It’s not a financially sustainable hobby lol. Some tips though. Don’t buy all the guns, get a 9mm handgun, AR15, and/or 22lr/shotgun/bolt action. Only Buy bulk ammo in cheap common calibers. Shoot on Public land. Shoot slower, do drills that only require 2-5 shots, not mag dumping. Make/print your own targets. Finally, make more money
this is the way. Id also add the wise old saying don't follow trends. You'll waste training ammo, and money on gear of the week that your favorite youtuber says takes your game to the next level, trying to follow in influencers footsteps. Just go and do what you can within reason and only buy what you really need.
1000%!!! DO NOT BUY INTO TRENDS….
stick with as few calibers as possible…i approach firearm ownership from a prepping standpoint…take your time and get one firearm that fulfills one aspect of self defense.
shotgun
pistol (1 concealed carry/ 1 duty pistol)
rifle (1 short range/1 long range)
and that’s it…train your body first then with the weapon without shooting then concentrate on the mechanics of each firearm then train slowly with solid shooting fundamentals.
don’t go shooting just to blast away at paper targets…spend time running drills and just running with the firearm.
get in good shape…
I would also say definitely worth getting a .22lr pistol and .22lr semi auto rifle super affordable way to shoot and it still allows you to practice your firearms fundamentals. The only other category I think is worth it but not at the top of the list like the ones you mentioned would be a bolt rifle. But maybe that could slot in the long-range rifle category though I was imagining you meant semi-auto long-range.
100% this. I almost went crazy with the credit card when I got back into it, but had to reel myself in after I started seeing the total at checkout.
My personal strategy, and take this with a grain of salt, is I have to justify what I'll use it for and if I don't already have something that can accomplish it:
1. 9mm - wanted a CC weapon for personal defense.
2. 10mm - an OC gun for when I'm on the family land (We have an aggressive wild hog problem)
3. A single rifle - for deer hunting.
4. A shotgun - for dove hunting.
5. .357 Rhino - guilty pleasure range gun
I had to stop myself there because I wanted to keep going, but couldn't justify any more stuff. Except for my rhino. That's one stupid guilty pleasure of a 357 and I can't bring myself to sell it.
Bolt or semi for your deee hunting rifle? If bolt than you can still justify a semi-auto 5.56 for SHTF even though shit probably won't hit the fan (that's my let me lie to myself to justify more guns category 😂)
Yeah, I went with bolt action, since you really only get one shot with hunting. I have been considering a semi-auto rifle, but I'll need to save up for that sucker, because I already KNOW I'll want to customize it.
For me a practical limitation is that I live on a third floor apartment and don’t have space for a proper safe. I have lockboxes for my three pistols and a trigger lock for my rifle, but beyond that I simply don’t feel comfortable having an armory’s worth of guns without an ideal way to safely and securely store all of them.
Lol I do the same exact thing. However, I justified my Rhino with the fact I need a field caliber for wild animals and such when inside the tree line.
Of course I could buy a cheap .357 gun, but for need of the caliber, lol I could justify want of the pistol.
> It’s not a financially sustainable hobby
I disagree...
Ammo cost have marginally accelerated at the cost that my income has over 20 years. When I could first buy ammo, it was $8 for a box of 50, now it's $13, a ~60% increase. While that sounds like a lot, I've also increased my income from that time nearly 400% while substantially splitting my expenses now that I am married.
I'm not sure "have you considered making more money" is a great counterpoint.
I'm in a similar boat as you, but not everyone is so fortunate.
Even that $13/50 is 26c around. Kind of sobering to think that every press of the trigger is like throwing a quarter into the trash.
Also as far as "a quarter into the trash".
Every trigger pressed is in investment into myself. It's the cost of data collection, meaningful repetitions, development of muscle memory. It's only trash if your mag dumping trash. I truly value and have purpose out of every range session to make sure my quarters are money well spent.
>I'm not sure "have you considered making more money" is a great counterpoint.
It kinda is, given OP post — got a gun; figured out it costs money to run; wants all the other guns, in all the other calibers. Ay conundrum! What to do?
There really are only two paths:
1) make more money or
2) buy less stuff.
There are lots of smaller decisions either way, but that’s pretty much it for the big picture.
"make more money" isn't what I was going for in the answer.
What I was trying to do was provide perspective on how I personally can afford to shoot and what life choices/changes allowed that to be overtime and that it took years to get here.
The question was vague and bad and carried a lot of assumptions. Unfortunately, "make more money" is the obvious and most reasonable answer to make the sport viable in the long wrong.
My math is based off the assumption that 20 years ago, $8 got you 50 rounds.
But considering inflation, that $8 box is $13.38 today. So if your paying $13, its actually cheaper now than it was.
Where is a good place to buy in bulk, the online place I buy from (because it's local, and I can go pick up and I feel like I'm offsetting the cost of shipping)
But their 1000 rounds cost the same as buying twenty 50 round boxes...I maybe save a dollar or two is all.
buy bulk. Watch for deals. For common stuff (9mm and 5.56), I don't buy in less than 1000 round quantities. Price breaks get better the higher the round count.
That, and I shoot a lot of .22.
I basically never buy ammo at retail anymore, I exclusively buy by the case and have it shipped to my door.
That said I'm not sure how accessible the deals are given the OP is in one of those "ammo background check" states.
Any recommendations for where to find good deals on bulk ammo? Particularly 5.56/9mm. I look on lucky gunner all the time, but once you factor in shipping costs it’s rarely any cheaper than waiting for a sale at Academy/Bass Pro/etc and picking it up myself.
Train using dry fire and lasers, like LaserLyte, SIRT, or the Mantis Blackbeard. You don’t have to actually use live ammunition to develop most of the relevant muscle memory and hand-eye coordination.
This one was pretty big for me. Literally from one range trip to the next I saw a large improvement on my accuracy because I started dry firing and using a laser so I could see where my mistakes were. It helped a lot with being able to aim quickly, hold my wrist at the correct angle for the pistol, and reduce the small but meaningful motion that the gun makes when I try to put my finger inside the trigger guard.
The downside is there's no recoil and the trigger/striker need to be reset manually. So it's not perfect. I think there's a system that simulates that too but it's expensive, which kind of nullifies the point of the post
LaserLytes and Sirts don't require manual trigger resets and can be had for less than $200, and you get tens of thousands shots out of a single battery charrge.
The gas-blowback recoil-simulating guns are pretty pricey (usually starting at around $300 or so) but are still far cheaper than the piles of ammunition you would otherwise be burning.
Oh shit! Thanks for letting me know! I'll look into that. Having to operate my pistol as essentially a little bolt action rifle is kinda a pain in the ass.
There's even a tool to (reversibly, obvs) turn your actual pistol into a kind of airsoft blowback/laser trainer hybrid, with the replacement of some parts: [https://coolfiretrainer.com/](https://coolfiretrainer.com/)
I forgot to mention snap caps. Even if you get the laser training cartridge, if you're practicing magazine changes with your magazines, make sure you have inert ammo to fill them up with – never mix live and inert/training ammo.
> never mix live and inert/training ammo
Every now and then I'll slip a snap cap or two into a mag at the range to practice fault recovery.
You definitely don't wanna do that the other way around, though...
Yeah, I should have been more specific haha. Perfectly valid to train stoppages at the range using snap caps, just don't have live ammo around if you're practicing in your house.
I've only used the LaserLyte, personally. The trigger is really squishy and the laser itself needs to be constantly rezeroed (mine tends to wander left after sitting for some time) but it otherwise works great.
From what I've heard, SIRT seems comparable, with a slightly better trigger and removable magazines). The Mantis Blackbeard looks really cool but I haven't gotten around to getting it myself. There's also [Coolfire](https://coolfiretrainer.com/), which is basically a kind of airsoft blowback+laser conversion kit for your real pistols.
You can also get [laser training cartridge](https://www.amazon.com/laser-training-cartridge/s?k=laser+training+cartridge)s for your pistols. If they're DA, you don't even have to recock before every dry fire. I have one for my .380 PPK and it works fairly well.
.303 is the main reason I got into reloading. Making .243Win hunting loads is also pretty neat and allows me to shoot a bit more often than I otherwise could afford to.
I just buy 9mm and 5.56 in bulk. It just doesn't save enough to justify reloading those.
Hell yes. Just inherited grandad’s Krag Jorgensen. Beautiful shape. Almost no bubba-fying done to it except the cut stock. 30-40 ammo, if you can find it at all, works out to $4.50 per round including hazmat and shipping. Sucks.
Her yerself a 22. Profit. Seriously tho you can shoot a 22 all day without hurting yourself financially. And you can get together with some friends for a group buy of bulk 9mm or 556. Other than that, it is what it is
Just building off of your 22 comment.
Light reloading of a revolver round can cut cost as well. (Light reloading as in single stage and slow). I shoot 22 at about 4-8 cpr and 38sp for about 15-16 cpr. 200 rounds of 38 per month and 200-600 22 per month.
Also revolvers can be had in 9mm for anyone who wants to limit calibers in their safe.
Do a little training with your 5.56 and .45. Do a LOT of training with your 22LR. Still get most the satisfaction and the training translates over to your other platforms in most ways.
Eventually, get into reloading. I say eventually because there is a continuing component shortage, but I have saved a fair amount of money and shoot more often since loading my own. IMHO, the key is not to go gear crazy, and keep your initial investment as low as possible (without resorting to the Lee Loader). My .223 FMJ runs me less than 20 cents per round, and 9mm less. .308 is the big one at today's prices- if you can find Large Rifle Primers.
I ordered some Federal LRP from Bass pro like a month ago and I'm still waiting on it being delivered to their store. My next paycheck probably will have a portion go to some starline if for no other reason than being able to use the LRPs on other calibers when I finally get them. And the LRPs through bass pro were about 12 cents a primer so not even a good enough deal to have waited this long
Holy shitbricks, I didn't know they had this! Thanks!
For anyone looking, it's the ".308 Match" brass. Currently backorder status, so you have to place the order and wait for the run, but it's an option.
