spacecoast
New member
That's about what I paid for a box of 100 Mini-Mags recently. One box limit.
Ammo costs
- Thread starter blackwaterstout
- Start date
gotthegoods
New member
I paid:
16.99/50 9mm 115gr fmj Blazer Brass
19.99 - 20.99/50 .38spl 130gr fmj Rem UMC and 158gr lrn American Eagle.
At GM in the last 4 weeks.
16.99/50 9mm 115gr fmj Blazer Brass
19.99 - 20.99/50 .38spl 130gr fmj Rem UMC and 158gr lrn American Eagle.
At GM in the last 4 weeks.
biohazard313
New member
i pay $21.99 for 50 round boxes of .40 S&W remm target loads. got as many of the UMC 250 packs on sale for $64.99, regularly $89.99 as the store would let me. 4 boxes for 1000 rounds total
Ammo cost is horrible when you get down to it. This year had to pay 15 dollars for a single 50 round box of eley subsonic 22lr. accurate, yes. expands yes. Smelly yes. worth it? not really considering remington subsonic is just perfect for me. if i could find it.
alot of stores claim to raise the price of ammo when they get any in, in an attempt to 'ensure that the most number of people ahve the option to buy it by creating a price that will discourage hoarding"
alot of stores claim to raise the price of ammo when they get any in, in an attempt to 'ensure that the most number of people ahve the option to buy it by creating a price that will discourage hoarding"
My last few purchases have included Fiocchi, Magtech, Blazer Brass and GECO (Swiss?) 9mm FMJ at $13-15 per 50 rounds, plus tax or shipping depending on where I get it. I'd picked up a few hundred rounds of Herter's Select (brass) at Cabela's for $14 per 50 this time last month, but the price was up to $18 as of last week. No thanks.
The deals are out there, if you're buying in enough quantity to make the shipping charges worthwhile.
The deals are out there, if you're buying in enough quantity to make the shipping charges worthwhile.
Same here. In 2012 I went at least sixteen or seventeen times. This year I'be gone three times. I'm stocked up on Snap Caps though and I'm doing lots of dry firing. Just like the old-timers did way back when. Conditions are what they are. All you can do is adapt to them.
Still buying guns though. Fortunately I've been hoarding ammo for years so I've got plenty. It's just difficult replacing my stock.
Because I have hundreds of pounds of of WWs Linotype and pure lead plus lots of powder and primers and thousands of rounds of rimfires, not to mention a nice collection of molds, I'll be shooting copiously for a few years before worrying about it. Here's my suggestion.
Be prepared, that's the boy scouts marching song
Be prepared as thru life you march along
If you're looking for adventure of a new and different kind
and come across a girl scout similarly inclined
Don't be flustered don't be nervous, don't be scared
Be prepared.
Be prepared, that's the boy scouts marching song
Be prepared as thru life you march along
If you're looking for adventure of a new and different kind
and come across a girl scout similarly inclined
Don't be flustered don't be nervous, don't be scared
Be prepared.
An hour and ten minutes shooting center fire at a range is $40 to $70 dollars.
I am not going to sell my center fire pistols, I’m just not going to shoot them any more… end of story. I do carry a center fire CCW of course.
I am still shooting .22s I bought around .04 cents each, but even if you pay current prices and shoot .08 or .10 cents a round for .22s it isn’t too bad. My .22 pistols all eat any and all ammo reliably, even the cheapest LRN they sell that many say are dirty or “lead your barrel”, what they used to call just call Standard .22 LR but now some are labeled “sub-sonic, assume this is a marketing gimmick to get people to pay center-fire prices for High-Velocity” or Hyper-Velocity .22 LR.
I go to the largest indoor gun shop and range in Colorado. Three or four years ago, you couldn’t get a space at the counter to look at their firearms and they had five to eight people in there selling guns.
Now, there are only a few people and most are looking at .22s. Their business has got to be hurting. A few years ago it was fairly hard to get a lane without a wait and on weekends, there were ten or twenty people milling around waiting to get a lane.
Now, there may only be 25% or 40% lane usage. They have got to have taken a severe hit on their sales and shooting lane revenue. They haven’t lowered their range rental time costs any, even though it is half empty most of the time, still $14 and hour. Think that keeps a lot of people away by itself.
Take gas to drive to, then spend an hour and ten minutes at a local range and shoot 100 center-fire rounds, and you just spent $40 to $70 dollars in this area. And if you reload you don’t do much better and it takes a lot of time to reload. The friends I have that reload sure spend a lot of time doing it.
I am not going to sell my center fire pistols, I’m just not going to shoot them any more… end of story. I do carry a center fire CCW of course.
I am still shooting .22s I bought around .04 cents each, but even if you pay current prices and shoot .08 or .10 cents a round for .22s it isn’t too bad. My .22 pistols all eat any and all ammo reliably, even the cheapest LRN they sell that many say are dirty or “lead your barrel”, what they used to call just call Standard .22 LR but now some are labeled “sub-sonic, assume this is a marketing gimmick to get people to pay center-fire prices for High-Velocity” or Hyper-Velocity .22 LR.
