cost per round

[chemist308]

I think I've finally hit the point where I am paying nearly as much for 308 Win round I load as I could for factory ammo. Well, okay I am still about $0.20 per round cheaper, but from a simple price perspective the difference is far less that what it used to be.

For my pistols I can still do it cheaper, but that's only because I cast ammo. For the rifle, the cost difference is almost a wash these days. ***? Are others finding this or am I simply getting hosed by my suppliers?

 

[z7]

What bullets are you loading? What type of brass? What is your source for components.

I use lc once fired brass (I received 500 for free) so my cost of loading is simply powder primer and projectile, but I'm loading amax for less than $45 per hundred

 

[UziLand]

I have noticed the same scenairo. The reloading components in some cases have gone up more than the ammo. I can buy 7.62x39 bulk ammo cheaper than I can make them. With pistol cases some of the ammo prices have gone down but the cost to make them remains the same. If you were making 9mm for instance, to sell, your margin would be very small. It's a good thing I simply enjoy reloading.

 

[bainter1212]

I have noticed that bullet prices in particular have been really steep for awhile. I have been able to find powder and primers for acceptable prices but looking at the sales tags for rifle bullets on the shelf at my local stores makes my stomach turn.

 

[witchhunter]

I load to make better ammo, I used to make better ammo a lot cheaper though. I can buy live ammo in some instances cheaper, not better.

 

[Reloadron]

I load to make better ammo, I used to make better ammo a lot cheaper though. I can buy live ammo in some instances cheaper, not better.

That is my take. I can load a Sierra 168 grain BTHP Match bullet on top of IMR 4895 (about 48 grains) with a CCI 400 primer for about $0.92 per round. Along the lines of Winchester premium 308 which cost about $1.50 a round. Standard Winchester 150 grain FMJBT runs about a buck a round. So for the same or less cost than the basic stuff I can load premium stuff. The stuff that runs about $1.50 a round. This does not include the price of brass which has gone up. Also the Privi stuff is around $15 per 20 rounds even less than the low end 150 grain FMJ Winchester. None of this factors in time which I have plenty of and don't bill myself for.

Bottom line is I can make better for less than I can buy low end stuff for.

Ron

 

[Potatohead]

I have noticed that bullet prices in particular have been really steep for awhile. I have been able to find powder and primers for acceptable prices but looking at the sales tags for rifle bullets on the shelf at my local stores makes my stomach turn.

For real. I always read that the brass was the most expensive part of all this, and while Ive never really broken it down, I just like loading, it sure seems like the bullets are expensive.

Im more into pistol at the moment, still kind of dragging my feet with rifle more often than not.

 

[Bartojc]

Figuring free brass I load for about half the price of cheap factory ammo. I'd like to think what I load is better than factory. Depending on projectiles rifle can be expensive, but cheap factory ammo for .243 and 30-06 is over $1/round.

Jeff

 

[Vodoun da Vinci]

I'm loading pistol for about 1/3rd what it costs to buy factory if I figure in free brass. The advantage beyond a 66% savings is that I'm shooting my preferred loads and projectiles at velocities I have calculated to be optimal and provide the accuracy level I want.

In .380, 9mm, and 32 acp I'm shooting rounds I could not have if I didn't load my own. Nobody markets a .380 flat nose or .32 flat nose running as hot as I run them for SD rounds. Custom VooDoo Home Brew....even Gun Buddies who will only shoot factory ammo are jealous and the bragging rights are formidable.

I'll be loading my own for some time now...probably forever if I can find powder again when this batch runs out. I think I might stop shooting if I had to buy factory only.

VooDoo

 

[gamestalker]

It's never been about economics for me. However, I can still load a box of anything jacketed for significantly less than factory, bottle neck or other.

GS

 

[KansasSasquatch]

Using 165gr .308 Hornady SST bullets in used Hornady .30-06 brass, and suitable primers and powder, I can load 100 rounds for about $60-70. To buy Hornady factory ammo loaded with those bullets I'd be looking at $150+ for the same 100 rounds. That Hornady ammo has been MOA accurate (perfectly acceptable for hunting) in the 4 rifles I've put it through, but it costs more, and my handloads make 3/4MOA in the same rifles. Now a good bit of the Hornady factory ammo's price comes from their nice new brass, but once/twice/three times fired it works just as good. My bank account sure likes the savings. If I were some kind of millionaire I might reconsider whether or not its worth the trouble, but being a blue collar guy it's either shoot less or load my own. And I don't get to shoot as much as I'd like to as it is.

