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Cheap powder

Philward

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 17, 2015
Messages
1,153
Location
Wa
Must have had that left can for a while, $14.99/lb. Load data on label is the same though. Just got some new stuff and was looking through my powder cabinet to finish the older stuff. Only about one 270win case worth of powder left in that old one. Probably bought in Spokane at White Elephant store.


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I just finished a cardboard can of H4198 price $3.75 @ the Outdoor Store probably 50 yrs old. The velocity was very close to Hornadys manual, and accurate. 2 cans of Imr 4350 marked $3.89
6 cans H 870 was & 1.99 used up in the 50BMG along with 8 lbs of free IRECO 85 I got for free.
16 lbs of IMR 5010. I kept less than a pound old H4831 Hodgdon sold for 50 cents a pound in a paper bag, put it in an empty cardbord container that was H4831 $1.90 per pound. You could buy 100 lbs of this powder in a keg. Ran 16 lbs of $34 for 8 lbs through a 222. And all the 452AA 473 AA and 630 were $4 per pound.
And 25 yrs ago ran 17,000 rds of 308 155 lapua some at 25 cents ea and 8 lb kegs of Varget for the lofty price of $112. You could load accurate varmint rds for 5 cents or less with Serria bullets, but the 52 gr match was 5.80 a hundred while the little Sierra 50 gr Blitz were $2.89 a hundred, made in California back then. The hunting and fishing opertunities were cheap and almost unlimited. No special tags, $15 to kill an elk, $4 for deer any where in the state. Total cost to kill an elk about $40 ...
No one shot steel at long range, we shot varmints, why I have a 50BMG....its for varmints.
Life before the world became woke and grender complicated, totally concerned about controlling every aspect of life on earth.
 
I just finished a cardboard can of H4198 price $3.75 @ the Outdoor Store probably 50 yrs old. The velocity was very close to Hornadys manual, and accurate. 2 cans of Imr 4350 marked $3.89
6 cans H 870 was & 1.99 used up in the 50BMG along with 8 lbs of free IRECO 85 I got for free.
16 lbs of IMR 5010. I kept less than a pound old H4831 Hodgdon sold for 50 cents a pound in a paper bag, put it in an empty cardbord container that was H4831 $1.90 per pound. You could buy 100 lbs of this powder in a keg. Ran 16 lbs of $34 for 8 lbs through a 222. And all the 452AA 473 AA and 630 were $4 per pound.
And 25 yrs ago ran 17,000 rds of 308 155 lapua some at 25 cents ea and 8 lb kegs of Varget for the lofty price of $112. You could load accurate varmint rds for 5 cents or less with Serria bullets, but the 52 gr match was 5.80 a hundred while the little Sierra 50 gr Blitz were $2.89 a hundred, made in California back then. The hunting and fishing opertunities were cheap and almost unlimited. No special tags, $15 to kill an elk, $4 for deer any where in the state. Total cost to kill an elk about $40 ...
No one shot steel at long range, we shot varmints, why I have a 50BMG....its for varmints.
Life before the world became woke and grender complicated, totally concerned about controlling every aspect of life on earth.
That's awesome
 
These are older than me. Still use them. 5lbs of Hi-Skor 700X $43.50, primers 1 cent each.
 

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Can you imagine having foresight to buy 100K primers for each standard cartridge? Revolver/Pistols, SR, LR, LRM? Be a hero today and far too many "friends"?

While I don't have 100k of each, I do have several 5k cases/blocks of each on hand, so in total I would reach the 100k++ mark.

I still have a few bricks I purchased in the day when Remington primers were $69/5k case delivered to my reman shop in the 90's, and I have a couple of 1k bricks that have $7.99 and $8.99 prices on them. Since then, I have routinely purchased store closeouts, estate sales, yard sales, individual ads, etc, etc, and I guess that obsession, as my wife called it, turned out to be a very good investment.

Being an old comp shooter and gun club VP/Range Master, I and we burned through untold thousands of rounds a season, and even the small ammo reman business consumed endless primers.
 
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I just finished a cardboard can of H4198 price $3.75 @ the Outdoor Store probably 50 yrs old. The velocity was very close to Hornadys manual, and accurate. 2 cans of Imr 4350 marked $3.89
6 cans H 870 was & 1.99 used up in the 50BMG along with 8 lbs of free IRECO 85 I got for free.
16 lbs of IMR 5010. I kept less than a pound old H4831 Hodgdon sold for 50 cents a pound in a paper bag, put it in an empty cardbord container that was H4831 $1.90 per pound. You could buy 100 lbs of this powder in a keg. Ran 16 lbs of $34 for 8 lbs through a 222. And all the 452AA 473 AA and 630 were $4 per pound.
And 25 yrs ago ran 17,000 rds of 308 155 lapua some at 25 cents ea and 8 lb kegs of Varget for the lofty price of $112. You could load accurate varmint rds for 5 cents or less with Serria bullets, but the 52 gr match was 5.80 a hundred while the little Sierra 50 gr Blitz were $2.89 a hundred, made in California back then. The hunting and fishing opertunities were cheap and almost unlimited. No special tags, $15 to kill an elk, $4 for deer any where in the state. Total cost to kill an elk about $40 ...
No one shot steel at long range, we shot varmints, why I have a 50BMG....its for varmints.
Life before the world became woke and grender complicated, totally concerned about controlling every aspect of life on earth.

Ah yes the good ol' days. I remember buying 8# cardboard kegs of Herc powders for $35 and numerous cans of IMR, WW, etc for around $4-5/lb. Numerous cardboard 8# kegs of BL-C(2) went down several 308 barrels, and I still have a few 8# plastic jugs of surplus 50cal powders I bought for $100/32# delivered, which were 4-8# jugs per box.
 
Can you imagine having foresight to buy 100K primers for each standard cartridge? Revolver/Pistols, SR, LR, LRM? Be a hero today and far too many "friends"?
Actually, my good wife got me into the habit of buying primers every time I visited my local shop. It was a wise suggestion that allowed me to shoot whenever and how much I wanted without the concern of running out of primers. Same for those powders that I used for my weapons.
 
Actually, my good wife got me into the habit of buying primers every time I visited my local shop. It was a wise suggestion that allowed me to shoot whenever and how much I wanted without the concern of running out of primers. Same for those powders that I used for my weapons.
Smart lady. A real keeper!
 
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