Thread: Has the cost of this shooting as a hobby gone up or down?

I have been a shooter for about 15 years, which is a lot shorter than many old timers here.

Do you think the cost of shooting as a hobby, relative to income, has gone up or down? I remember reading somewhere that people used cull deer in Fiordland and get paid 3 bullets per deer. so bullets were so precious that it was worth the trouble for people go culling after it. 1 hour income on minimum wage today buys you 6~8 bullets.

Let me start the conversation with some points on both sides:

+ I would think with improvement of technology, the cost of good stuff: good powder, precision projectile, good brass, precision barrel, must have came down relative to income.

+ Mass production should also have made things cheaper relative to income.

- Everything shooting related is heavy on chemical and metal processing. With increased environmental awareness, cost of compliance increased hence increasing cost of production.

- With capitalism, smaller players get eaten by bigger players, there are less players out there for high barrier-of-entry products, they probably by now have some level of monopoly/duopoly/oligopoly. Are Eley, SK, Lapua, CCI and Hornady in such places? Luckily for shooting, other than bullets I cannot think of anything else that has high barrier-of-entry.

- Range costs have definitely gone up with free ranges drying up.

Also a point on the side of ‘it’s more affordable now’ is that we have a wider variety of used goods - firearms & equipment - at a wider variety of price points that were not as prevalent decades ago. Today we can buy a very usable pre-loved $300 rifle, which is not much more than a days labour, maybe two.

I just compare it to playing golf and congratulate myself on being a lousy golfer and selling my clubs

The cost prices for a lot of things from wholesalers is now higher than the retail prices were before covid. So vs 3 years ago, things are significantly more expensive.

Relative to 30 years ago? Still probably cheaper. And the tech has come a long way. Would it be wrong to say that something like a blued/walnut BSA paired with a 3-9x40 scope was practically the pinacle of what you could buy? And it'd set you back several weeks worth of salary. Look at the kinds of rifles and accessories to go with that you can get for an equivalent amount of cash now.

fornication I found a very expensive hobby ,although the side effects are now self supporting so thats kept costs down somewhat. my shooting -very bloody economical as ive had a couple of bloody good mates who saw the light and shot off over the ditch leaving their gear ,yes even those ,in my carePERMANENTLY.Other bits of kit Ive collected from my TF army days ,recycling places and a lot off DIY efforts .My safes -nothing flash aslthough a couple have major significance ,but at the end of the day i have fun and pick up as feed here and there

My Tikka 595 in 243 was $1400 new in 1993, Tikka T3 is around $1600 now.

It’s only money at end of the day

Originally Posted by Ultimitsu

I have been a shooter for about 15 years, which is a lot shorter than many old timers here.

Do you think the cost of shooting as a hobby, relative to income, has gone up or down? I remember reading somewhere that people used cull deer in Fiordland and get paid 3 bullets per deer. so bullets were so precious that it was worth the trouble for people go culling after it. 1 hour income on minimum wage today buys you 6~8 bullets.

Let me start the conversation with some points on both sides:

+ I would think with improvement of technology, the cost of good stuff: good powder, precision projectile, good brass, precision barrel, must have came down relative to income.

+ Mass production should also have made things cheaper relative to income.

- Everything shooting related is heavy on chemical and metal processing. With increased environmental awareness, cost of compliance increased hence increasing cost of production.

- With capitalism, smaller players get eaten by bigger players, there are less players out there for high barrier-of-entry products, they probably by now have some level of monopoly/duopoly/oligopoly. Are Eley, SK, Lapua, CCI and Hornady in such places? Luckily for shooting, other than bullets I cannot think of anything else that has high barrier-of-entry.

- Range costs have definitely gone up with free ranges drying up.

They were allowed 3 rounds per kill (proved by the tail). I bought .303 rounds for sixpence each about that time. If they used more than 3 rounds the cost was taken out of their wages.
I think that shooting is more expensive now only if we buy every new whizzo bit that is brought out. Otherwise much the same or a little cheaper when compared to income.
GPM.

Cheaper for a lot of stuff now my first decent rifle secondhand was $660 in 1983 when my wages before tax was about $8500 a year.
Better and lighter gear now.
But decent stuff is still pricey the weight savings in dollars is hard to justify.
Interestingly pack weights are apparently still the same as the savings in weight on such things as tents, sleeping bags etc is offset by the
"essentials" we now carry stoves, plbs, phones gps and ......

Today a newbie can save themselves a shitload due to the internet. All the mistakes you can make, all the gear that is great/that is shit, all the neat tricks to getting a rifle to shoot, to reload etc are all out there at the click of a mouse.

Something we had to learn the hard way.

Originally Posted by Ultimitsu

I have been a shooter for about 15 years, which is a lot shorter than many old timers here.

Do you think the cost of shooting as a hobby, relative to income, has gone up or down? I remember reading somewhere that people used cull deer in Fiordland and get paid 3 bullets per deer. so bullets were so precious that it was worth the trouble for people go culling after it. 1 hour income on minimum wage today buys you 6~8 bullets.

Let me start the conversation with some points on both sides:

+ I would think with improvement of technology, the cost of good stuff: good powder, precision projectile, good brass, precision barrel, must have came down relative to income.

+ Mass production should also have made things cheaper relative to income.

- Everything shooting related is heavy on chemical and metal processing. With increased environmental awareness, cost of compliance increased hence increasing cost of production.

- With capitalism, smaller players get eaten by bigger players, there are less players out there for high barrier-of-entry products, they probably by now have some level of monopoly/duopoly/oligopoly. Are Eley, SK, Lapua, CCI and Hornady in such places? Luckily for shooting, other than bullets I cannot think of anything else that has high barrier-of-entry.

- Range costs have definitely gone up with free ranges drying up.

new and good second hand rifles have gone thru the roof - but items like tents sleeping bags clothing with carefull shopping cheaper or the same

Its gone down for me this year. The weather has been so shit haven't been going out as much..

It is still a cheap sport compared to yachting ,horse riding or drag racing.
Components have definitely gone up by nearly 2 folds what they used to be around the early years 2000.
The price of everything going up is what makes it less affordable I feel.

Some real good cheap rifles now due to better manufacturing processes
I would say imo that 40 yrs ago a top sako
Would shoot the same as a lot of the budget rifles of today
Components are defn dearer, but so much more range , and better made imo

Originally Posted by XR500

Today a newbie can save themselves a shitload due to the internet. All the mistakes you can make, all the gear that is great/that is shit, all the neat tricks to getting a rifle to shoot, to reload etc are all out there at the click of a mouse.

Something we had to learn the hard way.

On the flip side there would be a few people on here who have spent a shitload due to the internet

the price of fuel is the single biggest issue for me.....makes zipping out to dairy farm to shoot bunnies or recheck zero of rifle a more costly outing,so happens much less if at all.