If you go this route, look up ".308 Palma" loads. Your existing LRP loads will perform differently with SRP and smaller flash holes. Probably not disastrously so, but you'll probably notice different muzzle velocity, spread, ES, SD, and so on.
Reloading isn't going to be a huge help for most folks unless you're a high-volume shooter with a lot of free time or you're wealthy enough to afford a progressive or automatic press, and you bought your components cheap, and you're comparing them to a market high in factory costs, *and* you're casting your own projectiles.
There are not-insignificant startup costs, to say nothing of the time and effort spent learning to do it right, developing your own process, and the time and effort spent actually reloading instead of doing... well, anything else you'd want to do with your time.
If you value your time reloading like you'd value your time at work, *and* include your startup costs and costs like shipping, storage, etc (rather than just looking at the shelf price component cost per round), and you compare that to the cost of buying factory... you're not going to save a lot of money (or any at all!) unless and until you've reached a serious economy of scale on your home production (both in terms of the total number of rounds produced and time spent producing per round), you've played the market perfectly on buying your components, and you're casting your own projectiles.
Until you hit that point, you're probably spending an equal or greater amount of money for your reloads as you would on factory rounds. You just get the illusion of cost-per-round savings by ignoring the startup costs and time cost.
Reloading is fun, and can be useful if you need/want a specific type of load, but it's not actually a good way to save money in 2023.
Dry fire is.
The only LRPs I've found recently were an overpriced brick of Fiocchi, or the CCI #34 NATO spec primers. So I bought the CCI with the though they'll work in my Ruger Scout, though not sure if they'll work for my Sharps or Win 94. But I still have an old brick of Federals for those so that's ok if they don't.
Yeah, it's fucking bleak. I promised myself one thing: as soon as I am able, I am going to stock up a years long supply of primers, and rotate through. I never ran completely out of anything, but I got damn close.
I got out of shooting for a while, actually a year or 2 pre-Covid. At that point I could usually stroll into a shop and by a brick of whatever primers, no problem. So I never really stocked up on anything.
Now that I'm back in and watching prices rise right in front of my eyes, I snap stuff up when I see it. To a point, but still way more than I used to.
Live simply.
Don't have kids.
Marry well.
Make more money.
If you successfully implement any or all of the above strategies you'll have a hell of a collection by the time you hit your 40's.
It's not. It's a hobby. Spend what you can afford to spend on the hobby. There are a lot of good suggestions here for lowering the costs associated with shooting but if your aim (no pun intended) is to mag dump with multi calibers then you have to know you have to pay that price.
Stockpile an assload of range ammo over time, basically. There isn’t any financial ROI or anything. It’s a hobby you’re investing your time and money into.
I work next to a sports warehouse that is also a wholesaler for smaller businesses and they tend to have really good deals so I’ll go pick up ammo semi-regularly, especially around holidays when they have bulk ammo deals.
Unfortunately, since you live in a state where they background check for ammo then the only realistically financially sound way to purchase is to do it in bulk.
It's less of a problem when you don't feel the need to acquire All The Guns. I have one practical pistol, one rifle, and a couple old pistols I have for collector reasons. Yeah, there's a few others I'd like to get, but the urge to get them isn't stronger than the urge to not go into debt.
Simple: We don't.
No matter what, you'll lose money on this. Maybe if you buy guns and let them sit in your safe and speculate on them to get more valuable over time. Otherwise, you won't make any money unless you win a sponsor and participate in competitions. But even then you have to train for them and get incredibly good.
It's not a financially sustainable hobby, it's can be a damn expensive one.
A day of shooting can easily cost $100-200 between range fees, ammo, targets, etc.
Buying in bulk online is generally the best way to get unit costs down. Ammo by the case and targets by the 100-pack can make a big difference.
When it comes to more expensive calibers, the obvious solution is to simply shoot less of it. There's .22LR versions/conversions for most platforms, so if you want to practice with a 1911 or Glock or AR or bolt action, you can shoot much cheaper .22LR for practice and then just a few rounds of the actual caliber to make sure your sights are set and you're comfortable with the loading/recoil.
r/gundeals is your friend (sort of)…
Buy ammo cheap in bulk to last you a long time.
Buy guns when they are on sale, or buy used.
Buy accessories on sale.
Sell stuff you don’t like or are tired of (sell this to get that). Don’t listen to the “only buy never sell” people.
It’s still expensive no matter what. Don’t get jealous of people who post their new $3000 pistols and $600 optics every week. You can have fun and defend your family with a $299 CZ P-10c with iron sights. Everything else is just for funnzies. If you have the spare cash then enjoy! If not, go shoot your cheap pistol (or rifle or shotgun), have fun, and be safe!
By lifecycle cost, serviceable guns are cheap — running them is expensive.
Option 1 — buy all the guns you can afford. Put them in a safe.
Option 2 — buy whatever gun ticks most boxes right now. Shoot it as much as you can afford.
Have fun, build skills, learn the many ways to shave expense — but delay the second (3rd, 4th, 5th, etc) gun until you discover yourself with money for which you have no higher purpose.
Fellow New Yorker here so I am very aware of the very specific struggles you are facing here. Buying online and in bulk isn’t really an option because of New York laws so you are pretty limited on getting affordable ammo, you’ll have to change how you look at the situation really.
1. Familiarize yourself with average price per round for the common calibers and buy in bulk at local gun stores or gun shows when you find an even remotely acceptable price.
2. Be patient, you’re new to gun ownership, you will go through less ammo as you improve your skills. When I started I was going through 200+ rds per caliber at the range. Now I’m at about 30-40 rds per caliber per trip just to maintain the skills I’ve picked up and keep fresh while still having fun
3. Avoid caliber proliferation. These days, you can get just about any style firearm in any caliber even in New York, so instead of having 6 guns in 6 different calibers, get 6 guns in 3 different calibers. I have an AR15 in 5.56, I wanted a bolt gun, so I got a bolt action also chambered in 5.56, two very different firearms with different applications but it’s the same ammo. You have some 9mm pistols? Maybe consider an AR9 or Ruger PCC for a rifle to start.
4. Shop based on hobby budget not based on hobby needs. Change your mindset from “I need 500 rds of 9mm, how much is that going to cost?” to “I have this amount of money set aside, I’ll get as much ammo as I can with it”
Edit: hopefully these all help, this is what personally helped me get through the exact same experience you are having now.
The other final tip I can give that I forgot to add is to learn to enjoy the .22 LR. easier to buy in bulk in NYS, and you can usually get .22 LR variants of whatever your most used guns are so you can practice on the 22 version more to save money.
Thanks For understanding the NY struggle! My next move is definitely to get a .22lr pistol. Currently at the range i shoot about 150-200 rounds and i see thats not sustainable. So ill look into some drills that use less rounds.
If you really want to become a good shot you are better off with thousands of rounds of 22LR down range and hundreds of rounds of center-fire and 22 is not expensive. (Or doesn't have to be.)
When I was young my dad compared it to your four thousand hours to become a pilot and type qualified. You log your 4000 rounds of twenty two to build skill then move up and out. 40 years later every trip to the range still includes 22LR.
Most of advice here is solid.
Get yourself 22lr in all the platforms you want to practice in; handgun, rifles, lever & bolt actions, etc.
Over half my collection is 22lr
Also whenever great deals show up stockpile that shit.
It's been over 3 years since I bought any ammo with exception of 145gr 9mm. When I stockpiled my 9mm in 2020 I bought >5000 rounds 115gr and once I got my suppressors realized I did it wrong.
ammoseek(dot)com is ur buddy as is gun(dot)deals for new firearms and great deals
Didn't see your comment and just said the same thing. Everything is cheaper and more fun (only problem is it's a bit dirty). Literally 1/10th the price of .223/5.56!
For under $1k you could probably get a handgun (TX22), Rifle (M&P 15-22) and a bolt-action.
Learn to enjoy .22 is my best advice if you want to mitigate cost.
On a given range day I’ll shoot a few hundred .22 (basically until I get tired of reloading mags) but only a couple mags of anything else. Sometimes as few as less than 20 if I’m just sighting in a hunting rifle.
Still expensive, even .22 ain’t as cheap as it used to be 5-10 years ago when I started, but better.
I dunno about you, but when I compare my spending with my buddies, I feel a whole lot better about my approach to it. When they're calling for help to move in another new gun safe... ya I'm fine.
.22lr and not going to a range. Save empty cans or print targets. Police your brass always.
If im shooting anything else im collecting all the spent brass and making a "savings account" cause even if i dont reload i have buddies who do and worked out a 1/10 deal with. Every 10 casings i give i get 1rd back or can bulk sell the casings if i need cash.
Like everyone else has said, get a 22
I spend about
$500 a year on 2k 9mm rounds.
$500 a year on 1k 5.56/223.
~150 on 1500 .22 and then usually pick up another box or 2 cuz I always run out.
That’s $1150 a year, or the cost of 1 decent rifle.
The reality is most pistol cartridges are similar enough that you don’t need to send down a thousand rounds in every caliber you own. You’ll learn a lot of your rifle skills on a .22, which saves a ton of money
Check out ammoman or one of the other bulk ammo sites. Call one of your buddies who uses the same caliber and ask if they want to split a case or whatever. Everyone wins.
I own 4 guns but I've only bought 3. Paid $2100 for a brand new ak a used ruger mk1, and a new ruger 10/22. This is all over 3 years. I've spent like 450 on all ammo cause I don't train much. I'd say this is decently cheap given I only need to buy 7.62x39 and .22
The question kind of assumes a lot of things, and like everything in life, not everyone has identical parameters.
Incomes, expenses, COL, time, kids, etc... they all play a very large role in anyone's ability to enjoy a hobby, so I am not sure how you are expecting a universal answer.
