Can't afford to shoot anymore?
 

Am I the only one who feels like they can no longer afford to shoot anymore?

Did a current price check on .223 this week. If I were to buy all the components. Primers, powder and projo's (I have plenty of good brass) @ current prices including shipping and hazmat is right at .58 per round. Found some new loaded .223 for .47 a round delivered. Doesn't make sense to reload plinking ammo right now. I understand waiting for deals and free shipping and such.

I'm glad I've put away enough ammo/reloading components to hopefully last the rest of my shooting days because The shooting sport is quickly becoming to costly for me.





R/s, Hiller............................................ ..

Totally agree, it is still crazy out there with the prices of components being what they are.

Agreed! . . . .

I’ve noticed there is NO WAITING for a firing point at my club now . . . . .

As I’m a “group shooter”, I may have to reduce my round count from ten, down to five!

Just yesterday, I bought IMR4895 that cost me $36.18 per pound, DELIVERED . . . .UP from $24.91 delivered, only 5 years ago!!

My plinking days are long-over also! (Even .22 LR is far too costly now!)

Seems to me, Ted Kennnedy’s idea he floated years ago, when he wanted to make ammo costs prohibitive as a gun control measure, is now coming to the surface!!

I agree, but it is what it is. Just making it a privilege to the better off now like lots of stuff in life.
No different than the new vehicle cost or groceries or whatever in the last 5 years, it's exponential haha.
Hey look at the bright side, surplus 50 bmg is still 3 bucks haha

Went to the gun club yesterday morning with 2 shooting buddies. We were on the 100/200/300yd rifle range. Our club also has a separate 100yd range and 20 pistol ranges. Temp was mid 50's, sunny, and little wind. Left about Noon and only one other person at the club on a pistol range. On a pretty day in January there were always more folk shooting. Answer..cost and lack of ammo!

My apologies but I don't understand the contradiction above; you feel like you can no longer afford to shoot anymore, yet you have enough supplies to possibly last the rest of your life. :confused:

With a lifetime supply of primers (2 cents ea. S&B's at Cabelas only 6 yrs ago), brass, powder, bullets, .22 rimfire, etc; I feel like I can afford to shoot as much as I want.

I paid 2 cents per round for CCI MiniMag .22 back in the late 70s.

With inflation, that is equal to 8.6 cents per round today.

Current MSRP for CCI MiniMag is 12 cents per round.

Not really that much more.

Buy yourselves a good air rifle , a firearm doesn't have to go bang and recoil to be fun and hone your skills. I go to my club and shoot right in the hall at 25 ft. . Its great practice in the winter time. Try it you'll like it. Eddie

First, I don't know how you're calculating the costs of reloading, but with free brass, $33 per pound powder bought in bulk, 15¢ primers and 11¢ bullets, I'm coming up with reloads costing, at most, a little under 40¢ per each.
Second, whining about the price of ammunition is getting a little old. Ammunition and component prices are very cyclic, and unless one has lived under a rock for the last 20 years, they would know that and should plan appropriately.
Third, if you have enough components to last the rest of your shooting days, what's the point of your post?

Mind sharing where you found 4895??? I could use some

I do feel like I am pulling gold bricks out of my shooting bag instead of ammo boxes when I go to the range. A few months ago I took along a few boxes 9mm and .380 to give the CC pistols some exercise and the girl behind the counter looked at the .380 and said, “Your not going to shoot those are ya?… you’re lucky to even have some!”

It’s bad when a few boxes of ammo starts costing more than the firearm!!!

In a by-the-way note: this would be a good time to teach your kids the idea of "buy low." They probably aren't gonna get this lesson in any public school. Buy when prices are low, enjoy when prices sky-rocket. Ask any older guy, prices for ammo stuff go up and down. Over the years I've learned to stock up when I can. I get a little at a time when prices are right, so I don't have to buy a whole lot (at a time) when they aren't. You can't store English muffins, or gasoline like you can reloading stuff.

I see this every year. When hunting season rolls around I have several friends who call me because they can't find ammo. The first one or two times I helped them out. Now, if they let themselves get stuck again it's on them. They've got to learn.

My grandson duck hunts so he's always looking for 12 Ga. 3" steel shot. I don't hunt any more, so last season I gave him all my steel shot, about 6 boxes, and 25 or 30 rounds of buckshot. I gave him a Remington 700 .30/06 when he graduated high school a couple of years ago. With that came 200 rounds of HXP and 100 rounds of commercial 150 gr. soft point. He's still ok on the rifle ammo. This summer I taught him how to reload and gave him enough components to get started. Now he needs to build up a supply of components when the prices are reasonable.

