Has the shortage caused you to condense your calibers???

[horsemen61]

Ok guys we all know about the shortage so I ask you has it caused you to shrink down the number of calibers you reload for ? For me the answer is no because I have found some nice deals on stuff because it is in an odd caliber

 

[jwrowland77]

Actually, I've added a couple of calibers.

 

[higgite]

I only load 3 calibers and have muddled through so far, but why would anyone condense the number of calibers they load due to shortages? If the shortages are severe enough, the calibers will condense themselves by only allowing you to load what is available. Is that what you mean?

 

[R.W.Dale]

I started doing that before things went crazy and as a result have an ample cache to coast through on

I'm currently only have to stock three bullet diameters .224 .308" and .357

Makes vacuuming up components in bulk much easier and more universal.

 

[zerobarrier]

I load for 9mm, 40S&W, 45ACP, 44Mag, 50AE, 223rem, and 308win, will be adding 38 special soon, and really have not had a hard time finding components. It was hard there for awhile but I was well stocked before the shortage but as of late I have been able to find everything I need for all of those locally or thru Midway. Even 22's are around here regularly, to the point that when I go to the store and see 22 bulk packs I don't buy them, unless I really need them. I went to 3 stores yesterday they all had bulk packs of CCI standard velocity and thunderbolts, plus the 100rd boxes of CCI high velocity and the remington high velocity ones.All for normal prices CCI standard were $40 and Thunderbolt $25

 

[Walkalong]

No, but I have been a bit choosier about what I shoot to keep from depleting anything.

 

[mastergunner]

Have added a couple of calibers, if I find a gun I like I will reload for it. Currently reload for .222,.270,.45 colt,.45 ACP, 9mm, .380, tried to keep it down to only a couple but it just keeps expanding.

 

[cfullgraf]

No, I also have added new cartridges.

Working with the new cartridges has slowed consuming components for the old stand by.

Cases for the new cartridges have been the only difficulty although not much since the panic/shotages are easing.

I did not buy much of anything at the height of the panic, did not need to.

 

[tightgroup tiger]

The shortage has not made me condense calibers. I condense calibers because I use common sense. It costs me over $100.00 to start loading for a new caliber so I watch that carefully. I do splurge on a new caliber from time to time but I don't make a habit of it.

I recently bought a 41 magnum and didn't enjoy buying all the extras I needed to load it on my machines. Let alone the new brass and bullets I had to buy for it.

But what do you do? Even the cheapest of us get board.

 

[gamestalker]

No, in fact I have had little to no trouble finding what I need, even though my production has more than doubled the last several years. There are some powders that have been scarce, but I've had no problem finding the next best powder for my desired load make ups.

GS

 

[tdoyka]

no i have not.
20 vartarg
222 remington
223 remington
22-250 remington ackley improved
243 winchester
25-06 remington
6.5 creedmoor
270 winchester
7mm-08 reminton
7mm mauser
30-30 winchester
32 winchester special
308
30-06
45-70 govenrment
38 special
44 remington mag

with the 444 marlin and the 338 federal coming my way

 

[MAUSER88]

Nope. I'm well stocked!!

 

[40-82]

The shortage causes scars on my belly. In the good old days say I saw a deer or some varmint at 300 yards I had the option of just trying him with my old .270, but I haven't seen jacketed .270 bullets for sale for a while, and when my old stash is gone, it's gone. When I find them they'll be more than the $13.50 a hundred I paid for the cache I'm dipping into now. So I break out the the 38-55, the 38-56, and the 38-70. All these cartridges use the same bullet mold, and I have a cache of powders that will work them. The difference is that these old cartridges don't do well at long range under normal field conditions. Thus, the scars on my belly from the sharp rocks as I try to crawl closer. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn't.

 

[AABEN]

NO I reload all that I shoot.

 

[gamestalker]

I did stock up pretty well prior to the big shortage, but I've had little trouble finding components when I start to get low.

Right now I have a very ample supply of IMR-4350, IMR-4831, IMR-7828, Varget, H4350, H4831, H1000, RL19, RL17, 296 & H110, HS6, and Longshot. I probably missed one or two. But the one's I have are the one's I use and they cover everything I load. About the only problem I've had during this rather difficult time of supply and demand, has been finding RL22. It's around, I just forget to be there on the established day it comes in each week.

As for bullets, I got them coming out my ear's, along with thousands of each primer type in standard and magnum and a few thousand of BR's as well, $29.99 for handgun, and $32.99 for rifle, I don't remember what I get BR's for, I don't need them all that often.

Heck, 2 days ago I went out to buy some IMR-7828 and had it in my hands at the first LGS I stopped at.

