Am I missing something on the cost of reloading?

[Swagman00]

The cost varies on caliber AFAIK. You're not saving much on .223 or .38 Special, but if you do it for fun then it can be rewarding.

When you're like me and tired of trying to find .303 British cheap or more recently 300 AAC for fifty cents a round or less, then reloading saves.

For the 1k of 300 AAC I plan to put together the pills cost the most at say...$238 per thousand FMJBT 150 gr, $125 for the brass, $22ish for a pound of 'Lil gun (or AA 5744, 1680, or maybe CFE BLK...whatever), and $30 for primers.

Total that's $415 instead of $500 per thousand. Now you may say "That's not much of a gain and I can find 300 AAC for $.38 a round." Yes this is true.

The two big bonuses I have to that answer is: 1) I already have all the powder and primers I need and 2) I can modify the charge load for any number of rounds in the batch.

The best answer I can probably give is that it's several small things that add up when it comes to reloading then just one big one.

Just my $.02

Reloading is a rabbit hole. It starts with just one caliber. After a few components, the hoarding will begin. Ive got .30 caliber SMK as cheap as .15 each. Deals are out there one just needs to be patient.
Primers, powder, projectiles. One should be fully stocked. Then of course you might start buying items for calibers you dont need, but cant pass up a good deal.
Presses? They start to multiply over the years.
Dies? Never have enough. Forster and Redding are expensive for a reason. Rcbs are good, lee as well.
Get a case puller or make one, drill bit, 1/4 tap, washers, bolt amd nut.
Calipers, case gauge, scale, and case trimmer, bullet puller are basic tools you should have.
How are you going to clean cases? Wet or dry? Another added expense.
Ahhhh the rabbit hole [emoji2]

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BTW I know the pain of this. I'd have to say my lowest point of impulse buying was when I took part in a group purchase for .221 dies to reform .223 pills and load in 5.45x39. They've never been out of the box.

Please don't ask why...even I can't explain it.

[bruss01]

If you agonize over every round you load, then yeah, your ammo will be superior to standard bulk ammo. If you expect to throw a bunch of cases in a tumbler, run a bunch of bullets tbrough a feeder, then mindlessly crank a handle for an hour and have match quality ammo pouring out of your press... you're going to have to temper that with a dose of reality.

You will get out what you put in. If you size every case, weigh every case, bullet powder and promer and chuck out the 20% deviating from "ideal"... sure you can have top qual ammo for a bargain basement price if you're salvaging/scavenging/recycling the cases. If you are buying all new components and loading tbem in a fashion that prioritizes your investment of time and effort, yku will probably get the equivalent of bargain basement off-the-shelf ammo. It's a question of where your priorities lie. Personally, if I had a 10k bet riding on my performamce in the next long range bench match... nothing would be "too much work". But to just blast away in QCB drills over and over looking to improve my reaction time and shifting from one spontaneous target to the next? There I would place reliability and investment of time, money and effort over pinpoint bench-rest accuracy.

If you are retired or under-employed and thus have way more time than disposable income, it is a different equation than if you are a harried professional with 2 hours to spare a week rushing to the press saying "ok, where's that bucket of range brass? I need 1k rounds for a class tomorrow..."

[23 Blast]

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

I'll admit my initial impetus for getting into reloading was cost, but also availability. Remember the Obama Administration and the Great Ammo Shortage of 2008? I figured if I had components on hand, I'd always have at least a few hundred rounds either ready or just requiring assembly.

Once I got into it, however, I've found it an enjoyable activity in and of itself. It can be relaxing, and at the end of your session, you've made more ammo to shoot with.

[Abenaki]

There is another thing to remember.
The next ammo shortage......and there will be one!
You can keep shooting all that you want, while every one else is crying like a baby!

Take care
Abenaki

[RestrictedColt]

I guess you already forgot about the primer and powder shortage.

One can stock up on components and buy time, just like you could stock up on ammo to buy time. One key difference; AFAIK there's no limit on how much ammo you have in your house, but powder and primers are limited...not that I limit myself because of it, but just pointing it out. And cartridges take up less space than all the components needed to make them.

I'm in no way arguing against reloading being another step towards preparedness for another shortage, just pointing out that it's not a magic cure. And there seems to be more and more people getting into reloading which will drive up the consumption of components if things go awry.

[alpha_romeo_XV]

I recall 15 years ago when I started reloading that powder as $99 / 8 lbs and primers 0.01 c each. And Steel cased 223 and 7.62x39 were $2 / 20 rounds.
While the price of 22 LR ammo has come back down by significant % the cost of components has stayed up but availability is better than during the panic/hording under Obama.

[Divehobo]

Ammo cans are not efficient. Here is a pic of afternoon's reloading session of 12K rounds.

OP is not talking about about this kind of production or volume. Again, NOT beginner level reloading, used RockChucker mentioned, not full automation. Although, full automation would sure be nice... crap, now you've got me spending more money on reloading

[zouaveherb]

There is another thing to remember.
The next ammo shortage......and there will be one!
You can keep shooting all that you want, while every one else is crying like a baby!

Take care
Abenaki

ZOMG, talk about prescient.


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[anonymouscuban]

ZOMG, talk about prescient.


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Haha. Right!

I'm still shooting! Haven't dialed it back a bit. And still at 11 cents per round too boot!

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[David Jackson]

Kind of interesting to peruse this thread from two years ago. Now cost is not the main issue obviously, availability is; and if you did not stock up when you could, well you know the rest.

[Mike402]

$37 of primers is a thousand.

Ahhh the good old days. Seems like it was only yesterday

[sbo80]

Ahhh the good old days. Seems like it was only yesterday

and yet, even at $150/thousand primers, you can STILL build ammo cheaper than buy, when you see bulk 9mm going for 70cpr and .223 for $1pr and up. Since the cost of EVERYTHING went up, the saving ratios are still near the same.

[Fishslayer]

ZOMG, talk about prescient.

Three words still apply...

"What ammo shortage?"

[JagerDog]

You could cut your brass price considerably. Lapua is about the most expensive. Rarely is it noticeably "better" for most applications. But if you insist on it, at least compare your costs against Lapua ammo which is around $3/round.

[JagerDog]

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.

Edit...oh...holy necro thread