 

[345 DeSoto]

We belong to two Rod and Gun Clubs. The one we frequent the most (2-3 times a week) is deserted during the week, so when we're done shooting we mine for lead...POUNDS of it. SOMEbody in the Club shoots a LOT of .45 ACP on the weekend, and leaves it lying there, all new. We've even found a couple hundred .30 Carbine cases. We shoot .45 ACP and M1 Carbine, so this is a great setup...free lead, and a lot of windfall cases. That's in NYS...when we go to the range in FL, NOBODY picks up any of their brass...and we're welcome to all we can cart away. That leaves me primers and cases to buy. For $25-$30 a box of 50 for .45 ACP, and M1 Carbine ammo non-existant I figure we're WAY ahead of the Commercial ammo game. Besides, the ammo I load will surpass anything Commercial I can buy. The molds, die sets, presses, and all the other reloading "stuff" I purchased YEARS ago has paid for itself a long time ago...

 

[gahunter12]

I'm loading 180gr Nosler Accubonds for my 300wm @ $103.16/100, or $20.63/20. That same bullet in loaded Nosler ammo cost $54.99/box of 20. That's $274.95 for 100 factory rnds. This is buying powder, and primers local.

 

[WestKentucky]

It all depends on your caliber. I'm loading 30-30 .270, and 44 mag a heckuva lot cheaper than the factory ammo costs. My .270 costs about 80 cents per shot with 4350 and hornady ballistic tips and the most comparable round is Barnes vortx as it prints the same poi at anything from 50-500yds. That stuff is nearly 3 bucks a shot. 44 mags are about 15 per box when factory loads are 45 bucks or more. 38spl costs are same as store bought if I load jacketed so I have bought a few boxes just to increase my supply of brass. 357 is cheaper to load but not by much. The military calibers are always going to cost more or as much to load as surplus rounds but great bullets are available to load with so premium rounds are the only way to save, but your paying more to load premium than you are to buy lake city or some of the cheaper stuff like wolf.

 

[jeeptim]

My last batch of 1000 .223 that I reloaded was FREE other then my time. Have been scrounging brass for s while ended up trading a mess of .233 for 2k of primers 500 7.62x39 brass for 1k of 55gr fmjs. And 1000 .308 cases for 4lb of blc-2.
And I tell you this is the sweetest ammo ever FREE.
Yep I'm that guy at the range... are you saving your brass? No! Do you mind if I sweep it up with mine?
And that's how I keep the cost of reloading down.
Shhhh... Lets keep this to our selfs.

 

[Lost Sheep]

I think the O.P. was talking about full replacement value. Free brass, free lead, etc. dilute the "true" cost and make comparison to factory ammunition and to each other's reload costs difficult.

The spreadsheet presented in this thread throws EVERYTHING I could think of into the mix. It is probably more complex than anyone (except me) wants, but crunching numbers is as fun to me as reloading ammo, so please be polite enough to not denigrate my passtimes.

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=663065

Lost Sheep

 

[ArchAngelCD]

If you buy right you can not only load better ammo than the factory can supply and beat the factory prices too.

Using current prices, not the price of components I bought years ago I can still build good .308 hunting ammo for 44 cents/round $8.80/box. That price is for Remington Core-Lokt Bullets, IMR4064 powder and Winchester WLR primers. (current prices from Midway USA)

The current price for a box of Remington Core-Lokt ammo is ~$22.50/box. I would say loading give you quite a bit better price than buying factory ammo. When you can load for 1/3 the price of factory ammo you're still doing very well IMO.

How much is it costing you to load your .308 ammo and what components are you using?

 

[rogn]

Some quick calculates with components purchased in recent memory, or current online prices. Here goes 308W with LC cases, consider as reusable and not entered in calculates, 175 gr BTHP, Varget-46gr, Tula primer, cost comes to 48.8 cents each. Very,very accurate. 168 Nosler AB, most expensive bullet I use.,Varget and same primer-1.13$. With lead bullets, cast at home cost is under 10cents, not counting time and gas. 375 Ruger,-Primers were 3 cents 82 gr of H4350 about 35 cents and 300gr Barnes TXP about 93 cents, total around 1.30$. Cast bullets less than 25 cents a round. Things like 45 Colt don't warrant discussion, its hard to find any factory offering less than 1$@. And w/o much quality. Interesting though, while gathering so prices I see that PV , w/o stock on the shelf has CCI priced lower than Tula/Wolf primers. This may just be more of the same. Probably means some gov agency has thought up a new tax or tarrif.

 

[jmorris]

I think the O.P. was talking about full replacement value. Free brass, free lead, etc. dilute the "true" cost and make comparison to factory ammunition and to each other's reload costs difficult.

