Reaching the breaking point?

[MSS]

I went to mostly buying 8 pounders. I did recently get a decent deal for 1 pounders of H1000 at Cabelas. Ship to store = no hazmat fee. There are ways to save a little money on powder etc. but I think this is the new norm. Sadly.

Additionally, I don’t try any new calibers that don’t work with what powder I have on hand. 7 PRC works well withh H1000 so I’ll probably try that out when I need a new barrel.

 

[rsbhunter]

I agree with those not shooting as much. I was shooting 3 matches a month, but dropped the out of town match. Between gas and ammo, it cost me over $100.00. Now for the younger crowd, that's not much, but on a fixed Income , it gets alittle tough. Luckily, we own everything we have, paid in full. But when I order 500 bullets and 8 pounds of powder, and it costs me almost $900.00 (rl16, Berger 105gr ) to get it to my door, it's hard to justify...doable, but tough..rsbhunter

 

[K22]

I have a question, seriously, I am not being flippant but with all these new cartridges being introduced who can afford to expand their gun inventory with the associated costs of additional components, e.g., dies, bullets, brass, etc. plus adding in the load development costs of new cartridges.

Secondly, a lot of these new cartridges have high BC / heavy bullets designed for dial up scopes and long-range shooting. At the two clubs I belong, I would estimate that less 20% and probably a lot less, shoot at distances beyond 300 yards. So where is this market for these products. Are there that many shooters in need of these cartridges engaged in that kind of shooting?

 

[PopCharlie]

In 2016 I bought an 8 lb jug of H4350 at Greentop in Ashland Va. I paid $205 for it. In 2024, an 8 lb jug of H4350 was $369 at Greentop. Ouch!

PopCharlie

 

[rsbhunter]

PRS, and some other disciples shoot out to 1200 yds and maybe beyond. At my club we shoot matches that are 2,3,4 and 500 meters...plus we have 600 yd f class matches. But I see your point. But I know guys that have 6-7 THOUSAND tried up in one rifle, and they have more than one ! So I guess $600 8 lb'ers and $275.00 bullets aren't a struggle. There will always be the haves and have nots....rsbhunter

 

[Larry Koch]

I don't drink, smoke or chew, and competition shooting is more up lifting than the rest. Just remember the long game of the democrat policies. They have nothing to run on, only to lie, cheat and steal. They will destroy the 2nd amendment the same way they are going after the 1st.

 

[Charlie-NY]

I have a question, seriously, I am not being flippant but with all these new cartridges being introduced who can afford to expand their gun inventory with the associated costs of additional components, e.g., dies, bullets, brass, etc. plus adding in the load development costs of new cartridges.

Secondly, a lot of these new cartridges have high BC / heavy bullets designed for dial up scopes and long-range shooting. At the two clubs I belong, I would estimate that less 20% and probably a lot less, shoot at distances beyond 300 yards. So where is this market for these products. Are there that many shooters in need of these cartridges engaged in that kind of shooting?

People buy into the hype regardless of what they actually need.

Last year I met a guy on a bear hunt in Canada. We were hunting over bait which was typically about 20yds from the stands. I felt a little under gunned with my Marlin 45-70 when I was standing next a big dude who was beaming about his Savage 338 Lapua, sporting a scope that was big enough to club any black bear to death.

I meet guys in the deer camps all the time that take about LR hunting and have some very expensive equipment to get the job done. When the day is done, many of these guys miss the deer that are standing in the soybeans 100yds away.

Marketing is a very effective sales tool.

 

[Pete Wass]

I wonder how long these long distance games will last. There was a time when SR benchrest drew huge turnouts but they have dwindled, stable now but dwindled. A few years ago I started shooting RF silhouette. A guy who sold the metal animals said to me, "Welcome to a dying sport" and went on to say why. I didn't continue. That said, I expect all the long distance games will meet with similar situations eventually but they are to a great extent what is driving a lot of the inflation in components, as well as the big increases in wages for those working still. IMHO

 

[rockhound78]

Bought two pounds of TAC yesterday for $37.50/lb. My 223 bolt gun loves it.
Been playing golf for 60+ years. Got pretty good til the Fauci flu hit hard. Then some lowlife stole my clubs which were set-up for me (6'4"). Got to replace them now!!

 

[rsbhunter]

Marketing fuels the economy, and free enterprise is a great thing. We all have the option to say no thanks. But like others, it's my only vice, and between going to small calibers, less costly projectiles and less practice, I'll be able to shoot til I can't! rsbhunter

 

[Chiquita]

I won't play golf because I will make a fool out of myself. Now, shooting I will stick to it as much as I can even though I suck at it.

On a second note, when there are no equipment to buy or are very expensive to buy, then the DemRats are laughing at us.

Giving up on the sport due to lack of or cost prohitive material is equal to taking the guns away.

 

[rsbhunter]

That is their end game..rsbhunter

 

[Larry Koch]

No offense, but there is something about a man hitting a ball and then go chase it for fun. Not knocking it but.

 

[rsbhunter]

That's why I bowl....the ball come back to me...

 

[Rsadams]

Hard to believe what an old man with Alzheimer's has done to America in three years... If this can be fixed it will take a decade... We want to move away from here and have been trying for two years but because of the market and economy we are basically stuck... We keep saying , well maybe it will get better next year....

