Reloading is it worth it?

[glockman19]

I have figured that with the cost of reloading equipment, powder, primers, brass & bullets there is a negligable difference in buying ammo and just selling the used brass.

I used for example .223 & .308.

for 1,000 rounds just in brass, powder, primer & bullet the difference is about $100 give or take $20 either way from the cost of NIB ammunition. I figure I can sell 1,000 rounds of once shot brass in .308 for $100-$120 and .223 for $80-$100. After figuring out the cost of the press, dies, other equipment I'm in for $1,500+. Not to mention the time taken away from other activities while reloading.

and handgun ammo 9mm is so inexpensive $6.99 for 50 rounds of CCI Blazer Brass 115 or 124 grain I'd be better off buying new. even my indoor range charges more for reloaded ammo than that.

Please convince me If I'm wrong. It would take many thousands of rounds to break even and even then the overall savings would be negligable.

 

[JDGray]

Big time! I save way over half on 45ACP, & $5/100 on 9mm. I can load 100, 32ACP for $7, comparred to $15/50 from walmart. I only load FMJ

 

[The-Fly]

I think your wrong friend. For handgun rounds, I don't worry about the cost of brass because you buy a bunch, and it lasts a LONG LONG time.

My last batch of 9mm ran me $90 per 1k.
Damn bullets went up, i was doing it for $70.
Wally price is $145 per 1k.

45acp runs me $90 too, I use lead 230gr.
Brass also lasts forever, and if you go to Wally, the cheapest 45acp I've seen is $220 per 1k.

38spl runs me about $80 per 1k. Not sure what the cheapest is at Wally, but I know its not cheap.

for 223, I can buy once fired brass thats same headstamp for $70. I figure that I can get at LEAST 5 reloads out of 223, probably 10, before I have to toss the brass. We'll be conservative and say its 7. So per 1k, my brass cost is $10.

Bullets are $60 for 1k of 55fmj. Primers $20. Brass $10. Powder $30.

Thats $120 per 1k of 223. And this gives me M193 type performance. Cheapest brass 223 I've seen anywhere lately is about $300 per 1k. Even Wolf is $180 per 1k (and going up).

As much as I shoot (at LEAST 1k rounds total per month), reloading saves me a pile of money. I got my press last Sept, with all the bells and whistles. I did probably drop about $1500 into it for everything. If I am not at break even yet, I will be VERY soon.

Further benefits of reloading: I can load my stuff as soft or hot as I desire. For the 223, I can buy varmint or match bullets, and make special purpose ammo for a fraction that you can buy it for. Ever tried to buy factory Vmax 223? its NOT cheap, like 70 cents per round! My last 1k of Vmax 223 ran me about $200.

 

[RustyFN]

I am still loading 9mm for $70 per 1,000 and 223 for $120 per 1,000. You can't compare reloaded ammo with WWB or Blazer because it is cheap ammo and reloads compare closer to the top dollar ammo you can buy off the shelf.

After figuring out the cost of the press, dies, other equipment I'm in for $1,500+.

Wow what are you going to start with the Dillon Super 1050? I started with the Lee Classic Turret for $200. It was payed off within six months. I can load around 200 rounds per hour. I can reload a lot more in a week than I shoot and I shoot in a lot of competitions at the club I belong to and practice. I enjoy reloading almost as much as shooting. Read the stickies and do some searches, you can start a lot cheaper than you think and still have quality equipment.
Rusty

Edit: Brass is free. The only factory ammo I have bought is 300 rounds of WWB, 100 Blazer and 150 win 223. I now have around 4,000 pieces of 9mm, 1500 of 223, 200 of .40 and 900 of 45 auto. It is to easy to pick up at the range. Every time I shoot an IDPA match I come home with around 2,000 pieces of mixed brass.

 

[BruceB]

Monetarily, yes, money can be saved on the rock-bottom FMJ military-type loadings. We can also build top-grade hunting ammo with the best bullets in existence for far less than factory ammo using the same bullets (Barnes, Woodleigh, Trophy Bonded, Nosler Partition, etc).

Quality-wise, yes, quality can be greatly improved, especially in comparison to the generic "white-box" type loads.

But, (a BIG "but") there are other factors to consider. For those who simply want a reliable "BANG" every time the trigger is activated, duplicating "white box" ammo time after time might be sufficient.

