GeoDudeFlorida
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I see this one repeated most often. To the point that I just roll my eyes and move along. You can't convince some people the sun rises in the east.
Myth busting - General Reloading & Handloading Discussion
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twarr1
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Myth: Reloading doesn’t save $$
if you’re mag-dumping cheap ammo, no, reloading doesn’t save squat.
BUT, if you’re reloading for accuracy, (and don’t count your time), yes, it’s possible to save a little.
People make the mistake of comparing reloaded ammo with whatever factory FMJ is cheapest. The math works out differently if you compare your carefully researched and executed hand load with the $2-3 per round ‘Match’ or ‘Premium’ hunting ammo
if you’re mag-dumping cheap ammo, no, reloading doesn’t save squat.
BUT, if you’re reloading for accuracy, (and don’t count your time), yes, it’s possible to save a little.
People make the mistake of comparing reloaded ammo with whatever factory FMJ is cheapest. The math works out differently if you compare your carefully researched and executed hand load with the $2-3 per round ‘Match’ or ‘Premium’ hunting ammo
Soonerpesek
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No.....But plenty that don't have one sure like to whine about those that do....!!!...
...
JFrank
Member
After spending over $160,000 on reloading equipment/components I told my wife, "But honey, I saved you like around $200,000 compared to buying factory ammunition ..."
Wife was not convinced ...
I cannot picture spending anywhere close to those numbers in my life time.
I could not load 4-5 k nor shoot that many without dying of lead poisoning. Lol
My wife is a good sport but even she has a limit..
Good on ya brother.
< We now have an agreement that wife gets to spend double what I spend on my hobbies.
Believe me, reloading DOES NOT save money ... That myth was busted like within 3 months of me reloading 4000-5000 rounds a month compared to shooting 300-500 factory rounds a month.
GeoDudeFlorida
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I had to laugh because I can't remember the last time I saw, ".45ACP/AR/Webley Mk.1 Reduced Load for Black Powder Revolvers" on any shelf at any price.
If you just want to make noise with a Webley Mk.IV .380/200 or a Colts .38 New Police, go ahead and buy shelf box .38S&W 145gr.; but, if you want to hit what you aim at, and have it perform like originally intended, you pretty much have to reload.
As for shooting .32 S&W Long "Wheel Gun" in a black-powder proofed H&R or I-J top break - just because "it fits so it must be right" - you're playing long odds with a losing hand.
Yes, reloading is costly but compared to NOT being able to shoot a weapon or being forced to use inferior ammo, it's the only real economical solution.
SnowBlaZeR2
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That myth wasn't busted. Only two specific primers are supposedly interchangeable, and even that is questionable. They work, but there are a lot more reasons to use the correct primers than not.
OP
OP
LiveLife
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I started reloading for USPSA matches and as a new shooter, I did A LOT of practice shooting/practice range days. (I shot jacketed Montana Gold bullets for matches and practiced with Berry's and other plated bullets for practice)
Club/range I shot at had dedicated multiple "action pistol" ranges and when stage designer hosted practice range days, previous match set up was duplicated for practice and we were allowed to go through the stages as many times as we wanted until we ran out of ammo.
And as soon as my friends found out I started reloading, more and more friends kept showing up to my range practice and I quickly went from reloading 1000-2000 rounds a month to 3000-5000 rounds.
I was in my 20s post Army and oh boy, it was FUN FUN times as I shot everything I could get my hands on not only USPSA match shooting/practice but Makarov/SKS/AK/NHM-91/Mosin/ARs/Saigas with spam cans of surplus ammo (later to wooden crates and countless 22LR) shooting at various ranges and mountains/desserts (Rode dirt bikes/quads/dune buggies too). And of course, we always brought guns when we went riding. Wife grew up riding/shooting and when we were dating, she would often ask when we would go riding/camping/shooting next. Good times.
So getting back to OP, no, reloading does not save you money but get you way deeper into shooting. And having a girlfriend who likes to shoot ... God help you.
Jim Watson
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Contraterrene version: Bulk powder is never the same as canister powder.
I remember the gunzine writer who got a new rifle and some same brand ammo. He pulled a bullet and said "That powder looks just like Brand X." Weighed the load and said "That is about the right amount if it was Brand X." So he loaded some with Brand X and got the same velocity.
OP
OP
LiveLife
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AFAIK, ammunition manufacturers buy large lots/batches of bulk powder (at the lowest bid price) and conduct separate powder work up testing to obtain desired velocities then use for their ammunition. So different lots of same ammunition can have different powders and charges while producing similar velocities. If burn rate is different, can have different felt recoil/recoil impulse.
