Am I missing something on the cost of reloading?

[tomrkba]

Your savings is in brass case reuse. Calculate the cost of brass cases and you will see the cost drop.

I generally assume a 33% savings, which translates into saving nothing since I shoot more.

[fish45]

It depends how much you shoot. If you include tool costs it takes a while to get to the break even point before you start actually saving money. Buying new cases is also expensive, you start saving money when you reload cases.

I’ll usually shoot factory ammo until I have a decent size brass inventory and then start reloading.

Buying in bulk like a lot of others here does help to keep costs down but isn’t always practical. If I only have 200 dollars this month to spend on reloading components I can buy the 8 pound jug of powder and save 2 dollars a pound but then not have money for bullets, primers, etc... If I drive to the store that sells powder for 2 dollars less per pound than everyone else but I have to drive 20 miles farther than the closer store which is 2 dollars more per pound am I really saving money if I factor in the cost of gas?

[bohoki]

If the #1 reason you want to Reload is saving money then you really shouldn't.

dillon started with a tommygun and a want to make ammo for it cheaper and quicker

i cast my own bullets with a couple lee molds one for 45acp one for 9mm and so that makes my price per round very dependant on the primer cost

i was making 9mm for less than it costs for 22lr my 10/22s got pushed to the back of the safe heck its still about the same cost

its getting hard to calculate the actual cost since now i powdercoat them with harbor freight paint which was i think $10 which i have barely used a 1/4 of yet for close to 500 bullets

casting also is about 500 bullets for a pint of gasoline for my coleman stove

and i did get some lead free bought some for like $1 a pound


match king bullets are nice but you can just buy hornady bagged bullets and weigh them yourself put them in batches of slightly over or slightly under.
If you are really in that much accuracy you have to use all same headstamp brass for neck tension and get your bullet seat length just right to match your chamber

it does get a bit weird for such scientific accuracy some seem to go into some fantastic voodoo

[Pardini]

Don't consider the cost, just do it at the lowest cost possible. What I mean is buy components and equipment on sale, in bulk at the cheapest prices possible. When you find a deal jump on it and get all you can afford, even if it's more than you need.

Put away the calculator, if you enjoy it, do it. I would have quit shooting decades ago if I had at anytime calculated the vast amount money I've spent on it.

[sl0re10]

Really close to getting into reloading but after pricing out materials I'm not seeing how its that much cheaper. Heres what I found for .308 priced out to make 100 rounds


Sierra Match King bullets $38

Lapua brass $77

CCI primers $37
IMR powder $17

Total cost $168


$1.68/round doesn't seem that much cheaper than buying decent .308 from the store. Now I understand you can reuse your brass, but only a couple times correct?

I wasn't expecting huge savings, but I'm having second thoughts about the time it takes with the cost being only slightly better.

Did I miss something?

I do not, typically, buy the brass. I buy some factory ammo. Shoot it. Retrieve brass for reuse.

I do not do 308 but using 223 as an example. I could buy wolf for the same price as what I make myself. But; mine is excellent ammo... and wolf is... wolf.

[Divehobo]

Note, reloading is addicting, therapeutic and rewarding. Reloading is more bang for your buck. Initially, you'll likely spend about the same in reloading components and consumables vrs. buying "factory" ammo. After a few years or decades, you'll realized not needing anything more as you have enough in reserve for another range visit, a month of hunting or year of zombies. Trust me, your next investment will be in ammo cans.

[edgerly779]

I just bought 500 pull down 147 gr fmj 30 call for 60 bucks shipped. On here.
Processing 300 aac and .308 brass this weekend. going to Vegas from convention next wek and shooting near Primm which is where I stay. BLM land is near there. Anyone in San Fernando Valley need anything legal from up there

[the86d]

I just bought 500 pull down 147 gr fmj 30 call for 60 bucks shipped. On here.
Processing 300 aac and .308 brass this weekend. going to Vegas from convention next wek and shooting near Primm which is where I stay. BLM land is near there. Anyone in San Fernando Valley need anything legal from up there

Oh, this brings me to an even better deal...
My lady saw a "CUTE" (Her words) Phoenix Arms .25ACP in a pawn shop she walked out 10 days later with, and only dropped like $150-$175 for (including DROS).

Retail, cheap .25ACP is generally more expensive than 9mm retail high-end FMJ ammo.

I found an OLD For Sale post here on Calguns for .25 dies and FMJ projectiles, and because he still had it years after he posted, I made an offer under asking, and he wanted to get rid of it, and I got a good price, which would let us reload it for under retail .25 ACP prices.

I wasn't sure she was going to do it (reload), which is why I offered under asking, but
MY lady now reloads HER OWN .25ACP ammo.
Talk about a hell of a benefit to reloading, one less thing (caliber) I have to do!
The better part of this reloading .25ACP is that the load data is <2gr of powder, in both powders we have used in it! A pound will last her YEARS!

[RestrictedColt]

Lucky you! I searched for .25 bullets here and got nowhere. Have you found a powder drop that can deliver reliably for those small charges? So far I've only done a small amount and weighed each, mostly because I was testing several charges. I'll eventually try my Hornady drop and see if it's usable. I also considered getting a Lee Microdisc, some say it'll do the job. I've used W231 and GreenDot, what are you using?

[the86d]

Lucky you! I searched for .25 bullets here and got nowhere. Have you found a powder drop that can deliver reliably for those small charges? So far I've only done a small amount and weighed each, mostly because I was testing several charges. I'll eventually try my Hornady drop and see if it's usable. I also considered getting a Lee Microdisc, some say it'll do the job. I've used W231 and GreenDot, what are you using?

[BigBronco]

Been a while since I calculated the exact costs per round. Reloading allows me to shoot more exotic calibers. About 5 years ago I priced boxes of .41magnum and .45 long colt ar a gun shop. They both about $50.00 per box of 50. Yup $1.00 per round. I can load them for around $0.14 per round. Now just try and find 10mm , 7.5 swiss or 6.5 Jap at a Walmart!

[RestrictedColt]

I load everything, but there's not much to be saved in .223 & 9mm without casting and/or finding the smokin' deals, unless you compare them to 'premium' ammo.

.25, .38, .44Mag, .308, 30-30, & .338 WM, the savings can be substantial. Loading .338WM isn't cheap, but it's way more affordable than buying it. The big bang for the buck is definitely there. If I had to buy commercial it woulda been used once and sold, with reloading it's a plinking toy that gets taken out and passed around to let everyone enjoy a few mule kicks and see what they can destroy with it.

I never bought into the "reloading doesn't save you money, it just lets you shoot more" but there's some truth to it, sorta. I don't shoot more often nor more rounds in total, but I do shoot the expensive calibers a lot more than if I had to buy ammo.

[hambam105]

When you have a clear direction of what you want then all of a sudden you start seeing or recognizing deals and amazing prices on components.

[AGGRO]

I reload a lot of oddballs so yes, you can save a lot of money. Factory for this is hard to find and expensive. Lead free? Paleeze. I'll have to reload these.

[zouaveherb]

Cast lead .45 bullets can be had for about 7.5 cents each. FMJ for 14 cents each. If a pound of powder costs 30 dollars, a 5 grain charge is 2.14 cents. If 1000 primers costs 30 dollars, one of them is 3.0 cents. So the total to reload a case (either range pickup or my own fired cases that would be tossed if I didn't reload) is 12.64 cents for lead or 19.14 cents for FMJ. That is $6.32 a box of 50 LRN and $9.57 a box of 50 FMJ. I rarely see a deal for factory ammo like that.