.308 currently about $3 a round.

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.308 currently about $3 a round.

Post by Member-Deleted » 20 Oct 2020, 4:35 pm

Hey all, just a fair warning, the gun shop I have been purchasing some things from recently had a price hike with the new batch of ammo. It went up about a dollar a round. A box of 20 Outback 165gr Sierra Gameking .308 set me back just under $60. Was quite a devastating blow to the wallet.
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Re: .308 currently about $3 a round.

Post by TassieTiger » 20 Oct 2020, 4:41 pm

Maybe time you considered the other side of the dark hobby - reloading...depending on your requirements, it might be a better option...

But I can certainly confirm as well in Tas - almost everything associated with shooting appears to have gone up in price...powders and primers especially seem to be in demand but factory ammo has increased dramatically - 300win core lok = $79!!!
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Re: .308 currently about $3 a round.

Post by Member-Deleted » 20 Oct 2020, 4:46 pm

TassieTiger wrote:Maybe time you considered the other side of the dark hobby - reloading...depending on your requirements, it might be a better option...

But I can certainly confirm as well in Tas - almost everything associated with shooting appears to have gone up in price...powders and primers especially seem to be in demand but factory ammo has increased dramatically - 300win core lok = $79!!!


I've certainly considered it mate, I just can't afford the equipment nor do I have a place to put it. I'm a room renter on centerlink atm, so I don't have the luxury of a shed or personal workspace. Otherwise I'd be right on top of that.
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Re: .308 currently about $3 a round.

Post by TassieTiger » 20 Oct 2020, 4:51 pm

Keep your brass regardless - things will turn, and brass is an exy part of it. I don’t own a 308 anymore, but I think I’ve got a set of fire squared away. Let me look and get back - if I find them you can have them. If you collect hits snd pieces here / there...a kitchen bench with 2 pieces of wood will do lol.
Tikka .260 (Z5 5x25/52)
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Re: .308 currently about $3 a round.

Post by Member-Deleted » 20 Oct 2020, 5:05 pm

TassieTiger wrote:Keep your brass regardless - things will turn, and brass is an exy part of it. I don’t own a 308 anymore, but I think I’ve got a set of fire squared away. Let me look and get back - if I find them you can have them. If you collect hits snd pieces here / there...a kitchen bench with 2 pieces of wood will do lol.


I appreciate that mate, I can throw some money your way if you want.
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Re: .308 currently about $3 a round.

Post by TassieTiger » 20 Oct 2020, 5:20 pm

Nah. All good. Think I ve got some 308 brass that was necked down to 260. Let me see what ive got. Ive literally just given someone on the forum a cheap single stage - my first ever. Worked pretty well for the price of $49...but anyways. I’ll try dig out - away with work at present so give me few days. I’ve got a box of some Speer 125’s in 30 cal you can have too. I’ll never use them.

All other members - got any reloading crap sitting about doing nothing suit 308 ?
Tikka .260 (Z5 5x25/52)
Steyr Pro Varmint .223 - VX 3
CZ455 .22 & Norinco .22 (vtex 4-12, bush 3-9)
ATA 686 U/O 12g & Baikal S/S 12g.
Adler a110 reddot
Sauer 30-06 - VX 3
Howa 300 win mag. SHV 5-20/56
Marlin SBL 45/70
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Re: .308 currently about $3 a round.

Post by on_one_wheel » 20 Oct 2020, 5:21 pm

BangWhizzClack wrote:
TassieTiger wrote:Maybe time you considered the other side of the dark hobby - reloading...depending on your requirements, it might be a better option...

But I can certainly confirm as well in Tas - almost everything associated with shooting appears to have gone up in price...powders and primers especially seem to be in demand but factory ammo has increased dramatically - 300win core lok = $79!!!


I've certainly considered it mate, I just can't afford the equipment nor do I have a place to put it. I'm a room renter on centerlink atm, so I don't have the luxury of a shed or personal workspace. Otherwise I'd be right on top of that.


