Great price in .45 ammo

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bob barker

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Our local Walmart in Houston had .45 100 ct Federal, brass case on sale for $27.99/box. I usually avoid Walmart like the plague, but a buddy who is an avid fisherman and shooter gave me the heads up. I cleared out the 10 boxes they had. I'm sure the others have it in stock.
 
What do they normally run? For the $300 you spent on the ammo you can get started reloading.

I loaded 500 rounds of 45 acp last week for about $65
 
They normally run $36/box. I doubt you reloaded 500 rounds for $65 including the price of new brass. According to the numbers I have ran, .45 runs approximately $.27/round on new reloads. The price gets cheaper without the price of new brass. Thanks for your informative post though.
 
I doubt you reloaded 500 rounds including the price of new brass.
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That's kind of the point of reloading, you're reusing the most expensive part of the cartridge. I'd imagine that he also cast his own bullets from salvaged lead.
 
shotgunjoel said:
That's kind of the point of reloading, you're reusing the most expensive part of the cartridge. I'd imagine that he also cast his own bullets from salvaged lead.
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No kidding?

I wasn't necessarily trying to get in an argument about reloading, just giving the heads up to a good deal on ammo.
I know it's cheaper to mow my own lawn, since I'm reusing my own lawn mower, I just prefer not to do it. Thats why i pay a landscaper.
Kind of like reloading. I have better things to do, and am happy to find good deals on ammo.
 
The whole admonition about reloading gets tiresome. Your time is also valuable and needs to be factored into how much it costs to reload.
 
Vonderek said:
The whole admonition about reloading gets tiresome. Your time is also valuable and needs to be factored into how much it costs to reload.
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Exactly right.

While I think I'd like to learn to reload some day, it would not be something I would do out of economic need. Furthermore I put a value on my time, and the time spent doing reloads must have a calculated cost involved.So unless you enjoy doing it as recreation or a hobby, there is more cost involved.
 
I don't cast my on lead. Buy 45acp local from Tn Valley Bullets

$45 for 500 lead
$15 for 500 primer
$5 for powder

$65. Hate that you think I am lying. It is true

I have never bought new brass. When I buy it it is range brass, probably $30 for 500. Last a long time.

Didn't mean to hit a sore spot with you. I only bring it up as a comparision for anyone out that that might be reading.

It does take a lot of time and I would never suggest it someone who didn't want to do it as a hobby itself. If a person did it solely for $$ then they would soon grow tired of it. But it can be an extremely rewarding hobby.

Again, sorry if I over-stepped by bounds, but yeah I loaded 500 for about $65.
 
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My LGS's price on a box of 50 .45's is $18. It's not always the same brand as he just buys whatever his distributor has on hand, but it's always brass-cased FMJ's. His prices are ALWAYS cheaper than Wally-World's.
 
bob barker said:
Our local Walmart in Houston had .45 100 ct Federal, brass case on sale for $27.99/box.
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theautobahn said:
My LGS's price on a box of 50 .45's is $18. It's not always the same brand as he just buys whatever his distributor has on hand, but it's always brass-cased FMJ's. His prices are ALWAYS cheaper than Wally-World's.
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I'm sure your LGS loves you, however you may want to brush up on your math skills a little. You are probably one of the few people who would consider 50 rounds at $18 to be cheaper than 100 rounds at $28.
 
don't cast my on lead. Buy 45acp local from Tn Valley Bullets

$45 for 500 lead
$15 for 500 primer
$5 for powder

$65. Hate that you think I am lying. It is true

I have never bought new brass. When I buy it it is range brass, probably $30 for 500. Last a long time.

Didn't mean to hit a sore spot with you. I only bring it up as a comparision for anyone out that that might be reading.

It does take a lot of time and I would never suggest it someone who didn't want to do it as a hobby itself. If a person did it solely for $$ then they would soon grow tired of it. But it can be an extremely rewarding hobby.

Again, sorry if I over-stepped by bounds, but yeah I loaded 500 for about $65.
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Not to beat a dead horse even more, but I can't help myself.

Casting my own bullets, I can and do make 500 45 rounds for $20-25 :)

You are absolutely right though about "don't do it if you don't enjoy it". As inexpensively as I can make reloads using my own cast bullets and range pick-up brass, when you consider the cost of the equipment, tools and etc I've bought (how did I end up with a cabinet full of bullet molds!?!?), it's absolutely been worth it for the enjoyment and satisfaction I've gotten out of it.
 