I look at "true cost" as what I am out of. Back when I bought and sold a few LNL's just so I could have the UPC off the box I would up making money or getting paid to take 1000 150 JSP's.

Drastically reduced the true cost to run my 1919.

Without "diluting" the total with things that are free or were paid for long ago, we would have to include all of our equipments starting price with every batch, even if they had paid for themselves decades ago.

 

[Lost Sheep]

Diluting the "apparent cost".

I look at "true cost" as what I am out of. Back when I bought and sold a few LNL's just so I could have the UPC off the box I would up making money or getting paid to take 1000 150 JSP's.

Drastically reduced the true cost to run my 1919.

Without "diluting" the total with things that are free or were paid for long ago, we would have to include all of our equipments starting price with every batch, even if they had paid for themselves decades ago.

Sorry. When I used the term "true cost" I was principally thinking of the fact that not everyone has a source of free or "found" supplies or bargain price components.

So, one loader, living across the street from a loader who collects range brass and used wheel weights who sells half these components to the other (at a fair price, or at least below market) might be paying 10 cents for each loaded round each while the other is making absolutely identical ammunition for 40 cents each. Same components, identical ammo, quadruple the "cost".

I don't "dilute" the cost of my ammo by excluding OR including the cost of my press and other equipment. The term is "amortize" and including the full price tag in every batch is just ridiculous, if that is what you were suggesting. If that is not what you mean by "include all of our equipments starting price with every batch", then I misunderstood your last paragraph, so ask your forgiveness for that.

My post was intended to help make better comparisons of one loader's costs to another's. With better communication about that, some loaders might benefit from other loaders' experience. And sharing our experiences for the betterment of all is the point of this forum, yes?

Thanks for reading.

Lost Sheep

 

[jmorris]

So, one loader, living across the street from a loader who collects range brass and used wheel weights who sells half these components to the other (at a fair price, or at least below market) might be paying 10 cents for each loaded round each while the other is making absolutely identical ammunition for 40 cents each. Same components, identical ammo, quadruple the "cost".


My post was intended to help make better comparisons of one loader's costs to another's. With better communication about that, some loaders might benefit from other loaders' experience.

If they live across the street from one another, they both likely shoot at the same range and both could be picking up range brass and mining the berms for lead to cast with.

If new reloaders don't know how much money they can save by reusing their brass over and over or casting their own bullets, they likely wouldn't ever be interested in doing either.

I have a lot of firearms that I reload for that I have never bought new brass for (maybe loaded ammunition but not just empty cases) it would be silly for me to try and figure out what new brass costs to add it to my total.

If a new guy/gal knew they could load fr 25% the out of pocket cost or shoot 4x's as much as they currently do for the same amount of money, I figure they could benifit from that information.

 

[WestKentucky]

In my calculations I assume brass has a 10 round life. I don't track each piece but I do stay pretty close on inventory. I pointedly shoot common calibers so that I can pick up range scraps or buy from my friends on the cheap. I have not ever had to purchase new brass because of this BUT it is in my numbers in case it does happen. That entire cost potential falls into my overall savings column which I want to be rather large for 44mag and .357mag. On my rifle cals I'm not as concerned with price as I am performance but I'm pulling solid numbers in savings with my .270 and 7-30Waters. I don't track cost on .256winmag because it is a dead caliber that factory ammo is not available for from any major manufacturers. I do have an idea of cost per round but I don't track it. If I put my time into the equation at my regular rate I make at work I'm still coming out way ahead in the long run due to savings from the handgun rounds.

 

[jcwit]

I have been reloading since the latter 50's/early 60's.

I reload for close to 40 different calibers, and have only purchased brass for old military calibers such as 7.62 x 54, 7.5 x 54 MAS, and other obscure calibers.

I reload for accuracy and handgun calibers are reloaded till they split or are lost. Rifle calibers are reloaded till they show a ring or an indent is felt inside the case. I have .223 cases that have been reloaded over 70 times at this point, of course they have been bumped a few times, normal reloading they are only neck sized.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I hear the argument often the cost of brass has to be put into the equation, I disagree. Most reloaders decide to load over an extended period of time. They sometimes take a full year to decide to buy the equipment and over that time of deciding most will save all their brass. I know very few new reloaders who have to buy brass retail and if they are short on some cases, they can usually buy once fired at a discount from Retail.

I think the only "new" brass I have ever bought was a bag of 50 45-70 cases.

 

[spitballer]

I press my own .223's for around 30 cents apiece not counting brass, which I don't purchase very often.