• This Forum is for adults 18 years of age or over. By continuing to use this Forum you are confirming that you are 18 or older. No content shall be viewed by any person under 18 in California.

How many of us (Americans) reload?

Too many...that is amongst the reasons that components (particularly primers) are in short supply.....lol.
Yeah, I know.
If you go to Ammo Seek you can find primers albeit at prices most of us either cannot afford in the slightest
or you have to sell a kidney and a thumb to get some. Luckily I found a guy that thought kidney beans and a chunk of a hotdog were the real deal!!! IDIOT, thankfully!!!:D
I think he goes by Thor 357 or 356, something like that!
 
Last edited:
First off, that number should not be known, due to the fact that if the government believe too many reload, they would try to stop it also.
Second, I believe out of the millions that own firearms, a small percent, maybe 2 % actually reload, most just pleasure shoot/protection and just buy factory.
 
With the majority of rifle purchases being AR-15 in 5.56 and handguns in 9mm cheap factory ammo is hard to beat for pew pew pew practice.
Shoot something that doesn't have cheap factory ammo or try for enhanced performance and reloading makes sense.
When I go to my local 100yd range I see about 1 in 10 shooting handloads.
When I go to a 600/1000yd range it's just about everyone that reloads.

The price of components has driven up my cost per round from about 68 cents to 78 cents over the past couple of years.
 
I read in an article (in The Atlantic of all places) that around 40% of US households own firearms, increasing with income and specific geographic factors ( rural vs urban, midwest vs east coast, etc.). Assuming there are roughly 130 million households, that is roughly 52 million households that own firearms. Not number of owners of course, and I am sure many of those only own Paw-Paw's single shot 410 they inherited. My guess would be probably 10 to 20% of those households shoot more than a few times a year, and 80% of those reload. So, I'd guess 5 to 10 million households, +/- a few million.

If anyone thinks the government doesn't already know this, I have a bridge to sell them.
 
After doing a bit more research, I'm not so sure that making an investment in this hobby is as wise as I had hoped as far as putting my money into a corporation. Aside from it being a fickle industry it is affected by so many factors that, in my humble opinion, it is virtually impossible to gage what will have a positive/negative impact on the industry. One thing positive is that I've seen the guns I currently have have go up in value. The negative is that the guns I'd like to own have gone up in value. Makes it kind of a push don't it!
 
After doing a bit more research, I'm not so sure that making an investment in this hobby is as wise as I had hoped as far as putting my money into a corporation. Aside from it being a fickle industry it is affected by so many factors that, in my humble opinion, it is virtually impossible to gage what will have a positive/negative impact on the industry. One thing positive is that I've seen the guns I currently have have go up in value. The negative is that the guns I'd like to own have gone up in value. Makes it kind of a push don't it!
It isn't that the guns have gone up in value. Most certainly they haven't. What has happened is that inflation is causing prices to increase, outside of collectable and antique firearms. If you look at the cost of new firearms, they are increasing more slowly than the rate of inflation.

For instance, the "new" Colt Python's retail price has remained steady at $1499.99. When the Colt Python was re-introduced, gasoline was ~$2/gallon. Eggs were ~$2/dozen. A quality cut of beef steak was ~$5/lb. now we have $5 gas, $5 eggs, and $12/lb steaks. In today's market, many firearms are bargains.
 
It isn't that the guns have gone up in value. Most certainly they haven't. What has happened is that inflation is causing prices to increase, outside of collectable and antique firearms. If you look at the cost of new firearms, they are increasing more slowly than the rate of inflation.

For instance, the "new" Colt Python's retail price has remained steady at $1499.99. When the Colt Python was re-introduced, gasoline was ~$2/gallon. Eggs were ~$2/dozen. A quality cut of beef steak was ~$5/lb. now we have $5 gas, $5 eggs, and $12/lb steaks. In today's market, many firearms are bargains.
Hmm...I don't know where you are buying your guns but the guns I would like to own are costing waaay more today then just a short while ago. And yes, there are many factors that affect prices but the bottom line is that if I want a gun that was, say $500 2 years ago, I'm looking at anywhere from $150 to $200 more today for the same gun. Case in point my Kimber cost me $900 just a year ago. Same Kimber now costs $1150.
Maybe some guns haven't changed in value but I'm not seeing that that's the case in my neck of the woods.
 
