Buying mail order vs. make your own ammo

[froggy47]

Please direct me if this has already been discussed. I bought as much as I could afford by 12/31 multi calibers, but that's about 1-2 years worth depending how active I am.

I was buying mail order 5.56 at my doorstep (sales) @ .25/rd now my local indoor range gets .60/rd for reloads (which is fine, but I'm retired & need to stretch a buck much as I can).

So far as I can tell (not a lawyer) I can still get mail order "parts". Not talking reloading once shot brass (a lot of work cleaning sizing etc) but just assembling case, primer, powder, bullet. I think that would take less time & require a few less tools.

Assuming I buy bulk (to lower costs) is that feasible or does it end up more than .60/rd for reloads (plus sales tax is really almost .70/rd.

I would buy basic reloading tools & my labor is "free".

What do you guys think? Waste of time or maybe worth it? This is personal use only, not to sell. I have time to do it & a garage but I don't want this to be a ridiculous amount of work.

I know real "sharpshooters" make their own for really high quality ammo, I am thinking along the lines of decent but not "national match" type ammo.

Thanks.

Probably just 5.56 and .45 auto.

[PatC415]

It takes awhile to recoup the cost of reloading equipment, but if you buy bulk components, and already have your brass, I can make nice high quality, very accurate 223 ammo for about 12 to 15 cents a pop.
Do lots of reading, join a local reloading club if you have one in your area. There's plenty of guys here willing to help get you started.
You may want to let people know what area you live in.
Good luck, have fun!

[aspenvalley]

Reloading does not save you any money, you just shoot more.

I can reload 9mm for under .12 cents a round if I have the brass .15 if I have to buy the brass. 45 acp is .16/.21 I have not started loading 223 but I am collecting brass.

[CSACANNONEER]

Even if you buy brand new brass, you should size and trim it.

[aspenvalley]

If you shoot 45 or any revolver round you can recoup you invest pretty quickly.

I have been loading on a classic Lee kit. I have about $400.00 invested in the kit, dry tumbler scales and dies. I already a set of calibers.

I have already loaded over 7000 rounds of 9mm, 40, 45 acp and 38/357. I have easy recoup my investment and then more.

[CSACANNONEER]

Reloading does not save you any money, you just shoot more.

I can reload 9mm for under .12 cents a round if I have the brass .15 if I have to buy the brass. 45 acp is .16/.21 I have not started loading 223 but I am collecting brass.

You can easily cut those costs in about half if you shop around for deals and buy in volume when you find them. Of course, if you take up casting and can find free lead, you can drop your costs to powder, primers and bullet lube.

[JackEllis]

If you're trying to stretch a dollar, either pick up brass where you can or buy used and process it. There are plenty of folks here who would be happy to sell you used brass that's good for a few reloadings for far less than new.

Between a single stage press, tools and all the other accessories, I figure I've got at least $500 invested in reloading equipment. Where I expect to recover the cost is for hunting ammunition, which will have to use copper projectiles starting next July. My cost for lead-free hand loads runs about 25 cents vs 3-5 times that much for store bought ammunition.

I believe plinking grade .223 ammunition can be had for 30 cents or less if you look for deals. Fiocchi ammo with Hornady projectiles runs around 40 cents. Some California vendors and FFLs will receive and transfer mail order ammo for what seems to be a reasonable handling fee plus sales tax.

If you can save 10 cents a round by rolling your own, your breakeven point is somewhere around 5,000 rounds. If you shoot a lot and have the time to reload, it's certainly worth doing. If you don't have the time, aren't meticulous or only shoot a few hundred rounds a year, factory ammo may pencil out better for you.

[aspenvalley]

I never trim straight wall pistol brass and never use new brass, hence must be resized. Rifle brass should always be trimmed if needed. Resizing depends on many things. If you are using 223 in more than one gun or in an auto you are going to need to full length resize every time.

[aspenvalley]

[CSACANNONEER]

I don’t see how you can cut the costs in half unless you cast your own. My break down for 9mm is as follows

Acme 124 gr bullet .07 ( I buy them in 3k lots)
Primer .03 (1000 for $28)
Powder .02 if you figure 1000 per pound.
Brass if needed .025 (25 per 1000)

Those are the cheapest prices I can rely on paying when I want to order.

The projectile is the biggest cost by far.

I've recently purchased 9mm bullets for as little as 5 cents each.
A few months ago, I came across primers for 7.50/1000 but, the last ones I purchased from a vendor were 17.99/1000.
I'm not sure what powder you use but, I use +/- 4.5 grains so, that's about 1500 rounds per pound. At $20/lb, that would be 1.3 cents per round but, the last powder I purchased was from the same estate that I got the primers from and I paid $10-$30 per 8lb jug.
9mm brass is too abundant to purchase. I have buckets full.

Anyway, using components I purchased within the last 6 months, I can reload 9mm for about 6 cents per round. If I am using only components purchased from vendors, the cost goes up to just over 8 cents per round.

The trick is to buy in volume when you find a deal instead of just buying when you want to order.

Now, if I decide to fire up my lead pot and cast my own bullets, I can load pretty much any centerfire handgun cartridge cheaper than I can buy .22lr.

[mshill]

I started reloading about 2 years ago. Depending on what you reload, you can recoup the initial startup costs rather quickly. I bought a Hornady LnL Classic that came with 500 free projectiles (.308 150gr) worth about $100-$150. I ended up loading about 1000 rounds of 300 blk for about $.30/rnd which easily saved me the cost of the press and die sets that I bought.

Another one that saves a lot of money is .380 auto. At nearly twice the price of 9mm off the shelf it costs only pennies to reload.

I also reload 9mm and .223/5.56 but they are not near as cost effective as the larger rifle and pistol rounds.

It becomes yet another hobby instead of just a means to get more ammo cheaply.

[aspenvalley]

Next time you find name brand primes for under 18 bucks let me know. I will take at least 50k

[Dark Hunt]

If you save all your brass from the ammo that you already have or you get free brass, you can reload 223 ammunition for about 12 to 15 cents per round ($120 - $150/1000)

[Milsurp1]

I considered my limited free time and the cost of reloading equipment, and decided it made more sense for me to get the FFL03 and COE to continue ordering online.

[CSACANNONEER]

Next time you find name brand primes for under 18 bucks let me know. I will take at least 50k

They were S&B so, I only bought 40K. Last year, I did find 40K of CCI SPPs for 22.50/K in the classified here. After Sandy Hook, when primers were selling for up to $100/K, I found 6K of 1950's vintage Remington primers at a gun show for a total of $50. Just keep hunting and you'll find deals sooner or later.