Does reloading actually save you money?

[Sniderman]

I voted yes because of the price of my ammo, but it all comes down to how much shooting you personally do.
If your range time was limited by the cost of ammo, no, Your monthly costs won't change but your range time will increase.
If you spend as much time as possible at the range and just see your ammo as "the cost of doing business" Yes, you're going to save quite a bit of money by reloading.
The cost of the equipment should be dictated by what/how you shoot.
If you're going out into the desert with an AR and an old cooler loaded with 30 round mags, the a "Full bells and whistles progressive" is what you're going to need to keep up your supply.
However, if your style is to go and shoot your GP100 at paper for a couple of hours a weekend. then something like a Lee four hole turret with a trimmer and scale will probably keep you shooting.
My take on that, Get both, and do both!

 

[warnerwh]

If I didn't reload I couldn't afford to shoot at all. I couldn't bring myself to pay for ammo what stores charge. I know myself and I'll bet others buy components not even thinking of the costs and don't worry about how much ammo costs them. It just feels to me like I have plenty of ammo and money is hardly a thought. I can shoot all I want.

 

[GaryL]

Only if it keeps you out of divorce court.

 

[psyshack]

Heck yeah it saves money. I shoot a lot of XTP pistol bullets. Practice with what I'm going to kill with. Take 9mm... 100 rounds of 124gr XTP loaded up rounds only cost $2.00 more than a Hornady 20 round box of factory works bullets. And mine are better. Take Rem 115gr jhp ammo. Sells around here at $37.00 per 50. My 100 reloads cost $18.00. This holds true with my .357/.38 +p loads as well as my .45 acp ammo.

If I start loading up .38 lead wad cutters it gets real cheap. Or bulk FMJ....

 

[m33p0n3]

I'm becoming one of those people that makes a spreadsheet for everything; I broke even on equipment costs within two months of starting reloading. But now I shoot on heck of a lot more, so it evens out.

 

[amlevin]

Compared to "factory ammo", absolutely.

If you like paying twice as much (on average) for the off the shelf stuff fine.

Add to the mix the accuracy factor and reloading is even better.

Want to see how much you have to load to break even on the startup equipment, go to the Dillon website and look at the numbers they post.

I load .223 for $0.16 per round. Factory sells locally for just under $400/thousand or $0.40/round.

My 9mm rounds cost me $0.12 with a JHP bullet. Factory ammo with a FMJ sells for $0.22 per round.

I load .308 Match Grade ammo for $0.44/round while Federal Gold Medal Match sells for $2.30 per round locally (and my rounds shoot half the group sizes as the GMM's in my rifle).

As for brass, my total purcases of brass consist of 150 pieces of Winchester and 100 pieces of Lapua for the .308, all other brass (over 10,000 pieces) are once-fired pieces I've picked up from non-reloaders.

For those that don't want to reload, we who do thank you for the brass you leave behind.

 

[Flatbush Harry]

No, because like so many others, I shoot a heck of a lot more and I spent the better part of $1000 on equipment and set-up. I live about 10 min from a local range to which I belong (I get unlimited use for no additional charge), I shoot targets I download and print on my PC/printer, I handload every caliber I have (9 on its way to 10...6.5x55 or .260 Rem), and I keep a stock of components.

At the moment, I'm loading up the season's supply of .45 Colt for CAS. A box of factory cowboy loads goes off for about $40-45 in my locale...I can load a box for $8.10 not pricing my time, labor or the brass (as I can reuse and with 800 fps loads, it lasts for many reloads). I will practice a bunch more than I would with factory ammo.

As to rifle loads, I bought my nephew a box of Federal Premium .30-06 w/ Barnes TSX bullets for his elk tag this year. They cost about $60, as I recall. I made up some equivalent loads with his son for his Christmas present (he got a kick out of his 8 y/o making next season's hunting ammo) for $18.24 (again, not pricing my time , labor or HXP brass of which I have a lot from my Garands). There will be big savings on my hunting ammo (after I settle on bullets...I'm still tinkering between Sierra, Hornady, Nosler and Barnes in .224, .257 and .308), but I practice with equivalent weight Sierra MKs and shoot a lot more, cutting my costs per box to $10.86.

I find the entire shooting experience much more pleasurable when I handload...I can tailor my loads to exactly what I want, produce more consistent and accurate ammunition, look forward to developing new loads and experimenting and, through increased practice, have greater confidence with all my firearms.

FH

 

[GLOOB]

Well, I have definitely saved money compared to the alternative: if I had purchased this many rounds of manufactured ammo. I never would have stocked up on quite as much ammo, though.

So I'm not sure if I have already saved money, or if I have to shoot it all before I come out ahead!

