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Posted: 10/10/2008 4:08:05 AM EDT
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I searched around a bit but could not find the information I was looking for. In this time of raising costs for everything where are the best buys for reloading components? Saw last week at a gun show 30 cal 165gr bullets for $33/100 and they were going like crazy. Is that really that good of a deal? Wasn't that long ago you could get loaded ammuntion for that. Primers are going for over $28/1000. Forget new brass. Can't even find brass anymore at the range. So where do you guys go for good deals? I reload for several rifle calibers and a couple hand guns. With the election on the horizon and it's not looking good for our side I would like to "stock" up a bit. |
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It's really that bad out there right now. The prices you're seeing are about average for non-bulk purchases. But if you're going to buy bulk, you're going to need several hundreds of dollars on hand to make the purchase to save even a little money. Brass is through the roof right now in terms of cost. We have people taking brass off our public ranges that aren't even shooters. Brass is relatively heavy and scape meta vendors are paying over $1 a pound for brass right now (it's been as high at $2 in recent history). That motivates people to pick up even .22 LR cases in this economy. Since brass is roughly half the cost of many rounds, I hoard brass when I can... and I'm always looking for opportunities to go brass picking. Interestingly, the price of lead has been steadily declining yet we're still seeing pretty high prices for things like bullets. I'm not sure if this is gouging or if people are still selling large stocks on hand that were purchased at the higher price. Here's a cool site to follow the cost of metal. www.infomine.com/investment/metalprices/ Every two weeks (payday) I buy another $100 or so of consumables. I buy powder (4-8lbs) one payday, then I'll buy 1,000 bullets the next. Over the course of several months I've accumulated quite the stockpile. I also have an agreement with the local indoor range where I can swing by every week and sort through their brass collection and pick out specific calibers for free. The promise is that I'm just borrowing it, I'll return it on the next loading or two, or three... :) Eventually the brass will go bad and I'll not bother to pick it up. They get their scrap back and I get my reloads. I've offered to pay but they insist it's ok that we continue on this arrangement. See if you can swing a similar deal somewhere. I live in a small town, so it might be a little harder to make a similar arrangement if you live in a bigger city. Good luck! |
what I do, buy in bulk, jump on sales, split shipping costs, hoard. In 2007 I hoarded primers, powder, some bullets. This year it's been shot for shotgun loading, and wads. I have lots of brass from hoarding over the last 15 years |
Reuse of cases allows for one less variable. Does primer pocket uniforming help? Well, it helps seat the primers uniformly which cannot hurt. Flash hole deburring HAS reduced ES and SD which WILL make a difference at longer range. Plus, I find the hobby relaxing. Even if it is hand priming cases while I watch an old movie on TV. Cost got me into reloading. I got a .22 Hornet from my uncle when I was 14. Ammo was $25 a box of 50. Sierra bullets were $6.70 per hundred. A pound of W-680 was $8.50 and that would do over 500 loads. Primers were $1.20 a hundred. With a mallet and a Lee Loader, I had access to ammo that worked perfect. All for under the cost of 2 boxes of ammo. Well, that was the start. Turns out that Lee Loader would shorten the life of the brass. The days of surplus Hornet ammo was long over (The .22 Hornet had been used in an AF survival rifle) so I was stuck buying expensive loaded ammo. I soon got a Lee Challenger 2000 press and a set of dies. That press got a LOT of work, being used for everything from Hornet to .25-'06. Still working today. |
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