Reloading equipment doesn't need to be expensive.
Grab a lee loader, a a cheap beam scale and you're away.
You can add stuff as you go.
I've been loading like that for years
lee-loader__35296.1586100151.jpg
lee-loader__35296.1586100151.jpg (145.97 KiB) Viewed 5760 times
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Re: .308 currently about $3 a round.

Post by Member-Deleted » 20 Oct 2020, 5:29 pm

TassieTiger wrote:Nah. All good. Think I ve got some 308 brass that was necked down to 260. Let me see what ive got. Ive literally just given someone on the forum a cheap single stage - my first ever. Worked pretty well for the price of $49...but anyways. I’ll try dig out - away with work at present so give me few days. I’ve got a box of some Speer 125’s in 30 cal you can have too. I’ll never use them.

All other members - got any reloading crap sitting about doing nothing suit 308 ?


At least let me cover shipping mate.
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Re: .308 currently about $3 a round.

Post by Member-Deleted » 20 Oct 2020, 5:30 pm

on_one_wheel wrote:
BangWhizzClack wrote:
TassieTiger wrote:Maybe time you considered the other side of the dark hobby - reloading...depending on your requirements, it might be a better option...

But I can certainly confirm as well in Tas - almost everything associated with shooting appears to have gone up in price...powders and primers especially seem to be in demand but factory ammo has increased dramatically - 300win core lok = $79!!!


I've certainly considered it mate, I just can't afford the equipment nor do I have a place to put it. I'm a room renter on centerlink atm, so I don't have the luxury of a shed or personal workspace. Otherwise I'd be right on top of that.


Reloading equipment doesn't need to be expensive.
Grab a lee loader, a a cheap beam scale and you're away.
You can add stuff as you go.
I've been loading like that for years
lee-loader__35296.1586100151.jpg


When I'm back in and working it's definitely on the list of things to invest it. Thanks for the tip.
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Re: .308 currently about $3 a round.

Post by Blr243 » 20 Oct 2020, 5:34 pm

60 bucks a box is a bit brutal. My shop or should I say one of my shops is selling factory 308 ammo with 180 woodleigh pills I think it’s 20 bucks for a box of 20 .....I love it
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Re: .308 currently about $3 a round.

Post by bladeracer » 20 Oct 2020, 5:50 pm

on_one_wheel wrote:
BangWhizzClack wrote:
TassieTiger wrote:Maybe time you considered the other side of the dark hobby - reloading...depending on your requirements, it might be a better option...

But I can certainly confirm as well in Tas - almost everything associated with shooting appears to have gone up in price...powders and primers especially seem to be in demand but factory ammo has increased dramatically - 300win core lok = $79!!!


I've certainly considered it mate, I just can't afford the equipment nor do I have a place to put it. I'm a room renter on centerlink atm, so I don't have the luxury of a shed or personal workspace. Otherwise I'd be right on top of that.


Reloading equipment doesn't need to be expensive.
Grab a lee loader, a a cheap beam scale and you're away.
You can add stuff as you go.
I've been loading like that for years
lee-loader__35296.1586100151.jpg


I agree, the Lee Loader is a great piece of kit. You don't need a scale, but a set of dippers is very useful. The set comes with a card that gives you ballpark numbers showing how many grains of powder per dipper, but the Lee Loader only comes with one dipper, which will give you a very usable hunting load, or just ask and I'll weigh dipper charges of the powder you're using if I have it (ADI basically). I've found the dippers can be remarkably accurate.

If you already have brass you can load the 165gn TGK for about $1.50 each.
The bullet is a premium one that is likely to cost you a dollar apiece anyway. I'd look at some of the cheaper ones, like the Speer Hot-Cor or Hornady Interlock ranges, if you want to do more shooting. You could very likely load good hunting ammo for under a dollar apiece.

You'll get about 150 loads from a 500gm bottle of AR2208 or AR2206H (about $60-70), about 40-cents each, plus a primer for 8-cents.
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Re: .308 currently about $3 a round.

