wow ! ... the cost ....

[Digger]

Okay , I have been ignoring ammo prices for the most part as most of us do , we pay attention to component prices .....
Never thought any thing about it since doing the hobby for the last few years but I was in Wally world tonight , dropped by the ammo shelves , noticed they are still looking somewhat sparse and looked closely at what they had in forty ...three different brands from about 20 to 22 dollars for fifty , give or take ...

talk about being out of touch as some of you talk about this on occasion .
I will be honest and got into reloading thinking to save a bit but we all know how that has worked out.
Currently , I load my forty for about 8 to 10 cents a round .... with one of Miha's beautiful hp molds , by now I figured I have paid for most of my reloading equipment ..
Besides it has been so much fun being in the dark ... ... with today's ammo prices !

[Vulcan Bob]

I know what you mean! Saw a box of 50, .45 Colt 250gr RNL ammo I think it was PMC brand, $49.95! Egad, I'm sure glad I can turn out mine for under three bucks a box.

[GRUMPA]

I'm like the OP and rarely get to see current store prices on ammo. I went into town last week and stopped at the LGS and still......mostly dust where boxes once were. Keep in mind the town is small, 1 store........hardly any inventory. I noticed CCI 357mag (Forget what spec) but they were the shoot once aluminum rounds.......$42 a box. I don't really take note since I've loaded my own for years and years.

I found out a very long time ago........what I make is better, cheaper, and far more rewarding than just opening my wallet and plunking down cash for factory ammo.

[inspector_17]

All my equipment is paid for with savings from reloading. Wife leaves me alone, I get to melt metal, and make things that go bang when I pull the trigger. All together a great hobby.

[Kraschenbirn]

Noticed a couple real *bargains* at our local Farm & Fleet (imagine a Target store with some livestock, garden, and fence supplies). How 'bout $489.50 for a carton of 1000 loose Federal .223s (55 gr FMJs)? Or, $49.95/100 for American Eagle (white box) .223s? Then, this morning at the range, I pick close to 100 once-fired commercial .223s out of the grass alongside our concrete firing line. More money than brains, I guess? Or, maybe, just too lazy to care.

Bill

[HollandNut]

The last factory stuff I bought was in 2007 when I got the 480 , bought 100 rounds of Buffalo Bore on sale for $1.89 per round , now they are over $3 each .. That was the first factory I have bought since the mid '70's

[sigep1764]

I used a Xmas bonus to buy most of my reloading stuff, so I considered that "found" money. So far this year, I've reloaded over 6000 rounds with 3000 of them being my own cast boolits. I think I was able to afford half that for the entire 2013 year. And its only May...

[gmsharps]

When factory 45 ammo went to $6 per fifty I said enough is enough and started reloading my own and have not looked back. I had 10 of my 21 years in the military that we could not do our annual qualification do to no ammo available for support folk let alone any training during the year. To stay somewhat proficient I purchased my own AR 15 and built my 45 from parts. AR parts were tough to come by in those days. Of course I loaded my own ammo. If you have looked at some of the shooters at the range these days you do not want them reloading their ammo. They just do not have enough sense to for this sort of task. Loading ammo is not for everyone as it takes time money interest and a bit of common sense.

gmsharps

[BruceB]

Take a look at some of the "cutting-edge" top-of-the-line defensive pistol ammo, and the prices quoted so far in this thread are LOW.

I recently re-equipped myself with a new RugerLC9 for concealed carry, and of course bought a variety of high-grade defensive ammunition to test the functioning of the new pistola.

Most of the "good stuff" in 9mm costs almost two dollars PER ROUND. It's a necessary expense however.... who would want to carry a defensive pistol WIThOUT testing it with the chosen ammo? One more reason for liking revolvers, I suppose.

Then there's that .416 Rigby in my rack.... it has fired over 2000 rounds now, and it's never even SEEN a factory load. Midway is asking from $5 to $10 PER ROUND for .416 Rigby..... maybe that has something to do with it? My cast-bullet loads run about fifteen CENTS to enjoy that horsepower.

