N/A Cost estimate per shot

[Bear-of-Grayling]

I probably have nearly 100 tins of 500 count 22 caliber CPHP’s. 50 tins of 500 count, 177 RWS Basic. That’s the bulk. I bought them back when the CPHP’s were $6 or less and the Basics were $3. Less than or nearly a penny a shot. I also have the good stuff. Same with powder burning ammo. If I just want to plink, whether airgun or rimfire or center fire, I use the cheap stuff. If I feel like working for a group, I use the good stuff. Why spend 5 to 10 times more to shoot a can?

 

[Mycapt65]

I probably have nearly 100 tins of 500 count 22 caliber CPHP’s. 50 tins of 500 count, 177 RWS Basic. That’s the bulk. I bought them back when the CPHP’s were $6 or less and the Basics were $3. Less than or nearly a penny a shot. I also have the good stuff. Same with powder burning ammo. If I just want to plink, whether airgun or rimfire or center fire, I use the cheap stuff. If I feel like working for a group, I use the good stuff. Why spend 5 to 10 times more to shoot a can?

I dont like what the crosman hard lead does to my barrels. Id rather pay more and shoot softer lead brands to avoid the troubles. Even good pellets are dirt cheap when compared to powder burners or supporting any other hobby for that matter. Like I said earlier life's too short to wrestling with cheap equipment.

I love plinking but to me plinking is sometimes a 1.5" spinner at 25 yards and sometimes its a pill bottle at 70 yards. I like to hit what I'm shooting at. My shooting skills are enough of a variable to overcome. I don't need to introduce questionable ammo as another.

Plus I hate having to rezero my rifle between different pellets. I've gotten to know what pellets perform best in each gun and I generally stay with those. Occasionally I'll shoot alternate good quality pellets as a second choice. If I leave a gun sighted for second choice pellets I put a sticker with the pellet type a zero distance on a scope cap to remind me.

Heres my first choices.

All three Hw30s = 7.33 JSB/AA
Hw50, HW95 & Hw97 = JSB 8.44.
R9 & Hw98 20 cal = JSB 13.73
R1 & Hw95 22 cal = FTTs 5.54

Other pellets from those and other good brands will work fine but they're second choice back ups. I know I can grab these guns with the pellets listed above and they will shoot about as good as they can.

Even if I start off goofing around I eventually start pushing my luck and try harder targets because I'm attracted to a challenge. Between that and the occasional hapless pest that wanders in front of me I don't have room for cheap ammo with unreliable accuracy.

If you can only afford the cheap stuff that's different. It's better to shoot something than nothing. If you can afford the better stuff I recommend it.

I will admit that I use cheaper or second choice ammo when I have guest over that are unskilled at shooting any type of gun. For them small differences in accuracy don't matter.

 

[Treefrog]

I don't incorporate the cost of the gun into it because it's a recoverable expense.

The ($120) .22-cal QB78 that's been modded for efficiency runs at less than 2-cents a round with Crosman pellets and co2 cartridges. The ($10) Crosman 760 costs much less as BBs are not at all expensive. $2.00 tins of pellets and bottles of BBs are available at the swap-meets and on craigslist.

Cheers,

J~

 

[Bedrock Bob]

I dont like what the crosman hard lead does to my barrels. Id rather pay more and shoot softer lead brands to avoid the troubles. Even good pellets are dirt cheap when compared to powder burners or supporting any other hobby for that matter. Like I said earlier life's too short to wrestling with cheap equipment.

I love plinking but to me plinking is sometimes a 1.5" spinner at 25 yards and sometimes its a pill bottle at 70 yards. I like to hit what I'm shooting at. My shooting skills are enough of a variable to overcome. I don't need to introduce questionable ammo as another.

Plus I hate having to rezero my rifle between different pellets. I've gotten to know what pellets perform best in each gun and I generally stay with those. Occasionally I'll shoot alternate good quality pellets as a second choice. If I leave a gun sighted for second choice pellets I put a sticker with the pellet type a zero distance on a scope cap to remind me.

Heres my first choices.

All three Hw30s = 7.33 JSB/AA
Hw50, HW95 & Hw97 = JSB 8.44.
R9 & Hw98 20 cal = JSB 13.73
R1 & Hw95 22 cal = FTTs 5.54

Other pellets from those and other good brands will work fine but they're second choice back ups. I know I can grab these guns with the pellets listed above and they will shoot about as good as they can.

Even if I start off goofing around I eventually start pushing my luck and try harder targets because I'm attracted to a challenge. Between that and the occasional hapless pest that wanders in front of me I don't have room for cheap ammo with unreliable accuracy.

