value of reloading

Cost of reloading...

Jay 43--Check the sticky on that subject, above.

On average, I cut my cost in half, sometimes down to a third... 9 or 10 bucks for 100 40sw. Before I got into reloading, my dad told me that if I wanted to reload to save money, I was in it for the wrong reason. I enjoy the process of it, getting exactly what I want out of my ammo, and it lets me stay close to the hobby even on rainy days. The side effect is that you save some cash.

I think I'll start a tally of how many times this EXACT question gets asked per week.

Right now I'm loading 40 S&W for $5.50/50 rounds and 357 mag for $6/50 rounds. Both of these calibers run anywhere from 12-16 dollars/50 rounds in factory ammo.

3000 Rainier 155's from Midway = $225
4 lbs Unique = $58 at Sportsmans Warehouse
3 bricks of primers = $60 at gun show

Grand total = $343 for 3000 rounds or 11.4 cents/round. I already had the brass on hand, as I had bought 1000 rounds of factory fiocchi ammo a year ago.

357 magnum:

2000 Remington 125 SJHP's = $150 from Midway
4 lbs of Unique = $58, sportsmans warehouse
2 bricks of primers = $40 at gun show

grand total = $248 for 2000 rounds or 12.4 cents/round.

I'm saving around 55% on my 40 ammo and in some cases 70% in 357 magnum. If you compare the cost of factory soft points to my handloads in 357, the savings are HUGE!

the cost gets almost cut in half again when you start using lead. Especially if you can make them yourself. If you buy them by 1000 or more then your saving a ton of money. and making good ammo.

I save about a penny per 9 mm reload so I save about $10 per thousand -not worth while to reload but I found the activity relaxing and enjoyable plus I don't want to throw away all perfectly good brass.
For other caliber you can save up to 50% or more with reload .

With the cost of 9mm ammo on the rise, it won't be long before reloading 9mm starts paying dividends.

My .41 and .44 mag reloads cost me around $22/100. Factory ammo for these two runs from $60/100 to $100/100 locally. I find I'm not really saving any money, just shooting 3x-4x more for the same price.

sandy4570: I save about a penny per 9 mm reload so I save about $10 per thousand -not worth while to reload but I found the activity relaxing and enjoyable plus I don't want to throw away all perfectly good brass.
For other caliber you can save up to 50% or more with reload .
Today 02:25 PM

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Sandy I was just wondering what components you were loading 9mm with. I load 9mm and save at least 50%. I use plated bullets and load for $7 per 100 rounds. I got a deal on some 125 grain lead bullets and load those for under $3 per 100.

With the cost of 9mm ammo on the rise, it won't be long before reloading 9mm starts paying dividends.

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Redneck I paid off my press in a few months by only loading 9mm. It has been paying me dividends for a while.
jay43 if you buy in bulk and shop around you should be able to load .40 for not much more than 9mm. You should be able to save at least 50% of what cheap ammo cost and you will be shooting a higher quality ammo.
Rusty

You reduce, reuse, and recycle all at once.

As for the math, it's pretty simple, grab a calculator and do it for all the calibers you have (or soon will have)

You will quickly pay for reloading equipment if you shoot anything beyond the 9mm, the more obscure the caliber, the quicker the savings add up. I paid for my reloading equipment through cost savings about once or twice over now, at least. Hunting cartridges stack up the savings very quickly and is primarily why I got into reloading. I do load a lot of pistol rounds, but the big dollars are saved on the hunting rounds that run about $1.50 each retail.

Now, back to the loading bench....I wish, I'm at work, into the factory I go, your computer chips need some quality inspections, and I'm that guy.

cheers and good luck on your endeavours, it's a hobby, don't expect to save much, there's lots of toys...uh hm...I mean tools...to buy to make things go smoothly.

This link will help.
http://www.handloads.com/calc/loadingCosts.asp

I am using Ranier 125-gr hollow point 9mm's, Winchester primers and Titegroup powder and I can load 50 9mm's for $5.33- and if I bought the bullets by the 5000 in bulk lead and went with a cheaper powder like 700-X HiSkor bought in large kegs, instead of clean-burning Titegroup by the pound, I could go under $5/50. But I like plated bullets because I don't like scrubbing lead out of the barrels, and nice clean burning powder because I don't like cleaning often.

My real savings is in .45ACP's, I can load 50 of them for just over $6 or so.. meaning, about 50% of new factory ammo as cheap as I can find.

But the best of all is .44 Mags & .357 Mags, a box of new is about $20, I can load them for about $8/50 or less, and that's a real money maker, there. Plus all revolver brass is nice and easy to save, no bending over and clawing in the weeds, it's all right there in your hand.

Frankly, I no longer care how much I save in dollars. I enjoy the pastime and shooting my own ammo so much, that's where the $$ goes. If I found out I wasn't saving any money, it'd still be OK.

For my 300mag, I'm saving ~$1.25 a round loading Accubonds.
Talk about the savings adding up quick, I can actually load the AB's cheaper then I can buy Core-Lokts.

Can't relate to your cost of handloading, as there are so many variables;
but one thing remains constant- SELF ASSURANCE, as its a joy too see
your very own handloads go down range, and stike the intended target
dead center. Of course, this comes with patience and practice- LOTS
OF PRACTICE~! Have fun, and Enjoy

100 rounds of 9mm cost me about $7, that's with used brass.
primers are 1.85 cents
powder is like a penny, at most (use titegroup)
lead bullet is about 3.4 cents

Those prices are from powdervalleyinc.com and from brassmanbrass.com if you go anywhere else, you'll be paying more.

The cost of a Lee 4 hole turret press with other necessities to get started into 9mm is going to be about $110. They have a kit even at midwayusa.com. I load about 150 rounds every hour on my classic turret.

The advantages are much more than cost savings. Custom fit cartridges to your particular chamber and custom loaded rounds.

I your experience is anything like mine, you'll SPEND TWO OR THREE TIMES WHAT YOU EVER THOUGHT POSSIBLE!!!! The good news is: you'll SHOOT ten times the rounds you ever thought possible!!

I'm gonna go ahead and open a post on the value of reloading once a week, just so we can keep the discussion going.

Oh, no, wait... that's still not going to make anyone either 1) read a sticky or 2) do a search for "value of reloading" before starting a thread on a subject that has been talked about over and over again.

Sorry, I'm getting tired of explaining that the costs of ammo are about half of factory rounds for pistol, or less....because it's just a lot of work.

You'll never save a nickel.

But you will get to shoot more.




Actually, be glad that people keep asking newbie-ish questions. That means a lot of new enthusiastic folks are coming to the board. I've seen the other end of that trend. It is not pretty.