The price tag on my last can of Promo says $124.99 with a date of 3-2018.

Grafs when they had it in stock last month showed $255.99.

That's over 100% in 5 years. Inflation depending on who you believe shows 22-28% over the 5 year time period.

Gentlemen, we are being screwed.

I bought Alliant/Hercules powder for decades before I ever switched to the 'powder trust' and their imported stuff after Alliant's manufacturer induced 'shortage' several years ago.

I've been buying 'Perfect Pattern', NSI primers, and shot made in both Spain and Turkey just to have something to shoot.

To top it off, our club just paid over $17 a box for White Flyers delivered. Another product that has outstripped inflation by a good amount.

Joe Average is about to be priced completely out of this sport.

Clay target shooting is not an inexpensive sport. The club close to where I live charges 9.00 for a round of trap or skeet. I do not shoot there as I belong to a club that is nicer and less expensive. The stuff always works and it keep up nicer. However it is private.

John
Arrieta2

I belong to a club where members (cost of membership is nominal) can purchase cards for 20 rounds of trap or skeet for $70. Components are expensive. But members get some savings because the club makes bulk orders twice a year. The club has no paid employees. Everything done by volunteers. And we're doing well enough that we just paid for cement work to include all new pads and walkways. We also offer 5 stand. The club remains open for shooting year round, 2 days a week. Because we're located in northern Wisconsin, shooting during the winter months can be challenging. But there are almost always a few hard core types who show up.

Shotgun shooters seem to have received the short end of the component stick. I can find plenty of rifle and pistol powders but around here shotgun powders are hard to come by. Vista Outdoors has assembled a monopoly over components which I think is the cause of availability issues. Monopolies are bad. The foreign ammo makers have managed to find a foothold here and they are getting my bumwad dollars. In regards to inflation, without getting political, it’s debasement of the currency caused by reckless and feckless spending.

Beware of internet ads with popular powders priced too good to be true. Lots of scams still out there. Graf and Sons, Precision Reloading, and Ballistic Products can be trusted. As has been noted in another thread, traditional powders such as Red Dot are sky high compared to two years ago, but newer powders such as Perfect Pattern are relatively inexpensive--better than half price of Red Dot. Hodgdon relies on a Canadian MFG for some of its Clay lines and I wonder if Ukraine arty and SA demands have affected civilian mfg. Gil

Midway Arms is trustworthy. I live halfway between Graf and Sons and Midway Arms and purchase components from both of them. A bonus is that with pick-up, I avoid shipping and hazmat fees.

I'd ad Recobs to the "trusted" list of places that stock and sell a lot of components.

FYI Gee-Whiz stuff here.

I did an Argentina dove shoot last June. The outfitter was telling us they were being rationed on 12 & 20ga ammo and couldn't get 28 or .410. When asked why they were having a shortage. The answer was that 80% of the powder produced in Argentina was being exported to America. I don't know the whole story, but I do believe what I was told.

The public shooting park I go to around here is now charging $40.00 for a round of 100 sporting clays & if you have to buy ammo there it's $15.00 a box. That makes it a $100.00 per round-- pretty expensive in my book. Thankfully I don't have to buy ammo from them, but I wouldn't be willing to pay this kind of cash to shoot some clay birds.

If you want to shoot, you gotta pay.

FITASC requires factory ammunition.
100 birds will run more than $150.00

I shoot at one of the premier clubs in my state. Annual membership dues are $133.00. Trap and skeet cost $5.00 a round. Sporting clays are $25.00 per 50 targets. They are all remote, so I can shoot by myself. Like Mr. Brown, a member at my club can purchase a shooting card - 10 rounds get one free. I shoot 4-5 rounds of trap a week. Maybe some skeet. I reload my own. I have noticed it is getting more expensive to reload, but I have to have something to do in my spare time that I enjoy.

I previously lived in NJ where my club charged $5/rd of trap, skeet or 5 stand. They could keep costs down because they bought targets by the trailer load. When most of the members are blue color type guys they find a way to keep it affordable. Then I moved to south Florida. There are some fantastic shotgun ranges in the general area but still better than an hours ride north or south where I live. Prices to shoot are much higher here. The blue color retiree here is pretty much priced out. If it's difficult for me how will this activity attract young people? I think clay shooting is going to become an exclusive activity for the wealthy like in Europe. There are many reasons for this, inflation, dollar losing reserve currency status, urban sprawl, politics, etc. One of my old friends said it's a good time to be old. Maby he was right!

Our nearest clay shoot has charged £18 for 50 birds at Sporting Clays for a long while.

