There is a quote attributed to Napoleon Bonaparte:
“The amateurs discuss tactics: the professionals discuss logistics.” We can
quibble about whether Napoleon was a better tactician or logistician (the
Russians have very FIRM opinions on that subject), but the fact remains that
you do not get to employ tactics until you have taken care of logistics. In
part 1 of this series, we did a rough comparison of the physical attributes of
several calibers. Here in part 2, we will compare the relative costs, or
economics, of caliber selection.
Guns
Depending on your budget, there is something out
there for almost anyone. For purposes of this discussion, I will be using
pricing information from Grabagun.com which happens to be a gun store in my
area and one I have patronized personally. You can do your own pricing research
with any online gun retailer such as Bud’s Gun Shop, Kentucky Gun Co., etc.,
etc. All the online stores will ship a gun to your local FFL where you can pay
a small (hopefully…it’s about $25 to $50 in my area) transfer fee to get your gun
assuming it complies with local laws. As an added bonus, you don’t pay sales
tax on out of state purchases and some online retailers even ship the guns “for
free” (TANSTAAFL – you can bet shipping costs are factored into the price you
are paying). So, on guns above a certain price level, the FFL transfer fee is
actually less than the sales tax if you had purchased locally. In my area, that
price point is around $350 (at 8% sales tax = $28 tax).
So, what do guns cost? According to Grabagun.com,
the least expensive 9mm semi-auto handgun you can buy right now is a Highpoint
that sells for $155. That’s about the same cost as three cartons of cigarettes
or a week’s worth of groceries.
On the opposite end of the spectrum is the Dan
Wesson Elite Series Havoc “race gun” at $4679 and change. That’s a lot coin,
and it’s not even the top of the heap when it comes to cost. Full custom, anything
goes, speed is just a question of how much money you want to spend, guns are
literally the sky’s the limit. If you want sticker shock, go spend some time on
SVI’s website “building” your dream gun. Be prepared to have $5000+ lying
around to make it a reality.
That’s not to say quality guns must be ridiculously
expensive. The hottest segment of the gun market right now is the polymer semi
auto market. This is the part of the market where Glock, Smith & Wesson
M&P, Ruger SR, Springfield XD and a host of others live. The price of poker
in this segment starts in the low to mid $200 range for a Taurus or Keltec polymer
semi auto and to over $800 for a Sig P320 RX equipped with their Romeo1 Red Dot.
Smith & Wesson M&P9 2.0s are running right around $399 to $419 with
standard 3 dot sights, Gen 4 Glock 19s can be had at $499 (more for the MOS,
Gen 5, special finish or night sight equipped versions).
All metal guns are typically a little pricier. 1911s
are a great example. Yes, you can get a Tisas or similar foreign made 1911 for
under $400. They will not have the same level of build quality or parts as guns
even in the $500 to $750 range. Rock Island Armory, Ruger, Taurus and some of
the Springfield and Kimber lines live in this price range. It’s a good place to
be if you love 1911s but don’t have a kilo buck to spare. These guns are
surprisingly well put together and are worth putting money into to make them
better. $750 to $1500 is where the 1911 market starts to go from adequate to
really good. Colt, Springfield, Kimber, Dan Wesson and several others have
excellent choices in this price range. Between $1500 and $2500, this is the
semi-custom/high end production end of the market dominated by STI, Les Baer,
and a few others.
So, you don’t have to spend a ton to get a great,
reliable handgun for self-defense. But, you can if you want to. Shop around.
Determine your needs versus wants. Find the best deal and place your money
down.
Ammunition
Now that you have your preferred weapon, you have
to keep the beast fed. Without ammunition, a gun is just a really awkward club
or an expensive paper weight. To stay proficient, you need to practice.
Practice means ammunition, and ammunition means money. How much money depends
on from where and how much ammo you buy at a time.
Except for the residents of a few restrictive states,
most of us can buy ammo online and have it shipped to our homes. The cost of
shipping only makes sense if you are buying in bulk. For instance, the shipping
price for a 500 round box of .22LR from MidwayUSA.com is $11.74 via UPS Ground
to my doorstep. The shipping cost for a 5000 round case is only $20.59. So, in general,
it is not cost effective to buy a 50 round box or two here and there and have
it shipped to your house. The exception to that rule would be for stuff that’s
hard to find in your area such as Underwood Extreme Penetrators.
A word on where to buy ammunition. Walmart is not a
bad place to find decent prices on basic plinking ammo. Don’t expect to find a
wide variety or every caliber, but they will have a fair selection of the popular
calibers such as 9mm, .40S&W, .45ACP, .357 Magnum, etc. Academy has a
little wider selection and decent sale prices although their regular prices on
some things can be higher. Gun ranges and mom and pop gun stores may/may not
have a wider selection, and their prices tend to be higher than the bigger box
stores simply because they cannot compete on the same volume level, but deals
can still be had and you generally get better service in the bargain especially
if you are a regular. For example, the local gun store near my office had a
great buy recently on Sellier & Bellot Full Metal Jacket 230 Grain .45 ACP
for $13.95 per 50 round box. Considering Winchester White Box for the same load
tends to run closer to $20.00 per box in my area, that’s a steal. Shop around, know
the general price spread in your area for the ammunition you need, and cultivate
a favorite gun shop or two. Buy in bulk online when bonus time rolls around.
