Sport Shooting in Retirement and how you have adapted…

[Koolau]

I wondered if the issues in Ukraine and previous wars had competed for ammunition components.

I wasn't aware of Remington filing bankruptcy. Hard to believe a "growth" industry would fall on hard times when prices are though the roof. One would think the ammo plant would have been picked up by another company. I do understand that there have been law suits based on use of Remington firearms in mass shootings.

Thanks for answering my question.

[Gumby]

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Originally Posted by Koolau I wondered if the issues in Ukraine and previous wars had competed for ammunition components. I wasn't aware of Remington filing bankruptcy. Hard to believe a "growth" industry would fall on hard times when prices are though the roof. One would think the ammo plant would have been picked up by another company. I do understand that there have been law suits based on use of Remington firearms in mass shootings. Thanks for answering my question.

The Remington ammunition plant was purchased out of bankruptcy and has restarted under the "New Remington", which is now an ammunition-only company. I understand that they are just about back to full production, so prices might ease a little.

[Car-Guy]

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Originally Posted by Koolau Yeah, got on a binge of buying bricks before ER. Still got all I could ever use. As far as how long stuff lasts, .22s seem to have a shorter life than CF stuff. I have some 9mm from '43 that worked last time I tried them. YMMV

I haven't noticed any problems with my 22 ammo "yet" but most of it is only ~15 years old or so, some is older but I do try to shoot the older stuff first. I still have some 4831 WWII surplus rifle powder (old time re-loaders will know about that stuff) that is still good. I've also got a lot of 7.62 stuff that I'm sure is ~40 years old. Could be a lot older but I can't read Chinese

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Originally Posted by Koolau Any one know why ammo is so ridiculously expensive?

I think Gumby got most of the reasons in his earlier post. Of course government pressures and liabilities haven't helped either. Fortunately (for me anyway) I probably have enough in stock to last the rest of my shooting life.

[Koolau]

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Originally Posted by Car-Guy I haven't noticed any problems with my 22 ammo "yet" but most of it is only ~15 years old or so, some is older but I do try to shoot the older stuff first. I still have some 4831 WWII surplus rifle powder (old time re-loaders will know about that stuff) that is still good. I've also got a lot of 7.62 stuff that I'm sure is ~40 years old. Could be a lot older. I think Gumby got most of the reasons in his earlier post. Of course government pressures and liabilities haven't helped either. Fortunately (for me anyway) I probably have enough in stock to last the rest of my shooting life.

I have had the occasional misfire with really old rimfire. Don't recall a CF misfire and most of mine is old or even older.

Too bad other issues have come into this subject of late.

[Car-Guy]

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Originally Posted by Bamaman The demand for ammunition was so great that a couple of young men went into the bullet manufacturing for common calibers--38 wadcutters, 9 mm and others. They're selling in bulk to police departments but they're keeping enough bullets on hand to service the local shooting customers.

Good for them.... Personally I'd be scared to death to get in the ammo manufacturing business these day.

[B-Guy]

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Originally Posted by gamboolman B-Guy - I retired effective 1-Feb-21 and am currently age 63. I have never shot 1,000 meters / yards ! A long shot in the thick East Texas woods for deer is 100 yards and most times much closer. Do recommend you get Suppressors. One thing you might consider for your long range shooting is the Long Shot Target Camera System. We bought this and love it vs using a Spotting Scope. Do recommend the Long Shot System very much. gamboolman....

I only target shoot out to 1000 meters. Large game I never shoot over 300 m as TOF is .4 seconds at 300m and a lot can happen anything longer in flight time.

I do shoot suppressed and have for about 3 years. I love it for so many reasons.

I've seen ads for the Long Shot Target Camera System and it looks intriguing. I’ll probably keep using my spotting scope for now as it serves me well. I can see hits 1000m and beyond.

[B-Guy]

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Originally Posted by Car-Guy Oh, and it's got a good bit of recoil with just about any bullet weight at max loads. I have a small scar above my right eyebrow to prove it.

