The Cost of Reloading.

[Halwg]

Reading a post in another forum got me to thinking about this. In that post, a wise contributer makes a good point that all reloaders are cheap. Why else would we spend $1000 to shoot cheaper?

Did anyone ever crunch the numbers to see how long it takes to recoup the cost of all the equipment you need to get started in reloading? I bought my equipment 31 years ago, and haven't added much, just new dies if I add a caliber, or maybe a piece that might make loading a particular caliber easier. With all the rounds I have shot over that time, especially handgun rounds, I'm certain my equipment has been paid for 10 fold. Especially at the cost of todays ammo.

I doubt that anyone really reloads just to save money, but it is a hobby that can definitely save you $$$ over time.

 

[GP100man]

Halwg
i agree !!
if i had to buy what i have now i probably would`nt .
but then again i started out with a lee loader , the hammer powered one then graduated to a challenger kit from there lyman products almost exclusivly.
the real problem is keeping the wife convenced i`m saving money LOL!!!

i`ll stay quite about my casting addiction!!!!

GP100man

 

[Walkalong]

If you are disciplined, you can save money shooting by reloading.

But usually, we just shoot more for the same money at the very least. Mostly though, we just keep shooting more and buying more stuff, and shooting more & .........

We don't have a reloading problem, we can quit any time we want, we just don't want to.

Welcome to THR

 

[tango2echo]

Shoot more for same money as stated above. Have $1500+ or - invested. Saved about 60% over the cost of factory ammo, and took about 3 years to recover my investment.

T2E

 

[Apiarian]

Ask you shall receive.

http://10xshooters.com/calculators/Handgun_Reloading_Cost_Calculator.htm

 

[elkhuntingfool]

Picked up my reloader for $90, 45acp dies - $28, bullets $100 (1000pcs), brass $30 (1000pcs brass), primer $20/1000. So I'm into reloading $268 for my 45acp. If I were to buy 1000 rds of factory ammo at $20/50 I'd be at $400. So, I saved $132 right off the bat. I was given 1lb of powder from my father in law so I didn't count that.

So, I did save some money - but I've also got a boat load of other stuff now - and I don't bother calculating any realized savings any longer. I just know I get to shoot more

Oh and I get to laugh when I hear or read about people crying over the jumps in factory ammo costs.

 

[Floppy_D]

I surfed craigslist, classifieds, etc until I found an old Dillon 450 for sale, around $250 with a bunch of extras. I cast my own bullets, and spend less than $50/1000 rounds... breakdown listed here. I don't know what Wolf ammo costs, but it sucks compared to what I shoot for a fraction of the price.

Better yet, since I picked up a range membership, and learned to shoot at 3x5 notecards as targets, I can shoot 100-150rds of 45acp a day, for less than the price of a fast food combo.

Buy used, shop around a lot, it can most certainly be a $$$ saver.

 

[Floppy_D]

According to that calculator, just under 1000 rounds. I guess it was worth it. The next 1000 paid for my casting furnace and molds, and tumbler, and then a bunch of consumables. Guess that does it.

 

[ljnowell]

Well, I inherited a dillon tumbler, eliminator scale, lee autoprime, and several other misc items. I purchased a 24 dollar lee single stage press, a 25 dollar set of lee carbide dies, a powder funnel, and a reloading tray. Also a shell holder for the auto prime in .45acp. I have since loaded more than enough ammo with that to cover the costs of it. I spent another 65 bucks this week on a autodisk powder measure, an adjustable charge bar, a primer pocket cleaning tool, and a digital scale. I should be able to recoup that cost in about 300 loaded rounds to be safe I will say 400.

 

[kennedy]

my brother gave me a lee turrent with auto disk when he bought a new dillon, in 2008 I bought all the dies, tumblers, calipers,etc, 1000 bullets each in 4 calibers I reload plus all the powder and primers needed for 1000 rds, so this year should be free shooting all year long.

