OT- Adios to Speer components

[336A]

I was taking inventory of how many component bullets I have and what brands for my 30-30. I noticed that I have about half a box of Speer 150gr FN left, I figured that I had better look into getting another box or two. Well I noticed that this bullet and the 170gr version are being replaced by a new bullet called the Deep Curl. According to Speer this line of bullet will eventually replace all of the Hot Core line, and they are a bonded core bullet to boot. As such the price has been jacked up as well about $28 for 100.

I'm not sure about the rest of you folks here but I didn't know the ol' .30-30 needed a bonded core bullet So it looks as though I will be sticking with Sierra bullets for the forseeable future for sure.

[J Miller]

It's not just Speer's new line, it's every bodies lines that have jacked up prices. I've been checking them recently to load up some of my own 30-30s and about passed out. Even the bulk Winchester 150gr PP were $28.00 per hundred. Looks like I'll be converting to cast bullets thanks to the costs of factory made bullets.

Joe

[Lobo]

Big Sigh

I've been shooting the 180 gr Speer FN in my 336 .35 Rem since I bought it in the early seventies, and my wife the Speer 150 gr FN in her 30-30. I have a couple boxes of each on hand, but like others will be checking out cast in lieu.

Most Bummed

[Nath]

Folks just have to go a messin don't they for all the suckers out there

Nath.

[C. Cash]

We need to fight the ban on lead(the new PC Gun Control), otherwise the price and availabilty of bullets is going to force the vast majority to stop shooting. I cannot imagine what an all copper bullet will cost us at that point.

[mikld]

We need to fight the ban on lead(the new PC Gun Control), otherwise the price and availabilty of bullets is going to force the vast majority to stop shooting. I cannot imagine what an all copper bullet will cost us at that point.

The politicians and tree huggers have got the public so afraid of lead. Did you know that in California lead wheel weights fly off of wheels and bury themselves on the dirt along the side of the road. They then work their way down to the water table and poison everybody within 100 miles. Or at least thats what the gov't tells us. I haven't priced copper bullets yet, as I escaped CA late last year...

[Rusty]

Yep the .30-30 was made for cast bullets.

Y'all might want to check out Veral Smith's book Jacketed bullet performance from Cast Bullets" it's a real bargain.

[Idiot]

I'm not sure about the rest of you folks here but I didn't know the ol' .30-30 needed a bonded core bullet So it looks as though I will be sticking with Sierra bullets for the forseeable future for sure.

Neither the 30-30 Winchester, or any traditional levergun cartridge, needs bonded core bullets, but they will be pushed on us none the less. Stock up on Sierra's and whatever other cup and core bullets you can find while they are yet available and fairly inexpensive. Or get ready to pay high prices for things you don't need.

Have you tried to buy a vehical lately? Talk about paying for things you don't need, or in some cases, even want.

[Hobie]

Y'all must not hoard like I do....

[rimrock]

lead alloy at $3/lb. ain't exactly cheap, but cheaper than jacketed. I have about 80 Hornady 265 grain 44 cal bullets held back, and that's all the jacketed stuff in my house. I'm even casting for my .40 S &W. No lead wheel weights around, but you can still find some old roofers lead smoke stacks and what not.

China bought up all available scrap metal in the middle of 2008-09 to serve as barter if money went below its investment objective. They probably also bought up the scrap paper just to make your outhouse diploma a little more expensive.

Rimrock

[Swampman]

Nothing beats the 170 grain Remington CoreLokt for price or performance.

[Griff]

Y'all must not hoard like I do....

Yea, but eventually even my stash of 500 150gr Speers will run out. Primers are still $48/K around here... or I need to check some other places. I remember the last time I bought any, thought $18/K was steep!

[Malamute]

Y'all must not hoard like I do....

You gotta buy em all up before the hoarders get them.

[BenT]

Yep , got in on the Ranch Dog group buy for the 165gr mould because of that. He has the 190gr 358 group buy till the end of the month. I'll be shooting cast in the 30-30 and 30-40 from here out.

[Hobie]

Y'all must not hoard like I do....

You gotta buy em all up before the hoarders get them.

I'm doing my best!

Seriously though. Today's high prices are tomorrow's nostalgia. What with increasing demand for the raw materials, demand for the product, etc, these are likely to be the prices you'll look back on with fond memories just as we do now for the $20 a brick primers or $10 a brick primers. I do remember when those cheap primers of my first reloading days were SO expensive I could only buy a flat of 100 every other week or so.

[O.S.O.K.]

I like Speer Hot Cores and that's about all I've used for my 30-30's... 150's and 170's but these are looking better and better:



Well, not those specfically, (I don't have a pic handy of the flat nosed ones)...

And if I'm feeling lazy, I can just order some 170 grain Laser Cast boolits and apply my own gas checks for a really good target load. I think they're a little hard for hunting - straight WW alloy cast boolits will expand some on game - rivet like a premium bullet.

[Modoc ED]

Hard to believe that people are still complaining about non-avalability and high prices of components.

The day Obama was elected (not sworn in but elected) all reloaders should have gone out and ordered 5000 of every sized primer they used along with 2000 + bullets they reloaded, 8 pounds of any powder they used, extra brass and other reloading components.

