Ammo Purchasing Problems and Solutions

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VoorTrekker

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I have purchased online and had it sent to my home, but some states prohibit home deliveries and may eventually outlaw or prohibitively over tax ammo.

One solution is to have it shipped to postal commercial services, package sent and received stores, etc. They must inform you if they do not receive ammo and parts. One can also ask if they will receive it for you.

Another is to go to a Mom and Pop gunstore or sporting goods store or any rural related proprietary retail shop and ask them to receive the shipment for a reasonably small fee. The $10-15 they get for receiving is more than you would buy their overpriced ammo.

Some big box sporting goods such as Academy, Cabela's, Scheils, Sportsman's Warehouse, Gander Outdoors will sell case lot and you can also order a case from them of what they do not have in stock. Paying cash is fine and if they ask for a phone number giver them any phone number. They must confirm age for handgun ammo, so show your real I.D.

Then there is having it sent to an old retired person and compensate them for their hospitality.
 
...Another is to go to a Mom and Pop gunstore or sporting goods store or any rural related proprietary retail shop and ask them to receive the shipment for a reasonably small fee. The $10-15 they get for receiving is more than you would buy their overpriced ammo....

High prices at a Mom & Pop store is for the convenience, their inability to compete with the high volume big box stores and for folks that stopped in for a "look and see" of firearm(s) before making that online purchase.
 
If anyone insists they need a number I give them Jenny's number. 8675309.
I went to a place to get bulk grains, Golden Organics. They asked for my name. I had a conversation with the clerk. She told me they get all kinds of names of people who buy from them, George Washington, Bill Clinton, Ben Franklin, and those people always pay with cash. I guess I am not that paranoid. I used to be more concerned, but I am not so much now.
 
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The Mom and Pop store is for getting a bulk delivery anonymously. You have to ask them to receive it or to order it at a price you are willing to pay.
 
I have purchased online and had it sent to my home, but some states prohibit home deliveries....

I can't remember the last time I bought ammo (not including 22 LR). We have standardized our calibers to 40 S&W and 5.56 and buy the components to reload our own (when we find good pricing). We have a few other calibers but don't use enough to invest in reloading dies. Perhaps it was the bulk 7.62 (a few years back) that was our last store bought ammo purchase.
 
Yep! I buy 22 rimfire 5000 rounds at a time. I use so much in practice and competition each month that I watch for the best deals on the ammo I use.
For the rest of my ammo I load it myself so I buy components in bulk.
 
Reloading supplies and techniques is a solution to ammo supplying, but that is a different thread and solution to the overall situation.
Now you reloaders need to start a thread giving the basics of how to and why to: not just stuff, but the how to not screw up the entire batch!
 
...the how to not screw up the entire batch!

1. Leave the radio, TV and other distractions off.
2. Adjust the dies and adjust again and then take your time to adjust.
3. Pull the lever 10 times and dump the powder back into the powder hopper.
4. Weight powder charges to confirm with powder manufacturer's recommendations and for consistency.
5. Press in a bullet and crimp. Micrometer the cartridge length to confirm over all length (OAL) with a reloading manual and your firearm likes.
6. Fill brass hopper and primer tube. Puller leaver, set bullet, pull lever, set bullet...do this a hundred times then refill the brass hopper and primer tube and continue.
7. In an hour you have 500 reloads.
8. Take a break to eat supper. That's when you start wondering if you had actually check the label on the powder bottle or just pulled it from the shelf from habit. Using pistol powder in rifle reloads can cause a unexpected rapid disassembly.
 
