How long does a box of shells last you?

Any one else proud of how long a box will last you for hunting only?

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No.
I'm proud of how I always check the zero of my rifle and practice a little before hunting season starts every year.

I'd be ashamed if a box of 20 rounds lasted me up to hunting season, let alone after the season opened.

After that, I would hope to harvest the game animal with one shot / one kill.
And have 19 rounds left for practice and zero check before next hunting season.

But I would have plum wore out a box of ammo or four before the season opened.

rc

How long does a box of shells last you?

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Well, I normally go through several boxes for the '06 before deer season ever gets here. Prolly a box or two during the season, not shooting at deer, but because with a 6-8 guys sitting around the campfire telling stories, there's bound to come a time when you go and see who's the best shot.

We like shooting. Also, shooting often keeps you sharp and familiar with your rifle. I've missed one deer in the last 5 years, and it was with a gun I was unfamiliar with at a stepped off distance of 412 steps. (I also misjudged the distance which was prolly a bigger factor than an unfamiliar rifle)

We also handload, so what you would pay $35 for at the store, we're paying about $10. Makes it a little easier to waste a few that way.

I shoot what needs shooting to accomplish my myriad purposes. It takes the number of rounds it takes.

About 2 hunting seasons...10 shots each year out of the gun at the range to ensure that the scopes are still zero'd. 0 shots out in the field cuz I never can find anything

One 20 round box - 'bout 2-3 years. In the 60s and 70s I fed my family with deer, elk, and bear - one shot kills the norm. Had not used my '06 since the 70s, but recently took it out with loads I loaded in the mid-60s. Shot just fine and grouped well, therefore one loading session has lasted nearly 50 years.
Richard

My 270 is pretty much hunting season only with some late summer/early fall practice and scope checking. Have not used it in about 5 years now since I have been mostly hunting with a revolver when I can deer hunt. You never know when I might dust it off and use it again. But a box of 270 cartridges lasts me about a hunting season (one deer and practice)... maybe a little longer if the scope is still on and it has been for the most part. A long shot is 75 yds where I hunt.... really don't need to practice a lot for that kind of shooting with a rifle if you are certain the scope is "on".

I don't keep score when it comes to rounds. I have enough on hand for probably the rest of my life if I continue only occasionally using the rifle. Handguns are different.... very different. You must practice.... and if I don't, then the rifle gets dusted off or I don't go.

I'm not bashful about shooting. I shoot any coyotes I see during deer season and might even take a crack at a crow now and then. Unlimited doe tags means we need plenty of ammo. Also, I may pop a shot or 2 at a target on the backstop now and then during the season.
I don't push the "one shot kill" thing. If a deer is still standing, I'm still shooting. The big 12 point I tagged last fall was hit 3 times within a few seconds since I was hunting alone and didn't want him to get to a place I couldn't drive to. I shot 15-20 rounds from 3 different rifles during the course of 14-15 days of hunting.

I put at least one box of ammo through every gun I own, every time I go to the range. Thats only about once a month usually, but that means every gun I own sees at least 12 boxes a year, and some guns see a lot more than that minimum. Only exception is 22LR, which I still shoot, but only 100 rounds or so usually. I don't think I could ever hold onto a gun I only shoot once or twice a year unless it was an heirloom or something.

Before I started handloading, I found a certain brand/type of ammo that my 270 shot really well, and had the particular bullet I wanted. The problem was that it was $40/box. So, I would shoot off-season with cheaper ammo, and save the expensive stuff for when I was pointing the rifle at 4-legged critters. Besides a couple of shots to re-zero from the cheaper ammo before hunting, 6 deer and 2 caribou all fell to the same box of ammo over 4 seasons.

But, I'm not sure that counts, since I shot other ammo in between...

I went to the range today and shot exactly one round of 20 gauge #3 buckshot.
Just wanted to get a fired case to determine head expansion and help me figure a correct diameter for a sizing die. Also patterned the 20 pellets at 15 yards from the cylinder bore.
Wow, big spread.
I learned a lot. And surprising how just one shot fouls the bore.
Most the time these days I shoot no more than 30 rounds per session, mostly revolver.
But I shoot weekly.
You really don't need to shoot more, if you are already experienced.

I belong to a club in a rural area with few shooters during the work week.I'm retired and in the summer and fall months I pack a lunch and take 3 guns(2 .243's and a 50 cal muzzleloader)and shoot and tinker for 4 or 5 hours about once a month.In deer season I usually shoot no more than 6 shots.I really try for the one shot kill,it doesn't always happen.

i shoot all year long, so ammo never sits around very long. BUT, i do have some ammo that is strictly for hunting. i will not allow any ammo to sit around more than 5 years though. and that is ONLY if it is stored inside of a military surplus ammo can with a good seal.

