i almost tipped over!!!

[myronman3]

  was in a gunshop i check in on occasionally today,  and taking inventory as usual.   i had a little extra time, so i looked at  things i havent looked at in a while.   now i know reloading stuff has gone up in price,  but since i started reloading ammo i havent looked at prices in a while.  they were charging 39 a box of 50 for regular remington 45 bullets!!  i looked on midway, and for remington or winchester 44 magnums,  you are looking at $40 a box of 50.   now i shoot bullets i cast, so i figure that i would compare federal cast core ammo to mine.   midway is charging 35 bucks a box of 20!!!  you have to be kidding me.   
    kids,  if you need any more encouragement to get into reloading,  i dont know what else  to say.i was floored.   dad said years ago, "they wont outlaw it,  they will just drive the prices up so no one will be able to affford ammuntion."     aint that the truth. 
  looks like my decision to stock up was a wise one.  i plan to continue to do so, little by little,every paycheck.   

[stimpylu32]

I know what you mean , i had a chance to stock up on 230gr 45 auto bullets a few weeks ago , $12 a 100 so i got 1000 , sure beats factory ammo prices . 

Even with the powder & primers going up i can still load cheaper . 

stimpy

[quickdtoo]

I don't buy a lot of factory ammo since I started handloading, even components have gone up a lot in the last year and continue to go up,  but I always check Midsouth for price and availability before anywhere else, 9 out of 10 times, they beat prices elsewhere and their shipping is always comparable to considerably less, and them being a GBO sponsor ta boot certainly doesn't hurt.

Tim

Midsouth Ammo

[myronman3]

I know what you mean , i had a chance to stock up on 230gr 45 auto bullets a few weeks ago , $12 a 100 so i got 1000 , sure beats factory ammo prices . 

Even with the powder & primers going up i can still load cheaper . 

stimpy

you should get into casting your own bullets.   i shoot alot for real cheap.  i dont count the cost of the molds or the pot, i figure it is money i put into a hobby of mine.  i get my lead for free,  so all i put into it is my time.   brass, primers, and power are my expenses.   i scrounge as much brass as i can,  and buy it cheap when i find it.  same with primers and powder.    i figure roughly,  3.5 cents a shot with the 45 auto, and for the 44 magnum,  between 5 cents and 7 cents a shot depending on the powder and charge i use.  this is using cast bullets, and i am only figuring on the cost of primers and powder.   if you add brass cost for the 44, they are running 18 cents a piece now, and i figure i will get plenty of loading out of each piece because i run mid range loads.  i dont know how many times i will be able to use each piece,  so it is hard to figure that one out.   i also find alot of 44 brass here and there, so those are all freebies. 
    long story short,  it is one HELL of a lot cheaper to reload. 

[Old Syko]

Aside from some Wolf ammo for the AKs and my 22 rimfire ammo, I could carry all the factory ammo I've bought in the last 40 years in one front jeans pocket.  I've always picked up components, including brass and rolled my own from scratch.  Component prices have increased greatly of late but ammo prices are just plain stupid!  I look at the 24# powder canisters I picked up in the early 70s and just shake my head.  Some were bought for $50 as surplus and are now worth hundreds of dollars each.  There are only 3 powders I now have to purchase regularly in bulk and the rest are from when I started loading or soon there after.  When I see a pound of powder on the shelf priced at $25 or more It is all I can do to contain myself. 

[stimpylu32]

I have thought about casting a few times but am not sure its for me , i do shoot a ton of cast bullets , pick them up at the local gun show from a guy that sells Vance Cast at dirt cheap prices . the last .458s i got were about $23 for 250 of the 405 RNFPs and $18 for 500 of the .358s in 158 grain SWC .

stimpy

[Heavy C]

Ammo prices are ridiculous.  I was able to purchase a larger home over the summer and finally have the room to set up a reloading bench.  The wife came through with an RCBS Rock Chuck Supreme reloading kit for our anniversary last weekend.  I have quite a bit brass I've been collecting over the past 3 years.  Now instead of buying factory ammo I'm diverting funds to feed the new hobby.  I picked up 3 sets of dies at the gun show last weekend too - $50 - not bad considering one was practically new and another was a carbide set of 44 mags.  Eventually I think it would be cool to cast my own.

[Coyote Hunter]

No way I'm going to start casting my own bullets.  The only thing I use them in are the .45-70, mostly for light plinker loads.

The down sides to casting are many as far as I'm concerned and I'll gladly allow someone else to deal with the equipment, storage space, time and especially the fumes.  I'll just continue to buy several hundred at a time as needed.  Might start using them in the pistols, but if I do will purchase them, too.

For the most part is jacketed, and premiums for hunting.  No way I'm going to make my own there, either.

The cost of bullets doesn't concern me that much.  Factory ammo is getting downright expensive but I rarely shoot factory stuff except when I have a new rifle to play with and want a reference point for the handloads I'll be developing.

[rbergum95]

stimpy,
 if you are getting bullets for prices like that i should send you a check and get you to ship them to me. last night i paid $22 for 100 .458 405 rnfp's. and the last batch of 500 .358 158's i got cost $37 six months ago and when i looked last night they are now $52. i would kill to be picking up bullets at that price.

ron

[myronman3]

if i didnt cast, i would be able to shoot 1/8 as much as i do.   casting has really saved the day for me.