Heck, I know people that bought primers that don't reload.
Yep! I came across an ad in Arms List where a guy was selling his HUGE stash of primers or so I thought. I contacted him to inquire as to what he wanted for 5000 LRP's and he said he is wanting to trade his whole stash as one transaction. So asked him what it was he wanted to trade for. It was land and a pretty good size of it.
Primers have skyrocketed in just a few short years! Perhaps at a better rate than gold! I went to a gun show looking for primers and several tables had name brand primers that looked to be as old as I am (I'm kinda old but definitely not ancient) and they were asking as much as internet sites were including shipping/hazmat!
 
Hmm...I don't know where you are buying your guns but the guns I would like to own are costing waaay more today then just a short while ago. And yes, there are many factors that affect prices but the bottom line is that if I want a gun that was, say $500 2 years ago, I'm looking at anywhere from $150 to $200 more today for the same gun. Case in point my Kimber cost me $900 just a year ago. Same Kimber now costs $1150.
Maybe some guns haven't changed in value but I'm not seeing that that's the case in my neck of the woods.
I'm not seeing nearly that kind of jump here or on the online prices of things I watch. However, you're ignoring value. Other items you're buying are doubling and tripling in price. We've been planning to build a home since 2019. 2x4s went from $1.79 in 2019 to nearly $11 in early 2022.

On gun prices: I was going to buy a Glock 19X when they first came out. They were selling for $699 or more at auction sites. I walked into Academy last night where it was in-stock for $625. All the vanilla Glocks were $499-$599 depending on which generation and which sites were on them. Same as they've been for years at retail.

What model Kimber? Did you buy local or search around?
 
Reloading the primer is not part of my reloading hobby
The correct solution would be electric ignition of powder inside the case.
Well, if one wants to continue shooting and can't find primers or are unwilling/able to pay the prices for primers then maybe reloading primers should be part of the hobby.
If you can come up with a way to ignite powder electronically that is as good as a primer or better then I'd seriously consider making an investment!
 
I'm not seeing nearly that kind of jump here or on the online prices of things I watch. However, you're ignoring value. Other items you're buying are doubling and tripling in price. We've been planning to build a home since 2019. 2x4s went from $1.79 in 2019 to nearly $11 in early 2022.

On gun prices: I was going to buy a Glock 19X when they first came out. They were selling for $699 or more at auction sites. I walked into Academy last night where it was in-stock for $625. All the vanilla Glocks were $499-$599 depending on which generation and which sites were on them. Same as they've been for years at retail.

What model Kimber? Did you buy local or search around?
It's a 1911 45ACP.
I look at things from the perspective of how much of my cash do I need to hand over to someone in order for me to possess what he's offering. I do not care why he's selling it (to a point) or how he came up with the price he's selling it for. I care only that we come to an agreement to go forward with the transaction. He would rather have my money than the item and I'd rather have the item than my money. That's commerce.
 
It's a 1911 45ACP.
I look at things from the perspective of how much of my cash do I need to hand over to someone in order for me to possess what he's offering. I do not care why he's selling it (to a point) or how he came up with the price he's selling it for. I care only that we come to an agreement to go forward with the transaction. He would rather have my money than the item and I'd rather have the item than my money. That's commerce.


There are dozens of models of 1911 45 ACPs from Kimber. On a webpage right now where they range from $700 to $1600.
 

Upgrades & Donations

This Forum's expenses are primarily paid by member contributions. You can upgrade your Forum membership in seconds. Gold and Silver members get unlimited FREE classifieds for one year. Gold members can upload custom avatars.


Click Upgrade Membership Button ABOVE to get Gold or Silver Status.

You can also donate any amount, large or small, with the button below. Include your Forum Name in the PayPal Notes field.


To DONATE by CHECK, or make a recurring donation, CLICK HERE to learn how.

Forum statistics

Threads
165,731
Messages
2,201,520
Members
79,067
Latest member
Nonesuch
Back
Top