Let’s take a look at some examples to illustrate
what I am talking about.
Let’s start with the humble .22 LR which is, without
a doubt, the best bang for the buck in the shooting sports. On the low end of
the quality spectrum, you can buy Remington Golden Bullet 36 grain rounds for between
$0.06 and $0.07 per round not including shipping/taxes. A 1400 round bucket
from MidwayUSA.com costs $93.99 plus about $12.00 to $15.00 shipping. Total
cost to your door: $108.99 ($0.07785/round). The same bullet purchased at Academy
in a 525 round box is $28.99 plus tax (8% in my area) for a total of $31.31 ($0.5964/round). So, in this example,
it’s cheaper for me to buy 3 boxes of 525 at Academy than it is to have one
bucket shipped from MidwayUSA.
If you are looking a little higher quality like Norman
Match 40 gr., you are out of luck at Academy. But, MidwayUSA will send you a
500 round box for $82.99 plus shipping ($0.17/round).
What about the costs of something a little beefier?
Let’s look at the relative costs of common centerfire calibers. For purposes of
apples to apples comparison, I’ve created tables for Winchester White Box and
Federal HST/Hydra Shok rounds priced from MidwayUSA.com not including shipping.
|
Winchester
White Box – MidwayUSA.com
|
|||||
|
Caliber
|
Bullet
Weight (gr.)
|
Price
/ 50
|
Price
/ rnd
|
Price
/ 500
|
Price
/ rnd
|
|
9mm
|
124
|
$13.99
|
$0.28
|
$134.99
|
$0.27
|
|
.357 Mag
|
110
|
$33.99
|
$0.68
|
$323.99
|
$0.65
|
|
.357 Sig
|
125
|
$34.99
|
$0.70
|
Not Available
|
Not Available
|
|
.40 S&W
|
165
|
$17.99
|
$0.36
|
$169.99
|
$0.34
|
|
10mm
|
165
|
Not Available
|
Not Available
|
Not Available
|
Not Available
|
|
.44 Mag
|
240
|
$48.99
|
$0.98
|
$459.99
|
$0.92
|
|
.45 ACP
|
230
|
$21.49
|
$0.43
|
$209.99
|
$0.34
|
When it comes to training/plinking ammo, bigger
bullets (= more raw materials = higher cost to manufacture) or less popular
bullets (= lower demand = lower supply = higher cost) are going to cost you
more (if can even find it…sorry 10mm fans). That’s pretty much common sense. A
.45ACP case uses more brass than a 9mm case. They also use more powder, larger
primers and bigger bullets. Duh. Bigger is better until you have to pay for it.
As you can see, .44 Magnum gets a double whammy by being big and less popular.
Ditto for .45 Colt. Ditto for .500 S&W. Etc.
|
Federal
HST/Hydra Shok – MidwayUSA.com
|
|||||
|
Caliber
|
Bullet
Weight (gr.)
|
Price
/ 20
|
Price
/ rnd
|
Price
/ 200
|
Price
/ rnd
|
|
9mm
|
124 (HST)
|
$26.99
|
$1.35
|
$249.99
|
$1.25
|
|
.357 Mag
|
158 (Hydra)
|
$26.49
|
$1.33
|
$639.99 (500 rnds)
|
$1.28
|
|
.357 Sig
|
125 (HST)
|
$59.99 (50 rnds)
|
$1.20
|
Not Available
|
Not Available
|
|
.40 S&W
|
180 (HST)
|
$28.99
|
$1.45
|
$269.99
|
$1.35
|
|
10mm
|
180 (Hydra)
|
$33.99
|
$1.70
|
Not Available
|
Not Available
|
|
.44 Mag
|
240 (Hydra)
|
$35.99
|
$1.80
|
$885.99 (500 rnds)
|
$1.77
|
|
.45 ACP
|
230 (HST)
|
$28.99
|
$1.45
|
$269.99
|
$1.35
|
It wasn’t possible to do a completely apples to
apples comparison with the hollow point rounds since Federal doesn’t load all
calibers for HST. I find it interesting that .357 Sig HST actually costed out significantly
less than 9mm HST. Otherwise, the general rule of bigger/less popular = greater
cost appears to hold true.
Now, let’s take a look at what it will take to
shoot/practice/train for a year comparing the cost of 50 rounds / week
(2600/year) vs. 100 rounds / month (1200/year) in .22LR, 9mm and .45ACP.
