I calculate I can cast and load light .38 Special cheaper than CCI .22LR prices here

[Tallbald]

Considering cost of primers, powder, home cast and sized 125 grain slugs , but not worrying about my time because I enjoy my hobby, I calculate I can load modest .357 and .38 Specials for about 6 1/2 cents a round. Why bother sweating the hunt for .22 LR? And having this hobby, along with leather crafting, keeps me from running wild in the streets with the other old people. Just saying. Don

[seaboltm]

I came to the same conclusion months ago. With 22LR 10 cents a round, I can load 38 special much cheaper. 3 grains of Bullseye, 7000 grains in a pound. That's easy math.

[rexherring]

Been doing the same here, Bullseye or Titegroup makes a lot of loads. 2.2 grains in my .380 of BE. Home cast and a lot of range scrap makes for cheap shooting in my .380, .45ACP and .38 Specials.

[popper]

About anything is less, plinking rifle included.

[abqcaster]

I load 9mm even cheaper. So that's what I do.

[mdi]

Costs aside, it's also much more fun casting/loading/shooting than driving to a store, plopping down my hard earned cash, then shooting...

[williamwaco]

Me too.

[xacex]

Same here with the red-dot 9mm loads. Last time I added it up it was about 5 cents a round. With the Mihec 359-125 hollow-point the load is a blast going 1300 FPS out of a 10.5" 9mm AR pistol. I have had days where I go through 500 rounds shooting jugs, cans, and clays at 50 yards with friends and family. Even when the price of .22lr comes down to below 5 cents a round, you wont have this much fun with a .22.

[abqcaster]

Same here with the red-dot 9mm loads. Last time I added it up it was about 5 cents a round. With the Mihec 359-125 hollow-point the load is a blast going 1300 FPS out of a 10.5" 9mm AR pistol. I have had days where I go through 500 rounds shooting jugs, cans, and clays at 50 yards with friends and family. Even when the price of .22lr comes down to below 5 cents a round, you wont have this much fun with a .22.

I wholeheartedly concur!

[texassako]

Everything uses a primer; so pretty much any load with a small amount of powder and lead is cheaper than .22 LR component cost wise. Unless you bought some of those high dollar primers in the middle of the scare. .25 ACP will really stretch things out, 1gr powder and 50 gr lead, and it has been easier picking up my brass this year with a lot less .22 cases around to hide amongst.

[tazman]

I wish somebody made an inexpensive single shot or bolt action rifle in 9mm. This would be a great fun/light game gun.

[texassako]

I wish somebody made an inexpensive single shot or bolt action rifle in 9mm. This would be a great fun/light game gun.

I shoot a couple of little Destroyer carbines, and use cut down .223 cases for brass. Cheaper and helps with the long chambers in mine.

[Char-Gar]

I figured out I could cast and load 38 Specials cheaper or for the same price as 22 Long Rifle rounds in 1959. That is what got me into the sickness.

[Tallbald]

Tazman I agree about the single shot 9mm rifle. Closest thing I have is my Ruger 77/357. I had seriously thought about a Handi Rifle in .44 magnum myself.....Don


Just realized how unrelated my comment was to your wish for a 9mm rifle.......what I meant to get at was that I reload cheaply for .44 mag also, and wish I had a fun rifle in that caliber just as you wish you had a 9mm carbine, the caliber you reload. Don

[fecmech]

I figured out I could cast and load 38 Specials cheaper or for the same price as 22 Long Rifle rounds in 1959. That is what got me into the sickness.
Same here but I started in 1969.

[bangerjim]

Been doin' it since 22LR's disappeared from the shelves.

9mm/30/38/40/45. All are cheaper than 22LR's in almost every case wheb you roll you own.

Your mileage may vary depending on your cost of lead, primers, powder. I consider the brass as a wash in $$ because I always come home with more than I go with!!!!!!

And it's fun to shoot a real gun that is quieter than a stupid 22!

Plinklin loads.

banger

[35remington]

What killed centerfire pricing in the "I can load cheaper than a .22 sense" WAS the primer. At around three cents, it alone costs what the .22 long rifle round used to cost before the panic and was priced at three cents per primer a few years ago, but primer costs have risen with the panic as well. So the "I can load cheaper than a .22" comparison really wasn't relevant until fairly recently because we couldn't reload cheaper than .22's until the cost of 22's skyrocketed. That is, if all the costs of reloading are properly accounted for.