I went to a different club last Sunday and it was slightly more expensive at £25 for 60 birds.

If I only had to pay for the clays I succeed in breaking in mid-air I would save quite a bit of money!

How much is L18 and L25 in dollars? Sorry to ask. Is that about 18 and 25 dollars? Thanks.

At the local level here in CT, the skeet club I normally shoot at raised their prices from $4 to $5 for members and from $6 to $7 for non-members and they buy clays pretty much by the truckload (10 pallets of birds I think).
The club that does 5 stand once a month charges $8 for non-members and another club that does 50 bird sporting clay charged $20 for a round and $30 for a round, non-member.

I am still seeing new/younger shooters at the skeet club. A rise in transportation, raw material and salary costs has been passed on to the shooter. Covid and politics hasn't helped either, especially for reloading components for shotgun, rifle & pistol. I'll pick Winchester as a random example. If they can barely make enough components for their own use, there isn't going to be much excess to sell to the reloading community.

And both domestic and foreign politics has not helped. How much of the components normally used to make ammo (by both foreign and domestic makers) is being used to supply Ukraine?

£25 equals $30.47 US.

So about 50c per clay.

Not to dispute what you say Chantry, you pointed out some good issues. I don't know how much of the story is accurate, but I read on the trapshooter's forum that Winchester is coming out now with greater supplies of the 209 primers. Some of the members on that board said that they were paying around $70.00 for 1000 primers. So, we might want to keep an eye out for that. Just thought I'd give everyone a heads up. But when I started shooting trap 25 years ago, I believe it cost $3.50 a round for trap and skeet for members at our club. Now it costs $5.00 a round, so I don't think that's too bad. And you are right about reloading costs- they sure have gone up. It used to cost me about $2.50 to load a box of 12 gauge shells. I don't even want to figure what it costs now. It's an expensive sport/hobby.

I've read that Fiocchi is building a primer plant in I believe Arkansas. It should go online sometime soon. That will greatly help out the primer situation! Maybe we have some members here that live in the area that could give us an update.

I'm not just a shotgun shooter and talking to other handgun and rifle shooters, primer prices are as high or higher than shotgun primers. Powder seems to about the same, bullets and brass seems to be higher than pre-Covid as well. Using 9mm as a benchmark, 50 rounds of factory FMJ is about $2 more per 50 than pre-Covid.

I expect when things settle down, if they ever do, most American made components aren't going to get much cheaper than now. American primers will probably end up between $60-$70 per thousand for rifle, pistol & shotgun.

I'm expecting shortages late spring to early summer of next year due to the election. Maybe not so much for the shotgun sports, but definitely the more common rifle & pistol calibers and related reloading components

If you Google it, Fiocchi is building a 41 million dollar plant and hiring 120 workers to help out with the primer deficiency in the United States. So maybe that will help.

Not only is powder expensive--try to find lead shot for reloading that is under $60.00 a bag!

Correct, and there's no reason for it.

Lead on the Kitco commodities report today is 99 cents a pound, it's been hovering around $1 for years.

The Turkish brand 'Heper' was $46 at the Michigan state shoot last month, so transportation seems to not be the reason.

Jay's Sporting Goods in Gaylord wants $80 a bag for US made shot, and the Peruvian crap is closing the cost gap.

This seems to be greed driven.

On a recent trip to Iowa, I picked up 8 lbs of Green Dot for $330. What they had mostly were 1# containers @ $49. So while my Green Dot was expensive, it was still today's version of a good buy compared to buying 1# of whatever.

What prices will do is make it difficult for high school students who've been shooting on trap teams to continue shooting once they're out of high school. But then I think we lose a lot of them (hopefully on a temporary basis) if they go off to college. Although many colleges also have clay target shooting programs.

Checking the prices of 22lr, we're losing generations of plinkers.

A local indoor pistol range decided they wanted to get out the loading component business. I bought out their inventory of shotgun powders at 2016 prices. At the time I wasn’t sure if it was such a good idea….turns out it was. A couple of months later a friend called to tell me about about an estate sale of a former USA Palma team shooter. The amount of rifle components and parts were astonishing. I bought enough to keep me going for several years. I’m still short on lead and shotgun primers and none are to be had at reasonable prices around here.

Maybe we will replace the current generation of spray and pray shooters and instead develop a generation of marksman.

And that would be a fool’s comfort pony. Tomorrow’s antique single shot depositor of toxic lead into our hillsides is shooting ARs and Glocks today. But, I have a great idea, price the spray and prayers out of the passion, before they blow up weapons of war in their faces.

