For all the "I save by reloading"

Being able to shoot more, and shoot accurate ammo is something you can't really put a price on IMHO.

For that reason, I won't even add up the cost of the powder, primers, bullets, and accessories.... I just buy more when I need to.

Shoobee said:

It is an urban legend that reloading "saves" anything.

You need to amortize the equipment cost.

You also need to factor-in your hours. You could be flipping burgers at McDonalds for minimum wage instead.

Reloading gives you the opportunity to create extremely high precision ammo. This is mostly relevant for rifle shooting of 1000 yards or more.

For 99.999999% of the population, quality boxed retail ammo is more than sufficient.

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Really? I inherited almost all of my equipment and what I bought, I bought used.

I can assure you I save by reloading and what's more I thoroughly enjoy it.

You also need to factor-in your hours. You could be flipping burgers at McDonalds for minimum wage instead.

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This is hands down the most moronic statement I read by know-it-all non-handloaders. Funny they think you need to attach a dollar figure to time spent handloading, but I bet none of them calculates how much it costs per hour to sit on their butts watching TV, aimlessly pecking away at the keyboard, fishing, hunting or playing golf.

I get an immense amount of satisfaction from crafting my own handloads. I also take pride in the fact that while most of the shooting world panics because they can't run down to Walmart and get ammo for their tacti-cool rifles and their high capacity 9's (election year), I have plenty of components and anytime I want to relax, can ease out to the shop and load a few rounds, cast some bullets, etc.

WOW....I took the bait... to the OP, nice troll.

35W

I think what he is trying to say is that no, 99% of people dont actually save any money reloading. I know reloading sure hasn't put any extra money in my bank account. I do however save quite a bit of money per shot, so I shoot more for the same amount of cash. It seems any more that I only shoot just so I have a reason to reload. It really is becoming more of a hobby than shooting itself

BS. I would just as soon load as shoot. Handloading is my hobby. I don't calculate my time when I play golf, watch football, fish, or any other of my hobbies. Why would I do it for handloading?

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I get an immense amount of satisfaction from crafting my own handloads.

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Absolutely the way I look at it too. Every time a "do you save money" reloading thread is posted the " factor your hours" crowd joins in. I doubt these same guys tell their wives , "Don't waste your time with that nice home cooked meal , we can go through McDonalds and have our dinner in 5 minutes."

If I didn't shoot/reload, I'd probably just blow my money on liquor and fast women...I'm must be saving somewhere.

I didn't read the thread. What was the point it starting it? Waste bandwidth?

morrow, I wish I'd been into reloading when I had my M1 Carbine...when the surplus dried up, it was no longer cheap to shoot, and I foolishly traded it away. BTW, just out of curiosity, do you use the Berry's plate 110 grain bullet for that cartridge?

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Yep sure do, they're rated for 1900 or 1950 FPS

It is an urban legend that reloading "saves" anything.

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No, it's not. I shoot 50 rounds of .45 acp every week. When I shot factory rounds, it cost me $15-20 per week. These days, it costs me $5-6.

You need to amortize the equipment cost.

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Easily done. And I came out ahead a long time ago.

You also need to factor-in your hours. You could be flipping burgers at McDonalds for minimum wage instead.

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No, not really...handloading is a hobby. If your hobby is something you enjoy doing, and you are saving money at the same time, so much the better.

Reloading gives you the opportunity to create extremely high precision ammo. This is mostly relevant for rifle shooting of 1000 yards or more.

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Really? To use your own estimates, "99.9999%" of shooters do not shoot at 1000 yards.

For 99.999999% of the population, quality boxed retail ammo is more than sufficient.

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If this were true, then .00000001 of the population would reload. Hmmm..lets do some math.

That would be one out of every 100 million, or about 3 1/2 people reloading in the US. That is preposterous on it's face, and is easily disproved by the number of people reloading.

Shoobee, your credibilty is coming under some scrutiny lately. In the future, please give some thought before posting.

I would do it even if it was a break even proposition. I trust my ammo more than I trust something off the shelf especially lately. My BIL showed me a box of REM Coreloct in 7mm mag in the box was a .270 case with a 7mm bullet seated in it. My QC is far better than theirs at less than 1/2 the cost for premium ammo.
Besides house rules state I'm not to be disturbed when I'm in the loading room. Great way to get some peace and quiet. Cant fault a fellow for that I hope as it pertains to safety no distractions allowed. With the exception of the dog sleeping at my feet (helps keep em warm).
T

My wife frowns on me drinking and chasing other women but I reload all I want and she never says a word. My FIL pays for half of everything so The reduced cost of loading is actually cut in half for me. "Do I save money?" the answer would be "some" but I do shoot a lot more and enjoy every round I send down range. I can shoot a lot and save a little and everyone is happy.