Given that .22's were around 55 cents or less for a box of 50 in the seventies......the .22's were always cheaper than reloading centerfire, faulty memories notwithstanding. As mentioned, the primer was (and still is) the fly in the ointment as the powder charges in pistol rounds were always small and cheap.

If and when .22's ever return to "normal" pricing.......they'll be cheaper to load than centerfires.......again.

[Shiloh]

Been doing the same here, Bullseye or Titegroup makes a lot of loads. 2.2 grains in my .380 of BE. Home cast and a lot of range scrap makes for cheap shooting in my .380, .45ACP and .38 Specials.

Bingo !!

Many years ago, when .22 was available AND cheap, it was even cheaper. One of the shooter who gave my first knowledge of cast boolits shot his pistols as cheap as shooting .22's. Free lead, cheap surplus powder available at gun shops and ranges, cheap primers and virtually free brass.

Shiloh

[Big Boomer]

When I got into loading center-fire ammo, I gave all my .22 rimfire rifles and handguns to my son and grandson. Back before costs went spiraling upward, I was already shooting center-fire cheaper than rimfire. I cast all my own boolits for 9mm, .38 Special, .357 Mag., .41 Mag., .44 Mag., .45 Colt and 45 ACP handguns, plus I cast for my .223s (rifles & handgun), .243 and .30-06 rifles. Too, I use wood backstops to catch and recycle most of the lead I shoot, at least in the handguns that can be done. I also stocked up on the primers I thought I would need for my final years and am still well stocked and haven't bought any for a long time. Shooting would be too expensive for me if I hadn't prepared years ago. Big Boomer

[Motor]

Started doing the math in about 1976. I don't think it was possible until recently. Free lead does help though.
BTW: 22lr will be on the shelves for under $3 for 50 sunday morning. Don't ask. :)

[tazman]

What killed centerfire pricing in the "I can load cheaper than a .22 sense" WAS the primer. At around three cents, it alone costs what the .22 long rifle round used to cost before the panic and was priced at three cents per primer a few years ago, but primer costs have risen with the panic as well. So the "I can load cheaper than a .22" comparison really wasn't relevant until fairly recently because we couldn't reload cheaper than .22's until the cost of 22's skyrocketed. That is, if all the costs of reloading are properly accounted for.

Given that .22's were around 55 cents or less for a box of 50 in the seventies......the .22's were always cheaper than reloading centerfire, faulty memories notwithstanding. As mentioned, the primer was (and still is) the fly in the ointment as the powder charges in pistol rounds were always small and cheap.

If and when .22's ever return to "normal" pricing.......they'll be cheaper to load than centerfires.......again.

All very true. I suspect 22lr prices will not come down significantly even when things get back to the new normal. I am currently paying about 3 cents per primer, about 1.5 cents per powder charge, and about 1cent per boolit. That totals 5-5.5 cents per round. I am retired and brass is cheap and re-useable so labor and brass are not counted.
Those prices are good for both 38 special and 9mm for me.
At the odd moment when 22lr actually are available to purchase around here the go for 10 cent a round or more.

I started doing this hobby/sickness back in 1974 in order to have enough ammo to practice.

[MT Gianni]

I bought a 1000 primer brick at Cabelas this week for $30. Lead for 105 swc is $1 a lb and 14 lbs for a 1000. Powder is 3000 gr or 3/7 of a lb, 8 lb keg of Red Dot was $145 last year when i bought one. $18 a lb divided by 7, multiplied by 3 is $7.75. Total to load 1000 rds is $51. Old 22 lr was $20 per 525 or $39 a 1000 and most went bang. If you still have free lead from reclaimed or other your costs is $37 a 1000. It was always cheaper to shoot 38 than 22, get into the 32 long and the saving just keep coming. 30-30 with pb or homemade checks, 7 gr Unique is only $48 a 1000 if your not paying for lead.

[35remington]

Since primers and powder are also seeing "new normal" pricing, as is brass, the price of lead, even scrounged lead is going up, as is propane to smelt it, I'm pretty confident that reloading costs have a lot of the "good old days" pricing factored in rather than the new reality.

In other words, there's a lot of creative math in the comparison. If you wanna think you're loading cheaper, the reality tends to get skewed a bit.

For example......figuring you "still" get free lead. Most don't, but more power to ya if you can always pull off miracles.

MT Gianni has more realism in his accounting than most. It makes the point that the cost of 22's had to go up noticeably due to the panic for most of us to "outcheap" their cost with a centerfire.

