How much Brass, Bullets, and Powder do you buy?

[TwoTracks]

How much Brass, Bullets, and Powder do you buy for a new build? I'm collecting parts for my next build, a 300 win mag shooting 215gr Berger's. I've usually just bought 1lbs jugs, 100 rd boxes and maybe 100 pieces in the past. Then after I had a proven load, stocked up on what worked. Lately, I've read about folks, buying enough components, to last the life of their barrel. Which route do you take and why? Thanks in advance.

 

[Dosh]

Two, with the recent scarcity of some powders and in some cases desirable brands of brass, perhaps a greater number of components would be in order. I'm not advocating hoarding, but a decent supply. I went out of town this past weekend and found Retumbo and H1000 at two small town gunshops. Same lot # on all.

 

[Jud96]

I usually just buy a little at first to confirm the powder, bullet, brass, primer combo will work. When I get a solid load developed, then I buy at least 8lbs of powder, 300+ bullets, 1000 primers, and usually just 50-100 pieces of high quality brass. I'll double check the components I bought in bulk, since they will more than likely be different lots than my test components. I don't have any centerfire target rifles and don't shoot any matches with my high power rifles yet, so I don't need more than 100 pieces of brass for practice and hunting at a time. Good brass, with a safe load, will last 10+ firings a piece. That's 1000+ shots for 100 pieces. To me that's a lot of shooting for a hunting rifle.

 

[bill123]

Enough of a single lot of each component to get through a barrel.

 

[TwoTracks]

Enough of a single lot of each component to get through a barrel.

That's what I'm considering, but it seems a little risky, if the planned load doesn't pan out. It's also a big financial hit right off the bat too. It does have merit though

 

[Rhovee]

I buy enough to last the barrel. Just because there is enough stuff to worry about besides lot numbers. I have about 4K bullets and 80 pounds of powder. I find powder to be more of and issue than bullets.

 

[Plinker147]

I buy at least 100 rds of brass. Bullets and powder you usually change up throughout the coarse of a barrel, so no need to go crazy on buying until your sure what you are going to shoot. I figure that once I exhausted the 100 rds brass 5-10 firings depending on cartridge, it's usually time to tweak the load, chase the lands and re-work up a load with new brass

I use r 25 in my 338RUM. During the shortage I found 8 lbs so I bought them. Later learned how un-temp stable 25 is and wished I hadn't bought so much. So now I don't buy a lot of components.

There is always be new pixie dust coming out that you just have to try!!

 

[yorke-1]

Once you find a load that the gun shoots well, stock up. There's no point in buying a keg of powder until you know it will work. Same goes for bullets. I've never had a reason to switch primers to get a good load so I just keep a couple thousand of each on hand, CCI 450s, CCI 200s and Fed 215s. I use more large magnum rifle primers than anything else, so I have more of those on hand. I typically only buy 200 pieces of brass for my rifles. That's enough brass to burn out the barrel on most of my rifles.

 

[TwoTracks]

I buy at least 100 rds of brass. Bullets and powder you usually change up throughout the coarse of a barrel, so no need to go crazy on buying until your sure what you are going to shoot. I figure that once I exhausted the 100 rds brass 5-10 firings depending on cartridge, it's usually time to tweak the load, chase the lands and re-work up a load with new brass

I use r 25 in my 338RUM. During the shortage I found 8 lbs so I bought them. Later learned how un-temp stable 25 is and wished I hadn't bought so much. So now I don't buy a lot of components.

There is always be new pixie dust coming out that you just have to try!!

I agree with the pixie dust chase. Seems like every couple of years, there a new trend to sniff.

I too have too much Alliant RL powder taking up space. Other than a broken scope, that has been my most frustrating venture in reloading.

 

[TwoTracks]

Once you find a load that the gun shoots well, stock up. There's no point in buying a keg of powder until you know it will work. Same goes for bullets. I've never had a reason to switch primers to get a good load so I just keep a couple thousand of each on hand, CCI 450s, CCI 200s and Fed 215s. I use more large magnum rifle primers than anything else, so I have more of those on hand. I typically only buy 200 pieces of brass for my rifles. That's enough brass to burn out the barrel on most of my rifles.

That's exactly how I've done it so far. Buy 100-200 pieces of brass and keep a few thousands of various primers on hand. It's served me well but the, buy 1500 bullets and a few jugs of powder from the same lots makes sense, but it's a big investment.

 

[yorke-1]

That's exactly how I've done it so far. Buy 100-200 pieces of brass and keep a few thousands of various primers on hand. It's served me well but the, buy 1500 bullets and a few jugs of powder from the same lots makes sense, but it's a big investment.

If you have a proven load, then go ahead and stock up. I'm trying to down size the powder collection since I was up to 27 different powders on hand at one point. Now I try to stick to a couple of versatile powders and just buy a keg of each. Powders like Varget, H4350, H1000, Retumbo and H50bmg will cover a lot of different rifle combos and makes it more affordable to keep a good supply on hand. A keg of H1000 is enough to keep even an avid 300 Win Mag shooter stocked up a couple years. Combine that with 200 pieces of brass and you'd be covered for better than half the life of the barrel and it would be flexible enough to work with a variety of different bullets.

If you find one bullet that works well for you, then grab 500 of them. I hate to buy too many of any single bullet though because I never know when something new is going to come out that I want to try. There's nothing worse than sitting on 300 bullets because you found something new that works better! LOL

 

[Rhovee]

I would add that I to buy powders that work in most of my rifles. H1000,RL23,RL16,Retumbo. It would be a rare that a 300 win mag wouldn't shoot H1000 and 215's.

 

[jrock]

I buy two types of bullets and powder for a new gun. For brass, if you are going to shoot a magnum on the hot side, it might be worth buying 200 cases as the primer pockets can wear out pretty quick. Other than that 100 cases usually is enough for me. If you find a scarce powder, I would buy at least 3 lbs. Also, don't buy a brick of primers until you have found a load you like.

 

[skipglo]

That's what I'm considering, but it seems a little risky, if the planned load doesn't pan out. It's also a big financial hit right off the bat too. It does have merit though

I wouldn't go that far with powder or primers...your bullets will not deteriorate but powder and primers can become a storage problem if you live in an area with dramatic climate changes. 8 lbs of powder will give you 800+ rounds. So judge the powder by how much you can shoot in a year! IMO. Also 100 brass is where I generally start.