Cost Effective Shooting Options

[Gumby]

So far I've only purchased range ammo, which runs around $11 per box of 50 rounds. I would love to shoot more, but the cost holds me back. Searching this forum I came across a few methods for improving the cost of shooting. The following is a short list of these methods. Any comments or additions?

* Purchase reloaded/remanufactured ammo

* Purchase sale ammo from chain stores

* Reload/remanufacture your own ammo

For the time being I would prefer to avoid reloading my own ammo as the learning curve for shooting is already steep enough.

[mscott]

Looks like you've already answered your own question. Reloading equipment will pay for itself very quickly.

[IronEqualizer]

Looks like you've already answered your own question. Reloading equipment will pay for itself very quickly.

+1 for mscott. When I was doing a lot of bullet casting I could load a box of 50 45acp for around $1.25 a box. 40 and 9mm for around $1.00 a box. My equipment has more than paid for itself. The only thing loading ammo cheap and a lot of it still did not make me a better shooter. That only started to come with not wasting any ammo no matter what the cost. Learn every time you send a bullet downrange.

[TRUBL]

Trigger time!!! Biggest thing....TRIGGER TIME. You can get to be a B or even an A class shooter if you practice holster draws and mag changes.....and hit 70% A's on the std exercises. And pretty much with any gun you have presently.

Infact, I would venture to say that if you practiced every day for an hour with out ammo, just doing holster draws and mag changes......and I mean a real practice session, not this 5 or 10 minute thing, you will be A class within a year.

To get above that.....or to be more than classified on paper (meaning to be a real 'A' class shooter) you need trigger time.....the more the better.

One option I dont hear people tell other about alot.....rimfire pistol. Just about everything you take in shooting a rim fire pistol, directly relates to your centerfire pistol. Everything but recoil. The good news is.....recoil DONT matter.

If you are shooting a 1911 style of pistol, you can shoot a Browning buckmark.....the cool thing about the the Browning buck mark is that the controls of the weapon are in very close to the same place as a 1911....maybe a little harder to get at, but same operation. And depending on the model, can be very close to the same weight as well.

Another option is air soft and your back yard.......I set up COF's for my 10yo son and his air soft pistol, with USPSA targets, he has a blast running thru them.....even resets up the courses to his own design.

The best advice however that I ever received from a GM was......in starting this game, shoot what ya got, its better than you right now anyways. Buy a good reloader, 10,000 bullets and primers......when you've shot all that up AND have asked LOTS of questions and got the answers......then look for a new gun.

the .22rf and even air soft though.....is a great option for you to keep expenses down and get LOTS of trigger time.

Edited December 17, 2006 by TRUBL

[konkapot]

Reloading is not that complicated.....most of the issues or incidents you hear about that involve reloading/reloaded ammo are either equipment failures or very poor judgment on the part of the human involved.

The savings with reloading disappears because you typically shoot MORE than you were with store bought ammo. Generally speaking, 9mm can be reloaded for $75 per thousand, and .40 for about $95 per thousand.

John

FY42385

[JFD]

A little care and some basic QC practices make reloading pretty easy.

[George]

Even if you find cheaper ammo to buy (under $10/100), you will have thrown the entire cost of a reloader and supplies downrange in about 5000 rounds. 5000 rounds comes fast in this game.

For under $500 you can get into a Dillon Square Deal and all the supplies to start making ammo. For a tad more you can get a 550, or 650 press that will last you forever and not need changing out a few years down the road like the Square Deal will when you outgrow it.

Make the jump before you burn all the cash into the practice berm. It's all about lot's of ammo and trigger time. Yeah, dry fire is cheap, but range validation is not, it takes ammo, lots of it.

[uscbigdawg]

When I started, I spent all my "real money" on buying cheap reloads from Wal-Mart of 45ACP. For practice I used my Dad's Ruger MkII. Figured sight picture and trigger control are the same and you still have to put the bullet on target so why not? And as said above .22LR is CHEAP! When I was at home, I would practice the draws and reloads. The day before a match though I would take a box of 45 ammo though after a 22 session and just remember what it felt like to shoot the big bullets.

Depending on how much ammo you are going to shoot, a basic single stage reloader setup is not a bad start. The first couple of years (my father and) I reloaded on a Rock Chucker for all my ammo. I remember nights of going back and forth between our Rock Chuckers loading up 1-2k for a class with Matt B. or a long practice run/match ammo, etc.

At the time, due to funds what dictated my level of participation was ability to buy bullets. They were the expensive part of shooting .45. 200gr. LSWC's from Oregon Trail. They were cheap but not near as cheap as powder and primers (relatively). Brass was always easy thanks to other shooters and the local PD's.