If you can only afford the cheap stuff that's different. It's better to shoot something than nothing. If you can afford the better stuff I recommend it.

I will admit that I use cheaper or second choice ammo when I have guest over that are unskilled at shooting any type of gun. For them small differences in accuracy don't matter.

You don't like tacos? Who says that?

Tacos are beautiful man. The food of the Gods. They are just like pellets. If one dosent suit you another one will.

I shoot cheap pellets for offhand training. As long as my target is within the limitations of the accuracy of the rifle they work fine. Misses are golden. You learn more from misses than hits sometimes.

You need to loosen up a bit. Get yourself some tacos. I recommend the tacos pastor. Try the carnitas. Put some of that habanero and mango salsa on them.

My suggestion is to get the cheapest pellets you can find and a half dozen tacos. Get the ones with 2 tortillas because they hold together better when you are shooting. Take a big bite of that savory BBQ and rub your right eye with a finger. Get some of that salsa in there really good. When it starts watering and burning you are ready to shoot!

Cheap stuff is just fine for offhand practice. A hatsan and cphp will hit a soup can at 50 almost every time. At 70 most of the time if you do your part. If you miss you can always blame it on the cheap pellets. If it bothers you to miss just put out a bigger target. It's all good.

I do shoot better with good pellets and a quality rifle. But hitting every shot just isn't that important to me anymore. Developing form and trigger timing shooting offhand is. So I suppose we just have different goals.

Sometimes I wonder if tacos think about me too...

 

[Chief Ten-Beers]

What I'd give to find a good taco here on the Iowa Illinois Border! lol

 

[Bedrock Bob]

What I'd give to find a good taco here on the Iowa Illinois Border! lol

When I travel I sure miss our food here. You can't find green chile that tastes anything like green chiles. The tortillas are an abomination. Salsa is full of tomatoes and not much else. They use all sorts of powdered "Mexican spices" that aren't good. Lots of ground beef and chili powder.

Mexicans just don't eat that stuff. They are more passionate about a plate of food than an italian.

I eat what's local wherever I go. It's always excellent. Wherever you are in the US you can get a great meal. Every region has a specialty.

Outside of New Mexico the food is a lot different. Some joints in south Texas and in California have great New Mexican and Mexican food. But most just don't have it together.

 

[Arzrover]

I lived in a block home with a decent urban yard and block fence in Phx for more than 20 years. I'm sure I exceeded half a million rounds there. Started capturing the lead at some point and used it for various things but still had a couple of hundred pounds when I moved. Definitely a lead mine on that property. My wife and I would sit and shoot for hours at a time on lots of days. We killed a ton of wasps and flies with my match pistols. SO much fun ! Mostly Hobbies and Meisterkugelns but lots of the Crosman Copperheads in there too. Then FT came to our area and after a couple of years we had a couple of pcp's. Likely shot a couple of hundred k rounds, practicing for FT, mostly Baracudas and CPH. She had a Daystate LR90 carbine in 22 during that era and could go 10 for 10 more than not on a 1/2" kz at 30 yds from her ft position .
Lots of fun times for sure...
Since moving, we've had at least 100 yds available and currently over 200. I'm sure I've put another half million down range but now it's been mostly the presumed "good" stuff. A lot of practicing and testing on paper and not as much FUN shooting... at least till last year when we took a break from competition. I mostly plink with friends now and test some new setups but put a couple of hundred down range on most days.
It's been a great time and sounds like most are enjoying a similar time plinking...
Bob

 

[MRaccurate]

You don't like tacos? Who says that?

Tacos are beautiful man. The food of the Gods. They are just like pellets. If one dosent suit you another one will.

I shoot cheap pellets for offhand training. As long as my target is within the limitations of the accuracy of the rifle they work fine. Misses are golden. You learn more from misses than hits sometimes.

You need to loosen up a bit. Get yourself some tacos. I recommend the tacos pastor. Try the carnitas. Put some of that habanero and mango salsa on them.

My suggestion is to get the cheapest pellets you can find and a half dozen tacos. Get the ones with 2 tortillas because they hold together better when you are shooting. Take a big bite of that savory BBQ and rub your right eye with a finger. Get some of that salsa in there really good. When it starts watering and burning you are ready to shoot!

Cheap stuff is just fine for offhand practice. A hatsan and cphp will hit a soup can at 50 almost every time. At 70 most of the time if you do your part. If you miss you can always blame it on the cheap pellets. If it bothers you to miss just put out a bigger target. It's all good.