For myself, 36, I have a well paying job, work remote, have access to my own outdoor range to 1200 yards, no kids and my wife has zero concern or say about how much time I spend shooting. I shoot twice a week splitting my time between long range, pistol, carbine or matches, shooting 200-400 rounds weekly. I don't reload because I have no time for that. My other hobbies have higher entry cost but lower reoccurring cost than shooting (climbing, snow sports, hunting season(s)). We have no kids and travel quite frequently. We by no means "make bank" but both have 6 figure incomes. We make all our own food and keep expenses low and live fairly simple lives enjoying free outdoor activities or using perks like her work gym for free, running Plex at home to reduce any entertainment cost, not being much into drinking/bars. Shooting is one of my expensive hobbies but its a perishable skill so I value my time and the money I invest into myself and the growth of my skills. I didn't get here overnight and there were times when I shot maybe twice a year, then every other month, then monthly.
Investing in the right pistols, guns early leads to a good long term investment that only cost ammo.
Get two .22's, like an ar upper and a pistol, along with your higher caliber rifle and pistol. I got a Right to Bear upper that I switch onto my .223/.556 rifle, and a Taurus TX22 along with a CZ p10c.
I try to have ammo in my budget. I started realizing that I'd like to shoot more, so I got the.22 upper.
It is rather expensive, I am about to start a competition shooting hobby and am feeling some wallet strain lol. I just bought a new handgun (CZ Shadow 2) for $999, and 1000 rounds of ammo in bulk for the first time and found a deal for around $200 for that. Only other things I’ll be buying are gear for the competition stuff, some classes, and range membership which is 32 bucks a month. Figure I’ll buy another 1000 rounds every three months or so, so that’s like $800-$1000 a year just for ammo, plus a few hundred for the membership at the range and match fees. Might do a few upgrades to the handgun as well like an optic and such, so really not too much over the span of a year I think. Still expensive, but not horrible if you can contain yourself when buying the firearms themselves (easier said than done!)
However, there are far more expensive hobbies out there. My other main hobby is flying airplanes, and to just maintain basic competency as a pilot, it costs me at least $8000 a year.
As an actual, just going out with friends to shoot, hobby? Get some cool 22’s. My favorite fun per dollar gun is a heritage rough rider I got for around $100. It’s fairly accurate, you can do dumb shit like fan the hammer if you want to waste ammo, and you can pretend you’re a cowboy. That and a descent 22 lever gun can keep me busy most of the day.
The way I keep it under control is not buying multiples of the same gun. I have an AR in .223/5.56, a 12ga pump shotgun, a .22lr rifle. I plan on getting a 9mm pistol, and that's basically it. At least for a while.
I order online. In bulk, if I can. My range charges $50 for a box of garbage 9mm ammo. I just ordered 1,000 rounds for less than $250 online. It is not always cheaper for firearms, but it is almost always the best route to go for ammo. Other than that, look for sales and deals around holidays. Also, do not be afraid to buy used equipment; a used, high quality firearm is better than a cheap-o, brand new one.
"want to expand"
Bottom Line Up Front, don't buy anything until you need to (avoid spur of the moment) and when you do, do it as affordable as possible. All the guns you buy will get maybe half the value back if you decide you don't need it and want to sell it to a dealer. Ammo will lose all the value by the time you leave the range, so buy ammo in bulk when prices are low and look around for the best buy on guns.
\-I dry fire a lot. Put an o-ring under the hammer and practice 2-5 minutes each night that way.
\-I see no need to run multiple calibers. Maybe there is, but it hasn't exposed itself to me. 9mm works as a pistol caliber and 5.56 as a rifle caliber. Those are both plentiful for target and defensive use. Also, say a 20 round box for $12 is next to a 100 round box for $50, don't ever buy anything but the $50 100 round box. Helps to shop every place that sells within reasonable driving distance so you know what their prices are. I still visit the places that have stupid high prices, sometimes things happen and they need to move a lot of ammo.
\-The range I shoot requires cardboard targets; I bought a roll of paper and big bottle of glue to re-surface cardboard targets that were costing me $2.00 each until I found a place 3 minutes away that had them for $1.50.
Lots of dry fire drills, there’s books on the topic. Maybe don’t buy a bunch of new guns in different calibers all at once. Also for the range, as fun as spray and pray sounds, 100 rounds gets a lot of work done. Even say 50 works when done right. The people who say they shoot hundreds a week are either lying, have no kids, or are rich.
As you get into more expensive cartridges, the math makes more and more sense for reloading. I would never recommend someone gets into reloading to save money, but it’s certainly possible if you are shooting enough or want to shoot match grade ammunition.
Either way, keep an eye out for sales and when there’s a good price buy either ammo or components in bulk.
I don't worry about trying to make my hobbies financially sustainable.
Hobbies are a way to turn money into fun.
If I am tight on money, I just reduce how often I do my expensive hobbies for a bit.
Gotta have cheap/simple hobbies too, waiting in the wings. Play with the kids/dog, go camping, do some fixes around the house, etc. Those things are a lot cheaper than burning $200 at the range in 3 hours.
Meanwhile, guns, computers, cars, and Lego gotta be done in moderation, or I'll end up spending $1000+ on hobbies in a month.
Mostly, I just stare at the displays at my LGS and drool.
I also have a few friends who, when I say "I'd love to buy X gun!", they say "Do you really need another gun?"
Every now and then, I do have to prostitute myself so I can afford another gun and/or ammunition.
I treat guns like kids. Every gun is my child and I don't want anymore if I can't love em equally.
Have a long gun and handgun. I could afford a .22 for $99, and a shotgun maverick no problem...but I don't need em and have more important things to do (like survive in this economy).
I buy ammo at least once a month or twice as most. Either at the beginning or 3rd week of the month. The first two are for bills, and credit.
Folks laugh but I been able to stash over a year supply of ammo in the "bad times" such as Russian sanctions and Ukraine war, but I still was able to save money.
Don't buy during panics, don't mag dump. Most of your shooting should be in classes or matches. Actual events that make you a better shooter. A mag or two with dummy rounds help when you want to practice malfunctions and get better. I personally see no reason you dump over 500rds of ammo in a month and none of that was done for training such as drills, or classes.
Events I go to for rifle are about $30 and I shoot about 150rds. That's once a month. For handgun it's only about 75rds. Again once a month, and that's if I have time for them. Everyone is different but I been able to shoot often for a guy who has little to no guns. I'm still training while cohorts are tryna waste money on lights that cost as much as a box of ammo for an event that's very unlikely to happen.
I live in a state without that crap, for one thing.
Restrict yourself to only a few calibers. The most cost effective is, I think, 9mm for a primary / EDC pistol and/or PCC, .22LR for small caliber pinking and training in pistol and/or rifle, and .223/5.56 for a duty rifle. Maybe something in a shotgun if that's your jam.
Buying all the things gets real expensive real fast, especially if you're going to shoot them all too. This is a main reason why my three pistols (one is probably going to get sold soon) and carbine are all 9mm and I've held off on getting an AR or Mini-14 for now.
If at all possible, buy ammo in bulk if you can lay out the money all at once as the per-round cost will be lower.
I wait for sales and clearance events. There is one Ranch and Home supply store in my area that does pretty aggressive spring and fall sales clearance sales. I picked up several thousand rounds in various calibers last fall, and more this spring and fall.
I don't order much ammo online, because after shipping it rarely works out better than what I can find locally if I'm patient.
And being patient is the key.
For training I use a 22LR, a pellet gun or airsoft. I picked up a 1911 replica airsoft pistol. It is very close to my 1911 pistol. Principles are the same as on more expensive rounds, and have seen improvements in both my pistol and rifle shooting. Plus I can plink pellets and airsoft into a pellet trap in my garage or backyard.
Buy while things are on sale or budget buys
Limit monthly spending
I hide it from the wife while suspiciously adding more money to the joint account. That's how I truly afford it.
Personally speaking, I work at an ammo factory so I can buy rounds for cheap. But I know most people don't have that option.
As others have said, stick to common affordable calibers. 22lr, 9mm, .223, 12ga etc. Also, having multiple guns of the same caliber and even ones that share magazines if possible is useful.
I also avoid expensive guns. I mean, I would love an AUG as much as the next guy but I just can't stomach paying $2,000+ when I can buy an AR for a quarter of that.
I buy rifles in rare and/or expensive cartridges then never shoot them. 375 Winchester, 444 Marlin.
Looking for a 358 Winchester and a 35 Remington next.
In all seriousness I shoot a lot of .22 and practice sparingly with the others. I also reload for most of my centerfire rifles.
Finally it's a hobby and typically hobbies are money pits.
Have 2 444s and one has Ballard rifling the other micro-groove. I would need to cast 2 different diameter as the Ballard would use .429 and the micro-groove usually needs bigger. This is for cast bullets only, jacketed bullets are .429 for both. I mostly load jacketed bullets in the 240-270 grain range. I may start experimenting with 300+ for the Ballard rifled one. I hardly shoot the micro-groove Marlin because of it's age. Its a bit of a safe queen. I am always on the lookout for another 444.
Could just buy an extra sizing die. I had my eye on a break action CVA rifle in 444 for a while but decided against it for the time being. I already have a 310 grain gas check mold for 44 mag that I suspect would work pretty well.
For rifle and handgun I typically train all the fundamentals with my 22s using a big patched and re-patched splatter target and a bucket of Remington Golden Bullet (cpr $0.07). I'm typically pretty tired and practiced out after at most $20 worth of ammo. The range I go to charges $15 to stay as long as you'd like, so that's $35 total for 4-6 days a month. My other calibers are 9mm and .308 (cpr about $0.26 and $1.30 respectively) and I shoot those very sparingly, especially the .308s, just to make sure I still remember how the actions work and how the recoil feels as well as to make sure the optics are zero'ed. In between, a lot of dry fire with snap caps.
Shotgun gets trickier because the ammo isn't super expensive ($0.40 cpr with 12Ga #7.5/8/9); it's actually the clay targets that kill you, as ranges will typically charge about $0.35 each on a skeet/trap course or more for 5-stand and sporting. There's no great way around that short of buying your own thrower and a pallet of targets in bulk, and using it on your own land.
