How much are you willing to pay for ammo?

[User00040]

With some shops in Europe selling individual rounds, and some boxes not being far off £100 per box of 20 (no, I am not joking!), I think it's time to ask the question as to what point people would consider factory ammo to be unafforable.

I will only buy PPU from now on, as they are usually the cheapest, brass is good for reloading and the ammo is certainly OK. Unless other stuff is on sale (fat chance!), I won't be paying more than £30-40 per box of 20.

Logic would seem to dictate that larger calibres/chamberings mean higher cost, but this isn't always true. More popular chamberings often mean higher prices as stock gets more expensive each time it is bought in.

This applies to components too. If you were to buy brand new brass, bullets, primers and powder today, I suspect the cost would be higher than what the equivalent factory rounds were 4 years ago, and that's without time and reloading gear factored in.

We can thank copper bullets for saving the world once factory ammo is £10 a round, reloading is banned and then some bright spark will realise that we have to ban most primers which have lead in them too...

Crazy to think this joke may become reality...


How soon before 10 boxes of ammo (200 rounds) cost more than a new rifle?

 

[nun_hunter]

You may want to clarify but I assume you're talking about suitable deer stalking ammo rather than bulk target ammo or 22lr or stuff for pest control?

 

[gixer1]

Is this per round or per box of 20? I remember when 243/30-06 PPU could be bought for £11 per box of 20…it was barely worth reloading as it shot well.

I’ve never worked out my cost per round for reloading but I expect it’s gone up significantly.

I timed the £1 or less option but I guess that’s what I think it should cost, not what I’m willing to pay.

If I was shooting 20 rounds a year I would be willing to pay more but I’m not, I’m shooting way but because I reload it I don’t really see the actual cost as it’s spread over a long period.

Regards,
Gixer

 

[jcampbellsmith]

It's an interesting question, but the my biggest expense is the travel to where I'm going to shoot.
Regards
JCS

 

[finnbear270]

It's an interesting question, but the my biggest expense is the travel to where I'm going to shoot.
Regards
JCS

Agreed.

 

[Malxwal]

I reload, and even that must be costing upwards of £1.50 a round now. I go through a lot more rounds playing at targets/gongs than I do deer.
I'd pay a lot more if I had to because it's something I love doing.

 

[Rory]

I'd be happy to pay about £1.50 for a good quality .308 round - whether for deer or target.
This used to be the case, until recently you could buy Federal Gold Medal Match .308 for under £40/box. Likewise Hornady Whitetail was under £30/box.
Both rounds worked well for me and were 'reasonable'.
I then started to reload, which has been bittersweet - I started just before the component price hikes, now it'sdifficult and expensive to get hold of components. But, what a great hobby. It has certainly freed me from the uncertainty of supply of assembled/factory rounds. And I will probably eventually be able to load under the 2018 factory round prices and recoup money.
I'm grateful I'm not paying the current exorbitant prices for ammunition.

 

[Heym SR20]

I see ammo as the least cost part of shooting. And I mostly hunt so ammo cost really is not that high. I happily use copper ammo at c£1 a bullet as meat loss is far less than a 50p lead bullet.

I do shoot gongs, but mostly with 223 to keep costs low.

Shotguns. High volume phaesant / partridge shooting is well out of my budget. But I am fortunate to have good wildfowling and a bit of walked up shooting. Again cartridge cost is the least expensive part. Fuel costs are higher.

 

[Lateral]

I reload, and even that must be costing upwards of £1.50 a round now. I go through a lot more rounds playing at targets/gongs than I do deer.
I'd pay a lot more if I had to because it's something I love doing.

With most lead free bullets averaging circa £1.20each, primers £0.10 > £0.18 each, + powder, I think you're pretty much spot on, if you're excluding the cost of the brass !

With brass for the cheaper calibre's costing circa £130.00>£150.00 /100, and calibre's like the 300NM costing over £200.00 /100, I think the initial cost is more like £3.00 a cartridge.

I'm very pleased I'm well stocked !

 

[FISH BOY]

Think it’s all relative to the cost of living - don’t get much change at the cinema when you buy your kids popcorn or catch up with a mate for a pint these days.

Just bought 120 factory Barnes at £60 a box - yes an expensive outlay, but considering the handful to zero, what’s left is hopefully a lot of deer on the deck.

The biggest causality of the price rises is practice time - I enjoy going to the range, but sadly won’t be going so much, not essentially due to cost, but more so down to availability of lead free rounds I’m now required to shoot.

As above, nothing is on my doorstep, so fuel is my biggest outlay. Using 0-5 rounds a stalking outing for something that has the benefit of a freezer full of quality meat, the cost per round becomes quite insignificant to me.

Won’t mention the fact that the majority of stalkers I know go equipped with at least £3k worth of kit on them.

