Reloading Inventory

Hooda Thunkit said:

That reminds me of a poster I saw many years ago (before memes were invented).

Pic of an old, worn out old cowboy, says:

"Most of my money was spent on booze and women. The rest I just wasted."

Everybody needs a hobby. For some, it's using a little stick to hit a ball. For others, it's making noise and waves on the water. Some drink and chase skirts. Some look at the sky at night. I have a brother that owns a telescope worth more than most automobiles.

Reloading and shooting is just a way to stay (mostly) out of trouble.

I don't even want to guess how much I've spent in 30+ years of doing this. Doesn't really matter, if it wasn't this it would be something else.

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Your quote on cowboy reminded me of something a friend said about 50 years ago.
For 20 dollars in old Mexico you could get 20 pounds of flour, 10 pounds of bacon, a bottle of whiskey and a woman.......it wasn't the best whiskey but......

LightninST said:

You only go around Once this is not a warm up

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We'll agree to disagree about that.

hdbiker said:

I made the rounds of all the local gun stores and pawn shops the other day. The gun inventory is a joke, almost nothing to buy that you would want, and what's left have inflated prices. Ammo is coming back a little bit but reloading supply's are sold out. So I called around to three major mail order chain stores looking for Lee bullet molds. Was told they hadn't had the popular molds sense last October. Last resort I called Lee Precision about ordering a couple new molds, Custer Service wasn't taking calls right now !!! hdbiker

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It's the opposite around N. Florida: lots of guns on the shelves but no ammo to speak of and no reloading supplies to be found. I walked into one gun shop the other day and noted to the guy behind the counter how well stocked they were on every kind of pistol. Yup, but the only ammo they had was $50/box .40S&W, $50/box 9mm, and precious little else. No .380, no .38Spl, no .45ACP... and they're not gouging, those prices are cost + 10%. They're paying out the nose for the little bit of ammo that's out there.

Except .32ACP. They have lots of .32ACP and pistols in that caliber but nobody's buying them. The new buyers want the latest, greatest 9mm whizbangs from Turkey they read about on the interwebs. Or, they want that super-special Glock or SiG that fits in your pocket and can take down an entire Chinese Division... like the gun rags all say. A .32 pocket automatic? Nah. No power. Can't stop an ant with one of those. American Concealed-Carry Experts and Professional Handgunners magazine said so. Gimme a Glock 43 and I'll find ammo at Wally-World... they MUST have it.

It's sad in a way. But, I may be getting a newly arsenal rebuilt Yugo Zastava .32 pocket auto for real cheap soon. They're a good gun and I know where to find lots of ammo for it at 2018 prices.

I try to keep an inventory of my components. But only to guide my future purchases. Knowing what I have lets me know what I need. I've never considered the cost of my gear and don't keep up with it. I don't put a cost on shooting or any of my other hobbies.

GeoDudeFlorida said:

1977 BMW R100 dual spark electronic ignition conversion, ported and polished, Kino carburetors, 88BHP to the rear tire. I hit 175MPH on the stretch of I75 between the Turnpike and Tampa and held it between service centers no problem. It was a big, fast, hot-running but generally very comfortable old bike and I don't miss it one bit.

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Fellow Beemer rider. You brought back some memories. Had a 1978 R100. Electronic ignition and Luftmeister fairing with VDO gauges. Stock other than that. Don't remember what hp was. Do remember the low end torque was great. Nothing better than being on my bike on a windy mountain road in Idaho. On one of our yearly trips in spring from Boise,Idaho to Missoula, Montana with a group of Harley riders, I traded bikes with a good friends who was a long time Harley rider. It was up on Lost Trail pass in Idaho a road made for bikes. Even though years ago, remember having to push that bike thru the corners. My bike was effortless on those roads. Funny thing...a couple months later Bob bought a Paris to Dakar BMW. Windy corners on a Beemer is better than crack cocaine.

Nope.
Same reason I don't inventory my humidor to see how much money is in there.
Both things give me pleasure. As long as I can afford to keep them both up, I won't think about it.

Arkansas Paul said:

Nope.
Same reason I don't inventory my humidor to see how much money is in there.
Both things give me pleasure. As long as I can afford to keep them both up, I won't think about it.

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Long ash dittos.

I don't worry about it. With all my stuff, I should be a millionaire, but I'm not. It's fun and I like it. Have you looked at what it costs to go to a single professional baseball or basketball game? I went to see Marquette play a year ago. Before the game, we shared two big pretzels and 3 beers among 4 people. The cost of over $50. Supposedly the beer was "On Sale." Today I went to the range and shot a muzzle loader for 3 hours. I spent $8 for supplies and gas and had a lot more fun.

