Assuming you don't reload, what's your monthly ammo budget?

[Timmybosko]

About $100 a month.. I shoot twice a month and spend about 50 bucks per session.

I have a Ruger KP944D and a Colt Defender 9mm.

I usually get 100 Blazer Aluminum .40 S&W and the same in 9mm each time I shoot.

.40 S&W is 15:50 for a box of 50 and the 9mm is about 10 bucks for 50 at the LGS.

 

[jcwit]

Well so far this month I've spent $600 on pellet guns and supplies.

 

[B2Tall]

No set budget but I typically shoot 500-1000 rounds a month of various types. .45 ACP, 9MM, 5.56/.223, and AK are my primary "food" although I have numerous others.

 

[Fiv3r]

I shoot more or less depending on the season and what I feel like I will shoot more. I try to squirrel away ammo when I think about buying it.

I usually buy a box or 9mm plinking ammo about once every other week, .38 special about once every 2 months, and .357 when I dip below 25 rounds.

That means that when I get out to the range I usually have enough 9mm for more practice with my shorter carry piece, plenty of .38 for revolver technique, and some .357 for a full power finishing. I try to spread out the semi auto and the revolver cost. 9mm is cheaper, but I go through it faster. .38/.357 costs more, but due to lack of time to shoot, I probably only go through 50 rounds of .38 and maybe 24 .357.

I usually spend 50-60 bucks a month on average. I might go a couple months without buying anything due to my seasonal work. Then again, I may go on a bender in the winter and buy enough for an extended 2 hour range session.

 

[Zaydok Allen]

Well I bought a lawnmower Friday. No ammo purchases this month to be sure.

The sucker sure cuts good though. Maybe if I mounted a holster on it I'd feel better?

 

[GAMEOVER44]

For me it just all depends on if I have the cash to spare. If I do then ill buy as much as I can if I dont then I dont buy at all. I find myself sitting on atleast some ammo. I never am ammo-less. If I cant afford or find a particular ammo ill sit on it.

 

[Lord Teapot]

Well I bought a lawnmower Friday. No ammo purchases this month to be sure.

The sucker sure cuts good though. Maybe if I mounted a holster on it I'd feel better?

take a picture of your 'assault mower' when you do, maybe a tri rail on top of the gascap too.

 

[Furncliff]

I buy ammo piece meal on-line when there is free shipping offered. I do this until my wife complains about the CC balance.

 

[susieqz]

where are you finding free shipping?
i'm buying 22lr for three times what it
is worth so i sure could use free shipping.
i've been lowering shipping cost by getting 5-6 large boxes at a time.

 

[B2Tall]

where are you finding free shipping?
i'm buying 22lr for three times what it
is worth so i sure could use free shipping.
i've been lowering shipping cost by getting 5-6 large boxes at a time.

Check Ammoman.com. They've been offering free shipping on orders over $99 for a while now. I just got some PMC 5.56 and 9mm the other day.

 

[susieqz]

thank you, b2.
i still haven't mastered my 22/45 so i have no choice but to shoot lots.

 

[Zaydok Allen]

take a picture of your 'assault mower' when you do, maybe a tri rail on top of the gascap too.

LOL! Yep I need picatinny rails on my mower, and maybe a single point sling. I could mount a lazer on it and a stream light for good measure.

It's a good feeling to be buying things like this, but I can't help but think about how the mower I got is like half of a Dillon turret press. Oh well. Someday.

 

[Zaydok Allen]

This thread has meandered all over the place, but I'm enjoying it. However, in the interest of bringing it back on topic, I do have a question.

So I've heard several people make the comment that when you reload, you don't really save any money. I assume that's because you tend to spend just as much on components as you would have on factory ammo. So I take it as you are likely to be able to reload more ammunition and thus shoot more than you would for the same price for factory ammo.

So lets talk equipment. Everyone I know who reloads tells me if I want to do a lot of pistol shooting, that I should skip straight to a turret press. On that same note, everyone I know who has a turret press tells me Dillon really makes great products, and if they don't own one, they wish they did. So I am a "buy once and cry once" type of guy. I'd rather save longer, and spend a little more to get what I really want, rather than have multiple incarnations of the same type of product sitting around that I'd actually spent more money on, than if I'd just bought what I wanted to begin with.

So obviously shopping around is a good idea for a good price, but in general, what will I be looking at as far as equipment goes for a complete Dillon setup? I figure I need:

turret press
case cleaner/shaker
scale
case trimmer
calipers
bullet puller
dies for 9mm, 45acp, 38 special, 357 mag, 45 Colt, 454 Casull, and 460 Mag
A few good reloading books to read BEFORE starting to reload. (recommendations on good reloading manuals?)

And of course, powder, primers, and bullets of all different kinds.
What am I forgetting? I'm sure there's a lot.

 

[CopperFouling]

So I've heard several people make the comment that when you reload, you don't really save any money. I assume that's because you tend to spend just as much on components as you would have on factory ammo. So I take it as you are likely to be able to reload more ammunition and thus shoot more than you would for the same price for factory ammo.

That's true for the reloaders I know, although how much you spend obviously depends on how much you shoot.

If you're wanting to buy Dillon equipment, etc., as you start reloading, you can expect to spend a decent amount of money. When I started with an RCBS kit and .38 Special / .357 Magnum dies, I think I spent somewhere around $335 on the kit and several hundred more on components. You will start saving in the long run if you don't shoot more, but the initial outlays could be fairly expensive.

 

[Zaydok Allen]

That's true for the reloaders I know, although how much you spend obviously depends on how much you shoot.

If you're wanting to buy Dillon equipment, etc., as you start reloading, you can expect to spend a decent amount of money. When I started with an RCBS kit and .38 Special / .357 Magnum dies, I think I spent somewhere around $335 on the kit and several hundred more on components. You will start saving in the long run if you don't shoot more, but the initial outlays could be fairly expensive.

I plan to pick up items over the next year to year and a half before I have everything I need. I can't afford to go buy it all right now.