I reloaded a lot about 20 years ago, but due to many factors, namely work, I got out of it. I gave my equipment to a friend who was intrested and just couldn't afford to get started. I am thinking about getting back in and wondered a few things. I know that it is less expensive to reload than buy the ammo, but about where is the break over point in amount of shooting that it would really pay. I realize that the bullet choice is much better as well as accruacy. I am looking at 7mm rem mag, and maybe a new Ruger .204. Any input would be appreciated

If you want to reload to save money, you won't. You'll buy that powder and this, try it, then move on to something that works better. The same with bullets. And if you find a powder/bullet combination that works to perfection without going through a few makes and models, you'll shoot more because it's "cheap".

On the other hand, I once added up buying new brass, powder, bullets and primers, loading them and shooting them once and found that compared to new factory rounds, I saved between a nickle and eight cents on each round. It got even cheaper when I reloaded the used brass.

That's what I tell my wife. I forget all the powder and bullets in stock that shoot poorly and may never get used.

I would never admit to my wife that reloading doesn't save me money, but it doesn't. Primarily, because I shoot a lot more. Granted, the cost of a loaded round is much cheaper when handloaded rather than purchased, but that's not amortizing the cost of my equipment in every loaded round. Since I've got just about one of everything, I don't even want to think abaout it. Once a handloader gets past the initial cost of reloading equipment, it's far cheaper.

You can get back into reloading fairly inexpensively, and still wind up with better loaded ammunition hand tailored to your specific firearm. There is no limit to how much one could spend, but most of that is for convenience or for the pursuit of accuracy that is beyond what most shooters require.

You don't save money because any money saved is shot up in the extra ammo you can afford. But that means you become a better shot. Your cost saving for common calibers is any where from a couple bucks a box to 20 to 60 dollars a box if you load stange or very large caiibers.

If you plan to shoot the same amount of ammo anyway you will save by reloading it. I guess My break down would be if you shoot more then a 100 rds a year it going to pay off in savings the more you shoot the quicker it pays off.

I began reloading some 40 years ago, started with one of those little hand LeeLoaers, some Sierra 120 grain bullets, primers and IMR 4350 in a .284 Winchester Model 88 Winchester rifle. I had worked in Yellowstone Park for the summer and was supposed to use my earnings to buy school clothes. Instead I bought what was important, the Model 88 Winchester and had some really pissed parents because of it. I loaded that thing so damn hot that I swear I could have used "jaws of life" to pry the lever down to eject the spent casing. Did that for a while, then put it all up when I went over to Vietnam for an extended stay, went to college, started a carrer in the newspaper industry and hunted so little that buying factory ammo became acceptable to me. I started reloading again years and years later to "save money." Like the others have already posted, you don't save a dime through reloading and if that is your objective, then by all means, buy cheap factory ammo from Wally World and be happy with it. I really feel that if there are any shrinks out there on this forum, they would have to agree that being a reloader is nothing more than being a control freak. We don't save money, but, what we can do is take one caliber in one particular rifle we own, and through trial and error control the size of our groups and velocity of our projectiles through judicious experimentation with a mystical combination of powder type, powder weight, bullet type, bullet weight, case type, primer type and bullet seating depth. If we really think about it, when we buy factory ammunition, we simply have the luck of the draw, ammunition-wise, in our particular rifles. We know that the "perfect" reload combination we have developed in our rifle for our particular caliber, may not work nearly as well in our neighbor's rifle, which happens to be the same caliber we have, in the same make of rifle, in the same type of rifle and perhaps with a serial number that is only one number off from ours. We also know that if our neighbor took the time to go through the same process we did and control all the elements of reloading as we have, and use the same style of shooting as we do, from sandbag rests, he, or she, might come up with a load as accurate as ours. I load for a 7x57mm in my CZ 550 American, a .223 Remington in my CZ 527 Lux, and a 6.5x55mm in my 1917 Model 94 Swedish Mauser. I know that what shoots well in my rifles may do miserably in other folks' rifles, but each time I visit the reloading parts of these forums, I still take delight every time I see someone ask questions about which load shoots best in their particular 7x57, especially if it happens to be a CZ 550 American. It is the same with the other calibers I own as well. Stephen, this little treatsie is not meant to belittle your efforts to save money through handloading. If you might change your thinking just a bit to want to squeeze the last drop of accuracy and funtionality out of your rifle, then handloading is for you and in the process, you will find that you have found a new, related hobby which can extend (and sometimes frustrate) your shooting pleasure. Take care and in any event, have fun ... Tom Purdom

"There are some people that if they don't know, you can't tell 'em." Louis Armstrong (1900-1971)



I get more accurate ammo and cheaper ammo by reloading, but that is not why I do it.

I do it becuase I want to get into guns deeper.

Just like gunmsithing and owning more than 3 guns.

Just like typing on this forum.

I AM a gun nut

The more exocit your caliber choice the more you will save. If you shoot a .416 or .50AE you will definetly save money over shooting the eq. amount of factory ammo. If you shoot a 9mm or .223, & don't shoot alot, you will probably be happy w/ factory fodder. I reload for performance reasons but there is a cost savings if you shhot enough.

I shoot between 15,000 and 20,000 rounds a year. I keep track of the cost per shot. What I've found is that when you are shooting cast bullet loads where you are using wheelweights that you got for free, reloading is REALLY cheap, about 5.5 cents per round for 44 Magnums. Switch to linotype that you purchased at $1/lb and the price about doubles. Buy factory bullets, like I recently did for a 30 caliber Mauser rifle and you are at 17 cents per round. You can buy factory ammunition for the 223 or 7.62x39 for less than that.

So it all depends. The more expensive the bullets the less that price appeal.

