Non-Reloaders: When is a Round Too Expensive to Shoot?

On more than one occasion I have bought Buffalo Bore ammo for my 450 Marlin. It is around $80 a box of 20, obviously I don’t shoot it much like a box every 3-5 years.

So I guess I will pay that much, but if 45 acp was that high I’d sell some 45’s. Like 44 magnum, as soon as possible I’ll start reloading for it, I simply can’t afford to shoot it as much as I want to right now.

twarr1 said:

People fuss, complain, make declarations, then ultimately adapt.

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Yes.
And sometimes they just throw up their hands in surrender and switch to hobbies like golf or wood working.

Poper said:

Yes.
And sometimes they just throw up their hands in surrender and switch to hobbies like golf or wood working.

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Man, I don't think either one of those is any cheaper. . . Makes me think what's a cheap hobby? Like real cheap. Origami?

Trashyshoots said:

Man, I don't think either one of those is any cheaper. . . Makes me think what's a cheap hobby? Like real cheap. Origami?

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I doubt anything worthwhile is cheap.
Fishing (aquatic hunting) sure isn't cheap these days.

Golf might be cheaper out in the rural areas. A set of clubs is about the price of a decent rifle and golf balls are a lot cheaper than ammunition! Green fees can get a little expensive, especially in places like AZ. I gave up golf about ten years ago when I came to the ultimate conclusion that Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson had nothing to fear about my play. And likely never would.

If it is hunting ammo ( 308, 3006 ) I would pay $2 a round maybe more.. As for other ammo like .22 I would have to see how I feel at the time of me wanting such ammo.

NIGHTLORD40K said:

The 03A3 is an awesome gun, but your shoulder is probably going to be crying uncle after 20-40 rounds anyway, so I wouldnt worry about the ammo costs on that one.

{SNIP}

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I found that out years ago when I bought a Turkish Mauser and 2 cases of Turkish ammo ...

I learned two things;

1. A new found respect for those boys in the WWI & II

2. After 20 rounds, don't expect to have full function of you arm for at least a week, if not two.

Guns as a whole is pretty cheap if you consider all that it encompasses. Also if you only use a single stage press and don't go hog wild with reloading gear. You can have a lot of bullets for $100 a month in components.

For a while when I was young and not married I spent $200 a month in ammo. If I had known about reloading then....

I ran across some 44 special rounds the other day for $50 a box. I would have bought them for the brass if I hadn't been right on cash.

However, I digress,

For hunting ammo, before I reloaded them, I was paying over $2 / rd for Precision Hunter. I'm probably paying more than that now that I handload

It depends greatly on what caliber, and for what purpose. If I owned something like a .338 Lapua and were planning a rare range day at a 1000+ yard range three or four hours away, I’d gladly pay $2 or $3 per round for a box of high quality ammo. On the other hand, I’m not going to pay that much for pistol FMJ to shoot a 100+ round USPSA or IDPA match with, or for plinking cans or steel with a .22LR. But I might pay that much for a small box of premium carry ammo for my EDC. So, it depends.

JCooperfan1911 said:

For all the NON-RELOADERS out there, when do you look at the price per round of ammo, step back and say “yeah that caliber is too pricey for my shooting needs”?

Just curious as I don’t reload .30-06 but have been eyeing a classic M1903A3 Springfield rifle here locally, but checked the prices on .30-06 on ammoseek.com and am seeing the very cheapest steel cased rounds at a dollar twenty-five per shot. I was like “nope” on that one.

Interested to see your thoughts on this guys (and gals). Godbless and Happy 4th!

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i am a reloader, however for many years i was not one. You can’t put a price range like that because different calibers have different prices, for example, 50bmg at $2.00 is a very very good deal, 22lr at $0.20 is expensive, so will i buy 50bmg at $2? Yes all day long, will I buy 22lr at $0.20? No it’s too expensive unless it’s ultra match ammo or something.

Being a reloader, I still occasionally buy factory ammo in calibers I reload. Like 30-30. If I went to the store and they had winchester 30-30 for $9.99 a box, I'd buy lots of it. If it was two years ago normal of $17, I'd leave it. If it was $30 or more like it goes for now....not only will I leave it but I'll think bad things about folks gouging.

22lr of course I don't reload (although some do). Anyways, I didn't give up shooting it when I started reloading. Many people did, because 9mm or 38 special could be loaded for less sometimes. I didn't. I used to buy 22s for $.99 a box or $10 a brick. Now I still buy them but I pay $5 or more a box, the most I've paid was $10. And I buy bricks for $35 to $60. The last thunderbolts I bought was $35, as was a brick of Aguila, both from academy.