For a fortunate few devotees among handloaders, those with inquiring minds, an interest in ballistics, and a desire to do better for themselves, handloading offers many, many opportunities. There's also great satisfaction in loading ammunition to equal (or beat) the very best factory loads. Bullet casters, by the way, are about the only handloaders who actually "MAKE" any part of their ammo....everyone else merely assembles various commercial parts into loaded rounds. (I have over seventy bullet moulds on hand; that should show that I'm truly a hopeless case.)

Some of us get so deeply involved that we would handload even if our ammo costs amounted to MORE than retail prices. I'm one of that group. The pursuit of intelligent handloading, and often new frontiers, amounts to almost an obsession. There is serious debate in such circles as to whether we shoot to handload, or handload to shoot. I personally have been known to go to the range just in order to create some empty brass to load.

Not long ago, I tried making an inventory of my handloading gear for insurance purposes, but gave up when I hit the $20,000 figure and was still far from finished. Ya think I'm "saving money"??? Mind you, all that "stuff" has been amassed over forty years, so the pain is minimal.

In my shooting circles, handloading is a huge expansion of the shooting sports, and has assumed equal importance with the shooting itself. An expansion of hobby time and involvement is a wonderful thing, if one loves guns and shooting as much as we do.

 

[The-Fly]

the $1500 for me paid for the following.

Dillon 550B
quick change toolheads and dies for 9mm, 38spl, 45acp, 223

Digital scale and calps

Tumbler

Giraud Case trimmer (critical for the amount of 223 i shoot)

I knew it was a lot of money upfront, but considering how much I reload, it's worth every penny.

 

[bakert]

There are those of us that have gotten by with more simple and less expensive tools for years. Of course, something else is always added from time to time but overall even with the prices of components going up I know darned well I save money.

 

[Ben Shepherd]

I can handload any caliber ending in the term *magnum* for at least 50% less than the cost of new ammo.

So yes, unless you're really strapped for time and space, it's worth it. With the possible exception that all you shoot is 9mm, 38 special, and 223.

 

[glockman19]

Wow what are you going to start with the Dillon Super 1050?

Yes I was looking at the Dillon. If I get involved I wan to tdo it right.

 

[greg531mi]

I recommend a newbie in reloading to get a single stage press. A lot simpler, less likely to blow yourself up, and if you decide that reloading is not for you, you do not have a major investment.

 

[Walkalong]

Yes.

 

[KINGMAX]

YES

 

[KINGMAX]

YES - I shoot .45 Long Colt, (Ruger Bisley is SS, and a Tarus Pump Rifle that holds 15 rounds), - there is no bargin in purchasing ammo. I have a good friend of mine that reloads our .45 LC's He uses loads up some light to medium loads for our best accuracy. I love it.

 

[glockman19]

So...If I were to get into reloading...what press to get? I'm leaning tward Dillon. Te 1050 is really expensive. I could buy 2-3 550's and still won't spend as much.

I would be reloading for: .38 special, .45, .357, .223/5.56 & .308/7.62

 

[GerryM]

Reloading

I have been reloading for many years, so press, dies, etc no longer figure into my expenses of reloading...

I reloaded .45LC and .38 when wife and I shot CAS for many years. Know I saved a bundle reloading for CAS. Reloaded for my 45 ACP when I started shooting IDPA and Defensive Pistol.

Someone introduced me to the XD's... got a 4" 9mm for my grand daughter to shoot and found it so much fun, that I got another one for myself as well as a 3" as carry gun. Using the 9mm for Defensive Pistol as we can go thru 200 rounds at a match

Started reloading the 9's too, lots of available brass and use the WWB brass that I shoot matches with for reloading for practice.

Materials going up... around here prmers are $25/1000, 4# can powder $55 and my bullets thru Cabelas, as most places close to me don't stock much in the way of platted or fmj 9's.


Reloading gives you the ability to try various loads to see what is best for your firearms.

