Has reloading paid off?

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I’ve been reloading for 35 years. I’m not a hoarder (I don’t think I am anyway) and there is no shortage of components. I never panic buy but I have stocked up when I found a good deal. I might could use a few varmint or precision accuracy bullets but I’m not sure I could run out in 15 years. And if I have to move, I’m thinking just my reloading stuff will put my 3/4 ton truck suspension down to the overload snubs.
I don’t know if I would say reloading has “paid off” but it has allowed me to shoot as much as I want whenever I want without experiencing ammo anxiety. I gave my grandaughters a 500 round brick of .22 LR for plinking on my home range and told them to have fun safely and use it up
 
The timing couldn't have been better for me. I just got started on reloading in January 2020, and since it was a new hobby for me I was really gung-ho about it.I bought a lot of supplies before shortages hit and prices went up, and last year I reloaded close to 20k total of the three calibers I shoot.

So now when ammo is so hard to find, I have several thousand rounds each of .45 ACP, 9mm, and .223, which is enough to last me into next year and I also have supplies on hand to load thousands more. Every time I go to the range the counter guy asks me if I need any ammo (at a buck a round), and I'm able to say "No, I'm good".

If I wasn't reloading and didn't have that stockpile I'd have to cut way back on my shooting.
 
And someday, if freedom loving Americans do not Storm the Bastille, I'll likely have to start casting my own bullets. And that sounds a lot like work.

It is another rabbit hole to go down for sure, but frankly it isn't that hard and with some fairly basic equipment you can crank out thousands of bullets of whatever flavor your heart desires. Some of us enjoy casting.
 
It has paid off for me, no doubt about it. I can shoot as much as I care to and still have very minimal money invested. I enjoy the hobby as well. It's my "quiet time" to relax and sort out the loads and my thoughts.
I like odd ball calibers and reloading/casting allows me to shoot as much as I want.
 
Short answer, yes. Long answer, absolutely yes.

As a person that goes through upwards of 1000 rounds of .223/5.56 a month, that adds up to a HUGE cost for factory ammo, even when ammo was cheap. During 2017-2019, I was ordering Fiocchi primers by the case(12k primers) every other month. I was ordering surplus powder 32 pounds at a time every 3 or so months($350-400 for 32 pounds delivered). I was ordering Hornady 55gr fmj by the case of 6000 at a time. Over two years, I built a massive stockpile, and was able to get my reloading costs down to about 13 cents per round(not including brass, since I would just keep the brass from when friends and neighbors that didn't reload would shoot with me). Even at the low prices when ammo was 27 cents per round, I was saving a significant amount.

Fast forward to the current situation, and I still have no need to buy primers, powder, or bullets. I am still reloading based solely off of the components I have stockpiled, and it is still only running 13 cents a round. I haven't had to cut back on my hobby. I am sure some people will say I was being a hoarder for buying so much, but I was buying it when companies we're almost having to give it away to clear space on their shelves. If this panic keeps going on for another year, I will start cutting back.

Currently, good prices for 5.56 are upwards of 60 cents each, so I am saving about 50 cents every time I pull the trigger. Even after factoring in the cost of the mark 7 evo, I am still coming out ahead.

Also, when we factor in the coat of ammo to feed my desert eagle, I am miles ahead. I reload that for about 75 cents per round(45 cents per if I spread the cost of brass over 5 loads). When factory ammo costs $1.50 or more, I am saving a huge amount over factory, and that makes up for equipment costs in a hurry.

Lastly, I just enjoy reloading. I can tweak a load for any one of my rifles. I don't have to hope that the factory ammo works great.
 
I've been pulling the handles over 30 yrs. Has it paid off....with respect to my bank account, no, I didn't save any money at all. With respect to my marksmanship....it paid off heaps. All that money I didn't save, all that ammo I loaded that had I not I could never have afforded.
I'm glad I learned my lesson from the last few scares, and made sure I've got enough components on hand. This BS going on now won't affect me unless it goes on for a few yrs.

Just think....one of you chuckle heads will stumble onto the estate sale they'll surely have when I go to the big reloading room in the basement, and hit the mother lode
 
If one is an avid hunter and chooses to keep in practice with their hunting loads (shooting 50-60 rounds / year), it is very quick to pay off a minimalist reloading setup ($100-200) given the huge costs associated with commercial hunting ammunition. And if one is using a more exotic cartridge, then the ROI on the equipment is even faster.

Given that some commercial hunting ammunition is $2-3+ / round and can be loaded with the same components for around $0.70-1.00 / round the cost savings is considerable.

But for the hunter who goes hunting 2-3 times a year and maybe expends 1-2 boxes of ammunition a year, it is a hard sell.
 
Those are the folks locally who have been coming to me for box ammo for their hunt clubs. A box of ammo will last the average hunt club deer hunter two years, at least.

There are a lot of hunters that are not reloaders that are searching for another box or two of the ammo their rifle likes. Such a short-sighted notion for a non-reloading hunter to only have a box of ammunition for one's hunting rifle, expecting it to always be on the shelf to run down and pick up another one. How hard is it if one doesn't reload to have 4-5 boxes of the ammunition your rifle likes on the shelf, that 4-5 boxes would last a "hunting-only" shooter 7-10 years. Those 4-5 boxes would have been $80-150 depending on cartridge in good inventory times, not really that much of a hardship to have on the shelf when one's food and hobby are dependent on it. Hunters will spend $100+ to look good with the newest piece of hunting garb, but bemoan keeping a paltry amount of commercial ammunition on the shelf.

I do feel bad for the hunters who are just getting into it that purchased their first rifle only to not have choices to find what ammunition their rifle likes. But I've been witness to several long-time hunters who are worried about ammunition for this fall. I'm thinking to myself, why are you in this situation?
 
