Has reloading saved you money (casting excluded please)

[lykoris]

This poll is for those thinking about getting into reloading and hearing the 'money saved' argument which is why I've left it open indefinitely.

I've decided to make this black and white - only two answers....and a get out clause for those who cast their 'boolits' in addition to reloading their ammo (cast bullets make a difference so only wanting (please) those who purely reload and buy commerical bullets).

Attempt to evaluate all the money you have spent on reloading equipment and everything that goes with it...even right down to the lumber used to build the reloading desk...have you saved money?



P.S. for those that say they shoot more for the same money, i.e. break-even....I'd like to see spreadsheets proving it

 

[Smaug]

I save $10 on every box of 45 ACP I roll.
$9 on every box of 38 Special.
$20 on every box of 44 Special.
$15 on every box of 44 Magnum.
$11 on every box of 380 ACP.

I marked "Yes" but realistically, I just get to shoot better ammo, a lot more often, for the same money.

So don't get into reloading to save money. It won't happen. Get into it to shoot more for the same money, or for increased accuracy.

I doubled my accuracy in my bolt action rifle in the first box of reloads. Handgun ammo is notably more accurate, but not to the same extent as rifle ammo.

If you want to figure numbers precisely, check out my reloading cost savings spreadsheet on Google documents. You don't even need Excel:
https://spreadsheets.google.com/spr...vQXBRc3VLVmk0ZUlJRlVHZVE&hl=en_US&pli=1#gid=0

Also, check out my signature link to see the basics of reloading.

 

[JimKirk]

I bought a lot of my reloading equipment in the late sixties and early seventies...

So yes they payed for themselves many times over....

I tend to shoot odd caliber(at that time the 25/06 & 41 mag were not common) ... so my savings is many fold...

The same goes for the WSM,WB, Rem Ultra mags, Ruger mag and other expensive ammo... much room for savings when reloading them.

Didn't have no spread sheets back then either ...

Jimmy K

 

[greyling22]

my cost per round is lower, but my number of rounds fired is way above what I would be shooting if I was buying them. so, I guess it depends on your definition of saving.

example:, when I was buying 30 carbine at $50 per hundred I fired about 100 a year. Now that I am reloading for about $8 per hundred (cast lead bullet. could be less, but I lose brass and have to buy more) I fire about 800 a year. 8x8=$64 a year +dies and bullet mold (fixed costs of equipment will defray out over 40 years to be virtually zero.)

 

[Walkalong]

Yes, per round, but not overall.

 

[lykoris]

then please put your vote down Walkalong so I'm not entirely alone in the no camp

I got into reloading first and foremost for accuracy and second to have a means to slowly increase powder charges for my wife...she now shoots full 45acp rounds having come all the way from .22lr

Today I was going through a box where I've kept literally all the receipts of everything bought relating to reloading I could have supplied a company in Iraq for a year if I'd just bought ammo in bulk

There always seems to be a 'deal' on something component wise, always a neat item in that cursed Sinclairs catalogue they keep sending me and I'm always looking for extra bullets for all the brass that keeps following me home from the range....and space...I never have enough space.

 

[BullfrogKen]

Yes, per round, but not overall.

Seconded.

Attempt to evaluate all the money you have spent on reloading equipment and everything that goes with it...even right down to the lumber used to build the reloading desk...have you saved money?


P.S. for those that say they shoot more for the same money, i.e. break-even....I'd like to see spreadsheets proving it

I don't spend less. I spend about the same amount of money I spent before I loaded my own ammunition. Difference is, I'm not buying cheap, dirty crap just so I can have something that goes bang. I can load on the cheap if I want.

Sometimes I still do.

But I load up ammunition that performs better, shoots cleaner, and washes the dishes after supper. OK, not exactly. I wash the pots and the ammo just dries and puts them away.


I shoot more, a lot more, than if I didn't. I can shoot much better quality ammo. And I can deal with shortages better. Small pistol primers will touch off anything that takes a small pistol primer. If I want a healthy, say 6 month's supply, of small caliber handgun ammo on hand . . . 5,000 small pistol primers are a lot more versatile than buying a few thousand 9mm, another couple thousand 40 S&W, 500 .38 Specials, etc.


5,000 primers, maybe 500-1000 pieces of brass across those three calibers, 4 lbs of powder, and several thousand bullets cost a lot less than trying to keep loaded ammo in stock, and are a lot more versatile.

 

[GLOOB]

Reloading hasn't saved me any money. Every dollar I saved, I used to buy more components.

So my wallet is the same. But instead of having a few hundred round of ammo per caliber, I have a 1-2k.

Eventually, when I run out of closet space, I'll start saving money.

 

[bluetopper]

My gosh yes it has saved me money. How could it not? Cast lead bullets are all I ever shoot.

 

[Matt 357]

Materials + Labor??

Material cost, I save ALOT by reloading especially since I switched to cast bullets. Where the math gets fuzzy is if you take into account your time. If you see reloading as a hobby and you have some spare time, great. But if reloading is tedious work, then you are really just trading your valuable time to save a few bucks. Something to consider before getting into reloading.

 

[Tim the student]

Depends on how you define "save"

Spend less money? No, same amount. Maybe a bit more.

Get a hell of a lot more for that same money? Yes, absolutely.

 

[AdotOdot4]

I started reloading 2 weeks ago.
I had high hopes about saving money, but in the last 2 weeks I've loaded and shot about 800 rounds which is about 4x what I had been shooting before. I'm having too much fun tinkering with different loads and having a range 5 min from work isn't helping.

