Just loaded my first .38 Special rounds a couple of days ago:
-$31.99 per 500 bullets (158gr LRN) ($34.23 after tax); 6.8 cents per round
-$37.99 per 1000 CCI Primers ($40.65 after tax); just over 4 cents per round
-$17.99 per 1lb of Bullseye ($19.25 after tax); using 3.4 gr charge ($0.009 per round, or a little less than a penny per round)
Adds up to about 11.7 to 11.8 cents per round. 11.756 cents per round to be exact. $5.88 per box, after taxes. And I didn't get any of the "sweet deals" experienced reloaders seem to find. Those are the prices I paid at my local shop, including sales tax.
Brass ain't always free, and the startup costs are significant (no matter what anyone tells you), but I think, in the long run I am going to be very happy with the decision to start reloading.
Don't be one of those people who try to figure out "how long the press will take to pay for itself". The next time you have enough money for a nice, new gun and drop it into reloading instead. It only hurts once, but you'll reap the benfits for a long, long time.