There are many ways to load your own ammo. Back in 1970 I started loading for my 3006 using a cheap Lee kit with my arbor press (rather than using a mallet). The kit came with everything I needed except for powder, primers and bullets. I wasn't sure I was going to reload much so the $12 kit was fine. When I bought my 357 in 1972 I bought a kit for it then one for the 20gauge shotgun then for the 12 and 410. I have Lee kits for a lot of different calibers and they are packed away in a box with other gear I no longer use.
I liked the reloading part so I got a few manuals, an RCBS Rock Chucker press and dies, trimmer, scales, powder measures and over the years I made or bought a host of other tooling to make my reloads more accurate and uniform.
So I went from using a nail to remove spent primers and small scoops to measure powder to all the stuff I use now. My ammo shoots a lot better than it did back then and I no longer have primers that don't go off. The thing is I enjoy reloading as much as I do shooting. The cheap Lee loader in a box worked but had limits to what you could do. I also went from throwing loads together to shoot at targets from ten feet out to 100 yards to working at getting that load that would make one small hole at 100 yards back to reloading for hunting. A group from any of my rifles of five shots in under an inch was good enough. Along the way I learned how to load but I also learned how to shoot accurately. I still work at my shooting but it is enjoyable and the process I have developed to make my ammo is more fun than work. The end result is accurate ammo that is under half what it costs for factory ammo that doesn't shoot as well in my guns. I get targets with little holes that other shooters comment about and it is not at all uncommon.
 
There are many things that you can learn from books. Loading ammo is not, in my opinion, one of them. You can certainly learn much by reading but I suggest that you learn from someone else. I've seen classes taught at gun stores, gun ranges, and by gunsmiths. If you have a friend that you trust that reloads ask to learn from him, then expand this learning with the internet and books. Like any hobby, you will make changes as your experience improves.
 
Reloading is like big rig driving. One has to do it and get unrelated results to learn and understand the nature and parameters of the activity.
Reloading is more forgiving than truck driving and one has only to take their time to do the batch.
 
Yes you can teach the basics to someone on your equipment but there is so much "feel" to the process if they buy a different companies setup it just aint gonna be the same. Always start the RL teaching experience with the straight walled pistol calibers. Even then as we see online people still blow up magnum revolvers. Anytime you introduce high pressure ,bottle necked, tapered or belted cases there are a whole new set of gremlins that will sneak in and help you rapidly disassemble your firearm.
 
... Loading ammo is not, in my opinion, one of them. ...

I'm a technical orientated type person. Read, asked questions on Al Bore's Internet before purchasing a Dillon Square Deal B and a Lyman reloading manual. Ran the press as a single stage press until I had a full understanding of each stage. I tried to wear out a triple beam scale weighting the powder charges. That was more then 15 years ago. I still have 8 fingers, 2 thumbs, both eyes, haven't blown any firearms up with my reloads and my face isn't any uglier either.
 
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My reloading method for straight-wall cartridges:
Note: I use fine grain double base powders. They meter much better through a volume measure than stick or flake powders. If you use stick or flake powders you may have to weigh each powder charge every time. Get the best scale you can (+/- 0.01 grain) to eliminate variations in powder charges.
*For new cases the first time and range brass the first time. It is not necessary to do this after the first time.

