ammo prices?

[ZOMBIEHUNTER]

I enjoy target shooting like most but when are ammo prices gonna go down just in a few years it seems like its doubled alot of my big guns never get shot because the price of ammo what about fellow calgunners do the cannons stay home?

[grammaton76]

We don't stop shooting, we just get into reloading.

9c/rd 223 is pretty easy to achieve.

[bohoki]

nothing changed here

i alternate i always include a 12 ga something a .22lr something
and a centerfire rifle and center fire pistol

i find i seem to grab the guns that are either in the front of the safe or easier to clean

i'll testify to the reloading

my threashold seems to be when the ammo gets to $15 a box i reload

so far i got dies for 45acp .223 .308 .357 .30 carbine

i still find cheapo 8mm 7.62x54r 9mm

i really should reload .410 simply for the reason i keep missin

[11Z50]

Buy ammo every chance you get. I used to reload mass quantities, but now I can buy factory so I do. Every time I drop by Sports Authority I pick up a few hundred, or maybe more. I was in Sac a few moths ago and bought a boatload of 17HMR at a great price. I standardized my calibers and buy all I can of 9mm, 45, 17HMR, .223, .243 and 7Mag.

Figure out which guns you shoot most and stockpile.

[ZapThyCat]

Zombiehunter? what a cool name. Have you checked out zombiehunters.org?

[PolishMike]

I picked up a .22 because i was using the ARs as plinkers too much when i went to the range. Used to shoot a couple rounds through the AICS/700 then pick up an AR and blast a few mags through. Now I plan on picking up the gsg and using it instead.

Ammo prices have gone up a ton and are not going to go back down anytime soon. I work in the steel industry and finished product (milled, coiled, slit, galvanized) steel is at record prices. Same with other metals used in reloading. It may drop 10-15% over winter but you pretty much have to expect these prices to stay.

[sorensen440]

I enjoy target shooting like most but when are ammo prices gonna go down just in a few years it seems like its doubled alot of my big guns never get shot because the price of ammo what about fellow calgunners do the cannons stay home?

Theres alot of factors involved price of materials, value of the dollar,increased demand
Im buying up what i can afford now because I think it would double on itself again in the next 2 years

[xrMike]

We don't stop shooting, we just get into reloading.

9c/rd 223 is pretty easy to achieve.

Are you sure you're using current component prices? You wouldn't mind kicking down your component sources, please?

[11Z50]

I figure that by the time I buy all the components and gear, do the prep work, and actual loading, it's cheaper to buy factory in most calibers. In the case of 9mm especially, if I factor in my time to prep and load, it's far cheaper to buy than load.

I try to buy as much ammo in the off-season (now) as possible, so when Panoche opens again in October I'm stocked up. This year, I intend to go as many times as possible.

Not to spread FUD, but with all the current and pending legislation on ammo, it's a good idea to stock up.

[IllTemperedCur]

I figure that by the time I buy all the components and gear, do the prep work, and actual loading, it's cheaper to buy factory in most calibers. In the case of 9mm especially, if I factor in my time to prep and load, it's far cheaper to buy than load.

True, but to play devil's advocate, that depends on how much value you put on your non-work hours. Are all hours of the day to be valued equally? I imagine that we all have different views on that.

I like to consider reloading as a hobby unto itself, rather than strictly as a $-saving venture, even though the $-saving is a major factor for me. I just like BUILDING things, even something as simple as 9mm practice ammo. So, while I value my non-work hours MORE than my work hours, I don't consider reloading time as "lost", because it's spent in the pursuit of a hobby that I enjoy.

But that's me. I'm an odd duck....

[11Z50]

True, but to play devil's advocate, that depends on how much value you put on your non-work hours. Are all hours of the day to be valued equally? I imagine that we all have different views on that.

I like to consider reloading as a hobby unto itself, rather than strictly as a $-saving venture, even though the $-saving is a major factor for me. I just like BUILDING things, even something as simple as 9mm practice ammo. So, while I value my non-work hours MORE than my work hours, I don't consider reloading time as "lost", because it's spent in the pursuit of a hobby that I enjoy.

