Anyone else getting broke by ammo?

[chris in va]

Time to get a 22 conversion slide.

 

[orionengnr]

I do not think the token increase Wal Mart did is part of the 2007 scheduled increase.

45 acp went from $21/change to $27/change here recently. That is just about 30%. I don't believe that will be the last increase.

 

[1 old 0311]

As of yesterday WWB ay Wall Mart was 14.59 per 100.

 

[hotpig]

My Winchester price increases were 6%,9%, and 14% last year. I have not raised the price on all of my ammo to those levels. Some of my ammo is still at the December 2005 price. Others have not increased since last Spring and others back in July.

I have not received any shipments yet with the new price. When the new ammo arrives I will have to increase my price. Many of my Ranger products will cost me more than I currently sale it for.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

The title of this thread shouldn't be " Anyone else getting broke by ammo?"

It should be " Everyone getting broke by ammo!!"

I guess if they can't ban guns they will make the price of ammo so expensive we can't shoot anymore. Can't shoot, why buy new guns?

 

[wanderinwalker]

Quote:
Why don't you trust reloads? Is your gun falling apart? If so, I wouldn't trust factory ammo either.

That or may I don't want my gun to start falling apart.

Then you're doing something wrong friend.

I actually had a customer a while back looking for 10mm ammo. When I suggested reloading, he acted as though it was below him to bend over to pick up his brass and he would automatically blow his gun up.

I have had 4 or five different .44 Magnums through the past 7 years and I can remember EVERY box of factory ammo put through them. Rather impressive when you consider I'm probably up over 10,000 rounds of .44 fired in that time frame! We won't even include .223 match ammo, .30-06 match ammo, 9mm plinking rounds, .45-70s, .45 ACP and .38/.357. If I didn't reload, I wouldn't shoot anything bigger than a .22 more than once a month!

And get a .22! I just did. A Ruger MK III or Browning Buckmark shouldn't set you back more than $250-300 for a new one, less used. They last forever, are cheap to shoot and addicting. I just got my 22/45 last month and wonder why it took so long to convince myself to buy one.

 

[MD_Willington]

And get a .22! I just did. A Ruger MK III or Browning Buckmark shouldn't set you back more than $250-300 for a new one, less used. They last forever, are cheap to shoot and addicting. I just got my 22/45 last month and wonder why it took so long to convince myself to buy one.

Last Friday the wife and I had our date night at the local indoor range, I have to agree, other than trying out my new PT111, I also helped her burn up several boxes of .22LR in a nice Ruger pistol. Once she got going she shot a ragg'd hole in a shoot-n-C I put up for her.

 

[MCgunner]

Been trusting my reloads for a long, long time. Lets see, about $3.50 a hundred, that'd make 'em 35 bucks a thousand. Of course, that doesn't include cost of brass. But, .45 and 9mm is readily available to me for free and if I shot a .40, I'd NEVER ever have to worry about it. Unfortunately, .38 and .357 and .45 colt aren't free.

 

[Bear41mag]

Not since I started reloading and casting my own bullets 30 years ago.

Can't say that I save a whole lot, but I sure do shoot alot more.

But its nice to know that I can load a thousand of just about any caliber I have for $25-$50 dollars depending on the caliber and whether or not I use gas checks.

Never once had a problem with my reloads.....and we are talking hunderds of thousands of rounds over the years. There was a point in time where I was shooting 6000-8000 rounds a month between league, matches and practice.

Take you time, follow the rules, and reap the benifits, but first you have to get over your reloadphobia.

 

[vagabundo94]

regarding reloads

Another reason some folks avoid reloads is because it often voids a warranty. Reloads are fine, if you have the time to invest in reloading, the money to spend on equipment, and the desire to do it.

For me, I'd rather pay the price increase on WWB.

 

[James NM]

wooderson: How is that Monarch, James? I ignored it (only in .45 last time I looked) as I thought they were just steel-cased ammo ala Wolf.

Some Monarch is steel-cased made in Russia, and some is brass-cased made in Serbia. I've never purchased or shot it before. Thought I would give it a try - it was the cheapest brass-cased ammo I could find. I haven't got to shoot any yet. Maybe/hopefully this weekend. I'll let you know.

 

[shep854]

I shoot steel Monarch through my 9's without problems.

 

[tnieto2004]

I shoot steel Monarch through my 9's without problems.

