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Member Joined: 20 Mar 2005 Posts: 1522 Location: NH

Stopped by Cabela's in Hamburg, Pa today since I wasn't too far away shooting sporting clays.

To my surprise they had at least 2 flats of Fiocchi Golden Pheasant on the shelf, some Winchester hunting shells and a few cases of Estates in 6s and 8s.
I would have liked to pick up a flat or 3 of the Estates but not to the tune of $59+ a flat. Especially when the 12s and 20s were $44+ a flat. I'm not paying a $15 premium for Estates or any other brand of ammo. Evil or Very Mad

But at least they had some hunting ammo in there if you wanted it. Better than the last couple of times I was there.

Joined: 06 Sep 2007 Posts: 154 Location: Kentucky

I don't seem to have a problem finding shells during hunting season. It's during the off season that the stores seem to not stock 16's.
It sort of bugs me too that you have to pay a premium but in reality shells are really dirt cheap now days compared to when I was in H.S. I have in my collection a box of old remington sureshot 16's from the 70's showing a $3.10 price and an old box of Super X at 3.99. It sort of tickles me when I hear folks crying about the cost of shells now days.

Member Joined: 20 Mar 2005 Posts: 1522 Location: NH

I don't know about cheap. The ammo I was talking about, the Fiocchi GP, Winchester etc was all $12.99 and $13.99 a box.

The Estate was cheaper but that wasn't hi end hunting stuff. That was their low end 1oz load.

Joined: 06 Sep 2007 Posts: 154 Location: Kentucky

I'm not trying to be argumenative but talking in relative terms. I use to get $3-5 for mowing a yard that a kid wouldn't touch for less than $40-$60 today and a day of tobbacco cutting would get you maybe $15 probably $10, so in that light $12 for a box of shells today isn't that bad. Also the quality of todays estate and other hunting loads such as rem. game loads is really quite high compared to 35 years ago. The superX I have don't even have a shot cup but instead have a plastic wrapper around the shot. I think we're living in the golden age of shooting right now.

Now if the doves would just get with it :^)

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Unless Dick's has the odd flat of Rem GLs in 7.5 or 8, the best I'm finding locally is the Win 8s at $5.19 per box. Finding 6s locally is no problem, but you generally can't take the 6s to clubs. Sad

No biggie for me, right now at least. I'll drop 90 percent of my club shooting as soon as November gets here. Got enough practice (7.5 or 8s) to get me through the rest of this year. Got plenty of higher-end hunting loads, too.

I know its of little consolation, but shooting 16 factory loads even at $6 per box is still cheaper than shooting 28s or .410s. The 16s and my Benelli SuperSport in 12 now carry about 90 percent of my shooting load now, anyway. My 28, 20 and 410 all get out for a round or two for giggles. I love my 16s work one of 'em out weekly and they'll remain my bird guns. But that Benelli has been a straight-shooting, soft-on-the-shoulder, shell-eating machine. Easy to clean and can't hurt the thing, either. It's as close to care-free gun as I've ever owned. Not much "soul" in a black and stainless autoloader, but those boys at Benelli must have some very good engineers.

Only taking two 16s out for pasture trap with my bro today. From now through October, it's claybirds with the field guns only. I'm a bird hunter with November around the corner. Wheeeeeeee! Very Happy

Member Joined: 20 Mar 2005 Posts: 1522 Location: NH

MGF,
I agree with you. I won't be doing much shooting at all except at pheasants come the end of Oct. So the 40 cases of RGLs and Feds I have will get me through next year. Very Happy

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