 

[rockhound758]

Good points all around above, and I also think about it this way...there are MANY hobbies out there where there are some significant startup and/or ongoing equipment costs. If any of you are photographers you know what I'm talking about...a nice Canon 70-200 lens can set you back about $1200 alone. With all the satisfaction we derive, PLUS the cost savings, PLUS the "I can be self sufficient if the Big One ever happens", etc. I still think reloading is a serious bargain.

 

[deadhawg]

As has been said many times, you don't save money by reloading, you just shoot more for the same amount of money.

Using plated bullets, I can reload 45 acp for less than half the price of the cheapest factory practice ammo.

Reloading 45 acp with top of the line Speer Gold Dot bullets costs me less than 40 cents a round, while my local gun shop sells them for $28.00/20 rounds, though you can find much better deals online sometimes.

When it comes to reloading rifle rounds, I really don't care about the cost savings, it's all about making the most accurate ammo for my rifle.

 

[aliveisalive]

I just ordered some bulk components for .223.

Cost per round, 18 cents with 55gr hornady spirepoint.
Cost per round, 25 cents with hornady vmax.

wolf is more then both of these now, and mine will be much better and cleaner.
This is including shipping, i could have gotten it down cheaper if i bought 8lb jug of powder [they only had 1lb jugs]. buy 5k bullets, even less.

But i got my stuff to have fun, saving money is just a benefit =].

 

[qajaq59]

If you think reloading is expensive, try taking up golf. My buddy spends more in a week on that then I do in 6 months on loading and shooting. And I load a lot.....

 

[raborlin]

If you load obsolescent cartridges as I do, the cost of handloading is quickly amortized. For example, 7mm Baby Nambu ammunition alone brings large returns. 2 Babies in my collection can consume 200 rounds in a shooting session. At that rate, the cost savings is substantial over shooting Buffalo Arms ammo.

Ramon

 

[sqlbullet]

All told I have spent about $800 in the last year on reloading equipment, casting equipment, and components. I have reloaded about 2000 rounds of 10mm, which would have cost me $800 from Georgia Arms. Appears break even.

But....

I have components on hand to load another 4000 rounds ($1600 savings), and will only need to by powder and primers to keep going (almost 2 tons of lead stockpiled in the garage and just shy of 3000 brass on hand). I guess I will need some propane and electricity for melting the lead. that will be far less than $100 over the next 10,000 rounds.

 

[Claude Clay]

save $$$ over time x 10
shoot more
and shoot more of rounds customized to what you want them to do
shoot obscure [read: expensive] calibers on the cheap (32 short colt, 10.4x47r, S&W 38.....)
buy Federal Gold Match or make your own for less than 1/2 the cost.

annnnnd # 10---resale value of my equipment is more than i paid

 

[ArchAngelCD]

My setup cost me ~$400 and then I added more stuff to make things easier but the additions weren't necessary for reloading.

.38 Special ammo will cost you $16.99 to $18.99 a box today. I can load a box of .38 Special for $4.06. If you shoot 300 rounds a weekend or more like I do that's a saving of over $80 a weekend. It didn't take very long for me to pay for all the equipment I bought. ALSO, you really don't save any money reloading, you just get to shoot a lot more for the money you spend. There is no way I could spend over $100 each weekend to buy 300 rounds of ammo. I could buy 1 or 2 boxes at current prices but for that price tag I can shoot the 300+ rounds I want to shoot.

 

[qajaq59]

Think long term.

Back in the 60s I bought my press and the Lyman sizer/lubricator used, and the other gear was new. I don't remember what I paid for it, but I had a mortgage and 2 kids at the time so I'd bet it wasn't very much. And except for some odds and ends, I've been using the same gear to load ever since.

Consequently, the cost of the equipment spread over all those loads is probably close to zero by now. If you buy decent equipment and take care of it, your grand kids could end up using it. A little cleaning and a bit of oil goes a long ways toward saving you money on equipment.

 

[redneck2]

I was at a local shop last week. .338 Win Mag is $58 a box.......

I cannot imagine spending $3 every pull of the trigger.

Even .45 LC is pushing $1 per. Six bucks to fill 'er up? I don't think so. WE typically go thru 150-200 a session. $200 to go out for just a few hours? For that money, it better have blonde hair and call me sweetheart.

