Is reloading really worth it

[45Frank]

If you're loading strictly to save money, then I can see this being a valid argument. For most though, loading is a hobby within itself. I don't calculate my time when I go play golf, or fish, so why would I with a different hobby?
That attorney who bills at $250/hr, doesn't calculate his time when he's on the golf course or at home sipping scotch and smoking a cigar. Though he prolly does bill time on the golf course from time to time.
As far as saving money, I sure haven't. I pay less per round, no doubt, but I spend 3x what I used to. Sounds like our situations may be a little different though.

I was beginning to think I was the only one thinking this way. You do save money and I like going into my little room and not being bothered.

 

[jcwit]

I unpacked and set up my new reloading bench last weekend. I was delighted to find everything in good condition. When I inventoried my supplies I was also delighted at the amount of reloading supplies I have on hand. My concern is with the storage of the gunpowder and primers in less than ideal conditions. Can any of you guys shed some light on this?

]Primers? No problem at all.

Powder? If it smells like solvent or ether its good to go. If it smell acidy, dump it. If it has a red vapor, dump it.

 

[7thGenAustinite]

yes...

 

[RustyFN]

Depends.

It is cheaper than buying ammo, but what is your time worth? My wife's boss in a big shot lawyer who charges $250 an hour... will he save money by spending an hour reloading a box of 38s? No. What is your time worth?

Some calibers require loading your own, like the 38 S&W for example. hard to find and pricey when you do. I have a couple of rifles in obsolete calibers so no factory fodder is even available. I have one wildcat caliber rifle and that's the same situation.

Loading your own is sometimes economically logical. Required for some calibers, and advisable for others where high performance factory ammo is not available.

That doesn't make any sence. If he is sitting home he is making nothing. If he can load a box of ammo for $10 that normally cost $20 then he saved $10, it doesn't matter how much he makes while he is working.

If you want to talk about what your time is worth then look at it this way. To buy decent 45 auto factory ammo you are looking at around $450 per 1,000 rounds. I load them In my FREE TIME, the hours in the day I am not at my job. In seven hours I can cast and size 1,000 bullets and load 1,000 rounds with those bullets . I can load that 1,000 rounds for $25. So I got paid $60 an hour to cast and load my own 1,000 rounds instead of making nothing to sit around and watch TV.

 

[CraigC]

That doesn't make any sence. If he is sitting home he is making nothing. If he can load a box of ammo for $10 that normally cost $20 then he saved $10, it doesn't matter how much he makes while he is working.

Exactly! If you're not taking off from work, losing billable hours to do your handloading, then you really can't factor in your hourly rate at your job. At least, not like that.

I can load that 1,000 rounds for $25.

How does that work? What are you paying for powder, primers and lube? I assume your lead is free.

 

[jcwit]

How does that work? What are you paying for powder, primers and lube? I assume your lead is free.

I can beat that. How bout $16 for 1000 45 ACP's.

Powder-------Less than $10.00 per lb.
Primers-------$45 for a sleeve of 5,000
Lead---------Free---Got a couple of tons of it.
Cases--------Free---Heck I'll never get around to reloading all of them.
Lube---------Pretty much free Candles, Bees Wax from an Amish beekeeper, and some old carnuba car wax

BTW, No leading with this mix

 

[Onward Allusion]

It depends on what you're reloading. I shoot 9mm and 22LR 90%+ of the time. It would not be worth it for me from a cost perspective and it still would not be worth it even if I wanted to customize 9mm loads because of the availability of ammo out there. If I shot more 38/357, it would be worth it. No chasing down cases and wider range to work with on 357 loads.

 

[cfullgraf]

That doesn't make any sence. If he is sitting home he is making nothing.

.

I agree.

But there are workaholic clowns out there that are scheming to make money during every minute of the day. They probably trade the stocks while using the WC and every golf round is a business meeting.

To those folks, reloading and just about every other pastime is a waste of time. No money in it.

 

[jcwit]

It depends on what you're reloading. I shoot 9mm and 22LR 90%+ of the time. It would not be worth it for me from a cost perspective and it still would not be worth it even if I wanted to customize 9mm loads because of the availability of ammo out there. If I shot more 38/357, it would be worth it. No chasing down cases and wider range to work with on 357 loads.