1. carefully examine the brass for defects wiping it down as you do
2. tumble/clean brass
3. carefully examine the brass for defects wiping it down as you do
4. lubricate the body and inside of neck – (you can skip the lube when using carbide dies)
5. full length size the case and remove primer
6. ream the primer pockets to uniform size and depth*
7. remove burrs on the inside of flash holes*
8. trim the case to the desired length (I use the maximum case length that fits the chamber but most use the "trim to" size)
9. chamfer the neck inside and out to remove any burrs
10. carefully inspect the brass, clean out the flash hole if necessary, weigh the cases and select those that are +/- 2 grains from the median weight. (set the others aside for plinking or general shooting when accuracy is not important)*
11. expand the case mouth just enough that a bullet will start into the case.
12. prime the brass without touching the primers (I use the RCBS hand primer for this)
13. set all the cases in the reloading block neck up
14. Set the scale to the weight of powder for the load you will use
15. adjust your measure to throw exactly that amount
16. readjust your scale to ten times the weight of powder for the load you will use
17. throw ten charges into the pan from your measure and weigh it (your scale can vary 0.1 grain for each charge weighed - throwing 10 charges removes most of that variance)
18. adjust the powder measure so it throws ten charges to the exact weight of 10 times your desired weight (This adjustment gets you closer to the actual weight per throw)
19. throw a single charge and weigh it - if it is right then continue - if not then check it with ten charges again and adjust the measure accordingly(if your charge is within 0.1 of the desired weight your thrown charge is likely more accurate than the scale)
20. throw your charges into the cases in the block
21. when all the cartridges have powder in them inspect the level between the cases to make sure that they are all at the same level. Any high or low ones have to be emptied and recharged.
22. seat the bullets in the cases by seating them half way down and then turning them 180 degrees and finish the seating process.
23. crimp the case as needed - taper crimp to remove the bell only for semi-autos and heavier roll crimps for magnums
24. pack the cartridges into the box and label them with the date, load information and caliber
Keep records of ALL the loads you try. The ones that don't work need to be recorded so you don't keep trying that load again.
I keep record of my load workups, The reloads that work best go into a three ring binder, into my reloading database and are backed up on two computers.
I have two record forms, a sample target and a ballistic / trajectory print out that is corrected with actual shooting at each range. I keep the chronograph data in electronic and hard copy.
Having reloaded for several decades I have my favorite loads in one binder with sample target and trajectory sheet and then complete records for each caliber in a caliber specific binder.
Do not over expand the case mouth - it will cause cracks in the neck. All you need is enough bell that the bullet barely rests inside the mouth - not down inside it.
on crimping the case - most semi-autos use the mouth of the case to headspace. too much crimp will not only cause mis-fires but it can cause dangerous over-pressure due to the step in the chamber at that point. Magnum and cartridges that are used in tubular magazines may need a heavy crimp to keep the bullets firmly in the case during recoil and under the spring pressure of the magazine.
Always follow the load information in the book. If you change ANY component reduce your load and work up. The only exception to this is if you use a longer overall cartridge length - DO NOT REDUCE CHARGES when you allow more room for the powder. That is a recipe for disaster, especially in bottle-neck cartridges.

Speer, Sierra, Hodgdon, Lyman and Hornady have safe, reliable, data - you won't find it on so-and-so's web page.
 
Thank you, SheepDog, your post will save money and keep people safe who are inexperienced and unknowledge-able. The incompetent cannot be saved.
I agree about the reloading data tables from the big powder companies, however, where do we find tables for loads not in the manuals.

For example: 30'06 cases, 175gr hollow point boat tail/ballistic tip boat tail when they are not in the published manuals?
 
VoorTrekker,
I go to the bullet manufacturer first because they know the bullet construction. If they can't help then I call the Sierra bulletsmith hot line, 1 800 223 8799, and they can always offer at least a maximum load and a starting load, even if it is not their bullet.
If the bullet has the same construction as another of heavier weight then I can use that data as a starting point and work up slowly watching for any signs of excessive pressure. This is entering a very dangerous area because the only signs of excessive pressure can be considerably higher than 50000 psi. In a well constructed bolt action modern rifle it will absorb up to 70,000psi but in a lesser arm or one that has been abused it may be a grenade and injure you or a bystander. Safety always has to come first.
I have tied guns to a tree before to fire a round that I was not sure of and it turned out to be a good load but I would tie the gun to a tree to test an untested load again before placing myself or anyone else in danger. I did survive a listed minimum load going through a secondary detonation when I tried seating the bullet close to the lands - slow powder and too much case volume caused the powder to start burning and lodge the bullet into the bore while the powder slowly burned until it all went off at once. That 3006 case looked like a 45-120 case when I finally got the bolt open - it scared me and the range foreman half to death. The gun was an 03A3 Springfield and it survived too. I left the range and went directly to my gunsmith who looked at the case and explained what happened and then checked the gun over giving it a bill of excellent health. My gunsmith kept the case for his collection. When you deviate from the published loads you are on your own in treacherous territory.
 
Thank you again SheepDog. I never deviate from the published data sheets on reloading, I stick to the tables. So we don't really want slow burning powder with a lot of case volume (empty space). The Hot Line is going to help a lot of people.

POST # 20 is a list everyone should copy/paste to a file and or print and keep in a binder.

Strongly suggested.
 

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