How has the ammo/component shortage affected your Shooting

[Cold Spring]

I shoot 100 sporting clays once or usually twice a week along with a regular gang of 8. Five of the 8 are mainly shooting reloads and the other 3 are finding shells here and there at prevailing prices. Granted, the majority regularly shoot modern guns but when out occasionally with a vintage SxS the reloaders adjust to somewhat lower payloads and speed, and thus lesser recoil. Most have good inventories of components stockpiled over the past year or so (Aesop's fable ant analogy). I and others have gone from 1-ounce to 7/8 ounce loads for practice/fun 12g shooting and as most here know that stretches a bag of shot from 400 to about 455 loads. Net, the shortages haven't affected shooting by the gang or me all that much.

Otherwise, at a certain large sporting club the public activity through the summer and fall seems to have been about on par. But that’s hard to evaluate now that winter has set in and with the frequent funky weather. Fair weekend days will bring out plenty of shooters albeit most with complaints about shell pricing, but even a hint of drizzle or snow flakes keeps many of the casual that are locally called "red hatters" from coming out. They seem to be even more weather sensitive of late. For sure, conditions can certainly be uncomfortable at times but as friend Fred says, better to be shooting than in other places or situations he relates. All these are just observations; of course I don't have the objective data on shooter numbers and trends hereabouts.

[Double Lab]

My experience mirrors Franks in that I shoot 100-250/week using my own reloads which I have trimmed down to 3/4 for all gauges. That works out to 533 loads /25lb of shot. The only factor keeping me from shooting is snow/ice on the ground. I've learned my lesson that you can be the most careful person in the world and then boom. Our group consists of anywhere from 8-12 shooters on any given day and out of that total only 4 of us reload. The others have a good supply of factory loads on hand.

[Cold Spring]

Daryl's comment on ice reminds me that all the guys use "ice trekkers" or similar stretchy or strap-on traction aids for footware whenever winter conditions warrant.

[Double Lab]

I now have my own set of Korkers/Trekkers.

[Quigley97]

Just went to Bass Pro Shops in Myrtle Beach. I could have bought all the Herters and Winchester 12 Ga flats that I wanted at $194.99 per flat. Also they were all 1550 fps. I did find the only 4 boxes of Remington target loads. I purchased them at $14. 79 per box. The only reason I purchased them at that outlandish price was they were STS hulls and I can reload them. Otherwise they would have stayed on the shelf. There was no shot or any kind of powder on the shelves. When I asked the "gentleman" behind the counter about the powder situation he just chuckled and shook his head. Oh well back to endless searching on the internet.

[Randy Roberts]

Tom that makes me feel somewhat better about the $95 per flat I just paid for 1 oz Federal 1180's. Ugghhhh.

[Kevin McCormack]

Originally Posted by Tom Pellegrini

Just went to Bass Pro Shops in Myrtle Beach. I could have bought all the Herters and Winchester 12 Ga flats that I wanted at $194.99 per flat. Also they were all 1550 fps. I did find the only 4 boxes of Remington target loads. I purchased them at $14. 79 per box. The only reason I purchased them at that outlandish price was they were STS hulls and I can reload them. Otherwise they would have stayed on the shelf. There was no shot or any kind of powder on the shelves. When I asked the "gentleman" behind the counter about the powder situation he just chuckled and shook his head. Oh well back to endless searching on the internet.

WOW! Those prices are the highest I've heard yet for Cabela's/Bass Pro stock!! Are you sure you weren't looking at steel shot? The prices and velocity quoted sound up in that realm. The $14.97 for the STS loads sounds about par by comparison just about all over. I've seen nothing there nor at any WalMart in the NoVa / DC metro area stores in any form of 12 ga. target ammo at any price. Last I purchased was Christmas week at the Gainesville VA Cabela's for $84.99 per flat + tax = net $90 and change.

[John Davis]

The current shortage hasn't really affected how much I shoot but it has affected what ammo I burn. I shoot 5000+ registered trap targets a year. Double that for practice targets. Singles, handicap and doubles trap. Prior to the shortage I shot reloads for practice and Remington STS or Federal Papers for singles and doubles registered birds and RST Trap loads for registered handicap. I'm now out of reloading components and can't find the premium shells. So I shoot whatever I can get. Presently I'm sitting on about 20 flats of RIO's and a couple of flats of Federal Top Guns for Handicap. Buy what I can from Walmart when they have it. My Parker SBT's can pretty much digest anything within reason off the shelf and my Trojan isn't shy either.

[Bill Murphy]

Remember that the first decades of your Parker trap gun's life were spent digesting the standard trap load of 1 1/4 ounces of shot at more than 1200 fps. OUCH.

[Harold Pickens]

Went to the Washington, Pa gun show today. After yesterdays 5 degree morning, it was pouring down on frozen ground this morning, so opted out of muzzle loader deer. As expected, most powder was around $50/ 1 lb can, and the only shotgun primers I found were Fiocchi at $100/ thousand. A guy was asking $30/ box for Federal 28 ga 3/4 oz loads--or 7 boxes for $150 if I took em all. Most cases of 12 ga target loads were $150/case, and single boxes were $20-25 for most gauges. Would like to have found a Mec600 jr in 28 ga. Few Parkers, there was a decent PH 12 Twist barrels, but I wasnt interested.
Glad I didnt need to pay the price---yet.