Now I'd settle for coming out even in total $ spent

 

[BullfrogKen]

Where the math gets fuzzy is if you take into account your time. If you see reloading as a hobby and you have some spare time, great. But if reloading is tedious work, then you are really just trading your valuable time to save a few bucks. Something to consider before getting into reloading.

Opportunity Cost is not money out of my pocket, unless I'm paying someone to do work for me while I playing the role of a press monkey.

And it's a lot more than a few bucks, my friend. Comparing apples to apples - the same handload components to the same quality factory ammunition, with rare exception, it's always half price of factory.

 

[lykoris]

I cannot definitively answer the question of what I mean by save as technically spending money isn't saving as you're not postponing consumption of a good/service.

My question is overall are you in the blank or red.

All I can say is if somebody asked me this morning had I saved money reloading, my answer would have been a resolute yes, without any doubt.

after going through the box of receipts after doing this a few years I clearly haven't 'saved' anything.

perhaps I should start shooting a really exotic calibre so I can save

 

[Grommit327]

I just started reloading and went full out on machine and supplies so at $1500 no I don't think I've saved...yet. Already notice better consistency though, especially in the rifle and it's just plain fun working up loads. Definitely can see the savings once I start buying components in bulk

 

[BullfrogKen]

The cost of components quickly dwarf the cost of equipment. For all practical purposes you can exclude the price of the equipment from your analysis. The cost of the components will excede the equipment cost to the point that it won't even show up if you attempt to include it.


I've probably spent about $2,000 on components so far this year. And I'll probably spend another $2,000 before the year's up.

 

[beatledog7]

Just got started so negative ROI so far. I'm confident I'll start seeing it, esp with higher cost per round rifle ammo.

But it is fun!

 

[BullfrogKen]

I cannot definitively answer the question of what I mean by save as technically spending money isn't saving as you're not postponing consumption of a good/service.

If you went from eating out at McDonald's, Papa John's, and occasionally splurging at a nice restaurant once a month to cooking your meals at home. Would you save money?

I'd say if you only made yourself hamburgers, pizza, and chicken once a month, yes you would.

But if you ate healthy, and heathly meals more often, you'd wind up settling on roughly the same food budget.

So, did you save money? And was saving money the only goal?


I like McDonald's, pizza, and going out once in a while, too. But it's expensive, and not healthy. Just like a home-cooked meal, my guns get a better diet.

 

[Jasper1573]

I can reload match grade ammunition for my .308 for about 75 cents the first time I use a piece of brass. After reloading that piece of brass 5 times, my cost per round is 60 cents vs a dollar or more per round for commercial ammunition. In the last year I have reloaded over 2500 rounds...the savings has paid for my initial investment in reloading equipment, provided me with more consistent ammo, and given me hours of enjoyment reloading and many more hours of range time due to reduced cost than I could have had/enjoyed using commercial match grade products. It ain't all about the $$.

 

[Pacsd]

One thing I refuse to do is, and it's my mantra: NEVER, EVER count the money you spend on a hobby. But, then again, I'm probably goin broke saving money. Don't need a stinkin spread sheet either to figger THAT out.

 

[SharpsDressedMan]

As with others, it has become an addiction. You don't save money, you shoot more (and, of course, ENJOY it more). I load for every centerfire I own, and cast bullets for many (given the right mood, day, and ambition, as casting and sizing can be tedious).

 

[Cop Bob]

Reloading definitely saves me money... it keeps me at home at night........ Drinking is expensive! Forget about factoring in the cost of women to go along with it!!!

No really, reloading is less expensive once you amortize the cost out over a few thousand rounds.. The problem is, as pointed out, the more you save, the more you have, the more you shoot, the more you have to reload..(repeat) . but look.... your a much better shot now!!!!

Is reloading more expensive today... YES... as is EVERYTHING ELSE...

UP side, it IS cheaper round by round, and the quality.... once you figure our what your doing... is better than most factory ammo available...

If you only shoot a couple of boxes a year, or just a box of rifle shells each deer season, don't bother... but if you are a SHOOTER.... then there IS no other way....

 

[Oic0]

When I bought a .500 S&W, I bought all of the supplies I would need to load about 500 rounds (depending on brass life), single stage press and dies included, for less than the price of 100 rounds. Yes I would say I saved some money.

$3+ per bullet for factory ammo gets you there fast!. For my .357, its taking longer to make it up but it will.

 

[Nanook]

I voted yes, strictly talking about ammo costs.

But as we all know, you slowly put a lot of money into reloading accessories. Sometimes, my Dillon 550 press reminds me of a young girl's Barbie doll. There's always something I HAVE to buy for it. LOL

It's pretty well setup now, anything else would be "gilding the lily" as the old saying goes.

Now, it's just bullets/primers/powder purchasing which will never stop as long as you're shooting. As said by many, you can make better ammo cheaper, and shoot more for less money over the long run.

Plus, I acquired casting equipment, so that makes it even cheaper. Of course, that equipment isn't exactly cheap either. I enjoy the loading hobby as much as the shooting hobby sometimes, so I don't worry about the money spent there.

As long as the bills are paid, you have to do something for a hobby. And I don't care for most tv shows, so this works for me.

 

[RustyFN]

Am I saving money? Well lets see. I can load these calibers with jacketed bullets,

9mm for $70 per 1,000
38 spcl for $70 per 1,000
223 for $100 per 1,000.

You can't compare it to WWB or other cheap ammo because it's much better quality. I don't know if I'm saving money or not, everybody here tells me I'm not, but if you ask me I'm very happy not saving money.

I could't include that I load 45 acp for $25 per 1,000 because I load them with my own cast bullets.