Has reloading paid off?

I like to shoot and the only way I can afford to do that is reload and cast. My equipment has been paid for long ago.

illinoisburt said:

Last year was pretty crazy on gun and ammo prices. I have to admit buying more than I would usually allot in my budget which now I'm fairly happy to have done. I did buy some dirt cheap decent rifles and optics, too (we had threads on those). I will just leave it at I had to put in a third safe and two more foot lockers for mags and ammo. It's just hard to beat the buy cheap/stack deep logic after all the ups and downs over the years. If things hadn't gotten silly expensive I would still be happy with the purchases.

As for the original subject of this thread, as noted reloading is fun and can be great way to either shoot more for your money or make premium ammunition. I honestly haven't met anyone who reloads that has "saved" money.

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Yup. Trouble is the folks who only shoot from a tree stand. A box lasts them a year or more so they don’t know there’s a shortage until it’s too late. I feel bad for them folks.

Reloading has been therapy for me. I enjoy my time on the bench, almost as much as I enjoy shooting my 1911's.

Economically, I doubt I have recovered my investment yet. As others have pointed, out, always more gadgets to buy. But I certainly save money on cartridges like .44 Mag, .45 Colt, 7mm-08, .280 Ackley, and .375 Ruger. I also get to shoot a number of hand-load-only cartridges like .22-250 AI and .260 Rem AI.

It has certainly paid off in enjoyment, though. It has become a hobby in its own right, and one that I find relaxing ... almost therapeutic.

I would say yes it's paid off. Having said that, I didn't start reloading to save money but rather enjoyed the ability to test different loads. It's more of a hobby for me and like others have stated, buy it cheap and stack it deep.

The short answer is “yes”. The long answer is “Yyyyeeeeesssssss”. It has paid off. If I posted a picture of just my extra primers, I’d be labeled an extreme hoarder by some. But I haven’t sold a single primer during this shortage. Not because I couldn’t. I could have made tens of thousands of dollars. But then I’d be short primers if things go south. And I don’t have a crystal ball to see what is coming down the pike. If the panic goes away before they get any crazy legislation passed, and prices return to normal, I will resume purchasing components in quantity and continue to stack them deep.

To some, I may seem like a jerk. But I had to learn my lesson in the last shortage. And I did. And now, I can easily survive a 2 term Biden. Whether our country can is another story.

When you can shoot premium ammunition tailored to your specific firearms to maximize accuracy, and do it for a fraction of the cost of factory generic ammo?

#Winning.

I love to shoot so availability of ammo is all important to me. Low cost wasn’t my goal.

So far, my all in costs for equipment and components is around $6500 since I started in 2019 when Walmart bugged out.

Recently, I calculated per round costs (including equipment) for both 45ACP and 9mm at about 50 cents. Seemed outrageous at one point didn’t it?

When I began, one guy advised me to buy more components than I thought I’d ever need so I could experiment with different recipes and such. (Nostradamus was his name I think.). Anyway, I bought 5 pounds of each pistol powder, thousands and thousands of primers, range brass, and bullets.

That was fall 2019–Then we know what happened.

Who cares what it costs?

CQB45ACP said:

I love to shoot so availability of ammo is all important to me. Low cost wasn’t my goal.

So far, my all in costs for equipment and components is around $6500 since I started in 2019 when Walmart bugged out.

Recently, I calculated per round costs (including equipment) for both 45ACP and 9mm at about 50 cents. Seemed outrageous at one point didn’t it?

When I began, one guy advised me to buy more components than I thought I’d ever need so I could experiment with different recipes and such. (Nostradamus was his name I think.). Anyway, I bought 5 pounds of each pistol powder, thousands and thousands of primers, range brass, and bullets.

That was fall 2019–Then we know what happened.

Who cares what it costs?

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oooh yeah! you did good for someone who started in 2019!

I'm 70 and didn't buy my first handgun until 5 years ago. Now I own a dozen 38 & 357 revolvers and have saved 10k cases anticipating reloading which I started Dec 2020. I've been able to find 10k SPP, powder and bullets. The enjoyment of reloading and shooting my reloads combined with the piece of mind of having a good ammo supply is difficult to put a price on. I like the ability to reload 357 cases with lighter than magnum loads which are easier on my arthritic hands. I hoarded 10K+ rounds of Walmart ammo when they bailed out at ridiculous low prices. Funny thing is, I haven't shot any factory ammo since I started reloading. So yes, it's paid off for me in enjoyment if not in dollars and cents.

stonebuster said:

I'm 70 and didn't buy my first handgun until 5 years ago. Now I own a dozen 38 & 357 revolvers and have saved 10k cases anticipating reloading which I started Dec 2020. I've been able to find 10k SPP, powder and bullets. The enjoyment of reloading and shooting my reloads combined with the piece of mind of having a good ammo supply is difficult to put a price on. I like the ability to reload 357 cases with lighter than magnum loads which are easier on my arthritic hands. I hoarded 10K+ rounds of Walmart ammo when they bailed out at ridiculous low prices. Funny thing is, I haven't shot any factory ammo since I started reloading. So yes, it's paid off for me in enjoyment if not in dollars and cents.

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ata a boy! I admire people who took advantage of Walmart’s stupidity

Around here they never discounted anything. All they did was to not restock shelves after the announcment was made. It took about a week to empty those spots. Well the bright side is now I have no more reason to visit WM any longer as I also stopped buying China made products.

Yes it's paid off, I don't save any money but I shoot more.
And of course I can create loads for what I am after.

