will be over with in a few months. When it is, wise up and go to ebay, and craigslist, get USED reloading gear and components, get 5000 or more rds of .22lr ammo "laid back", and either get set up to cast bullets or at the very least, lay back some Lead (in the form of wheelweights, from tire shops and scrapyards) and get to know your local bullet caster.
Google for IPSC and IDPA combat pistol matches in your area. Attend a few such matches, whether or not you compete, and ask about who casts bullets in your area. At some gunshows, look for the guy who is selling cast lead bullets by the 1000 bullet "lot", or at least, by box of 500.
You need to fire many thousands of rds each year in order to be properly skilled for defensive shooting,, as well as 1000 of "drysnaps' of the empty gun, and many hours of draw practice with the pistol, 'shouldering" the rifle,. mag swaps, use of cover and use of flashlight, firing from awkward positions, with either hand, from either shoulder with longarms, (using the correct eye for that shoulder) So don't get screwed over again on ammo prices, and don't shoot 4x less just because the price of ammo quadruples! Components (primer and powder, brass cases can be picked up for free, usually, in 9mm and 223, at least) and lead total about 6c a shot for 9mm, then the labor to cast the bullets and reload the ammo.
With about $1000 worth of gear, you can turn out about 800 finished bullets an hour and make about 5-6c on each one. That's $25 an hour. You can also turn out about 800 loaded rds per hour, given a bullet feeder on the LARGE Lee Precision progressive loader, making the same kind of money per hour. So you can pay for the gear in a few months of selling reloads and cast bullets, then have a sideline biz that pays you a few k a year, which also lets you shoot for about 1/2 what commercial reloads cost you, and about 1/4 of what factory loaded ammo costs.
Dont bother to own non-fighting guns. they are a waste of time and money. You can always hunt, plink and shoot matches with efficient -shtf, (stuff hits the fan) fighting guns, like the aR-15 and a Keltec pocket 9mm single stack the PF-9. Both of those guns have .22lr conversion units, for cheap practice and quiet foraging of livestock and small game and birds. Ciener firearms makes one for the AR ($150) and Twisted Industries makes ($250) one for the Keltec. or get the $400 Diamondback pocket 9 and get a $200, used, Taurus PT22 as your rimfire "understudy" for it.
Right now, AR's are fetching ridiculous prices, but used ones will be back under $700 in a few months. So save your money and when you get the chance, get your 3-4 real guns and don't bother with the "sport only' type of "toy guns".
figure on spending several thousand $ on gear, as much more on ammo while you learn and as much more on a good coach. he will save you a lot more than he costs you, in wasted ammo in a very few years, if he's any good at all. then you need to spend about $1000 a year on reloads and .22's, and several hundred hours of practice per year, with airsoft', dryfire,, .22, 223, and 9mm, to stay adequately skilled. 52 weeks in a year, so 6 hours a week is not all that much, and this stuff is FUN, guys.
The levels of confidence you will experience, after you find that you nearly always beat nearly everyone in realistic "combat style" matchses is great. If you ALSO do the same at martial arts matches, you will be the real deal. Like me.
Google for IPSC and IDPA combat pistol matches in your area. Attend a few such matches, whether or not you compete, and ask about who casts bullets in your area. At some gunshows, look for the guy who is selling cast lead bullets by the 1000 bullet "lot", or at least, by box of 500.
You need to fire many thousands of rds each year in order to be properly skilled for defensive shooting,, as well as 1000 of "drysnaps' of the empty gun, and many hours of draw practice with the pistol, 'shouldering" the rifle,. mag swaps, use of cover and use of flashlight, firing from awkward positions, with either hand, from either shoulder with longarms, (using the correct eye for that shoulder) So don't get screwed over again on ammo prices, and don't shoot 4x less just because the price of ammo quadruples! Components (primer and powder, brass cases can be picked up for free, usually, in 9mm and 223, at least) and lead total about 6c a shot for 9mm, then the labor to cast the bullets and reload the ammo.
With about $1000 worth of gear, you can turn out about 800 finished bullets an hour and make about 5-6c on each one. That's $25 an hour. You can also turn out about 800 loaded rds per hour, given a bullet feeder on the LARGE Lee Precision progressive loader, making the same kind of money per hour. So you can pay for the gear in a few months of selling reloads and cast bullets, then have a sideline biz that pays you a few k a year, which also lets you shoot for about 1/2 what commercial reloads cost you, and about 1/4 of what factory loaded ammo costs.
Dont bother to own non-fighting guns. they are a waste of time and money. You can always hunt, plink and shoot matches with efficient -shtf, (stuff hits the fan) fighting guns, like the aR-15 and a Keltec pocket 9mm single stack the PF-9. Both of those guns have .22lr conversion units, for cheap practice and quiet foraging of livestock and small game and birds. Ciener firearms makes one for the AR ($150) and Twisted Industries makes ($250) one for the Keltec. or get the $400 Diamondback pocket 9 and get a $200, used, Taurus PT22 as your rimfire "understudy" for it.
Right now, AR's are fetching ridiculous prices, but used ones will be back under $700 in a few months. So save your money and when you get the chance, get your 3-4 real guns and don't bother with the "sport only' type of "toy guns".
figure on spending several thousand $ on gear, as much more on ammo while you learn and as much more on a good coach. he will save you a lot more than he costs you, in wasted ammo in a very few years, if he's any good at all. then you need to spend about $1000 a year on reloads and .22's, and several hundred hours of practice per year, with airsoft', dryfire,, .22, 223, and 9mm, to stay adequately skilled. 52 weeks in a year, so 6 hours a week is not all that much, and this stuff is FUN, guys.
The levels of confidence you will experience, after you find that you nearly always beat nearly everyone in realistic "combat style" matchses is great. If you ALSO do the same at martial arts matches, you will be the real deal. Like me. 