Re: [ihc] What does it cost to make a big hole instead of a small one?

[John Hofstetter <hofs@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Oct 31, 2004, at 7:19 PM, Howard R Pletcher wrote:

> Our resident gunsmith, Hofs, can probably answer this one.  What's the
> cost of a .22 cal cartridge vs. a .45?   :-)
>
> On Sun, 31 Oct 2004 08:22:51 -0600 Jim Camery <jcamery@domain.elided>
> writes:
> > Digesters - something that's always made me wonder..
Aha! Caught you Howard, one small piece of "getting even" for all the 
times you have caught me.

There are, as you know, all kinds, varieties, and even some oddities of 
22 caliber ammunition. One weird duck even made some 22-50 cal. BMG 
rounds. If those were produced commercially, they'd probably cost 
around $10 per round.

I know Howard assumed that I would know that he meant 22 rimfire, but I 
can't resist.

Centerfire ammo such as the 45 acp have a primer to set off the powder 
charge. There must be almost as much work involved in making the primer 
as in making a 22 rf cartridge. The rimfire has the brass formed into 
the case with a primer mixture included in where the rim is formed. 
Thus one step produces a case ready for the powder and bullet. The 
bullet, by the way, is around 50 grains, whereas the 45 has a bullet 
that weighs around 240 grains. So, the 22 rf is much cheaper to 
manufacture, both from the number of steps in the manufacturing, plus 
the cost of the components.

Interesting side light, at least to me, is that during the Second World 
War, copper was so scarce, that reloaders were having to use 
un-jacketed lead bullets, a real problem with high power varmint guns. 
So, a fellow up in Oroville, CA made a tool that used fired 22 rf cases 
to jacket lead bullets. He called it the Rock Chuck Bullet Swage, and 
his company name was RCBS, still a major player in ammunition 
reloading.

For many, many years, because I was a school teacher with 3 hungry kids 
and a Travelall to feed, and every cent counted, I cast my own bullets 
in 4 or 5 calibers, and put gas checks on the ends of the bullets as 
kind of a barrier to hot gases melting the end of the lead bullet as it 
went down the barrel. I hustled wheel weights to make my bullets and 
would fire up my melting pot about once a month. My reloads would cost 
me about a penny for the primer and a cent or two for the powder, 
letting me do a lot of shooting cheap.

I now buy all my bullets from a bullet maker in Carson City, and they 
cost me around 5 cents, depending on their weight. His bullets are more 
consistent than mine were because he casts them, and then swages them 
under enormous pressure, making for a very consistent bullet. He then 
copper plates the lead rather than swaging a jacket on them, saving 
him, and me, a lot of money because he can plate thousands at a time. 
He does have an interesting time with all the environmental agencies, 
because of all the lead, copper, sulfuric acid, etc. involved in his 
operation. He could never stay in business in California, I don't 
think.

One more thought related, perhaps, to engine costs. The military uses 
the .223 Remington cartridge which we can probably buy for .05 a round, 
if we shop hard. That cartridge was derived from the .222 Remington 
which I shoot in a fine old Sako rifle only occasionally, because they 
cost me around $.70 a round. The .222 uses less brass, less powder, 
sometimes less lead, and still costs 14 times as much per round. 
Reminds me of IH engines as opposed to Chevy 350 engines.

John

John Hofstetter
Ol' Saline
www.goldrush.com/~hofs