[jaysouth]

About a year ago my grandson was ready to learn shooting. I let him shoot my Handi .357 MAX with 38 Spl rounds that I cast for and an STI Trojan 1911 in 9mm. The STI is an all steel gun that weights over 40 ounces and has very little recoil with a 124 cast bullet over 4 grs. of 231. That particular gun had smaller circumference grips than anything else that was practical for him to shoot in my safe. Whether or not 38 and 9mm reloads were cheaper than .22rf was moot because there were none to be had at any price

Without quibbling about the precision of anyone's math, The bragging rights for a 12 year old shooting a 357 Max rifle and a 9mm 1911 are an order of magnitude greater than shooting .22 rf.

[Green Lizzard]

my contender carbine in 22 hornet is big fun with a pinch of red dot and a 50 grain cast bullet

[Digital Dan]

I wish somebody made an inexpensive single shot or bolt action rifle in 9mm. This would be a great fun/light game gun.

Be careful what you wish for...

http://www.bullberry.com/contender_barrels.html

[casterofboolits]

Yup! I do 9mm for less than $5.00 per hundred using my H&G #275 09-125-SWCBB. 40 S&W runs the same using a couple recut Lyman four cavity 9mm moulds that produce a 40-145-TCPB.

I still have a ton or more of free indoor range lead on hand.

I recently purchased a Springfield XDm 9 5.25 for a range/plinking gun and it works great.:Fire::Fire::mrgreen:

[jonp]

I just got back from WalMart and while wandering around I saw CCI 22lr boxes of 100 on the shelf so bought 2. They were $7.48 each and there were a ton of them.

[dtknowles]

Started doing the math in about 1976. I don't think it was possible until recently. Free lead does help though.
BTW: 22lr will be on the shelves for under $3 for 50 sunday morning. Don't ask. :)

I don't see how free lead really makes a difference as you could sell it or trade it for ammo.

Tim

[farmerjim]

I don't see how free lead really makes a difference as you could sell it or trade it for ammo.

Tim
I shoot into my berm and recover the lead. It is melted, cast and reloaded. If I sold it I would not have it anymore. I am still loading plinking loads with herters primers bought at under $5 a 1,000 and powder (herco) bought at $ 1.25 a pound.

[10mmShooter]

primers are now back to normal so roughly 3 cents for primer and 4 cents for lead(priced at $2 a pound) assume brass is almost free. So about 8-9 a round for .38 . I haven't shoot my .22 in a while

[tazman]

I am currently getting my lead for $.50 a pound making my boolits about a penny each. For 9mm a little less than that.

[dtknowles]

I shoot into my berm and recover the lead. It is melted, cast and reloaded. If I sold it I would not have it anymore. I am still loading plinking loads with herters primers bought at under $5 a 1,000 and powder (herco) bought at $ 1.25 a pound.

I would consider this an exception instead of a rule.

Tim

[dtknowles]

I buy and shoot .22 LR because I have nice guns that shoot .22 LR and I like shooting them. I reload for my other guns because I can and it lets some of them shoot better. I have purchased jacketed bullets for some of them where each bullet costs more than four rounds of .22 LR.

I load rounds for my .22 Hornet that are quick and easy to load that cost less than cheap .22 LR and shoot better than some. I have paid as much as 40 cents a round for .22 LR match ammo.

If all you worry about is how cheap you can shoot that is fine too.

Tim

[sandman228]

I was figuring out the cost of my 38 reloads the other day also . right now im casting loading and shooting 148 wc bullets made with 50%range scrap I pick up and 50%wheel weight alloy. im using a 4 lb jug of herco I bought a couple years ago from a local shop going out of business at 70% off and magtech primers I bought a while back from grafs at 99$ a case . according to the reloading calculator on handloads.com my 38 wad cutter loads are costing me 2.7 cents each or 1.37 per box of 50 .

[tazman]

I was figuring out the cost of my 38 reloads the other day also . right now im casting loading and shooting 148 wc bullets made with 50%range scrap I pick up and 50%wheel weight alloy. im using a 4 lb jug of herco I bought a couple years ago from a local shop going out of business at 70% off and magtech primers I bought a while back from grafs at 99$ a case . according to the reloading calculator on handloads.com my 38 wad cutter loads are costing me 2.7 cents each or 1.37 per box of 50 .

Okay, now I'm jealous.:(

[sandman228]

lol sorry .

[Digital Dan]

You fellas shooting .38s and 9s are spending big. Hornets, Bees and the .25-20 make for some very, very cheap shooting. 93-155 bullets per pound of Pb. Few grains of this or that powder and a primer. Brass lasts a loooooong time if you anneal it now and then.

