Cost of shooting

[Mike OTDP]

I DO know what it costs to keep a P-51 flying. And it's not cheap.

But I stick to air pistol and .22 LR when I'm not shooting black powder. There isn't a lot more satisfying than reaching 50 meters and putting a round through the 10-ring with a free pistol. Hard (it's about a 1.5 inch target), but satisfying.

 

[alemonkey]

I shoot probably 5-10 times as much .22 as anything else. I know some people think it's not as fun but to me an afternoon with a couple hundred rounds of .22 and a single shot Stevens Favorite is a blast. Or shooting Appleseed AQT's with my 10/22....I love shooting my .22's. There's no better way to practice the fundamentals of marksmanship. The best way to become a better shot is to practice, practice, practice. .22's (and air guns) make that feasible for even the tightest of budgets. Everything you do with a .22 is directly translatable to larger calibers.

 

[Shadow 7D]

Hatterasguy, I had a neighbor growing up who was a pilot, roustabout and ended up owning a heavy machinery yard after he got out of road construction, he crashed 2 in the late 40's getting across the US in a day, and a car, the guy lived.

You pick and choose your hobbies, this one isn't the worst.

 

[russ69]

When I was young I bought a single action 22LR because it was cheap to shoot and it took a long time to go through the ammo. It was what I could afford at the time. Today, I have more ammo than I think I will ever shoot and I'm still making more when I reload my pet loads.
I think you can make shooting as cheap or as expensive as you want it to be, within reason. If you want to shot 1000 rounds a day, 10 rounds of trap 3 times a week or travel around the world it can get expensive but on the other hand you can shot a 22 free pistol and spend 10 bucks of ammo in an afternoon.

Thanx, Russ

P.S. I also think you can be a range bum and shoot everyone's gun and ammo if you are a friendly sort......

 

[content]

Hello friends and neighbors // Yep, after time/distance would not permit going to my friends to reload I lost interest in shooting my .44 Ruger Redhawk. Way too expensive buying by the box.

I now shoot .22lr,l,s /.38 /.40 /.357 ---in order of number of rounds.

My purchases have included .22s to match my larger caliber handguns, such as the S&W 6" 617(.22) for the 6" 586(.357) allowing me to shoot more for less and enjoy other firearms.

I have even set up a BB gun range at home and have BB/Pellet revolvers and semi-autos like my larger caliber handguns and rifles.

This is great for getting used to weak hand shooting with handgun or rifle.

Building muscle memory for drawing and fast target aquisition using my carry holsters is safer/cheaper using BB guns too.(or dry firing) It is also just plain fun to be able to "shoot" to a certain extent when ever I like.

One of the best things I have done to reduce cost was join an indoor range. Ammo and if I get back into it reloading supplies are 10 % off.

My hunting crowd are always sharp to find us a deal on ammo/skeet or a group buy off season too.

The one thing I need to spend more money on is the number of SD rounds I shoot compared to target rounds. The cost of these is thru the roof and even if I reloaded most recommend not to carry your own reloads as SD choice for various reasons.

Yes over all my .22s and BB guns have been getting more and more of a work out to lower costs. (I guess I could stop buying firearms and afford to shoot more .357)

 

[Kwanger]

I would not be without a few .22's in my collection; you can't beat the ammo prices. That said, however, I do agree with the comment above that it's not as much fun as shooting centerfire stuff. I probably spend around 4k a year on ammo, mostly 9mm and 223 with some 308 thrown in, but find the .22lr is great in that it serves as a nice 'filler' - prolongs range days, reduces costs if you have friends out, etc. If it wasn't for .22lr, I' either spend much more or shoot less.

 

[claiborne]

Over the years I have owned more 22 lr firearms than any other caliber, rifle or handgun. fun fun fun...........

 

[HGUNHNTR]

Just to compare other calibers.

100 round of birdshot is $20 or .20 cents round
50 round of 9mm is $12 or .24 cents round
50 round of .40 is $18 or .36 cents round
50 round of .45 is $25 or .50 cents a round

Not to nitpick but this is a typo: .20 cents equals 2 tenths of a cent, or 5 rounds for a penny. I think you meant 20 cents.

Just sayin'

 

[youngda9]

I reload because I have to...I just like to shoot too much.

 

[ms6852]

With the exception of my ccw which I practice once a week at least 100 rds of 45 cal. I shoot several hundred rounds twice a week with 22lr in a handgun and practice my off hand shooting at 100 and 200 yds with a remington 513T and a 1022 ruger. This practice transfers over to my ccw and when I go hunting with regular calibers and my hunting rifles. I seldom use sticks or bags on deer or elk under 200 yds. I am pretty good standing or kneeling. Further shots I always use sticks or some other form of support as consideration for the animal, I always want a clean and quick kill.

