Reloading

[Divernhunter]

A great hobby.
I only shoot my loads especiallyfor hunting(except 22RF) and I do use mil surplus for some fun shooting.
Save money? Not really. The big difference is you will shoot more. You will especially shoot more for odd or uncommon cartridges.
If you count your time as high dollar probably not save any.

I usually say you will not save because if you add up all your money spent at the end of each year you will actually have spent as much or more reloading than if you went out and bought ammo.
Especially now for example. If I had to buy factory ammo I would not be shooting very much or at all most or all my firearms. Since there is little ammo for sale and the stuff for sale is very high priced. However I shoot just as much because I had stocked up on reloading supplies and have had to buy very little. IF I find a good deal on stuff now I resupply my storage with it. If not then wait until I can.
I have firearms I would not even own if I did not reload.
If I had to buy factory ammo I have guns that would still be shooting one box of 20 rounds. Since I reload I have shot 200-500+ rounds out of them.
I have 2 rifles that I(and my daughter) have shot the barrels out of them and have had rebarreled in the last year.
I had a 7rem mag rebarreled to 264Win mag which I would not have done if I did not reload.

Also once you start it can be addicting. I started in 1962 and now have 4 presses and 2 Dillon 650's plus tons of other equipment to support them in reloading. This does not even start to account for the supply of brass/bullets/powder/primer I have for the 35 different cartridges I reload for. I keep a few firearms only because I have all the reloading stuff for them.

[diveRN]

I bought a used, Lee single stage kit off Craigslist for under $100. Another ~$250 in tools and dies. I reload .40, .45, and .223 for 1/4 to 1/5 the price of factory ammo.

I reload about 500 rounds a month of the pistol rounds and roughly the same for the rifle rounds basically what I shoot to remain proficient. Sometimes more, sometimes less.

I've got about 250lbs of lead and am considering casting my own boolits, but they're still cheap enough to buy to make it very worthwhile.

[rm1911]

I started reloading over 20 years ago. Started on an rcbs partner press. Mainly to feed my garand and my 357. Got a better rcbs press a dillon square deal b. shot alot more in my youth. Stocked up on lots of components in 94 during that panic. Before all the interweb thing so it wasn't nearly as crazy.

Then life happens. Got married (she didn't care about guns and stuff, just wasn't into it. So we did different things). Then kids. Etc. all that. Was away from shooting other than an occasional deer hunt for many years. Got back into it last year as boys were old enough to shoot finally!!!

Guess what. All my equipment was waiting patiently for me. And ready to go to work again. All my powder, primers, etc., were fine. It was like a time machine thing. Started right where I'd left off.

Have I been buying more components last several months? Of course. But I was persistent and patient nd found stuff at decent prices. But that was as much for reserve and longer term as present need. In fact I have not even run out of any of my old components.

So what's the point? If you look at reloading as a money saver, well it will. Over time. But it's not all about that. Although I do enjoy substantial savings.

When I started reloading for my '06 I found I got way more accurate loads. And of course I had to reload for the garand. And the rounds were very accurate too. There's way more variety and you can customize your rounds. But it's not all about that either.

Consider where we'll most likely be in 20 years. I don't want to. But I know my reloading presses will be there. And my components will too. Oh I'll keep acquiring along the way. Never gonna let stores get below a certain threshold. (Ain't gonna say what my threshold is though ). And that is what it's about more than anything.

Now if they'd make some way to reload .22lr !!!

[uhlan1]

Reloading gives you freedom, self-reliance. That, for me, is its greatest value.
But yes, the round cost is lower. On the otherhand i shoot a lot. The ammo I make is more accurate. it's relaxing. It adds a specialness to each round you send down range you can never get out of white box..

[OuTLaw123]

No you'll end up spending more money. Don't do it!

[A and O]

And as an additional bonus:

If five or ten years down the road you decided that you did not want to hand load any longer you can sell your equipment and supplies for about what you paid for them.

Who knows? If the current political trend continues you may have an opportunity to cash in.

As for me, I'm like the poster above who is not certain whether he shoots to reload or reloads to shoot. This hobby is that much fun.

[sr71brd]

I started reloading in 1980 & never looked back. While I can't say I've actually "saved" money, my equipment has paid for itself many times over. Not to mention having control over what goes into each load for all of my firearms.

[LynnJr]

If your loading for the 338 Lapua or the Weatherby cartridges it pays for itself very quickly.
If you want your guns to shoot accurately you have to reload as no factory ammo will win a big match if handloads are allowed.

[gsrious]

I reload because there was no lead free round for my ammo type... i needed lead free 450 bushmaster ammo to hunt where I live

Now... its more than what I need, its been what I want. I just make whatever I want.

[Germz]

In the end you're spending money, but you'll spend a lot less (write off your equipment) than if you were to buy factory ammo.

[Divernhunter]

I bet if you charted it you spend more or as much now that you reload than what you spent before reloading.
Most people do.
They just shoot more.
Example: I met a guy hunting 3 years ago. We became friends. He did not reload. He had 2 boxes of cartridges that he had used for about 7 years. He came over this year and loaded 100 shells with the powder/bullets/primers he bought. I gave him my brass for this. He has shot most of them and is currently looking for more supplies to load more. He told me he really thought 100 rounds would do him for several years but since he "saved" so much money he shot them. He also decided he needs to buy more than 100 bullets and primers and 1 pound of powder at a time now. At the end of the year reloading will not have saved him any money. He has already spent much more than he did before he started reloading. Remember he is using my equipment and some supplies and he still has spent more in one year that he did in the former 7 years.

The fact is if you do not shoot more once you start reloading the "average" person is better off not reloading. If you shoot allot already or want to shoot allot more then reloading can be good. If your time is worth allot to you it is not something for you either. It is a seperate hobby that most find enjoyable. To some of us it is just an extention of our hunting/shooting etc hobby and can be stress relief. If it stresses you or fustrates you then it is not something you should do. You are making little bombs which go off next to your face(rifle) and in your hands(pistol). So just be safe to yourself and others around you.