The business of practice … meets the business of ammunition

Guns Magazine, August, 2008 by Clint Smith

With the current costs of ammunition it is often hard to justify casual shooting or sometimes even defensive practice in addition to the overall general cost of just day-to-day living. Ammunition costs went up a nominal 11 percent in January and we can expect another price increase towards the middle of this year. With baseline raw material costs and/or metal shortages the ammo makers simply need to raise their prices so as to continue making a profit, which is understandable since even making ammunition is a business. Understanding the business and profit aspect doesn't make it any easier for those of us who buy ammunition on a regular basis.

Another business perspective is the cost of ammunition affects our ability to run a shooting school with the current school joke being--sort of--pretty soon it will cost more for the ammunition than it will cost for the class tuition for those seeking instruction and training. Add to the cost of ammunition the tuition and the cost of travel and lodging and very soon it becomes an expensive proposition. And all of this affects you, the consumer.

One of the biggest issues from a teaching point of view is the students who attend training need to continue or maintain a level of skill after they pay for and attend the training. Simply, if you take a class and don't handle or shoot the firearm for six months, I firmly believe that six months from now, at three in the morning, you will not remember what you learned in training. More importantly, you will not rise to the occasion. In reality, you will probably default to the lowest skill level for your personal defense.

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Options of course are reloading ammunition to save money. Another maybe to partner up with someone and load ammunition by the team concept both in the initial investment for equipment and the actual loading, being careful to focus on the business of loading and not making it a social event.

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I believe practice is practice and so state in every class lecture I give. If you like IDPA or IPSC or Cowboy Action Shooting then shoot in the things you enjoy. Even though these sports may not be a true representation of what you may do or want to do in a personal defense mode they are still excellent forums to practice applying the proper use of the trigger and sights.

Another approach to money conservation may be to use .22 rimfire firearms comparable to your carry firearms. Yes, recoil will be less than your .357 Sig or your .44 Magnum, but the gun handling and use of the sights and trigger will still need to be in good form. Rimfire ammunition is substantially cheaper than full-blown ammo to the tune lots of money even in just a box of 50 rounds. Calling my friend at Cheaper Than Dirt, Dewayne Irwin, he quoted me off the shelf prices of $3.97 for 50 .22's and $20.97 for a 50-round box of .45 ACP. While I had him on the phone I asked how many .22 conversion kits he had on hand, Dewayne stated without prompting "None now, they are hard to keep on the shelf, they go out as fast as they come in." Might be a message there?

Revolvers

This is not too difficult an area to address as Smith & Wesson, Charter Arms and Taurus both make small-framed .22 guns comparable to the small-frame models in .38/.357 calibers many people carry for personal defense either as a main or backup handgun.

The Smith & Wesson 317 is the one I use and for large-frame handgun practice. My 4"-barreled Model 17 has weight similar to K- and L-frame revolvers I might use. Regardless of size, weight and recoil, the double action manipulation is one of the key points to be practiced in training. All of these handguns have a set of sights and a trigger, so all practicing you may do, regardless of caliber, can be helpful in maintaining skills.

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Auto pistols might be even easier to train with than revolvers as there are many conversion kits and as well complete guns made in .22 caliber. Kimber has an extensive product line to include a conversion kit and great looking complete guns if you wanted a dedicated .22 auto pistol for practice. So does Ruger in both revolver and auto as well. Bill Wilson of Wilson Combat also has an excellent conversion kit that matches up to your guns or full caliber guns built by his crew. Other makers of conversion units are Jonathan Arthur Ciener, Marvel and Advantage Arms build a broad spectrum of .22 conversion kits for Glocks, 1911s and just about anything else you can think of shooting, yet saving some money while doing so.

So You Know

About now some of you would comment on the fact "I thought you were a big-bore gun guy." And, of course, you would be correct, but this falls under the category of being smart. I shoot and teach firearms for a living, buying guns and ammo are part of my everyday expenses, but probably not so for the majority of people reading this. I wrote this to educate and inform you about viable options for shooting and continuing to shoot for skills development and maybe just fun practice, even in tough money times.