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There are a lot of hunters that are not reloaders that are searching for another box or two of the ammo their rifle likes. Such a short-sighted notion for a non-reloading hunter to only have a box of ammunition for one's hunting rifle, expecting it to always be on the shelf to run down and pick up another one. How hard is it if one doesn't reload to have 4-5 boxes of the ammunition your rifle likes on the shelf, that 4-5 boxes would last a "hunting-only" shooter 7-10 years. Those 4-5 boxes would have been $80-150 depending on cartridge in good inventory times, not really that much of a hardship to have on the shelf when one's food and hobby are dependent on it. Hunters will spend $100+ to look good with the newest piece of hunting garb, but bemoan keeping a paltry amount of commercial ammunition on the shelf.

I do feel bad for the hunters who are just getting into it that purchased their first rifle only to not have choices to find what ammunition their rifle likes. But I've been witness to several long-time hunters who are worried about ammunition for this fall. I'm thinking to myself, why are you in this situation?
LOL!!! Yup. Some city slicker hunt club folks go out in the Gucci Gear camo with $500 worth of electronic devices to check their video surveillance systems from their air conditioned tree stands... then cant' shoot their tags with $2K rifles wearing $3K scopes because they didn't plan far ahead enough to buy a $50 box of Remington soft tips. Those aren't the folks I'm helping out, though. The folks I'm helping out are fifth-generation dirt farmers who never thought hunting ammunition would be scarce in this great country of wealth and prosperity. It's a might shocking to find out the greatest industrial power on the planet isn't the good old USA anymore.
 
Let me see, last time a Democrat took the top office I was frantically searching for ammo that wouldn't break the bank. I found a bulk buy at a gun show that had .223s for $0.60 cents per round. I bought one 1K case & made myself a promise that I would never buy high priced ammo again.
This time a Democrat took that office I'm sitting back enjoying the scramble that I was caught up in last time. Still reloading .223s for about $0.15 per round.
So yes reloading has paid for itself & more. LOL
 
Been reloading for about tree years.
And I started on borrowed equipment. And worked my way from that to owning multiple presses and loading 6 different cartridges. I buy all most all of my equipment used, getting a good deal on it.
If I didn't reload I never would have been able to train myself to be able to win in competition's or been in the top 10.
I run my reloading as my day job running a workshop.
If it rifle I work up loads and stick to them and making at least one hundred at the time.
The same goes for pistol but I go with 2000 at the time.
Volume pays for the time and equipment. And the quality of the ammo is the bonus.
 
Told the wife that when supplies become available, I will be buying a lifetime supply of primers.
We already have a "lifetime supply" of primers. But seeing as how I'll be 73 in a few days, and my wife is not all that far behind, our "lifetime supply" of anything might not be as large as yours will need to be.;)
Edited to answer the OP's question: Yeah, you bet reloading has "paid off" for me. It's one of my favorite activities - has been for over 40 years. However, seeing as how I've even bought guns chambered for cartridges just because I thought they would be fun to load, I don't suppose reloading has "paid off" all that well financially speaking.
But who cares? Hunting, fishing, and even growing a vegetable garden have never paid off financially for us either. Which reminds me - we're looking to buy a new rear-tine rototiller this spring. Does anyone have any recommendations?
Our rototiller budget is $800. How many store-bought vegetables do you suppose we could buy for that?:D
 
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We already have a "lifetime supply" of primers. But seeing as how I'll be 73 in a few days, and my wife is not all that far behind, our "lifetime supply" of anything might not be as large as yours will need to be.;)
Two years ago the cardiologist told me I had five good years left. I said, so I'm dying in five years?!! He said, no, you'll be around for twenty more, at least... but only the next five will be good years. o_O:neener:
 
Two years ago the cardiologist told me I had five good years left. I said, so I'm dying in five years?!! He said, no, you'll be around for twenty more, at least... but only the next five will be good years. o_O:neener:
:rofl::rofl::rofl: best doctors

my Doc 10 years ago, told me I’ll have a heart attack by 40... well I’m 42 and still eating fried everything! grilled meats, fried gizzards! but what I’m doing different is SUPPLEMENTS and low gluten. Never felt better.

I hope those won’t be my last words
 
When you shoot anything other than 9mm, .45, 7.62x39 or .223 it often pays for itself rather quickly (If you’re a huge volume shooter of the above it will pay off, too.)

I started reloading on Lee equipment in the mid-1990’s because I shot out-of-the-norm rounds like .45 Colt, .44 Spl., .257 Roberts and .45/70... so ammo wasn’t always easy to find nor was it cheap.

Now, along with popular calibers like .243, .270, 7mm Rem Mag, etc. I’m also feeding additional less-popular rounds like 6.5x55, .32 H&R, .41 Mag, .35 Rem and volume shooting .357 and .38 Spl., so the cost-per-box is a fraction of current retail even though I don’t cast my own.

Stay safe.
 
If reloading pays off anywhere it’s in certain non nato calibers. If I could only shoot factory .44 mag, .357, .300WM etc it would be painful. For my rifle calibers I like being able to custom trailer my loads for max accuracy and performance.
I can sit down and work up a magic load, label them and put them on the shelf next to boxes and boxes of “better than factory” loads.
 
Financially? Eh...
Peace of mind knowing I can go downstairs and produce lots of quality ammo and not be at the under the thumb of the government's whims? Definitely.
In reality, it mainly allows my family and I to shoot more... even though we shoot more .22lr than anything. Probably have 70-ish 500 rounds of that stockpiled... a good portion of it pretty good stuff.
 
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