Liberty is an inherently offensive lifestyle. Living in a free society guarantees that each one of us will see our most cherished principles and beliefs questioned and in some cases mocked. That psychic discomfort is the price we pay for basic civic peace. It's worth it. It's a pragmatic principle. Defend everyone else's rights, because if you don't there is no one to defend yours. -- MaxedOutMama

I don't just want gun rights... I want individual liberty, a culture of self-reliance....I want the whole bloody thing. -- Kim du Toit

The most glaring example of the cognitive dissonance on the left is the concept that human beings are inherently good, yet at the same time cannot be trusted with any kind of weapon, unless the magic fairy dust of government authority gets sprinkled upon them.-- Moshe Ben-David

The cult of the left believes that it is engaged in a great apocalyptic battle with corporations and industrialists for the ownership of the unthinking masses. Its acolytes see themselves as the individuals who have been "liberated" to think for themselves. They make choices. You however are just a member of the unthinking masses. You are not really a person, but only respond to the agendas of your corporate overlords. If you eat too much, it's because corporations make you eat. If you kill, it's because corporations encourage you to buy guns. You are not an individual. You are a social problem. -- Sultan Knish

All politics in this country now is just dress rehearsal for civil war. -- Billy Beck

Friday, August 29, 2014

Inflation

So at lunch today I ran by my favorite Merchant O'Death's place of work and picked up some powder. They'd just gotten in a shipment of about a hundred pounds of various types (still no Unique - which at this point should just be renamed "Unavailable"), and I'd had him set me aside a bit: three pounds of H110 and one of Accurate 4064.

Remember when powder was around $20 a pound? Yeah, so do I. Four pounds of powder set me back a little over $116 including tax.

Ouch.

A few years ago, I did a post on the basics of reloading with a list of recommended materials.  I thought this would be a good time to review that and see just how much things have changed.  

Originally I recommended the Lee Anniversary Kit, which consisted of their Challenger "O"-press, powder measure, powder scale, reloading manual, priming tool and (most) shell holders.  It was $89.99.  That particular kit is no longer available, but the current one is the Challenger Breech Lock Anniversary Kit, which at $126.99 contains:

  • Lee Breech Lock Challenger Single Stage Press
  • 1-Breech Lock Die Bushing
  • Lee Large and Small Safety Prime
  • Lee Cutter and Lock Stud
  • Lee Perfect Powder Measure
  • Lee Chamfer Tool
  • Lee Primer Pocket Cleaner
  • Lee Safety Powder Scale
  • Lee Powder funnel
  • 2 oz Tube Lee Resizing Case Lube

Next up came dies, and I again recommended an all-Lee lineup:

Carbide .38/357 4-die set: $30.99 $41.99
Carbide .45ACP 4-die set: $21.99 $41.99
Steel .30 Luger 3-die set: $20.99 $30.49
.22-250 3-die set: $24.99 $30.99
.243 Winchester 3-die set: $24.99 $30.99
.308 Winchester 3-die set: $24.99 $30.99
.30-06 3-die set: $24.99 $30.99
.30 Carbine carbide 3-die set: $30.79 $38.49

Next up was lube. The Lee kit above has their lube, but I recommended a can of Hornady's One Shot spray lube. For the sake of economy, I'll leave it off this list.

I recommended a steel dial caliper micrometer: Still $25.99

I recommended a Hornady universal reloading tray: $4.79 $8.99

In the article I stated that a minimum of TWO reloading manuals should be on hand. The Lee Anniversary kit had one in it originally, but not now. The Speer manual at that time cost $26.99. Now it's $29.99, and the Lee manual is another $21.99

Then there was powder and primers for all the calibers we were buying dies for. Powder is per pound, primer pricing is per thousand.

IMR 4064: $18.99 $25.87 (out of stock)
Winchester 296: $17.99 $21.60 (out of stock)
Winchester 231: $17.49 $21.04 (and also out of stock)

CCI Small Pistol: $21.99 $26.99
CCI Large Pistol: $21.49 $31.49
CCI Small Rifle: $22.49 $31.49
CCI Large Rifle: $22.99 $31.49

And then there was case prep, cleaning & miscellaneous:

Iosso Case Cleaning Kit
: $14.99 $16.79
I suggested a primer pocket cleaner and chamfer and deburring tool, but those are now included in the Lee Anniversary kit.
Safety Glasses: $8.99 $4.49 - that's the only item to reduce in price.

So in 2007 all the materials you'd need to start reloading for eight different calibers, with the exception of projectiles, was $542.76.  Today it would be $702.12, an increase of 29.4%.  Powder has gone up almost a third on average, if you can find it.  Primers have gone up almost 50%.

I'm glad I didn't record bullet pricing back then.  I don't think I want to know how much THAT'S gone up.

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