month, let's figure on 100 rounds each match, plus a few more for sighters, a little practice, etc. Maybe 250 rounds a month from the rifle, for say 8 months a year, there's 2,000 rounds of center fire rifle ammo in a year! Many shoot far more than that.
So that competitor, if shooting a hot-rod cartridge, may need a new barrel every year, or every other year. I know quite a few of the higher-level competitors re-barrel every winter, some going through two barrels a year!
Most of us hunters will NEVER wear out even one barrel from our hunting rifles.
Then there are the "three-gun" and action-shooting competitors, who BURN through thousands of rounds of ammo, mostly .223 rifle & 9mm pistol. The amount of ammo an active competitor can burn through is staggering.
Some varmint shooters make big ammo expenditures during their varminting season, particularly the sage-rat shooters of Oregon & elsewhere. Tiny little sage rats make a woodchuck, or even a prairie dog, look like a HUGE target. And there are thousands of them. Tens of thousands. It's not unusual for a serious sage-rat shooter to go through 200+ rounds of ammo a day, in a good alfalfa field! Many bring extra rifles, allowing one to cool while they shoot the other, or one for close range and one or more for longer range targets. Easily a couple of thousand rounds a year...
So... If you waffle about buying and shooting another 100 of your chosen Nosler hunting bullets... Just smile and shake your head in wonder at the high-volume shooters & handloaders.
Ya, there's a reason Dillon is so popular. And no, the custom barrel makers aren't kept in business by deer hunters.
Just a glimpse into a world of high-volume shooting, that many of us never see.
Regards, Guy
Most of the fine people on this forum seem to be hunters, who do some tinkering with their loads, and do some shooting, year-round. That's a fine thing. A few are pretty enthusiastic varmint shooters, and it appears that there are very few competition shooters.
I used to compete, and hope to again. When I did, I shot my rifle a LOT more. Take an honest look at how much ammo you expend in a year and compare it to these:
A cowboy-action shooter I know here in town goes through about 30,000 rounds annually. Lever action rifle and single action handguns! .38's for the most part. Not 3,000, but 30,000 rounds... Yes, he's "pretty good."
NRA High Power rifle shooting is extremely popular in many areas of the country. There are thousands of competitors. A middle-of-the-road competitor may shoot two matches a month, let's figure on 100 rounds each match, plus a few more for sighters, a little practice, etc. Maybe 250 rounds a month from the rifle, for say 8 months a year, there's 2,000 rounds of center fire rifle ammo in a year! Many shoot far more than that.
So that competitor, if shooting a hot-rod cartridge, may need a new barrel every year, or every other year. I know quite a few of the higher-level competitors re-barrel every winter, some going through two barrels a year!
Most of us hunters will NEVER wear out even one barrel from our hunting rifles.
Then there are the "three-gun" and action-shooting competitors, who BURN through thousands of rounds of ammo, mostly .223 rifle & 9mm pistol. The amount of ammo an active competitor can burn through is staggering.
Some varmint shooters make big ammo expenditures during their varminting season, particularly the sage-rat shooters of Oregon & elsewhere. Tiny little sage rats make a woodchuck, or even a prairie dog, look like a HUGE target. And there are thousands of them. Tens of thousands. It's not unusual for a serious sage-rat shooter to go through 200+ rounds of ammo a day, in a good alfalfa field! Many bring extra rifles, allowing one to cool while they shoot the other, or one for close range and one or more for longer range targets. Easily a couple of thousand rounds a year...
So... If you waffle about buying and shooting another 100 of your chosen Nosler hunting bullets... Just smile and shake your head in wonder at the high-volume shooters & handloaders.
Ya, there's a reason Dillon is so popular. And no, the custom barrel makers aren't kept in business by deer hunters.
Just a glimpse into a world of high-volume shooting, that many of us never see.
Regards, Guy
