How to cut down the costs (of recreational shooting)?

[James39]

I'm a recreational shooter, this might sound strange to some people but I find target shooting fun and relaxing. The problem is that lately costs of living, ammo, gas and everything else have been adding up. Here is the breakdown of costs.

100 rounds of 9mm, $35.
Range fee, $14.
Paper target, $1.

Total: $50.00
Total yearly average: $600 (and that's for 12 trips to the shooting range per year!)

Any suggestions how to cut down the costs?

1. AFAIK there are no public/free ranges in my vicinity (central Tucson).
2. I use only lead free non toxic ammo.

 

[DeepSouth]

Start shooting the old .22 Lr more.
That has worked for me with this ammo shortage/price hike. Had almost forgot how much I love my 22's.

 

[TAB]

22. pistol.

even buying great ammo, that 100 rounds will cost no more then $10.

That effectivly just cut your range trip price in half.

 

[Lurp]

Start buying your 9mm at Wal-Mart, it's $19.99 for 100 rounds

 

[birdshot8's]

get a nitro express, or something compareable to weatherby's .460.

 

[flyingdeserteagle]

+1 on dusting off the old .22

I'd try and find an outdoor range that is cool with plinking tin cans as well.

 

[Armed Accountant]

Cost Cutting

I know targets are the cheapest part of the whole shooting trip, but I usually take paper from work that's been printed on once and "recycle" it by using it as a target. Sometimes I use the Shoot and See stickers or sometimes I just put a yellow highlight in the middle.

 

[MrBorland]

Dry fire and a quality air gun, which I can do at home. The savings in ammo, range fees & gas is significant, and both work the fundamentals - very important, especially if you're interested in target shooting.

When I do go to the range (once a week), it's a lot of .22LR.

 

[Uncle Curt]

Invest in a quality .22 or dig out the one you shot as a youngster, you can spend a day at the range without going broke. When the madness ends then go back to shooting the big guns................

 

[MattTheHat]

1> Reload.
2> Don't shoot lead-free ammo.


-Matt

 

[BunnyPuncher]

Cheap annual rifle range membership a Mosin, and ammo from somewhere in the depths of the ol' evil empire

For pistol - Find a club with a sweet membership for USPSA/IPSC/IDPA etc. Practice with good shooters and just avoid getting swept up in the gear race.

 

[chris in va]

Sell something in your collection and get a 22. For example, I find my HiPoint carbine doesn't get near the use it once did, so I'm considering selling it and picking up a Henry lever action.

9mm is getting outrageous. Every week the local gun shop tacks on another $2 for their range stuff.

2. I use only lead free non toxic ammo.

Why?

 

[ClemY]

I second recycling typing paper from work. I use 1" black, square pasters as target centers shooting at a distance of 10 yds.

Use the .22. I relearned the beauty of the .22 following heart bypass surgery three years ago. Since that time, I have significantly expanded my collection of .22s and shoot them more than everything else combined. In the current environment of expensive/hard to find ammo and components, .22s provide one solution.

 

[sarduy]

I'm a recreational shooter, this might sound strange to some people but I find target shooting fun and relaxing. The problem is that lately costs of living, ammo, gas and everything else have been adding up. Here is the breakdown of costs.

100 rounds of 9mm, $35.
Range fee, $14.
Paper target, $1.

Total: $50.00
Total yearly average: $600 (and that's for 12 trips to the shooting range per year!)

Any suggestions how to cut down the costs?

1. AFAIK there are no public/free ranges in my vicinity (central Tucson).
2. I use only lead free non toxic ammo.

Bulk of .22 = $15-20
Savage Mark II = $120
Range fee = $14
Print your own Targets on a 8x11 paper (and make copies)

 

[jim in Anchorage]

2. I use only lead free non toxic ammo.

+1 Why?

 

[bullseye308]

Reload for everything but .22. Scrounge wheel weights to cast your own. Load your own with home cast bullets. My 9mm, 38, 357, and 45 cost me under 50.00/1000. Pick up every piece of brass you can even if it isn't in a caliber you use. Trade all excess brass for calibers you need. Offer to clean the range for brass and scrounge the berm for lead. Spend some time in the reloading and reloading sale sections on this board. Buy components in bulk to further reduce savings or share orders with others & split the shipping. HTH

Are you required to use lead free? If so, look into buying plated bullets.
Also look into a yearly membership instead of paying by the visit.

 

[jnyork]

You need to investigate the air gun scene. A really top-quality air gun will shoot rings around your firearm at the range it was intended for, and will cost you about 8 dollars for 500 rounds of ammo. Shoot anywhere you can get 35 feet, backyard, down the hall, in the basement, whatever. No noise, no fuss, great fun and excellent marksmanship training.

 

[Six]

100 rounds of 9mm, $35.
Range fee, $14.
Paper target, $1.

