chris in va
New member
Option C: get an inexpensive reloading setup with the money you'd waste on factory ammo. I can't remember the last time I bought a box and I'm never out of ammo. On anything.
Exactly.
Exactly.
The old dilema: More ammo or another gun
- Thread starter BigBL87
- Start date
I've got an older Dillon that I bought from a family friend for a great price, but there's nothing like sitting down with my favorite Pandora channel and just cranking out round after round for an hour or two.
It would be very easy to balk at the buy-in price for for the equipment that I have, so I definitely feel for somebody on a budget who understands the money to be saved, but doesn't have enough money to start saving himself money.
A new 550b with 9mm kit, Eliminator scale, tumbler, media, case prep tools, calipers, organization, case-gauge, manual, puller/collets, funnel, and all the really useful odds and ends that a reloader acquires over time... budget $800'ish to make sure you don't leave anything out. Yup, you can get away with spending less on the "luxuries"... but the little helpful bits help you save time, which isn't critical at first, but will be what keeps you going after the newness of reloading wears off after the first few thousand rounds. Yup, sounds like a lot of money.
And of course you can spend less... WAAAAYYYY less than I have... but not a single person I know who has done the homework could talk himself out of a Dillon. I've used the legendary warranty twice already, worth every penny.
And like a good quality firearm, reloading equipment doesn't really lose any value over time. Ammo will never get any cheaper than it is right now, and reloading consumables are about as cheap as they can get.
So let's just examine 9mm plinking ammo, which isn't even the most economic pistol round to reload. If the cheapest stuff you can buy is 25cents a round, and you can reload for 10cents, then your break even point on $800 worth of reloading equipment is just 3200rds.
Again, that sounds like a lot of ammo to a guy who only hits the range a few times a year, but the fact is that once you've reloaded and shot 3200rds, you've paid off your equipment. And even if it takes you a few years to shoot that much, every round from then on is just 10cents. That's the way I'd put it to the wife anyways.
It would be very easy to balk at the buy-in price for for the equipment that I have, so I definitely feel for somebody on a budget who understands the money to be saved, but doesn't have enough money to start saving himself money.
A new 550b with 9mm kit, Eliminator scale, tumbler, media, case prep tools, calipers, organization, case-gauge, manual, puller/collets, funnel, and all the really useful odds and ends that a reloader acquires over time... budget $800'ish to make sure you don't leave anything out. Yup, you can get away with spending less on the "luxuries"... but the little helpful bits help you save time, which isn't critical at first, but will be what keeps you going after the newness of reloading wears off after the first few thousand rounds. Yup, sounds like a lot of money.
And of course you can spend less... WAAAAYYYY less than I have... but not a single person I know who has done the homework could talk himself out of a Dillon. I've used the legendary warranty twice already, worth every penny.
And like a good quality firearm, reloading equipment doesn't really lose any value over time. Ammo will never get any cheaper than it is right now, and reloading consumables are about as cheap as they can get.
So let's just examine 9mm plinking ammo, which isn't even the most economic pistol round to reload. If the cheapest stuff you can buy is 25cents a round, and you can reload for 10cents, then your break even point on $800 worth of reloading equipment is just 3200rds.
Again, that sounds like a lot of ammo to a guy who only hits the range a few times a year, but the fact is that once you've reloaded and shot 3200rds, you've paid off your equipment. And even if it takes you a few years to shoot that much, every round from then on is just 10cents. That's the way I'd put it to the wife anyways.
kwalityguy
New member
For $150 I can't imagine what kind of 22 rifle you could buy (or want). A 10-22 is $250+. An M&P AR15-22 is $500. A Henry is $350. Even a Marlin 60 is almost $200. Save your money for a better 22 or spend it now on 9mm ammo but only if you can get it for $13-14/50 or less. Don't pay gouger prices.
I've pretty much decided to go the ammo route, fwiw. I think I'll probably spend half on more 9mm, the rest on an upgraded safety button for my Mossberg and some more shotshells. The 9mm I bought the other day was around $67 / 250 before shipping.
As far as 22s, I was planning on getting a Savage 64. I don't need anything ultra customizable or anything, just something to plink around with.
As far as 22s, I was planning on getting a Savage 64. I don't need anything ultra customizable or anything, just something to plink around with.
Model12Win
Moderator
Forgot .22LR for now.
Hopefully in time it will stabilize back to pre-crazyness prices.
9mm really hasn't seen too much of a price hike since the events of the last couple years. It is also pretty available online for a reasonable cost, and I've seen it in stores sparsely lately. I think things are getting better in 9mm land, not so much in .22 land. It's still stupid hard to find locally and all the online vendors have the prices so jacked up.
I'll spend a couple cents more per round for 9mm since the last couple years, but I refuse to pay double, triple, or quadruple the price of what should be the cheapest ammunition available (.22 LR) just because of the artificial supply/demand fiasco that all the hoarders are creating.
If you don't think people hoard .22 LR think again.
Recently, an early morning trip to Wal-Mart revealed to me that there are several old men who must be retired and have nothing better to do, wait every morning at the sporting goods counter waiting for the clerk to come out of the back with a cart full of whatever ammo they will be stocking for the day.
The day I was in there, low and behold there was a big crate of Remington Golden Bullet 550 bulk packs ripe for the picking. Well these old guys sure picked it. Three boxes each, and they cleared out this entire case of .22 ammo all except for two boxes... BEFORE ANY OF IT EVEN GOT PUT UP ON THE SHELF!!!!!
It really started to clarify why we are seeing this issue. People buying up all the .22 ammo in sight only leads to more panic, increased prices, it's simply ridiculous.
Sorry about that rant! But yes, I think focusing on 9mm weapon systems in the meantime is the smarter thing to do. That's what I'm doing and I'm stickin' to it!
Hopefully in time it will stabilize back to pre-crazyness prices.
9mm really hasn't seen too much of a price hike since the events of the last couple years. It is also pretty available online for a reasonable cost, and I've seen it in stores sparsely lately. I think things are getting better in 9mm land, not so much in .22 land. It's still stupid hard to find locally and all the online vendors have the prices so jacked up.
I'll spend a couple cents more per round for 9mm since the last couple years, but I refuse to pay double, triple, or quadruple the price of what should be the cheapest ammunition available (.22 LR) just because of the artificial supply/demand fiasco that all the hoarders are creating.
If you don't think people hoard .22 LR think again.
Recently, an early morning trip to Wal-Mart revealed to me that there are several old men who must be retired and have nothing better to do, wait every morning at the sporting goods counter waiting for the clerk to come out of the back with a cart full of whatever ammo they will be stocking for the day.
The day I was in there, low and behold there was a big crate of Remington Golden Bullet 550 bulk packs ripe for the picking. Well these old guys sure picked it. Three boxes each, and they cleared out this entire case of .22 ammo all except for two boxes... BEFORE ANY OF IT EVEN GOT PUT UP ON THE SHELF!!!!!
It really started to clarify why we are seeing this issue. People buying up all the .22 ammo in sight only leads to more panic, increased prices, it's simply ridiculous.
Sorry about that rant! But yes, I think focusing on 9mm weapon systems in the meantime is the smarter thing to do. That's what I'm doing and I'm stickin' to it!