Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles Did a bit of math..

I was looking at powder prices and availability. Doing the math it will not pay to load many of the common rifle rounds. Once my stash of reloading components are gone. I doubt I'll replace them. It's a shame, I enjoy reloading as a hobby.
Powder at $70 a pound, projectile at $50, and primers at $10. $130 more or less for 100 rounds of 30-06 . Might as well shop the sales of loaded cartridges.
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Your mileage may vary

I'd gladly see some folks step away from it and force the demand down.

That's $26 for a box of 20, according to my math. Maybe not the bargain it once was, but still far cheaper than typical factory fodder.

Last time I looked, though, factory 6mm Rem ammo, for example (if I could find it at all), was going for $45 to $60+/box.

And then there's wildcat, or semi-wildcat, cartridges that I shoot where there is no factory alternative.

And, of course, I've never owned a rifle that shot factory ammunition as well as hand loads.

Agreed, I don't shoot my 6mm rem or 375 H&H very often. I see 30-06 for less than $30. I never thought I saved money, but I do get better ammo. Component prices will drive the hobby.

I suspect when we don’t have a Democrat in office and we’re not furnishing other countries with boat loads of ammunition, prices will go down some. The prices and availability of components have been somewhat on a sinusoidal curve, though in general this curve is on a up hill slope. (What do you expect when the government was paying a trillion dollars not to work, paying foreign countries vast sums of moneys to wage war, allowing millions of immigrants to enter the country and give them…)

Next time prices go down stop/“slow down” buying your Budweiser and buy components so that you’ll have components when the next Democrat gets elected.

Counting rifles and handguns I'm good for about 2-5 years with current supplies, depending on how profligate I get.



After my components run out I was thinking of taking up a cocaine habit; that plus the hookers should net about a 35-40% decrease in annual expenditures....

If you add in the cost of ware and tear on your brass the reloading cost goes up also.

With the factory loads you get some more brass for reloading, maybe not the best quality, but still very usable.

Then there's the factor presented by the guys (me included) who've gloated for the last three years about their wonderful stashes of primers and stuff that'll last them forever. Well, forever ain't forever and at some point those stashes will dwindle and they too will be scrounging alongside the hoi polloi and prices will struggle a bit more to come down. Supply and Demand is a cold hearted b*tch.

The simplest solution is bettering the supply. Why hasn't that happened? Where are the entrepreneurs who see the chance to make a tidy profit? That decidedly American trait is lacking and frankly concerns me as an indicator of a deeper problem - the surrender of the ideals that made America great in the past. (As he tosses a softball to the guys who're prepared to drive the discussion into a political rant.)

At the end of the day it's not something the gov't can hand to us, or take away either. The ball's in the court of the bright-eyed guys with the moxie to make a buck.

Yeah, my mileage varies greatly compared to yours. I have never paid that much for powder. You can either make excuses, or learn to buy stuff at better prices. It's always going to be less expensive for me to load my own. It also allows me to go shooting any time I want. That's not something I'm going to give up any time soon.









Those are all recent deals and prices I've seen. Then you wait until sales, like Scheels has every once in a while:



It's obvious the OP should step away from it. He definitely doesn't know how to find great deals on components. Let him buy factory ammo. Prices will also come down, after Trump is back in office, but give it a solid year after that. Let the wars subside, and a lot of the other nonsense go away, and components will be much more available and more affordable, for those that are struggling to find the deals. I see good deals all the time.

It's knowing when to buy and when not to buy that's important..

I have cheaper components. The last time I actually bought powder it was $37 a pound. Replacement will be $70. The nearest Cabelas is 6 hours away. When and where were your pictures take?

I'm getting into it now for "ammo independence".

Yes, I want more consistent performance.

Yes, I'd like to select my own projectiles.

Mostly, if the shelves are bare come hunting season, I don't want it to matter to me.

You will be way ahead of most by being self reliant.

I think I have enough to take me out, sold down some rifles, down to about a dozen calibers to load for.

I am hoping I am wrong along with the many here on “The Campfire”, but logic tells me Trump is never going to be re-elected.

Wish it were true fellas that the price of components will go back down….I don’t see it happening.🥴

The manufacturers have no incentive to increase production. They are making bank now….why work harder?🤷‍♂️

The world is becoming a more evil place. I don’t see these wars/conflicts ending anytime soon.

Glad I’ve got all I’ll need for the foreseeable future.

Leftybolt

The manufacturers are supplying war efforts around the globe and are happy with government contracts making their bank.

We as hunting/reloading consumers are low on the priority list and seem content fighting over the high priced scraps left for us.

Regardless of elections and politiks down the road, we are probably seeing the new normal.

^This^

But, I hope and pray that I am wrong.

Leftybolt

A Hodgdon rep told a friend of mine at SHOT Show, that they expect powder to be $100 a pound by the end of the year.

Take it for what it’s worth.

I agree 100%------If you are a hunter & shoot 30/06, 270 & 308. Target shooters--that's a different story.

and there's a lot of people right here that brag about their stash and what they found in bought that don't actually shoot much and it will run them the rest of their life cuz they don't use it they just buy it. that runs into part of the problem also right have 100,000 primers on hand when you probably won't shoot 10,000 the rest of your life and it's usually more like 2000..

I would suggest you study history then take note of current affairs . The world has been walking down this path since the appeasement of 2014 . And it ended up just like last time. Europe is at war. There will be no powder coming from there. Reloading powders are just penny ante side line. Be dam happy with what you can get. The quicker they smash the Russians ,the quicker we can get back to normal. duh.