According to my local gunshop, he was told by his suppliers, that the price of Manufactured ammo is going to be taking ANOTHER 25% across the board price increase within the next few weeks.. just in time for hunting season of course....

I am sure all of you non handloaders will appreciate that!!!!

This stuff is getting ridiculous!!!!!

Ammo companies are getting jealous of Big Oil!!!!

..... that or another directed fed/state/local "sin tax" maybe..?

Already witnessed it.... At Sporstman's Warehouse, the Weatherby 225 grain TSXs are now $94.50 a box, up from $84.50...

I have all of the necessary reloading tools and supplies ordered so I won't be paying that price ... I've managed to collect 200 pieces of brass already, 40 new cases, 86 once fired (by me ) and I have another 74 unfired factory cartridges.... I'll run a few more down the tube before hunting season but will be using the factory stuff for October's elk hunt...

Ken....

And who says you don't save money handloading?

There was an interesting article in the paper over the weekend RE just that. Lake City is turning out one-point-four Billion rounds a year of 223 and 308. Four times what it was doing eighteen months ago. The fedguv is driving up the price of all the basic metals used in manufacturing brass and bullets. The article suggested it was a classic case of "...making hay while the sun shines..." since in a year or so the troops will mostly be home from Iraq and the bottom will drop out of the metals market. They also suggested that a sizeable "market correction" would occur during the second half of '08 and that the election would hinge around that issue.
As an aside, my brother who lives in MO called me yesterday evening to P&M (piss and moan) about paying $24 for a thousand primers. I suggested to him that he buy ten thousand, because it wouldn't get any better for two years. That recommendation is one I intend to follow up on myself.

Rich
DRSS

quote:

Originally posted by fredj338:
And who says you don't save money handloading?

You got that right... The comparison for these big boomers is night and day... 5 dollars everytime you pull the trigger on factory stuff compared to $1.30 to reload that brass again ...

Ken....

Having lived through a number of wars, incuding WW II, Korean, 'Nam, etc., this is exactly why I have slightly over 100 bullet moulds and half a ton+ of linotype. During WW II in particular, commercial ammo was strictly an item constructed of unobtainium. Heck, during "the war" my dad paid 50 1942-dollars (over $500 equivalent today) for a black-market fly-fishing reel!!

Of course, I have both powder and primers squirreled away too.

It will never all be used up before I pass on to better hunting fields, but I will be able to continue recreational shooting, and hunting, so long as I am physically able.

For those with only a few rifles, I suggest at least a couple of bullet moulds and appropriate amounts of powder and primers be bought and stashed.

Though obviously cast bullets aren't as easy to learn to use, and require some labour to produce, they ARE capable of fine target accuracy, and will reliably kill any animal in the Americas. A person need not use them anyway, except in a real crunch. In the meantime, so long as he (she) can afford them, he can continue to use the new-fangled jacketed thingies.

You are right AC. Even if you don't want to go the cast bullet route, buying jacketed bullets in bulk will save you in the long haul. They last almost indefinetly. Even powder & primers have a 50yr shelf life stored properly.

Yes it goes to show you ( squirreling away ) is not just about protecting ones nuts !.

My wife used to get so pissed off when I'd buy bulk anything .

She sure changed her tune when everything started going up and up !. Now I'm a dam genius !. Go figure .

Hell copper has gotten so expensive even for scrap prices ( Around here any way ) Thieves are stealing power lines !!!!!.

The Economy is sucking wind far worse than the News media lets on !.

I'm set for primers projectiles powder for years to come . I had the good fortune to see this coming a few years back .

Shoot Straight know Your Target . ...

Glad I laid in a big supply of jacketed bullets a couple of years back, along with the powder and primers needed. And I already cast for ALL my handguns and 30 cal rifles and 45/70's. I'm probably set for the rest of my life, and will still leave a bunch of stuff for my sons and Grandsons.
Having a bit of foresight is a good thing.

Shooting pistol caliber levers and a couple of pistol cal. bolt rifles still give ya the needed fix!

quote:

Originally posted by Idaho Sharpshooter:

As an aside, my brother who lives in MO called me yesterday evening to P&M (piss and moan) about paying $24 for a thousand primers. I suggested to him that he buy ten thousand, because it wouldn't get any better for two years. That recommendation is one I intend to follow up on myself.

Rich
DRSS

OOFF! I wish $24! My last 1K primers was $47 plus taxes. The trickle down effect is causing much higher prices up here. The good news is, that in 16 years powder has only gone up by about 6-8 dollars per pound.

I just checked primer prices atmidsouth and if one bought 10,000 primers the coost including shipping and hasmat would be roughly $26 per thousand.....need a group buy possibly but I don't see the prices being quoted here.

quote:

The Economy is sucking wind far worse than the News media lets on !.

Yep, its gettin' real bad out here in flyover country. Soup line America sure is rough. I'm glad I wasn't around for Carter's misery index and double digit inflation. That must have really been hell.

