Handi prices and the cost of shooting

[db22]

Been pricing Handis at the shops around western Wisconsin . . . the gun shops all want around $250 for a new standard wood-stocked rifle, with the more exotic models like Ultras going for upwards of $400, and BCs the same -- if there are any to be had on the rack. The local Gander Mtn has one lone 7mm-08 for $209. I've been thinking of buying it and parting it out just to get the frame, since I don't have any particular interest in that cartridge.

Any trapshooters out there? Gander has raised their price for a sack of Lawrence shot by TEN BUCKS, to $34. A couple of local shops have reloading component sales in February -- it'll be interesting to see what they consider a sale price to be for 25 pounds of shot. I just bought two pounds of Pyrodex at Wally before their fall stock runs out, at $13 per pound. I've started shooting muzzleloaders, in part just to eliminate the cost of brass and have a gun that will shoot cheap wheelweight bullets. We have muzzleloader sihouette shoots at our club. The guy at the gun counter says he's not sure if Wally will be selling guns at all next year. One of the two Walmarts in our area has quit selling guns already.

Anyone else here starting to feel pinched by the cost of our sport? As it is, I shoot more .22s than anything else, but once in a while ya just gotta have a bigger noise and some recoil.

Just some random thoughts at the end of a long workweek. Hope everyone has a good weekend!

Dave

[McLernon]

Yes the cost is going up alright. But in Canada it is also becoming more difficult to get. When I grew up in a small town in southern Ontario in the mid-fifties there were three gun stores I could go to to get a box of .22's. Today there are none. The liability insurance  is just too steep. So today I drove 20km to a store in a nearby city to buy a box of .22's. The selection was lousey and nothing in a 500 pack. But I did find what I wanted at a higher price. So I went to the counter to pay and of course they asked to see my PAL(gun license) and of course I had left it at home. NO SALE. I drove 20km back home empty handed. And just try to find a Handi. There are none!! To get any selection at all I have to drive more than 80 km one way so I am reduced to doing a fair bit of buying mail order.

The anti's have been quite successful in Canada and of course we are all safer for it, HA!

McLernon

[shaner]

hey dave  i knowwhat  yur talkin about and where  yur goin, i wrote that a while back i stopped at dicks  ssporting goods last weekend, hadnt been  out to the big retailers in a longtime and they had a handi  with scope they called a varminters special, 299.95 on sale from 349.00i said ouch!!!! all they added was a 3x9x40 scope , as for reloading your right again, i shoot trap , and  compitition handgun, all componets  are close to doubling , i never thought id see primers  for shotgun over 20 bucks athousand, locally here they are 23.50, per K, shot here is 28.oo and powder is as u say up alot depending on size an brand i cant figure how 22 lr  stay  low?  here they have them on sale a lot for 9.99 a brick , and remington, thungerbolts are aalways 8.99 a box of 525 yu tell me ??i use to get PMC or Remington 9mm for 4.59 a box in a case lot all last year, now everyone wants 6.99 and up for them, last i seen , they were up too 7.99 and 45acp are over 11 a box i reload  for my cowboy action  shoots also , which aint as bad as most, i keep dropped the powder charges  to help out but they are down to bare bones now, may not ring the target this summer hahahahahha wish i had a answer cause i dont see it gettin anybetter, oh yeah yur right on trap shooting  all 12 ga  flats went up 10 bucks a few weekes ago, we  were buyin federal top guns all summer  for 28-29.99 a flat,  cheaper then we could reload them, now  as of last week they went up to 44.99 forthe same loads, guess i  aint stockin up till things come down , ? guess  we all need a cystal ball to  help us out

[3006bluffhunter]

As the sports department manager at Wal Mart said as he walked my sporstster 22LR out of the store for me.....Wal Mart might not be selling any guns next year!!!!!!!!So lets keep an ear open to these remarks.......If wal mart quites selling guns,gander& cabelas can drive prices way up...Llike some others in the firearms business........Dale

[snuffer#1]

I've noticed that alot of people where I'm from use HR/NEF guns. Some of the older guys kinda snicker at the young guys with their Rem. and Win. and the like. I talked to the older guys, and they told me if you put the bullet in the right spot, it's all over. And these older guys reload and have been reloading as long as I am old. Just goes to show you, you need to listen to your elders.
                                                           snuffer

[kennyd]

The steel I buy at work has doubled, brass and aluminum has tripled.  Fuel to haul the stuff is higher.  Wages are lower.  The handi is still the least expensive rifle.  I was appalled at what even Walmart listed a BLR, or Ruger 1 for.  There is no way a working stiff could afford them nowadays.  I reload, and even the cost of new bullets and powder is going way up.  This is the old conumdrum of which pols are against us; one prices us out, the other side just restricts everything.

