I know that this has been brought up in the past. I am not really looking for the reasons to reload. I am convinced & will reload for my own anyway.
A good friend of mine asked me if it was really cheaper to reload. About 5 years ago I know that factory ammo was pretty affordable. Latley the cost of both factory ammo & reloading components have increased a lot. I have not put pencil to paper lately, so I thought I would ask if anyone else has while I was on here.

For handgun ammo, buying components in bulk, yuo can save 1/2 of the cheapest factory ammo. In rifles, you can save as much as 3/4 the cost of factory, especially for "exotics" like 404jeffery. Hornady costs me $4.10/rd & handloaded w/ the same bullet is $1.35/rd including brass (amrotized o/ 10 loads). Quite a diff.

I just loaded a 100 rounds of 45aut for about $20. around here cheap stuff 50 rounds is going for about $25.
Its still cheaper to reload.

Dave

It is much, much cheaper to handload. Economies of scale are a bit different for big bore rifle, small bore, handgun big bore, handgun and shotgun but overall cheaper to handload for the long run.

The real truth is that while the cost per cartridge is substantially less in most cases the actual cost is much higher simply because we are inclined to shoot a heck of a lot more at a time and more often. And a warning must be given as well that hand loading can become an adiction in and of itself, so you have to go out to shoot off all your full cartridges to get empty ones to load again, which means you have to go out an shoot......
And dont forget that if you introduce casting to the process there are more complications involved in mould designs, alloy's, casting temps, wads, lubes, sizing,.....

Take a timely warning from those in the depths of the adiction, stick to store bought and the lower levels of satisfaction and involvement in your past time.

Von Gruff.

Just a rough guess I probably have 2-3k in equipment, so one may want to figure that into the handloading cost. That said, the equipment was gradually built up and I'm sure I've wasted much more money on useless junk. One could probably get a good start up for around 1k in equipment to load quality ammo for a few carts.

I'd say the cost on handloaded rounds varies depending on the cart and the components used, but on average you can load premium rifle ammo for approx 3/8 the cost of factory premium ammo.

I don't load so much for the cost savings, it's more for the added performance and the warm fuzzies of the accuracy and game taken with your own ammo.

Like mentioned, it is a very addicting hobby.

Have a Good One,

Reloader

Up here in Canada it costs a lot less to reload. Considering a few months back that some stores had 1 lb tubs of powder for up to $40/lb (Varget, H380), and I could get 7 lbs bulk for about $26/lb (H380). I order my bullets online from the US and have a friend who brings them up on visits as a "gift". So instead of paying about $32 for 100 berger 50 gr match bullets in .224 (my go to coyote bullet for my 22-250), I pay about $24 with the exchange from extreme accuracy, and they always have stock, unlike most of our local gun shops that only stock stuff around hunting season. I save considerably, plus like reloader says, it's so much more fun blasting critters with something that you made yourself!

If one buys factory ammo with premium bullets he can reload them a lot less costly.

I see .458 mags yesterday sold in a 5-pak....About $10 each

The comments about lots of equipment and shooting more are valid however.....

Personally it's a hobby for me and not necessarily a cost reduction.

I started reloading steel shot for waterfowl.....heck,,,it costs less to buy Winchester x-pert steel and it's as good as anything I can make.

In 12 and (sometimes) 20 ga. shotgun ammo, it may not be much cheaper to reload if you are willing to use the least expensive factory shotshell loads. For everything else -- except maybe military surplus centerfire rifle ammo and maybe somewhat exotic things such as 12 ga. shotgun slugs and 12 ga. buckshot, for which military surplus is also sometimes available -- it is substantially cheaper to reload.

I find that for most stuff a savings of around 50% is common if one is carefull on when where and how one buys his componants. That is if one does not consider his time.

When I could buy shot for 12.50 a bag I saved about a buck a box over the cheap stuff about3 to 4 dollars a box over the more expensive stuff. Now that shot is 30 dollars a bag I haven't loaded shot shells. Or shot shot gun as much.

I cast a bunch of 40 cal 175gr bullets last winter 35 dollars for the mould 10 cents a lb for the lead. With out considering time I figured about 4 dollars a loaded box store price was around 15 dollars. thats a savings of 11 dollars a box loaded 5000 rounds 100 box's total saveings 1100 dollars payed for the mould in no time.

The more you shoot the more economical it is. Unless one can work those hrs and make more money doing so. If I could work unlimited over time instead of reloading it wouldn't pay to reload. I find it a lot funner to reload then work.