What sucks is we are making more money than we ever have like a sh$t ton more and because of this crap we're still stuck... We are lucky to have the income but instead of getting ahead we are the same as we where with the exception that now we have paid off everything but two new vehicles... One I bought in September and will be paid off in 4 months because we are throwing money at it to get it payed off...

My wife retired and she went back as a contractor and if this was three years ago she could retire again in three years basically instead of 30... Here's what I am getting at... If you're making the kind of money she is making right now , with both of use retired at 50ish , zero commute except for what we need to go get , owing nobody nothing in the world but two car payments and we can't sell and move how and the heck are the average joes in America even getting by right now...

Because I promise you until a year or so ago we're average as average households get living paycheck to paycheck with credit card debt , my truck is a 2008 I have been driving since 2011.... In 2011 we lost everything but that truck , my wife's car , a dirty laundry basket of clothes my guns a chainsaw and a small box of tool in a forest fire , so did 3000 other people here , that's what we escaped with... Everything else , poof gone 40 years of stuff gone... We didn't have enough insurance so after the mortgage company got paid off we got $7525 to rebuild EVERYTHING with.... Needless to say , we where screwed....

Now skip ahead to this mess in a time we should be killing it finally and we are actually worried like everybody else of what the future holds all because of one senile old man and what's happening in America right now... We are blessed and extremely lucky to be in the situation were in right now I'm not complaining but my wife's a contractor now and her job could end tomorrow I never dreamed American could be in the shape it's in right now much less what it will be with another four years of this guy... I went to academy the other day and bought 4 boxes of CCI SV .22lr , a box of Hornady SST for testing and a new Leupold ball hat and the out the door price was $94...

Right then I thought you know what I don't need anything else till this craps over... I will freshen up my rifle and pistol skills after shooting skeet since COVID because it's become to expensive.... I will only shoot skeet a few games a week to stay fresh and shoot something else instead... Other than that I do nothing , I even finally stopped smoking thank God , when that happened I also stopped drinking , just don't fell like it anymore... That right there makes a truck payment because beer is $5.00 at a local crap hole and smokes $8.00 a pack... The drinking wasn't a problem but the smoking was... Especially after a heart attack three years ago...

All in all seriously how in the hell are average households in America making it right now..??? You've all been to the grocery store and filled up your gas tanks lately.... What used to be $120 worth of groceries for me and my wife is now $350 everything has doubled if not tripled in the last three years and when Biden was asked about it he laughed and said Americans can afford to pay those prices.... No they can't...

 

[Pete Wass]

No offense, but there is something about a man hitting a ball and then go chase it for fun. Not knocking it but.

Golf is about an individual improving on their ability to achieve perfection, not unlike precision shooting. It's about trying to achieve perfection within one's self. One has to actually think through things sometimes to know the why. The great thing about America is the right all of us have to think what we think and do what is legal to do.

 

[Doug Casner]

The anti-gun bastards are loving it. Its a means of gun control. Doug

 

[rsbhunter]

Rsadams, sounds like your living the same state as i'm in, New Mexico ? And you are 100% right....I had a friend that moved back here from Denver Colorado years ago. He was talking about how cheap it w a s to live here..then about a year later, he was saying how much less disposable income they had compared to when they were in Colorado. It seems the nation as a whole will settle for toys instead of quality of life. But most things go full circle...rsbhunter

 

[searcher]

Homeless people standing on the street corner begging for a dollar now need $5.00 just to get a hot cup of coffee. The government is doing nothing to help them.
If you ever think you will see an honest election again I think your wrong. Some of the things going on in political circles are a disgrace to our country. I doubt our forefathers would stand for what is going on.

Here in California, our governor intends to give free health insurance to all the illegal aliens. There are countless Americans who really need help in many ways. When one looks at how many illegal aliens there are here (millions) and the average cost for insurance probably around $500.00 per month per person (maybe much higher), one has to wonder what those knuckleheads running the show are thinking. And I'll be paying for it. But what really bothers me is we haven't seen ANYTHING yet in respect to how many illegals are here now. To get free health insurance is only another great reason to bypass our laws and enter illegally. I believe in helping people out when in need - but shouldn't it at least be proportionate to what we provide to our own citizens?

 

[Rsadams]

Rsadams, sounds like your living the same state as i'm in, New Mexico ? And you are 100% right....I had a friend that moved back here from Denver Colorado years ago. He was talking about how cheap it w a s to live here..then about a year later, he was saying how much less disposable income they had compared to when they were in Colorado. It seems the nation as a whole will settle for toys instead of quality of life. But most things go full circle...rsbhunter

Not new Mexico but fairly close , Texas outside of Austin... We had to move close to Austin for my wife to finish her career... Now that she's done with them and is doing her work from home job we want away from Austin , way away... Since Tesla moved here it's effecting us 35 miles away with the traffic , people and cost of living skyrocketing... We moved to this little town to retire but it's exploded in the last five years and can only imagine what it will be 10-20 from now...

I want to sell out here where everybody wants to live and move back down south where nobody wants to live and there's nothing and buy a place big enough to hunt a deer once a year and grow a garden etc... unfortunately right now because of this mess those houses are way overpriced also... So we're kinda stuck.. Right now I don't want another mortgage , who does so I have to sell here first... I bought the full size truck in case we need to get a travel trailer while we wait on this place to sell and find or build a new one... It's only my wife , me and a huge dog...