Reloading Cost

[4Defense]

I have a few questions for the experienced reloaders out there.

The reload ammo will only be used for range only. Not for self defense nor hunting. No hollow points. Just Full metal jackets. You already have the brass.

How much does it cost to reload 1,000 rounds of:

9mm
10mm
.40S&W
.45 ACP
.357 Magnum
.44 Magnum

Thinking whether it would be worth my time to reload.

[bruce381]

Wild ballpark guess off top of head

Primers $25/K
powder $25 Lb
Bullets $80/K

for 45 acp

primer say 3 cents
powder at say 5 grains is 2 cents
Bullet at 8 cents

about 13 cents each or 50 for $6.50 a box or $130/K

44 mag will be highest due to higher powder charge maybe 15 cents worth
so mag maybe @ 26 cents or 13.00 box or $260/K


bruce

[joelogic]

From Google: http://www.handloads.com/calc/loadingCosts.asp
Just look up bullet prices at Midway.

[BigBronco]

For me reloading is a personal thing. There is a satisfaction beyond the cost of ammo. Firing a cartridge that I made myself. Even at times the the bullet it self was cast myself. That little smile I get when a friend sees me pick a wheel weight up off the street and scratches his head. If you think you will enjoy it. Then do it regardless of the savings. Now the smile I get when I load my own 45 long colt for about $12.00 a box rather than paying $45.00 plus tax is Priceless. Then when you buy in bulk and stock up. The comfort of knowing, that if there is no ammo available I will be set for years. Just imagine having at least 1,000 of everything you shoot stored up. The makings for 3 times more on hand. One sleeps real good at night.

If the current PRK ammo law goes into effect next year I believe ammo prices will go through the roof.

[WileyWilly]

The materials cost for my reloads averages about 12 to 14 cents each.
I reload:
9mm
.380acp
.38special
.357magnum
.45acp

+1 to what BigBronco said, thats it exactly.

[SKSer]

most people seem to get into it for the cost aspect, but its just like everyone says, you end up doing it cause you love it. If you dont like doing it, then you wont make it past the first 200 loads. it can be very time consuming and tedious and requires alot of attention to detail. you usually save money per round but you end up shooting way more because instead of buying boxes of ammo, you are your own little manufacturer. When you are out at the range, you think to yourself, "well I have 4 thousand primers, 8 pounds of powder and 2000 bullets, so why not just shoot all 500 of my reloads today."

The other thing about reloading to save money is , is it depends on the round that you are loading. For instance, I can reload .223 for about $25 per 100, which is only about half off. Now I was paying $35 a box of 20 for .303, and using my cast bullets, I could reload that for about, $3.60 per 20. So I could reload .303 for a 10th of the cost.

once again though it is really not just about saving money, if that is all you are after, you will lose interest really quickly.

[joelogic]

I disagree, I reload to save money. I block out 2 hours on my schedule, load 1000 rounds, and then I have ammo for a couple of months. Most of the time I dont even touch my press. My super swage has more hours on it than my press does.

[spencerhut]

I disagree, I reload to save money. I block out 2 hours on my schedule, load 1000 rounds, and then I have ammo for a couple of months. Most of the time I dont even touch my press. My super swage has more hours on it than my press does.

*%$& crimped primers . . . .

[Enter_the_Dragon]

Since I started shooting 3-4x a month (IDPA and IPSC). It's more cost effective for me to reload. So it depends on how much you plan to shoot weekly/monthly, etc,. Just MHO.

[CSACANNONEER]

It all depends on what great deals you find. Last year I bought 6000 primers for $50! I cast my own bullets and I have a decent supply of a few surplus powders. So, I can load 9mm for about $15/1000 right now. Normally, I'd be using 2 cent primers, free lead and about $10 worth of comercial powder for a grand total of about $30/1000. Since 44mag takes a little more powder, I'd guess that I spend closer to $35/1000. Every other cartride you listed is cheaper than that!

[humgunner]

[Malthusian]

Besides having the actual ammunition, you have stockpiles of powder and primers. Which take very little space. You can have the supplies to triple your inventory with very little space. I believe I started reloading within a month of starting my hobby. It just made sense.

[dstiltner]

You guys are getting some pretty good prices on the bullets. What are you buying and from where?

I buy my plated bullets in bulk from XTreme, usually 2K of each.

$120 per 1K .45
$100 per 1K 10mm/.40
$80 per 1K 9mm

Sometimes I am able to get better prices from Miwall at the gunshow for Berry's plated bullets.

I also buy my powder in 8lb jugs and 5-10K of primers at the same time to save on hazmat and shipping. Powder is between $15-20 per lb depending on the powder. Primers are $28 per 1K.

[humgunner]

http://www.thebulletworks.net/

not a large selection but good prices. only $14 shipping (up to 70 lbs.)

[sargenv]

bulk is not 2000... bulk is 10,000 or more