Rockbilly, not sure where you live, but here in Ohio, A good friend of mine got over $2.00 a lb. last Oct. for a 5gal. bucket of brass. Copper, lead, steel, it's all gone up. I use a plate steel known as AR400 for my targets. 2-3 years ago I paid .75-.80 cents a lb. for a sheet, 4'x8'- so a sheet would cost me $400-$450. Last fall I paid $1.35lb. so the same sheet was close to $700. 2 main reasons, first, China is buying everything they can get their hands on as far as steel, lead and the like are concerned. Second, speculators on the stock market push it up also. I don't think the price is going to drop much, even if the stock market boys cool their heels. At the gun show in Lima last weekend, I had a trap shooter tell me that a price of shot was at $28 a bag. We havn't seen much of an increase as far a loading components in the last few years. The primer scare of the '90's was do to Clinton being in office, and the reloading customers pushed the demand for that way up. This time, I don't think price's will come down. Price of gas right now has jumped to $2.20 a gallon, and just last week I paid around $1.90. Unfortunatly, it's something we might have to live with. Unless ya just want to quit shooting.(now that's something I don't want to think about!!) We keep trying peace, it usually doesn't work!!Remember-(12/7/41)(9/11/01) gypsyman