I'm going to date myself here... I still have several hundred Super-X 12 Ga. 2.75" #6 lead shot from my earlier duck hunting years. These are from the days of 500 shell cases... way back when their shells were marked Mark V plastic. They won't do my grandson any good since they're lead shot.

A few years ago, before Covid, our local grocery had a close out on their brand of 18 roll packs of double roll toilet tissue. They were changing to 4x rolls so the 2x rolls were marked down 75% off. I bought the remaining 10 packs... yes, that's 180 double rolls. No problem, we had the room to store it. When I got home my wife looked in the car and said, "I see they had a good sale on toilet paper!" We're both on the same page when it comes to "Buy it cheap and stack it deep".

I don’t mind at all, but . . . . .

A half hour (maybe less) after I bought it, it was sold out!!

Powder Valley . . . .8 lbs..

That’s one of the places I look…guess it wasn’t my day

While it is more expensive to shoot in our current climate it has not slowed me down. I have tons of components to load along with tons of factory ammo. I can't take it to my grave so I might as well shoot it.

As the song goes "this ain't my first rodeo." I've been through this crap several times now, so I learned that when supplies are available, buy them and stock up. Several years back, when Tula primers were first being imported into this country, I bought about 200,000 mixed primers for around $12 per thousand. I still have quite a few of those left. I also bought Winchester and Remington primers when they were on sale. Powder came from several surplus dealers at around $3 per pound, and I'm still using that too. When this passes, and it will, remember to buy what you can, when you can, and hold on to your stock. Replace what you shoot when prices are reasonable and keep a good backstock.

I've definitely slowed down on shooting but haven't quit entirely. There is a glimmer of hope that prices might be coming down ever so slowly. Just yesterday I stopped by my friendly neighborhood Cabela's in hopes of finding some Garand-friendly 30-06. I didn't find that but I did find 9mm for $18/box. I can hardly remember the last time I found it for less than $20 as sad as that sounds. Of course I grabbed a few boxes. So, just maybe the current bloated ammo prices won't last forever.

I don't shoot my M1's like I used to. I would go up to our range and shoot about close to a hundred rounds of HXP and think nothing of it. Go up at least every week while I was still working!!! Now I'm retired and I shoot my M1's about once a month and when I do , I usually shoot 3 clips full and that's it!!!

I still shoot my U.S. 44's alot .I have enough 22's that will last me for a while.

Making the ammo too costly is the same result as making ammo unavailable. Drives down value of fire arms and denies you and your kids / grand kids the kind of shooting life we've long enjoyed in this country.

They can’t pass new gun control and without ammo guns are poor clubs. I find it hard to believe after 2 years of this ammo and loading components are still basically unavailable. There’s more going on here than just supply and demand

IDK I always felt "shooting" was never a cheap sport.
My dad would stock deep on 22lr in the late 70s through early 90s would save up $ so when we went to NH camping we would hit a few gun shows and stack 22lr deep .
I to have been stacking over the years for reloading. I also been "buying" my reloads off myself.
So when the prices and quantities are back to where I feel its good I have a little chunk of change to restock.
Till then I have shifted to 22lr, pellet guns, reduced loads for 100 yards , cast bullets and such.

I'm shooting more now than I ever have. :)

No waiting at my gun club (outdoor range) or at the indoor range near where I work.

I'm tripping over full ammo cans here at home. ;)
I'm laughing. I'm not laughing at you; I'm laughing WITH you.
I learned the SAME painful lesson than you are learning now, years ago.

I got caught "flat footed" back in September 1994 when the "Clinton Assault Weapon Ban" was passed. I didn't have what I wanted before prices skyrocketed.
When it sun-setted in 2004, and prices returned to normal, I started buying.

That included not only certain firearms, but extra "normal" capacity magazines, and ammo. LOTS of ammo. :)

I was buying Milsurp rifle ammo in 5.56 and 7.62 nato cheaper that I could reload it for a few years! I still have some.

When I buy a rifle from the CMP, I ALWAYS buy the 2 cases of ammo allotted with it at a discount.

I have been reloading, and casting lead projectiles for my handguns since 1992. If you shoot more than 1,000 rounds per year, not counting 22lr, it's WORTH getting into reloading. Yes, there is a start-up cost.

Availability is coming back, and prices are slowly coming down here near Cleveland, Ohio.

Here is the take away: BUY IT CHEAP AND STACK IT DEEP.

I look at ammo like I look at gasoline: it's fuel that I use.

You all will find it comforting, during the next "ammo shortage/gun buying panic/Gun Control Law coming" madness to have a few THOUSAND rounds for each of your guns rather than 2 BOXES.

Best regards.

I've been in the shooting community since the late 80's..........
The same thing happening now is the same thing that has happened the past 6? times.
Nothing has changed since the last time........ nothing.