Anyways, as my level of participation increased, so did the need to upgrade and then bought my 1050. While you don't need to make this big a leap, I only did so after getting a great crash course on operating progressives from Matt Burkett, John Owen, Angus and the guys at Dillon. The basics are still the basics and I learned that from the best, my Dad.

Now it's ridiculous. 2-1050's, 1-650 and a Mec 1000G. Still have that ol' Rock Chucker though and love it for doing load work-ups.

In general, let your budget dictate things.

Rich

[Gumby]

Well it looks like everyone thusfar prefers reloading their own ammo, as opposed to purchasing reloaded/remanufactured ammo. So the saving is much greater when reloading your own versus purchasing reloaded?

I saw 1,000 rounds of remanufactured/reloaded 9mm for $120-150 from some reloading company. By reloading myself can this cost be cut down to $20??

[ipscbob]

Loading your own is the ONLY way to go in this game. Not only will it cost less, but you will now have complete control of your loads and as you go deeper into the game this becomes very important. How much the rounds actually cost you is dependant on a lot of choices that you must make. It is well worth the time and effort to learn how to roll your own......

[uscbigdawg]

As Bob said, it will help in the big picture of the game.

For instance, when I return from deployment, I'm considering switching to 38SC. Atlanta Arms & Ammo loads major PF 38SC. I would probably buy 2-3k rounds of it as that'll probably last 2-3 months of shooting here at Bragg (it'd be about a month's worth at home). I shoot it and save as much brass as I can 'til I get home and then the reloading begins.

The big gain, after cost savings is that you can tune the load to your gun. Fact is that every gun is different and one load will not work for each gun and each shooter. So loading gives you that ability. Get the gun to run the way YOU want it to.

Rich

[Allgoodhits]

Well it looks like everyone thusfar prefers reloading their own ammo, as opposed to purchasing reloaded/remanufactured ammo. So the saving is much greater when reloading your own versus purchasing reloaded?

I saw 1,000 rounds of remanufactured/reloaded 9mm for $120-150 from some reloading company. By reloading myself can this cost be cut down to $20??

Maybe this will help you decide....

Cost Calculator

Recoil Calculator

Good Luck,

Martin

[JD45]

I always say it's hard to go wrong with the Square Deal B.

If you buy a used one here or on Ebay, and get tired of it, you can still sell it on Ebay and come out smelling like a rose.

[Brundoggie]

In addition to the cost savings on reloading your own ammo, there is a lot of pleasure in the hobby aspect of the effort. I find it a pleasurable evening, one not wasted on mindless TV, to retire to the reloading bench to crank out a couple of hundred rounds.

[Gumby]

Anyone here know of a good reloading tutorial?

[Allgoodhits]

Anyone here know of a good reloading tutorial?

Brian Enos has a very good reloading video for the setup and beginning reloader. Then of course there is www.brianenos.com for more than you would ever find in all the books.

MJ

[Lee Bell]

So far I've only purchased range ammo, which runs around $11 per box of 50 rounds. I would love to shoot more, but the cost holds me back. Searching this forum I came across a few methods for improving the cost of shooting. The following is a short list of these methods. Any comments or additions?

* Purchase reloaded/remanufactured ammo

* Purchase sale ammo from chain stores

* Reload/remanufacture your own ammo

For the time being I would prefer to avoid reloading my own ammo as the learning curve for shooting is already steep enough.

Reloading is a hobby in itself and it's something you can do when you can't shoot, at night, for instance. Still, it's not for everyone. I an idea for you. Shoot something less expensive. A lot of the things you need to learn can be practiced with any pistol. You can shoot a .22 a long time for what it costs you to shoot center fire pistols for only a little while. A pellet gun is even better. With only a little effort, you can set up to shoot one almost anywhere, even indoors. All it takes is some imagination and a little extra caution. I have a .22 bullet trap I set up in my back yard that works just fine as a backstop for my pellet gun.

If you're going to purchase reloads from someone else, be very sure that it's reliable stuff. Squib loads can get you into a lot of trouble, really quckly, when you're firing rapidly and double charges are a disaster looking for a place to happen.

Consider bulk mail order or on line purchases. Look for people who shoot the same calibers you do and get to know them. Most of us have sources for bulk ammunition that we don't mind sharing, particularly with those we've gotten to know. Even us reloaders have sources that give good prices for bulk purchases.

Lee

[shred]

I second the .22 suggestion if you aren't sure you want to get into reloading and don't shoot a lot of matches. .22's are great to learn shot calling and transitions and so on. .22 conversion kits can be frustrating though, so then you're looking at buying a new .22, which is going to be about the same cost as a SDB. Otherwise, if you want to shoot centerfire semiauto and not reload, stick with a 9mm since ammo in other calibers goes up fast.

Used Dillon presses hold thier value pretty well, so you can usually get 80-90% of your $ back out of the press itself, but any components you buy probably won't.

