The rising cost of shooting

[Blu]

Like I said in my original post to Alpha1 I buy reloading gear a bit at a time. Over the spring and summer I buy a box of bullets, powder or 1000 primers here and there and store it away for the winter. During the winter is when I do all my reloading for the coming spring/summer. I have it down to say 4 rifles use N140, a couple more use say Varget and so on. In all I buy four types of powder for all my rifles for reloading.

Regarding the price and type of rifles I buy, well put it this way, with the exception of the SLR which was a 50th birthday present the most expensive rifle I own cost me just over $800. That is my AA 6.5 Grendel which I built myself along with my two other 5.56 AR's, they cost me around $600 each to build. Thing is I didn't build them all at once, it was a case of buying a part every now and then until the build was complete. My most expensive bolt action rifles, my two Tikka's cost around $500 bucks each and again it was a case of saving for them.

Now I am not a competition shooter, I have always gone out there and shot or hunted purely for my own pleasure or to put meat in the freezer, I don't own very expensive rifles but I do have rifles in my safes that will shoot out to a 1000 yards plus without any problem. For me, I think it's a case of what you want to do, what you want to shoot and stuff. Saying one would like to shoot TR or some other competitive shooting is fine but one has to be practical and decide if they can afford to do it given what money they will have. Or they can decide that they want to do it but will have to realize that it may take some time while they save money to do it and to get the gear they want.

In all my years of shooting during in which time I've bought a home, raised a family and so on I just realized that I couldn't do it all at once and so had to be patient about what I want to buy and when I can save for whatever it was. These days I'm a little better off money wise but even so I still use the same principle of a bit at a time even today. It works for me and I'm probably out there shooting a lot more than most of you folks over there because we over here don't have the constraints that you folks have regarding range times and such.

These days during the spring and summer I am out shooting a minimum four days of the week and that's a lot of ammo fired. Anyway there you go, just my tuppence worth.

Blu

[ovenpaa]

I agree regarding expenditure, sometimes you just have to wait. The Viking keeps an eye on money in the house and when I see something shooting related I like the answer is going to be one of three things:

a 'Just get it'
b 'Can you wait a bit on that'
c 'No chance!'

I am sure she applies the same when she finds a rifle she likes and I have known her wait if necessary.

As Vince says, once the rifles are in place the actual shooting costs are quite reasonable however when we shoot at 1000/1200 yards I seldom go over 50 rounds and I have known the Viking take 2+5 shots at 1000 and 2+5 at 1200. She has two sighters, shoots her group and then is very happy to pack up and watch the world go by.

[Blu]

Ovenpaa,

a 'Just get it'
b 'Can you wait a bit on that'
c 'No chance!'

Yep it's exactly the same thing in this household as well.

Blu

[The Gun Pimp]

I go to Sennybridge and feel hard done by if I haven't fired 3 or 4 rifles and at least 400 rounds!

At what?

I can see why some of you are complaining about the cost of shooting!

I shoot every weekend - often both days but, a comp. will rarely go over 30 rounds.

[Alpha1]

Alpha1 wrote:

£65 a kilo for powder is not cheap if you don't have a spare £65 to spend.
I reckon I will need 2 Kg of N140 2 Kg of N160 and 1Kg of 110 this year and maybe some 2400 or unique just for starters. I run my .308 and 6.55 on Hornady A max bullets god knows how much they are now. I need to aquire new brass for both of these rifles I would like to use Lapau not cheap.
I run my Millitary rifles on PPU brass and bullets.
It all adds up.

Dave,
You really need to shop around. You are far too insular!
There are deals to be had if you ask around!

I don't pay £65 a Kilo Adam some one else quoted that figure I just used it as a example. At this moment in time shooting and my other interests are do able my concern is if I decide to retire my earnings will drop and I might not be able to do what I do now shooting wise. I don't know how any body just taking up shooting could afford to shoot bench rest or f class or the likes unless they are minted of course. I am not short of money but there is no way I could justify spending thousands on a rifle. The most I have ever paid for a rifle in all the time I have been shooting is £600 the most expensive scope I have ever bought was a Khales £350 second hand. Most of the military rifles I have owned or are still in my cabinet I paid less than £150 for. If I had to buy them now I would have to think very seriously about forking out for them at current days prices.

