When my 30th birthday rolled around, I didn't feel the, "man, I'm getting old" thing that most people predicted.

However, when I opened up my old spreadsheet shotgun shell reloading calculator from 1996 and saw the prices of lead, primer, and powder that I had entered... SHIT! That made me feel old!! Primers have doubled and lead has more than tripled in price. Powder has surprisingly stayed about the same.

According to my old calculations from 1996, I could load a really healthy recipe of 1 1/8 field loads for about $3.10 per 25.

After adding in current predicted costs of supplies, that figure is now over $7 per 25 rounds.

What gives??

Last dove season, I bitched about paying $7.50 a box for Winchester AA loads when my old handloaded supplies ran out. Now I know that it wasn't such a bad price afterall.

My question (finally):

Where do you buy your lead shot these days? The last place I looked it was $54 per 25 lbs! I walked out, but after looking online, that seems to be the going rate.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Kenati

About 6-7 years back I went in with a local Gun Clubs annual buy . I purchased 1.5 tons #8's #7.5's #6's . Everybody thought I was a WHACK JOB !. Same with Win SL powder multi. 8 lb. kegs !.Wads again SL 1-1 1/8 oz loads . Cases not boxes full cases 40K primers per case .

I did like wise with Federal M 210 205 primers .
.

I have no Idea if your affiliated with any club or not , try and see if you can purchase on an annual club buy . It's like getting it wholesale , least it was for me .

My powder comes from Powder Valley like many others does .

Shoot Straight Know Your Target . ...

Cost of all metal commodity prices have almost doubled, copper, lead, brass, the CHinese, the falling dollar & the double of gas prices in the last 5yrs has driven prices through the roof. I'm glad I had layed in a supply of components back when they were cheap.

quote:

Any suggestions?

Littleton Shotmaker

3,000 lbs = 120 bags of shot! Now THAT is a serious order. I bet the gun club loved the discount you brought them.

Anyway, great suggestion, Dr. K. Thanks for the advice. I will have to look around for a shotgun club here in the "Sportsman's Paradise".

BTW, I was just noticing that you are from SoCal and I was thinking... It's funny how much hell I catch from growing up in "liberal anti-gun" California, but I can definitely say for sure that there were ten times as many gun nuts and gun-related happenings there than in Louisiana.

Don't get me wrong, I love it here, but the folks in the Deep South just aren't into their firearms like I'm used to. However, the hunting spirit runs deep. Which in the end is what it all boils down to for me anyway.

Thanks again.

Kenati

quote:

Originally posted by tnekkcc:

WOW. A picture is worth a thousand words.

Enough said.

Thanks

quote:

WOW. A picture is worth a thousand words.

Here's a better view,


It's trading at $0.72/lb now, it was around $1.60 for a while. So maybe there's hope.

A 12ga. 3/4oz load with Hodgdon's Titewad and a Downrange pink wad breaks clay targets pretty well. 533 loads out of a bag of shot instead of 355 with 1 1/8oz.

Not looking good for copper though.

If we had only known that yesterday was the last of the 'good old days'. Just after graduating and getting the first job; the local sporting goods store used to give a discount if you bought 100# or more of shot. I always bought at least the 100#s at any time. As I recall it was 4.50- 5$ a sack. They also sold bulk H4831 out of a 100# bbl. for 1$/pound if you brought your own container. Boy did I cry when I used up the last of my stock.
C.G.B.

Kenati ; I have fond memories of Good Folks down Louisiana way !.

I don't even hold them responsible for Brittany Spears !.

The club used to buy so much Shot as they went in on buys with the Miramar Gun Club , next to the Naval Air Station .

They trucked it into us on semi's , it was ass holes and elbows unloading that stuff as everybody helped everyone else .

I was actually one of the medium orders , as some guys brought trucks trailers and made more than one trip !.

They used to haul in Federal Shells by the pallet as the range resold them for Trap Skeet and such .

Curry shot and West Coast Shot out of Carson City NV. is where my stuff came from .


We used to buy a lot of components wholesale from a place called Bauers Or Bowers up in between Anaheim and Tustin ( I think that's right ? ) . Maybe someone else knows for sure ?.

They're out of business and have been for some time now .

Shoot Straight Know Your Target . ...

Dr K

Bowers was in downtown LA to start with riots wiped them out they moved out off the 91 fwy and Tustin ave for a few years then closed up.

I'm buying shot from a place in SoCal for $38 a bag.

I think it's going to take a bit for the high priced lead to work it's way thru the mfg SYSTEM lets that's what they say before we see it come down they buy months in advance.

It did not take them long to raise there prices 2 years ago