Reloading is NOT cheaper!

[Lead Waster]

Your personal time isn't worth anything,you are playing on the computer . Just proves the point

LOL, yeah I have a friend who would say "I don't change my oil, my time is worth $200/hour" Well, OK, when he was doing some computer contracting, he was paid $200/hr, but at home, nobody is going to pay him $200/hr to watch TV and eat chips.



Another advantage to reloading is tailoring your rounds. You might not care and just want ammo to shoot, but if you try some things you might be surprised. For instance, many USPSA shooters use 147gn bullets for 9mm with lower powder loads and the result is 9mm with .22lr recoil (for faster follow up shots in competition).

Another example is this (for me). I bought an 1858 Remington (Pietta reproduction) ball and cap gun, but indoor ranges don't let you shoot black powder, so I bought a Kirst Konverter so it can shoot .45 Colt. Well, the ball and cap guns aren't made to shoot full load .45 Colts and the Pietta's rifling is set up for shooting ball, which is about 180 gn. So I bought some .45 Colt brass (it's not something you find at the range on the floor!) and some 180gn .45 bullets and now I can make lower powered .45 Colt to shoot through the gun, tailored to the gun's capabilities!

So there is a lot of advantages to reloading, especially if you consider it "hand loading" or "custom loading" rather than just recycling brass!

And it's true, you can be smug when you reload. Like people are desperately hunting to find 9mm to pay triple the price for 50 rounds. And I have 15k small pistol primers waiting to be converted into 9mm rounds. (or .38 special or .40 or .... whatever!)

But it's also true ... you have to have time to actually do it.

[the86d]

My first year of my range membership paid me back in brass >100%.

I WAS reloading, on average for 30-50% of the cost of ammo BEFORE the shortage/hype.

"Now... I be flossin'!"

AND when I went to the range about 4 months ago it was about empty... the lady an I had almost the whole place to ourselves. Time to go back.

If I could find bulk powder for less than a 2 month wait, then we'd start going every month again.

Hotter ammo, AND heavier bullets (think 124gr 9mm Flat Points), ALL for less than Walmart cheap 115gr plinker prices... yup.

[Germz]

Dont get the two terms confused.

Reloading IS Cheaper
but
Reloading WILL NOT save you money.

I know hard to understand, but you aren't saving any money, you are just enabling yourself to shoot MORE for the same amount or less that would have otherwise been spent anyway. However if you want to just keep it simple...just say reloading is cheaper, and call your magazines clips while youre at it

[Divernhunter]

^ So true except once you reload I believe you will actually spend more than if you just bought factory ammo. It seems it is hard to pass on a "good deal" even when you have some of a certain item.
I know a couple of guys that a box of factory ammo lasted them 10 years. Once they were able to reload (on my equipment) they now go thru 200-300 rounds per year. Save money.......Not hardly. Shoot more......Yes.

[JNunez23]

I've spent 5 grand in the last month and a half. Feel better?

I do! Thanks

[Dutch3]

It's only cheaper b/c I don't pay myself for my time.

The time I spend reloading is quality time that pays ME. A few hours spent making ammo feels like a vacation.

[Falstaff]

Surely at some point the investment in reloading tools is re-couped in the lower cost per round? I know it's cheaper to reload for my m1... HXp from CMP is about 80 cents a round, I reload it with only a couple hundred dollars in tooling (garage sale press, 29.00 dies, trimmer, scale.. welll maybe morethan a couple hundred in equipment say 400.) I shot 6 CMP/garand/high power matches and perhaps 3 silhouette and quite a bit of practice rounds, say a thousand per year,
My case is free now (have a thousand now)
primer is now running 4.9cents
bullet is costing me .40cents (smk 155)
powder is about .19/rd (IMR 1lb 29.00 I think the last time I bought it)

so saving about .16cent a round over HXP and triple that over new production m1 ammo or hunting loads (cant use the HXP for silhouette matches)
plus you do get much more accurate, cleaner ammo..) so it's not a real big savings unless you shoot alot I guess.

[kkp]

I'm wondering as well. I've been considering getting into reloading on a small scale, but posts like this worry me. I don't get to the range that often (busy life + wife that likes to spend time with me + costs of shooting!), and don't see that changing too much even if ammo was FREE.

But investing in a modest rig (like this) for perhaps $150 all in, and reloading your own brass, cranking out perhaps 500-800 rounds per month (which is all I shoot, realistically, and then some), wouldn't that be cheaper than buying factory ammo? (wouldn't take too long to pay for that reloading rig at such a low price) I shoot 9mm, .223/5.56 and .22lr (although I'd like to add .45acp to that mix). Even reloading ONLY my .223 should save me a fair chunk, I would think. Am I wrong in my cost assumptions?