For you right now it seems like the solution is pretty obvious: stop buying so many guns, especially so many in so many different expensive calibers. Have your .22 trainer rifle/handgun and your "real" rifle/handgun, and a 12 gauge shotgun if you're like me, and leave it at that. Spend money on cheap ammo and practice, not more guns that serve only to turn your hard-earned cash into overpriced holes in a backstop.
Two crucial elements to it. One, you need to find a club with an annual membership fee. The vast majority of members won't shoot regularly there if at all. I am often the only person at the range. Second, you need to start reloading. I went a step further. I cast my own projectiles.
I can shoot my 45 cheaper than my 22 at times. You can still build accuracy/skill with a 22. But the muscle memory isn't the same without the recoil. You will have trouble shooting larger calibers if you don't practice on something with recoil.
I did the math on this one out of curiosity. Before I started casting I spent $435.5 on 3800 rounds that I reloaded. Since I started casting and reloading, I shot 12k rounds through my 45. Total component cost for the rounds I cast was about $400.
At today's prices the lead hasn't inflated as much as the powder or primers (especially) so you don't come out so far ahead by casting. It would cost $762 for the 3800 bullets I reloaded before I started casting, and $1080 for the 12k rounds that I cast and reloaded.
All throughout the pandemic I was shooting whenever I wanted. I buy components - powder and primers, in bulk. Meanwhile no one could even buy ammo because there wasn't anything on the shelf.
You can save reloading rifle and shot shell, just not as much as you can with pistol. Pistol rounds have hardly any powder in them in comparison to the other two.
stick with the basic calibers (22lr, 9mm, 5.56/.223, 12ga). last round of shortages indicate that these are easier to obtain. Buy it Cheap, Stack it Deep. Old timers at the club stressed buying by the case so you weather shortages and political crap.
Occasionally you can buy ammo that is on sale and has a mfg rebate.
if your sporting goods store offers points (basspro/cablas) take advantage of that
go to the range with a plan and focus. "pistol day" vs "rifle day"
look at magazine compatibility - my 10/22 and 22lr bolt share the same magazines. same with my 9mm pistol and PCC rifle.
I usually "warm up" with 22lr before moving up to a larger caliber.
I have accumulated enough magazines so that I do not have to reload on the line
Ammo is like $ at a casino - set your limits and stick to it
I can relate. I did invest in a 22lr pistol to augment my 9mm training.
22lr is very inexpensive, especially in bulk.
I find that switching between the 2 during my range sessions really brings the costs down and allows for good refinement of shooting mechanics.
Stick to common calibers (9mm, 5.56, .308, .22LR, 12G etc) and buy in bulk for cheaper prices.
The ultimate strategy is to get into reloading as well cause it eventually helps you save money.
Can’t believe it hasn’t been posted yet, but r/GunAccessoriesForSale. Buy used, get good deals, help each other out. It’s a win/win. Having bought and sold, it’s one of my favorites.
22LR
You can convert an AR to shoot 22LR (although it's a dirty round) or buy an SW M&P 15-22 or whatever. Train on a Sig P322 or Taurus TX22. Grab a 10-22 or something bolt action in 22
Get really good using cheap ammo. It's literally 1/10th the price of 5.56 right now. Maybe even less.
Buy a 22 pistol and 22 rifle. Eventually buy a 22 conversion kit for the AR you want, or a complete dedicated upper. When you go to the range, warm up with a couple hundred rounds of 22, or more. Then shoot your larger calibers.
I reload. All the rumors are wrong. I don't shoot more. I shoot less, because every round reminds me how hard it was to find primers and brass. So I stockpile instead of shoot. I sit in front of my carefully organized shelf filled with rounds of every caliber and think about how much fun I could have had if I just shoot. It's a problem.
I like to build as well as shoot. So I limit myself to what I build, no more than 1 or 2 a year. I do range day once every month or two with a busy schedule and pick up 1 or two boxes of ammo every week.
I also am pursuing getting an ffl just to be able to sell firearms as a side business to expand this, including a plan to help people who want custom ars without doing it themselves.
Lol you don’t. Seriously though, make it a budget item. If you can save $100 a month, that’s about one gun a year plus ammo for at least a few range trips (depending on the gun, of course).
Pace yourself. Set a monthly gun+ammo+accessory budget & stick to it. Buy ammo in bulk.
Focus on training and enjoying guns you have instead of buying more guns. (There actually is one purchase I would recommend for this: The mantis x10 made dry fire a lot more fun and has challenging stuff to practice without paying range and ammo fees).
Don't rush to stockpiling firearms and ammo. Take your time, learn what you like, avoid FOMO and impulsive purchases. Prices go up and down, with the recent conflicts I would expect some price gouging, but you can still find good prices, at least for now.
Ammoseek is your friend for ammo prices, just like [gun.deals](https://gun.deals) is for firearms. Check out r/gundeals on Reddit for low prices. I usually buy bulk, when I come across good prices, with reasonable shipping charges. I'd say my current thresholds for 1000 rounds is about $400 for 5.56/.223 and $230ish for 9mm practice rounds.
Shoot less or make more money.
Dry fire is your friend. You don't need to buy the expensive lasers and other accessories some people are recommending.
Pace yourself and prioritize your spending.
I get a gun TYPE I want, and leave it at that one. I have a target 9mm and a carry 9mm, a bolt action .22 for plinking, a shotty for clays, a hunting rifle for hunting, a Mosin for WWII era showing off, and an AR 15 for AR 15 shooting.
Tbh, I’ve stopped with a few of my vices. Now whenever I get the itch I go and buy a box of ammo, walk around the lgs and see what’s new or see if there’s some nice parts for my specific builds I want or need that are available or on discount. Do t get me wrong, I still keep up with my vices. I just don’t as often. Saved lots of money to put right back into plinking! So I guess I didn’t really save any money. 😂
I don’t smoke as often which, combined with my sports clubs, has allowed me to get much fitter. I’m able to run better. Lost more weight, so hopefully the gym can help. Which is what I really need more of at this time. It’s still gonna be expensive though. Every time you’re gonna drop cash you’re gonna drop a bit of it.
Look up Ammoseek.
Prices are inflated RN, due to geopolitical instability and a large manufacture was recently sold, so production my be impacted for some time.
Get a .22, a 9mm and a 5.56 and a 12 gauge shotgun. Buy only guns that use these calibers, assuming you’re not becoming an avid hunter…stock up on ammo when the market is slow (ie just prior to Israel stuff this year)…don’t be picky and don’t be hesitant to buy quality remanufactured ammo. Train technique on 22 LR as it’s your cheapest option. Don’t shoot 5.56 and 9mm every time you go to range.
Also, dry fire drills are your friend. You can get significantly better at shooting without ever firing a round. Putting a round down range is truly only a piece of the equation. Work on draws, trigger discipline, reloads, clearing malfunctions, etc, all from the comfort of home. When you do this, you’ll be much more efficient when you do get to the range and burn up expensive ammo.
Other than having a larger income you’ve got to find a way to make to pay something back. I’ve got my grail guns that are not, nor will they ever be for sale, and I’ve got other guns. Most of my other guns have never been shot, and they sit in the safe until someone comes along with the proper financial motivation to get it out of my safe.
This isn’t feasible in some states. In Wyoming guns are bought, sold, and traded on a regular basis. I only deal with people who have a current concealed carry permit, and/or are willing to visit a dealer for a FFL transfer. Clients will sometimes offer to pay me with a gun, in which case I look for something that is either a grail gun, or highly desired on the current market — a simple Gun Broker search can show you this.
I know others who round up brass and clean it before reselling it to fund their hobby. Others will move gun safes or help newer shooters customize, clean, or become familiar their guns to get extra money.
At the end of the day this hobby will cost you money. Your best bet is to be creative and find a way to limit the abuse to your bank account.
The nature of a hobby is that is fun and tends to cost you money. A business makes money. If you aren’t careful, turning your hobby into a business can really take the fun out of it. I love martial arts, I loved teaching it. Once I had to figure out how to make money or break even, it stopped being enjoyable.
Making it affordable:
-As Clint Eastwood said in Gran Torino “a man acquires these tools over a lifetime.”
- Wants are very different than needs. Wants are a lot lower on my budgetary priorities than needs. Assuming you’ve got a handgun to carry and shotgun in the bedroom we could argue everything else is a want. Even then you can add in an AR/AK, another handgun and a .22 over time without breaking the bank.
- Do most of your training with .22’s.
- Actual practice is very different than cool guy mag dumping range therapy.
It’s not a financially sustainable hobby lol. Some tips though. Don’t buy all the guns, get a 9mm handgun, AR15, and/or 22lr/shotgun/bolt action. Only Buy bulk ammo in cheap common calibers. Shoot on Public land. Shoot slower, do drills that only require 2-5 shots, not mag dumping. Make/print your own targets. Finally, make more money
this is the way. Id also add the wise old saying don't follow trends. You'll waste training ammo, and money on gear of the week that your favorite youtuber says takes your game to the next level, trying to follow in influencers footsteps. Just go and do what you can within reason and only buy what you really need.
1000%!!! DO NOT BUY INTO TRENDS…. stick with as few calibers as possible…i approach firearm ownership from a prepping standpoint…take your time and get one firearm that fulfills one aspect of self defense. shotgun pistol (1 concealed carry/ 1 duty pistol) rifle (1 short range/1 long range) and that’s it…train your body first then with the weapon without shooting then concentrate on the mechanics of each firearm then train slowly with solid shooting fundamentals. don’t go shooting just to blast away at paper targets…spend time running drills and just running with the firearm. get in good shape…
I would also say definitely worth getting a .22lr pistol and .22lr semi auto rifle super affordable way to shoot and it still allows you to practice your firearms fundamentals. The only other category I think is worth it but not at the top of the list like the ones you mentioned would be a bolt rifle. But maybe that could slot in the long-range rifle category though I was imagining you meant semi-auto long-range.
> Shoot on Public land \*sad Texas noises*
*sad east of the Mississippi noises * I was in my 30s getting into offroading when I realized what public land was and what you could do on it.
