Is reloading worth it???

[Fjold]

You will not save any money reloading unless you have a lot more will power than I have. I find myself constantly buying more and different bullets and powders and experimenting with different loads trying to find the magic combination for each bullet weight that a specific cartridge can use. And I shoot a lot more on every trip to the range, as I never go anymore unless I have at least 4-6 rifles with 2-3 different handloads to try out for each one.

[IllTemperedCur]

It helps if you consider reloading to be a separate, yet shooting-related hobby. You'll get a lot more enjoyment out of it than if you just consider it to be a chore that allows you to save some $.

As for me, I like the process of building things. Most of my other hobbies are "building" hobbies. Woodworking, sewing outdoor gear, guitar building, amplifier and electronics building etc. So it's easy for me to see reloading in a similar light.

[StraightShooter]

No, you will get addicted and you will want to start buying and upgrading everything. You will shoot 10 times as much as you used to and will start sucking up reloading components like a dying neutron star. You will wake up one day in your reloading room and reazile that you havent eaten or seen the sun for over 6 days and you will literally be swimming in freshly loaded rounds. You will finally snap out of the trans and go back in the house only to find that your wife has left you due to lack of attention. Since you spent all of your money on reloading components and lost your job because you didnt even call into work during your 6 day reloading binge your house is going into forclosure. A week will pass and you will break down and sell your guns because you are sick of collecting cans and eating ramen noodels just to survive. Now since you have no guns there is only one last thing to do........ yes...... sell your reloading stuff. Sooo...... is it worth it? Thats up to you to decide.

[5hundo]

Reloading can be a fun passtime. I actually think it's pretty fun and makes for a good "rainy day activity"...

Plus, you can taylor your loads to fit your needs and load rounds that you couldn't buy at the store. I think reloading is worth it...

[chris]

yes it is quite worth it. you have the ability to creat rounds that will work well with whatever firearm you use and save money.

i say do it. you will not regret it.

[Sunwolf]

So thats what happened

No, you will get addicted and you will want to start buying and upgrading everything. You will shoot 10 times as much as you used to and will start sucking up reloading components like a dying neutron star. You will wake up one day in your reloading room and reazile that you havent eaten or seen the sun for over 6 days and you will literally be swimming in freshly loaded rounds. You will finally snap out of the trans and go back in the house only to find that your wife has left you due to lack of attention. Since you spent all of your money on reloading components and lost your job because you didnt even call into work during your 6 day reloading binge your house is going into forclosure. A week will pass and you will break down and sell your guns because you are sick of collecting cans and eating ramen noodels just to survive. Now since you have no guns there is only one last thing to do........ yes...... sell your reloading stuff. Sooo...... is it worth it? Thats up to you to decide.

to those homeless people I see living under the bridge!

[ar15barrels]

My advice is this:
Start saving all your brass immediatly.
Save your friends brass too.
Scavenge up a 5 gallon bucket of each cartridge that you shoot in volume.

You probably don't shoot as much 7mag, so a couple hundred cases will serve you fine for a long time.

Once you have all the brass saved up, buy a tumbler and all the cleaning stuff and get it all cleaned.
Once you have it all cleaned, it's time for a press to start processing all the rifle brass.
Pistol brass will simply get loaded after it's cleaned, no intermediate steps.
The rifle brass will take a little more work to trim, chamfer and deburr.

[scratch]

All good advice

You mentioned cowboy shooting. In SoCal we can shoot every weekend, sometimes both days. I go through 200-500 handgun/rifle rounds and 40-100 shotgun rounds on a busy weekend so it makes sense for me to reload.

I do not like to reload.. I would rather shoot, dry fire or practice transistions...but reloading is a necessity to keep the costs down.

Once you aquire the equipment your costs are limited to powder, primer, bullets and the occasional replenishment of brass. Here are some more links that may help you out:

Reloading cost calculator for shotgun/rifle/handgun: http://10shooters.com/calculators/Sh...ReloadingCost/

Where I buy primers...10K at a time: http://www.recobstargetshop.com/index.htm

Powder...16lbs at a time...I use American Select in .38's and 12 gauge: http://conniescomponents.com/

and bullets....for cowboy, 3K-3.5K at a time: http://www.moultonlead.com/index.html

Hope this information is useful...

[CAL.BAR]

I can reload .45acp for about half the price of WWB at walmart.
Similar margin for most pistol calibers.
I can reload .223 for about .30/rd
I can match the cheapest .30-06 milsurp from CMP, at about .34/rd

I've spent about $900 on reloading equipment over the last 20yrs, most of that in the first couple years. I've more than recouped my equipment costs in ammo cost savings over that timespan, even including the old joke about shooting even more once you reload.

But more importantly, I have the ability to create ammo from components. I'll not be blocked by totalitarian edicts about serialized ammo, egregious ammo taxes, pre-New Years's sales bans, or any other such stupidity.

'worth it' is subjective as hell. It is entirely up to you.

I can buy Wolf .223 at the same price and .30-06 from CMP at the same price (is your time worth nothing?) Re: ammo laws, so if they pass laws that ban unserialized ammo you are counting on them "forgetting" about re-loaders

[ar15barrels]

I can buy Wolf .223 at the same price and .30-06 from CMP at the same price (is your time worth nothing?)

...and neither will be a custom developed load that shoots tight groups. (is accuracy worth nothing?)

Perhaps you are one of those guys that shoots because you just like to hear the loud noises and feel the recoil.

[CSACANNONEER]

Perhaps you are one of those guys that shoots because you just like to hear the loud noises and feel the recoil.

Colud be, I see a lot of these types at ranges and even more on public lands. Then again, with my 1919, I'm guilty of this as well.

[ojisan]

Reloading will allow you to shoot enough ammo to actually become a good shooter. It's hard to get good paying retail for ammo for most of us.
ITC hit the nail on the head...it's fun to make stuff!
It is very satisfying when you get it right, and the ammo YOU made is reliable and accurate.

[sorensen440]

...and neither will be a custom developed load that shoots tight groups. (is accuracy worth nothing?)

Perhaps you are one of those guys that shoots because you just like to hear the loud noises and feel the recoil.

I like the ones that dont change out there targets when they start falling apart

[nobs11]

I can buy Wolf .223 at the same price and .30-06 from CMP at the same price (is your time worth nothing?) Re: ammo laws, so if they pass laws that ban unserialized ammo you are counting on them "forgetting" about re-loaders

If your time is so precious that you are losing money every time you waste time on reloading, why bother buying Wolf and CMP? Buy Black Hills if you have that kind of money and don't bother reloading (although quality reloaded ammo can sometimes beat top of the line target ammo).

Yes, my time is worth something and so I don't spend it on useless range trips to go spray my targets with combloc ammo.

[bohoki]

here is my breakdown for 223

bullet 55gn fmj at 7.5cents
primer 2.5cents
25 gn win 748 at $20 a pound (because im a sucker and dont buy the 8 pounder)7.2 cents





i make 223 for about 18 cents a round

of course that takes into account free scrounged brass

so if i had to pay more than 4cents for brass i might as well buy wolf