I'm stocked up pretty good on components but my range trips have been limited to around 25 rds. instead of the 100 or so.
Posted on 05/20/2008 5:50:16 AM PDT by 300magnum
TOMBSTONE, Ariz (Reuters) - Gunslinger Bob Krueger blasts away at his outlaw rivals at a tourist show in this storied Old West town, although rising ammo costs may force him to choose his shots.
Krueger and his gnarly band of pistoleros are among millions of shooters, hunters and even lawmen across the United States feeling the pinch as sky-high metals prices and demand from wars abroad are driving up the price of bullets.
Ammo prices for many popular guns have more than tripled in the last three years, driven in large part by surging demand for metals in rapidly industrializing China.
As the Asian giant becomes wealthier, millions of tons of copper, lead and zinc, which are also used to make bullets and brass shell-casings, are being snapped up.
Shooters, gun dealers and sheriffs say the impact has been further aggravated by competition for limited ammo stocks with the U.S. military, currently fighting wars on two fronts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"Everybody is feeling it," said Krueger, a Stetson wearing cowboy whose show blasts through hundreds of rounds of blank ammo each week at Six Gun City in Tombstone.
"If things get bad enough, we may all just get one bullet each," he said, to laughter from his grizzled buddies.
HUNTING FOR AMMO
Dealers complain that the cost of rifle ammunition has doubled and even tripled in the past two years, with similar increases for some hand gun ammunition.
Lynn Kartchner, a gun shop owner in nearby Douglas, Arizona, says he now pays $250 for a case of 1,000 rounds of assault rifle ammunition, up from $80 two years ago, while a box of popular 9 mm shells has jumped to $17 from $10.
"Price rises have been accompanied by scarcity for certain kinds of ammo," Kartchner told Reuters in his shop, which is packed with rifles, pistols and shooting paraphernalia.
"There isn't as much variety, and a lot of people snap up whatever they can get their hands on," he added.
Increased costs and competition for ammo is also being born by police forces across the United States, among them the sheriff's department in Cochise County on the Arizona-Mexico border, which faces incursions from armed smugglers and even bandits from south of the line.
Last year the department faced a four-month delay acquiring rifle cartridges and had to dip into ammo reserves, rousing the concern of Sheriff Larry Dever.
"We do face people in this environment down here who are heavily armed, sometimes with higher capacity armaments than we carry," Dever said.
"The last thing we want do is find ourselves in a situation where we are not training sufficiently so that (deputies) can maintain those very important proficiencies," he added.
HOARDING, RELOADING
Demand for metals is tipped to stay strong in China for the next decade.
Cowboy shows and lawmen aside, high ammo prices are being shouldered by millions of target shooters and hunters across the United States, many of them working people on a limited budget.
"If you have three of four children, and they all go out on a hunting trip, the cost of ammo can be a bit of a burden," said Luis Hernandez, a keen deer, bird and varmint hunter from Douglas.
To keep costs low, many hobby shooters are now scouring gun shows, gun shops and the Internet in search of cheap ammunition, which some then buy in bulk and hoard against further price rises.
Others either shoot less, switch to smaller caliber ammunition such as .22 which is cheaper, or are increasingly turning to reloading their old shell cases.
"The main saving is in the brass casing, which is the most expensive part," said Hernandez, who reckons on saving up to $20 on a box of some premium rifle cartridges by reloading.
Other shooters and dealers are holding out hope that ammunition manufacturers will develop cheaper alternatives.
"High cost drives innovation," said Kartchner. "There has been some interest in plastic or aluminum cartridge cases in the past, so I'm hopeful they will come up with something. We'll just have to see."
(Reporting by Tim Gaynor; Additional reporting by Ed Stoddard; Editing by Eddie Evans)
I just paid 22.50 for a box of 50 .223 Black Hill Seconds.
My retired neighbor heads out to the club with shovel, screen, and wheelbarrow to sift through the pistol range backstop. A couple weeks ago he told me he'd sold 2,000 pounds of lead to a scrap dealer this year.
7.62 X 54R ammo is still reasonable.
Some of the Eastern European and Russian ammo is caustic, so you have to really clean after shooting. Anyone have other thoughts on the subject?
How might I get an estimate of how many rounds of ammunition are produced/used in the U.S. every year?
I’m crafting an argument against “guns are for killing people” by showing that 99.99+% of all ammunition in the U.S. is used for recreational purposes - skeet shooting, target shooting, hunting, etc.
I have actually mined a 5 gallon bucket’s worth from the berm at my club to try as a sample. Seperating the spent bullets from sticky Georgia red clay is going to be a real chore. I also hear that jacketed bullets tend to soften the alloy, so I reckon I’d need to add some tin.
I’m not sure I did the math right (I hate word problems!), however, here goes...
At current new prices of .43/round for .223, compared to the reload costs of .20/round and assuming that the reloading equipment would cost ~$500 of an investment...
The recovery of initial expenses woudl require re-loading 2500 rounds befoe any savings are realized. Which does not factor in the time required to gather materials (esp quality brass!) and actually perform the reloading process.
I suppose that very long term, it would eventually work out and those that have been doing this for years and years already realize nice savings.
The last time I was at the scrap yard I asked about lead, they told me scrap lead has not risen that much through all of this.
Hazardous chemicals there. Could be done, but if it gets to that point a return to flintlock might be in order.
Article understates the price increases. 14 mos ago I could buy 9mm quality ball ammo for less than $10 a box.
I’m saving the brass, but not reloading yet. What presses are people using?
I don’t disagree with your premise, and the “capital outlay” for reloading equipment must be considered, however, consider this:
Initial capital outlay for ONE caliber: Die Set $40, Press $20-$65, Scale $15, Misc small items and supplies $50, good reloading book $15. Melting pot $40, and bullet mold $20. Call it $200-$245 for capital equipment. Now, you CAN spend more, but that will just increase your loading speed.
Additional calibers can be loaded for $60 each (die set and bullet mold).
Reloading is 50%-70% cheaper than “factory” ammo, and 25%-35% cheaper than “range” reloads or surplus.
I put about 500-600 rounds downrange every week. Even at double your cost figure, it wouldn’t take me long to realize immense savings.
A suggestion - find someone that reloads and pay THEM to supply you. It’ll be cheaper, and you won’t have to buy factory (and be recorded doing so).
Dillon is very popular, very good,but pretty expensive.
I decided to wade into the hobby using a Lee Classic Turret and I'm pretty happy with it. It can't crank out 500+ an hour like a Dillon (I do about 150/hr), but it only cost about $80 for the press and die sets run $20-30 each.
I'm pretty sure I'll upgrade to a Dillon progressive eventually.
Go with Lee - cheaper by a long shot and adequate to the task.
Thanx all. Midway will be getting an order today. Better to be prepared for an all out assault on 2A after the next election.
(One more reason to hold nose, and vote McCain, IMO.....)
I'm stocked up pretty good on components but my range trips have been limited to around 25 rds. instead of the 100 or so.
I just bought a Hornady Lock-N-Load AP. Put my first 100 rounds through it this weekend.
I had a little trouble seating primers occasionally, and with the ejector spring, but some of it may be newbie inexperience related. Overall, I love this thing.
Thanks. I’ll investigate the handloaders.
Lee Challenger...’cause I’m not in a hurry.
Whose primers do you use?
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