I save cuz I have a SS press, loading gets tedious, and I refuse to buy ammo. Simple. Don't splurge for good equipment, and you'll be stuck saving money.

You need to amortize the equipment cost.

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My equipment was amortized the day I bought it. I also purchased enough components to break even compared to factory ammo cost.

You also need to factor-in your hours. You could be flipping burgers at McDonalds for minimum wage instead.

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Haha, no. Reloading is something you can do at home w/e you want, stop w/e you want, and call in sick w/e you want with no repercussions. I'll go several weeks or months without reloading, and then one day I'll sit down and make some ammo when I feel like it. So no, you can't compare it to even a minimum wage job. Tell me how much money you can make sitting at home filling out internet surveys and signing up for free drawings, and then you have something to compare to. I'm pretty sure you can factor in that piddling amount, and we're all still saving money for our time.

Ignore ShooFly, it trolls every thread looking to get a reaction.

morrow, Berry's makes some fine bullets - I use the new 125 plated .310 for 7.62x39, works wonders in my CZ 527M.

The last few years primers have appreciated more than CDs. That was the real investment IMO.

For 99.999999% of the population, quality boxed retail ammo is more than sufficient.

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I am the 00.000001%.

On the assumption that I shoot the same amount regardless, the difference in cost per box of 9mm alone paid for my reloading equipment in 4 months. I don't count my time since I'm retired and my time is already paid for. Now the savings alone pays for range fees, powder, primers and bullets that I would be shooting anyway so I essentially shoot for free.

But I want that other 99.999999% to keep shooting factory loads. All that lovely brass laying around that nobody wants...

Nope, probably not. Silly me--I've just been wasting my time and effort.

When I was in competition components for my .38 spl reloads cost a minimum of $5 / 50 less than the price commercial plinking grade ammo, up to $15 / 50 less than the more expensive ammo that might be comparable to my custom loads.

I just did a quick calculation and ammo price check and the current costs are still very similar.

At the easily obtainable rate of 300 rounds/hour on my Hornady LNL AP that comes out to a minimum of $30 saved over crap ammo costs per hour of effort. Certainly buys more ammo than flipping burgers.

The savings could approach $60 to $90 over better ammo per hour of effort. No one ever paid me that much for working.

At that rate I saved a minimum of $1000 and upward of $2000 to $3000 for the 10,000+ rounds I reloaded and shot in the first year I had my reloading setup. This easily covers my initial investment in reloading setup as well as initial purchase of powder, primers, bullets and brass.

Well, I guess I'm sorry now that I ever bothered.

"Amortize your equipment"??
If you are properly accounting then you need to consider residual value in that cost of equipment.

If properly maintained reloading gear holds a high percentage of the initial expense when it comes time to sell it off.

Buy it used, sell it for break even twenty years later.

So much for equipment expense.

I know guys that have done that with bulldozers, trailers and backhoes.

US currency is losing buying power every day and will keep doing so as long as the Fed continues its monetizing policy. Whether as cash or some form of interest-earning deposit, the dollar is a bad bet.

Brass and lead seem like pretty good investments.

For 99.999999% of the population, quality boxed retail ammo is more than sufficient

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Huh?

My .223 reloads cost me about $118/thousand. A few weeks ago my adult son and I went out into the desert for the day for some plinking. We went through about 600 rounds of various calibers. There is no finer pleasure in life for a man that spending time alone with your adult son doing something you both enjoy. I could savor that time and enjoy it to its fullest with no nagging thoughts about how much is was costing me.

THAT is priceless.

A few weeks ago my adult son and I went out into the desert for the day for some plinking. We went through about 600 rounds of various calibers. There is no finer pleasure in life for a man that spending time alone with your adult son doing something you both enjoy. I could savor that time and enjoy it to its fullest with no nagging thoughts about how much is was costing me.

THAT is priceless.

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+ 1

I couldn't agree more but what kind of .22 bullets are you shooting for that price per round?
That's the price of a primer in todays market.

For me primers are now the highest cost individual component.
For those I cast the bullets for, the rest of a round is pretty minimal yet.

Reloading hasn't saved me one red cent. But ... it let's me shoot way more and a long time ago I fell into the BLACK HOLE of wildcatting ... which is like owning a sailboat ... just throw your wallet into it every month and you'll be fine!

I wouldn't have missed this trip for the world ... it's expanded my enjoyment of the shooting sport into a year long adventure. Here, we have about a 6-7 month shooting season (if you like decent weather for shooting) ... and that leaves 4-5 months for reloading ... wildcatting ... dreaming ... developing. Life's good!