I'm getting Sale ads for ammo.............

I don’t quite agree….two years later the local sporting goods shelves are still bare not just 9mm .22 rimfire or the evil black rifle 5.56 there are no 12 gauge trap loads or hunting loads no 30-06 or other common calibers. I haven’t seen large rifle primers or powder since I can’t remember when. The manufactures claim they are running at full capacity-one would think after this long the shelves and supply would catch up. I really believe there is something else going on this time

In previous “shortages” there were always alternatives. They don’t have varget? 8208 or 4895 would have to do. No CCI 41’s? 400’s will work. We’re coming up on 2 years of this. There are still record numbers of new owners. Not all are just buying the 2 boxes with the gun then stopping. Some are getting involved in the sport. It’s not just one thing, but a combination of factors. The one thing I will agree with is the factors contributing to this are manufactured by governmental policies not aimed at our sport, but aimed at us as citizens. This is not an organic occurrence (my opinion).

I always load up before election years as the big scare comes in to effect,Everyones worried about the one party banning firearms if they get in office and prices ion ammo and firearms shoot thru the roof,It seems one party who wants them banned should actually get a medal for selling the most firearms and ammo in years every election.I buy before the election scares while ammo is cheap i never buy less than a 1,000 rounds unless it is for a pistol I only ocasionaly shoot then I buy 500 or 250.,anytime i see a great deal on 1,000 rounds i buy it and store it as if i have to much I can always sell some when prices are high in election years and make more money than i paid for it .

It's been said a LOT in these pages that there are millions of new firearm owners out there now. A thousand rounds each would come up to... well, you do the math. a couple hundred rounds each would still put a damp on ammo... and where else are the ammo manufactures gonna get primers, etc. "Ours" are going to "them." I try to replace when my pile gets down to "large." I'm not replacing as fast now - till prices come down more.

And you rimfire guys: don't ignore: you can reload your 22lr's. There're rigs out there for it. Anybody around here tried them? (Actually tried them vs theoretically tried them) I'm curious to hear how well (or not) they work. Yes, I'll assume they're slow. Slow doesn't appeal, fifteen cents a 22 appeals less.

Narrative on that over at RFC very recently; friend of the poster dropped $3k on the full monty.
Many FTF's and/or bullets not even punching the paper, despite a few iterations. Abandoned the effort.

On the other hand, only a few years ago it was as easy as falling off a log to stock up on a number of cases of GECO Bolt (standard velocity) @ $205 shipped, or CCI SV @ $250.
Pretty difficult to run through 50,000 RF unless a person is pretty determined, lol. :rolleyes:

Where were people when Cabelas was selling all four varieties of S&B primers for 2 cents each, only 8 Edit: 6 years ago ?
100,000 primers lasts a very long time, I can tell ya.

Yep these are times we prep for. After 2012 I've been stacking it deep for just this situation.

Kestrel: PM (two) inbound

JN

Whenever reading threads like this, I can't help but wonder if the time has finally been reached where experimentation with Boxer primers (for those that still have some) and modified Berdan brass casings, is a worthwhile combination to pursue? I've never tried my hand at this, but I've read where some folks have successfully done it. If I were to try it, most likely 6.5 x 55 would be my first candidate. Anyone here ever perform this Berdan-to-Boxer case-modificatiion and found that the effort was successful, worthwhile, and gratifying?

I have watched a few videos on it and it's a lot of work.

I think if you want to shoot 6.5 the cheapest way is to buy the wood bullet practice rounds, remove the bullet and powder and reinsert powder and bullet. I have done that and it's fairly easy.

Griff557 - IMR 4895
 

Midway has it listed for sale this morning and for the past few days

Last time I went target shooting was last june. Ammo is too expensive and my salary decreased.

I went hunting the last dove seadon because I had ammo I bought years ago.

I have plenty of ammo, I stockpiled years ago. My problem is trying to find the time to go

Why?

The last shortage lasted some 5 years (2013 to 2018).

Depends on the product, I guess;

Checking my ammo / components purchase spreadsheet:

• Bulk .22LR becoming available in quantity in 2016, price coming down in 2017, dirt cheap in 2018 (CCI SV @ MidWayUSA $250 shipped, GECO Bolt @ TS-USA $205 shipped)
• Shotshells: very inexpensive in 2015
• Components: Hornady bullets (entire line), very inexpensive in 2016; S&B primers dirt cheap in 2016 (S&B 2 cents each @ Cabelas)
• Centerfire pistol: very inexpensive in 2015; dirt-cheap in 2016: 9mm & 45ACP @ $10-$12 per box, shipped
• Centerfire rifle: very inexpensive in 2016