Buy PM or ammo?

[BraggSurvivor]

The cost of ammunition is skyrocketing I mean huge (at least up here). Which will be the better investment, gold/silver or ammo?

2002 price of 1,000rds of .223 ~ $110.00

2008 ~ $550.00


2002 price of 1k rounds of 7.62x39mm ~ $70.00

2008 ~ $310.00

[beerrunner13]

Ammo and reloading supplies. I seems to be going up a lot faster then gols and silver as you said and I would hate to have to play love Ranger and cast my bullets from silver. unless a warewolf attacks :eek:. I just got a 1000 rounds of 7.62x 39 for a litlle over $200 from cheaper then dirt don't know if they ship up there. The dang shiping charges are getting crazy. These guys have free shipping.

http://www.a1ammo.com/

[crashdive123]

As with most things, prices are on the rise. You have to figure out where your priorities are, and then spend accordingly. (you can never have too many bullets)

[trax]

Anyone here does reloading? I think hopeak said one time that he did, but I've forgotten. I just met a guy that does, I've never gotten into but I'm thinking of learning it.

TERROR ALERT LEVEL RED>>>CANUCKISTANIAN STOCKPILING AMMUNITION>>>>all Manitoba deer, moose and elk be on full alert (sirens, klaxons, bells, whistles, flashing lights, strippers, bartender...whoops forget those last two)

anyone wanna guess how many times I read this before I realized that PM meant precious metals? GAWD but I am thick sometimes!

[Rick]

Free shipping? How about shipping charges called something else......like built into the price.

I saw on the news last night that diesel was over $4.00 a gallon (big news to some of you I know) and shippers were adding a 22% surcharge for shipping.

[trax]

But of course, if things get really crappy, the guy with the gun can hold up the guy with the gold bar, what's the guy with the gold bar gonna do? "Drop the gun or I'll throw this gold bar at you? "

"Yeah, OK, actually that's why I was pointing the gun in the first place..."

so...buy ammo...:D

[beerrunner13]

yeah Trax I am getting back into reloading , been useing my buddies equipment till I can get my own and it sure is a lot cheaper not to mention for some reason it is hard to find .45 LC here lately'

Rick yes the cost is a little higher there and the selection is nowhere near Midways but it still came out cheaper for me to odrer from that place last time I got some .45 ammo.

You may need some ammo to protect all that gold, and it will alweays be a great trade dood should the SHTF.

[crashdive123]

.....and if the PM's really tank, and you run out of ammunition, melt away.

[Alpine_Sapper]

Does anyone have any real life experience with hand loads jamming or failing? When doing some comparisons in caliber for a friend at work, I found this on wikipedia,

From the "Case failure Report" heading http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.40_S%26W
"Most, but not all, of the failures have occurred with reloaded or remanufactured ammunition. Cartridges loaded at or above the SAAMI pressure, or slightly oversized cases which fire slightly out of battery are often considered to be the cause of these failures. ..........snip................. This in turn leaves more of the case head unsupported. While this is not necessarily unsafe, it does reduce the margin of safety; when exacerbated by out of battery firing (leaving even more case head exposed) and potentially weakened brass (due to reloading) these factors appear to lead to the higher incidents of chamber failure.
"
I've considered doing reloading myself, but have been having second thoughts due to the above. Honestly, those of you that reload or fire reloads, how reliable are they across the board?

[beerrunner13]

If you follow specs,check your brass and use quality componets, reliabily and accuracy in my experince is better then cheap factory ammo. I have been haveing trouble with Win factory stuff myself and with the price increases am just getting back into it so I am not an expert. That's just my limited experince.

[crashdive123]

I don't know any stats on failure rates, but everybody that I knew that shot competions did their own reloads. They claimed that they were more reliable because they felt that there were too many variences in factory ammo.

[awfoxden]

[QUOTE=trax;37317]Anyone here does reloading? I think hopeak said one time that he did, but I've forgotten. I just met a guy that does, I've never gotten into but I'm thinking of learning it.

yes. i reload all of my own ammo accept rim fire and 7.62 x 38 and my 40 and 45acp hand guns.

much more accurate - i controll how close each round is to being exactly the same - cost is much cheaper for premium ammo that i dare say you can't buy from a ammunition manufacturer - you can work up a specific load that shoots the best in a specific gun - a very enjoyable hobbie - plus i find its alot easier to go out and shoot several rounds when your not looking at $20-$30 for a box of 20 rounds. i can hand load 1 at a time 50 rounds in about an hour. a progresive reloader is very expensive but cuts time down dramatically but i would say my individual hand loads are still held to a tighter tolerance level.