I do shoot better with good pellets and a quality rifle. But hitting every shot just isn't that important to me anymore. Developing form and trigger timing shooting offhand is. So I suppose we just have different goals.

Sometimes I wonder if tacos think about me too...

Hot sauce in the eye! That is really twisted, but in a good way. I think we all have done that before. Really enjoy the comedy. I agree that you learn more from the misses. Keep them comments coming!

 

[Bedrock Bob]

Hot sauce in the eye! That is really twisted, but in a good way. I think we all have done that before. Really enjoy the comedy. I agree that you learn more from the misses. Keep them comments coming!

The chile here is so hot when you get it on your fingers you can't use your hands to pee. You just freestyle it. It will last all day on your hands. You learn pretty quick to not touch any tender skin.

Every miss is a lesson. I pay 4 cents a shot tuition for my education. I've taken a lot of classes. Maybe some day I'll get a degree in pelletology and become a pelletist. Until then I'll eat tacos, pee with no hands and miss as many shots as it takes to hit.

I have found that a coating of habanero oil on your fingers helps those Crosman pellets to stabilize better. I think you might get a few extra FPS with it too.

I'm developing a capsaicin based cleaning solvent and pellet lube kinda like Ballistol. It will prevent rust, makes the bore shine like a mirror and keeps you from picking your nose in public for a week. Look for it soon at your favorite airgun retailer!

 

[beerthief]

What I'd give to find a good taco here on the Iowa Illinois Border! lol

just have to go into the right neighborhood , yummey stuff .

 

[Chief Ten-Beers]

just have to go into the right neighborhood , yummey stuff .

Oh, trust Me, I know what a Taco is supposed to taste like, and there are none here! lol

 

[MRaccurate]

The chile here is so hot when you get it on your fingers you can't use your hands to pee. You just freestyle it. It will last all day on your hands. You learn pretty quick to not touch any tender skin.

Every miss is a lesson. I pay 4 cents a shot tuition for my education. I've taken a lot of classes. Maybe some day I'll get a degree in pelletology and become a pelletist. Until then I'll eat tacos, pee with no hands and miss as many shots as it takes to hit.

I have found that a coating of habanero oil on your fingers helps those Crosman pellets to stabilize better. I think you might get a few extra FPS with it too.

I'm developing a capsaicin based cleaning solvent and pellet lube kinda like Ballistol. It will prevent rust, makes the bore shine like a mirror and keeps you from picking your nose in public for a week. Look for it soon at your favorite airgun retailer!

You're got to offer a coupon for free 15" high rubber $hit shoes with these posts! Have a great day.

 

[Mycapt65]

You don't like tacos? Who says that?

Tacos are beautiful man. The food of the Gods. They are just like pellets. If one dosent suit you another one will.

I shoot cheap pellets for offhand training. As long as my target is within the limitations of the accuracy of the rifle they work fine. Misses are golden. You learn more from misses than hits sometimes.

You need to loosen up a bit. Get yourself some tacos. I recommend the tacos pastor. Try the carnitas. Put some of that habanero and mango salsa on them.

My suggestion is to get the cheapest pellets you can find and a half dozen tacos. Get the ones with 2 tortillas because they hold together better when you are shooting. Take a big bite of that savory BBQ and rub your right eye with a finger. Get some of that salsa in there really good. When it starts watering and burning you are ready to shoot!

Cheap stuff is just fine for offhand practice. A hatsan and cphp will hit a soup can at 50 almost every time. At 70 most of the time if you do your part. If you miss you can always blame it on the cheap pellets. If it bothers you to miss just put out a bigger target. It's all good.

I do shoot better with good pellets and a quality rifle. But hitting every shot just isn't that important to me anymore. Developing form and trigger timing shooting offhand is. So I suppose we just have different goals.

Sometimes I wonder if tacos think about me too...

Liking Tacos is purely subjective and has little to do with needing to lighten up. You're still right that I'm a little too serious and could stand to lighten up a little. That's just not airguns. But its that OCD side of me that makes me dig until I understand things and get better results than most.

My dysfunction benefits others here in terms of shared knowledge (if accepted) and some nicely tuned rifles for those I've done work for.

Like you I have guns that I dont take seriously and feed them any cheap ammo. My Weihrauchs just aren't any of them. I have plenty of fun with my Weihrauchs but I prefer to have the option of stepping up my game without having to clean and re season barrels, and then continually adjusting my zero until everthing finally settles in. It's more a matter of being too lazy, than too serious. There's really no savings running hard lead pellets through a gun.

I do appreciate your humor and wit. As much as I wish I could like tacos and be a lighthearted person it's just not happening.

