#21
|
|||
|
|||
In he past 45 years or so, hand loading has probably cost me enough to own a yacht, but who's complaining.........
-BCb
__________________
I miss mean Tweets, competence, and $1.79 per gallon gasoline. Yo no creo en santos que orinan. Women and cats will do as they please. Men and dogs should relax and just get used to the idea. Going keyboard postal over something that you read on the internet is like seeing a pile of dog crap on the sidewalk and choosing to step in it rather than stepping around it. If You're Afraid To Offend, You Can't Be Honest - Thomas Paine |
#22
|
|||
|
|||
Ditto DAA
Take out my 223's and rimfires and handloading is the only choice I have except for maybe my 222Mag's. Good luck on finding that. Everyone talks about the accuracy of factory ammo and if I was a big game hunter(deer or bigger) I'm sure that would work. I'm not and it doesn't. I don't eat feral pigs, prairie dogs, beaver, coons, skunks, armadillos and the occasional coyote or feral dog/cat that is unlucky enough to stroll in front of my muzzle. Now all you guys that watch those reality shows are gonna say "man those are good eating"....I'll pass. Plus all my buddies are deer hunters, I just wait until after they have spent those thousands of dollars on their leases, corn feeders, game cameras, travel expences, etc. I then swing by their houses and pick up that meat their wives won't cook. , and let me tell you, it's alot. These guys are each plunking 3-4 deer a year, stashing it in their garage freezers. It's like strolling through Krogers with no check out line.
Last edited by Chuck Miller; 08-08-2016 at 05:12 PM. |
#23
|
|||
|
|||
I don't really look at it from a savings standpoint anymore. I end up with ammo tailored to a specific firearm and it (the ammo) is put together with a specific purpose in mind. Anything I could buy off the shelf would be a compromise in accuracy and/or effect. Doug, brings up an excellent point in regards to the brass. Every time you fire each piece, the cost goes down. At the end of the day, bullets are my most expensive per shot component. Some will say that time invested negates any savings. I say that if you enjoy the process and the results, it is time well spent. What else would you have used that chunk of time for that would have added to your bank balance? You can roll-your-own or buy it ready made but, the wise man will have plenty on hand. Even without any shortages down the road, it will never again be any less expensive than it is today.
Disclaimer: I am most likely the dumbest guy on this site. I form a ridiculous amount of VT brass from .223/5.56 cases, FOR OTHER PEOPLE. I have been charging $80.00/100 pieces for I don't know how many hours of work. I should turn myself in to the Department of Labor, or whatever it's called! |
#24
|
|||
|
|||
Quote:
__________________
NRA Lifetime Member NBRSA Member |
#25
|
|||
|
|||
When you start figuring the cost of your hobby, you cold lose sight of the objective.
Take up a cheaper hobby, like fishing maybe. I don't have over $20,000 in my fishing stuff plus a couple thousand a year going somewhere to use it. My metalworking equipment takes a few bucks each month. My woodworking equipment likewise. And then there is archery. Ain't no wonder I drive an old truck. Kenny
__________________
sicero I pride myself in being able to make decisions with little information. |
#26
|
|||
|
|||
I definitely could have bought that yacht if i count all my fishing gear
|
#27
|
|||
|
|||
I would be lying if i said cost per round has never mattered to me, but to what extent. Bought some IMI 55gr FMJs a number of years ago. If I recall, they were only a few cents each less than 55gr Horn SP's. But they cost less. What a waste of $$. I got what I paid for. Lesson learned. I would much rather spend a bit more and have something that shoots well for that particular rifle. Kinda boils down to what we are wanting to accomplish, low cost to offset rockin' 'n' rollin' or deciding, i.e. if Lapua's shoot that much better to justify added cost over Sierra's, or what ever flavor we usually shoot.
|
#28
|
|||
|
|||
Lol! Me too... Plus skip a meal now and then. I gave up a $2k a month cocaine thing and all the other dope, and alcohol, then it was pop and finally coffee just drinking mostly tap water... Running out of things to give up
Quote:
__________________
Shoot First... Ask questions later... On Saubier.com __________________ NRA Lifetime Endowment Member |
#29
|
|||
|
|||
GW:
Don't sound like you've given up the BSing yet! Shucks, I load n shoot brass until they crack regardless of how many times it's been used. Starts with range pickup's too, hard telling how much it's been shot before I pick 'em up. I bought 100 Rem .222 mags back in '73 and that was all the brass I had to use until '99. Many a day I fired 400 rounds of them. Ended up the brass out lasted the barrel, some over 6000 thru it and other than those, maybe 50 before I shipped the gun home from Germany that were .223's. Nothing else was ever fired in it. Had it rebarreled to .223 just so I could use brass that was laying around. It's a real painful ordeal to be prairie dogging with only 100 rounds. I try to buy 1000-5000 bullets at a time when I can find and need more. I save on ammo costs by casting hard lead for the handguns by the 2 gal buckets full. (Sicero can vouch for that) I enjoy casting them and loading about as much as I do shooting. In the winter is when I load, late fall/summer when I don't have things needing done is when I do the casting. OR like this spring when healing up from another belly surgery I spent close to a month casting slugs. I don't use lead in the rifles yet, though I am strongly considering having a mold made for this .358u/m so I can afford to shoot it more and learn how to handle the monster better. So far, I've fired about 250 cast 147gr .38 bullets thru it with 10gr Red Dot without any sign of leading. I have 15# of Red Dot, that's a bunch of these plinker loads, double that for the pistols as only 3-5gr in those. A month ago when we were melting scrap lead I dug out what had been fired into the bullet trap I welded up for shooting in the shop. Big chunk a lead about 5-6lbs all in one hunk. Amazing the neighbors haven't called the cops about 'shots fired". That's a bunch of bullets. I need to shoot this cannon to gain back the cost a bit. I bought 500 used cases for a buck each. So far I've only fired about 25 hunting loads and 275 or so of the cast stuff fire forming. I've sat on the steps in my shop and fired 150 of 'em in a session, long range shooting too, about 12 feet. lol. Shucks, I even spent $200 on ammo can's just to store the reloads in as the plastic buckets I'd been using started breaking the sides out and spilling on the floor! I don't have 50,000 rnds, maybe 25,-30,000 is all. Getting to be about time to load up some more as I sure don't want to run out. Anyone local enough to split the hazmat on primers when PVI ever gets stocked up again I'd be interested, I could use a jug of powder too. Let me know if you're around these parts close enough, even in the Denver area as I get up there quite often. Enjoyed this post, you guys stay well and enjoy the hobbies we all have, some we share even.
__________________
George "Gun Control is NOT about guns, it's about CONTROL!!" |
#30
|
|||
|
|||
George never said a word when I was within a 1/4" of missing the
bullet trap in his garage. He has nerves of steel. Kenny
__________________
sicero I pride myself in being able to make decisions with little information. |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|