Cost of reloading???

[Duranimal]

Im wondering what is the actual cost of reloads compared to getting a good price on factory ammo. I know the initial investment is just that and will require sometime to make up your money but once its all said and done how much are you saving by loading your own ammo. Whats the approx. price per box. In particular im thinkin .45 acp as thats the most expensive. thanks calgunners

[damndave]

At the absolute worst you will save 40%. Usually much more.

My 9mm 124gr JHP run me approx $0.12 per round made. 9mm has to be one of the worst for cost savings.

My 308 match rounds run me about $0.40 per round compared to $1-2 for factory.

[joelogic]

http://bit.ly/Am3uk5

http://forums.1911forum.com/showthread.php?t=298144

[Divernhunter]

If you are thinking about reloading to save money then do not even think any more about it. The facts are that at the end of the year(every year you load) you will have spent more money than if you just buy the ammo.
This is fact.
This is because if you load you will shoot more and thus spend more TOTAL at the end of the year. If you buy ammo then you will tend not to spend the money thus saving money and will shoot less. You might spend $100 for loaded ammo. However you will spend $30 for a pound of powder but you can get it cheaper in a 8lb jug so you get it for $150. Example: The last time I really went powder shopping I spent over $800 since I was "saving" over buying 1 lb cans and haz-mat fees. Boy did I save and only had to drive 100+ miles to get the savings. Then you can buy bullets for $20/100 but you can get 1000 or more at $150/1000 so you get that. I have had bullet orders that saved me money but I spent $1000. Big saving! Then primers in bulk since you save over getting one tray at a time. My last primer order was about 25,000 primers. Yes I "saved" money but you would not like to pay the bill. So your cost per round is less but since you have all this stuff you end up shooting all or most all it up that year and if you bought ammo you would have only spent $200 for the year.

It is kind of like a male will spend $20 on a $15 item because he needs it. However a female will spend $30 on a $50 item she has no use for BUT it was on sale so she SAVED money.

Then there is all the new gadgets etc than you decide you want for the reloading process. Must also add in that you will buy firearms you would never have purchased before but do not that you can reload a "save" money. I know as I now load for over 35 different cartridges from 204ruger up to 50bmg. I would estimate I have well over $50,000 in reloading equipment and supplies and probably closer to $100,000 worth. But I have "saved money" ??? or so I like to say knowing I am lieing thru my teeth all the time.

It is a great hobby but like all hobbies it will cost you money. The nice thing is you will be able to 1) shoot more and often better ammo and 2) most of us enjoy the reloading hobby. I started out reloading (223/44mag/30-06) to "save money". Now I think I often shoot(and give ammo away) so I can reload or try new loads.
I have never saved any money if you consider the year end total expensives vrs what I would have spent on ammo for the year. Then there is the cost of all the range trips I take that I would not have done if I purchased loaded ammo only.

I still often buy some loaded ammo as it is just as cheap or cheaper than I can load for even buying bulk.

Bottom line is you will not save money but do it if you enjoy it.

[stand125]

I pay $5.50 for 50 rnds of 200gr lead 45ACP. If you load lead 45ACP you can get into reloading for under $35.00 for the hardware.

LEE classic loader ( 1 round per minute or a little faster once you get good ) $28.00 shipped from Cabelas
Cheapo plastic end mallet $2.00 Harbor freight
Cheapo slide caliper $1.99 Harbor freight

Use the powder that is recommended in the load chart for the bullet type and weight and you are good to go. I recommend a scale so you can vary you powder charge, but not required if you use the load chart with the Reloading kit. Check it out on Youtube. Keep in mind that the You tube videos are very long winded except for the one where the inventor loads a bullet in under 40 seconds.

[qwikrick]

I like to think of reloading as a way to play with my gun stuff without actually shooting .

[ironman5669]

If you are thinking about reloading to save money then do not even think any more about it. The facts are that at the end of the year(every year you load) you will have spent more money than if you just buy the ammo.
This is fact.
This is because if you load you will shoot more and thus spend more TOTAL at the end of the year. If you buy ammo then you will tend not to spend the money thus saving money and will shoot less. You might spend $100 for loaded ammo. However you will spend $30 for a pound of powder but you can get it cheaper in a 8lb jug so you get it for $150. Example: The last time I really went powder shopping I spent over $800 since I was "saving" over buying 1 lb cans and haz-mat fees. Boy did I save and only had to drive 100+ miles to get the savings. Then you can buy bullets for $20/100 but you can get 1000 or more at $150/1000 so you get that. I have had bullet orders that saved me money but I spent $1000. Big saving! Then primers in bulk since you save over getting one tray at a time. My last primer order was about 25,000 primers. Yes I "saved" money but you would not like to pay the bill. So your cost per round is less but since you have all this stuff you end up shooting all or most all it up that year and if you bought ammo you would have only spent $200 for the year.