I go to the largest indoor gun shop and range in Colorado. Three or four years ago, you couldn’t get a space at the counter to look at their firearms and they had five to eight people in there selling guns.
Now, there are only a few people and most are looking at .22s. Their business has got to be hurting. A few years ago it was fairly hard to get a lane without a wait and on weekends, there were ten or twenty people milling around waiting to get a lane.
Now, there may only be 25% or 40% lane usage. They have got to have taken a severe hit on their sales and shooting lane revenue. They haven’t lowered their range rental time costs any, even though it is half empty most of the time, still $14 and hour. Think that keeps a lot of people away by itself.
Take gas to drive to, then spend an hour and ten minutes at a local range and shoot 100 center-fire rounds, and you just spent $40 to $70 dollars in this area. And if you reload you don’t do much better and it takes a lot of time to reload. The friends I have that reload sure spend a lot of time doing it.
$26/100 9mm WWB is the best deal going around here. It was about $22 before the last shortage, so there's been some increase, but the crazy inflation seems to be largely through.
And, since a lot of that increase is driven by the increase in price of copper/brass I don't see it coming back down a whole lot. Unless, we can somehow convince China/India that they don't really want to have electricity in rural areas, or cars.
So, I bought a revolver, and have been saving all my .357 brass with the idea that I'll start reloading.
In the mean time, more slow fire, more dry fire, and fewer 33rd "fun stick" mag-dumps. I've just been trying to get all the enjoyment/practice I can out of each box.
Oddly, I can get 5.56 for about the same price as 9mm at the moment.
And, since a lot of that increase is driven by the increase in price of copper/brass I don't see it coming back down a whole lot. Unless, we can somehow convince China/India that they don't really want to have electricity in rural areas, or cars.
So, I bought a revolver, and have been saving all my .357 brass with the idea that I'll start reloading.
In the mean time, more slow fire, more dry fire, and fewer 33rd "fun stick" mag-dumps. I've just been trying to get all the enjoyment/practice I can out of each box.
Oddly, I can get 5.56 for about the same price as 9mm at the moment.
Western/central PA....
I went up to western PA/north central PA where I grew up as a child & had many relatives.
In Pittsburgh PA, there were no .45acp rounds in defense/duty brands; Golden Saber, Speer Gold Dot, Ranger T, DPX, etc at the Gander Mountain location.
I also looked around Clarion PA, where I was doing some work on a new feature film; Within The Dark, www.imdb.com . There were few choices there.
I did see a retail shop, FFL holder; www.route66sportinggoods.com that had a few .45acp choices in carry-duty grade. There sale prices ran around $26.00/$28.00 for a box of 20 rounds of .45acp,.
ClydeFrog
I went up to western PA/north central PA where I grew up as a child & had many relatives.
In Pittsburgh PA, there were no .45acp rounds in defense/duty brands; Golden Saber, Speer Gold Dot, Ranger T, DPX, etc at the Gander Mountain location
.I also looked around Clarion PA, where I was doing some work on a new feature film; Within The Dark, www.imdb.com . There were few choices there.
I did see a retail shop, FFL holder; www.route66sportinggoods.com that had a few .45acp choices in carry-duty grade. There sale prices ran around $26.00/$28.00 for a box of 20 rounds of .45acp,
.ClydeFrog
Back in the late 70s, 80s and early 90s everyone I paled...palled?..hungout with, reloaded and cast their own bullets. The local gun stores stocked molds lead pots and everything else you needed to make your own ammo. Twenty years later, I know one person who casts his own bullets and none of the stores stock casting equipment. Back in the old days all the cops I knew were enthusiasts, I don't think that's the case anymore.
While I love seeing all the gun nuts (enthusiasts?) in here and not having anything against factory ammo, (except for rimfires, I don't think I own any) I really appreciate the reloaders and bullet casters on this forum and others.
Oh yeah, there is an unbelievable amount of knowledge in these forums, I've learned a lot.
I guess its too late to make a long story short. My point is that anyone that has a modicum of interest in reloading should do it.
While I love seeing all the gun nuts (enthusiasts?) in here and not having anything against factory ammo, (except for rimfires, I don't think I own any) I really appreciate the reloaders and bullet casters on this forum and others.
Oh yeah, there is an unbelievable amount of knowledge in these forums, I've learned a lot.
I guess its too late to make a long story short. My point is that anyone that has a modicum of interest in reloading should do it.
Aguila Blanca
Staff
Sticker shock for me. I found a Wal-Mart not too far from home (but not one that I ordinarily pass by) that actually had a couple of boxes of WWB on the shelf, in both 9mm (two boxes) and .45 ACP (one box). A year or so ago the price for 9mm was (IIRC) about $18 for a 100-round value pack, and .45 ACP was about $36 for a 100-round value pack.
On Tuesday the 9mm was priced in the mid-20s (don't recall exactly), the .45 ACP was $43.75, and the space for .40 S&W was marked $38.95 (which is more than we were paying for .45 ACP).
The shelves were still essentially bare except for 12-gauge bird shot. There wasn't a single box of .22 rimfire in the case -- no brands, no velocities, nothing.
