Is reloading paying you guys off these days?

[SteelJM1]

Hey guys. I was thinking of getting into relaoding soon, but what with the price of just aobut anything gun related going out of control, it looks like for the time being, reloading is MORE expensive than the surplus stuff I was getting. I wanted to reload for my M1, but after doing the math, it looks like to reload using the cheapest parts I could find (save powder, IMR 4895) AND using already fired brass, it'll still cost ~$65.00 for 200 rounds as opposed to greek surplus at $50 for 192. I suppose i'll buy as much of that surplus as i can and save all the brass for when the supply dries up, but jeez, this is rediculous.

Would reloading for pistol (357) be cheaper than commercial in this case? And at this rate, even for a cheap Lee turret press and all the associated goodies, how many YEARS will it take for it to pay for itself?

 

[CrustyFN]

My Lee classic turret paid for itself in a few months and that was just loading 9mm. Now I also load 223 and 38/357.You should be able to load any pistol round for at least half of what the cheap stuff cost. I am still loading 9mm for around $70 per 1,000 and 223 for around $95 per 1,000. Rifle you can load for less than half unless you are loading some serious match grade rounds.
Rusty

 

[Tim R]

It depends on what you are doing and loading. I agree the Greek is hard to beat. I save on every round I reload. My equipment has paid for it's self long ago. The best way to save is buy in bulk. I don't always get the bullets/primers/powder bought in bulk but I do when I can.

To give you an extreme idea of savings I shoot NRA High Power. I shot a 308 M-1 Garand for a few years. Everyone knows 168 Federal Gold Metal is the standard. Back then I could get it for about $22.00 a box. To shoot a match I would need 88 rounds. To get 88 rounds I needed 5 boxes which is 100 rounds. It was always nice to have a few left over in case I needed to shoot an alibi string. (never did)

Shooting 168 SMK's using my Lake City Match brass I could reload the same thing with my reloads shooting a little better for about $44.00. This beat the heck out of $110.00 for the Federal.

Now that I'm shooting a AR it cost me about less than $30.00 for a box of 100rounds of 77 & 80 Gr SMK's. Check out the price for a 100 rounds of comm match ammo. I'm saving about 1/2.

I can also reload 9, 40, 45ACP, 38/357, and 38 super for less than store bought.

I can reload '06 for hunting, and 300 H&H for less than store bought. 30-30 is sometimes a little harder but my ammo shoots better.

I would suggest buying the best equipment you can afford, buy once, buy smart. I'm still using a 26 year old RCBS press.

 

[Throckmorton]

With shot hitting nearly 40.00 a bag I"ve given up on shotshell relaoding,but my .45 long colt ammo is still waaaaaaaaaaaaaay cheaper to reload than to buy.Same for my .357 ammo.
How quickly the gear will pay for itself depends on how many rounds per month or year you shoot,and what calibers.

 

[shooter_john]

I shoot my rifles (.308, 6.5 Lapua, 25-06, 223(s), 30-30) 2-3x's as much now as I used to before I started reloading, and I still save money. It's "match" stuff only in my 308,6.5, and 25, and I load them all for about $10-$14 per 20, as opposed to $30- $35 per 20 from the store, and all three of those rifles are 1/2 MOA and below (sometimes) shooters, when I'm on my game. As stated before, buy in bulk, every little bit helps. And one more thing, loading can be as much fun as shooting once you really get into it!

 

[Sigma 40 Blaster]

My Lee Pro 1000 paid for itself after about 2,000 rounds of .40 S&W. The few thousand more I've done in that caliber and others are contributing to the savings I'm putting back for a Dillon 550 or 650.

 

[Red_Eagle]

Like a previous post said, it depends on what your doing. For example, if your just blasing away at a 25 yd target with an AR-15, your probably better off just buying Wolf. However, if your planning on doing any serious varmint/predator hunting or service rifle competition, reloading is the only way to go about without filing chapter 7.
With the larger big game cartidges its even more noticeable. Even loading Sierra's (which most handloaders consider a "cheap" bullet) you save at least $50. Rule of thumb, the higher grade the bullet, the more savings over factory ammo loaded with the same bullet. For example, 50 Barne's 150 gr triple shocks will cost you about $32.00. 1 20 rd box of Federal Fusion loaded with the same bullet will be about the same price.

 

[WNTFW]

Steel,
From a pure cost standpoint it could be hard to justify. Now that is costing all cost. What is your time/space/electricty etc worth. More round go downrange & more equipment is bought which can eat up the savings. Cheap ammo is out there on the shelves - but it is cheap ammo.
How you view it is part of the deal. Reloading is not for everyone. I shoot a lot of .22lr because it is cheap & easy. Milsurp is cheap & will run out sooner or later. Picking up brass is not that much fun. I do it though, brass is about half the cost of many rounds.
I started doing shotshells a long time ago. I could load shells with spreader wads which I could not find in a store. I did enjoy it & had better performance from my gun. I still have the equipment.
Pistol is pretty straight forward & good savings can be had. Rifle is more complicated & requires more tools & labor. Both can be very rewarding & specialized load are an added avantage. Reduce recoil pistol loads or super accurate rifle rounds are 2 examples.
One aspect of it is reloaders are probably more aware of some safety issues. They understand things like headspace & pressure signs. They also tend to know a bit about getting acuracy & ballistics.
I find it is a natural progression to become a reloader for someone who really loves shooting. Generally they are better shooters because of their knowledge & not just higher round counts.
Later,
WNTFW

 

[glockopop]

Of course you don't save any money reloading, you just end up shooting 3 times as much on each range outing!

 

[Jammer Six]

Yup.

Of course, I don't pay money for my stuff, I use a credit card.