Fact, thefool you voted for has no clue he has appointed policy makers that’re on a mission to price the shooting sports out of the reach of jo average and their children. If any kid told me, hey there’s a prof who has these marksmanship classes, they’d know in no uncertain terms, not to be fooled by a lefty trying to stamp out the last flickers of marksmanship traditions. Grab ‘em young, and finish them off in college eh prof?

It would certainly be interesting to know the actual cause of the "shortages" that have developed over the last 5-8 years. The demented rants that abound have grown to be stupid and boring. OK, that's a lie. They were always stoopid and boring. Restricting production and expecting the consumer to embrace gouge pricing does not seem to be a sustainable business model. I sure that I could be worng on that.

Have a day

HAMAS just increased the price of propellant.

Shooting semi auto is a lot of fun full auto even more fun I was advised by my grandson who is 24 that there are a lot of shooter his age out there so mabey all is not lost.

That darn hamas.

You should both be horsewhipped.

Actually, if anyone should be horse-whipped, it is the anti-gun senile idiot who calls inflation Bidenomics, and also recently handed Iran 6 billion dollars.. That is permitting them to provide a lot more money to Hamas, Hezbollah, and other terrorists. Trump wiped out ISIS in short order and had Iran on the brink of collapse. Like it or not, demands for ammunition for large military actions ends up creating shortages and higher prices for civilian ammo and reloading components. Supplying ammo to support Ukraine isn't helping either. At least Obama only sent them MRE's and blankets when Russia invaded Crimea.

I understand that it is very difficult for some folks to connect the dots...

That's kinda harsh don't you think

I just saw Russian made shotgun shells for sale locally. So obviously, all components are not going to either of the wars . . . Ukraine or Israel.

"Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows!"

I'd be leery about putting anything "Russian" in a shotgun of mine Larry. The thought of the Russians making ammunition and sending it our way is a bit scary to me. I think I'll stick with the high American prices. LOL.................. Wonko mentioned that he would like to know why the high prices of ammo. When primers were really in short supply and I was calling around the country asking why primers were so hard to get, almost everyone told me the same thing-- that they were making primers for where the money was going. And that was to the handgun and rifle crowd who were reloading. Because more people were reloading rifle and handgun ammo than those who were reloading shotguns. I don't know if that was true or not, but that is the answer I got from just about everyone around the country. I mentioned in another thread, that supposedly, Winchester is increasing 209 production, now and guys were paying in the neighborhood of $70.00 per 1000. I read it on the trapshooting board. So, we'll have to see about that.

To Wonko's query, will simply say that there have been a series of occurrences and happenings that in the aggregate have all contributed to hiccups in the supply lines and elevated costs. To mention a few:

1) unfortunate fire incident happened in OZ several years back essentially killing that source of powder, and it was one that saw a lot of use by reloaders here. That horse has been beaten to death; it isn't new news. I'm being told as recently as last week that any new smokeless powder mfg. there becoming available to reloaders is still a couple of years out. Seeing any in our pipeline as an available component is likely even further out.

2) US Gov. and military contracts for small arms ammunitions have been prodigious, as in many 'X' millions of $$$
In businesses that survive, the money talks and those big contracts take precedent over more limited markets, like those where our interests are.

3) Every Tom, Dick & Harry entity has their own law enforcement agency these days and all shoot plenty of ammo, from what I'm being told as do many police Departments and SWAT groups and security companies.

4) Citizens have been buying firearms for self-defense at unprecedented rates since Obama was elected and most want to actually shoot them at least enough to develop a rudimentary proficiency. Ammo sales go in lock-step w/that. Demand for certain handgun cartridges saw unprecedented demand never experienced before that also saw scalpers seeing $$ opportunities and hoarders simply buying much more than they will ever have a need for, if we are honest about it.

5) It is safe in saying that virtually any smokeless powder suitable for shotshell application is also suitable for handgun ammunition.

6) There is no longer a viable functioning lead mine in the United States.

7) Go to any of the indoor shooting ranges that have proliferated here, and they are full. Some have 50 lanes. I don't know about other places, so can't speak to that.

There have been other factors from more recent fires, regulations that add to costs, wad shortages due to resin supply issues for some component makers, &c. Did those same issues affect the hull costs too? How could they not!? Oil [it's what plastic is made from too] and transportation costs have increased significantly during the same time period. Transportation costs for a container coming across any significant body of water have gone past stupid. Then getting it offloaded and moved by truck to a distributor is another expensive cluster. I don't think it is any ONE thing, rather a combination of many things that has created escalating costs and supply shortages. Just now seeing where some clubs can get sufficient quantities of loaded ammo to be able to support their member's needs for shooting 'the four guns' at skeet!! Many still cannot. Loaded .410 ammo has been scarce to unobtainable for going on 3+ years anyway, until recently. Know of one club that has an order in for a pallet of AA .410's and was told it will be sometime next spring before it can be filled, and the price is scary, but not as bad as the new retail.

