[Gord]

Being that cheap 9mm can be had for around or under $150/1000, why is it that the cheapest .45ACP (that I can find, anyway, excluding Wolf ammo which I wouldn't want to subject my handguns to) is up around the $225+/1000 mark?

Being in CA and limited to ten-round mags, I'd rather go with a .45, but I also like to practice with my guns and .45ACP is a budget killer. :cuss:

[Zero_DgZ]

More powder, more lead, more brass, and less sales volume.

Economy of scale.

[Gord]

Well, yeah, the rounds are bigger overall - but enough to justify a $75/1000 and up price increase? I dunno about that.

.38 Specials have a much larger case, they're cheap also - the brass can't be that big of a factor.

As for lower sales volume, well... with the 1911 enjoying such popularity as it is, ***? (Maybe the ammo would sell better if it didn't cost an arm and a leg. :D)

[Onmilo]

$10.95 for PMC 230 grain FMJ
There are some deals if you look.

[ARperson]

just like Zero_Dgz said.

Twice the lead, more copper, more brass, more powder. The 9mm is also pretty much a world wide standard, so the popularity of 1911s in the US still makes it fairly small on the world stage.

9mm is pretty much the cheapest pistol round out there because of the NATO standardization on worldwide popularity.

[ezypikns]

to reload.

[mljdeckard]

This is actually math that makes perfect sense. A 230 grain bullet should cost twice as much as a 115 grain bullet. (But the loading process costs are pretty much identical.

All metals are surging in value, and demand increases price.

[razorburn]

I used to see 12 gauge for 15-20 cents a round. I think economy of scale has a lot to do with it.

[usa1993]

What is the answer to 99 out of 100 questions? Money.

[wooderson]

.38 Specials have a much larger case, they're cheap also - the brass can't be that big of a factor.
Here in N. TX, I'm lucky to find .38 Spl that are any cheaper than .45 ACP. There's not even much of a difference between .38 and .357 for some reason.

[nwilliams]

Considering how much more material is in .45ACP it's still one of the cheapest for the money, look how much more .40 is and yet it's smaller, even .380 and .32 is generally more expensive. It really depends on what type of ammo you buy and where, I own two .45's and I shoot them more than my .357Sig because it's cheaper. I'd say next to 9mm and .22, .45ACP is the next cheapest ammo you will find on the market, at least for handguns.

[iowain45-70]

why buy when you can reload.

[wally]

why buy when you can reload.

Time.

At this point in my life time spent reloading is time I can't spend shooting. I reload when I can, rainy days when I can't go to the range, etc. but I'm doing good to shoot 50% reloads. Its why I've been shooting a lot more 9mm the past couple of years.

I bought as much ammo and components as I could possibly store (a bit more actually as some of it is under the car when I park in the garage :) ) over the past two years, stopping about six months ago when prices started to go up. Given what has happened to prices of ammo, primers & bullets it was the best investment I've ever made!

--wally.

[RP86]

I've been looking into getting a .40 maybe a .45 in the future. If I do go through with it I will start reloading. Factory cost of ammo are ridiculous, only downside is you can't use the reloads in glocks. Because of the octagonal rifling the reloads can cause squibs, although I have heard that you just can't use lead bullets in them. Correct me if I am wrong.

-Ryan

[mljdeckard]

Correctly done handloads are as good or better than factory loads. Learn from someone who already knows what they are doing.

The Glock warning is about unjacketed bullets, not handloaded bullets.

[mainmech48]

As has been said, more of everything compared to 9x19. Plus spiraling metals costs, plus manufacturers costs for converting their supply lines and manufacturing processes to 'green' materials in projectiles, primers and propellants. Those costs, and the associated R&D have to be spread across all the lines. It's pace is accelerating, too.

Just think about what legislation, even via bureaucratic fiat (it's coming!) of lead as a 'special public health hazard' and the subsequent curtailing of supply, plus imposition of confiscatory taxes on all products containing it will do to our handloading costs. It's gonna be tough to make your own projectiles when the only legal materials are compressed composites, 'exotic' metals or high-temp alloys. And commercial jacketed stuff will go right through the roof.

The civilian market in this country, especially for 'military' calibers, is directly affected by the accelerating demand for ammo on the global military market. Additional 'new' manufacturing capacity isn't being brought online anywhere at a pace likely to close the gap and, IMO, won't for the foreseeable future. At least, not anywhere we're likely to be able to access.

Barring a semi-major miracle, my perhaps-too-cynical opinion is that the days of cheap ammo and components are fast disappearing. Carpe that ol' diem, y'all.

[wally]

IMHO .40S&W is not the caliber to start reloading with -- it has the smallest margin for error of any handgun caliber. .45 is probably the easiest as its probably the lowest pressure autoloader round with the largest safety margins. Although I admit is a very tempting caliber to start with becasue of the ammo cost and the ready availablity of "free for the picking" brass at most ranges.

The main reasons not to shoot reloads in Glocks are the poor chamber support which can rupture after the brass has been work hardend after a few loadings and the polygonaol rifling fouls badly with lead bullets which can cause dangerously higher pressures combined with problem one above is a recipe for KaBoom! in .40S&W Glocks. Both issues can be solved with an aftermarket barrel with normal rifling and case head support.

--wally.

[GunNut]

Your solution is to buy to 1911's, one in 9mm for practice and one in .45ACP for home defense.:D

There i just saved you a ton of money on practice ammo, of course you've got to shell out another $6-700+ for the 9mm, but you'll quit complaining about how expensive .45ACP is.

Steve

[GunNut]

If that don't work for you, then either spend the money on reloading gear and supplies.

Otherwise just suck it up and pay what it cost.

Check on line for better deals from ammoman, outdoormarksman and such too.

Steve

[saigalost]

.45 are good for defense. If you are plinking around why do you need a .45 anyway? 9mm is about as good for target practice as .45 is. Get a .45 put 10 rounds in it and leave it next to your bed. Get a 9mm and go practice with that. Just my 2 cents.

[Geronimo45]

You could get a 1911 .22 conversion kit.

[WarMachine]

It's expensive because the executives at the companies want to make sure they can afford the car notes on their Mercedes-Benz AMG S65's and keep their sons behind the wheel of their BMW M3's :evil:

Haha, I think I've been on too many cars boards lately...

But on a serious note, I dream for the day when 9mm, .40, and .45 come in 500-round bricks like .22LR and with the same price tag. Perhaps that's not so much as dream, as it is drug-induced psychosis. :uhoh:

[Kimber1911_06238]

Definitely reload...it's the only way i can practice as much as I want to with my .45

[hankdatank1362]

You mean...

You guys....

Really...

Practice? :what:

[mljdeckard]

I can't think of a better investment than my .22 conversion kit. (I had one for my Glock too.)