[five.five-six]

Saying that "reloading is NOT cheaper" will get you in a lot of hot water with the reloaders who claim to be above the ammo shortage fray, shoot all they want, have thousands of rounds just sitting around, and chuckle at all you peasants who actually buy loaded ammo.

Once you get past the startup costs, it's real nice to go punch out 500 rounds of .223 in an afternoon without really hurting your store of components.

[CGT80]

I'm wondering as well. I've been considering getting into reloading on a small scale, but posts like this worry me. I don't get to the range that often (busy life + wife that likes to spend time with me + costs of shooting!), and don't see that changing too much even if ammo was FREE.

But investing in a modest rig (like this) for perhaps $150 all in, and reloading your own brass, cranking out perhaps 500-800 rounds per month (which is all I shoot, realistically, and then some), wouldn't that be cheaper than buying factory ammo? (wouldn't take too long to pay for that reloading rig at such a low price) I shoot 9mm, .223/5.56 and .22lr (although I'd like to add .45acp to that mix). Even reloading ONLY my .223 should save me a fair chunk, I would think. Am I wrong in my cost assumptions?

That reloading set should be OK, but single stage loading takes some time. If you could get your wife to spend some time loading with you, then maybe it would work. My dillon 1050 with bullet feeder will load 100 rounds of 9mm in 3 minutes, not including tumbling the cases before hand. My dillon 550 manual index with a case feeder might take 6-7 minutes (rough guess). A single stage press might take an hour. Others who still load single stage might have some times for you. Once you get the dies and powder set, you can just go crank them out when you need.

Rifle brass requires trimming, and very often primer pocket swaging for 223, not to mention cleaning lube off the brass after sizing. It is still very doable on the simple single stage setup. It costs me around 20 cents per round of 223.

If store bought 9mm is 35 bucks per 100 rounds and my components cost 10 bucks per 100, then that is 25 bucks saved per box of 100 rounds. 600 rounds of 9mm would let you break even on $150 of reloading gear. After that point, you will either save 25 bucks per box or be able to spend that on more components or gear. Even if you only save 10 bucks per box, it will only take 1500 rounds to break even.

I load 243, 30-06, 30-30, 45 lc, and 460 mag, among others. The prices on those are insane in the store. The 9mm, 40, 45, 38 spl, and 223 are still too expensive for me to consider buying factory ammo.

I say go for the inexpensive kit. I also think the single stage will be easier to learn than a lee progressive press, for a beginner.

[kkp]

^^ Thanks. The guy who recommended the inexpensive kit that I linked above, told me he owns that very kit, and aside from cleaning brass (in bulk, a separate step), he knocks out about 50 rounds in 20-30 minutes (which I read as at least 100 rounds per hour). At that rate, I'd meet my monthly ammo needs pretty quickly, as long as I can chill out and do while watching some TV in the living room. And .223 is more expensive than 9mm, so costs would be recouped that much faster.

[five.five-six]

I say go for the inexpensive kit. I also think the single stage will be easier to learn than a lee progressive press, for a beginner.

learning is about the same, the difference being with a single stage, you don't pump out 450 rounds before you figure out that you did something wrong.

[drdarrin@sbcglobal.net]

Reloading is not cheaper? Well, if you have no self control, then what is?

reloading press, shell holder and set of dies $29.95 (purchased 1968)
Scale (I forget but it was expensive then, cheap now)
Powder measure (see above)
melting pot $35.00 (purchased 1980)
Lyman sizer $45.00 (purchased 1980)
Lyman bullet mold $65.00 (purchased 2013)
Top Punch $14 (purchased 2013)
Sizer die $25.00 (purchased 2013)

300# of lead $45.00 (purchased 2013)
last batch of brass $0.00 (bend over and grab 'em, reloaders edition)
last batch of primers $22.00 / 1000 (purchased 2010)
last powder 8 lbs of Bullseye $110 (purchased 2011)
My current cost per 9 mm Rnd $0.0442

Having complete control of my ammo quality and availability? Priceless!

[MaHoTex]

KPP, in addition to that kit and the vibratory cleaner, you will need some calipers too.

These at HF will be fine. Calipers
Here is a link to the vibration cleaner at Midway.

That adds about $50 to the $150 total bringing it to about $200. Still, that cost is recovered very quickly.

Looking at my last tally, I am at an average of $.17/round of 223 and $.10/round of 9mm.
Since my time is free that is $3.49/20 round box of 223 and $5/ 50 round box of 9mm.
I am saving all sorts of money, though, it does not feel that way since I have a LOT of money tied up in stockpiled components and ammo that I have already loaded.

I do not have a tally sheet for my 357s or 38s.

And yes, for me is seems that 50 rounds of 223 in under 30 mins is typical assuming it is not the 5.56 crimped brass. THAT is a whole other can of worms. I HATE HATE HATE that stuff. Unfortunately I bought a couple thousand federal xm193s that are the 5.56.

[five.five-six]

HF has tumblers too.