On Tuesday the 9mm was priced in the mid-20s (don't recall exactly), the .45 ACP was $43.75, and the space for .40 S&W was marked $38.95 (which is more than we were paying for .45 ACP).
The shelves were still essentially bare except for 12-gauge bird shot. There wasn't a single box of .22 rimfire in the case -- no brands, no velocities, nothing.
Brotherbadger
New member
Agreed. I decided to start gathering reloading gear/components about 2 years ago, and I'm glad i did. Even with the 9mm(where the savings aren't as high as 45 acp or other more expensive rounds), it makes sense if you plan on shooting it often.
Aguila Blanca
Staff
I agree, but reloading is difficult to get into today. I started around the time of Obabma's first election, when that panic bumped ammo prices. Things returned to a semblance of normalcy within a few months, and it was possible throughout that shortage to buy components.RANGER94 said:
Not true today. I can buy bullets. I can't buy handgun powder, and I can't buy handgun primers. I have sufficient quantities on hand to load a couple or three thousand more rounds, then I'm out of business. And prices are just as ridiculous for components as they are for ammo. I used to pay $25 per thousand for Winchester large pistol primers. The last time I bought the price was $40 per thousand. I shudder to think what it will be the next time.
By the time things settle out, I expect my cost for reloading will be equal to or higher than what I used to pay for WWB at Wal-Mart pre-2008.
Reloading is still the way to go .....and with a good progressive press, like a Dillon 650 - with a case feeder on it ....its easy to get 800 rds an hour off the press.
Speed in reloading is not really the key though ...its quality / and the Dillon 650 ( and other good machines like the Hornaday LNL ) will give you a very good cartridge - usually way better than most anything you can buy. So its not necessarily a big investment in your time ....but it does require some cash outlay for the equipment - and while most of us that reload, just shoot 2 or 3 times as much on the same ammo budget ....payback on a good loader, if you want to shoot much, is pretty quick.
Yes, component prices are up ...but the trick is to buy in case quantities...primers are in a box of 5,000 in case lots, buy powder in 8 lb kegs, and bullets by the case ( 115 gr 9mm FMJ - from Montana Gold come 4,000 to a case...).....and just anticipate your usage over 6 months or so -- and keep that much in terms of components on hand. Some Hodgdon powders are in short supply - but look at Alliant or other mfgs..../ check out the manuals - and find something that will work for you. There are powders like Unique - or Hodgdon Universal --- that are widely used in shotshells and handguns ...see if the trap - skeet clubs in your area are selling components...it might be another source.
My current cost on 9mm, 115gr FMJ Montana Gold bullet are right around $ 7.25 for a box of 50 rds ( sure its more than we paid for components in 2008 ) but so are a lot of things over the last 5 yrs...and $ 7.25 is sure better than paying $ 15 - $ 18 for retail 9mm....
------------------
I'm heading to my local range this afternoon - with a 1911 in 9mm and 5 boxes ( so call it $36 )...a S&W revolver in .44 mag and 1 box ( $12 ) and a S&W revolver in .357 mag and 4 boxes ( $ 36 )....and that's a lot of fun - and a lot of drills, I can run for about $ 85....for about 3 hours....
Speed in reloading is not really the key though ...its quality / and the Dillon 650 ( and other good machines like the Hornaday LNL ) will give you a very good cartridge - usually way better than most anything you can buy. So its not necessarily a big investment in your time ....but it does require some cash outlay for the equipment - and while most of us that reload, just shoot 2 or 3 times as much on the same ammo budget ....payback on a good loader, if you want to shoot much, is pretty quick.
Yes, component prices are up ...but the trick is to buy in case quantities...primers are in a box of 5,000 in case lots, buy powder in 8 lb kegs, and bullets by the case ( 115 gr 9mm FMJ - from Montana Gold come 4,000 to a case...).....and just anticipate your usage over 6 months or so -- and keep that much in terms of components on hand. Some Hodgdon powders are in short supply - but look at Alliant or other mfgs..../ check out the manuals - and find something that will work for you. There are powders like Unique - or Hodgdon Universal --- that are widely used in shotshells and handguns ...see if the trap - skeet clubs in your area are selling components...it might be another source.
My current cost on 9mm, 115gr FMJ Montana Gold bullet are right around $ 7.25 for a box of 50 rds ( sure its more than we paid for components in 2008 ) but so are a lot of things over the last 5 yrs...and $ 7.25 is sure better than paying $ 15 - $ 18 for retail 9mm....
------------------
I'm heading to my local range this afternoon - with a 1911 in 9mm and 5 boxes ( so call it $36 )...a S&W revolver in .44 mag and 1 box ( $12 ) and a S&W revolver in .357 mag and 4 boxes ( $ 36 )....and that's a lot of fun - and a lot of drills, I can run for about $ 85....for about 3 hours....
Last edited:
Brotherbadger
New member
I'd say right now is the perfect time to start getting gear together to reload, but you're right, components are very hard to find. I am finding lots of "used" reloading gear for sale locally, but components are very slim pickings.