[tazman]

My wife is allergic to bees and hornets.

[jonp]

You fellas shooting .38s and 9s are spending big. Hornets, Bees and the .25-20 make for some very, very cheap shooting. 93-155 bullets per pound of Pb. Few grains of this or that powder and a primer. Brass lasts a loooooong time if you anneal it now and then.
Real men don't shoot bugs

[Bob Busetti]

I figure I cam load 30 carbine cheaper too, as well as the 45acp.

[Digital Dan]

Real men don't shoot bugs


Ya got me. Will put them out with the trash on Monday.

[RogerDat]

Real men don't shoot bugs
And some of us our eyes are not good enough to shoot bugs any more, even with a scope. Why I recall back in the day I could take a cricket or grasshopper at 50 yards over open iron sites. Sadly no longer possible. Should I start taking testosterone to get my manhood back?
:kidding:

I like shooting 22's as does my wife, same mechanics, minus the noise and recoil. Liked it better when ammo was cheaper and readily available. I learned to shoot with a 22, as did my daughter and 2 or 3 grandkids. That sort of odd spent cartridge smell that seems particular to the 22 will I hope always bring back fond memories.

[6bg6ga]

Certainly more fun to shoot a 380,9mm, 38/357, 44, 45 just to name a few. My current cost for lead ingots is still $1.21@lb primers at $35. @ 1K, and powder at $30 @lb so with those prices I figure the following roughly .012-.025 for powder primers at .035 and bullets at .02-.04 ea So according to my stock it costs me anywhere from 6.7 cents a round to 10 cents a round depending on the caliber.

Please don't come back at me telling me you have 30 year old lead that cost you $3.00 A 100 or 20 year old primers on your shelf that cost $1@100 or 20 year old powder that cost $12 What I listed is the current gun shop priced powder and primers in my area and lead ingots off ebay delivered to my door for $1.21 @lb.

[35remington]

It's a relevant point. If it's relevant to figure the price for powder and lead and primers you bought forty years ago, it's relevant to mention the cost of 22's I haven't shot up to compare with your "old" prices for powder and primers.

Otherwise I could say I'm shooting old stuff too....like the 22's I bought in the late seventies at fifty cents for fifty (I do have some left). Ergo.....my 22's are still cheaper to shoot than your old primers and powder as they were a penny each and I'm leaving out nothing about their cost save the gas to get them. Handloaders leave out a lot when coming up for a "price" per round......ignoring the eventual brass replacement in many instances.....cost of loading equipment.....and time. Time may have value as well depending upon what else you're doing to make up for its loss.

And as for the "free brass" part.....I'd acknowledge its relevance with 223's and 9mm's as those are on the ground everywhere. 22 Hornets and 38's (revolver shooters pocket their brass) and 243's and other popular deer calibers? Not so much. Save for a few commonly chucked on the ground calibers, nobody can say ALL their brass is free. I'm a frequent range shooter myself, and if I was waiting on that found on the ground to comprise my supply in most calibers I'd be waiting a long, long time.....and not doing much loading of recovered brass in between range sessions with the very few brass I have found. The rounds shot at the range with "found or free" brass would be very few. Counting on "finding" or "getting for free" 35 Remington brass, for instance, would mean I wouldn't shoot at all!

Point is, one can't compare "old" prices of powder and primers while completely ignoring brass cost to new prices of .22's without bringing up the new cost of primers and powder and brass to replace the ones you shot up. Yes, I know, your brass lasts "forever" except that it dies eventually, and it cost most of you something.

Replacement costs and the inflationary tendency of the passage of time are always relevant in coming up with a current cost, for production of ammo or anything else. Otherwise, an unfired Marlin 336 bought new and never shot and in perfect condition would be only worth the 50 dollars you paid for it in 1963. Trouble is, we know it's worth quite a bit more than that. Same for those primers you bought in the seventies....they're worth more than that now. That's how current costs of production are figured, with the emphasis on current. Current does not mean looking into the past.....it means giving all the inputs to present day production their correct time adjusted value.

It's really easy to flunk Economics 101 when attempting to come up with estimated costs for production of ammo.

