$$$ factory ammo

[Rangefinder]

I have been hand loading for my rifles for years, and am now getting into casting more and more for my handguns simply because of rising costs and availability. Just for kicks after looking for some factory loads for my .40, I glanced at some prices I would be paying to feed my rifles IF I had to feed them factory ammo.... HOLY HELL!! I'd need a second job!

All my military chamberings are getting pricey, but the ones that shocked me were a few of my "standard" calibers--probably because it's been so long since I had to look at a price tag for a box...
6mm Remington---averaging $1.25 per squeeze of the trigger.
My reloads are in the $.29--$.40 range.
7mm Rem Mag---Cheapest was about $1.25/shot--but most were over $2.00 a shot. Crazy!!!
My reloads are in the $.35--$.60 range, but could be a little less except that I spend a bit more on premium bullets.

Guess I've been out of the factory-load circle for a while--I think I'll get farther out from that circle... And I think I'll beef up my reloading supplies a bit more than I already have.

What do you shoot and how does it compare cost-wise with factory?

 

[salvadore]

.45 Colts, ACPs, 70s. .44 Spec. .38/44s and specials, and 32/20s. Currently casting for 10 revolvers, 2 auto loaders, two rifles and adding another soon. To answer your question, "What do you shoot and how does it compare cost-wise with factory?" There is no comparison. Everyone who shoots should reload.

 

[wyobohunter]

Try feeding my .338 RUM factory stuff & see how fast you end up in the poor house If I remember correctly it's over $4 per shot. I did the math once, I think I came up with ≈ 50 cents for my reloads. I haven't bothered to even look in the past few years because it gives me heart murmurs & stuff. I'm just slowly acquiring components in bulk.

 

[rbf420]

i hand cast for 9mm .38spl .357 and 30.06..

for 9mm i can make 50 for $4 compared to about $9 for factory

.38spl 50 for $4 factory about 13-15

.357 50 for $5.5 factory $20+

30.06... i hand cast for my garand its a reduced load so not as great but works for plinking with the garand... i can make 1 for about .20cents per round where military surplus if u can even find it any more is about .40 per round and then new is about .60-1.00 per round

 

[Jim243]

Rangefinder, I have not bought a factory round since 2004 and that was 7.62x39 just so I could get the brass cases.

Keep reloading.
Jim

 

[ForneyRider]

I get WW 150gr PP in 7mm Mag for $19 at walmart.

Hornady 50gr 22-250 at Bass Pro for $19.

WSM stuff or RUM stuff is $40-$60, 375H&H is $60-$100. The 375H&H was the first reload my family shot 23years ago. Speer bullets and R19. I still had the R19 up to a couple of years ago.

I bought 200 rounds of .223 for 75$ a couple of years ago. It was Federal Power Shok with LC brass and 50gr JHP. It ran $125 last time I looked.

 

[80viking]

Reloading does save you a lot of $$$, but the real savings kick in when you cast your own bullets.

 

[ScottRiqui]

Are you assuming that you're sourcing the lead for free (old wheel weights, etcetera), or is casting your own bullets still a bargain even if you have to buy the lead alloy?

I haven't looked very many places, but using Midway as an example, they have 30 pounds of 20:1 alloy for $132, which works out to about $44 per 500 if you cast it all into 148-grain bullets. That doesn't seem all that much lower than buying cast bullets, but again, I'm probably not looking in the right places.

 

[Rangefinder]

So far all my casting is strictly from water-dropped WW with great results. Just picked up a 5-gallon bucket full of WW the other day from my local tire shop. The price? Giving them a new, empty 5-gallon bucket to fill up for me again. Can't get much cheaper than that.

As for alloys..... I'm just starting to expand my casting a bit more and will be testing some much harder alloys for my rifles. So..... it's gonna cost a little for my alloy base metals, but it's STILL going to be much cheaper in the long run. I've found a good semi-local source for 70-30 lead-antimony as well as pure tin bar stock for hardeners. Should be interesting. Shop around--I can't see the point in spending $130 for 30# of alloy when most of what I need is free, and the rest is local. A little simple math with the ingredients will give you any variety of the alloys you want without breaking the wallet.

Jim243>> I know the feeling. I haven't bought a factory round for my 6mm or 7mm Remi since 99. That's why it kinda floored me when I saw what they cost to feed factory.

 

[colospgsAVID]

Over the course a week or two I bought 1000 rounds of 9mm WWB for $11 per 50 from Wally World. This was around a month ago. I was shocked to see they had a huge pile of boxes with no limit. After I shoot'em up I'll have plenty of brass to load. The way I figure with Hornady XTP's and 700x powder... Brass-free, Rem 1 1/2 primer-3.5 cents, 700x charge-1 cent, 124 grain XTP-2.2 cents. 6.7 cents per round. Not bad IMO. Yeah there's tool expenses and time involved but who doesn't like tools(toys). I also very much enjoy reloading. It's a win win. A good defensive 9mm factory round costs around a buck or more a piece. If you can find it locally.