 

[HOWARD J]

These days I usually go shooting alone---no more 1000 rd. saturday with the kids.
I reload all winter---doesn't cost me a lot to go shooting---I'am still working on the last of my 20 year old powder. My .22 (10000 rds.) are 20/25 years old @ less than 2 cents a round.
I still enjoy shooting but it was a lot more fun when the kids were with me.
My grandkids were never interested in shooting--too many other things to do.
Have fun,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
I do practice with my carry guns--
Glock 26 in winter.
Kel-Tec P3-at/sig .380's--summertime

 

[orionengnr]

.22 is ridiculously cheap but I don't use that caliber for self defense (which is mainly why I own guns). Use 9mm, 38 Spl, 358 mag, 45 ACP. So I don't see any point practising with .22. Even if I started shooting 22 for fun, it would not reduce my costs because I still need to practise with my "serious" calibers.

I think you are missing the point--the mechanics are the same regardless of caliber.
Whether you are shooting a CO2 pistol, a .22 or a .45, breathing, sight alignment, trigger control are the same. Only the recoil differs.

In the last two years I have tried to hit the range once a week (tried, not always succeeded). I generally put 100 rounds through a .22 and then 50 rounds through a center fire. My shooting ability has improved markedly in that time.

The practice with the .22 translates directly to the centerfire calibers.

If I had a basement, I would own a CO2 pistol.

 

[gun guy]

as a former flight medic, about half of the people i have seen killed in the civilian world, were killed with a 22lr from a handgun, a well placed shot matters far more than the caliber. anyone that doesnt consider a 22lr a serious round for self defense should tour their local morgue. Granted i would prefer a 357 magnum, but i would take a 22 over nothing anytime. someone that just has a lil 22, shoots it 2 or 3 times a month, over the past couple years probably has a better chance to walk away from a gunfight, than someone with a bigger gun, that cant afford to shoot it often. as to stopping power, even a high powered rifle like a 30 06 won't always drop a game animal instantly, thinking just because you have a 45, it's going to be like turning off a light switch is just plain dreaming

 

[coloradokevin]

While many shooters simply begin by learning on a .22lr, I think it is also safe to say that most serious shooters eventually add one to their collection (if they didn't already have one from childhood).

With today's ammo prices, I've been shooting my .22's more than ever. I can still have fun all day, and I still shoot my more expensive centerfire guns (just not as much as I did back when you could buy a box of .40 S&W for well under $10, and .223 for $3/box).

 

[thorazine]

With a really GOOD air rifle, you can have shooting fun just about anywhere you can find 36 feet or so for a regulation 10 meter range.

It's just not the same.

Need the gun powder and smoke.





My favorite gun to shoot is any of my threaded twenty twos -- suppressed it's just too fun!!

 

[1911fan]

I have an 85 Ford F150. It gets 11ish mpg on the highway and around 8 mpg off road, if I'm lucky. I have a 2000 Mercury Sable. It gets around 25 mpg on the highway and I don't take it off road.

Point here? The bigger, funner stuff costs more. That's just the way it is.

I'd reload, but I haven't figured how to make my own gasoline--since moonshining is still illegal...

ed

 

[Sport45]

I find I enjoy stuff more if I don't think about the cost...

 

[Palehorseman]

I am lucky to have a more than an adequate supply of primers and powder bought when much cheaper. Add to that loading equipment, boolit lube/ sizers, cartridge cases, around 40 boolit molds, eight 5 gallon buckets of wheel weights and I am good to go for pennies a round.

Think about it, 7,000 grains to a pound, 3 grains of Bullseye a shot for .38 Special plinking, that is 2,300 rounds.

 

[leadcounsel]

A more important question is "what is the cost of not shooting?"

 

[Redneck with a 40]

1000 rounds of 40 S&W runs me about $120-130. 1000 rounds of .223 runs me about $220.

Reloadin' is where its at!

 

[TIMC]

I

was looking at a 550 bulk pack of .22lr that was priced a
hair over $15 dollars. That comes out to 2 cents a round,
well 3 cents if I round it up.

So say I spend $15 dollars for 550 .22's..thats a lot of time
shooting and enjoying the range.

Just to compare other calibers.

100 round of birdshot is $20 or .20 cents round
50 round of 9mm is $12 or .24 cents round
50 round of .40 is $18 or .36 cents round
50 round of .45 is $25 or .50 cents a round

Now say I just went and purchased 5 boxes of this
bulk .22lr..thats 2,750 rounds to have some fun
with at the range $75 bucks

This is what it would have cost me to shot 2,750
rounds of the "others".

Standard birdshot = Oddly enough $550 dollars for
cheap shotgun shells.

9mm the cheapest of the centerfires comes in at
a good price of $660 bucks..

.40 is $990 bucks..

and if you didn't re-load it the .45 would have come
to $1,375!!

The big ass grin on your face after a day at the range....
PRICELESS!

 

[DasFriek]

I too shoot .22lr since its cheap, But then i found out its not so accurate and needed better ammo.
At $5 a box of 50 and $50 a brick its no longer so cheap.
.10 cents a round is worth the added accuracy over .03 cent ammo.
But i still buy the expensive but cheaper quality pistol ammo to stay in practice with my ccw's.

Anyhow .22lr can be very addictive and once it gets a good tight hold on you, You can kiss that .03 a round price good-by.
Sometimes a .25" is very important, Sometimes its not.