 

[ranger335v]

I started reloading in '65. I'm almost at the "bread-even" point now, will start turning a profit after that.

 

[RustyFN]

Yes I think I save money. I would shoot the same matches whether I was reloading or buying factory ammo. To buy factory ammo for one match I would be looking at around $50. For $25 worth of reloads I can shoot around 8 matches. Do you think I'm saving money or just shooting more for the same money?

 

[Yarddog]

"[Only if it keeps you out of divorce court.]"
Agree 100% on that ; )
Y/D

 

[BullfrogKen]

Me personally? It would save me money if I still shot the same amount of rounds every year if I didn't reload. But since I don't . . . The same ammo budget just goes a lot farther.

It is nice not worrying if my flavor of ammo is in stock or hunting the gun shows for it . . .

 

[gamestalker]

I shoot a lot of other wise expensive cartridges and would deffinitely say YES, it does save me a sunstantial amount of money. A box of quality 7mm rem. mag. hand loaded is some where between $8.00 to $12.00 a box depending on my bullet choice. To buy anything factory that would even get close to the hand loaded quality or bullet I load would be from $35 to $65 per box. my .357 mag. is running about $10 to load. I haven't looked at factory for that cartridge in a long time but I guess it's up around $25 for anything with a good JHP.

 

[P5 Guy]

What is Cheaper?

The ammo I make is better than the econo brand from the BigBoxMart. I weigh every round and use a single stage press in small batches.
Cranking out as fast as possible on a progressive is cheaper in the long run for ammo of equal quality to the econo brand, or a bit better.
I get to shoot, in my opinion, premium ammo instead of econo ammo. If I'm saving a few pennies, cool. I do shoot more often and I enjoy making high quality ammo to practice with.

 

[fmcdave]

My daughters starting shooting my .40S&W and .45ACP when they were 13 or so. I started reloading because they were shooting me broke. Back then, I could reload .40s for about $3.50 per box. It enabled us all to shoot a lot more and both girls are deadly shots. They each got a .40S&W pistol for college graduation.

They are out of the house, one is in Boston and the other lives in my town (and still shoots with me). However, reloading became on of my most relaxing hobbies. I like having the control of the loads and like to simulate the self defense loads we carry.

PS: I'll never forget a phone call I got from my Boston-based daughter whilst she was still in her PhD program. She wanted to let me know that she had just gone out "shooting with the boys". She described the pistols she shot but I had to break in and ask one question. "Did you beat the boys?" Her answer, "Oh yeah, they were humiliated." All of that practice works. And you can't put a price tag on that.

 

[Iam2taz]

Um... Yes and No...
Not one thin dime.... but now I have a load I can hit the dime with.

 

[mikerault]

I figured it out at about 5500 rounds I will hit breakeven. After 5500 rounds I start making money compared to buying ammo.

 

[okespe04]

No, I just shoot a lot more than I used to.

 

[Kevin Rohrer]

As long as I don't figure in the cost of the equipment.

 

[CraigC]

Hell no, if anything it costs me more. It allows me to short more per dollar spent and the more I shoot, the more I want to shoot. The more I want to shoot, the more guns I want. The more guns I want, the more cartridges I want to load for. The more guns I want, the more I shoot, the more accessories I need. Nope, it snowballs me right into financial oblivion and I wouldn't have it any other way.

 

[wy child]

I have to say yes, but as some of the other posters I shoot much more then if I was buying commercial cartridges. but how do you put a price on the overall improvement in your accuracy buy shooting more and the just plane fun derived from this activity + the increased knowledge derived. + the good people you come in contact with with the same interest.

if I cant eat it shoot it or make love to it I am not interested

 

[HKIWB]

My range log shows that I saved $2,000 my first year reloading compared to the previous year. The equipment cost me less than half that and retained most of its value. Based on my load rate, my time was worth roughly $50 per hour to load .45 ACP on a Dillon SDB. I've since upgraded to a 650 with a case feeder to increase my load rate. Upgrading my press cut my time at the bench in half and tranformed reloading from a chore into something I look forward to.

 

[captain awesome]

not yet. I have spent quite a bit on equipment. but the gap is steadily closing between what I would have spent on ammo, vs. the various reloading costs. If you look at it strictly components, then it would be a definite YES. I enjoy reloading so i tend to factor that into the equation as well.

 

[Prion]

No, but I shoot more and I have a bunch of cool tools and a fantastic hobby.

 

[RB98SS]

I voted yes because I'd still spend a bundle on ammo if I didn't reload. I'll tell you who's saving a bunch -- my brother in law. I'm reloading for him too so it's just costing him for the components.