EXACTLY! $4.86/20 I am still living with it

 

[strat81]

Another reason some folks avoid reloads is because it often voids a warranty. Reloads are fine, if you have the time to invest in reloading, the money to spend on equipment, and the desire to do it.

For me, I'd rather pay the price increase on WWB.

The warranty argument is weak. Use good reloading practices and you will not blow your gun up. Also, how will the gun company know unless you tell them? Many of my reloading components are Winchester: winchester brass, bullets, powder, and primers. The warranty thing is a CYA tactic the factories use. It is similar to an automobile warranty; most vehicle warranties will not cover damage caused by racing. So, if you blow your engine and your car is towed in from the racetrack with drag slicks on it, no warranty.

The time investment is minimal, especially when you consider how long it might take for someone to drive to a gunshop to buy ammo. Reloaders are not limited to single stage presses anymore; there are plenty of nice, inexpensive turret and progressive presses out there that are faster than most people. Don't forget the time you waste on THR complaining about high ammo prices!

The money argument is illogical; you say that it costs too much to buy reloading equipment but that ammo costs too much too. Reloading equipment is an asset, not an expense. If you shoot Blazer or Wolf, you have nothing left but trash. At least if you shoot WWB, you can use, save, or sell your brass. Quality reloading equipment maintains its value pretty well and is analogous to any other tools you may own. Do you own a lawn mower? Most people own their own lawn mowers not out of pride or fun but because they don't want to pay someone $25, $50, or $100 every week and a half to mow their lawn.

Also, much of this thread seems to have focused on 9mm. I reload 9mm for a bit under $5 per 50. That's after tax, shipping, etc. What about the people that shoot more expensive rounds like .40S&W, .45 ACP, .357 Magnum, .308 Winchester, .30-06, or .500S&W?


[Warning: Crazy rant ahead!]

People, you do not live in a vacuum. Ammo prices are high everywhere, not just in your corner of the world. Your choices are:
a) Shoot less
b) Shoot a cheaper caliber
c) Get a reloading press
d) Get a better paying job for extra $$$
e) Rob a liquor store for extra $$$
f) Whine about it online (This includes whining about shipping costs for ammo)

Last I checked, my calendar said 2007. It is not 1987 anymore. Gas is above $2, 9mm ammo is $8/box, and a movie ticket is $9. The bus/subway isn't a nickel, a bottle of Coke isn't a dime, and you can't buy a new Chevy for $3,000. Blame the Democrats, the Republicans, China, Al Gore, Nancy Pelosi, POTUS, Iraq, global warming, Sarah Brady, or whatever.

What's next? Are you going to start reminiscing about your high school days when you were a varsity quarterback and dated the hottest girl in school?

(Vagabundo94, this was not all directed at you. Just seems like there are WAY too many threads like this.)

 

[dhoomonyou]

Natchezss.com

9mm CCI Blazer, 5.99 box/50 rounds.

 

[vagabundo94]

"Strat81: Vagabundo94, this was not all directed at you..."

Hey - that's cool. I didn't take it as if any of the rant was aimed at me, since I don't think I've complained at all in this thread. I've just pointed out one reason some people avoid reloads, the various resources required to get into reloading, and my preference to pay for WWB.

I don't even think I've complained about price in this thread.

It's all supply and demond. Either play the supply and demand game, or don't.

 

[karz10]

So, there's been some talk here about 'cheapest' ammo for range fire, at leas that's what I'm getting out of it, and some comparisons drawn to reloading...

As I'm about to obtain my first pistol, I was wondering where is the least expensive way to buy self defense ammo? Specifically, I'm looking at 9mm rounds for semi-auto, probably glock, probably hollow points to avoid over-penetration from what I hear, heard mentioned of some kind of powerball ammo being good?

I think even most reloaders say they reload for target, but keep factory self defense rounds. I'm sure some savvy reloaders would use their own rounds for SD too, but everyone has their own preferences.

For me, a relative once told me after he got his high-end loader w/ multiple tools on it, that allowed him to switch beteen ammo types/stages more easily, he was going to give me his single loader. Don't know if that offer is still on the table, but may be an option for me down the road.

In the mean time, I'm looking to stock up on both target and SD ammo, especially if prices are trending upward. Even if I start loading my own at some point, I would still likely rely on factory SD loads for some time, I plan on having at least 4 15rd mags, and 2 33rd mags to get started with, thinking I might somehow split them up for awhile, leaving SD ammo in at least half of those, and use a couple mags for target shooting, while shooting some SD rounds in between at the range, so I know what to expect w/ that as well.