Post by Member-Deleted » 20 Oct 2020, 5:58 pm

Blr243 wrote:60 bucks a box is a bit brutal. My shop or should I say one of my shops is selling factory 308 ammo with 180 woodleigh pills I think it’s 20 bucks for a box of 20 .....I love it


Could be my stubborn determination to buy Australian that's the problem :p
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Re: .308 currently about $3 a round.

Post by Member-Deleted » 20 Oct 2020, 6:03 pm

bladeracer wrote:
on_one_wheel wrote:
BangWhizzClack wrote:
TassieTiger wrote:Maybe time you considered the other side of the dark hobby - reloading...depending on your requirements, it might be a better option...

But I can certainly confirm as well in Tas - almost everything associated with shooting appears to have gone up in price...powders and primers especially seem to be in demand but factory ammo has increased dramatically - 300win core lok = $79!!!


I've certainly considered it mate, I just can't afford the equipment nor do I have a place to put it. I'm a room renter on centerlink atm, so I don't have the luxury of a shed or personal workspace. Otherwise I'd be right on top of that.


Reloading equipment doesn't need to be expensive.
Grab a lee loader, a a cheap beam scale and you're away.
You can add stuff as you go.
I've been loading like that for years
lee-loader__35296.1586100151.jpg


I agree, the Lee Loader is a great piece of kit. You don't need a scale, but a set of dippers is very useful. The set comes with a card that gives you ballpark numbers showing how many grains of powder per dipper, but the Lee Loader only comes with one dipper, which will give you a very usable hunting load, or just ask and I'll weigh dipper charges of the powder you're using if I have it (ADI basically). I've found the dippers can be remarkably accurate.

If you already have brass you can load the 165gn TGK for about $1.50 each.
The bullet is a premium one that is likely to cost you a dollar apiece anyway. I'd look at some of the cheaper ones, like the Speer Hot-Cor or Hornady Interlock ranges, if you want to do more shooting. You could very likely load good hunting ammo for under a dollar apiece.

You'll get about 150 loads from a 500gm bottle of AR2208 or AR2206H (about $60-70), about 40-cents each, plus a primer for 8-cents.


Okay, thank you. Once I've got a job again (probably next year), I'll look at getting into reloading, hopefully supplies have picked up a bit more by then. We'll see.
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Re: .308 currently about $3 a round.

Post by in2anity » 20 Oct 2020, 6:22 pm

There’s also the lee hand press.
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Re: .308 currently about $3 a round.

Post by marksman » 20 Oct 2020, 10:07 pm

on_one_wheel wrote:
BangWhizzClack wrote:
TassieTiger wrote:Maybe time you considered the other side of the dark hobby - reloading...depending on your requirements, it might be a better option...

But I can certainly confirm as well in Tas - almost everything associated with shooting appears to have gone up in price...powders and primers especially seem to be in demand but factory ammo has increased dramatically - 300win core lok = $79!!!


I've certainly considered it mate, I just can't afford the equipment nor do I have a place to put it. I'm a room renter on centerlink atm, so I don't have the luxury of a shed or personal workspace. Otherwise I'd be right on top of that.


Reloading equipment doesn't need to be expensive.
Grab a lee loader, a a cheap beam scale and you're away.
You can add stuff as you go.
I've been loading like that for years
lee-loader__35296.1586100151.jpg


+1 :thumbsup:
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Re: .308 currently about $3 a round.

Post by Member-Deleted » 20 Oct 2020, 10:55 pm

in2anity wrote:There’s also the lee hand press.


Thank you, I shall look into it.
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Re: .308 currently about $3 a round.

Post by Ziege » 20 Oct 2020, 11:35 pm

If ya lived over my way Whizz I would tell ya to buy some dies then come use my press etc. it is a bit of cash up front but for lads who wanna save cash long term and benefit from the accuracy gains of making a round pedigree for ya rifle.
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Re: .308 currently about $3 a round.