[db22]

Good morning all,

Thanks for posting your thoughts on this topic -- it sounds like everyone is feeling the same pinch. The biggest gun show of the year here is next month; I can't wait to see what the cast bullet vendor has to say about metal prices (and what he'll be charging for my favorite bullets!) Yesterday at the range I started collecting spent bullets from the berms. They may be of unknown alloy, but they'll melt and pour into a mold.

The thing that worries me is that this is getting to be a rich man's sport. If you look in any issue of Field and Stream or Outdoor Life, you'll see that we just can't hunt without a $1500 shotgun. F&S ran an article about squirrel hunting this fall, with a sidebar recommending squirrel guns. The least expensive model they featured was a Ruger 10/22 target model at about $450. Shotguns they "recommended" were Browning and Charles Daly guns that were both over a grand. Come on, gimme a break!! I paid less than a hundred for my Pardner, and the squirrels are just as dead.

I just hope that NEF keeps producing simple guns like they do now, and the remaining gun sellers don't ream us too bad on prices. If things get much worse, more people will quit shooting and we'll end up with no political muscle to prevent a situation like McLernon tells us about up in Canada.

Thanks again for your posts!

Dave

[bigjeepman]

Good topic ....

All statements made under this topic are very true in my world. I have worked for two different Fortune 500 companies in the past twelve years and business is not good. In one of the large sections of our sprawling facility where I was the area manager, just two short years ago, the number of employees under my supervision peaked at 275. Today that same section has 0 people working in it. Hours are down everywhere in our part of the state, therefore, earnings are down.

Also mentioned above, is the cost of living and how it continues to rise. All is not well, but, we persist to do the best we can do. I have had to cut back on my gun purchases in the past year along with the amount of shooting that I do. One of my favorite Nosler bullets that I purchase from a friend's gunshop has risen over 15% in the past year. This higher cost is even worst because we have less spendable income this year.

I always try to find positives so I am thinking that what I do have at this point in time (rifles, revolvers, etc.) are worth more than before. The Handi line is a valuable resource from which good shooting rifles and shotguns can be attained. By gaining knowlege from the information provided in this forum, a little tweaking can make that good shooting Handi a great shooting Handi.

Good luck to all ... and good shooting of course.

[Mac11700]

Around here...the prices of the Handi's haven't gone up as much as most other rifles..just about $10-$15 increase...but the prices of all ammo and components have gone thru the roof...45-70 brass is outragous...$60 per 100 now... and most others following suits...A box of Winchester 45-70 ammo that was $14.00 last year..has doubled to $28.00 for it this year...Even the Remington Core-locs have increased...40%...I don't know about the lead shot...I haven't needed to buy any for many years...I stocked up 10 years ago on it..when lead was first starting it's spiral up...All I can say is stock up on what you use the most now..cause it will only get worse later on...

Mac

[Hunternz]

You know why the cost of copper, brass and steel is sky rocketing, because China is buying up large,  our demand/greed for "cheap" goods is fueling massive growth,
copper for the power lines, steel for the factories etc, in time it will balance out as their cost of living drives up the prices of their exports, and locally made product will become competitive again,
Anyway enough of the above, you folks in the States are lucky, a new H&R in New Zealand is NZ$650.00, same price as a Mosberg ATR100 and I can't get spare barrels anymore
Regards Howard.       

[hilltop4200]

I just priced the handi-rifle at Bass Pro Shops in Nashville.$209 for the wood/blued,$289 for the stainless.The local Wal-Mart still has guns and I haven't priced them there yet.The guy at the sporting goods I deal with asks $230 for the wood/blued.

[Fred M]

I live in Alberta western Canada. With a booming economy and money is no object prices are gone through the roof. For guys on a fixed income like me you have to keep your eyes peeled to find anything you still can afford. I only buy used guns when I see one I like.

In the big cities guns a selling like hot cakes and supplies are still pretty good but not all models are available. There are no Handi barrels period. You have to buy a whole gun. Handis don't have a good name here and used ones are very difficult to sell.

Well things are never as bad as it sounds, they could be worse. We do manage with the stupid gun laws somehow. It has not stopped any crime, policeman are fair game in a shoot out. They are afraid to pull their guns, because the loose their jobs if they do. They have to be shot at first before they can return fire.

[backstrap]

i live in oklahoma and about a mounth ago i was in wichita kansas and they had a pretty laminated green h&r 25-06 for 214.00 i thought that was a good buy put it up on the counter the guy called in they said there was a hold on it i think it has to do with being out of state i know my name is clear got foster kids and my back ground has been check by any state or goverment there is out there so i told him to put it back on the shelf he said there was a 30 day holding on it called me back about 3 days latter told me i could come get the gun if i wanted it i told him i bought some thing else a dam mathews bow so nedless to say didnt have any more money