The rising cost of shooting

[Alpha1]

I just checked taking stock of what I have in before the 2014 shooting season starts. I have got no powder except for a very small amount of N140 and not a lot of primers my Brass is probably at the end of life stage. I don't have a huge stock of bullets.
So for the coming season I am going to have to stock up on Powders. Primers. Brass. Bullets. I need to buy some dies and associated tooling. I was planning on purchasing a couple of rifles this year.
I just worked out a rough estimate.
I can not afford this hobby and I don't know how any body just starting could afford to fund full bore rifle shooting unless they were minted.
I am going to have to seriously think about this shooting business as I head for retirement and a reduced income.
It is not looking good.
I think I need to take a serious look at what is in the Gun cabinets.

Were do people get the money to shoot Bench rest and F class etc. Its beyond me.

[Blu]

I agree that shooting can be an expensive sport and judging by the prices in the UK, more so. However you say in your post that you were thinking about buying a couple of rifles this year, to me the answer is simple, don't buy the rifles, shoot what rifles you have and spend the money you were going to spend on the new rifles on reloading gear.

Personally I buy reloading gear a bit at a time, a couple of boxes of bullets here, some powder or primers there and the same for brass though as far as brass is concerned there is always plenty of range pick up's after a weekend so brass isn't an issue. The range pick up brass which is no good to me goes in my bin and once it's full it goes to the scrappy which buys some reloading stuff. I do this throughout the spring and summer and reload all winter for the coming years shooting and hunting.

I sincerely hope that you don't have to give up the sport.

Blu

[rox]

I am going to have to stock up on Powders. Primers. Brass. Bullets...I just worked out a rough estimate...I can not afford this hobby

What are you actually paying for these components?

Previously you said "how strange" that some of us were doing volume group buys, importing from the continent etc, when you could just buy a small quantity from your local dealer. You said: "Ok I might pay more but I just buy smaller quantities". Maybe it's time to start paying less. I was a bit bemused when you added "whatever floats your boat", as if 'wanting to spend less on ammo' was somehow unusual. Well, what floats my boat is that I will be making ammo at a fraction over 35p (component cost) for match .308 for the next 5 years. In fact, since I can't resist a bargain my boat is barely afloat under the weight of all the components.

..

[greenshoots]

cutting costs
start a co-op, run a swap shop, group buys, there are ways of cutting our costs


greenshoots

[meles meles]

Shoot a Noise Magnet. Rounds at 30 p a pop...

[DanTheMan]

Rox has a great point, the links posted on this forum for cheap Nosler bullets from Germany plus Muron primers for £26 from HPS make for some very affordable yet accurate ammunition. I only use second hand brass, mostly range pick ups, and buy milsurp ammo in bulk (or Barnaul) if a cheap deal pops up, no point in blowing match ammo on CSR etc. As for buying guns & gear, all but two of mine were second hand, to keep costs down I just have to wait for the gun or scope I want to come up for sale privately, and don't forget to sell any stuff that's just sitting around in the gun room.....

[ovenpaa]

The cost, quality and general lack of reloading specialised reloading equipment in the UK is what originally drove me to making things for myself however this does not help matters when it comes to reloading. These days we try and shoot rifles that share reloading consumables such as cases or powder or bullets. If a rifle is not going to be shot or has not seen the light of day for a year why keep it? The exception being if the rifle is part of a collection and if someone has a collection of rifles they can probably afford to shoot them as well.

In this house we only shoot rifles with .224, 6,5, .308 and .311 bullets which is a good start, three of them use N560 or similar and another three use N140 or TR140. For me one disappointment was becoming an RFD as I had assumed we would spend all of our time down the range. Since becoming RFD's our shooting has fallen to probably no more than 20% of where we were before and I am still using reloading components purchased 3-4 years ago.

We are a small island with a limited number of shooters so reloading consumables are going to have a premium on them. All I can say is shop sensibly, find a supplier and support him and with luck he will be able to survive in this climate and offer you many years of support. Alternatively, buy from America or Europe, buy from mates who are part time RFD's and buy hooky stock and wave goodbye to any chance of a competitive service and products in the UK.

[Gaz]

You lot are moaning - think about the young shooters who can't reload due to personal circumstances. They're stuck with factory ammo at 60p+ per bang.

We desperately need a source of cheap ammo. I can understand retailers hiking prices, but it also prices out the new blood we critically need to keep on shooting.

[CDM5]

I've had my FAC for just over a year now. I mainly got it because I had had a go at F-Class a few times before and loved it.

However I'm with you OP, I can't justify £2k+ on a basic long range rifle & half decent scope to get started with. I have since fallen for lever actions and they're relatively cheap to buy/shoot.

[Demonic69]

As a new shooter I think that part of the problem with target shooting is target shooters.
When £2-3k is "acceptable" for a really basic F-Class rifle, why would importers/manufacturers charge less for other associated components? Shooters obviously have money.
My club is bordered by scummy council estates, yet the car-park is full of nice new cars, a fair few of the shooters have a few grands worth of kit with them every time and their advice to new shooters is, almost invariably, tricked up 10/22 for small-bore, Rem 700 for full bore. As both can be customised to the shooter's content it all just comes down to how much you can spend.
In a small market, where there's not much choice profit can be maximised.
It was exactly the same when I was into paintball and it's the same when I go SCUBA diving, I'm always looked down on by some lofty types when I do what they do with cheap kit.

Look at the humble 10/22. $225 in the states, £136.50. In theory I could import it for under £200 if the shipping was reasonable.
To buy a new 10/22 over here I'd struggle to get one under £300. I can't honestly believe that it costs the importer so much to get it over here that it needs to double in price to keep their margin reasonable?
Maybe we need to allow Asda to sell firearms and ammunition