I've witnessed someone getting kissed before. Now I try to find scopes that have more eye relief.

[street]

I think about the day I can't hunt anymore, and it is a depressing thought. I'm about 5 years older than you and won't give it up until I absolutely physically can't do it. It isn't about killing or harvesting an animal it is all about being out there and doing it.

I don't do much if any gun hunting but I'm an archery person. I still pack everything out on my back and sometimes takes 2 or 3 trips on a pack frame. One just needs to adjust to what my body tells me it needs. I will say the high country gets to be a little ore challenging each year.

I wouldn't let a few deficiencies get in the way to do what you love to do. There is always a work around to make it happen. I hope you can continue hunting or shooting at the level you feel you can.

[Car-Guy]

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Originally Posted by B-Guy I've witnessed someone getting kissed before. Now I try to find scopes that have more eye relief.

Me too.. Like this one.

[Souschef]

The problem I had with .22 ammo was I was using Remington Xpert ammo. The were not jacketed, and the lead oxidized so badly I could not chamber them.

[Z3Dreamer]

Are there really nice indoor ranges that allocate time to target shooting? Don't want to be concentrating and squeezing the trigger, just to have you unload 14 rounds from your Browning Hi-Power.

Used to shoot competitive using the attached when I was 16. No longer have an Anschutz Supermatch. It had a tremendous amount of bells and whistles. Although this one has the adjustable Shutzen Buttplate, trigger, cheek and trigger-hand rest, it does not have the adjustable palm rest on the stock rail.

[Dtail]

No interest in sport hunting.

[B-Guy]

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Originally Posted by Gumby When I first retired in 2019 (at age 60), I went to the range regularly. But then the ammunition supply dried up around here for almost 2 whole years after Covid started, so I went once in 2020 and once in 2021. It's getting easier to find ammunition now so I will be starting up regular shooting days again. I prefer to go to the range in the spring and fall. My main age related problem is eyesight. I shoot only iron sights and find that if I wear my regular classes, I can see the target well, but not the front sight. If I wear my readers, I can see the the front sight just fine, but the target is blurry. Of the two, I prefer seeing the front sight better. As far as recoil, I haven't noticed any problem. And I have always used double hearing protection - both plugs and earmuffs I shoot a Springfield M1A 7.62x51 mm; a Ruger Mini-14 5.56x45 mm; Colt 1911A1 .45 ACP; and a S&W Model 39 9mm. I also have a 12 gauge Remington 870 Police, but I almost never shoot it. No plastic in my gun safe.

If I could only shoot iron sights, I think I would have to quit when my eyesight starts to change. I haven’t had Issue with red dot sights. I’m assuming most folks can correct their vision through a scope.

[BobMW]

Though just retired this summer I took up competitive rifle shooting at 47. Dedicated shooting glasses (Rangers or Decots) helped me a great deal. Depending on what you shoot & how far, bifocals and a special correction for the shooting eye is also helpful, especially for iron sights. If you're lucky enough to shoot on your own land an electronic target system (Google Silver Mountain targets) makes long range shooting much more enjoyable

[B-Guy]

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Originally Posted by street I think about the day I can't hunt anymore, and it is a depressing thought. I don't do much if any gun hunting but I'm an archery person. I still pack everything out on my back and sometimes takes 2 or 3 trips on a pack frame. One just needs to adjust to what my body tells me it needs. I will say the high country gets to be a little ore challenging each year. I wouldn't let a few deficiencies get in the way to do what you love to do. There is always a work around to make it happen. I hope you can continue hunting or shooting at the level you feel you can.

I’m still fairly fit from working around the farm and on the house. I was an archery person until shoulder surgery. My Ortho doc said if I do, I will be seeing him again sooner rather than later. I primarily hunted with a bow until I had shoulder surgery. I also love just being in nature. As soon as you pull the trigger everything in the woods is on guard for some time. Its far more enjoyable to watch when they don’t know you’re there.

I will be out in the woods enjoying nature or on the range until I’m no longer able to, and that is a depressing thought.