But that's me. I'm an odd duck....

No, I wouldn't say you are odd at all! I used to spend hours loading ammo, and it was a great hobby for me. I started loading as a teenager, and up until about 5 years ago I ran a Dillon and several other presses continuously.

What I meant by factoring in my time is that being a sole proprietor, (working for myself) I find it hard to not work when I can. I work far harder now than I did when I worked for "the man". I also work out of town regularly. When I'm not working, I have to prioritize my spare time. Paying attention to comrade wife and family takes up a big slice, then keeping up the property, maintenance of vehicles and gear, and as much shooting as I can squeeze in. If I were to try to fit in a 4-hour afternoon of loading, I'd have to either take it out of work time, losing money, or not do some of my non-work activities. If it comes to going shooting or loading, I'd rather go shoot. So, I work more, making plenty of $$$ for factory ammo.

[USN CHIEF]

I'll I have to say is Thank you my fellow San Diego Cal Gunners. I placed a WTB thread on the WTB forum and I was inundated with great freaking deals. I ended spending $1,200 bucks today on ammo which should carry me through the summer without dipping into my SHTF stash of ammo.

Ended up buying the following,

600 rounds of Winchester 9mm Nato 124gr
1k rounds of Winchester 9mm winchester (100 round value pack x10) 115gr
500 rounds of Winchester Ranger 40 S&W 180gr. JHP
800 rounds of Winchester .45 230gr (100 round value pack x8)
700 rounds of Wolf .223 .55gr
1k rounds of SA .308
4,400 rounds of .22lr
And one of the members even gave me a bonus gift...

Do your shopping around and you will find good deals.

[PolishMike]

I'll I have to say is Thank you my fellow San Diego Cal Gunners. I placed a WTB thread on the WTB forum and I was inundated with great freaking deals. I ended spending $1,200 bucks today on ammo which should carry me through the summer without dipping into my SHTF stash of ammo.

Ended up buying the following,

600 rounds of Winchester 9mm Nato 124gr
1k rounds of Winchester 9mm winchester (100 round value pack x10) 115gr
500 rounds of Winchester Ranger 40 S&W 180gr. JHP
800 rounds of Winchester .45 230gr (100 round value pack x8)
700 rounds of Wolf .223 .55gr
1k rounds of SA .308
4,400 rounds of .22lr
And one of the members even gave me a bonus gift...

Do your shopping around and you will find good deals.

So when we goin shootin ?

[USN CHIEF]

So when we goin shootin ?

Once you come back to SD, I really want to try that new toy of yours.... When I bought the .22lr, that was the only thing I was thinking off.

[grammaton76]

Are you sure you're using current component prices? You wouldn't mind kicking down your component sources, please?

Sure, no problem. The one component you guys won't be able to readily obtain is this OEM powder I bought at a gun show... cheap stuff, and the guy wouldn't tell me what it was exactly, just gave me load data for it. Yes, I tried my first loads with a string in the SU-16CA.

The bullets are Armscorp brand, picked up in a 4k bundle at a show for $220 so S&H wasn't a factor.

Primers were $87/5000, also from the show. I picked up Wolf small rifle primers from Miwall recently for right around that, although my 'data price' is still the Winchester primers.

Brass, I consider to be free - I've been picking it up for years and I usually end up leaving any given shoot with more brass than I arrived with (no one else in my group reloads).

Looking back at it, it looks like my initial quote was off by a bit; I'm actually looking at 10.32c/rd. I think I got 8.7c in my head from the load before this, where I'd scored even cheaper bullets and was using the same powder.

5.56mm
55gr bullets 5.50c $220/4000
24gr powder 3.08c $9/1lb
Primers 1.74c $87.00/5000

That having been said, if you get a C&R license, you can actually get some pretty awesome deals going through Grafs when they're running sales. However, S&H gets involved there, so it's rarely as cheap as it sounds initially. I've found that you can add roughly 15% for credit card fee + S&H on top of their prices.