I just figured this out for my brother's 25.06 because he wants to start varmint hunting.
Using his once fired brass and buying powder and primers in bulk with me, to cut HazMat fees, loading standard varmint bullets (TNT's, Blitz and V-max) we got his cost per box down to about $5.20 (not counting labor). The cheapest 25.06 factory loads around here run $12-15 when you catch them on sale.
The cost for a 7 Mag should be just a few cents higher per round because of more powder being burned.

My wife likes to call me a "mad scientist" because I spend alot of time tweaking this and tweaking that.. Trying this powder/bullet combo against another powder/bullet combo just trying to find that sweet spot.. By no means do I save money and the money that is saved is spent trying something else out.. I have well over 100lbs of powder at home and prolly only use 1/2 of them if I am lucky.. But I like the others dont do it to save money but do it for fun and to get the most out of all my guns.. But when the wife ask's I save a TON of money lol..

6.5 Bandit

I was going to put my 2 cents worth in on this topic, until I got to Fjold's little movie, and completely lost my train of thought...WHOA!

I kinda dissagree with many of the posts on this thread, though it depends on how you look at things I guess. You can save money in reloading if you WANT to shoot alot of rounds. I am the type of reloader that quickly finds a good load, and then stops messing with my success. On the other hand, there are rifles and cartridges that I do work on more. You can spend money till you pockets run dry, trying every conponent I can see that... But it doesnt always have to be that way.

I'm like smallfry - I reload for accuracy, not to save money. I also hunt in very remote areas (minimum 4 hours each way, in dry weather to the nearest gunshop - can be days if it rains!). Factory ammo shoots like shit in my rifles, but have found sweet loads for both, and stick with them. When we go bush for feral eradication purposes, it's not uncommon to go through 150-300 rounds in a couple of weeks. That becomes expensive!! I take my RCBS Partner press, scales, and all the components, and when we run out of ammo (happens frequently), I simply load up some more. When I'm deer hunting on the other hand, I could get away with taking 5 cartridges with me - I've never even used that many. Ironically, for me the benefits of handloading are that I get accuracy, and I don't have to spend a day just to replenish the ammo box! Fuel costs have to be taken into account in my situation.

I reload to get the most out of my rifles, and I think I save money, especially when I use Barnes.

By the way Fjold I don't meet many NRA Life members like you . Next NRA get together, I'll be sure to say hi, I'm sure I can recognize you.

I guess I'm different than most here. I'm a handgunner and do target and defensive shooting(practice). I save around 75% off the cost of factory ammo(priced at Walmart). I would not be able to afford to shoot at all if I didn't reload. I also do as little experimentation as possible, finding one load and staying with it. I keep only one kind of powder on hand, one kind of bullet per caliber, etc.

I don't know that many of us realize any real economy of scale by reloading. It is indeed a fun hobby as well as time consuming. I now reload for 11 calibers; only 2 when I started. In an effort to get ever smaller groups I am constantly buying more reloading products at ever increasing costs, spending much more time at the range, and always seem to need just one more rifle. No, I haven't saved anything, but I have a lot of fun. Best wishes.

Cal - Montreal

In the speer 13 manual they state that by reloading 10 boxes of 44 magnums , you can recoup your investment in a VERY BASIC reloading setup.

FJOLD , where did you find her????

.... I save a LOT of money by reloading.... if you compare apples to apples, that is, how many shots you fire through your gun, regardless of where they came from, reloading will save you quite a lot of money. The only exception to that would possibly be the 9mm pistol, or the 7.62X39... something you can buy dirt cheap military style ammo for. For anything else.. 30-30, 44mag, 30-06, whatever, you will save a lot of money. Now, if you decide to shoot more, like most of us, you will spend more... BUT... 20 boxes of 44 mag factory ammo, versus 20 boxes of your reloads is a HUGE savings..... something like 500 dollars versus 120 dollars, or so... don't be mislead in thinking that all the money you spend counts toward the cost of shooting reloads. It is possible to develop ONE load for each gun, and save LOTS of money. If you choose to experiment endlessly, you will spend more money, but it isn't really costing you more to shoot the same amount......

There's no substitute for doing the arithmetic. You save big bucks by not throwing away cases, you lose on the cost of your time, and tools and occasionally wasted components are investments that have to be amortised. The numbers themselves are different in every case.



I vaguely recall doing the math when I bought a 7mm-08 pistol. Then I spent more on tools than I planned, and found out how accurate facory Hornady ammo was in my pistol. I enjoy reloading for rifles (and rifle-cartridge pistols), but if I had KNOWN at the beginning what the results were going to be, I probably would have just bought a large lot of Hornady ammo and gotten off cheaper. [My ammo may be SLIGHTLY better than factory, but they are both so good that the nut behind the trigger guard seems to be the major factor in downrange results, at least so far.]]

I have done the math, and I have saved more then the cost of my guns in a year by reloading, including the cost of tools.

Like any hobby, it is easy to spend more then needed, just for the fun factor. We all need hobbies....

If you want to compare economy, compare the cost of fishing (with your own boat) or hunting vs. the cost at the grocery store!

I started reloading to save money and to be able to shoot more. I bought a Lyman 310 tool (.30/'06), a Pacific powder scale, a pound of 4895 in a paper bag from Bruce Hodgdon, 100 Rem. 9/1/2 primers, and 150-grain GI bullets from the DCM. All this cost me a total of about $40.00 for my first 100 reloads. But it wasn't long before I decided to try loading for some other calibers, usning different powders and bullets, and the idea of economy wenty bye-bye!!

Now I load ammo because what I make works better than what I can buy, and I can load for guns for which there is no ammunition available anywhere.