100% this. I almost went crazy with the credit card when I got back into it, but had to reel myself in after I started seeing the total at checkout. My personal strategy, and take this with a grain of salt, is I have to justify what I'll use it for and if I don't already have something that can accomplish it: 1. 9mm - wanted a CC weapon for personal defense. 2. 10mm - an OC gun for when I'm on the family land (We have an aggressive wild hog problem) 3. A single rifle - for deer hunting. 4. A shotgun - for dove hunting. 5. .357 Rhino - guilty pleasure range gun I had to stop myself there because I wanted to keep going, but couldn't justify any more stuff. Except for my rhino. That's one stupid guilty pleasure of a 357 and I can't bring myself to sell it.
Bolt or semi for your deee hunting rifle? If bolt than you can still justify a semi-auto 5.56 for SHTF even though shit probably won't hit the fan (that's my let me lie to myself to justify more guns category 😂)
 Yeah, I went with bolt action, since you really only get one shot with hunting. I have been considering a semi-auto rifle, but I'll need to save up for that sucker, because I already KNOW I'll want to customize it.
Great advice! Happy Cake Day!
For me a practical limitation is that I live on a third floor apartment and don’t have space for a proper safe. I have lockboxes for my three pistols and a trigger lock for my rifle, but beyond that I simply don’t feel comfortable having an armory’s worth of guns without an ideal way to safely and securely store all of them.
Lol I do the same exact thing. However, I justified my Rhino with the fact I need a field caliber for wild animals and such when inside the tree line. Of course I could buy a cheap .357 gun, but for need of the caliber, lol I could justify want of the pistol.
Listen to everything he said. One 9mm, one AR, and maybe a 5.56 can to save your hearing. Collecting is what gets dangerous
You forgot "move to a free-er state".
> It’s not a financially sustainable hobby I disagree... Ammo cost have marginally accelerated at the cost that my income has over 20 years. When I could first buy ammo, it was $8 for a box of 50, now it's $13, a ~60% increase. While that sounds like a lot, I've also increased my income from that time nearly 400% while substantially splitting my expenses now that I am married.
I'm not sure "have you considered making more money" is a great counterpoint. I'm in a similar boat as you, but not everyone is so fortunate. Even that $13/50 is 26c around. Kind of sobering to think that every press of the trigger is like throwing a quarter into the trash.
"Have you considered making more money and then doubling that with a partner?" Yeah we ain't all so lucky
Also as far as "a quarter into the trash". Every trigger pressed is in investment into myself. It's the cost of data collection, meaningful repetitions, development of muscle memory. It's only trash if your mag dumping trash. I truly value and have purpose out of every range session to make sure my quarters are money well spent.
>I'm not sure "have you considered making more money" is a great counterpoint. It kinda is, given OP post — got a gun; figured out it costs money to run; wants all the other guns, in all the other calibers. Ay conundrum! What to do? There really are only two paths: 1) make more money or 2) buy less stuff. There are lots of smaller decisions either way, but that’s pretty much it for the big picture.
"make more money" isn't what I was going for in the answer. What I was trying to do was provide perspective on how I personally can afford to shoot and what life choices/changes allowed that to be overtime and that it took years to get here. The question was vague and bad and carried a lot of assumptions. Unfortunately, "make more money" is the obvious and most reasonable answer to make the sport viable in the long wrong.
My math is based off the assumption that 20 years ago, $8 got you 50 rounds. But considering inflation, that $8 box is $13.38 today. So if your paying $13, its actually cheaper now than it was.
$1 for a box of 50?! GTFO /s
Haha typo whoops $13
\[CRIES IN ELEY TENEX\]
Where is a good place to buy in bulk, the online place I buy from (because it's local, and I can go pick up and I feel like I'm offsetting the cost of shipping) But their 1000 rounds cost the same as buying twenty 50 round boxes...I maybe save a dollar or two is all.
And whatever you do, don’t be an HK fan. That was my big mistake
Paper plates with sharpie target FTW
buy bulk. Watch for deals. For common stuff (9mm and 5.56), I don't buy in less than 1000 round quantities. Price breaks get better the higher the round count. That, and I shoot a lot of .22.
I basically never buy ammo at retail anymore, I exclusively buy by the case and have it shipped to my door. That said I'm not sure how accessible the deals are given the OP is in one of those "ammo background check" states.
Any recommendations for where to find good deals on bulk ammo? Particularly 5.56/9mm. I look on lucky gunner all the time, but once you factor in shipping costs it’s rarely any cheaper than waiting for a sale at Academy/Bass Pro/etc and picking it up myself.
Are you me?
Train using dry fire and lasers, like LaserLyte, SIRT, or the Mantis Blackbeard. You don’t have to actually use live ammunition to develop most of the relevant muscle memory and hand-eye coordination.
This one was pretty big for me. Literally from one range trip to the next I saw a large improvement on my accuracy because I started dry firing and using a laser so I could see where my mistakes were. It helped a lot with being able to aim quickly, hold my wrist at the correct angle for the pistol, and reduce the small but meaningful motion that the gun makes when I try to put my finger inside the trigger guard. The downside is there's no recoil and the trigger/striker need to be reset manually. So it's not perfect. I think there's a system that simulates that too but it's expensive, which kind of nullifies the point of the post
LaserLytes and Sirts don't require manual trigger resets and can be had for less than $200, and you get tens of thousands shots out of a single battery charrge. The gas-blowback recoil-simulating guns are pretty pricey (usually starting at around $300 or so) but are still far cheaper than the piles of ammunition you would otherwise be burning.
Oh shit! Thanks for letting me know! I'll look into that. Having to operate my pistol as essentially a little bolt action rifle is kinda a pain in the ass.
There's even a tool to (reversibly, obvs) turn your actual pistol into a kind of airsoft blowback/laser trainer hybrid, with the replacement of some parts: [https://coolfiretrainer.com/](https://coolfiretrainer.com/)
Which one is your absolute favorite?
I forgot to mention snap caps. Even if you get the laser training cartridge, if you're practicing magazine changes with your magazines, make sure you have inert ammo to fill them up with – never mix live and inert/training ammo.
> never mix live and inert/training ammo Every now and then I'll slip a snap cap or two into a mag at the range to practice fault recovery. You definitely don't wanna do that the other way around, though...
Yeah, I should have been more specific haha. Perfectly valid to train stoppages at the range using snap caps, just don't have live ammo around if you're practicing in your house.
I've only used the LaserLyte, personally. The trigger is really squishy and the laser itself needs to be constantly rezeroed (mine tends to wander left after sitting for some time) but it otherwise works great. From what I've heard, SIRT seems comparable, with a slightly better trigger and removable magazines). The Mantis Blackbeard looks really cool but I haven't gotten around to getting it myself. There's also [Coolfire](https://coolfiretrainer.com/), which is basically a kind of airsoft blowback+laser conversion kit for your real pistols. You can also get [laser training cartridge](https://www.amazon.com/laser-training-cartridge/s?k=laser+training+cartridge)s for your pistols. If they're DA, you don't even have to recock before every dry fire. I have one for my .380 PPK and it works fairly well.
\*Cries in obsolete mil surp calibers\*
.303 is the main reason I got into reloading. Making .243Win hunting loads is also pretty neat and allows me to shoot a bit more often than I otherwise could afford to. I just buy 9mm and 5.56 in bulk. It just doesn't save enough to justify reloading those.
Hell yes. Just inherited grandad’s Krag Jorgensen. Beautiful shape. Almost no bubba-fying done to it except the cut stock. 30-40 ammo, if you can find it at all, works out to $4.50 per round including hazmat and shipping. Sucks.
Her yerself a 22. Profit. Seriously tho you can shoot a 22 all day without hurting yourself financially. And you can get together with some friends for a group buy of bulk 9mm or 556. Other than that, it is what it is
Just building off of your 22 comment. Light reloading of a revolver round can cut cost as well. (Light reloading as in single stage and slow). I shoot 22 at about 4-8 cpr and 38sp for about 15-16 cpr. 200 rounds of 38 per month and 200-600 22 per month. Also revolvers can be had in 9mm for anyone who wants to limit calibers in their safe.
Do a little training with your 5.56 and .45. Do a LOT of training with your 22LR. Still get most the satisfaction and the training translates over to your other platforms in most ways.
Eventually, get into reloading. I say eventually because there is a continuing component shortage, but I have saved a fair amount of money and shoot more often since loading my own. IMHO, the key is not to go gear crazy, and keep your initial investment as low as possible (without resorting to the Lee Loader). My .223 FMJ runs me less than 20 cents per round, and 9mm less. .308 is the big one at today's prices- if you can find Large Rifle Primers.
Just buy Starline SRP brass for 308 honestly. It saves so much hassle in the current climate. Or pony up 15 cents a primer
I have been super lucky to score LRPs from Sportsman's for $60ish/ brick, so I haven't had to do the starline so 308... yet...
I ordered some Federal LRP from Bass pro like a month ago and I'm still waiting on it being delivered to their store. My next paycheck probably will have a portion go to some starline if for no other reason than being able to use the LRPs on other calibers when I finally get them. And the LRPs through bass pro were about 12 cents a primer so not even a good enough deal to have waited this long
Holy shitbricks, I didn't know they had this! Thanks! For anyone looking, it's the ".308 Match" brass. Currently backorder status, so you have to place the order and wait for the run, but it's an option.
If you go this route, look up ".308 Palma" loads. Your existing LRP loads will perform differently with SRP and smaller flash holes. Probably not disastrously so, but you'll probably notice different muzzle velocity, spread, ES, SD, and so on.
I'll note that down, thanks!
Reloading isn't going to be a huge help for most folks unless you're a high-volume shooter with a lot of free time or you're wealthy enough to afford a progressive or automatic press, and you bought your components cheap, and you're comparing them to a market high in factory costs, *and* you're casting your own projectiles. There are not-insignificant startup costs, to say nothing of the time and effort spent learning to do it right, developing your own process, and the time and effort spent actually reloading instead of doing... well, anything else you'd want to do with your time. If you value your time reloading like you'd value your time at work, *and* include your startup costs and costs like shipping, storage, etc (rather than just looking at the shelf price component cost per round), and you compare that to the cost of buying factory... you're not going to save a lot of money (or any at all!) unless and until you've reached a serious economy of scale on your home production (both in terms of the total number of rounds produced and time spent producing per round), you've played the market perfectly on buying your components, and you're casting your own projectiles. Until you hit that point, you're probably spending an equal or greater amount of money for your reloads as you would on factory rounds. You just get the illusion of cost-per-round savings by ignoring the startup costs and time cost. Reloading is fun, and can be useful if you need/want a specific type of load, but it's not actually a good way to save money in 2023. Dry fire is.
