Non-scientific observations from the gun range

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FrankNmac

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These are just some random observations I have made over the past couple of months at our local outdoor gun range compared to the past couple of years. These are primarily weekends in the morning (8-10:30am) with some late afternoon sessions tossed in there.

* Most times there is our small (2-5) group of shooters at the pistol range and nobody else.
I know the summer heat plays a role, but we had summers the past couple of years also. I think the higher prices and lack of availability of handgun ammo (especially 9mm) have impacted turnout.

* For those of our group who reload, the brass scavenging has been less fruitful. Probably from fewer shooters and maybe more people picking up their brass to reload.

* Our group of shooters is shooting less ammo, We used to do more drills and volume shooting, but now the focus is shorter sessions on accuracy and being more intentional with our shooting. The driver of this is the ammo availability/price.

* Some of our group have changed from 9mm to .22 shooting because it is less expensive and more readily available than 9mm.

* Some of our group are so concerned about being able to replenish their 9mm supply that they are saving their last few hundred rounds until they are able to more readily get 9mm.

*Finally, everyone wishes they had bought more 9mm when it was available in bulk at cheaper prices! :cry11:

What are you all seeing in your areas?
 
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druryj

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I have enough of various calibers to get me by for awhile, but not forever, and who knows what is gonna happen after the election? So, I still go to the range and shoot, but more .22LR than my other calibers. I do notice that a lot of people come in to the range, shoot just a little, and leave.
 

HJB

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I have stopped going to the range at all for the last few months for a couple of reasons.

First because my wife and I are in the senior category with other conditions that makes the Chinese virus very dangerous so we really don't take a chance at all of exposing ourselves.

And then because I only have about 2,000 rounds of 9mm and do not want to shoot much of it until I can reasonably replace it. I have enough .22 ammunition that I could go and shoot some of it and probably replace it pretty easily, so if the risk of going to the range gets more in control in our area I will probably go and start shooting some of that.

I have also borrowed an AR-15 from my son-in-law along with some ammunition that he has plenty of and I'd like to go shoot it some since it has been a long time since I shot a rifle. I don't have a rifle and never could see the need before now, so he was perfectly willing to loan me one of his 5 AR-15's. He went to the gun show in Ft. Worth last weekend and he said people there were selling them for $3500...and people were buying them like crazy along with $1.50 a round 9 mm ammo.
 

mouthpiece

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I go 1-2 mornings a week.
I'm still shooting about the same but ebbs and flows with the current project or interest.

My experience has been opposite in regards to the 9mm brass.
Seems to have increased by roughly 1/3.
Picked up(and sold) over 15k pieces of 9 in the last two weeks.

Seems people are shooting more 9, less .40, about the same .45
I've been seeing less 223, more 300BO and 6.5CM
As always, so much 22LR brass I can't tell if it's more or less.
 

Oklahomabassin

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I have stopped going to the range at all for the last few months for a couple of reasons.

First because my wife and I are in the senior category with other conditions that makes the Chinese virus very dangerous so we really don't take a chance at all of exposing ourselves.

And then because I only have about 2,000 rounds of 9mm and do not want to shoot much of it until I can reasonably replace it. I have enough .22 ammunition that I could go and shoot some of it and probably replace it pretty easily, so if the risk of going to the range gets more in control in our area I will probably go and start shooting some of that.

I have also borrowed an AR-15 from my son-in-law along with some ammunition that he has plenty of and I'd like to go shoot it some since it has been a long time since I shot a rifle. I don't have a rifle and never could see the need before now, so he was perfectly willing to loan me one of his 5 AR-15's. He went to the gun show in Ft. Worth last weekend and he said people there were selling them for $3500...and people were buying them like crazy along with $1.50 a round 9 mm ammo.
I can see how that could convince one to sell.
 

thor447

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My brass collection is steadily growing. I've made an agreement with a local indoor range. I'm now collecting all of their brass on a weekly basis and sorting it for them. Soon, they are going to begin selling range fired brass (sorted by caliber) by the pound. They are beginning to build some cabinets to hold all of the product. I've sorted 3 weeks of their brass thus far, and am taking a small percentage of certain calibers for myself. With that brass, along with what I've been picking up during my trips to the outdoor range, I'm beginning to put together a fair amount. Enough so that I had to go on a bucket buying trip this past week! I thought I'd like to have it handy so I could expand my loading into new calibers, but perhaps it'd be good to sell some too. I honestly don't know what they sell for, and haven't really thought about it until now.
 

rickm

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I once sold all the brass i didnt have guns for and now regret it cause i have bought guns that i need the brass for so now days i keep all brass i come across just in case i buy something new.
 

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