[cwheel]

Just bought the 3 box limit of 22's at Sportsman's last Friday. Cost was $5 for a box of 50 CCI standard velocity. At ten cents a round there aren't any handgun rounds I cast and load for that will cost that much. I can cast and load 38 spcl. .357, 45 acp for well under the ten cent mark. I guess the only way most will get to compare will be if they don't cast or reload, they pay the price or go without. This administration hasn't been able to do much with gun control in congress, but sure have caused the ammo supply to dry up. Less of a ammo supply = less working firearms I guess. I think us reloaders and casters are the next big target, and we have seen our powder, primer supplies drying up fast as well.
Chris

[Digital Dan]

Economic theory is fine I suppose but it's sort of easy to obscure reality with theory and get lost in the weeds sometimes. Problems show up when facts get confused with cherry picked numbers.
One way to make a point is to use a price based on Remington Thunderbolts, and that may work for some but fall on deaf ears for a fella buying select match ammo for his RF shooting pleasure. It might not mean much to a fella that really did but a truck load of primers/powder/lead a long time ago. If you want to adjust that cost for inflation be my guest, but let's not be vague about the actual adjusted price.

Where I sit is fairly simple to figure. I shoot 3 brand/styles of .22rf ammo. In brick quantity the cheapest is .12/rd + shipping IF I can find it. That is today's cost per online advertising. I recently purchased several varieties of powder in 4 or 5# lots that cost only a small amount over $22/# including shipping. Primers locally in 1,000 quantity at $30 and change. Real world costs, right here, right now. So, my reality is that reloading small cap/small bore cartridges with cast is cheaper than buying .22 rf ammo, even based on high cost assumption for lead. Yes, I buy lead. Most recently I purchased 300# of wheel weights for $60. Another fellow sold me 200# of Linotype for $200. Pure lead inventory averaged about $125/100 incl. shipping. Do the math in that for a .25-20 shooting 6 grains of powder and a 70 grain bullet. Yes, brass wears out eventually, trouble is I don't know when eventually is for some of it. I have more than a few styles of cartridge brass that have been around for 15 reload cycles. Just because someone fries a batch of brass in 3-4 reloading cycles does not mean we all do. Mild loads, minimal loading stress coupled with case mouth annealing can make it age quite gracefully.

And I know this isn't fair, but you can purchase black powder, right now, for $15.40/# incl shipping in 25# lots. And a roundball of .32 caliber weighs about 60 grains. It will fly with a 10 grain boot in the backside...even from a flintlock. Increase ball weight to 80 grains if the gun is a .36 caliber.

That would be my perspective.

[35remington]

No argument with realistic accounting. The trouble is when using 30 to 40 year old pricing.

Maybe all those guys who still have zillions of primers they got for 5 bucks per thou and powder they purchased for 1.50 a pound would care to sell those to me for those same prices today (after all....that's what they've got in them......right?).

I didn't think so. It makes my point.

We all can also agree .22 prices have greatly inflated lately, and prices aren't representative of even inflationary pricing over time, but rather are indicative of shortage and panic buying realities. Someday it'll come back down in price, but not to pre panic levels.

Primers, powder, and brass won't come back to pre panic levels either. That must be acknowledged as well.

My other point is that figuring nothing for brass costs and the other costs of production is clearly wrong. I guess if you don't feel like including other costs, it costs nothing for them? We also know that isn't so, and it isn't an arguable point.

[MT Gianni]

We all can also agree .22 prices have greatly inflated lately, and prices aren't representative of even inflationary pricing over time, but rather are indicative of shortage and panic buying realities. Someday it'll come back down in price, but not to pre panic levels.

Primers, powder, and brass won't come back to pre panic levels either. That must be acknowledged as well.

My other point is that figuring nothing for brass costs and the other costs of production is clearly wrong. I guess if you don't feel like including other costs, it costs nothing for them? We also know that isn't so, and it isn't an arguable point.

Yet with cast 20 firings is not out of line for brass cases. We should not use current pricing for that but our acquisition costs. 100 rds for $10 and 2000 firings adds some to our reloads but we do not figure the time spent in finding 22, fuel cost to get to it and the potential savings from recycling our brass. My company includes in an annual statement the cost of keeping me as an employee. It includes the amortization of the building that HR uses among other things. I believe those cost are there it is an unrealistic statement. We should probably ask if we would rather shoot 22 lr at a ground squirrel or a 100 gr bullet at a higher velocity.

[35remington]

At current pricing or even past pricing for brass twenty firings would add a cost of production of about a penny a shot.....yet somehow it escapes everyone's attention to mention this is also a production cost.