Canister powder on the other hand is blended/worked to match burn rate and velocities relative to charge weight so it is more consistent lot to lot.
Only exception that may be the case is BE-86 which has been claimed to be used in premium JHP ammunition for decades by ammunition manufacturers and the same powder is now available in canister form.
Mark_Mark
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After buying brass for 7STW, 45/70, 50 BW, 458 Socom, 450 BM, 460 Mag, 454 Cu… It’s way cheaper than factory loads!
DukeConnor
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After spending over $160,000 on reloading equipment/components I told my wife, "But honey, I saved you like around $200,000 compared to buying factory ammunition ..."
now we know where the primers went
OP
OP
LiveLife
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That's IF you keep shooting the SAME number of rounds.
Reality is, reloaders USUALLY end up shooting more.
OP
OP
LiveLife
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BTW, keeping track of 1000 count primer boxes is an easy way to keep track of how many rounds you have reloaded.
Mark_Mark
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Don’t try to burst my bubbles buddy! If I repeat something long enough it becomes truth!That's IF you keep shooting the SAME number of rounds.
Reality is, reloaders USUALLY end up shooting more.
OP
OP
LiveLife
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But this thread is myth busting for "general" ... not necessarily for an individual.
You could be the few exception but for most, reloading does not save money.
Mark_Mark
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Yes it does! myth WAY busted! Ask my wife about how much I have saved and all the new Dillion’s I still need to buy to save more!!!
twarr1
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I stand corrected.
Reloading = more shooting = more $$$
Reloading = more shooting = more $$$
Mark_Mark
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Reloading Saved Money - Reloading Saved Money - Reloading Saved Money - Reloading Saved Money - Reloading Saved Money - Reloading Saved Money - Reloading Saved Money - Reloading Saved Money -
Now that this issue is case law…. let’s move on to other myth like “Lee is Just as Good Dillion”’
OP
OP
LiveLife
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Actually, that's a myth busting thread I have been chewing on: Dillon 550 vs Lee ABLP/Pro 4000.
Load the same component rounds on both presses to see how consistent the finished dimensions are - Stay tuned for a new myth busting thread.
Mark_Mark
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Sounds like a good read!
.308 Norma
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Yeppers, that's absolutely true. And I don't "mag dump" ammo even if it is "cheap" ammo. I let my grandsons "mag dump" .22LR ammo from my Ruger 10-22 a couple of times, but they were about 10 and 12 years old. I myself get much more of a "kick" out of putting all 10 bullets from that same 10-22 in one dime sized hole at 40 yards.
earlthegoat2
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After spending over $160,000 on reloading equipment/components I told my wife, "But honey, I saved you like around $200,000 compared to buying factory ammunition ..."
Wife was not convinced ...
< We now have an agreement that wife gets to spend double what I spend on my hobbies.
Believe me, reloading DOES NOT save money ... That myth was busted like within 3 months of me reloading 4000-5000 rounds a month compared to shooting 300-500 factory rounds a month.
My wife and I have a similar agreement but it involves whatever I spend on gun related items I have to put double that into our Vanguard acct.
Mark_Mark
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she is a compromising Queen! if I knew that I could work for my guns and future, I would work 2x overtime every week!
After spending over $160,000 on reloading equipment/components I told my wife, "But honey, I saved you like around $200,000 compared to buying factory ammunition ..."
Wife was not convinced ...
< We now have an agreement that wife gets to spend double what I spend on my hobbies.
Believe me, reloading DOES NOT save money ... That myth was busted like within 3 months of me reloading 4000-5000 rounds a month compared to shooting 300-500 factory rounds a month.
Reloading absolutely saves money on ammunition.
??Especially is someone is reloading higher priced calibers.
But only for those that can control their spending habits and not buy $160,000 (or whatever)on unnecessary stuff.
That's like saying eating at home doesn't save any money from going out to eat.?
A $30,000 car will get you to the same place as an over priced $75,000 one.
EMC45
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I definitely save money reloading. I have bought a lot of my gear used or at a discount. (last primers I bought around 2013 @ $17a thousand), I also had an FFL twice, which provided me with dealer discount. I am a bullet caster and have scrounged wheel weights and other plumbous metals for many years now - often times ridiculed even by those in the shooting community. I am cheap cheap cheap. I still manage to shoot a good bit to stay proficient and sharp. I look for deals where and when I can find them. I'd rather thump my chest for the deal I got or savings I realized, than for how much I paid.
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