So, I guess I would initially buy a lower quantity of SD rounds to ensure no issues, then buy a larger quantity once I'm comfortable with it, to have around in case the SHTF or something.

Any thoughts on that strategy, what SD ammo I should be looking at, and where some optimum places are to obtain said ammo?

BTW, went to local WM Supercenter last night, very large 24 hour store, just my luck, they were COMPLETELY rearranging the store, there was about 2k square feet of open space where the sporting goods/hunting section was ABOUT to go, and while they had some fishing and shotgun shells out on the shelf, all the guns and other ammo was locked up in a security area until they built their new counter/displays, so I couldn't even see what they were charging for target ammo, or to see if they had any of the higher end SD stuff... Thanks,

Karz


<ramble>
PS: It kind of pisses me off that to apparently avoid offending someone, these box stores and even the big sporting goods stores don't put their guns and ammo online anymore, at least for product availability and pricing purposes....I understand if they don't want to get into online sales etc., but they could at least tell us what we could find in their stores.

Also, it's funny that whatever some of the 'sporting goods' stores do have listed online, they put it all under 'hunting' which I assume is the most relevant category given the choices, but they don't outright say 'firearms' or 'guns' at all, they'll put 'hunting rifles' or 'secialty shotguns' or 'accessories & ammunition' on the site, but not until you drill down under hunting deeper, and then usually just try to get you in the store, usually no good ammo prices.

Last observation, after reading these forums, someone pointed out some good shows on TOC (The Outdoor Channel) regarding firearms, self defense, etc., I guess anytime I looked at that channel before, they were doing a show about bird watching or something I wasn't interested in, so I never sat down and looked at their schedule before, but after watching some of the SD shows, I got the biggest kick out of seeing the commercials, stuff I wish you'd see on mainstream TV, you know like scopes, ammo, left handed AR15s...one can only dream, but at least there is cable outlet for it! </end ramble>

 

[koja48]

Explains why God created reloading equipment . . .

 

[pinotguy]

Fellas, I'm always broke when ammo is concerned but it's my own fault. When you shoot 10mm, 9x23 Winchester, and 35 Whelen there's no financial state other than broke.

 

[Chuck R.]

+ 1 for the pro reloading guys.

Last year I shot a little over 9K in .45ACP alone. I cringe to think what that would have cost for factory ammo.

If you want to shoot a lot, your choices are spending a boatload of disposable income or start reloading.

Even with component costs going up when I buy in bulk I get:

Primers $102 per 5000
Penn Bullets $101 per 2000 delivered .45 200 SWC
WW231 $64 per 4lbs

It comes out to $.08 a round for .45APC. Buy a good progressive press and the time is negligible. I've been reloading since I was 14 (32 years) and have never had a mishap.

As material costs increase so will component costs and commercial ammo. The most expensive component is the brass case, so it only makes sense to reuse them. Instead of buying that latest greatest gun, put the money into a press setup and shoot what you have a heck of a lot more.

Chuck

 

[koja48]

Last year I shot a little over 9K in .45ACP alone. I cringe to think what that would have cost for factory ammo.

Chuck R., you're my hero! Way to Go! Even reloading, I wish I could squeeze a trigger that often.


"Is this Heaven?" "No, it's" Kansas. (My apologies to Costner).

 

[frez]

Okay, I just bought a G22 so that I can save up on ammo. Using 22LR rounds, good solution to saving money?

 

[Plink]

Ammo costs are way up from last year, and they're going to go higher. I know you weren't wanting to trust reloads, but it's time for most shooters to consider getting into reloading if they aren't doing so already. Doesn't take long to recoup your investment if you do much shooting.

 

[daysleeprx]

How is that Monarch, James? I ignored it (only in .45 last time I looked) as I thought they were just steel-cased ammo ala Wolf.

The Monarch in the GREEN box is brass cased, the one in the BLUE box is steel cased. The brass stuff is great ammo, never had a problem with it.

 

[Redneck with a 40]

The sky-rocketing cost of ammo finally spurred me to buy a Lee 4 hole deluxe turret press kit. I can now handload 1000 rounds for about 11 cents/round. Before this I was shooting Fiocchi 40 S&W out of Sportsmans guide for $175/1000 + shipping. Now I am saving $65/1000 rounds.