I have to admit I just started working on the Reloaders Workshop that I downloaded last year. A now departed You Tuber named Hornady Reloader had developed a tool for his own use and made it available to the shooting public. When he passed, another loader took up the task of updating the tool and re-releasing it. It does take some effort to get it started, but once I’m done I’ll have everything shooting related in one place. Inventory of supplies, firearms, favorite loads, stocking levels with low inventory triggers, and so forth. Though I could see the supplies on the shelf, it’s good to know the distribution of primers...now I know when things get tighter I’ll have enough SPP and SRP so I can trade for LPP if necessary. Down to about 3700 LPP, or about 3 years worth at current pace loading 45ACP.

The comments about not putting a dollar value on your hobbies reminded me of the 7 years I spent bracket racing almost every week. I kept track of upgrades to the car and it got to around $25k. By the time I was done I probably couldn't have gotten more than $3k if I decided to sell the car. And the track I ran on didn't offer cash prizes, we raced for trophies and pizzas. So no, it was never about the money. You can't put a price on the ability to do something you really enjoy.

You will hate me - quite a bit of my equipment was donated/gifted/scrounged and I think I actually paid for 3 of the die sets. I also bought some stuff used for pennies on the dollar, such as the NOE 7.62x39mm mold for $50. I also have a couple of good friends who like to shoot my guns with the ammo I make, so they buy components and lead...and don't forget pawn shop finds like my Forster trimmer set for $5. Seriously, marked at $10 and they offered it to me for $5, with a pilot and collet. I really think I have been in the right place/right time way too many times, using up somebody else's luck too. So, as much as it it hard to believe, my total investment in ALL my reloading tools/supplies right now MIGHT add up to less than $1,000, and that includes the 1010 scale I refuse to use anymore now that I have a 505 back!

Inventory of my reloading area is chicken feed when compared to my shop.

Both are hobbies and as long as there is a roof over my head and food in the pantry, I really do not care what the dollar value is.

Everything I have equipment wise has paid for itself many years ago, most of it in the first year. When I started casting i scrounged free lead and got 3/4 ton for free and buying a lee pot and molds was a minimal investment that paid for itself very quickly. Components I always got on sale or with no shipping, some I picked up while visiting family so didn’t have to figure gas or time in for the trip. I have never paid for brass and have enough for the time I have left, along with powder and maybe primers.

Figuring what I have invested in everything is actually quite low and keeps a smile on my face. Thinking about what I have in powder also keeps me happy, I haven’t paid over $21 a pound for powder, and that was just last year. Most of my powder was 16-19/lb and I still have a fair bit of it. Primers I have never paid over 23.99/1000 and that was only just in the past year just to top off a little. Bullets I cast from free lead and cheaply powdercoat. I’m still loading 9, 38, & 357 for ~ $42/1000 and that’s almost exclusively what I shoot.

armoredman said:

You will hate me - quite a bit of my equipment was donated/gifted/scrounged and I think I actually paid for 3 of the die sets. I also bought some stuff used for pennies on the dollar, such as the NOE 7.62x39mm mold for $50. I also have a couple of good friends who like to shoot my guns with the ammo I make, so they buy components and lead...and don't forget pawn shop finds like my Forster trimmer set for $5. Seriously, marked at $10 and they offered it to me for $5, with a pilot and collet. I really think I have been in the right place/right time way too many times, using up somebody else's luck too. So, as much as it it hard to believe, my total investment in ALL my reloading tools/supplies right now MIGHT add up to less than $1,000, and that includes the 1010 scale I refuse to use anymore now that I have a 505 back!

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Hate? Heck no! I cheer other people’s Blessings. Good for you and pass the good times on to others when you can.

I've accumulated a fair amount over the last 30 yrs. Last inventory I took made me happy about all those times I walked out of Jays in Clare or Gaylord MI with $200 worth of things I didnt know I needed......

Klaatu Barada Nikto said:

Figure 9 to 10k, not counting a 53' Willys CJ3A and a couple of Aprilias.
What makes the shop extra special is a 14 year old German Shepard. She has a heart of pure gold and will do whatever it takes to please. Never bit anyone, great nature and a loving dog.
Sadly she only has a short time left. We can't keep any weight on her, she's always been an active dog. Even now she's weak and wobbles but still tries to get in the middle of the action.
Trying to keep her as comfortable as possible now.

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Dog is God backwards mate....

thewelshm