[Graybeard]

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Originally Posted by Koolau I have had the occasional misfire with really old rimfire. Don't recall a CF misfire and most of mine is old or even older.

I sort the brass at the local gun club. I come across 22 LR with strikes but they didn't fire. I assume this is modern ammo. Could be light strike or just poor quality ammo but I don't see much of it. That said, 22 fall through the 9 mm tray so unless I spot them there may well be more than I realize.

I remember in 1972 paying 50 cents for a 50 round box of 22 shorts. Longs were around 65 cents and LR probably 75 cents. Being frugal and not having a lot of money, I always shot shorts. We killed a lot of glass bottles!

[Car-Guy]

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Originally Posted by Graybeard I remember in 1972 paying 50 cents for a 50 round box of 22 shorts. Longs were around 65 cents and LR probably 75 cents. Being frugal and not having a lot of money, I always shot shorts. We killed a lot of glass bottles!

I don't recall the prices in 1972 but that sounds reasonable... I do remember being able to buy 22 ammo and shotgun shells at any 7-11 convenience store in that time frame... At least in this part of the country.

[Koolau]

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Originally Posted by Car-Guy I don't recall the prices in 1972 but that sounds reasonable... I do remember being able to buy 22 ammo and shotgun shells at any 7-11 convenience store in that time frame... At least in this part of the country.

I bought my first .22 ammo at our local drug store ca 1960 (not a big chain like CVS) where we got scripts and mom and dad's cigarettes. Now, I'm not certain where I would buy ammo (not that I need any) other than a firearm store. In the 90's, I bought .22s at Walmart. Not any more. YMMV

[Starsky]

I really got into sport (target) shooting for the first time in retirement - not competitive, just for fun. The big adjustment for me was in dealing with my terrible eyesight. In my younger days, I used to enjoy shooting with iron sights. For some reason, most pistols still work for me with iron sights; but I found I was having huge problems using iron sights on long guns.

I ended up putting a scope or a red dot on all my rifles except for my Mini-14. For some reason, peep sights still work beautifully, and I love using them. I don't shoot much over 100 yards at the most, so I put red dots on my tactical/short-range rifles, and various magnification scopes on my precision/target rifles.

The other big change was due to the cost/availability of ammo. I used to shoot my .38 Special revolvers and 9mm semis a lot more than I do now. Now I am shooting a lot more .22LR and WMR long guns than before COVID. Initially I switched to rimfire for cost reasons, but I found that it's a ton of fun - extremely accurate, and a lot easier on my hearing and softer on my hands than my centerfire weapons. Now I generally save my centerfire rifles for outdoors, and shoot mostly rimfire rifles and centerfire pistols indoors. I am really loving the CZ457 platform these days.

When I started up about 9 years ago, it was a lot cheaper to shoot and I would shoot 200+ rounds of 9mm/.38 Special twice a week. Now, I shoot half as much - maybe 250 rounds of .22LR and 50 rounds of other stuff once a week, if I'm lucky.

[B-Guy]

I use to shoot a lot of 45ACP with any one of my 1911’s. There were many times I had a couple 1000 rounds loaded. It didn’t take long to reload them on a progressives press. I only have a few hundred loaded now and I only practice about once a month.

I’ve gone from shooting a lot of pistols to precision long distance rifle. I reload all my own .308 not to save money but to have more consistent performance. I usually purchase 3-4 boxes of brass with the same lot number. Powder I usually buy 2-3 8# jugs, same lot, but for some reason the winter just before covid showed up I had purchased a new rifle and decided to purchased 4, I was fortunate. I did have to cut way back on shooting as I saw the writing on the wall. Still hard to find powder and primers. I get 1200+ rounds out of an 8# jug. I was shooting up to 100 rounds a week before covid, now I’ve cut back to 100 per month or two due to the lack of supplies. The prices have gone crazy. I may have to cut back even more.

Let’s all hope the price comes down and inventory gets back to normal, whether you’re reloading or buying off the shelf.