Even .45 Colt ammo is now ridiculous?

[HaveGun]

My LGS has a Henry Big Boy X in .45 Colt on the shelf that I've been eyeing lately and will likely pick up next week. Perfect carbine for me for hiking and camping duty. I built a Marlin 1894 carbine in .45 Colt and just never warmed up to it; too heavy, finicky, with Remlin build quality. So I built an AR in .450 Bushmaster to replace it. Turned out nice, but it's just a bit too bulky and heavy. When I saw the Henry for sale, I thought it would be just perfect. So decided to sell the Marlin and maybe the AR and get the Henry.

So, I have plenty of bullets and components in .45 Colt, but I figured a few more boxes of factory stuff would be nice to have on hand. Surely the lowly .45 Colt is not in high demand these days. Wrong.

Went to Midway and they are completely sold out. Tried Ammoseek.com and they had some available. But the cheapest price was $79 for a box of 50!! Highest was S&B HPs for $150 for a box of 50!!

WTH?? Luckily, my LGS has Winchester cases available, and I have a couple of molds and can cast all the bullets I need for it. Was just floored that such a caliber would be so expensive when the rifle I've been eyeing has been sitting on the shelf for a month with no bites.

Read More

 

[Knobgoblin]

Thoughts.
I feel like 45colt was always on the high side. Cheaper than .357 , but never as low as sale price .38sp

The judge and governor revolvers sold in the last few years might possibly have contributed to overall demand .

Every handgun cartridge is in demand for the foreseeable (near) future

 

[HaveGun]

I think I have around 40lbs of Lyman #2 on hand, which is good for around 1100 250 grain bullets, so a little light. I haven't looked at buying it for a few months and I can't imagine that it is anywhere still the same price, or even available.

 

[HaveGun]

Looked up lead and it is apparently still available and not too bad; around $4 a pound shipped for Lyman #2. That works out to about $.14 per cast bullet. Nothing to write home about, but better than not being able to find any bullets at all online right now. Plus, casting is therapy.

 

[DizzyJ]

41mag was $50 a box back 30 years ago. No idea what it is now, but I DO know Ive never to this day put a factory round through it.

 

[CLT65]

Lyman #2 seems a bit rich for a low pressure round like the 45 Colt. Range scrap works great in mine and is closer to $1 per pound. I pick mine up off the top of the berm at the range and recycle.

Free bullets, brass lasts approximately forever, 850 rounds from a pound of Unique, primers are the hard part right now. 45 Colt has always been well worth reloading.

Here's 20 pounds of 454190s that I made recently, just haven't had time to powder coat and size them yet:

 

[madladchad]

Looked up lead and it is apparently still available and not too bad; around $4 a pound shipped for Lyman #2. That works out to about $.14 per cast bullet. Nothing to write home about, but better than not being able to find any bullets at all online right now. Plus, casting is therapy.

Where do you find it for $4? Rotometals has it, but my reading of their terms implies that it doesn't fall under their free shipping policy.

 

[Alexx1401]

This ammo was VERY pricey even when the shelves were full. It has always been pricey because not enough of it is made. .44, and .45 wheel gun ammo has always been well worth rolling your own. Both are great for newbies as they are very simple rounds to play with for anyone starting out too.

 

[slingshot1943]

Try T&B Bullets. They make hard cast 45 colt. Just google T&B Bullets
They are in Sweet Home OR and do free shipping.

 

[HaveGun]

Lyman #2 seems a bit rich for a low pressure round like the 45 Colt. Range scrap works great in mine and is closer to $1 per pound.

No public ranges around here. I don't really make plinking rounds. All of my .45 Colt loads are for woods carry in either a Ruger Bisley or a 1894 carbine so they are all pretty hot. The Lyman #2 seems to perform well for that duty, and I don't use much, so it is pretty much all I use now.

 

[saxon]

funny thing is a guy was looking for 45 colt not to long ago offered a full and 3/4 box of cowboy action factory for what i bought it for $34 for the full and per round for the other and he thought it was to much...

 

[saxon]

No public ranges around here. I don't really make plinking rounds. All of my .45 Colt loads are for woods carry in either a Ruger Bisley or a 1894 carbine so they are all pretty hot. The Lyman #2 seems to perform well for that duty, and I don't use much, so it is pretty much all I use now.

cast performance has some good 300 fpbb with gas check that i was shooting at 11fps out of an old model blackhawk and vaquero

 

[Certaindeaf]

Lyman #2 seems a bit rich for a low pressure round like the 45 Colt. Range scrap works great in mine and is closer to $1 per pound. I pick mine up off the top of the berm at the range and recycle.

Free bullets, brass lasts approximately forever, 850 rounds from a pound of Unique, primers are the hard part right now. 45 Colt has always been well worth reloading.

Here's 20 pounds of 454190s that I made recently, just haven't had time to powder coat and size them yet:

View attachment 809140

How does free lead magically become $1/lb lead?

 

[techiej]

I've always bought the bullets - just looked and ACME still has some in stock: 45Colt (acmebullet.com)

 

[tac]

I'm sure I watched a movie the other day on which the CEO of one of the main ammunition makers told us quite categorically that there was NO shortage of ammunition, after all, he was standing right by a machine turning out 25,000 rounds an hour....

That being the case, where might it be?

 

[dmack]

45 Colt was the reason I started reloading back in the late 80's. I bought a used blackhawk at the local Klamath falls pawn shop when I was in college. Factory reloads were $17\box or I could reload them for $3.50\box. Invested $100 in a complete Lee Pro1000 and never looked back.

 

[CLT65]

How does free lead magically become $1/lb lead?

I can see that I worded that poorly. You can often buy it for about $1 per pound, but mine costs me nothing because I pick it up off the berms at the range.

I'm sure I watched a movie the other day on which the CEO of one of the main ammunition makers told us quite categorically that there was NO shortage of ammunition, after all, he was standing right by a machine turning out 25,000 rounds an hour....

That being the case, where might it be?

Someone on here a while back was making the same point; something along the lines of how there was no shortage, just too many people buying.

I guess words mean different things to different people. When demand outstrips supply to the point that the shelves are bare, I call that a shortage.

 

[Throckmorton]

If I didn't reload I could not afford to shoot my favorite shooters in .45 colt. Brazos has 250 grain powder coated, in stock ,for 12 cents shipped. Good bullets. they are a bit odd as they sell by the pound but in their pricing is the cost per bullet, just add about 8 bucks for shipping to the cost. comes out to 12 cents

 

[CLT65]

If I didn't reload I could not afford to shoot my favorite shooters in .45 colt. Brazos has 250 grain powder coated, in stock ,for 12 cents shipped. Good bullets. they are a bit odd as they sell by the pound but in their pricing is the cost per bullet, just add about 8 bucks for shipping to the cost. comes out to 12 cents

There are some casting companies that put out a good product at a very fair price nowadays. If I didn't already cast and powder-coat, I probably wouldn't start. When I'm standing in front of a casting pot for hours making bullets, I often wonder if it's worth it. Sometimes I enjoy casting, but the long sessions for thousands of bullet I do not enjoy.

 

[HaveGun]

There are some casting companies that put out a good product at a very fair price nowadays. If I didn't already cast and powder-coat, I probably wouldn't start. When I'm standing in front of a casting pot for hours making bullets, I often wonder if it's worth it. Sometimes I enjoy casting, but the long sessions for thousands of bullet I do not enjoy.

My 78yr old dad is a subcontractor for a cast bullet seller and casts about 40k bullets a year. I've helped him a few times and it is relaxing, but after a few hours, it gets tedious.