 

[Springfield_1911SS]

i asked myself the same question recently, so is started to crunch the numbers and i added all the cost of equipment to load .45acp(everything except bench) about $250 worth, then i took the cost of 100 rounds of new brass multiplied it by 8(figured i would get at least 8 shots out of a case) and divided by the cost to get price per round of new brass keep in mind that that is reloading it 8 times, and then i added the cost of primers, bullets, and powder and come up with a cost per round, then i subtracted that from the cost per round of winchester white box(i most often shoot) and got a savings per round number and divided it into the cost of equipment and figured once i loaded 1400 rounds to pay for the equipment with savings ill pay for that in a year, plus of i go to add another caliber(i plan to reload 9mm and 38/357) it will help disperse the cost even more, i think i should be able to pay for it in less than a year

sorry if this is hard to follow

 

[BBQJOE]

You have to look at the big picture.
It's alot like getting into solar power.
It costs a good deal to get into, but the accumulated savings down the road are immeasurable.
I found that 4 trips to the ammo shop was about all my reloading press cost me.

 

[Guy B. Meredith]

Reloading .38 spl to my specs cost about $.10/round, $5/50, $100/1000. This is a 30% increase over last year due to cost of bullets. The pretty copper clad bullets make up $.08 of the $.10 per round, so I could cut cost if I didn't mind cleaning lead. There is no way I could buy this ammo for $100/1000.

In 2002 little less than $1000 bought a Hornady LNL, all the scales, trays, calipers, dies, etc. plus powder, primers and brass for 1000 rounds. One year of savings by reloading for competition shooting paid for the gear.

Unless you are going to do way more than 1000 rounds in a sitting, something as large as a 1050 is unnecessary spending. Might be fun, though.

 

[YodaVader]

Well , I'll put it this way , if it were not for reloading there are certain guns I would not even own - like my 44 mags and any centerfire rifle. My Smith 44 mag has NEVER had one round of factory ammo fired through it since I bought it new nearly 8 years ago.

To shoot centerfire rifle with precision ammo , I am talking quality bullets , like Sierra MatchKings , reloading is the only way I can afford to shoot ammo using these bullets. Even mail order a box of .223 Federal Match loaded with 69 grain Sierra MatchKings is like $25!!!! That is for 20 rounds! Over a dollar a shot for a round of .223!? That is why I answer YES!!! It is well worth it for me to reload.

 

[Wedge]

Absolutely. Especially for magnum loads or oddball loads, but I am going to start reloading 9mm just for the cost savings (the WWB cost increase to nearly $15 box of 100 made that decision for me).

 

[The-Fly]

Don't bother with the 1050 press, thats WAY over kill unless you shoot 3000-4000 rounds of the same caliber per month.

The 550 is great in that its not super difficult for a new user to figure out (it is my first press), and changing calibers on it can be done in under 5 mins if you get the quick change stuff. Its also easy to correct mistakes on, which is great for a beginner. Check out Brian Eno's Dillon page, he has a HUGE amount of useful info for you, and is a super nice guy to deal with.

http://www.brianenos.com/store/home.html

 

[missoulaz28]

it saves me money, kinda.


i can load rounds for my 300 mag at a third of the cost

but i shoot alot more now also.

so however you want to look at it

 

[Wing Nut]

So far everybody has talked about the monetary savings, which are great, but for me reloading is worth it in other ways. I went out and bought a Rock Chucker master kit last fall. I spent $500 at cabelas, got a $150 gift card for my trouble(special they had running) used that to buy the first 1.5k bullets.

I have never saved a penny reloading. sure my per round cost is lower, but I shoot more. Even that doesn't make it "worth it"

I reload because I enjoy it. I reload .45 ACP, 9x19, .38spc, .357, and .223. There is nothing more satisfying than making dime sized groups at 100yds using ammo you've worked up, except maybe making woodchuckus explodus with it. If you aren't into sitting at your bench doing something-something repetitive-for a few hours a week/month(depends how much you shoot I guess...) then think hard about it. If you're a tinkerer like me, you'll prolly love it, and it will become a part of your gun hobby. I'm assuming you shoot as a hobby and not just to practice for SD though.

 

[BBQJOE]

I also forgot to mention the fact that it's rather relaxing.

 

[Waldog]

There is a whole lot more to reloading than trying to save money. You will be absolutely amazed as to how accurate you can make your reloads. Part of the fun is trying different powder charges, different powders, different primers, and different bullets. Finding the "best" load for you rifle or pistol is only the beginning. You really don't save money, you just shoot more!!

Before you run out and buy a progressive press, read this: http://www.comrace.ca/cmfiles/dillonLeeHornadyComparison.pdf

There are several choices out there and, the owners of each are dedicated to their presses. It's tough to make a choice. Generally, all are good.