When I reitre next year my time will be worth a lot less.

But then it is all about how cheap you can get your componants.

Some rifles, unless you're really wealthy you have to reload for. A reload for my 500 Jeffery costs per round:

$4.00 case / 10 shots = $0.40 per round
$1.50 bullet 570g TSX = #1.50 per round
$0.30 100g H4795 = $0.30 per round
$0.04 Federal 215 primer = $0.04 per round
----------------------------------------------
Total = $2.24 per round

Factory ammo: Kynoch or Norma = $16.00 per round!!!



Chuck

For some of us older reloaders ; speaking for myself in some calibers I'm able to reload jacketed ammo for

.10 .15 per round . Yep primer powder jacketed bullet as I had acquired the cases already .

Purchasing in bulk if you're doing serious reloading is thrifty an smart .

Being able to accurately customize cartridges for particular weapons is PRICELESS !!!.

For sure you can load the Mag rounds a lot less expensive than factory and get a far better product.
But the key to saving money is....brass in hand.

Haven't run the numbers lately, but before the big increase in component prices, I could load most all common chamberings for roughly (+/-) one third the cost of factory ammo. It does cost more now, of course.

When I started reloading, assuming I had the brass, I could load 100 rounds of 30-06 ammo for the cost of a box of 20.
When you look at some of the laundry list of what folks feel you must have to reload, you're looking at the cost of a small automobile but in truth, you can get started amking good ammo for probably under two bills. Especially if you have a mentor that can help you out on Ebay and such with buying needed stuff and avoiding junque. It doesn't take too many boxes of todays ammo to come up with two bills.

quote:

A good friend of mine asked me if it was really cheaper to reload. About 5 years ago I know that factory ammo was pretty affordable. Latley the cost of both factory ammo & reloading components have increased a lot. I have not put pencil to paper lately, so I thought I would ask if anyone else has while I was on here.

That's the nub of it. Is it cheaper? Not if you are say a "forty a year man - after initial zero" as the cost of the press, dies, and 1,000 primers with 100 bullets will easily exceed that forty round cost.

So the start up costs are high unless you can buy secondhand. A good press new is what? The same as one hundred rounds of ammunition? The dies?

But I think that I like many bought our equipment years ago so in effect what we had to day cost us very little. I would hate to start off from scratch now!

It makes sense to reload for two reasons only:

It is a way to obtain say a 160 grain bullet in a 270 Winchester at 2,700fps. Never saw that on the shelves in factory loaded ammunition!

The "exotics" that are effectively available from one source only. So 240 Holland and Holland springs to mind. At the equivalent of $8 a round it makes sense!

Accuracy? Well I'm not so sure now as factory ammunition is pretty good.

But if you are that "forty a year man" that is happy with off-the shelf 30-06 with a 180 grain "cup and core" for your eight deer a year? No I wouldn't bother, from scratch, to set up to reload. I'd spend the money on better optics!

I shoot 3000 plus rounds per year with everything from .22's and .243 WSSM up to 50 BMG. If I didn't reload I could not afford to continue that. When I buy a new reloading toy, I consider it intertainment cost. My wife is real happy when I am in my reloading room. Good shooting.

Yes reloading your own is cheaper if you figure the equipment is part of the hobby which I do. As Enfield says a few rounds a year, its not cheaper. Alot of rounds yes plus more accurate ammo and tailored to your needs. Now if you cast lead it is way cheaper and you get satisfaction from your own slugs. One last thing it is fun to reload and shoot alot more for the buck. Boon

It also has benefits if you come across a lot of "old" ammunition. Where the bullet is still good but the brass cracked.

At one time here in UK people would pull old 1920s and 1930s 303 (the primer was corrosive, the brass neck often cracked) and reload the pulled bullet in modern Winchester-Western cases.

I got into reloading specifically for the economy. But I soon found out You are not saving that much All things considered.

Where reloading pays off is building a round that is made with the best bullets money can buy to tolerances you decide on.

You can build cheep plinking ammo or high performance match grade premium ammo and for roughly the same cost as basic factory loads.

But it is addictive as stated above. I can't have enough components on hand I'm a hoarder.
But I use my stuff a shoot a lot.

quote:

Originally posted by chuck375:
Some rifles, unless you're really wealthy you have to reload for. A reload for my 500 Jeffery costs per round:

$4.00 case / 10 shots = $0.40 per round
$1.50 bullet 570g TSX = #1.50 per round
$0.30 100g H4795 = $0.30 per round
$0.04 Federal 215 primer = $0.04 per round
----------------------------------------------
Total = $2.24 per round

Factory ammo: Kynoch or Norma = $16.00 per round!!!