I rather enjoyed selling a bunch of scrap pipe last week for >$100. Makes the new tuition bill a little easier to take.

Reloading saves us money and squirreling components protects us from these type of price changes. Thats why we do it. Growth in the metals market is not a reliable signal as to the direction of the economy. But, you knew that - you're a doctor.

HAHA!
And i just , litterally , found 2 bandoleres of IMI M855 5.56.

It has really gotten out of hand here lately.

I can usually load 3 boxes of premium ammo for the cost of one box of premium factory loads.

It does seem like the Government is probably going to make it hard for us hand loaders before long though. It wouldn't surprise me a bit if they try to make it really difficult to get components in the near future.

Reloader

I've heard the tremendous increase in the price of lead was primarily due to the Chinese sucking it all up to line their new numerous nuclear reactors.

Won't be long before 'gun control' is a thing of the past and its 'ammo control'.

We can and could blame China for most all world problems . Metals , Oil , Concrete , fuel manufactured goods , car prices as well as parts are all costing more !. They're in their industrial revolution evolution !.

Stop first and blame ourselves !. For allowing NAFTA and Euro & Asian Trade agreements , then USA company's who import everything from China to re sell to us !. We supply their MONEY !. They also hold 800 Billion yes that's a B for Billions worth of our treasury bonds !!!!!!!!.

That happened on Slick Willy's watch along with several other terrible things !.

Keep this in mind when shopping at Wally World or harbor town !.

Don't go all political on me ! , I don't like any of them . What choice do you have ?.

It's either twiddly de or twiddly dumber !.

Shoot straight know your target . ...

What choice did our forefathers have in 1775?

Less than 15% of the U.S. population supported the revolution against old George the III. 85%were either Tories or didn't want to get involved. You know, a voting block of 15% could swing every election in this country toward pro-American representation in Congress.

Well said Canuck.

I think we are doing OK right now economically. BUT I believe that if our country would enforce our trade laws and be committed to free AND fair trade we could bury China and the others. If we commit to this it can be done.

FAIR TRADE ??. Are you living in dream land ?.

try working for $ 0.16 - 0.84 an hour and see where that gets you !.

Yes Albert I would agree except that voting is like complaining to your congress person or senator !. It feels good but is hopeless !.

Several years back there was a bill passed in Kalif. Boating tax Vessel registration fee increase per size of vessel price based !.

Because some bureaucrats stole 35 mil out of the parks recreation funds !. Was the guise !.

I and several friends decided we would complain for and against to our local congress persons and or worthless senators !. Boy are they ever worthless from this state !.

We all received form letters thanking us and reassuring us they were working in our behalf to either pass or resend the bill depending on if you were for or against !.

The only reason I still even vote is so I can BITCH LOUDLY !. The choices of candidates one has these days is none !.

I miss people like Huey P Long !." Used to be when you bought a politician the SOB was paid for " !.

Shoot straight know your target . ...

Wages feed the ninos and put choos on their feet.

Prices aren't increasing, our money is simply worth less, being deliberately devalued by Komrade Bush to bring American wages in line with the rest of the world.

Old history.

quote:

I'm glad I wasn't around for Carter's misery index and double digit inflation. That must have really been hell.

Not really. It all depends on whether one had kept their head up and was positioned for that kind of development, which DOES appear cyclically in the world's economies.

At the time, I had been methodically saving a small part of every pay check for a few years, so I had about $100,000 in cash equivalents in the bank. At 11% interest that gave me enough income each month to not HAVE to work at all, at 1981 prices...at least until interest rates started to fall again.

In the meantime, I DID work, and invested a portion of my income in tax exempt municipal bonds....such as Northern Arizona University bonds. Because the interest rates were so high, the bonds carried a set 9% interest rate, AND were discounted to about 90% of face value as a purchase price. That was the only way they could sell them.

And, of course, no taxes, either state or federal, were levied on that interest income.

So, what happened when the interest rates went down?


Well, my cash investments earned less interest, but my bonds became much more valuable. After all, where else could a person get a guaranteed annual 9% tax free as the interest rates drifted down? So, the bonds then began selling at a substantial premium OVER their face value. If and as I wanted to sell them, I made a tidy profit on them, AND had the benefit of all that tax free interest in the meantime.

The same cycle is starting to come by again. Interest rates are rising. Stock values are falling. It is about a year or so past time to begin shifting assets from stocks to cash (money market accounts or CDs, etc.). Then, when interest free municipal bonds eventually begin to yield over 8% interest again, it will be time to move some of that cash into them.

At least that is my view and it has worked well enough for me that I retired at age 53 and haven't worked a day since.

P.S., another thing to look into is LYONs...Limited Yield Option Notes. Most stock brokers will tell you they never heard of them, but they are out there. They are buy options which are relatively inexpensive and pay the equivalent of interest, while giving you the option to buy the stock they are based on at a set, unchanging (not rising) price. So, you can get a small income from them AND be able to profit from them when stock prices start to rise again....by either buying the stock at the option price, or by selling the options to someone else who wants to buy that stock.