How do you guys handle buddies paying for ammo they shoot from your guns?

[jblomenberg16]

I've been blessed in life to have a lot of great friends and family members that enjoy shooting as much as I do. Generally it is accepted that when shooting together, we all take turns shooting the others' guns and we call it even at the end of the day.

Recently I've been shooting with a few guys from work who are seeing why so many of us have EBR disease. I've continued to be generous with my personal ammo stash, and really don't mind sharing at all. I enjoy the commraderie, and have learned a lot from them along the way, plus had the opportunity to shoot guns I may not have otherwise shot.

Yesterday one of them approached me about paying me for some of the ammo he shot through my AR. I hadn't really ever pondered the thought, so I had kind of dumbstruck moment (and probably a similar look on my face). The other guy then offered the same thing. He happens to own the land we shoot on, so I felt even more guilty for thinking about taking payment. I told them I would take no such payment, and that I was just happy to have guys to go shooting with and a place to go shooting at.

One of the proposed solutions we came up with after the ensuing back and for negotiating (like when you argue over who's paying for dinner) is that next time I place an ammo order, we'd all chip in and split 1000rds of 5.56. That seems to be a good way to do it, so I thought maybe I'd by 500rds, and let them buy 250rds. Nodobody goes broke that way, and we have enough ammo for a couple of trips if we're smart about resisting mag dumps.

How do you guys do it? For some reason it feels like the wrong thing to do, and that I'm either paying to have friends, or they're paying to be my friend. On the other hand, at around $.40 a pop, I can't afford to go through my stash 3x as fast as I would alone. The replacement cost right now is a lot higher than when I bought the ammo, so that compounds things a bit.

I kind of half heartedly joked that they just needed to each get an AR so that we wouldn't have to have that kind of discussion again. We'd then naturally each have a few thousand rounds stashed away , and then we could shoot as much as we wanted. Maybe that's the better solution?

 

[Indy_Guy_77]

If I ask buddies to shoot (depending on the friends...) I tell them that, if they so desire, they can swing by Walmart and pick up some ammo to shoot. "Buy a brick of 22 or a box of 9mm and you're good", that kind of thing.

But I haven't really been shooting much since the price started spiking; therefore, I've not had to tell anyone to bring their own non-existent ammo from Walmart.

-J-

 

[ramick]

When I go shooting with my buddies we just try to shoot equal amounts from each others guns. Sometimes we will do a sort of trade, say I will let you shoot my 1911 if I can shoot your AR. But mostly we just try to not go overboard on shooting others ammo. Also, for me seeing a friend shoot my gun can be just as fun as shooting myself or vise versa.

 

[Boilers]

Get a PR firm and lawyers on retainers, draft the necessary Buddy Agreements, and hammer it out. Simple.

 

[target64]

It is a good thing that they offered to kick in for ammo. It shows that they are actually friends. I certainly appreciate "finding" some cash in my range bag or gun case after a shooting session (using my guns and ammo). I just say thanks, and get the normal guy "NOD". This has never been expected, rejected, or negotiated, just kind of worked out that way and for us it works.

 

[jblomenberg16]

Get a PR firm and lawyers on retainers, draft the necessary Buddy Agreements, and hammer it out. Simple.

Know any good lawyers? Just kidding. Think we'll hammer out the buddy rules the old fashioned way...over a couple of beers.

 

[Boilers]

That's JUST what they want you to do.

 

[jforrest]

My buddies that don't have a pistol (we have been doing a lot of pistol shooting lately) will just buy their own ammo normally. If they don't then they normally just shoot like 5 or 10 rounds out of my glock. I don't mind a few rounds here and there. I'm fortunate to have friends that understand ammo is expensive so they do what they can to get their own.

 

[antsi]

Depends. If I invite a non-shooter to the range, I provide the ammo. When I shoot with guys who have their own guns, we generally take turns with each other's guns and usually feed my ammo in my guns, their ammo in their guns. In such cases I think it generally comes out pretty even and I've never felt the need to keep track.