Post by wanneroo » 20 Oct 2020, 11:48 pm

When I got into reloading, at the time work was very slow and my budget was very slim, but there was an ammo shortage on and reloading was the only way to shoot anything at a reasonable cost. Also I didn't know if I would end up liking reloading either, so I didn't want to make a big investment. Didn't have a bench either.

So I started with the Lee hand press that I bought on sale for $30, a Lee perfect powder measure for $20, a 9mm die set and a few other little things and got started.

Now if you are loading 10,000 cases a year, the Lee tool is not practical, but if you are someone who needs to load a box of ammo and wants to save money over the long term, it's the way to go. My loaded cost for 308 with cheap bullets is just over 35 cents a round.

The Lee Loader is an even cheaper option than the Hand Press and allows you to reload your empties. The predecessor to the Lee Loader is the Ideal or Lyman hand reloading tool, which is still in production in limited quantities today. These tools got their start in the 1880s and were hugely popular into the 20th century before the advent of larger bench mounted reloading presses becoming common. A man traveling and working the rural lands could easily carry one of these tools to reload their empty cases. A Lee Loader is about $30 US$.

In the end you'll save money and there is a great deal of satisfaction in making your own ammo.

It turned out I liked reloading. I've got 3 benches with 3 presses and about 8000 cases in production right now.
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Re: .308 currently about $3 a round.

Post by TassieTiger » 20 Oct 2020, 11:52 pm

Some good advice right there.
.35c vs $3 - $2.65 saving per trigger pull.
First 50 rounds has paid for everything!
Tikka .260 (Z5 5x25/52)
Steyr Pro Varmint .223 - VX 3
CZ455 .22 & Norinco .22 (vtex 4-12, bush 3-9)
ATA 686 U/O 12g & Baikal S/S 12g.
Adler a110 reddot
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Howa 300 win mag. SHV 5-20/56
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Re: .308 currently about $3 a round.

Post by Ziege » 21 Oct 2020, 12:01 am

i can break down what mine usually cost,

223 $16 a pack retail = 80c a shot, reloaded = 39c a shot = $7.80 a pack

270 $35 a pack retail = $1.75 a shot, reloaded = 62c a shot = $12.40 a pack

300win $45 a pack retail = $2.25 per shot, reloaded theyre 96c a shot = $19.20 a pack

it really doesn't take long to start saving coin, and I dont even buy bulk primers, powder or projies, If they only need to be moa or thereabouts rather than super accurate there are tonnes of bulk projectile (easily most expensive ongoing cost) packs out there that can close to shave another 3rd off that if not more in some cases.

reloading is pretty much always worth it, and if just plinking/hunting there is a tonne of easy ways to get about it, chasing extreme accuracy however it can be a bit of a science lesson each time.
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Re: .308 currently about $3 a round.

Post by Member-Deleted » 21 Oct 2020, 12:57 am

Ziege wrote:If ya lived over my way Whizz I would tell ya to buy some dies then come use my press etc. it is a bit of cash up front but for lads who wanna save cash long term and benefit from the accuracy gains of making a round pedigree for ya rifle.


I appreciate the thought mate, truly. And thanks for breaking down your savings.
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Re: .308 currently about $3 a round.

Post by Member-Deleted » 21 Oct 2020, 12:59 am

wanneroo wrote:When I got into reloading, at the time work was very slow and my budget was very slim, but there was an ammo shortage on and reloading was the only way to shoot anything at a reasonable cost. Also I didn't know if I would end up liking reloading either, so I didn't want to make a big investment. Didn't have a bench either.

So I started with the Lee hand press that I bought on sale for $30, a Lee perfect powder measure for $20, a 9mm die set and a few other little things and got started.

Now if you are loading 10,000 cases a year, the Lee tool is not practical, but if you are someone who needs to load a box of ammo and wants to save money over the long term, it's the way to go. My loaded cost for 308 with cheap bullets is just over 35 cents a round.