For those who care, here's a breakdown of the cheapest I can reload, starting from scratch, without range "freebies"

.45 brass, cleaned and ready for reload (cleaning and prep is the most time consuming part of reloading. Once everything is ready to go I can roll 500 .45 rounds in about 1 hour with a progressive press ....buying precleaned saves you lots of time.)
$35/500
http://www.firstclassbulletsandbras...k8Sc6OtYtGiuos3DcR0&shop_param=cid=20&aid=35&

Unique Powder, 1/3 lb = $7. Get at your local walmart.

CCI primers. $16/500. Get at your local walmart.

Bullets. I cast my own, and pay for lead, $1/lb. Obviously you can find or recycle your own lead and pay nothing to cast your own.
$15/500.

so that adds up to $75 or so. That includes payment for brass, and lead, two things alot of people NEVER even consider paying for, because they are so easy to get. Since 500 .45 brass lasts for multiple reloads, that brings the overall cost down considerably. $28 x 5 = $140, vs $75...I'd have to drive an hour to buy ammo, and spend $5 in gas to go get it....so that is really $140 + an hour + $5, VS. $75 to reload and 1 1/2 hour of your time ALSO COUNTING PREP......when it is broken down, to save a half hour of time. Once you are at the level of reloading though, you probably will have some lead/brass scavenging skills/spots, so the happy reloader can save $115 on those reloads, and spend an extra half hour, in my case, to do so. So yes, it is possible to save vast amounts of money reloading, even considering your time.

I plan on shooting for a long time though, so I don't count money wrapped up in equipment such as presses, molds, dies, etc...just raw materials.
 
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Those that want to reload will. Those that don't won't.

I wish my local Walmart carryed primers and powder:mad:

Reloading means never having to say I can't go shooting cause I don't have ammo.

WB
 
1st... that is a good deal on ammo. If you have more than enough cash, why not?

2nd... TennJedd's reloading numbers are about right.

re: the time it takes to reload. I usually sit down in near the tube and listen to football or something else and crank out 500 rounds of one caliber or other at a time. I have a manual turret press. It takes me about 2-3 hours to crank out 500 rounds. From the above, you can see that those two or three hours saves me about $85 ($150 on sale -$65 reload cost).

I am not one of those that yells "reload" every time this subject comes up. I figure that unless someone is a newbie, they considered (and discarded) the idea of reloading a long time ago.
 
People like to hate on Wally World but during the Great Ammo Drought of '09-'10 they didn't gouge the consumer like a lot of gun stores did.
 
"Somebody is dreaming. You really need to time yourself next time you begin to cast and lube 500 bullets."

Oops. Add half an hour to that. abt 20 a min. with a 6 bullet mold. Tumble lube bullets and liquid Alox cuts down on sizing/lube time.
 
Fishslayer said:
People like to hate on Wally World but during the Great Ammo Drought of '09-'10 they didn't gouge the consumer like a lot of gun stores did.
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I am not one to hate on walmart. I am glad to see my local walmart seeing some ARs and the circuit judge.

I hope they continue to expand their shooting sport products. They only way they will do that is if we buy the products.

I do wish they would eventually get handguns and reloading supplies here
 
I'm sure your LGS loves you, however you may want to brush up on your math skills a little. You are probably one of the few people who would consider 50 rounds at $18 to be cheaper than 100 rounds at $28.
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:D And my mom's a math teacher, too!

My point, although not well made, is that my LGS's price isn't a SALE price as I assumed the OP's price was. Also, my LGS's price is out the door, tax included (although even with tax, $28/100 is still cheaper).
 
Thanks for the heads-up. That is a good price. I would buy some if I didn't reload.

Not everyone has the time or interest to reload. Good thing too; they leave more brass for me! I have a literal bucket full of .45 brass that I've accumulated for free.

I enjoy reloading and casting, but to be honest if I had put all the time and energy that I've put into reloading and such in the last quarter-century into my career instead, I would probably be making a lot more money than I am now.:(

If you have a busy lifestyle and are not the type to enjoy tinkering, reloading is probably not for you.
 
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