I, for one, don't particularly like reloading, which is why I have the speediest loader I can reasonably install, but it answers my desire for lots of ammo.

[Mistral404]

Go the .22 route first. Lots of rounds down range at a great price.

Do the cost benefit analysis on reloading.

You will see it can take a long time to pay off that Dillon 1050. Other loaders are cheaper but there is nothing like a 1050 to cranking out round after round.

If I remember correctly, loading .40 with 5.0 g of VV320 costs about 8.5 cents. I did not include the cost of brass because it was free to me. So that is about half the cost of Wally World per round. I think it would take about 17K rounds to break even on a 1050. At a thousand rounds a month the break even would be about 17 months. I did an actual cost benefit model on this back a couple years ago. You might search for it.

[Lee Bell]

Well it looks like everyone thusfar prefers reloading their own ammo, as opposed to purchasing reloaded/remanufactured ammo. So the saving is much greater when reloading your own versus purchasing reloaded?

I saw 1,000 rounds of remanufactured/reloaded 9mm for $120-150 from some reloading company. By reloading myself can this cost be cut down to $20??

For my .45, I can get 500 hard cast 180 or 200 grain bullets from Midway for $26. That equates to about $.05 per round. I got 4 lbs of Bullseye powder for $65. That's 28.000 grains or 7,000 4 grain charges. That equates to about $.01 per round. Primers run another $.02 per round. If you pick up brass others left behind, you're looking at $.08 a round. You can get once fired brass for $30, or about $.03 per round. that brings your total price to about $.11 per round, $11.00 per hundred. $110 per thousand. 9mm uses less lead, smaller cases, smaller primers, and less lead.

Lee

[Vlad]

You can reload 9mm for about $80 per 1000 rounds. The brass is free because there are pleanty of people out there who say that 9mm is cheap to reload and leave their brass behind. If you buy your 9mm for $120/1000 that is a $40 savings per 1000 rounds.

Now, a 9mm Square Deal from our host is $309. Add a balance, primer flipping tray, and small whatevers, and that is going to be a $400 starting price. That means after 10000 rounds, you start saving money. Now that sounds like a lot, but for most of us is less then 1 year. In fact, it reduces your costs the first time you use it, personally I find it easier to sometimes throw some money upfront to have lower reaccuring costs.

Also, keep in mind that reloading will give you BETTER ammo, which you can tailor to your gun and to your recoil preferences. For example the $80 it cost me for 1k, includes 124 gr bullet, a low recoil powder like Titegroup, and primers of known quality. These are not always things you get over the counter, if you can even know what you are getting from most manufacturers.

[open17]

What are you shooting? Glock/1911/Hk??????

You are going to eventually get into reloading if you stay with this game. Both for

the economy, and for the ability to tailor loads to your guns. You said in your OP that

you wanted to wait a while, SO---

You are shooting a 9. Good, that has the smallest margin of gain from reloading.

Miwall, Sportsmans Guide, and others sell reman 9mm for around $120/1000.

Watch the sales at other places, you can meet or beat that price.

Think about a 22 conversion kit for your gun. Cheap ammo, lots of trigger time,

no change in the controls. Also a great way to get the wife/SO/kids shooting.

Bill

[kevin c]

I've shot a fair amount of .22 this year. It's fine for the movement/transition work, and for SHO/WHO trigger control. It'd be good for the draw too, if I had a conversion for my match pistols.

Plinking .22 good enough for the drills I run costs me no time in reloading, and at a quarter of the cost of my match centerfire .40 ammo.

Another very important factor is my aching back - bending over to police up my .40 brass is a chore I'd pay to avoid. Still have to do some of it - recoil management can't be done with anything but my match guns and match ammo. But now I can run a 500 round practice at just over half the cost and not feel guilty about leaving half the brass on the range.

So a .22 will help a lot, but isn't a complete solution to the expense of shooting. Shooting .22 and 9mm will stretch your dollar well.

A progressive press, though is just about an obligatory rite of passage in the action shooting sports, unless you happen to be independently wealthy (and even then, you'd probably just start with all the bells and whistles instead of working up to them).

Just my thoughts.

Good luck, whatever you choose, and welcome to the most fun with a gun you'll ever have.

[Gumby]

Pellet gun is an alright idea, but I live in a city. Shooting that outside would get me killed. I could take it to the range, or possibly rent a .22 there. Those are some good additional suggestions. I almost exclusively dry-fire, so I really need some trigger time. Even a .22 would help.

* Purchase reloaded/remanufactured ammo

* Purchase sale ammo from chain stores

* Reload/remanufacture your own ammo

* Learn from every round

* Practice with a .22 caliber/use a .22 caliber conversion kit

* Practice with a pellet gun or airsoft

* Dry-fire (numero uno training method)

Edited December 19, 2006 by Gumby