GS

 

[BullRunBear]

I added a couple of new calibers this year. But instead of just assuming the ammo/components would be available, I made sure I could use components already on my bench and that bullets (or molds) and brass could be had at reasonable prices. In years past I wouldn't have given that a second thought.

Jeff

 

[ATLDave]

No. If anything, the shortage has demonstrated the value of having lots of different calibers to load for. You never know which caliber you'll find components for. I don't understand how anyone could look at the shortage and conclude that they should reduce their flexibility in terms of necessary components (or ammo). That would make zero sense.

 

[Potatohead]

Heck no! I need more, more, more, to reload.

 

[R.W.Dale]

No. If anything, the shortage has demonstrated the value of having lots of different calibers to load for. You never know which caliber you'll find components for. I don't understand how anyone could look at the shortage and conclude that they should reduce their flexibility in terms of necessary components (or ammo). That would make zero sense.

How does fewer calibers REDUCE flexability. You don't buy fewer bullets, you just buy bullets that can be used in more guns than before

I have MORE bullets that can be used in a wider variety of firearms purchased in the kind of bulk quantities that means I don't even have to think about more components for YEARS.

You don't get that kind of security buying one or two 100ct boxes of components for X unique caliber in your safe. Granted I got away from this pre panic because I quickly tired of needing to order MORE bullets by the time I worked up a good load only to find that even in times of "plenty" they were unavailable for whatever reason.


For example to add a 300bo to my stable a I needed to purchase from a reloading standpoint was a set of dies


Also the FIRST thing that manufacturers discontinue in times like this were the non mainstream items. Supposedly there's a 270 bullet shortage going on of all things

 

[ATLDave]

Fewer calibers reduces flexibility because you have more fixed requirements for specific components. If, for example, you decided to consolidate to 9mm only for handgun loading, or .224 bullets (.223/5.56, .222, .22-250, etc.) there were several months where you would have had little to no market availability of bullets that you could shoot. If, instead, you had also continued to shoot and use, say, 6.5mm in rifles and .40/10mm in handguns, bullets remained available. So you could keep loading and shooting.

Having guns that can use different inputs means that you are not at the mercy of one category of input. Pretty straightforward.

 

[R.W.Dale]

Fewer calibers reduces flexibility because you have more fixed requirements for specific components. If, for example, you decided to consolidate to 9mm only for handgun loading, or .224 bullets (.223/5.56, .222, .22-250, etc.) there were several months where you would have had little to no market availability of bullets that you could shoot. If, instead, you had also continued to shoot and use, say, 6.5mm in rifles and .40/10mm in handguns, bullets remained available. So you could keep loading and shooting.

Having guns that can use different inputs means that you are not at the mercy of one category of input. Pretty straightforward.

This assumes you need to purchase components during a tight supply starting from zero

If I buy a 1000 box of 30 caliber bullets I can shoot every firearm in that caliber till they're depleted.

If I buy 200 bullets of .257 , 7mm and 8mm each for example which the cost would be about the same after just a couple range trips I lose the use of a firearm completely till I order or find more bullets. And that's assuming I can get THAT projectile again and don't have to burn through a box working up the load again. That's not versatility in my book

There's a reason the military and NATO standardized. Consolidation gets you MORE shots per dollar and you lose fewer shots in load development meaning you spend less time actually needing to buy components. If you don't ever "need" to buy components you simply don't have to participate in the same market everyone else does.

 

[R.W.Dale]

It's not so much versatility like you're thinking but rather consolidation let's you hedge against future markets much more efficiently

 

[JohnM]

Not me, it's irritating sometimes, that's all.
I recently sold one rifle I hadn't planned on getting rid of, but a guy offered me more bucks for it than I could turn down.

 

[ATLDave]

It's a wholly different strategy. It sacrifices flexibility and counts on stockpiling. Which is feasible if you start this strategy in a time of plenty, and are willing to tie up a lot of money and space warehousing your stocks. The military, obviously, can do this. Only a small percentage of shooters can. And if too many try to pursue this strategy simultaneously, then you get bubbles and shortages.

Better for most to remain omnivorous. Think of it this way. If we were prone to beer shortages, would it be better to have only one brand of beer you were willing to drink (and to devote half your garage to storing palettes of the stuff to last you a year), or to find several brands you like and switch among them depending on which was available?

 

[R.W.Dale]

In a nutshell it's getting more for your component dollar and using that to get ahead and stay ahead.

Bullets by the 100 box really is a terrible deal

Like the old reload vs factory ammo cost axiom. You don't save money you just get to shoot more per the same dollar.

As to space that's more efficient too. A 1000 loose box of rifle bullets in the bottom of my safe as ballast takes up a lot less space as 10 individual 100 ct boxes in various calibers.

And again bulk and staying with it costs you fewer "load development" projectiles.