i've never had any malfunction of any ammunition ive reloaded. if you reload and clean resize and examine each case properly and follow established recomendations and measure your chamber properly you can custom seat your bullets to a specific chamber which will improve accuracy. also you need to follow reloading manuals since they have been tested for chamber pressure and would not recommend going above max recomended loads for a specific powder.

no mixing powders or estimating how much your putting in a cartridge - bad bad bad - very dangerous.

highly recomend everyone to check out reloading. great hobby and very well suited for homesteaders and outdoor enthusiasts alike. several reloading kits available from $65 - up to get started. I would expect to have an initial investment of about $200 up front to produce a live round (if you go with an inexpensive set, good dies, good powder, bullets, case, and primers.

andy

[Alpine_Sapper]

yes. i reload all of my own ammo accept rim fire and 7.62 x 38 and my 40 and 45acp hand guns.

andy

Why not those rounds?

[awfoxden]

the rimfire requires special reloading equipment that is costly. as for the rim fires, 223, and 7.63x39 it realy isn't cost effective to reload them. plus in my sks im not going to get great accuracy regardles how good the bullets are. i have reloaded the 223 for a rifle i used to have, however this was done purely for accuracy since it probably cost more to reload them the the $12.00 for 50 rounds you could by the for bulk. i'm not sure what the price is on them now its been about a year and a halfe since i looked a prices on the 223. the 40 and 45 are similar reasons. i can buy ball ammo for cheaper than i can reload it and i don't want to spend the time. a progressive press that will kick out 200+ rounds an hour are what most guys who shoot in say ipsc compititions are using since the amount of ammo the go through in both practice and compitition they can get a cost savings by buying in bulk.

i do reload hand gun loads that i hunt with i.e. 357mag and 44mag. the other nice thing about reloads is that you can load a low powere 38 special or 44 special that is fun to shoot, won't scare the crap out of the wife and kids and don't threaten to pop an eardrum if you happen to touch the triger without hearign protection. but for hunting i usually load them up for optimal performance and best accuracy i can achieve.

[catfish10101]

I like to keep at least 1000 rounds for my .22lr pistol but every few years, you need to shoot them and replace them. I tried to keep some for 5 years but when I went to shoot them, there were about 25 % duds!! It wasn't like that when I bought them either. That was Remington .22lr copper coated hollowpoints. I don't know if others stay good longer but I will replace mine every 3 years or anytime I think TSMHIF.
I SAY BUY AMMO BECAUSE IF TSHTF, YOU CAN'T EAT GOLD OR SILVER BUT YOU CAN SHOOT STUFF TO EAT AND YOU WILL BE ABLE TO PROTECT WHAT YOU DO HAVE FROM THOSE WHO WILL DIE TRYING TO STEAL IT, AND I PROMISE YOU I WILL NOT BE BUYING ANYTHING I CAN'T EAT OR USE TO SURVIVE.:cool:

[canid]

nice giant red text there catfish.

as for ammo, i've fired 20-25yo .22lr that was garage stored that barely had 25% FTF. remington must be slacking. i think most of my .22wmr is at least ten years old and it all fires.

[catfish10101]

nice giant red text there catfish.

Just making sure everyone gets the point. :D

[awfoxden]

ive had good luck with the american eagle holow pionts and federal 550 bulk packs (sell for around $10). i keep them in a sealed ammo can with what ever that stuff is called that absorbs moisture. i've not kept track of how old it is but i'm sure some of its got to be going on 5 years. ammo rotation is a good idea though just like food rotation.

[Excalibur]

My dad vacume sealed some old 10 guage paper round ten years ago and not one has misfired (2 broke when my boy dropped the shells). I have learned that if you put some dessicant in with the box of shells then vaccume seal them they can last for years in any environment I think I have some hydroshocks for my .45 that are pushing 5 years out in the shed...hmmm mabey I need to do some plinkin

[tsitenha]

If you are going to reload get the best components you can, top of the line bullets may seem more expensive but will result in a much higher level of performance than ball ammo sold a the discount rack.
Ball should be kept for practice and of course the inevitable zombie attacks.
If you plan on living off the land or partialy at least better start now aquiring the needed skills, stalking, field dressing, range estimation (within 5yds), shot placement, butchering, meat preservation, cooking, etc...
10,000 rds in you garage will not make you a success, why do you think FVR, Beowulf and some others will successfully make due with more primitive firearms? They are living the life as well as they can..now

[tsitenha]

Oh yes, reloading does make better performing ammo than factory and just as reliable..depending on the care and experience of the loader.