 

[Seafarer12]

It all depends on what you shoot as to how fast you recoup your money. If you shoot 9mm and 223 it will take a long time to get your money back. I shoot 222,357, 7-30, 7mm-08, 45-70. I get my money back a little faster.

 

[chieftain]

Does anyone include the cost of the gun that blows up because of a mistake too?

Maybe no one makes mistakes any more?

I gave up reloading about 30 years ago. The equipment is much better now, but I refuse to do it again. Nope didn't blow up any of my revolvers with any of my loads.

Shot 2700/Bullseye and PPC matches. Round counts were not that high. These days I see many of the guys who shoot Steel, IDPA, bowling pins etc..... occasionally 'blow up' a gun. The good news is there usually ain't to much damage, and a trip to the gunsmith and a few parts and they are back in business, usually costs less the $300.00 (often have to buy a barrel).

Go figure.

Fred

 

[jjohnson]

It's not just money

Well,

[As has been said many times, you don't save money by reloading, you just shoot more for the same amount of money.
/QUOTE]

Amen.

Yeah, I've been reloading for nearly 40 years, and although I surely have $1000 in equipment, I shoot a BUNCH more for a dollar.

I have a Dillon 550B and dies in nearly 20 calibers, both handgun and rifle, and I crank out 12-15 THOUSAND rounds a year.

So..... if I save five bucks per 50, which is pretty easy to do, I'm going through an extra six grand worth of ammo each year. That's a big pile of lead.

Too, though, since I load carefully and play with programs like QuickLoad, I'm way better at understanding ballistics than I would have been without the exercise. I don't mean meaningless stuff, but important things like max allowable pressures and figuring which load is best for certain circumstances, trajectories, and all that. So I do get a bunch of benefit that's not measured in bucks.

Besides... it's fun!

 

[HK SD9 Tactical]

There are two reasons why reloading is worth it:

1) As said before, you get to shoot alot more for the same price. It's a hobby - not an inexpensive one but less expensive then alot of others.

2) You develope your loads that are best for you in your firearm instead of using the generic stuff off the shelf that will cost more and usually (especially now) is not available.

I can reload .223 rounds for about .17 each. That is less than 1/2 price of what is available off the shelf. If I fire 2000 rounds from my AR15 at .17 each (initial loading using 1x fired brass), it costs me $340 (costs of ALL components and shipping/fees included) vs $820 for 2000 Remmington Bulk or $640 for 2000 Wolf Bulk (plus shipping - no taxes and both currently backordered) . I am sure that someone out there can load them for less than I do.

The cost of .17 per round includes the initial cost of the brass. As I get to re-load the brass many times, the cost of reloading this cartridge can be further cut to eliminate the costs of the brass for subsequent re-loadings. Even if its only a nickle less for the brass, my costs drop from .17 cents to .14 cents for a total cost of $280.00 for 2000 rounds, a savings of $540. If I pick up range brass, the costs is even less. Have you looked at the price of new Lake City or Remmington .223 brass lately? Anywhere from $320 to $400 for 2000 cases.

This of course is omitting the time spent doing it - as it's a hobby and not a job. My hobby time is free, my work time is not.

I have recouped all the costs of my reloading equipment in 1 year. I re-load 7 different cartridges.

However, if I am only going to shoot 20 rounds a year from my AR15 - reloading is not an option and it's a waste of a good AR15.

You need to factor your time and costs involved in re-loading to determine is it's right for you.

Remember, some people choose not to or refuse to use 1X fired brass or pick up range brass - if it must be new brass it will add a SIGNIFICANT cost to re-loading and take longer to recoup your equipment costs.

 

[qajaq59]

Maybe no one makes mistakes any more?

Nope.. People that can follow simple directions and check their work don't anyway. And we had a thread a while back on another site about guns blowing up. Not one person had actually "seen" it happen. It was, all, "Well I heard.... Or someone told me." If as many people got hurt reloading as they do skiing we would sure know about it real quick.
I will admit though that there are people that should not even think about this hobby.