.22LR Rem. Gold. Bullet – 2600 x .07 = $182.00
9mm WWB - 2600 x 0.28 = $728.00
.45ACP WWB – 2600 x 0.43 = $1118.00
.22LR Rem. Gold. Bullet – 1200 x .07 = $84.00
9mm WWB – 1200 x 0.28 = $336.00
.45ACP WWB – 1200 x 0.43 = $516.00
The take away here is that the smart money is on
spending most of your training/practice dollars on .22LR ammo to keep
fundamentals sharp and incorporate your centerfire practice monthly if possible
(quarterly if necessary). A .22LR version of your self defense gun or even a
.22LR conversion kit will pay for itself in less than a year in most cases.
Accessories
Owning a firearm for self defense isn’t just a
matter of buying a gun and bullets. You are buying a weapon’s system, and you
need to treat it as such especially if you plan to carry it. If you expect to
carry your heater around with you, you need accessories like holsters, gun
rugs/cases, magazine pouches, extra magazines, revolver speed loaders, safes,
gun cabinets, cleaning supplies and equipment, etc. All of this stuff costs
money and there are varying levels of quality and price all over the map.
Holsters run anywhere from cheap $12 nylon “sausage
sack” holsters to $150+ full custom leather holsters that are as much art as
functional kit. Here’s a quick pro tip: if this is for your
barbeque/church/court gun, money is no object. Get the very best custom leather
you can lay your hands on with a matching gun belt. If this is your everyday
carry gun, money is no object. Get the very best kydex or leather/kydex holster
that fits your body and method of carry. Plan on budgeting between $50 and $100
to get something that works. Last pro tip: don’t skimp on the belt. Get a belt
specifically made as a gun belt (they are typically either very thick leather
or reinforced leather with kydex or steel cores). Dress belts and fashion belts
may look great holding your pants up, but they are not up to the task of
securely holding up your pants and 30 to 50 ounces of gun, holster and ammo up
where you need it.
For semi-auto pistols, magazines are the Achilles’
Heel of the system. Don’t settle for second best on magazines for any gun to
which you plan to trust your life. Take 1911s. Great pistols. The brainchild of
(Saint) John Moses Browning (peace be upon him) designed over 100 years ago.
Everyone and their dog makes them now. The same is true of the magazines. You
can find 1911 mags for less than $15 if your try really hard. They might or
might not work when you need them to. The gold standard for 1911 mags (in my
humble opinion) is the Wilson Combat 47D. I’ve been in luck in that my local
gun shop has been carrying them of late for $25. Other places charge upwards of
$33 to $35 for them. Also, beware of “higher than normal” capacity magazines. I
tried a Chip McCormick 10 Round Power Mag for my 1911. Reliable as the day is long
with 9 rounds in it. Top off the mag with the 10TH round, and it was
about as reliable as an Alzheimer’s patient. Factory mags are generally good
since they have been designed and tested to work with the gun in question. Last
note on magazines, treat them as maintainable but expendable items. Springs
wear out over time, followers can get dinged, feed lips can be bent/broken,
etc. If you start having problems with a particular magazine, just trash it and
buy a new one (unless it’s the only mag you have for your pristine Bren 10 you
use in the Sonny Crockett / Miami Vice cosplay outfit).
After the guns themselves, safes, gun cabinets,
and/or other secure storage solutions are probably the next biggest single item
expense for new bun owners. A fire proof, multiple gun, safe can run from north
of $500 to the $1000s of dollars for very high end safes. If you only have one
handgun, a fire safe is overkill. Most manufacturers ship their guns with gun
locks which will prevent the gun from being fired by people who don’t know how
to find and operate a key (like a toddler), but it won’t stop an adult with
lock picking skills that wants to take the gun. Lockable pistol safes can be
had for reasonable prices, but they also have their limitations. The sad truth
is that locks are for honest people and children. There’s plenty of YouTube
videos out there of people demonstrating how to breach even the toughest fire
safes. It’s just a matter time and tools.
Reloading
Reloading could be an article unto itself.
Reloading equipment ranges from $40-$50 for caliber specific Lee Hand Loader
kits that allow you to reload one bullet at a time with nothing but your
kitchen table and a hammer all the way up to top of the line Dillon Progressive
Presses costing close to a kilo buck that allow you to manufacture ammunition
at several hundred rounds an hour. In exchange for your time and effort, you
can save upwards of 40% on your ammunition costs through reloading after your
recoup the initial investment. Truth be told, most reloaders will tell you they
don’t save any money as they wind up shooting more. On the plus side, you can
tune loads to your specific needs whether it be “light loads” for new shooters
or hot “hunting” loads or anything in between. If you decide to dip your toes
into the reloading pond, budget somewhere in the $200 to $300 as a minimum for
a quality single stage press, caliber specific dies, and other equipment.
I'll wrap this up here by saying this is an expensive hobby, but there are deals to be had if you are patient and know where to look.
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