I believe that reloading has been very cost effective for me. I started out loading shotgun shells when I was in elementary school. At the time as soon as the school bus would get me back home I would grab the shotgun and head for the fields to shoot birds, in those days there was about three and half months of waterfowl hunting, with pheasant tossed in. I reloaded at night to keep hunting.
In those days when I needed centerfire rifle ammunition I had to buy factory, but soon enough I had adequate brass to get a hundred rounds reloaded for the cost of two or three boxes of factory ammunition. It was cost effective for me; otherwise I would have been restricted to shooting a few rounds every year.
1967 I bought a Lyman Spar-T Turret press and dies. Actions I took following that purchase are paying off today, and will continue to pay in years to come.
There was a gun writer of some note that loaded for the 270 Winchester, and he mention surplus 4831 powder. I started buying it in one pound cans from a dollar to two dollars a can. Then my brother said he could get for $2.50 cents a jug (8-pounds) if I provided the jugs. It was not long before I had two jugs stored away. Last spring I used the last of those two jugs. As time passed I continued to pick up a can of surplus 4831 at cheap prices.
I was low on the pay scale so I was always on the lookout out for a deal. Buying a thousand primers at a time for four dollars was a good deal. So I picked up the habit of buying a thousand primers every now then. I paid $4.95 for magnum rifle primers. I choked but continued to buy primers when the price went up to ten dollars a thousand.
I always kept an eye out for bullets on sale, and as I loaded for different cartridges I adjusted my buying habits.
I have used other 150-grain bullets in the 270 Winchester, but one of the best buys I ever made was a couple of boxes of Norma Match Boattails for the .270 Win. These bullets outperformed the 130-grain Bronze Point I had used for years. After positive field results (dead deer) I bought a few boxes of primed Remington brass for hunting loads. I would l load practice ammunition with brass that had been fired then use the fresh brass for hunting. I still have some of those loads.
The market place also changed and I had a little more money to spend. I started buying bulk brass, and bullets from mail order outlets. And I would buy a box of bullets at local gunshops. I am happy that years back I bought 140-grain Hornady .277 bullets. Once I found that they shot good and were deadly in my Savage 110CL it became a go to bullet.
Did the current crisis catch me short in some areas? Maybe, or it might just be in my mind. This spring I finished off an 8-pound keg of 4320 what I had been hauling around for years. Eight pounds go a long way when you are loading 30-40 grains at a time in cases that demand less. It has been my Go to powder in the 30-30 and 303 British.
Back in the days of lower prices I wish I would have bought a keg of IMR4064. Fortunately a few years ago I bought a couple cans with the same lot number so when I finished off the can I was using, I was not at a loss.
Before the recent events I was already having regrets about not stocking up on certain powders because they had been discontinued. Many years ago I was in shock when a gun shop owner told me that the surplus powder was gone, and a new H4831 was being manufactured in Scotland. I paid him thirty six dollars for eight pounds of the new H4831. Years ago I was blindsided when WW785 went out of production. While I had taken deer using the combination of H4831 and the 140-grain Hornady I experimented with the bullet and WW785. It is a great combination.
This summer I wanted to do some test loading of 130-grain Barnes TTSX bullets. It cost me
Bullet .68
IMR4350 powder .09
Primer .0008+ .01
Case once fired .00
.78 Per round
On the low end a box of factory ammunition depending on the source would cost me $45 to $70 a box. Or at a low end $2.25 a round.
This spring I loaded one hundred old style 140-grain BT Silvertips what I had bought at discontinued price. I opened a box of new brass what I had paid around twenty dollars a hundred for long ago. Best estimate has me investing around $28.00 in quality ammunition. Another good part of it is the funds were spent a long time ago.
Just before hunting season I was in a sporting goods section of Wal Mart. A stressed out hunter was looking for .270 Winchester ammunition. But the store had none, he left displaying an attitude.
The current shortage and climbing prices has slowed down my purchases. I bought a jug of BLC(2) with the 30-30 and 303 British in mind. That was the only choice on the shelve in that burning range. I bought a box of 150-grain Hornady SP in .277, because they perform on deer, and shoot great in the three 270 Winchester rifles I load for. I bought the box of fifty Barnes TTSX bullets. After finding how accurate they were in my rifle I wish I had bought a second box. The advertised price has jumped two dollars since I bought the first box.
Recently my brother called me and wanted to know if a certain powder was still available at a fantastic price. Seems like two years ago I had called him and offered to order and have two eight pound jugs sent to my house, and I would front the money. He turned it down, and I did not make the order. He recently paid twice the price for eight pounds of powder, and it might have been a good deal in today’s market.
Normally when I pack for a hunting trip, I pack extra ammunition in case I have to re-sight my rifle. When I was a kid I missed out big time because things were tight and there was not a lot extra. I had taken one buck, and the last day of the season I had six rounds. My rifle had iron sights, and my eyes were designed for a scope. First thing in the morning I missed a buck twice on a steep downhill shot at a couple hundred yards are so. Another mile down the ridge, I spotted four, 4x4 Western count bucks across a canyon. This inexperienced hunter blew it. They were in a tight group and I was afraid on hitting more than one buck with a shot. They stayed around because they watched me do a little tap dance when I set down on a red ant hill. I tried to shoot one in the neck. I missed all four shots and I was out of ammunition. A rather traumatic event in my life.
Nobody was rich in our little town and I think the young hunters with converted Springfield’s were better off. At the time I had a number of friends hunting with military surplus ammunition with the tip slightly filed to expose the lead core.
Once I collected enough cases to have a hundred rounds loaded I did, that put me in the mode that I could practice on rock chucks, and other varmints. I collected more brass from none reloader’s and had them loaded. And then I made the step to loading my own. Most hobbies cost money. I enjoy fishing, and owning a couple boats cost money to license and maintain. It cost more to tow and operate a boat on a lake then it does to set on the bank and fish. Cost that I am willing to pay.