I know the feeling, something I dislike intensely is thinking that a range trip cost so many dollars. I buy in bulk and suddenly each trip costs near to nothing.

First off you need a .22 if you don't have one.
Buy ammo at Walmart. $50 for 250rds of 9mm, $13 for 550rds of .22.

Does the range offer an annual membership?

I print out simple targets for plinking virtually free. - http://www.targetz.com/ - Many other sites out there too.

Buy larger silhouette target in bulk at a police supply store or similar. Or online. I pay about 30c/each and a full box (250) of targets lasts a loooong time.

 

[Smokey Joe]

Targets for a BUCK??? Yikes! Get cheaper!

James 39--Download a black-and-white target you like from www.Targetz.com for free. Print ONE copy. They have permission right on the target to copy it. So, wait until your local "Insty-Printer" has a sale, go there, and have a ream of copies made. That's 500 copies. Cost to me last time I pulled this trick was 8 cents each.

ETA--Why not print 'em yourself on yr home printer?? Because all that black area on the target will chew up an incredible amount of ink, plus you'll still have to buy the paper somewhere. The last time I "Insty-Printed" a bunch of targets, the printer guy remarked on how much ink he was using. I replied, "That's why you are printing these, not me!"

There are several sites on the ol' I'net with free, copyable, targets. You want a b&w one because colored targets cost a lot more/copy. You will undoubtedly be able to find a design you like.

Now, as to yr ammo costs, there is no time like the present to get into reloading. Costs a bit to start, but most of the equipment is a once-a-lifetime purchase, and it amortizes quickly. After that it's all about savings. And you might just discover that reloading is another enjoyable aspect of the shooting sports.

Join a club to cut down on the range fee. Personal example: My club costs $85/yr plus 15 work hours. (Or $175/year if you're rich and lazy.) There is no per-session fee. So for a cost, twice-a-month shooting sessions would be a range fee of $3.54, plus 0.625 hours of work. Actually I shoot oftener, but this works as an example.

Shooting outdoors, there is no benefit AFAIK to shooting lead-free ammo. So get the cheaper leaded variety.

There! I just saved you hundreds per year!

 

[ThomasT]

I'm with JNYORK on this. Get an air rifle or pistol. Finding a place to shoot shouldn't ever be a problem.

At my other house I had a workshop where I could shoot out of the windows and the front door, I was in town and my neighbors never knew what was going on. I had a set of the air rifle targets shaped like a chicken, ram, pig and something else that escapes me right now.

I would set those up at 15-17 yards away and use a crosman 1377 pistol to shoot them with. It was a hoot. Hitting 4 in a row was a real challenge.

And yes pick up a 22 rifle and handgun. You can't go wrong with a quality rimfire. And it doesn't have to cost a thousand dollars either. A marlin bolt 22 will shoot nearly as good as the most exspensive 22s made. And they will do it for under $200.00.

 

[B yond]

-Look into reloading, it may not be worth it for 9mm though.
-find a cheaper range, or possibly an uninhabited area where you can shoot for free.

 

[Superlite27]

2. I use only lead free non toxic ammo.

+2 Why? I'm not familiar with Arizona, but we Missourians don't have a problem with small children and animals digging up spent bullets downrange and purposely ingesting them. If so, I am positive I would have probably seen birds and other creatures swarming parking lots, peeling those delicious wheel weights off of parked cars. I have considered baiting some traps with discarded battery plates, but as of yet, I am unaware of any living creature willing to ingest lead, much less actively seeking it out.

I'm sure there is someone who can explain this "non-toxic" anti-lead stuff I've been hearing about. I'm a little confused as to why we MINE LEAD FROM THE GROUND to obtain it, yet putting it back where it came from is considered "polluting"? Does this count if we scoop buckets of water from a creek, and then pour it back?

I wonder. If this lead free mania really was something, you think they would keep children from using pencils in school. After all, I've been using them for thirty some-odd years. Smearing that evil lead all over school papers, chewing on those lead pencils, breaking the tips off and brushing them away with ungloved hands. Haven't you ever made spit balls from graded papers you've gotten back? It's a miracle we're not dead yet, huh?

 

[Lurp]

Superlite27, unless you have some pencils from the early 1500's, their is no lead in pencils

http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2009/03/16/lead_pencils_dont_actually_have_any_lead/

Other than that I agree with you on the whole "The world will end if we shoot lead bullets" paranoia.

 

[Matrix187]

I'd rather not reload. My solution: .22 LR, and alot of it.

However, I MIGHT reload .223 some day.

 

[RP88]

step one: buy a .22 rifle
step two: buy a .22 pistol
step three: buy about six bulks of .22
step four: see if your range offers membership, and get that

you'll spend about $900 probably, but you'll be able to go shooting almost every week and not feel like you're going broke.