The situation where you are repeatedly taking the same guys shooting with your guns and your ammo is not one I've encountered. It does speak well of your buddy that he offered to chip in.

 

[dice dealer]

My buddies i shoot with ,for the most part have AR's And AK's or such like I do .
So when we go if I wanna shoot somthing of theirs or they wanna shoot somthing of mine we just pick it up and shoot it ...lol

There was one trip Kpierce and I went Along with his parents His mom had not been shooting in years And of course we gave her choice of any gun any of us had it was great to see her shooting .
She decided on my walther P22, I handed her a Brick of 22 ammo and let her shoot as much as she wanted , Of course it ended up costing Kpierce's Dad in the long run ..When he had to go Buy her a P22 ....

 

[hemicharger]

If I take a buddy shooting for the first time, the ammo is on me. After that, we split the cost.

 

[Turtle]

sounds like you met cool people. Wish I could..... good people are hard 2 find these days. I would iron it out over a couple beers and enjoy.

 

[shooter@5(4)life]

When I was a kid my dad had a deal with me if I cleaned the guns we shot, he would buy the ammo! (Pre '68) Now, all of my buddy's and I supply are own ammo if you shoot the others guns. One exception, I have a friend and I wouldn't necessarily call him a friend more a mooch! This guy knows no shame! He comes to my house at midnight and sometimes even later and rings the door bell. He wakes me up to borrow a tool that he never intends to return and I end up having to go after it myself. Anyway, he asked if he could try a few handguns for his wife? Me being the nice guy said sure. After 500 rounds and 8 handguns he still couldn't decide? So don't feel bad, I think all of us have someone like this who takes advantage of us? Other than him everyone else is great!

 

[Flintlock]

I went shooting with a buddy today (shredded his college econ book with my AR and 9mm) and I just swung by the shop before we headed out and had him get a box of ammo when I got some more for me. I'd love to just let my friends shoot what I already have, but on a student's budget, that's just not feasible. He had no clue what he needed, so I just grabbed a box of American Eagle 223 and handed it to him. Easy peezy. For 9mm, I just let him dump one of the mags I already had loaded.

 

[bobn911]

I took a guy and his wife to the range for their first time shooting. They shot my .22 pistol and .40 cal Sig. Since then they each have bought a .22 pistol, he got a STI .45ACP, she got a Kahr .40 cal. and now they share a Bersa .380. They buy the bullets and primers and I buy powder and reload for all of us. Works okay for us. Later, Bob

 

[Scutter01]

Same with me. If I invite a non-shooter, I generally buy the ammo. If I'm with a shooter, they know what the ammo costs and aren't so impolite as to expect me to pay, although I don't mind sharing.

 

[shooter@5(4)life]

I reload for us now too! Not my supplies, just my equipment! The buddy I shoot with the most reloads himelf and we share loads/ideas with each other.

 

[mwilson]

ammo

at least your friends don't sell your guns. loaned a friend a .22 to shoot and he sold it to another buddy of ours. when i found out i demanded and got the gun back. he bought the other guy a gun to replace mine that he sold and then borrowed it and sold it to. i need friends like you guys have.

 

[KPierce]

As Dice Dealer said, we just shoot each others guns as we want. We don't blow through a lot of ammo as we spend time just bsing and having a good time with friends. Though when he got his Judge I bought a box of 410 to shoot through it. I put some through it and he let me shoot a couple of the 45 lc rounds. I gave him the rest of the shells as I had no use for them.

It sounds like to me that you have some good friends there and that splitting a case of ammo is a great thing to do. THat way they can shoot without feeling guilty and you aren't spending a lot to have company with you to shjoot with. It's a win win in my book

 

[rmcrob]

I'm a generous cuss and I enjoy other people shooting my ammo as much as shooting it myself. I just don't worry about it.

But if I did, I'd tell them to bring their own ammo.