 

[DavidJBlythe]

I was buying boxes of 8mm Mauser for $30.00 / 20. After I got my press and dies, I can make them for $6.00/20. But like other reloaders have said, I just end up using the savings to shoot it more often.

 

[washintonhick]

it may or my not be cheaper

but the accur. is what really counts i have about 30 custom loads for my 270 win they range from temp, animal,distance,ext.
take for instance the 308 i used when i was overseas i empty powder out of one shell and put it in the other i also had a drill bit with a wood handle and i made hp out of the fmj

 

[qajaq59]

Again, it depends on what you're reloading for.
I like to practice a lot with my 30-30s, so I'm going thru 100 to 150 rounds a week. I can do that very cheaply with cast bullets at lower velocities or a bit faster with the Laser Cast bullets. Then when I'm ready to hunt I simply rezero the rifle for jacketed bullets and I'm all set. If I were practicing that much with factory ammo I'd be in the poor house.

 

[45Marlin carbine]

I buy cheap 'blasting' ammo to practice with. save the brass to reload good bullets in and use the Lee FCD. the only good deals on ammo I've been able to find is on '06 and 9mm. everything else I shoot (.45 acp and 7.62X39) is costing more these days.
I also shoot BP guns a good bit more. I cast my slugs for them.

 

[DMZX]

Among other thing, I reload .44 Spl and .45 LC. Factory ammo in these calibers are very pricey so $$'s saved quickly paid for my press and dies.

Saving incurred from reloading .38 Spl and 9mm is marginal but I like the flexibility I have with bullet selection and speed to develop loads for a particular firearm.

 

[armoredman]

Reloading has definately given me FAR more ammo than I had before, plus the fun, relaxing and productive hobby that is handloading. Now I recently started casting my own bullets in .38 and 9mm. I can make 125 good bullets in an hour, which I have in the morning every day, if I want. Some great guys on castboolits.com set me up with a great deal on lead, so I won't be running out any time soon. I will get a 303 mold here soon, and the only bullets I will have to buy will be jacketed .223. I had a LOT of help getting started in reloading AND casting, some incredibly generous people sending me thier older/unused equipment, for which I am eternally grateful. The same 26 year old press I recieved before anything else, is still going strong.
Some day I hope to be finacially able to do the same thing, and get more people into this great hobby.

 

[rahtreelimbs]

In the grand scheme of things, reloading puts me closer to the hunt. The cost I really don't care about!!!

 

[BigJimP]

Like others told you, it depends, but yes, it pays for itself very quickly ( but I also shoot more because I reload ...). I calculate my costs as follows: A Dillon 650 press ( and all the startup accessories ) is $ 1500 for 1 caliber / for 6 calibers you will add dies and conversion kits, etc for a total of about $ 3,000 for 6 calibers or $500 per caliber.

My costs, based on current component cost in my area is :
$5.24 per box for 9mm ( current cost retail is $ 9 a box ) save $ 3.75/box.
$5.81 per box for .40 (current cost retail is $ 10 a box ) save $4 / box
$7.69 per box for .45ACP (current retail is $13 a box ) save $5.25 / box.

Even if you only shoot 2 boxes a week of 9mm you're saving a minimum of $ 7.50 a week reloading vs buying ammo / and if you paid $ 1,500 for one caliber press your payback is easily within 4 years. If you shoot 2 boxes of .45 ACP a week (pay the same $1,500 for the press) your payback is about 2 3/4 years. So yes, its still very cost effective to reload.

The other big thing is your reloads - if you're precise and persistent - will be significantly more accurate than any factory ammo at $ 2 - $3 more for retail than what I listed above - let alone the cheapest stuff you can buy. Again, another reason to reload, in my opinion - but yes, you have to lay out some cash. But don't reload for the savings - reload because you like it and want to do it, just my opinion again. I'd reload even if it wasn't cheaper - I like it - and its part of the hobby ...

 

[Selfdfenz]

One additonal point to consider. The cheap ammo you're using may be here for a while but when it's gone, it's gone. When I got my first Swedish Mauser, Swedish 6.5 ball ammo was 5-6$/20. I rarely see it at any price now. I could be wrong but don't look for that Greek ball to last forever. Who can say where ammo prices for other calibers will be 2 months from now, let alone 2 years.

If you buy into the set up now, and loaded ammo costs skyrocket, you may have other options if you've saved or stockpiled components. In the meantime you'll gain valuable experience learning and experimenting. Forget the M1, if you have a 357 and costs go gaga you can keep it running with lead bullets as long as you have primers and powder & have set aside a supply of cases. Ask yourself this question: "What price would I put on a reloading set-up and the ability to reload ammo if I couldn't afford to buy loaded ammo?

Not trying to a a doom-n-gloomer but I just saying....

Best

S-

PS- All the money I've saved reloading over the years has been reinvested in higher round counts down range. I also own several firearms in calibers I would never have considered save the fact I knew I could reload for on a thin cost scale. 45 Colt being just one example.

 

[ARGarrison]

I just got a new .30-06. I looked into loading a few rounds to get it started. With new brass factored in, it was cheaper for me to go down to Wal Mart and by a box of cheap Core Lokt or Power Point. Dick's this week was almost a dollar cheaper a box add to that Remington and Winchester both have a $5 rebate a box (limit two boxes). Now reloading, using once fired brass, yes much cheaper.

You also need to ask what your time is worth. Factor the time spent reloading you my not save "money", but you have another side of shooting that is intersting and enjoyable.

Reloading also gives you options. You can load cheap plinkers or top quality hunting or match bullets. Heavy or light. Fast or Slow.

I've taken a step back having just bought a Hornady Progressive to load more. My Lee had paid for it in less than one year. This Hornady AP will take time to pay for itself, but with a Bushmaster to feed, it shouldn't take long.