I started in the 60's with my dad on an old pacific press. Mostly 45 Auto and 38 Special.
After the military I started again and goofed off loading less than 1k a year, mainly .223 and 5.56.
Now it's just a great way to spend a weekend loading and listening to or watching replays of College Football and MotoGP.
My only regret is I never bothered to stock up on SPP, brass or cases because it was so dang cheap.
I could load 1k of 308 per year and still be golden for the next 15 years.
From a therapeutic standpoint it has more than paid off.

FROGO207 said:

Around here they never discounted anything. All they did was to not restock shelves after the announcment was made. It took about a week to empty those spots. Well the bright side is now I have no more reason to visit WM any longer as I also stopped buying China made products.

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Is it weird that I like Walmart?? I like the people there and shoppers

Mark_Mark said:

Is it weird that I like Walmart?? I like the people there and shoppers

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It probably depends on the particular workers or store you shop at. The gun range was 1/4mile from WM so the few people that had the keys to the ammo saw me every week. If what I wanted wasn't on the shelf they'd go out back and get it for me. One of them used to let me know when they expected a shipment. I got Federal 9mm 115 grain fmj & 38spl umc 250 packs for $13. Then they gave what was left to the PD. I don't like what they do to local businesses but the employees treated me well.

stonebuster said:

It probably depends on the particular workers or store you shop at. The gun range was 1/4mile from WM so the few people that had the keys to the ammo saw me every week. If what I wanted wasn't on the shelf they'd go out back and get it for me. One of them used to let me know when they expected a shipment. I got Federal 9mm 115 grain fmj & 38spl umc 250 packs for $13. Then they gave what was left to the PD. I don't like what they do to local businesses but the employees treated me well.

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local Gun shops were happy... I heard they use to sell 35% of the evil assault bullets sold in America

stonebuster said:

It probably depends on the particular workers or store you shop at. The gun range was 1/4mile from WM so the few people that had the keys to the ammo saw me every week. If what I wanted wasn't on the shelf they'd go out back and get it for me. One of them used to let me know when they expected a shipment. I got Federal 9mm 115 grain fmj & 38spl umc 250 packs for $13. Then they gave what was left to the PD. I don't like what they do to local businesses but the employees treated me well.

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I could’ve written this.

I shoot at the NRAHQ range and Walmart is about 1mile away. I used to stop there on Saturday mornings to buy what I was going to shoot that day. The guys (including ladies) knew me and were ready to unlock the cabinet. They’d simply ask “9mm or 45”?

Like @Mark_Mark, I liked shopping there and I like the shoppers. Here in the DC suburbs finding unpretentious people is hard to do but success is more likely at Walmart.

Mark_Mark said:

local Gun shops were happy... I heard they use to sell 35% of the evil assault bullets sold in America

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Yeah and 20% of all ammo sold in the US. Unlike other locales however, we have no LGS to speak of, so when they pulled out that was that.

FROGO207 said:

Around here they never discounted anything. All they did was to not restock shelves after the announcment was made. It took about a week to empty those spots. Well the bright side is now I have no more reason to visit WM any longer as I also stopped buying China made products.

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While the old man was alive, Walmart was made in USA only, no?

Not really. They were already phasing in the cheap crap from Mexico and China 25 years ago. Got to undercut all others and make a profit still doncha know. I feel that the ammo they purchased was the sort of rejects that were still able to be sold safely but not fit for top shelf sales. Running factory ammo from LGS and from WM over the crony showed why they were less accurate than LGS.

FROGO207 said:

Not really. They were already phasing in the cheap crap from Mexico and China 25 years ago. Got to undercut all others and make a profit still doncha know. I feel that the ammo they purchased was the sort of rejects that were still able to be sold safely but not fit for top shelf sales. Running factory ammo from LGS and from WM over the crony showed why they were less accurate than LGS.

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I can’t argue your latter point based on chrono results, but I will say I’m extremely skeptical that Winchester white box sold at Walmart, the gun show, the LGS, or online from ammoland were ever any different intentionally. My skepticism carries over to any brand name sold at Walmart and other sources. We would’ve heard/known about it long before now when it can no longer be tested.

I just reread this and it sounds like I’m rudely doubting you personally. I’m not and I apologize in advance.

in Arkansas, you could buy primers and powder and components at walmart. My brother, long time reloader told me

Yes, It's been worth it. From $$ sense to the do it myself, to the hobby, to the "freedom" to have ammo when I want.

CQB45ACP said:

I could’ve written this.

I shoot at the NRAHQ range and Walmart is about 1mile away. I used to stop there on Saturday mornings to buy what I was going to shoot that day. The guys (including ladies) knew me and were ready to unlock the cabinet. They’d simply ask “9mm or 45”?

Like @Mark_Mark, I liked shopping there and I like the shoppers. Here in the DC suburbs finding unpretentious people is hard to do but success is more likely at Walmart.

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Same man! I go to walmart to escape from the pretentious people of Seattle! it a calming place for me, who lived in the NC country growing up

Walkalong said:

No, we just shoot more.

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I second this. When I was buying ammo pre-scare, I shot 150 rounds of 9mm per week. When I started loading 6 months ago, it went up to 200 rounds per week. Recently I recognized a "Training requirement" of 300 rounds per week. I'll be working the turret for at least a few hours today.

I'm not saving any cost per round either, but keep in mind that pre-scare factory ammo prices were at a 15 year low. I was scoring great factory 9mm for .16 cents per round in Gunbroker auctions. Not likely to see that again. Loading pays off the most for me because I am not reliant on availability ever again. Even through the scare. I was able to find components for a reasonable price for the times (Where are the reloading components thread helped alot). Never going back to factory probably.