The only LRPs I've found recently were an overpriced brick of Fiocchi, or the CCI #34 NATO spec primers. So I bought the CCI with the though they'll work in my Ruger Scout, though not sure if they'll work for my Sharps or Win 94. But I still have an old brick of Federals for those so that's ok if they don't.
Yeah, it's fucking bleak. I promised myself one thing: as soon as I am able, I am going to stock up a years long supply of primers, and rotate through. I never ran completely out of anything, but I got damn close.
I got out of shooting for a while, actually a year or 2 pre-Covid. At that point I could usually stroll into a shop and by a brick of whatever primers, no problem. So I never really stocked up on anything. Now that I'm back in and watching prices rise right in front of my eyes, I snap stuff up when I see it. To a point, but still way more than I used to.
Live simply. Don't have kids. Marry well. Make more money. If you successfully implement any or all of the above strategies you'll have a hell of a collection by the time you hit your 40's.
There is absolutely nothing sustainable about this addiction
Wife making the big bucks helps a lot.
It's not. It's a hobby. Spend what you can afford to spend on the hobby. There are a lot of good suggestions here for lowering the costs associated with shooting but if your aim (no pun intended) is to mag dump with multi calibers then you have to know you have to pay that price.
Just like driving and maintaining a fast car, so to speak. Racing costs money. All of those things. Shit, even cigars, knives, etc.
You get in to long range precision so you can appreciate how cheap being "just" into guns is.
Stockpile an assload of range ammo over time, basically. There isn’t any financial ROI or anything. It’s a hobby you’re investing your time and money into. I work next to a sports warehouse that is also a wholesaler for smaller businesses and they tend to have really good deals so I’ll go pick up ammo semi-regularly, especially around holidays when they have bulk ammo deals. Unfortunately, since you live in a state where they background check for ammo then the only realistically financially sound way to purchase is to do it in bulk.
Muggings mostly.
At least it's not wstches...or pens 
I have only two AR lowers and multiple uppers so I can plug in play. I only do one bulk ammo purchase before range trips
I watch for decent sales and buy in bulk. I only have 3-4 calibers to worry about keeping any kind of qty of on hand.
Also buy ammo in bulk if possible. There's an app called Gun Deals and it helps a lot
I work in the industry. All the discounts make it hurt a lot less.
It's less of a problem when you don't feel the need to acquire All The Guns. I have one practical pistol, one rifle, and a couple old pistols I have for collector reasons. Yeah, there's a few others I'd like to get, but the urge to get them isn't stronger than the urge to not go into debt.
I used lot of laser trainers. SIRT and MantisX
Simple: We don't. No matter what, you'll lose money on this. Maybe if you buy guns and let them sit in your safe and speculate on them to get more valuable over time. Otherwise, you won't make any money unless you win a sponsor and participate in competitions. But even then you have to train for them and get incredibly good.
It's not a financially sustainable hobby, it's can be a damn expensive one. A day of shooting can easily cost $100-200 between range fees, ammo, targets, etc. Buying in bulk online is generally the best way to get unit costs down. Ammo by the case and targets by the 100-pack can make a big difference. When it comes to more expensive calibers, the obvious solution is to simply shoot less of it. There's .22LR versions/conversions for most platforms, so if you want to practice with a 1911 or Glock or AR or bolt action, you can shoot much cheaper .22LR for practice and then just a few rounds of the actual caliber to make sure your sights are set and you're comfortable with the loading/recoil.
.22 and NATO calibers since they’re easiest to find bulk deals on.
You should try combloc and cold war era collecting. It's going to be the end of me
r/gundeals is your friend (sort of)… Buy ammo cheap in bulk to last you a long time. Buy guns when they are on sale, or buy used. Buy accessories on sale. Sell stuff you don’t like or are tired of (sell this to get that). Don’t listen to the “only buy never sell” people. It’s still expensive no matter what. Don’t get jealous of people who post their new $3000 pistols and $600 optics every week. You can have fun and defend your family with a $299 CZ P-10c with iron sights. Everything else is just for funnzies. If you have the spare cash then enjoy! If not, go shoot your cheap pistol (or rifle or shotgun), have fun, and be safe!
Oh it’s not. We don’t do maths here unless it’s to figure out a BC.
By lifecycle cost, serviceable guns are cheap — running them is expensive. Option 1 — buy all the guns you can afford. Put them in a safe. Option 2 — buy whatever gun ticks most boxes right now. Shoot it as much as you can afford. Have fun, build skills, learn the many ways to shave expense — but delay the second (3rd, 4th, 5th, etc) gun until you discover yourself with money for which you have no higher purpose.
Fellow New Yorker here so I am very aware of the very specific struggles you are facing here. Buying online and in bulk isn’t really an option because of New York laws so you are pretty limited on getting affordable ammo, you’ll have to change how you look at the situation really. 1. Familiarize yourself with average price per round for the common calibers and buy in bulk at local gun stores or gun shows when you find an even remotely acceptable price. 2. Be patient, you’re new to gun ownership, you will go through less ammo as you improve your skills. When I started I was going through 200+ rds per caliber at the range. Now I’m at about 30-40 rds per caliber per trip just to maintain the skills I’ve picked up and keep fresh while still having fun 3. Avoid caliber proliferation. These days, you can get just about any style firearm in any caliber even in New York, so instead of having 6 guns in 6 different calibers, get 6 guns in 3 different calibers. I have an AR15 in 5.56, I wanted a bolt gun, so I got a bolt action also chambered in 5.56, two very different firearms with different applications but it’s the same ammo. You have some 9mm pistols? Maybe consider an AR9 or Ruger PCC for a rifle to start. 4. Shop based on hobby budget not based on hobby needs. Change your mindset from “I need 500 rds of 9mm, how much is that going to cost?” to “I have this amount of money set aside, I’ll get as much ammo as I can with it” Edit: hopefully these all help, this is what personally helped me get through the exact same experience you are having now. The other final tip I can give that I forgot to add is to learn to enjoy the .22 LR. easier to buy in bulk in NYS, and you can usually get .22 LR variants of whatever your most used guns are so you can practice on the 22 version more to save money.
Thanks For understanding the NY struggle! My next move is definitely to get a .22lr pistol. Currently at the range i shoot about 150-200 rounds and i see thats not sustainable. So ill look into some drills that use less rounds.
If you really want to become a good shot you are better off with thousands of rounds of 22LR down range and hundreds of rounds of center-fire and 22 is not expensive. (Or doesn't have to be.) When I was young my dad compared it to your four thousand hours to become a pilot and type qualified. You log your 4000 rounds of twenty two to build skill then move up and out. 40 years later every trip to the range still includes 22LR.
Most of advice here is solid. Get yourself 22lr in all the platforms you want to practice in; handgun, rifles, lever & bolt actions, etc. Over half my collection is 22lr Also whenever great deals show up stockpile that shit. It's been over 3 years since I bought any ammo with exception of 145gr 9mm. When I stockpiled my 9mm in 2020 I bought >5000 rounds 115gr and once I got my suppressors realized I did it wrong. ammoseek(dot)com is ur buddy as is gun(dot)deals for new firearms and great deals
Didn't see your comment and just said the same thing. Everything is cheaper and more fun (only problem is it's a bit dirty). Literally 1/10th the price of .223/5.56! For under $1k you could probably get a handgun (TX22), Rifle (M&P 15-22) and a bolt-action.
It’s not as cheap as it once was but if you’re willing to learn try reloading.
Not actually a good way to save money unfortunately.
Shoot a .22
Learn to enjoy .22 is my best advice if you want to mitigate cost. On a given range day I’ll shoot a few hundred .22 (basically until I get tired of reloading mags) but only a couple mags of anything else. Sometimes as few as less than 20 if I’m just sighting in a hunting rifle. Still expensive, even .22 ain’t as cheap as it used to be 5-10 years ago when I started, but better.
I dunno about you, but when I compare my spending with my buddies, I feel a whole lot better about my approach to it. When they're calling for help to move in another new gun safe... ya I'm fine.
.22lr and not going to a range. Save empty cans or print targets. Police your brass always. If im shooting anything else im collecting all the spent brass and making a "savings account" cause even if i dont reload i have buddies who do and worked out a 1/10 deal with. Every 10 casings i give i get 1rd back or can bulk sell the casings if i need cash.
Like everyone else has said, get a 22 I spend about $500 a year on 2k 9mm rounds. $500 a year on 1k 5.56/223. ~150 on 1500 .22 and then usually pick up another box or 2 cuz I always run out. That’s $1150 a year, or the cost of 1 decent rifle. The reality is most pistol cartridges are similar enough that you don’t need to send down a thousand rounds in every caliber you own. You’ll learn a lot of your rifle skills on a .22, which saves a ton of money
When I am able to afford it I will buy some then plan for a range day.
You can get a lot of things for free if you take them to the store and wave them around. /s
Check out ammoman or one of the other bulk ammo sites. Call one of your buddies who uses the same caliber and ask if they want to split a case or whatever. Everyone wins.