I use to shoot my rifles during the summer to check the scopes. My brother does not have the time to check his scope when he goes hunting. I use to check it for him now after 10 yrs of it not changing I use a bore laser sighter to confirm. So in the last 20 yrs my brother has only fired 1 round per season, 1 kill. At the current rate he will be 90+ yrs old before he goes through 30 rounds.

So to answer your question at your current rate you have enough for several years. I would just ride out the ammo shortage before I buy. If you reload you can do it any time you need them if you have the components to make them up.

I hunt SOMETHING year around now. I am in squirrel mode. Supposedly we have turkeys here, but I've yet to see sign of 'em. Wife saw one up the road in the car, that's encouraging, but I've not seen one, yet.

I practice with rimfires, the centerfires don't get shot all THAT often, but I do pop a few rounds from 'em now and then as I have my range next to my house, can shoot up to 100 yards. My .22 mag is a GREAT practice rifle and I take a squirrel now and then with it. It stays loaded in the mud room with a light on the scope for chicken marauders in the middle of the night. The other evening, I should have grabbed it instead of my .308 as the mag was loaded and I wouldn't have had to hunt for my ammo for it. There were 12 piglets and a sow in my back yard right before sun down. Oh, well....

Really, I don't have to worry about practice. I shoot my rimfires ALL the time. I don't have to worry a lot about ammo for my centerfires, either. I handload for everything I shoot except rimfire and 20 gauge. I really don't keep track of how many I shoot a year, doesn't matter. When I am running low for one of my rifles, I just reload the empty brass. I cannot imagine having to buy inferior store bought ammo to hunt with. I have guns that have never seen a factory round. My .308 is one of those. I just couldn't see paying 4 times the price for 1/4th the quality.

How long does a box of shells last you?

One box of 20 rounds lasts me 20 shots !....................

Now as I think about it my brother just bought 2 boxes of 35 rem cor-lokts 200 gr last deer season. I can't remember the last time we bought any ammo. I think the last time I bought a box of 35's when they cost @ $ 24.00

I go up to the Catskill Mountains N.Y. every year and we do our tradition the day before opening season walking up a couple of ridges behind the house and shoot a couple rounds.

I was just at Gander Mountain Palm Beach Gardens and they do have some box's of 35 cal on the shelf for $34.00

I once had a box of shotgun shells that I went 25 for 25 on squirrels over the course of a couple years. As for rifles, I tend to shoot a lot of different rifles. I don't shoot my "go to" hunting gun as much as some of my others, but marksmanship is marksmanship. Lots of practice with a .22 for example will carry over to hunting with larger calibers. I generally use the same rifle for big game hunting every year and am 100% confident in it.

I find shooting at game is more a matter of keeping yourself calm and collected than anything else. If at the moment of pulling the trigger you separate yourself subconsciously from envisioning the animal that you are about to take life from to being a target that you MUST hit exactly in a certain spot, then you will have very few misses and almost zero lost game. You will also find yourself not taking marginal shots with this mentality. I almost never get buck fever anymore, but I generally have the adrenaline dump after the animal is on the ground.

It depends on how many deer I shoot that year but I average about 3 deer/year. Almost all of them only take one cartridge but occasionally a follow-up shot is warranted. With a 3 shot sight-in session to confirm POI each season, an accurate estimate would be 3 years.

One box generally lasts me about 20 shots.

I have a 6.5x284 that I am trying to be conservative with to save the barrel. I'll shoot a handful of rounds to check the zero, then another half dozen during the season, depending on how many species of critters I am hunting.

Considering I'll toast a barrel (or two) every summer shooting p-dogs, and maybe another barrel slapping steel, I really don't feel the need to "practice" a whole lot with my 6.5x284.

fallout mike said:

One box generally lasts me about 20 shots.

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20 shots .. yeah me too.

I have a life membership in a Sportsmen’s club that has a senior membership of 1200 with a waiting list. Sight in days were held before rifle season for deer. Enjoyed being a casual observer average consumption was ten rounds with the remaining ten saved for hunting I suppose. Most sighted their rifles in at 100yds from the bench almost none utilized the 200yd line. Few if any shot from a field position after sighting in.

I haven’t been there in almost two decades. It’s a little over a 400 mile trip one way. I believe nothing has really changed much there at least the news letters don’t indicate much of a difference.