buying factory ammo vs reloading is reloading really cheaper

[bruceflinch]

If you start reloading you will go broke faster. You wind up shooting too much.

I just ordered $800+ of Sierra bullets last night.

You braggin' or complainin'?

[Fjold]

You braggin' or complainin'?

Letting the newbie know what he's getting into.

[Jonathan Doe]

Initial investment will set you back for a while. However, the benefit of reloading for me is that I can tailor my load for my each individual gun, and I will get good accuracy for it, without mentioning it will be cheaper per round.

[ar15barrels]

In the end, you won't spend any LESS money than you spend now.
You will shoot 2x-3x as much as you do now though for similar amount of money.

[Air]

Cheaper is relative, you spend the same amount of money, but end up shooting more in the end. You stop thinking about 'scoring' ammo, instead you think about 'scoring' components.

I couldn't afford to shoot as much as I do if I didn't reload.

[Inkman]

In my limited amount of USPSA and IDPA style shooting, which i love BTW, there is one thing that will make you better and that is practice. Hard to practice when you see dollar signs instead of smoke coming out of the barrel everytime you practice. I go thru wayyyyyyyyyy more ammo just practicing than i do at any match or public line shooting. That is where the reloading really comes in handy. When you can practice and not have to keep track of how many rds or boxes you're shooting because of ammo costs. Works for me at least.

[travisbomhoff]

thanks i appreciate the info what brand of reloader would you recommend to a guy on a tight budget? also i live in california and it,s been really difficult to locate large pistgol primers i,ll be reloading 45 acp.anyone with a suggestion on where to find primers?

[CSACANNONEER]

ALL primers have been scarce throughout the entire counrty since the big "O" took office.

My suggestion to you is to find a calguns reloading clinic (or something similar) close to you and attend it before you buy anything!

[gotgunz]

My initial investment was:

Lee pro 100 - $150
1lb Winchester powder- $22
2K cci primers - $38
RCBS 505 scale - $ 75
Bullet puller - $18
1000 lead bullets -$56

Total $359 with the press, puller, scale and some powder & primers left over.

Like others have said; if you shoot often the savings are considerable over time.

[Chris M]

thanks i appreciate the info what brand of reloader would you recommend to a guy on a tight budget? also i live in california and it,s been really difficult to locate large pistgol primers i,ll be reloading 45 acp.anyone with a suggestion on where to find primers?

Even the cheap ~$30 Lee handheld press gets good reviews. Look it up on Midway.

Also, see my post above. You're going to want to get just about all of those pieces of equipment...although, you don't NEED a scale or powder measure. Some use the cheap little powder scoops to measure their powder, and it should work just fine if you're not looking for perfection.

Where in CA are you? I was just at J&R's in Livermore a few hours ago, and they have Large Pistol Primers in stock - in fact, those are the ONLY primers they have in stock.

[Chris M]

thanks i appreciate the info what brand of reloader would you recommend to a guy on a tight budget? also i live in california and it,s been really difficult to locate large pistgol primers i,ll be reloading 45 acp.anyone with a suggestion on where to find primers?

It's possible to get started for less than $150 for all brand new stuff. You could probably find better deals looking on Craigslist, garage sales, etc., but it'll probably take quite a while to find everything you'll need.

See the attached screenshot of a sample shopping cart I put together at www.midwayusa.com. It came out to about $140 for just about everything you'll need to get started on a budget.

[ar15barrels]

See the attached screenshot of a sample shopping cart I put together at www.midwayusa.com. It came out to about $140 for just about everything you'll need to get started on a budget.

Those lee dies should come with the shellholder so you should not need to buy it separerately.
You also won't need the deburring tool of the case lube kit if you are only loading 45acp.

[CSACANNONEER]

2nd for canning the case lube kit, shell holder and deburring tool.

I'd prefer that someone new started out with some sort of cheap scale instead of the dippers. The hand press goes on sale for about $20 sometimes and you don't need the rest of the kit. Also, calipers are a REALLY good thing to have!

Since I know that the OP wants to do multiple calibers which include bottlenecked cartidges, he will need the deburing tool, dies for each caliber, some sort of trimmer and a can of One Shot or a tin of Imperial Sizing Wax (both are cheaper and better options than the Lee Lube kit). Of course, components are another issue.

[5ohguy]

It cost me roughly 600 bucks to buy all the equipment I need to reload. I now reload 45 ACP for 12 cents a round instead of 40+ cents. That means it is a minimum of 28 cents cheaper per round to reload. So after roughly 1800 rounds the press will have payed for itself. If you shoot 150 rounds a month that is one year of shooting. I shoot about twice that, so after 6 months my investment will start paying itself off.

Not to mention there is much more consistency between rounds and I can tailor loads to a specific purpose. And the hobby part is pretty nice too.

[pepsi2451]

I just ordered all the components I need to reload 1000 rounds of .223 for around $300. Thats including 1000 once fired cases. I probably could have gotten it cheaper if I shopped around but I have my first AR on the way and I didn't want to wait. I cast my own bullets for .45 acp and reload that for >5 cents a round.