Is it worth it to start reloading?

[oldschool88]

I would like some input as to whether I should start reloading. I am now in between Colorado and Ca. and find myself shooting more than ever now that I have a free state collection as well as my Ca. collection. In Co. I live about 30 min from forest land and shoot there at least one or two times a week. Here is my dilema, I am outshooting my ammo supply and can barely afford to replace it. I do a lot of volume shooting and training so cheap ammo is fine by me. So would it be a wise investment to reload for the sole purpose of saving money? I don't need to make high performance ammo, just cheap bulk ammo mostly. So I guess my real question is, how much are you guys saving by reloading vs factory ammo? Thanks.

[stand125]

I love reloading and save over 50% for better ammo. If you are in Sacramento, you can come by and check out 3 different reloading setups.

[darrin17]

Stand is right you can save 50% off the cost of your ammo! This really can be seen when you start reloading large cal. rounds45 ACP, 30-06, 308 or rounds that are hard to find like 44 special so on. And you learn a new hobby at the same time! I would say if you are shooting alot and burring threw ammo and you would like to save some money and learn something new then it's time to get into reloading. Do alot of research online, check out ULTIMATE RELOADER.COM and go and get some books on reloading like; The ABC of reloading and so forth!

Wolf 223 ammo jams in your gun! So you can spend your TIME at the rang shooting or picking out the jam in your gun! RELOAD! If your lazy and rich then buy your ammo!

[joelogic]

Depends. You can reload .223 for $150/1000 but it takes 2+ hours or you can buy Wolf for $200/1000. Same goes for 9mm, $120/1000 reloaded or $160 for reloads at a gun show. What's your time worth? People will say you can't figure your time as a cost but you sure can.

[Cowboy T]

As others have said, it depends on the round.

For .223, Wolf/TulAmmo is so cheap that you might as well just shoot that. Even more true for milsurp 7.62x39 and, to a slightly lesser degree, 7.62x54R.

However, for revolver rounds like .38/357, and especially the big-bores like .44 Spl/Mag or .45 Colt, it is DEFINITELY a money-saver. There's no way I could afford to shoot my .45 Colt firearm if I didn't reload. Same for .45 ACP; large cost savings there. Casting your own bullets, as some of us do, can save you even more. BTW, the same applies to .30 cal American rifle rounds like .308 Win where GI milsurp brass is plentiful--HUGE cost savings.

What are you shooting? We'll be better able to advise you if we knew that.

[oldschool88]

I shoot most of the common calibers, alot of .45 acp, 9mm, 5.56, 7.62x39, 7.62 Nato, and 10mm. The 10mm of course being the one that really breaks the bank with factory ammo.

[joelogic]

Your call, I guess
7.62x39 buy wolf
.308 battlepacks and wolf are still cheap.
How much 10mm could you even shoot at a time?

I fully loaded progressive press plus components to load all those calibers can easily be $2000. You can get a single stage for a couple hundred but with components it will still be a big outlay. Plus you really need free brass to tip the scale in favor of reloading.

[oldschool88]

I try to shoot 10mm as much as possible because its my backwoods gun. I find it to be be pretty mild to shoot out of my Glock 20.

[joelogic]

I didnt mean difficult to shoot but just per session. 100 rounds?

http://www.handloads.com/calc/loadingCosts.asp

10mm reloads $160/1k with free brass
10mm reloads w/ purchased brass $310/1k
10mm factory $600/1k

Pretty big savings. You could easily pay for a single stage kit with one case of ammo savings. But it would take 5-6 hours to load.

[damndave]

Reloading doesn't save you much money unless you shoot odd/expensive calibers. What reloading does, is make it so you can shoot accurate, quality ammo for the same price as shooting the cheap stuff.

If you want to reload to save money, I think you will find out soon enough that it isn't really the case.

I load match 308 ammo for the same price as buying blasting ammo.

[sequoia_nomad]

Short answer; yes, it is worth it.

[terdog]

oldschool88, you and I should go see stand125's setup. I'm like you, I shoot 10mm and it costs me an arm and a leg. I've been saveing shells for yrs.

I really need to start reloading.

[stand125]

My stuff is pretty basic. I started with a Lee CLassic loader for 45ACP and 9MM. The loaders do 1 caliber ( the loader is the die ), cost under $30.00 and takes about 1 minute per round. They taught me the basics and got me into reloading without breaking the bank. I would just sit in the living room by the fireplace and over a few nights, my kids and I would load a box or two of 45ACP and 9MM. I was going to buy a LEE single stage press kit once I realized that reloading was the way to go, and then found a LEE classic turret press used for the same price and got the turret press. I love the turret press and can do a box of 50 rounds in 12 to 13 minutes without rushing. I recently bought a LEE breech lock single stage press as a back up and made a box of 9MM in about 20 minutes. I plan on making a very small butcher board top reloading table for my single stage press and using it in the Winter when it is really cold in the garage, and I feel like reloading in front of the fireplace ( not to close though ) The only thing that sucks about the Classic loader is that they do not make it in 40 or 10MM.

[Bill Steele]

Bottom line, yes.

Short answer; yes, it is worth it.

+1.

[krazyk626]

I have to agree with the general consensus. Not only do I save close to 50% on larger caliber rounds, but for some reason I find reloading extremely entertaining. Maybe its because I am a chemistry major and like analyzing every aspect of my favorite hobby. Well actually let me back track on my first statement. Personally, I don't really save money from reloading because I just use the money that I would have spent buying factory ammo to buy more components to reload more ammo. Essentially I spend the same amount of money as a person who doesn't reload on ammo, but I am able to shot a lot more because I do reload. With that said its not by any means "cheap" to get started reloading, but if you do decide to start you are in the perfect place at this forum. I haven't been here for too long but my experience so far is that you have many individuals who have years of experience reloading behind them here and, more importantly, they willing to answer any question you might have. Cheers and good luck with your decision.