Chuck

H-4795 is that a new powder

Thanks guys,
Like I said earlier, I am convinced & will always reload for my shooting purposes. I have already accumulated my equipment over the years. My friend probably would not benefit if he went out & bought all of the tools needed to get himself started. Fortunenately for him, I am willing to let him use my presses & dies anytime he feels like it.

I'd love to post a shot of the reloading cost calculator from ammoguide.com but the site is copyrighted, so I can't. Suffice to say a .40S&W round that costs 95 cents from the factory can be reloaded for 24 cents, assuming you use the inputs for powder, bullet, primer, brass costs (already have the brass) and number of times reloaded that I supplied to the calculator. Even if the reload was 48 cents, it's still cheaper than buying fresh. And you get that warm and fuzzy from having done it yourself...

Reloaded ammo can easily become the most expensive ammo too if one is only shooting a few hundred rounds annually. Every time I pick up a hand gun I shoot 2 or 3 boxes (100-150 rounds), so I save money. I reload Berger bullets for less than what one can normally buy Winchester 223 Q loads for, again I save. I figure my equipment payed for itself several time over the last 30 years.

quote:

Originally posted by buckshot:
Reloaded ammo can easily become the most expensive ammo too if one is only shooting a few hundred rounds annually. Every time I pick up a hand gun I shoot 2 or 3 boxes (100-150 rounds), so I save money. I reload Berger bullets for less than what one can normally buy Winchester 223 Q loads for, again I save. I figure my equipment payed for itself several time over the last 30 years.

I was shooting 2K 45colt a month. Figure the cost of that ammo & I paid for all my reloading stuff in 1 year. That doesn't even count the 1Ks of other handgun rounds / yr I used to shoot. Now today I may only shoot 2K rds a year, but my gear was paid for looooong ago. The ,onger you take to get into it, the longet it takse to return your equip. investment.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Reloader:
Just a rough guess I probably have 2-3k in equipment, so one may want to figure that into the handloading cost.

Do you figure in the cost of your car when you compute fuel economy?

<<<Do you figure in the cost of your car when you compute fuel economy?>>>

You are confusing marginal cost with total cost. Of course the cost of the car needs to be included when computing transportation expense.

Of all the reloaders I know, most would say they save money by reloading instead of buying factory ammo. In every case except for one reloader I know, they are using false logic. There are many reasons to reload, but saving money is usually not one of the realized reasons.

Unless you shoot very high volumes, such as a very frequent skeet or pistol shooter, then you will spend much more money reloading than if you bought factory ammo. Most reloaders I know forget the following factors when they claim to save money:

1) They experiment with many different loads searching for the most accurate. They try different brands of brass, different primers, different bullets, different powder.

2) They buy calibers that they would never shoot unless they reloaded. For example, a non-reloader would probably never buy a .577 Tyranasourus. He would probably buy a standard and common caliber and save money in the process. Claiming you are saving money by reloading your .577 Superunusualbigbang makes no sense.

3) They forget the cost of buying and/or building a reloading bench.

4) They forget the cost of all the reloading equipment.

5) They don't include all the different reloading manuals they have bought.

6) They don't place a cost on the space in their garage or basement that the bench and equipment takes up.

7) They don't include the cost of their time to do all the reloading.

Reloading is very satisfying and rewarding. It can allow you to shoot unusual calibers and build very accurate ammo, but saving money is probably not in the picture unless you do very high volume shooting. With that said, I reload for lots of different and unusual rounds and enjoy every minute of it, but I am not under any illusion of saving money.

One of the reasons I reload because it gets in my craw to pay half the cost of the box for the brass...

I have been reloading shotgun shells for about 15 years(+/-), and it used to be a really good deal to reload. I have found deals on components over the years and can still reload for less than buying the cheap shells at WalMart, but I still reload but don't shoot a shotgun that much anymore.

I have only been into rifle reloading for about 3 years, and I got into it for the economics of it. I have taken the "budget" route and not spent over $250-300 on equipment, and with the amount that I shoot, I amortized my equipment fairly quickly. Like with shotgun reloading, I shop for deals on components, and I very seldom buy "premium" bullets which goes a long way to cutting per shot costs.

In my opinion, unless you shoot a lot or some oddball calibers, I would buy factory ammo.

Right now i am saving alot due to the cost of new ammo because i have a ton of reloading supplies that i already had purchased before the shit hit the fan.