il.bill
Member
This is my 500th post on THR, and I was just looking at some of the many ways my shooting hobby saves me money. Since I got back into firearms several years ago, embracing my shooting hobby by starting to build a meager collection and practicing regularly, it has been hard to keep track of how much money I have 'saved'.
The most obvious to my wife has been how much I have cut back on spending money in numerous ways. Gone are the 10-15 times a week I would buy individual servings of food or drink out and about. Now virtually all my everyday coffee and soda comes from home, with salami sandwiches replacing fast-food burgers and fries. Ice cream and bags of chips or pretzels are no longer always kept on hand. It is hard to spend $2.00 on something at a quick mart or fast-food joint without thinking: "I could reload 12-15 cartridges for that amount of money". I still smoke cigars occasionally, but only about 10-20% of my pre-shooting days. Visits to Lowes/Home Depot/Sears/Harbor Freight are also only a small fraction of the old days, as well as very rarely spending cash on any of my other hobbies.
The money saving she hears about include saving FFL transfer fees by having C&R firearms delivered right to my front door. Online bulk ammunition purchasing regularly takes advantage of bargains. Naturally, the biggest 'savings' comes from reloading, especially when looking at 16 cents versus 80 cents or more per round for .45 Colt and .44 Magnum. Their seems to be a steady stream of significant quantities of bullets, powders, and primers showing up at home, as well as the occasional die set for a 'new' caliber, all in the interest of keeping expenses down.
In conclusion, it is certainly a good thing that my shooting hobby 'saves me money' in so many ways, since many months I find myself nearly broke.
The most obvious to my wife has been how much I have cut back on spending money in numerous ways. Gone are the 10-15 times a week I would buy individual servings of food or drink out and about. Now virtually all my everyday coffee and soda comes from home, with salami sandwiches replacing fast-food burgers and fries. Ice cream and bags of chips or pretzels are no longer always kept on hand. It is hard to spend $2.00 on something at a quick mart or fast-food joint without thinking: "I could reload 12-15 cartridges for that amount of money". I still smoke cigars occasionally, but only about 10-20% of my pre-shooting days. Visits to Lowes/Home Depot/Sears/Harbor Freight are also only a small fraction of the old days, as well as very rarely spending cash on any of my other hobbies.
The money saving she hears about include saving FFL transfer fees by having C&R firearms delivered right to my front door. Online bulk ammunition purchasing regularly takes advantage of bargains. Naturally, the biggest 'savings' comes from reloading, especially when looking at 16 cents versus 80 cents or more per round for .45 Colt and .44 Magnum. Their seems to be a steady stream of significant quantities of bullets, powders, and primers showing up at home, as well as the occasional die set for a 'new' caliber, all in the interest of keeping expenses down.
In conclusion, it is certainly a good thing that my shooting hobby 'saves me money' in so many ways, since many months I find myself nearly broke.
. Well, ok, in the end money out is money out, but it sure affects how I approach spending on other areas of life.... Is that $5 beer worth 50-100 rounds of .22? Is that nice(ish) dinner really worth 50 rounds of .308?