The Lee Loader is an even cheaper option than the Hand Press and allows you to reload your empties. The predecessor to the Lee Loader is the Ideal or Lyman hand reloading tool, which is still in production in limited quantities today. These tools got their start in the 1880s and were hugely popular into the 20th century before the advent of larger bench mounted reloading presses becoming common. A man traveling and working the rural lands could easily carry one of these tools to reload their empty cases. A Lee Loader is about $30 US$.

In the end you'll save money and there is a great deal of satisfaction in making your own ammo.

It turned out I liked reloading. I've got 3 benches with 3 presses and about 8000 cases in production right now.


Thank you for that information!
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Re: .308 currently about $3 a round.

Post by Member-Deleted » 21 Oct 2020, 1:00 am

TassieTiger wrote:Some good advice right there.
.35c vs $3 - $2.65 saving per trigger pull.
First 50 rounds has paid for everything!


Indeed, reloading certainly seems like the way to go!
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Re: .308 currently about $3 a round.

Post by duddley75 » 21 Oct 2020, 7:31 am

BangWhizzClack wrote:
TassieTiger wrote:Maybe time you considered the other side of the dark hobby - reloading...depending on your requirements, it might be a better option...

But I can certainly confirm as well in Tas - almost everything associated with shooting appears to have gone up in price...powders and primers especially seem to be in demand but factory ammo has increased dramatically - 300win core lok = $79!!!


I've certainly considered it mate, I just can't afford the equipment nor do I have a place to put it. I'm a room renter on centerlink atm, so I don't have the luxury of a shed or personal workspace. Otherwise I'd be right on top of that.


I am happy to send you the hand priming tool if you want for nothing. I don't use it as I use my press to prime.

https://www.thebarn.net.au/Products/050 ... Tool/12261
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Re: .308 currently about $3 a round.

Post by Oldbloke » 21 Oct 2020, 7:58 am

What Blade racer said.

You can also DIY some bits.

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=13453

Wanted section for reloading gear.
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Re: .308 currently about $3 a round.

Post by Member-Deleted » 21 Oct 2020, 11:43 am

Oldbloke wrote:What Blade racer said.

You can also DIY some bits.

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=13453

Wanted section for reloading gear.


Thanks mate
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Re: .308 currently about $3 a round.

Post by rc42 » 21 Oct 2020, 2:09 pm

Ziege wrote:it really doesn't take long to start saving coin,....


I've found that reloaded pistol rounds are nearly half the price of new ammunition but there's no saving to be had for me as I just end up shooting twice as many during each range visit.

I suppose the saving side might work for expensive hunting rounds but probably only when actually out hunting and not at the range.


The prices increases have been expected for a while and they've only just started, I predict things will get much worse before they get a little better but prices will never be back at pre-Covid levels.
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Re: .308 currently about $3 a round.

Post by Member-Deleted » 21 Oct 2020, 2:28 pm

rc42 wrote:
Ziege wrote:it really doesn't take long to start saving coin,....


I've found that reloaded pistol rounds are nearly half the price of new ammunition but there's no saving to be had for me as I just end up shooting twice as many during each range visit.

I suppose the saving side might work for expensive hunting rounds but probably only when actually out hunting and not at the range.


The prices increases have been expected for a while and they've only just started, I predict things will get much worse before they get a little better but prices will never be back at pre-Covid levels.


I agree, I believe we have pretty heavy financial destruction coming our way.
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Re: .308 currently about $3 a round.

Post by animalpest » 21 Oct 2020, 2:56 pm

Lucky I have 8000 factory rounds already. Paid $1.25 per round for good hunting stuff.
That's a steep price rise
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Re: .308 currently about $3 a round.

Post by Member-Deleted » 21 Oct 2020, 3:25 pm

animalpest wrote:Lucky I have 8000 factory rounds already. Paid $1.25 per round for good hunting stuff.
That's a steep price rise


Ah yes, you'd get discounts for buying in bulk, and you'd get a lot at a time because I imagine you'd use them fairly quickly. Where 8000 rounds would probably last me multiple lifetimes. How long do you think 8000 would last for your company?

I'd imagine you'll have to adjust your prices to suit.
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