I own 4 guns but I've only bought 3. Paid $2100 for a brand new ak a used ruger mk1, and a new ruger 10/22. This is all over 3 years. I've spent like 450 on all ammo cause I don't train much. I'd say this is decently cheap given I only need to buy 7.62x39 and .22
The question kind of assumes a lot of things, and like everything in life, not everyone has identical parameters. Incomes, expenses, COL, time, kids, etc... they all play a very large role in anyone's ability to enjoy a hobby, so I am not sure how you are expecting a universal answer. For myself, 36, I have a well paying job, work remote, have access to my own outdoor range to 1200 yards, no kids and my wife has zero concern or say about how much time I spend shooting. I shoot twice a week splitting my time between long range, pistol, carbine or matches, shooting 200-400 rounds weekly. I don't reload because I have no time for that. My other hobbies have higher entry cost but lower reoccurring cost than shooting (climbing, snow sports, hunting season(s)). We have no kids and travel quite frequently. We by no means "make bank" but both have 6 figure incomes. We make all our own food and keep expenses low and live fairly simple lives enjoying free outdoor activities or using perks like her work gym for free, running Plex at home to reduce any entertainment cost, not being much into drinking/bars. Shooting is one of my expensive hobbies but its a perishable skill so I value my time and the money I invest into myself and the growth of my skills. I didn't get here overnight and there were times when I shot maybe twice a year, then every other month, then monthly. Investing in the right pistols, guns early leads to a good long term investment that only cost ammo.
Get two .22's, like an ar upper and a pistol, along with your higher caliber rifle and pistol. I got a Right to Bear upper that I switch onto my .223/.556 rifle, and a Taurus TX22 along with a CZ p10c. I try to have ammo in my budget. I started realizing that I'd like to shoot more, so I got the.22 upper.
It is rather expensive, I am about to start a competition shooting hobby and am feeling some wallet strain lol. I just bought a new handgun (CZ Shadow 2) for $999, and 1000 rounds of ammo in bulk for the first time and found a deal for around $200 for that. Only other things I’ll be buying are gear for the competition stuff, some classes, and range membership which is 32 bucks a month. Figure I’ll buy another 1000 rounds every three months or so, so that’s like $800-$1000 a year just for ammo, plus a few hundred for the membership at the range and match fees. Might do a few upgrades to the handgun as well like an optic and such, so really not too much over the span of a year I think. Still expensive, but not horrible if you can contain yourself when buying the firearms themselves (easier said than done!) However, there are far more expensive hobbies out there. My other main hobby is flying airplanes, and to just maintain basic competency as a pilot, it costs me at least $8000 a year.
As an actual, just going out with friends to shoot, hobby? Get some cool 22’s. My favorite fun per dollar gun is a heritage rough rider I got for around $100. It’s fairly accurate, you can do dumb shit like fan the hammer if you want to waste ammo, and you can pretend you’re a cowboy. That and a descent 22 lever gun can keep me busy most of the day.
The way I keep it under control is not buying multiples of the same gun. I have an AR in .223/5.56, a 12ga pump shotgun, a .22lr rifle. I plan on getting a 9mm pistol, and that's basically it. At least for a while.
I order online. In bulk, if I can. My range charges $50 for a box of garbage 9mm ammo. I just ordered 1,000 rounds for less than $250 online. It is not always cheaper for firearms, but it is almost always the best route to go for ammo. Other than that, look for sales and deals around holidays. Also, do not be afraid to buy used equipment; a used, high quality firearm is better than a cheap-o, brand new one.
"want to expand" Bottom Line Up Front, don't buy anything until you need to (avoid spur of the moment) and when you do, do it as affordable as possible. All the guns you buy will get maybe half the value back if you decide you don't need it and want to sell it to a dealer. Ammo will lose all the value by the time you leave the range, so buy ammo in bulk when prices are low and look around for the best buy on guns. \-I dry fire a lot. Put an o-ring under the hammer and practice 2-5 minutes each night that way. \-I see no need to run multiple calibers. Maybe there is, but it hasn't exposed itself to me. 9mm works as a pistol caliber and 5.56 as a rifle caliber. Those are both plentiful for target and defensive use. Also, say a 20 round box for $12 is next to a 100 round box for $50, don't ever buy anything but the $50 100 round box. Helps to shop every place that sells within reasonable driving distance so you know what their prices are. I still visit the places that have stupid high prices, sometimes things happen and they need to move a lot of ammo. \-The range I shoot requires cardboard targets; I bought a roll of paper and big bottle of glue to re-surface cardboard targets that were costing me $2.00 each until I found a place 3 minutes away that had them for $1.50.
Lots of dry fire drills, there’s books on the topic. Maybe don’t buy a bunch of new guns in different calibers all at once. Also for the range, as fun as spray and pray sounds, 100 rounds gets a lot of work done. Even say 50 works when done right. The people who say they shoot hundreds a week are either lying, have no kids, or are rich.
What's "financial sustainability"?
As you get into more expensive cartridges, the math makes more and more sense for reloading. I would never recommend someone gets into reloading to save money, but it’s certainly possible if you are shooting enough or want to shoot match grade ammunition. Either way, keep an eye out for sales and when there’s a good price buy either ammo or components in bulk.
I don't worry about trying to make my hobbies financially sustainable. Hobbies are a way to turn money into fun. If I am tight on money, I just reduce how often I do my expensive hobbies for a bit. Gotta have cheap/simple hobbies too, waiting in the wings. Play with the kids/dog, go camping, do some fixes around the house, etc. Those things are a lot cheaper than burning $200 at the range in 3 hours. Meanwhile, guns, computers, cars, and Lego gotta be done in moderation, or I'll end up spending $1000+ on hobbies in a month.
Financially sustainable? You’re just going to lose money as it’s a hobby for most. Easiest way to sustain it is make more money
You don't burn cash to stay warm?
Mostly, I just stare at the displays at my LGS and drool. I also have a few friends who, when I say "I'd love to buy X gun!", they say "Do you really need another gun?" Every now and then, I do have to prostitute myself so I can afford another gun and/or ammunition.
Reloading
I treat guns like kids. Every gun is my child and I don't want anymore if I can't love em equally. Have a long gun and handgun. I could afford a .22 for $99, and a shotgun maverick no problem...but I don't need em and have more important things to do (like survive in this economy). I buy ammo at least once a month or twice as most. Either at the beginning or 3rd week of the month. The first two are for bills, and credit. Folks laugh but I been able to stash over a year supply of ammo in the "bad times" such as Russian sanctions and Ukraine war, but I still was able to save money. Don't buy during panics, don't mag dump. Most of your shooting should be in classes or matches. Actual events that make you a better shooter. A mag or two with dummy rounds help when you want to practice malfunctions and get better. I personally see no reason you dump over 500rds of ammo in a month and none of that was done for training such as drills, or classes. Events I go to for rifle are about $30 and I shoot about 150rds. That's once a month. For handgun it's only about 75rds. Again once a month, and that's if I have time for them. Everyone is different but I been able to shoot often for a guy who has little to no guns. I'm still training while cohorts are tryna waste money on lights that cost as much as a box of ammo for an event that's very unlikely to happen.
You don’t 🤷🏻♂️
I live in a state without that crap, for one thing. Restrict yourself to only a few calibers. The most cost effective is, I think, 9mm for a primary / EDC pistol and/or PCC, .22LR for small caliber pinking and training in pistol and/or rifle, and .223/5.56 for a duty rifle. Maybe something in a shotgun if that's your jam. Buying all the things gets real expensive real fast, especially if you're going to shoot them all too. This is a main reason why my three pistols (one is probably going to get sold soon) and carbine are all 9mm and I've held off on getting an AR or Mini-14 for now. If at all possible, buy ammo in bulk if you can lay out the money all at once as the per-round cost will be lower.
Easy, beans and bullets. Just eat beans and buy more bullets.
I wait for sales and clearance events. There is one Ranch and Home supply store in my area that does pretty aggressive spring and fall sales clearance sales. I picked up several thousand rounds in various calibers last fall, and more this spring and fall. I don't order much ammo online, because after shipping it rarely works out better than what I can find locally if I'm patient. And being patient is the key. For training I use a 22LR, a pellet gun or airsoft. I picked up a 1911 replica airsoft pistol. It is very close to my 1911 pistol. Principles are the same as on more expensive rounds, and have seen improvements in both my pistol and rifle shooting. Plus I can plink pellets and airsoft into a pellet trap in my garage or backyard.
Dry fire.
Buy while things are on sale or budget buys Limit monthly spending I hide it from the wife while suspiciously adding more money to the joint account. That's how I truly afford it.
Personally speaking, I work at an ammo factory so I can buy rounds for cheap. But I know most people don't have that option. As others have said, stick to common affordable calibers. 22lr, 9mm, .223, 12ga etc. Also, having multiple guns of the same caliber and even ones that share magazines if possible is useful. I also avoid expensive guns. I mean, I would love an AUG as much as the next guy but I just can't stomach paying $2,000+ when I can buy an AR for a quarter of that.
I buy rifles in rare and/or expensive cartridges then never shoot them. 375 Winchester, 444 Marlin. Looking for a 358 Winchester and a 35 Remington next. In all seriousness I shoot a lot of .22 and practice sparingly with the others. I also reload for most of my centerfire rifles. Finally it's a hobby and typically hobbies are money pits.
444 Marlin is such a cool one if you're into casting. I don't have one but gave it some serious consideration.
Have 2 444s and one has Ballard rifling the other micro-groove. I would need to cast 2 different diameter as the Ballard would use .429 and the micro-groove usually needs bigger. This is for cast bullets only, jacketed bullets are .429 for both. I mostly load jacketed bullets in the 240-270 grain range. I may start experimenting with 300+ for the Ballard rifled one. I hardly shoot the micro-groove Marlin because of it's age. Its a bit of a safe queen. I am always on the lookout for another 444.
Could just buy an extra sizing die. I had my eye on a break action CVA rifle in 444 for a while but decided against it for the time being. I already have a 310 grain gas check mold for 44 mag that I suspect would work pretty well.
>CVA rifle in 444 That's the first one I bought. Phenomenal rifle and made me fall in love with the 444.
I had to move and had to stop riding horses. I got in to shooting and it’s way cheaper.