[knifemaker]

I also reload for my son after he had to pay almost 70 bucks for a box of 20 rounds for his 300 weatherby last year. The only factory ammo I have bought in the past 10 years have been 22 rimfire and several boxes of 380 cal. defensive hollowpoint loads as that is one caliber I do not reload. I reload 7 pistol calibers and 9 rifle calibers.

[spfd1903]

Never would have bought a .44 Magnum pistol, except I have a boolit mold (only one so far) for it. I have had to buy brass of course, but the LGS in the area sell 50 round boxes for $43 to $48. Never bought the ammo, just the brass.

[Cmm_3940]

Last time I looked was about a year ago. I wanted to get a box of .45ACP 230gr JHPs for my EDC gun. None to be found. The closest I found (didn't buy) was ONE box of 50 185gr reduced recoil loads left on the shelf at a local store for $50.

[jetinteriorguy]

Hah, try buying .41 mag ammo. Anywhere from $75.00-$90.00 for a box of 50, if you can find it. Gotta love reloading.

[srd]

I have been reloading for almost 30 years now due to the fact I did not want to pay the prices back then. Started with a used RCBS jr single stage from a garage sale for 8.00 which i still have. My wife asked me 3 years later what I wanted for Christmas and I told her a Lee Turret Press which I still have. Anybody remember when Midway had their own head stamped brass ? I still have some in 44 mag. Yes I am an old fart . Still love reloading and bullet casting !! I have taught countless people to reload and cast their own. Including both my sons and especially one of my daughters who taught her husband this enjoyable past time. The more people we can teach how to reload and cast properly the better off we all are. In my opinion of course. Stephen

[762 shooter]

Welcome srd.

762

[44man]

The last factory ammo I bought was for my new .44, back in 56, because brass could not be bought yet. I had the mold, powder and primers before the gun showed up in the mail. Yep, in the mail from Kliens Sporting Goods in Chicago to Cleveland.
Now, if we could load those pesky .22's!

[dondiego]

I have been reloading for almost 30 years now due to the fact I did not want to pay the prices back then. Started with a used RCBS jr single stage from a garage sale for 8.00 which i still have. My wife asked me 3 years later what I wanted for Christmas and I told her a Lee Turret Press which I still have. Anybody remember when Midway had their own head stamped brass ? I still have some in 44 mag. Yes I am an old fart . Still love reloading and bullet casting !! I have taught countless people to reload and cast their own. Including both my sons and especially one of my daughters who taught her husband this enjoyable past time. The more people we can teach how to reload and cast properly the better off we all are. In my opinion of course. Stephen

Funny you should mention Midway head stamped brass. I was looking in a closet and found a box that contained .357 Midway stamped brass that I had loaded years ago in the late 70's or early 80's. I am shooting that ammo right now and it is working just fine. It was loaded with Win. 296 and some Remington jacketed bullets. About 500 of them! That Midway stamped brass was made by Starline I do believe.

Don

[NVScouter]

Check out Safari grade ammo if you want a shock! 300WBY is going from $65-90/box and 375H&H is $55-$150 a box. If that scares you dont look at .458WINMAG

[Hickok]

Kinda' reminds me of the question, "would you carry cast boolit reloads for self defense?"

Yep, because it is all I have for my pistols and revolvers!

I am not going to pay the blackmail prices for ammo when I can use the money to buy a boolit mold.

As for rimfire .22's being hard to get, I am in the process of getting a .22 Hornet, some molds, and that will be my affordable-shooting squirrel/pest/plinking rifle!

[tomme boy]

I buy very little factory ammo. 12 ga. slugs for deer hunting. And 380 ammo for carry for the old lady. Everything else is my reloads. I have not bought anything else since 1994. I do keep an eye on ammo prices though. Its crazy what people are paying.

I go to the local public ranges and pick up brass all the time. It is amazing the amount I can pick up. It helps me to be able to buy all of my components to shoot. I have noticed that there are A LOT more people that are reloading though. It used to be very rare to run into another person that reloaded. It seems not that it is about 1 in 10 that reloads here.