[Stuck]

Interesting to read both perspectives.

Assuming the snow stays away I'll be at Diggle tomorrow shooting F/TR & will use 22 rounds in my second hand F Class rifle.

If I wasn't at Diggle I'd be elsewhere & may put 50 rounds through either a 223, 303 or up to 100 rounds through my under lever.

I only shoot F/TR every other weekend (ish) & I'll wager from an ammo point of view it's cheaper than those that throw 300 - 400 rounds down a range.

Each to their own I guess.

PS don't think I'll mention the 338

[dave_303]

I go to Sennybridge and feel hard done by if I haven't fired 3 or 4 rifles and at least 400 rounds!

At what?

I can see why some of you are complaining about the cost of shooting!

I shoot every weekend - often both days but, a comp. will rarely go over 30 rounds.

Most of Sennybridge's targets are falling man targets.

Like Mag, I've gone through similar (if not more ammo) on those ranges, it's easy to do, it take me 2 hours to get there, you can just plink away all day, no butts duties etc.. I was fortunate enough to have got all my factory ammo at a stonkingly good price from a dealer who was closing down and took a kindness to a young (17 year old at the time) shooter who had already saved up to buy several rifles from him. As such I could afford to be careless, as a result I know have 400-1000 cases in nearly every calibre I own, ready to be handloaded.

From the perspective of young shooter, it is difficult, I started at the age of 13, my Dad also joined the same shooting club when I was nearly 15, we built our collection together, before I started working at 16 I had to rely on my parents generosity, at 16 I got a job, worked 1 day a week in term and up to 6 days a week outside of term to fund my shooting and collection. Even then I still wouldn't be where I am with it now if it wasn't for the kindness of several shooters who simply wanted to help and encourage a young shooter. To them I shall forever be thankful.

[Sim G]

This is why you have to make the decision what and how you wish to shoot. You want to compete at top flight F Class, well that's it. I can't imagine you're able to have an "enthusiasts" cabinet. I think the big thing affecting shooting is the cost of ammo/components and travel. Couple of grand on an F Class rifle. We were doing that 20 years ago with an IPSC race pistol. But, then, you could buy factory .45ACP, (Howitzer for those that remember those blue boxes) for 13 quid a hundred. 9mm was 9 pounds a 100! Oh Happy Days....

So, decide what you want to shoot. You want to shoot lots, stick with rimfire and reload pistol ammo. Last month I've done 2000 rounds of .22. Last year, I only fired 150 rounds of 7mm.....

[Alpha1]

You can have a TCR Raven from £1560 and work up from there. There are quite a few people with them. These rifles shoot pretty damn good too.

From the Vendors and Innovators forum Lantac that's a starting price. I rest my case.

[Maggot]

Shooting doesn't have to be as expensive as the examples given here, there are other rifles and calibres other than F class and 10/22s at quiet modest prices. Also there is more to shooting than competitions and disciplines, if you want to compete at the top in F class and TR etc then you will need to join the arms race and the fashionista circles for new and shiny.

Actually Ads that is not entirely true.

Yes, you do need something capable of physically delivering a round consistently within .5moa or less at 1000yds.

No, you don't have to buy the best but even then it is not cheap.

Much of the racing is fuelled by parranoia (X uses that and wins therefore I must have it in order to be like X).

Often what they don't realise is that X actually shoots as well as he does not because he has an uber cannon with V bull seeking bullets but because he goes out and makes the best of his practice and masters the wind.

A V is a V regardless how you arrive at it......just watch the Open effers go green when they get whipped by an F/TR maggot.....it don't shoot itself.

We have to hand load to keep things tuned and consistent.

Yes, it helps if what you shoot is competitive but it is more important to make the best of what you have.

I recently thought about selling a kidney for a March scope. The worlds some time back was won by a very talented wind reader and shot with a more basic rifle than mine and the same scope.

I need to work harder.

But, the prices we are paying suck and if they are not careful the less scrupulous dealers will find themselves being black listed.

There are many wasy to shoot for fun and do it without selling a major organ though, I am just doing what I am doing while I can afford it.

And all I wanted was a No4