Was a time not long ago where one could say that going to shoot birds in SA would cost $1K/day and be pretty accurate in that statement. NSCA Nationals are presently taking place in San Antonio and if you are shooting all the events, you can't do it for that... if you look at the whole pickle. The times, they have changed. Sadly, I don't look for Winchester to be offering rebates on their sleeves of 209 primers, as they did prior to the Wuhan virus being loosed upon us. For most reloaders, price drives the market. I switched to Nobel Sport 688 primers for shotshell target loads @ $40/K when they were introduced here and not had reason to look back. You can get a load pressure tested for about that or use published & pressure tested data found online.
--

And, as to Russian target ammo. Started seeing it this past summer in use for sporty clays & FITASC targets. Don't recall the name but tube color is black w/silver print [may have had the Russian two headed eagle on it or one of the empty boxes did] and bright washed T-3 or 4 heads. Saw plenty of spent rounds but never discovered who was shooting them nor bothered to try and find out who sold them. Found an unfired one that someone had dropped and brought it home to dismantle. It appeared to be very well-made w/quite hard shot and unrecognizable but nicely finished and pliable plastic wad. That one had 28grams of 8's and a 'square cut' powder w/a dif. looking sealed primer. Have to remember that the Russians have won some Olympic competitions in the past. SWAG method, I'd say what I picked up was their present better or best target ammo. Can't say more than that.

The Turkish made Hepper shot is said to be some of the hardest available. I'd like to try some of it on the grease plate, but no one down here handles it. USHA and FITASC both require factory ammunition for any of their competitions, so it's moot in that sense. Hard to beat Clever Mirage, Bornaghi Gold, RC or Winchester Light Handicap rounds for getting that job done.

Apologies for the long rattle, but I've been idle, waiting for an incoming call that will help to keep me shooting.

And two weeks ago Vista sold its ammo division to the Czech parent of Fiocchi. Is Winchester the only US domestic ammo producer for the US consumer market? The next few years will be interesting

All of the above is correct and here is some more and it's not just shotgun ammo that is expensive:
-Regional unrest near Bosnia has caused the Serbian government, which has at least part ownership in Priv Partizan, to make sure their ammo supply for their military is sufficent, so no Privi Partizan ammo for the forseeable fortunate
-Covid hit Brazil hard and there is unrest within the country, so no Magtech ammo for a while
-American ammo companies are not going to spend millions of dollars on new ammo factories when the ammo shortage will end before the new factories are completed
-American shooters are still hoarding
-Salary increases in most industries in the US has also caused ammo costs to go up. If they are paying $15-$16 an hour (Connecticut) for part time help at fast food and food stores, how much are the employees at the ammo companies making?
-Issues overseas is causing shortages, not all powder is made here in the US. Trailboss, popular with the cowboy shooters, is made in Australia and won't resume production until 2024. Another powder (Clays IIRC) is made in Canada and that's been out of production for at least a year.
-No more cheap Russian steel case ammo
-Prices are not going to go back to what they were pre-Covid. If anything the low end shotgun ammo is probably pretty close to where it will be when the shortages end. I fully expect the Federal & Winchester economy ammo to end at around $70-$80 per flat.

Don't worry. I'm not buying. And the club where I shoot most of the time, the cost is still $3.50/round of skeet, trap, or 5 stand. We have no employees. Volunteer labor. And we survey club members, then send in orders for components. Helps hold prices down.

Something I've done for a long time to hold down costs: I shoot 3/4 oz loads at skeet. Maybe I wouldn't if I were shooting registered, but I don't think shooting 28ga loads in a 20 hurts my scores much. Claybuster's 3/4 oz wad makes it very easy to reload 3/4 oz 20ga target shells. When it's not hunting season, I usually shoot skeet twice a week. 3 rounds each time. I shoot 7/8 oz in the 16, and I shoot those fairly often. Components there are more problematic. Mainly hulls and wads. Also shoot 7/8 oz in the 12ga. Having found 8# of Green Dot lately saves reloading costs because I'm only dropping 12.4 grains in my 20ga loads. That helps me save my other powders (mostly Unique and 20/28) for 16s and 12s.