I just checked Ammo Seek and the cheapest 9mm ammo was $8.95 a box, thats 18 cests a round. I just posted above I can reload 45 acp for .016 cents per round. If I was buying components at todays pricing it would still only come out to 11 cents per round.

Ya it saves money!

 

[RustyFN]

How does that work? What are you paying for powder, primers and lube? I assume your lead is free.

I buy in bulk. I have primers that cost $15 per 1,000 including hazmat and shipping and powder that cost $12 per pound including hazmat and shipping I buy 50,000 primers and 48 pounds of powder at a time and they will last for a few years. I am sitting on around 1,600 pounds of free wheel weights. The bullet lube I use is Carnauba Red and I bought 20 sticks at $1.49 a stick.

Some ways to save is to spend $30 on a C&R license and get dealer pricing at a lot of places. One example is I can buy Tula primers with my C&R for $87 for 5,000 small pistol primers. Can also buy a lot of different powders for $112 to $120 for eight pound bottles. Max out a hazmat order and the prices don't change much. That was just checking one of the places I order from and ne sale going on.

 

[GLOOB]

Most people who make $300/hr are paying for an office and office staff. And theyre presimably doing some kind of critical thinking and problem solving that requires a certain level of effort.

When u reload in your office and pay your receptionist $25/hr and benefits to pick up primers off the floor and youre not answering phone calls that could be worth 300/hr, you can start comparing your time spent reloading to your job.

Likewise lemme know when u can make $300/hr in your home in your underwear by pulling a lever. Without breakingany laws or dealing with customers or cclients..

 

[leadcounsel]

Problem with reloading is that you aren't entirely out of the commercial maze, meaning as much as you'd like to be independent, you aren't. You still rely on mail order or gun shows for primers, brass, powder and lead or bullets. And shopping for those things is time spent that reloaders rarely calculate into their costs (yes, time is money no matter how you slice it).

I've done the math several times, and am not convinced it's more economical to reload. It just isn't if you are honest about the time it takes to set up a room for reloading, order your reloader, and all of your components, research the heck out of it, and order and re-order and stock all of your components, save brass, clean brass, etc etc etc...

And, throw in a half-dozen calibers, dies, etc. and reloaders are needing spreadsheets to keep track of it all.

Meanwhile, I can (and do) stock thousands of rounds of ammo that took only my time to earn the wage, and a few clicks online and it appeared at my door. I just watch for really good sales and then buy cheap and stack deep...

I'm not a precision shooter or a precision reloader. But I have plenty of time for other hobbies and interests...

 

[Certaindeaf]

I grow a big garden every year for the fun of it. It's pretty expensive any way you cut it.
I give most all of it away.

 

[Jorg Nysgerrig]

Pay attention, reloaders. leadcounsel will not relent until you agree with him that no matter what you do, you aren't saving a dime! Not one red cent!

I'm still not exactly clear howfor you it is "few clicks online and it appeared at my door" but for reloaders "shopping for those things is time spent that reloaders rarely calculate into their costs (yes, time is money no matter how you slice it)." You do realize that most folks can order reloading stuff online in a few clicks or just walk into a store and walk out with a few thousand primers and a couple of jugs of in a matter of minutes, right?

Let's break down a couple of these arduous tasks reloaders face:
set up a room for reloading: Do you mean mounting a press to a bench and setting up some shelves to hold things? One time commitment of an hour or so. Sure, there will be tweaks and changes, but we're aren't talking hours and hours a month.
order your reloader: About as long as it takes to order anything else online or buy in a store. Again, one time.
all of your components: Same as buying ammo, although you don't need to do it as often if you buy in bulk.
research the heck out of it: A few hours of reading initially hardly breaks the bank.
order and re-order and stock all of your components: I'm not sure how this is different than the previous ordering of components, I suppose you just needed to make the list longer.
save brass: Used brass is pretty easy to come by.
clean brass: You don't have to watch the tumbler for it to work.

 

[leadcounsel]

Sorry I guess I'm not entitled to an opinion. No need for the personal attack Jorg. Jorg, the difference is formulas and components vs. completed ammo.