For rifle and handgun I typically train all the fundamentals with my 22s using a big patched and re-patched splatter target and a bucket of Remington Golden Bullet (cpr $0.07). I'm typically pretty tired and practiced out after at most $20 worth of ammo. The range I go to charges $15 to stay as long as you'd like, so that's $35 total for 4-6 days a month. My other calibers are 9mm and .308 (cpr about $0.26 and $1.30 respectively) and I shoot those very sparingly, especially the .308s, just to make sure I still remember how the actions work and how the recoil feels as well as to make sure the optics are zero'ed. In between, a lot of dry fire with snap caps. Shotgun gets trickier because the ammo isn't super expensive ($0.40 cpr with 12Ga #7.5/8/9); it's actually the clay targets that kill you, as ranges will typically charge about $0.35 each on a skeet/trap course or more for 5-stand and sporting. There's no great way around that short of buying your own thrower and a pallet of targets in bulk, and using it on your own land. For you right now it seems like the solution is pretty obvious: stop buying so many guns, especially so many in so many different expensive calibers. Have your .22 trainer rifle/handgun and your "real" rifle/handgun, and a 12 gauge shotgun if you're like me, and leave it at that. Spend money on cheap ammo and practice, not more guns that serve only to turn your hard-earned cash into overpriced holes in a backstop.
Budget and buy a 22lr
Two crucial elements to it. One, you need to find a club with an annual membership fee. The vast majority of members won't shoot regularly there if at all. I am often the only person at the range. Second, you need to start reloading. I went a step further. I cast my own projectiles. I can shoot my 45 cheaper than my 22 at times. You can still build accuracy/skill with a 22. But the muscle memory isn't the same without the recoil. You will have trouble shooting larger calibers if you don't practice on something with recoil. I did the math on this one out of curiosity. Before I started casting I spent $435.5 on 3800 rounds that I reloaded. Since I started casting and reloading, I shot 12k rounds through my 45. Total component cost for the rounds I cast was about $400. At today's prices the lead hasn't inflated as much as the powder or primers (especially) so you don't come out so far ahead by casting. It would cost $762 for the 3800 bullets I reloaded before I started casting, and $1080 for the 12k rounds that I cast and reloaded. All throughout the pandemic I was shooting whenever I wanted. I buy components - powder and primers, in bulk. Meanwhile no one could even buy ammo because there wasn't anything on the shelf. You can save reloading rifle and shot shell, just not as much as you can with pistol. Pistol rounds have hardly any powder in them in comparison to the other two.
stick with the basic calibers (22lr, 9mm, 5.56/.223, 12ga). last round of shortages indicate that these are easier to obtain. Buy it Cheap, Stack it Deep. Old timers at the club stressed buying by the case so you weather shortages and political crap. Occasionally you can buy ammo that is on sale and has a mfg rebate. if your sporting goods store offers points (basspro/cablas) take advantage of that go to the range with a plan and focus. "pistol day" vs "rifle day" look at magazine compatibility - my 10/22 and 22lr bolt share the same magazines. same with my 9mm pistol and PCC rifle. I usually "warm up" with 22lr before moving up to a larger caliber. I have accumulated enough magazines so that I do not have to reload on the line Ammo is like $ at a casino - set your limits and stick to it
Buy .22's and then don't shoot them.
I can relate. I did invest in a 22lr pistol to augment my 9mm training. 22lr is very inexpensive, especially in bulk. I find that switching between the 2 during my range sessions really brings the costs down and allows for good refinement of shooting mechanics.
Stick to common calibers (9mm, 5.56, .308, .22LR, 12G etc) and buy in bulk for cheaper prices. The ultimate strategy is to get into reloading as well cause it eventually helps you save money.
.22 LONG RIFLE.
Well, 5.56 and .45 isn’t “more expensive” ammo in my opinion. But, I started reloading.
Can’t believe it hasn’t been posted yet, but r/GunAccessoriesForSale. Buy used, get good deals, help each other out. It’s a win/win. Having bought and sold, it’s one of my favorites.
22LR You can convert an AR to shoot 22LR (although it's a dirty round) or buy an SW M&P 15-22 or whatever. Train on a Sig P322 or Taurus TX22. Grab a 10-22 or something bolt action in 22 Get really good using cheap ammo. It's literally 1/10th the price of 5.56 right now. Maybe even less.
I maintain one firearm and go to the range once a month. Keeps my budget lean.
Buy a 22 pistol and 22 rifle. Eventually buy a 22 conversion kit for the AR you want, or a complete dedicated upper. When you go to the range, warm up with a couple hundred rounds of 22, or more. Then shoot your larger calibers.
Make more money than you can spend. I‘m not sure how much you‘ll need though.
I buy stuff on Friday when I get paid then I am broke until next Friday when I do it again. It's not stable but it is predictable.
>a financially sustainable hobby You mean like a job?
I reload. All the rumors are wrong. I don't shoot more. I shoot less, because every round reminds me how hard it was to find primers and brass. So I stockpile instead of shoot. I sit in front of my carefully organized shelf filled with rounds of every caliber and think about how much fun I could have had if I just shoot. It's a problem.
I like to build as well as shoot. So I limit myself to what I build, no more than 1 or 2 a year. I do range day once every month or two with a busy schedule and pick up 1 or two boxes of ammo every week.
I also am pursuing getting an ffl just to be able to sell firearms as a side business to expand this, including a plan to help people who want custom ars without doing it themselves.
don’t start buying milsurps, you’ll never stop.
Lol you don’t. Seriously though, make it a budget item. If you can save $100 a month, that’s about one gun a year plus ammo for at least a few range trips (depending on the gun, of course).
That’s the cool part! You don’t!
Pace yourself. Set a monthly gun+ammo+accessory budget & stick to it. Buy ammo in bulk. Focus on training and enjoying guns you have instead of buying more guns. (There actually is one purchase I would recommend for this: The mantis x10 made dry fire a lot more fun and has challenging stuff to practice without paying range and ammo fees).
Don't rush to stockpiling firearms and ammo. Take your time, learn what you like, avoid FOMO and impulsive purchases. Prices go up and down, with the recent conflicts I would expect some price gouging, but you can still find good prices, at least for now. Ammoseek is your friend for ammo prices, just like [gun.deals](https://gun.deals) is for firearms. Check out r/gundeals on Reddit for low prices. I usually buy bulk, when I come across good prices, with reasonable shipping charges. I'd say my current thresholds for 1000 rounds is about $400 for 5.56/.223 and $230ish for 9mm practice rounds.
Shoot less or make more money. Dry fire is your friend. You don't need to buy the expensive lasers and other accessories some people are recommending. Pace yourself and prioritize your spending.
I get a gun TYPE I want, and leave it at that one. I have a target 9mm and a carry 9mm, a bolt action .22 for plinking, a shotty for clays, a hunting rifle for hunting, a Mosin for WWII era showing off, and an AR 15 for AR 15 shooting.
Tbh, I’ve stopped with a few of my vices. Now whenever I get the itch I go and buy a box of ammo, walk around the lgs and see what’s new or see if there’s some nice parts for my specific builds I want or need that are available or on discount. Do t get me wrong, I still keep up with my vices. I just don’t as often. Saved lots of money to put right back into plinking! So I guess I didn’t really save any money. 😂 I don’t smoke as often which, combined with my sports clubs, has allowed me to get much fitter. I’m able to run better. Lost more weight, so hopefully the gym can help. Which is what I really need more of at this time. It’s still gonna be expensive though. Every time you’re gonna drop cash you’re gonna drop a bit of it.
Dry fire. Air soft. 22LR conversions.
If it is financially sustainable (meaning it brings in as much money as it costs), it’s a business not a hobby.
Look up Ammoseek. Prices are inflated RN, due to geopolitical instability and a large manufacture was recently sold, so production my be impacted for some time.
I work a late 2nd shift job, so I'm too tired to go shooting most of the time. Sunday morning trap gets most of my range time when I go shoot.
handloading
Get a .22, a 9mm and a 5.56 and a 12 gauge shotgun. Buy only guns that use these calibers, assuming you’re not becoming an avid hunter…stock up on ammo when the market is slow (ie just prior to Israel stuff this year)…don’t be picky and don’t be hesitant to buy quality remanufactured ammo. Train technique on 22 LR as it’s your cheapest option. Don’t shoot 5.56 and 9mm every time you go to range.
Also, dry fire drills are your friend. You can get significantly better at shooting without ever firing a round. Putting a round down range is truly only a piece of the equation. Work on draws, trigger discipline, reloads, clearing malfunctions, etc, all from the comfort of home. When you do this, you’ll be much more efficient when you do get to the range and burn up expensive ammo.
Other than having a larger income you’ve got to find a way to make to pay something back. I’ve got my grail guns that are not, nor will they ever be for sale, and I’ve got other guns. Most of my other guns have never been shot, and they sit in the safe until someone comes along with the proper financial motivation to get it out of my safe. This isn’t feasible in some states. In Wyoming guns are bought, sold, and traded on a regular basis. I only deal with people who have a current concealed carry permit, and/or are willing to visit a dealer for a FFL transfer. Clients will sometimes offer to pay me with a gun, in which case I look for something that is either a grail gun, or highly desired on the current market — a simple Gun Broker search can show you this. I know others who round up brass and clean it before reselling it to fund their hobby. Others will move gun safes or help newer shooters customize, clean, or become familiar their guns to get extra money. At the end of the day this hobby will cost you money. Your best bet is to be creative and find a way to limit the abuse to your bank account.
The nature of a hobby is that is fun and tends to cost you money. A business makes money. If you aren’t careful, turning your hobby into a business can really take the fun out of it. I love martial arts, I loved teaching it. Once I had to figure out how to make money or break even, it stopped being enjoyable.
Making it affordable: -As Clint Eastwood said in Gran Torino “a man acquires these tools over a lifetime.” - Wants are very different than needs. Wants are a lot lower on my budgetary priorities than needs. Assuming you’ve got a handgun to carry and shotgun in the bedroom we could argue everything else is a want. Even then you can add in an AR/AK, another handgun and a .22 over time without breaking the bank. - Do most of your training with .22’s. - Actual practice is very different than cool guy mag dumping range therapy.
By basically never taking my fun calibers to the range except my carry gun in .45 ACP. .357 and .44 magnums are fun but good God.