 

[Norfolk Deer Search]

With some shops in Europe selling individual rounds, and some boxes not being far off £100 per box of 20 (no, I am not joking!), I think it's time to ask the question as to what point people would consider factory ammo to be unafforable.

I will only buy PPU from now on, as they are usually the cheapest, brass is good for reloading and the ammo is certainly OK. Unless other stuff is on sale (fat chance!), I won't be paying more than £30-40 per box of 20.

Logic would seem to dictate that larger calibres/chamberings mean higher cost, but this isn't always true. More popular chamberings often mean higher prices as stock gets more expensive each time it is bought in.

This applies to components too. If you were to buy brand new brass, bullets, primers and powder today, I suspect the cost would be higher than what the equivalent factory rounds were 4 years ago, and that's without time and reloading gear factored in.

We can thank copper bullets for saving the world once factory ammo is £10 a round, reloading is banned and then some bright spark will realise that we have to ban most primers which have lead in them too...

Crazy to think this joke may become reality...


How soon before 10 boxes of ammo (200 rounds) cost more than a new rifle?

Quit your winging!

You run on too much about something you very clearly know very little about, carcasses cover ammunition costs even at £10 a pop.

You cant buy the meat off a munty for £10 so really the ammunition cost debate is null and void!

Personally for me range time is a waste of time, 3 shots to zero and 17 dead deer per 20.

Once you know how to shoot a rifle it’s pretty much point and squirt to 200m with 100-140gn projectile regardless of calibre

I have been paying £1.50 plus a pop since 2004

 

[User00040]

Quit your winging!

You run on too much about something you very clearly know very little about, carcasses cover ammunition costs even at £10 a pop.

You cant buy the meat off a munty for £10 so really the ammunition cost debate is null and void!

Personally for me range time is a waste of time, 3 shots to zero and 17 dead deer per 20.

Once you know how to shoot a rifle it’s pretty much point and squirt to 200m with 100-140gn projectile regardless of calibre

I have been paying £1.50 plus a pop since 2004

I can say with certainty that shooting around 300 deer per year requires around 400 rounds or more once zero checks, follow up shots and misses are taken into account.

Heaven forbid anyone who decides to go out and practise and learn the ballistics (both drop and drift) of said ammunition...

But chicken farmer from Englandshire knows better than a full time deer culler?

I take it that you have never checked zero on your rifle after it took a knock, required a second shot or missed a deer? Ever?

 

[tarponhead]

 

[Norfolk Deer Search]

I can say with certainty that shooting around 300 deer per year requires around 400 rounds or more once zero checks, follow up shots and misses are taken into account.

Heaven forbid anyone who decides to go out and practise and learn the ballistics (both drop and drift) of said ammunition...

But chicken farmer from Englandshire knows better than a full time deer culler?

I take it that you have never checked zero on your rifle after it took a knock, required a second shot or missed a deer? Ever?

Yep fired more than one shot on many occasion, cost still doesn’t come into it!

If your full time your ammunition is covered by your employer is it not?

I’ve shot a lot of bullets in the 20 years i have been kicking about the stalking world.

My i ask how old you are and how long you have been kicking about the stalking world, to justify your worldly wisdom?

Im guessing you have not been at it that long, if your worried about bullet drop and drift!

All the experienced stalkers i know, know exactly what their rifle does with the ammunition they use!

 

[bowji john]

Clearly I am sh’t at shooting

I practice every day and am still poor

Oh to be someone that is so good that practice is not required

 

[Heym SR20]

Yep fired more than one shot on many occasion, cost still doesn’t come into it!

If your full time your ammunition is covered by your employer is it not?

I’ve shot a lot of bullets in the 20 years i have been kicking about the stalking world.

My i ask how old you are and how long you have been kicking about the stalking world, to justify your worldly wisdom?

Im guessing you have not been at it that long, if your worried about bullet drop and drift!

All the experienced stalkers i know, know exactly what their rifle does with the ammunition they use!

And if he is a full time culler shooting 300 plus deer a year he is probably being paid on a per deer basis. The going rate for head contracts is £170 a deer, but often by the time it gets down to those on the ground it’s substantially less than that.

And given that pretty much all commercial forestry is going lead free to meet certification requirements he won’t be able to continue using lead ammo.

And no employer will risk the loss of major income for the sake of saving a few quid on ammo.

 

[finnbear270]

 

[Heym SR20]

But I would also add that I am very surprised at the prices some are having to pay fir non toxic ammo.

I am fortunate in that @Edinburgh Rifles is not far away.

But it does seem that “Bang and Bodget”, the local gun emporium that sucks a lot of teeth and sells you exactly what you don’t want are generally taking the **** as regards non toxic ammo.

If you can’t find bullets and ammo at reasonable price, take your custom elsewhere to those who want to help.

 

[finnbear270]

Edinburgh rifles need to look at their telephone messages a bit more often

 

[Malxwal]

Reasonable Sunday avo discussion deteriorates into personal slanging match shocker.