Got this little flyer [sic] in the mail from AmmoMan over the past weekend, and it gave impetus to all sorts of random musings about The Gun Thing and the feeding thereof:
Well, no prizes for guessing what calibers are America’s current favorites, huh? Too bad that I’m not in the market for any of them. Next line:
Okay, that’s a little better, in that I need me some .38 Spec practice ammo (at 30c/pull), and CCI is one of my favorite ammo manufacturers. I still have a couple hundred rounds of .308 Win — too bad I don’t own a rifle thus chambered, though — and I only shoot 185gr .45 ACP nowadays, and not the heavier 230gr. The Remington El Cheapo Plinkers are fine, at about 6c per pull, but I have enough .22 ammo on hand not to be tempted into buying it. (Their quality control may have improved since, but I used to get a ton of dead strikes with the Thunderbolts, so I’ve switched pretty much exclusively to Federal Target and CCI Mini-Mags, because life is too short to hear “click” instead of “BANG”.) Next up:
Hmmm I see that like .38 Spec, .22 Mag is running at 30c/pull (!) which makes it five times more expensive than its smaller .22 LR cousin. But that Hornady stuff is mustard… I’m tempted. Not by the Blackout, though, which I know is the favorite of all the short-range sniper cognoscenti at the moment. But whoa: $1.40/round for .30-30? Even for the good Hornady stuff, it’s still sheesh. (I’d rather go with the lighter 150gr Federal Power-Shok — by no means a slouch of a cartridge — at 90c/round.) And if we’re talking like-for-like bullet weight, Fiocchi can be had for about the same. Finally, I’m not in the market for 12ga ammo, although if I ever get the funds to contemplate that CZ Coach gun… I also note that there is much cheaper 12ga 00 buck available at 45c/round (compared to the Super-X above at 70c), but I have no idea what the quality thereof is like, not being as familiar with shotgun brands as I should.
I know that you could probably do better, on an individual basis, for any or all of the above at SOTI (Somewhere On Teh Intarwebz), but my experience with AmmoMan has always been good — ordering, delivery cost/time etc. — so give them a try if you haven’t already.
And as always, the reminder: I get no kickbacks or discounts from ANY company I mention on this website. (more’s the pity)
Finally, seen on some ammo/gun website:
Wait: an ersatz mil-spec AR/XM7 SIG-scoped clone (yeah, I know SIG Swiss magic yadda yadda) in 7.62mm NATO… worth $5,700? Did I step into some kind of Twilight Zone time capsule which propelled me into 2100 AD (where $6 grand might be acceptable for such a rifle)?
And as for the Suburban Warrior holding the 24k gold-plated weapon in the approved limp-wristed SWAT “ready” stance, complete with $300 wraparound Oakley sunglasses and backwards-facing 5.11 cap over a suitably-grim “operator” expression…
I see these wannabes at the TDSA range all the time, and most of them are just average shots. When their guns are running properly.
Which reminds me… it’s almost time to make the trek to TDSA again: that is, when the Texas summer weather goes from BROIL to SIMMER.
Unless I add an extension on the building I simply have no more room for anything. Literally, it is narrow winding pathways between stacked boxes of “stuff” everywhere. To find anything requires half an hour of full scale rubix cube work, moving stuff around, etc. I guess I can be rightfully accused of hoarding everything. Someday I might need it….
I think I had around 40k rds of ammo but I can’t verify that right now, it might be more.
For those of us that reload CCI primers can be found for $64 a thousand. FMJ 115gr RN 9mm can be found for $112 a thousand. It would take 2/3 of a pound of CFEpistol and that go’s for $34 a pound. It cost about 20 cents to produce a 9mm bullet. The 9mm for $249 a thousand is a pretty good deal.
CCI blazer brass is on sale around here for $15/box of 50 so that’s $0.30/cartridge.
I balked when XM80 was pushing $0.75/cartridge and now it’s $1.25 or more per cartridge. I learned the hard way that the cost of ammunition never returns to the lower price. It’s only going to get more expensive tomorrow.
JQ
Go to Midway and Brownell’s and sign up for emails. Wait for offers of free shipping and then see what ammo is on sale. Last year I got some “Remington HD Ultimate Defense Ammunition 9mm Luger 124 Grain Brass Jacketed Hollow Point Box of 20” for $21/box from Midway.
The cost of reloading range ammo for handguns can be shaved some by using store bought cast bullets. Several outfits make good bullets lubed and ready to load. Midway just happened to come through again with “Hunters Supply Hard Cast Bullets 9mm (356 Diameter) 125 Grain Lead Flat Nose Box of 500” on sale for $34.31/box.
My stash does not rise to the level of ghostsniper. That said, my accumulation of once fired 5.56 brass from range pick-ups to stuff that was just given to me, finally got to the point where I said enough. I’m guessing somewhere around 2000 rounds of brass. Figure 5 reloads per. Yeah, I’ll be pushing up daisies from natural causes before I wear all those out. Maybe even use some for barter.
My carry around the farm is a AR pistol in .300bo, so your note intrigued me.
Unfortunately, those light 150gr are less effective on feral hogs.
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I will stick with 220gr to drop them humanely.