Hobie is using smilies along with the word "hoarding" but he is dead serious when he talks about stocking up.

As to the OPs concern that Speer is substituting one bullet for another at a higher cost, so is Hornady and others. I'd say write or call them to express your displeasure but it won't do any good. Just look at how Hornady dumped their Light Magnum .444 Marlin line because they said their 265gr .444 Marlin LeveRevolution would do everything their Light Magnum could do. Well, they are wrong!!

Anymore the rule of thumb should be, "pick up components whenever you see them as they might not be there again" at least at a price you think is reasonable.

[336A]

The day Obama was elected (not sworn in but elected) all reloaders should have gone out and ordered 5000 of every sized primer they used along with 2000 + bullets they reloaded, 8 pounds of any powder they used, extra brass and other reloading components.

I would have loved to do so and still would like to do so. However there is no way in hadis my meager earnings will allow me to afford anything close to those proportions. Living expenses such as rent, groceries, vehicle payment, etc.. will always supercede hobby interests. Heck I don't even have enough space to store all of that as it is.

[Charles]

I have been warning you boys for years about shooting those dreaful little yellow thingies! Bullets are grey color don't you know.

[Modoc ED]

The day Obama was elected (not sworn in but elected) all reloaders should have gone out and ordered 5000 of every sized primer they used along with 2000 + bullets they reloaded, 8 pounds of any powder they used, extra brass and other reloading components.

I would have loved to do so and still would like to do so. However there is no way in hadis my meager earnings will allow me to afford anything close to those proportions. Living expenses such as rent, groceries, vehicle payment, etc.. will always supercede hobby interests. Heck I don't even have enough space to store all of that as it is.

That's ok. I understand perfectly what you're saying. Just buy what you can comfortably afford to spend but do it whenever the opportunity presents itself that components are available.

[O.S.O.K.]

I view ammo and components as necessities, not a hobby

[2X22]

Nothing beats the 170 grain Remington CoreLokt for price or performance.

Agreed.

Though cast should be shot in just about every firearm out there...........

2x22

[stretch]

Swampman wrote:
Nothing beats the 170 grain Remington CoreLokt for price or performance.

Agreed.

That's for sure! That bullet design is nearly 80 years old, and it's
still terrific. There isn't much out there to outperform it in the
30-30 and 35 Remington at any price.

-Stretch

[Kansas Ed]

We had a discussion about component/ammo availabilty on the way back from Tulsa a couple of weeks ago....It's interesting that the hoarders have quit buying, and we surmise that in about 4 or 5 years there will be a lot of stuff for sale that people hoarded that they will be trying to get rid of.

Ed

[buckeyeshooter]

Won't be missed by me. I have always favored other brands.

[2X22]

and we surmise that in about 4 or 5 years there will be a lot of stuff for sale that people hoarded that they will be trying to get rid of.

I'll still be trying to make a dent in shooting up my hoarding(s).................

2x22

[oldbrownhat]

...Did you know that in California lead wheel weights fly off of wheels and bury themselves on the dirt along the side of the road. They then work their way down to the water table and poison everybody within 100 miles. Or at least thats what the gov't tells us. ...

But in California EVERYTHING causes cancer. Just check the packaging on, well, anything within your reach. Apparently not in Wyoming, not in New Hampshire or Florida or even tree-hugging British Columbia, just in California.

In theory the concern over lead seems credible; after all, it is toxic. The Romans used it (lead carbonate, actually- even worse) in their cosmetics and of course for their water lines ("plumber" comes from plumbum, ie lead), and the Roman Empire ground to a halt 1500 years ago. But if the concern over lead is really as bad as it's made out to be, surely most of Europe must be slowly dying of lead poisoning, given several centuries of wars fought across the landscape with lead bullets? Maybe drinking all that red wine is the antidote, in which case California is in a good position to both counter the wheelweights and feed their ailing economy!

Stuart

[44shooter]

I agree that one should stock more components than they need immediately. But, there are shooters who have just gotten into handloading recently, mainly due to escalating ammo prices since the rise of metal costs long before the current President was elected. Also sometimes we get new gun and need different components to feed it.

Now, I am no fan of the current President and I know he is no fan of private gun ownership. But, he has not done much to hurt us in matters of guns, shooting, or hunting. Bill Clinton, on the other hand, was actively antigun from the start of his presidency. Yet when Clinton was in office, I bought a new SKS in a department store for $100, 1000 rounds of 7.62x39 at a gun show for $100, .270 ammo for $8 a box and so on.

My point is if Bill Clinton's rise to office didn't make everything sky high and unavailable, why should Barack Obama's?

Obama didn't do it. Fellow shooters did it by buying ammo and components in quantities they will never use at super inflated prices. To add insult to injury, some have to express their "I got mine in time, you should have gotten yours too." sentiment everytime someone mentions running low on something.

[Old Time Hunter]

Yep , got in on the Ranch Dog group buy for the 165gr mould because of that. He has the 190gr 358 group buy till the end of the month. I'll be shooting cast in the 30-30 and 30-40 from here out.

Ben, is Mike still selling stuff? How do you get a hold of him? I have two of his moulds, his 165gr .310 and a 270 gr .430, both are excellent, looking for a .375.

Guys, Hornady still has 170's and 150's for the .30-30 also.