Tips for buying supplies

A pound of powder will last forever almost in 9mm

But don't buy big until you settle in on one that you like for your rifles.

Ideally you can get one that covers all of them (Varget maybe) and it may shoot good in all of them.

After that its careful shopping, occasionally bullets are locally cheap but most often not, but locally you can buy a 100 and try them out and then find a low cost source.

I have yet to find any single source that is consistently low cost.

Hornady Z-Max bullets are no longer listed on their site. They were just a marketing ploy anyway. Same bullet as a V-Max but in a scary box. Takes a head shot to kill a zombie anyway. snicker.
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Snicker all you want, CAbellas still carries them so it looks like a Cabella only item now and they are $144 a 500 (grin)

My brother laughs as well but when he sees the groups he agrees they are pretty good.

Never was impressed with the Zombie thing but good quality and the price and I can live with yellow tipped bullets and the yokes (pun intended)

In the OPS case they are available in both his rifle calibers.

Hard part is they are box of 500 and you are committed though I think they will shoot at least decently in most rifles. .
 
I can't speak for those who shoot a lot. I only shoot about 100 rounds per week, so I'll answer from that point of view.

Bullets and brass are generally the most expensive reloading components for handguns. So I typically buy brass and bullets when on sale (usually online). I don't burn enough powder or primers to justify the Haz Mat fees so I typically buy those locally, a pound or a thousand at a time.

I shoot less rifle, but purchase those components in the same manner. The magnum cases use up powder fast, but even then I typically don't shoot enough to justify buying more than a pound at a time.

The same basic rules apply for reloading components as well as other items. Look for sales, free shipping, and free haz mat. Of course buying in volume helps as well, if you use enough of the components.

Right now, I'm trying to use up several pounds of various 20 year old powders. Going forward, I think a 5 year supply of components is sufficient. The 20 year old stuff is still working just fine, but I should have shot more and used it up sooner (or bought less at the time).

Looking at what the OP intends to load for, he could probably get by pretty well with just one pistol powder and one rifle powder. But, which ones? And, more importantly, is it possible for a reloader to be content with only one rifle powder and one pistol powder for 5 different cartridges?
 
My observations from the last 6 months: The panic buying has definitely expired, at least in my local stores and ranges. Ammunition and component prices have got to fall. Many on-line sites are offering tiny discounts like 10% which is nothing. Gun companies and ammo companies have jacked prices up 300% or more just because they could due to demand. Now they are going to have to realize that their climate for raising prices is over for a while and offer better prices and deals. They may all be in trouble and have to tighten their belts?? I would advise to buy when you see discounts but not to stock vast quantities right now. Only enough to supply your needs short term. Places that have had crowded aisles shopping in the gun departments are nearly empty around here. Salesmen look bewildered. Just my observation and having gone through boom and bust periods in the last 30 plus years.
 
Thanks again guys, this is really REALLY good information and exactly the type of stuff i was looking for.

I shot my first reloads last night (Berry's 115gr & 124gr 9mm) and had amazing groups (for me) using the start load for tite group powder. But i have nothing to compare that to.... so now begins the search for some other bullets to try. (my skill level is also so low that i may not be able to tell the difference just yet between bullets)

I don't shoot that much currently and that is the whole reason i got the reloading setup, so i can shoot ALOT more!!! I'd like to be hitting the range at least once a week and shooting 50-100 rounds of handgun ammo and then as much rifle as i can.

I also want to keep a decent stock pile so when the next panic comes along, i dont need to feed into the hype and can just live off my stockpile.

Think i have all the info and insight i need to get moving with supplies, thanks again guys!
 
Spend some time thinking about this question.....Why did you buy a box of 115 gr and a box of 124 gr instead of 2 boxes of the same bullet?

If your goal is to shoot more, I believe your production goals ought to be to minimize test loads and maximize production of tested loads that give best accuracy for the combination of components. Assuming all loads are safe.
 
I bought a lot of stuff from someone as a package deal, so using up what was included just to get me started. I have about 750rnds of 9mm, 40cal, 45cal in Berrys bullets and then a few boxes of some hornday XTP 45.
 
Congrats on a successful trip to the range. The learning curve is fairly steep when starting out, and once you get the basics figured out it gets a lot easier.
 
When you buy primers or powder at a local store you are still paying a hazmat fee. It is the same fee if you bought a full case of powder or primers. At the store you only pay the portion of the fee for what you buy. I buy 48 pounds of powder at a time. I pay the $15 dollar hazmat fee for the box of powder that one would pay for a pound of powder bought individually. The stores buy in boxes and the divide the fee equally for each part in the box. In my case each 8 pound keg in the box of six costs me $2.50 in fees. The difference is the store marks the price up to make a profit.

Every time hazardous material is shipped it gets another fee tacked on to the price. Wholesaler, distributor, and retailer means that you are paying three hazmat fees when you buy at the local store. You should also note that the manufacturer, wholesaler and retailer each mark the price up for a profit. They all have bills to pay.
 
I had 3 reloading buddies and we would do group buys to up the price breaks. It fell apart over the years with changes in life. I have changed my methods since then but in the past 5 years:

I have bought my primers on sale at Cabella's for $19 to $24 per brick. I usually get 20 bricks and I also get the military discount which almost takes care of the taxes. I have a 5 year supply.

Powder I buy from my LGS in 4 or 8 pound bottles. I have a 3 year supply.

Bullets I buy on-line and usually on sale. I buy a years supply of bullets on the black Friday sale as it is typically the best. I have almost a 2 year supply.
 
When considering cast handgun bullets, those indicated as BB (bevel base), opposed to FB (flat base), facilitate bullet seating and would require only a minimum of flare, if any, to eliminate any bullet shearing. The BB bullets also seem to aide straight seating.
 
My philosophy, which I adopted while tying flies for fly fishing and later applied to loading components is. If I come across a component with a smokin' price, it's a component I use a lot (and which one isn't) and I have the money, I buy as much as I can afford.

This is the reason I have more fly tying components and loading components I could ever use. Does this make me a hoarder?

I'll tell you a great example of how this works. About fifteen years ago or so, Wal Mart was selling Remington and Federal bulk 22 LR ammo for under $9 per box. There was not a shortage at the time so I wasn't hoarding because of that. I purchased one dozen bulk boxes.
 
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My friends and I have been trying to get into reloaded ammo as it seems to be the most cost efficient going into the future maintaining the same kind of quality. If you're going to be or are in the LA area a store called LAX Ammo is going to be having a parking lot sale but they usually have competitive sales on their online store too.
 
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