.45acp Shooters – New Paradigm Going Forward?

[bsf]

I believe my first “bulk” ammo purchase was 1000rd of PMC .45acp 230gr fmj purchased for $205.99 in 2000, shipped from the now bankrupt Shooterz.com. I found much better deals over the next few years as I acquainted myself with online dealers and their offerings. Fast forward to today with non-brass case and brass case, new, manufactured, fmj, training ammo running ~$300 and ~$360/k shipped or otd.

This thread is not intended to be a nostalgic look at the prices of the past, inflation adjusted or otherwise. Neither is it intended to be a bitch session about current prices. More so I am hoping for a discussion of what shooters of the caliber will do going forward.

First, how much .45acp ammo were and are you expending? Do you still train with it, but simply shoot it less? Have you moved away from the caliber entirely, either temporarily or permanently, because of the cost of training with it? Did you previously buy mostly new factory ammo, but now reload the caliber? Did you and do you still use new, factory ammo and have accepted these higher prices are here to stay? Are you relatively new to the caliber and simply accept the current prices as the normal cost of entrance?

[JasonTN]

I've wondered what others are doing as well. I really miss the ammo prices from 10 years ago. In order to feed my .45s I've gone to reloading on a Dillon 550B and occasionally picking up ammo from Wal-Mart when I need more brass.

[RyanB]

I shoot 9mm almost exclusively now.

[ralph]

I mostly shoot 9mm, But I still keep my hand in with .45. I reload(have been for 30yrs),so my costs are always going to be less. Frankly, if you want to shoot/train with .45, you need to seriously consider reloading, The saving in ammo costs will pay for the equiptment in a short period of time if you shoot alot. .45acp is very easy to load, and there are literally hundreds, if not thousands, of bullet/powder combnations that can be used, and most of them work very well..

To answer your questions:
At one time I was running 2-300rnds a week, I still train with it, but less. No, I haven't moved away from it at all. In all the years I've shot .45, I can count on one hand how many times I actually bought ammo for it..for the most part I've always reloaded for it. No, I don't use new factory ammo, I'll shop around for brass, bullets etc, and load my own.

[shootist~]

I agree with Ralph's comments. I used to do 10k rounds of .45 ACP per year and reloading was the only choice. .45 is about the easiest thing to reload on a progressive. I still shoot ~2k per year and my equipment was paid for long ago.

I've done 9mm and .40 at times, but .45 is the only pistol round I load for at present (or shoot for that matter). I keep factory loads in the SD pistols and a couple of mags of factory stay with my competition 1911, but 99% of my shooting is with reloads. I generally stay with molly coated bullets and consider them the best compromise between hard cast and jacketed.

A Dillon 650, while not my favorite for rifle, is an excellent choice for the .45. My second choice, or for the budget minded, would be the Square Deal B.

[dewman]

I feel the pain too. Pricing on factory 45 is just crazy, but I won't be changing caliber. I will be moving to reloading, hopefully in the near future to reduce ammo cost. Right now I'm purchasing factory, just to hold me over. Reloading equipment won't be purchased until I buy a 7.62 AR.

[usmcamp0811]

Reloading is the only way I get bullets now a days. When I got into reloading last year I did a price break down and found that .45 cost approximately $0.18 per round to reload versus $0.52 for factory rounds. I'm currently looking at buying cast lead bullets versus jacketed bullets for reloading cause I'm just a poor college goer. Just haven't looked into it enough to see if the cast stuff is as reliable as the jacketed stuff in my 1911. I also want to read more up on the whole leading thing I've heard about.

[Packman73]

I just don't shoot it as much as I used to. Sucks.

[tpd223]

I sold off my .40s and .45s since we use 9mm at work. I got to the point I wasn't shooting the larger calibers at all due to cost.

I am thinking about starting to reload for my .38s since .38 ammo has gotten stupid expensive as well.