Powder, primers and bullets used in production are not depreciable assets but rather increase in value with time if they are not utilized. Otherwise I would gladly pay you 70's prices for your component stash. You'd be a darn fool to accept such an offer from me. Production items that are used in production cannot be sheltered from the effects of inflation if they are to be used. This applies if they are sold or used for their intended purpose.

[Digital Dan]

1998 production WW power point LR, a box in my hand. $1.99/box of 50. .04 each. Who knows where the prices will settle but that price will not be seen again.

[fredj338]

Casting my own I can shoot any handgun caliber cheaper than I can shoot 22lr in todays market: 3c primer + 1c powder, $2/50 is cheap shooting. Even if I buy the lead @ $1/#, my 45acp only cost me $3.50/50, a little more than what 22lr are running today!

[abqcaster]

I'll stand by my claim. My 9mm loads cost me 5-5.5 cents a round to make (<1¢/bullet, 1.3¢ powder, and 3¢ primer) with currently purchased material, including shipping. I'm not counting brass because a) I've gotten it for free, b) I've paid next to nothing for it and c) I've reused it several times. Lately I've paid between 10 and 20 cents per 22lr round.
I don't count my labor, because for me its therapy, and if we counted the cost of therapy sessions we'd be looking at immeasurable savings... :D

[**oneshot**]

It's most of the reason I started making 22lr vel hornet loads. 2.7grs of powder goes along way and that little boolit is easy on my lead supply. Push through sizer and tumble lube makes them quicker to make up also.

[Motor]

Started doing the math in about 1976. I don't think it was possible until recently. Free lead does help though.
BTW: 22lr will be on the shelves for under $3 for 50 sunday morning. Don't ask. :)

Yeah I'm quoting my own post.

Up date: Dick's sporting good has or maybe had by now, 22lr ammo. It is American Eagle (a Federal brand) and has their 38gr copper clad HP bullet. They were $2.49 a box around these parts. BUT: The box only has 40 rounds in it !!!!!!!!

I think that's at least a little decieving. I know people who bought some and did not know this.
It's like going to the store and buying eggs and then finding out there is only 10 per carton not 12. 22 ammo has been sold in 50rd boxes for how long, a hundred years? What's worse is to think they spent the money to re-design the pakaging. Gimme a freekin break !!!!!!!!! :takinWiz:on em.

[MT Gianni]

American Eagle has had 40/400 since its inception in the late 90's, IIRC.

[dougader]

Aside from the pricing, I've been shooting a lot more 32 mag than 22 LR lately just because I don't want to deplete my reserves of 22 LR ammo.

With a 90 grain Lee TL boolit and 2.5 - 3.0 grains of 231 a pound goes a long way.

[Motor]

American Eagle has had 40/400 since its inception in the late 90's, IIRC.

You may be correct but I don't ever recall that being the case.

[rintinglen]

American Eagle has had 40/400 since its inception in the late 90's, IIRC.

You recall correctly, Sir.
I bought a sleeve of it in 2002 when I bought my Browning Nomad. I was smiling and happy at saving a buck a sleeve over the cost of Winchester Wildcats, until I realized it was 6 of one, but not half a dozen of the other. I still have that sleeve somewhere, partially depleted.

[tuckerdog]

.222 rem in rem 788, 44grn rn lyman, 3.5grn unique, accurate and cheap. seems to be between 22mag and lr.

[Sensai]

I enjoy casting and loading for my guns. I also have some 22LR that I could use, but find difficult and expensive to replace right now. I consider it a blessing to be able to continue to hunt and train my grandkids in marksmanship and safe gun handling with rounds that I produce for comparable cost to the 22LR that I would prefer to use. I haven't calculated to the tenth of a cent whether my cast reloads are cheaper or more expensive than the 22LR, because it doesn't really matter. I can't get 22LR right now. If the apparent trend of 22LR becoming more abundant and cheaper continues, I may have to consider switching back to store bought ammo. Until that time, I'm happy to be able to continue shooting; even if it turns out that it costs a penny or two more per round. Aren't we all fortunate to have a hobby that allows such freedom? ;-)

[Motor]

You recall correctly, Sir.
I bought a sleeve of it in 2002 when I bought my Browning Nomad. I was smiling and happy at saving a buck a sleeve over the cost of Winchester Wildcats, until I realized it was 6 of one, but not half a dozen of the other. I still have that sleeve somewhere, partially depleted.

Yep. Got excited over nothing. Oh well. I guess its been so long since I really shopped for 22lr that I forgot.

Motor

[jonp]

You may be correct but I don't ever recall that being the case.
Me neither