Every shooter who has a pulse is aware of the dramatically rising price of ammo and reloading components.

I've used Montana Bulletworks aka MTLeadhead for .500 Mag slugs, good products. In 2005 prices for 370gr hard cast gas checks were about $9/100. They were $18.50/100 recently. He lost his source of lead and the price has gone to $27/100. Makes the .500 more than a tad more expensive to shoot.

Very sad, he had a house fire around New Years, a very poor start to the New Year. Don

At $27/100 that makes for some pretty pricey shooting. I don't own a 500 and don't really enjoy shooting them. Not my cup of tea and all that, but I am glad others do. They are intersting guns. It does surprise me a bit that sales of the critters have been as good as they are, given the cost of feeding them.

Shotgunning is not getting any cheaper either. We see lead shot running $40-$50 per bag, and everyone saying it is just going to keep going up.

Maybe this is just another way of "disarming" us law abiding citizens.

quote:

Maybe this is just another way of "disarming" us law abiding citizens.

I don't think so. The high prices of all metals is causing the price of components and ammunition to sky rocket. The price of those cast bullets mentioned by DonD are in direct proportion to the cost of lead, antimony and tin. I remember a time not too long ago when I could cast and sell bullets for a fraction of what I charge for them now. To tell you the truth I actually made more money. lead was cheap, cast bullets were cheap, primers too. People bought in volume. Guys that now buy 2,000 bought 10 thousand are more. Yes sir I would be tickled to sell more for less. It means more profit in the long run. High metal prices are not part of a disarmament conspiracy. These prices are effecting everyone.

Everyone seems to blame it on China buying all the scrap metal we can ship. I am sure they are doing their part. However markets can take on a life of their own be it metals, pork bellies or cattle futures.

Once a market wakes up and starts to move in one direction or the other, the speculators move in and out of the futures markets and prices can really get out of hand. These guys are betting on the price of the underlying commodity anywhere from weeks to months from now.

I'm not giving China a pass, but other things affect commodity prices then good old supply & demand.

Rick

quote:

Originally posted by RGS:
I'm not giving China a pass, but other things affect commodity prices then good old supply & demand. Rick

+1

But you left out/forgot " greed ".

It used to be that used car salesmen got the bad ethics rap. Then it was lawyers, particularly liability lawyers and I DO believe they deserve it.

Now, I'm of the view that commodities traders are some of the biggest enemies of the nation. They speculate to the extent that they drive prices on many items to insane levels and few but them benefit.

The media tonight was constantly repeating the idea that a recession is coming. If these fools keep talking about it, psychology may well assist that in happening. Disgraceful, they seem to feel no obligation to temper their editorials/speech with even the slightest dose of moderation. Don

There's still plenty of wheel weights available and you can cast all the bullets you want real cheap. Plus you don't have to pay shipping.
Jim

quote:

Originally posted by Bulzi:

quote:

Originally posted by RGS:
I'm not giving China a pass, but other things affect commodity prices then good old supply & demand. Rick

+1

But you left out/forgot " greed ".

Yup. Markets run on greed and fear.

DonD,

Don't worry about the media. They are like children in the front seat of a giant roller coaster. They just scream and gasp as it travels up and down.

Point 1) Where were they BEFORE the dot com bubble burst? Answer... trying to be the smartest person in the room by picking the next big score and telling us "traditional market cycles no longer apply".

Point 2) Where were they in the mid 1970s with the DOW at 700? Answer... They told us on the eve of the largest bull market in history, "America is over. Our dollar is too weak, our debt is too high, the stock market is broken beyond hope."

The media "experts" can no more talk us into recession, then they can talk us out of one. Their only job is to convince the networks they are worth what they are being paid. In other words, are they selling enough advertising?

Wonder if I can buy lead with my IRA? Hmmmm...