It is kind of like a male will spend $20 on a $15 item because he needs it. However a female will spend $30 on a $50 item she has no use for BUT it was on sale so she SAVED money.

Then there is all the new gadgets etc than you decide you want for the reloading process. Must also add in that you will buy firearms you would never have purchased before but do not that you can reload a "save" money. I know as I now load for over 35 different cartridges from 204ruger up to 50bmg. I would estimate I have well over $50,000 in reloading equipment and supplies and probably closer to $100,000 worth. But I have "saved money" ??? or so I like to say knowing I am lieing thru my teeth all the time.

It is a great hobby but like all hobbies it will cost you money. The nice thing is you will be able to 1) shoot more and often better ammo and 2) most of us enjoy the reloading hobby. I started out reloading (223/44mag/30-06) to "save money". Now I think I often shoot(and give ammo away) so I can reload or try new loads.
I have never saved any money if you consider the year end total expensives vrs what I would have spent on ammo for the year. Then there is the cost of all the range trips I take that I would not have done if I purchased loaded ammo only.

I still often buy some loaded ammo as it is just as cheap or cheaper than I can load for even buying bulk.

Bottom line is you will not save money but do it if you enjoy it.

You will save TONS of money. dont beleive this malarkey.

[ironman5669]

my 45 acp rounds cost about 11 cents a round. 2.7 cents a primer 7 cents for the bullet and about a penny for powder

that is 5.50 for a box of 50. about 1/3 of factory
my entire progresive press with dies was less than 200 dollars delivered to my door.
so I paid for it with the savings from my first 20 boxes. (about six weeks for me)
round for round WAY cheaper. of course if you shoot ten times as much it will cost you more (duh)

[twoforme2]

Reloading will be as expensive as you let it be. If you want to reload for .45 only, you could get into it for less than $100 or you could spend over $1000 it is really up to you.

Once you have the equipment you WILL save money per round over buying it preloaded. However, like has been stated you will likely shoot more, so dollars out of pocket will likely not be a real savings in the end.

BUT...who cares! Its only money! No sense in being buried with it.

[Dark Mod]

For .45 you stand to save quite a bit

1000 Bullets - $119
1000 Primers - $17
1 lb of powder - $18
1000 Brass - Free

This is what i spent per 1000 rounds of my current production line up. You can get quite a bit cheaper than that if you want to. $154 per 1k, or 15.4 cents a round, or $7.70 a box. This is jacketed ammo and is cleaner and more acurate than most cheap to mid-priced commercial ammunition. Compare this to about $20 a box for factory munitions

I could produce match grade ammo at only a slightly higher cost were i so inclined

[hung380]

Around 175.00 per 1000 for me. 230 rn zero fmj, 5.2 gr w231, wolf primers.

Sent from my MB860 using Tapatalk

[GeoffLinder]

3 basic facts

1. You will spend what you spend on gear. Every person is different here. Some keep spending, some don't
2. You will spend less per round fired (as much as 75-80% and as little as 35-40%)
3. You will fire more rounds (as little as 10-20% and as much as 1000-5000% LOL)

YMMV

[drkphibr]

Reloading

Depends on what you reload to some degree as well as why.

If, for example, you shoot 9mm and are thinking about saving money, I probably wouldn't look to reloading, but more of buying online in bulk when there are reasonable specials.

But if you're reloading relatively expensive (>$1/round retail in my book), sure, you can save money. Unfortunately, people only look at the cost of materials vs the ammo's retail cost. Time is also money (aside from your initial investment) that often gets left out of the equation. But, again, if you enjoy the activity, then the time you spend doing it is not a "cost" to you. Everyone is different.

On the other hand, if you want to reload to completely control all aspects of your loads and enjoy the activity of reloading, go for it.

[drkphibr]

3 basic facts

1. You will spend what you spend on gear. Every person is different here. Some keep spending, some don't
2. You will spend less per round fired (as much as 75-80% and as little as 35-40%)
3. You will fire more rounds (as little as 10-20% and as much as 1000-5000% LOL)

YMMV

TOTALLY +1 ^ ...all are absolutely true...

[drifter001]

ive actually been thinking of starting to reload too...just for fun at least lol