100 primers and zero powder = no ammo.

I'm certain there are reloaders here who have run out of something and been stuck unable to make ammo.

Look, I really don't have a dog in the fight as to whether folks make ammo or not. If you enjoy it, awesome. But to tirelessly read that time does not equal money is just nonsense.

The time I'm sitting on my computer, I could be earning money, repairing the house, fixing the car, etc... all things that cost or save money depending on whether you do or don't do it... or hire someone to do it.

Time = money is a fundamental economic formula.

 

[Certaindeaf]

One Christmas my Grandmother gave me a sweater she had knitted. I told her she shouldn't have bothered 'cause they make them in China for like two bits. That crazy old bat.































just kidding

 

[jcwit]

Time = money is a fundamental economic formula.

At my age that formula holds no water.

 

[Reloadron]

Leadcounsel:

I'm not a precision shooter or a precision reloader. But I have plenty of time for other hobbies and interests...

My main reason for reloading is I want accurate ammunition tuned to the rifle I am shooting it in. I can buy for example the better Federal Gold Medal .308 using their Sierra 168 grain match king bullets and get reasonably good results in my M1A, that same ammunition does not fare as well in either my match bolt gun or my match AR 10. I can manufacture ammunition that will deliver excellent results tuning my loads for any of those three rifles.

I don't load my own to save money as some of what I load per round exceeds what the Federal Gold Medal stuff cost me. For me, the time spent loading and tinkering with loads is time well spent and I still find time for other things I enjoy. For me rolling my own is just part of the overall shooting experience which I enjoy all of.

People roll their own for numerous reasons and the decision to do so while practical for some may not be practical or enjoyable for others. Personal choice for what it is worth.

Ron

 

[cfullgraf]

Time does not equal money.

Time does have value.

Everybody values their time differently.

Everybody expends their time differently.

 

[JohnM]

Sheese!

 

[Onward Allusion]

jcwit
I just checked Ammo Seek and the cheapest 9mm ammo was $8.95 a box, thats 18 cests a round. I just posted above I can reload 45 acp for .016 cents per round. If I was buying components at todays pricing it would still only come out to 11 cents per round.
Ya it saves money!

I know, but I am also considering other factors as part of the cost...like kids soccer games, quality time with the wife, work, veg time...etc...etc... For me, 9mm would have to triple in price - $30/box of 50 before I would reload. If I were more of a rifle shooter (which I may be soon...) I would definitely consider reloading just for the tuning aspects.

 

[plodder]

Of Course! Reload when it is dark, shoot when it is daylight!

 

[RustyFN]

I'm not a precision shooter or a precision reloader. But I have plenty of time for other hobbies and interests...

If time is money how much are you losing on your other hobbies and what makes them worth it?

 

[1SOW]

leadcounsel, JMO: Reloading seldom saves money.

People who don't have a limitless budget and who enjoy shooting as a hobby can do a lot more shooting if they reload.

Many people that reload find reloading to also be an enjoyable & satisfying pastime. Like any hobby (golf, fishing, whatever), shooting is more satisfying when you do it successfully. Reloading ammunition specifically for your guns and your uses for them, helps make shooting more successful. That may mean more accurate or faster or both for what you like to shoot. A win-win situation.

If you don't want to shoot more and can easily afford what you shoot now, your thinking is very logical.

Onward Allusion : I also absolutely agree with you about budgeting your time with family and providing for them as a priority. Hobbies take a back seat to them.
You might be surprised how many old guys load and shoot--a lot. They/we no longer have as much responsibilty in that area.

This whole topic is actually a little silly. If you enjoy a hobby (or two or three), have the time and money for it/them, then by all means go for it. If you don't, then do whatever turns your crank., even if it's "Time=Money".

What is expressed by reloader-shooters is enthusiasm for the enjoyment and satisfaction it can provide.

 

[CraigC]

I've done the math several times, and am not convinced it's more economical to reload.

Something is wrong with your math.

Sorry I guess I'm not entitled to an opinion.

I reckon everybody is "entitled" to an opinion, no matter how uneducated it is.