1880’s cost of (cartridge) ammo?

44-40 and .45 Colt ran about 2 cents per round. Before you ask, a glass of whiskey(they didn't have shots back then)was about a quarter.
 
I read one source that said a round of .45 Colt cost same as a drink of whiskey. A penniless cowboy would trade the barkeep a round of .45 for a drink of whiskey, thus the origins of the term, a shot of whiskey. Don't know if it's fact but I found it interesting.
 
jdc606 said:
I read one source that said a round of .45 Colt cost same as a drink of whiskey. A penniless cowboy would trade the barkeep a round of .45 for a drink of whiskey, thus the origins of the term, a shot of whiskey. Don't know if it's fact but I found it interesting.
Click to expand...
Another Hollyweird fable.
 
My grandfather born in 1903 told me that they used to buy ammo by however many rounds you needed. Not the whole box. If you needed 5 rounds of 30 30 or 7 rounds of 12 gauge shells, that is what you bought. They sold them individually. I though that was kind of funny. But he did tell me that a whole box of 22's were about .25 cents. He didn't specify what year he was buying at this price. Probably after the depression is my guess.
 
Somewhere I have images of some old advertisements. Not sure if any are from that far back, though. But, adjusted for inflation, ammo prices at the time were likely along the lines of what we're paying right now.
 
"...A penniless cowboy would..." Be highly unlikely to own any firearm never mind a Colt. An SAA ran about $17.50 in 1873. A cowboy got about $30 or so and found(he got fed) per month. The ranchers rarely allowed firearms in the bunk house. Most of 'em didn't own a horse either.
Discussed here in 2012.
https://thefiringline.com/forums/archive/index.php?t-480020.html
"...box of 22's were about .25 cents...." That 2 bits could be a day's pay
 
When I was young, the local 66 gas station sold ammo.
22 shorts were 25 cents a box, the owner had a lot of them. 22 long rifle for 60 cents a box.
And he would sell rifle ammo by the round. I swear, he had at least one box of everything, including Weatherby Magnums.
Highway 66 in Selah, Washington. Lots of good memories.
 
From 1888 Colt catalog:

.22 short, $5 per thousand.
.38-40, $19 per k. Primed cases $10 per k; bullets, $5 per k.
.44-40, $19 per k. Primed cases $10 per k; bullets, $6 per k.
.45 Colt, $22 per k. Primed cases $10.50; bullets, $7.
 
Which makes you wonder just how "deadly" the gunslingers were?
Unless you could afford $10 a week for ammo, you weren't going to get very good.
 
It warn't like the picture shows.
Most of the gunslingers were backshooters at close range or with a rifle.

But there were exceptions.
One all the way back in the 18th century was the Englishman who anticipated being challenged to a set duel. Must have been a disagreeable chap.
But he would "culp his dozen wafers every morning before breakfast."
A wafer was a sticker used to close an envelope when you couldn't melt wax for a seal and would be a tough target. And a dozen with a pair of flintlocks would require dedication to practice.
 
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Winchester's 1875 catalog doesn't seem to be much different than the 1888.

$20 for 1,000, $1 for a box of 50, .2 cents per cartridge.

$1 a box was expensive since most folks made less than a $1 a day wages?

Should be close to about $60 a box today at a minimum wage or even a tad more, maybe $75 to $80 a box.

Currently 44-40 is selling for over $120 a box for hunting grade ammo. Not sure who the idiots are that are buying it, but buying it they are.
 
Considering 1000 rounds of 45 colt were about the same cost of a colt revolver, we at Uruguay (South America) are very close to that proportions today. A box of 50 magtech 45 colt is about 75 bucks here, so a revolver could be 1500. And that is almost the cost of a Uberti in such caliber (Really 1450 dollars here).
 
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