Be well
Ron

 

[Bedrock Bob]

just have to go into the right neighborhood , yummey stuff .

Yeah. You can find Mexicans anywhere if you look hard enough. Find the vatos get the tacos.

Mexican riflemen are wicked shots. They started offhand shillouette competition in Mexico over a plate of tacos way back when. It's a historical fact.

In Northern Mexico horses and rifles are a huge passion. They are highly proficient with both. Everyone rides and shoots. Lots of guys compete with rifles. It's just like guys playing basketball in the US.

...only with tacos.

 

[delooper]

For cost per shot PCP users rarely take into account how much their pumps cost and how many pellets they've fired with air from that compressor. Cost of o-rings, replacement parts, etc. This can often bump up the numbers substantially.

 

[Bedrock Bob]

Liking Tacos is purely subjective and has little to do with needing to lighten up. You're still right that I'm a little too serious and could stand to lighten up a little. That's just not airguns. But its that OCD side of me that makes me dig until I understand things and get better results than most.

My dysfunction benefits others here in terms of shared knowledge (if accepted) and some nicely tuned rifles for those I've done work for.

Like you I have guns that I dont take seriously and feed them any cheap ammo. My Weihrauchs just aren't any of them. I have plenty of fun with my Weihrauchs but I prefer to have the option of stepping up my game without having to clean and re season barrels, and then continually adjusting my zero until everthing finally settles in. It's more a matter of being too lazy, than too serious. There's really no savings running hard lead pellets through a gun.

I do appreciate your humor and wit. As much as I wish I could like tacos and be a lighthearted person it's just not happening.

Be well
Ron

Ron!

I apologize if I was insensitive. I was being a jackass. I am truly sorry.

I too get obsessed with details. Especially with shooting. While I can't walk in your shoes I think I can relate in a small way.

That's why I said "pellet guns set me free". When I picked up a pellet rifle I absolved myself of the duty to mind the details. I try to shoot a pellet rifle for reasons other than potential accuracy or analyzing the data. So far it seems to be working.


All the best to you Ron!

 

[Sawney Bean]

Since taking up shooting springers 6 years ago I have probably fired a quarter million shots. Ive broken guns, mounts and scrambled scopes. Empty pellet tins and rifle shipping boxes litter the floor of the shop.

The thought of knowing how much I had spent almost terrified me. But the actual numbers looked pretty good.

Each shot has cost me about 4 cents.

Half the cost was in the pellet and half was the equipment.

I'm thrifty. And I shoot a lot of Hatsans with Crosman domes. I only own 5 air rifes. My cost per shot over time is probably very low by comparison.

How much does a shot really cost? A nickel? Three for a quarter? Has anyone ever looked at their numbers like that?

I generally work out the cost per pellet or per bullet of what I'm shooting and I order in bulk so that I get free shipping and every fourth tin free when I go through Pyramyd, which is 90%+ of the time.

My best recollection is that I typically pay a little over 2 cents a shot for .177, a little over 3 for .22, about 6 cents for .25 and around 11 cents for .30. I think BBs are around 4 for a penny depending on the brand and CO2 is about 55 cents a cylinder at Walmart.

I had the foresight decades ago to buy up about 10,000 rounds of surplus ammo back when it was available and cheap and I do 95% of my shooting with airguns, so shooting the powder burners doesn't really strain my budget much either. Unfortunately, 7.62x54R and 8mm Mauser were much, much cheaper than 7.62x51, 7.62x39 or 5.56 so I've got an overabundance of the first two and I have to be a bit more thrifty with the last three.

I don't worry too much about the cost of pellets, certainly not with .177 or .22, but I do try not to shoot up entire tins of .30 in a session. In general, I like H&N FTT's because they're cheap and all of my guns seem to like them.

 

[Sawney Bean]

I recently got a batch of NORMA Pellets. They are actually pretty good. I like them better than the Crosman, and with the 4 for 3 deal at Pyramid and shipping they were about 2.5 cents ea. A fellow on GTA swears by them for his .177's.

I bought 4 tins of those in order to get my order over $150 and to qualify for free shipping and just to have a different pellet around in case a gun shot them well. So far they seem to be fine, but I've only used them in my basement with pistols and iron sights.

 

[Sawney Bean]

For $5.99 a tin they are worth a try. Half the cost of other brands.

Small tins though. They aren't significantly cheaper per pellet than a lot of other brands.

 

[Chief Ten-Beers]

There are 250 in a tin. Same as the other brands. 17.5 Grain. Feel free to point Me to a Cheaper Brand?