I've seen folks selling thunderbolts for $99 but they are either gouging, or the people before them were gougers. Would I pay that? Yes. If I had to. But I don't have to. And I have enough 22s to last a few years of heavy plinking, which helps me stave off buying out of urgency.

Poper said:

I doubt anything worthwhile is cheap.
Fishing (aquatic hunting) sure isn't cheap these days.

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At least with fishing you (theoretically) get to reuse your projectile. Theoretically…

JCooperfan1911 said:

For all the NON-RELOADERS out there, when do you look at the price per round of ammo, step back and say “yeah that caliber is too pricey for my shooting needs”?

Just curious as I don’t reload .30-06 but have been eyeing a classic M1903A3 Springfield rifle here locally, but checked the prices on .30-06 on ammoseek.com and am seeing the very cheapest steel cased rounds at a dollar twenty-five per shot. I was like “nope” on that one.

Interested to see your thoughts on this guys (and gals). Godbless and Happy 4th!

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I had a 1903A3 30-06 for about 30 yrs. Had a Fagen(sp) stock and a Smith-Corona barrel. At the range it would shoot circles around my buddies’ fancy new Brownings, Remingtons, etc. About 15 yrs ago my alcoholic brother (borrowed) it and ended up selling it to buy liquor. Never saw it again, or my brother, whose liver finally did him in. Your post just reminded me of that great rifle. You would enjoy it, if it has a good barrel. Might be worth the ammo. It’s an iconic weapon from the “good ole days”.

Bazoo said:

If it was $30 or more like it goes for now....not only will I leave it but I'll think bad things about folks gouging.

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The folks at the LGS are (generally) not mustache-twirling evil masterminds bent on world domination--generally.
If that box of dirty-dirty is $30 on the shelf, it probably cost the LGS $25 to put it there. And that $5 profit has to pay for the rent, utilities, and payroll from when it hits the shelf until somebody buys it.

The distributor the LGS bought it from is not rolling in dough, either. They are having to try and find people willing to work in a warehouse busting down pallets of ammo from the wholesalers into per-LGS shipments. While being surrounded by high-value inventory and being part of the inventory system. Every LGS the distributor severs is on the phone or online asking about their next shipment. And the distributor then has to wait and see if the deliveries will be made. Or if the common carrier they are using has "weighted out" on Hazmat. So, the distributor is probably paying a premium to expedite deliveries.

The wholesaler is not likely rolling in dough, either. They have to wait until the factories get an entire pallet of one kind of ammo completed for their order, then have to wait on that to ship, just so they can inventory that onto their dock at the warehouse. Where they need people to come work a forklift for all the hours is takes to sort the product out for delivery to the distributors. Everyone of which is calling wanted to know is "x" is available, and "when" and "why isn't it here yet?"

The factory is focused on making the ammo as efficiently as possible. They are running off a 100K or a million of 101gr 29magnum and getting it boxed and packed by the pallet load. When that run is complete, they then start in on the 139gr loading. Or they need to get 150K of the superdeathblammo pistol ammo run. And the wholesalers are practically waiting on the dock for the pallets of ammo. And busy outbidding each other to buy a priority on the delivery.

Back to OP; Brownell's sent me a blurb about ammo on sale. I went looking and was underwhelmed. (It's still a bit early for me to jump in.)
So, Blazer brass 9x19 at $25 is still a "no" for me (Blazer lost me back in the 90s, anything over $10 is too high).
But even the 'brown box' Remmington at $30 is still too high.
But, that's about what the "plain box' 115gr FMJ 9x19 is going for right now. But, that's down for $40-50 a few months ago. It will get better.

Really depends. I reload every caliber I shoot, generally put some dies on order the same day I buy the gun. But when I got my 38-55 last year, the only ammo the guy had for it was a box of Super-X from the '90s that he offered to me for 50 bucks. As I didn't know whether I'd be able to immediately find anything to start loading it up, and I was really excited to shoot it, I decided to take him up on it. I'd probably only ever spend that much on ammo for a new gun though.

I have plenty of guns that factory ammunition does not fit (tight neck AI cartridges) or needs to be loaded with BP for Trapdoors.
1866 in .50-70 Government, and a couple different models in .45-70. One plain, one ramrod bayonet.

A friend bought a Henry rifle chambered in '50 something', a while ago. I have no idea which ammo it uses. All he knows is that this ammo now is too pricey, and he seems interested in using the rifle much more often than he ever did with his Colt AR "Green Box" (1984) etc. Oh yes, still has the seldom-used AR.

He is about to order/use his first reloading gear (single-stage Lee), simply to reload for this single rifle.

Even before the 2020 hysteria, he never bought extra ammo for the Next panic (has about ten guns-but shoots somewhat seldom), as he's too busy with his four horses and related tasks.