Shooting vs. Reloading. Time & money ratio

[Palladan44]

This will go both ways, 10:1 on either side.
For me, I spend 10x more time reloading than I do shooting. This is considering all 4 seasons. It's not because i shoot all the rounds i reload 10x faster than they can be loaded, it's simply that handloading is easier to do on a daily basis from the comfort of home. I find it just as enjoyable. Its time alone away from all the other "noise" from daily life.
This is also evident in money spent. Call it the last 15 years... I spend more $ on components than I do new firearms. Hands down.

It's ironic too, because when I got into reloading it was simply for the interest of saving money to shoot expensive calibers to me at the time like [chuckle] 357 Magnum. The truth is, if all the money spent on reloading went toward factory ammunition then I'd probably shoot all dozen or so of my 357s loose before ever running out of ammo.
Money savings after all isn't why most of us do it.
I remember once I got my first hundred of 357 mag cranked out on my Dillon 550B I felt about the same as If I had just discovered a 50$ bill printing machine.....

 

[Walkalong]

I don't worry about any of it, am I saving money, do I spend too much time reloading vs shooting, etc, etc. I load, I shoot, I buy what I need.

 

[ms6852]

Saving money was not something I considered when I started to reload, as I figured the break even point was too far down the road for me to see, once I bought all the equipment required and the new gadgets with bells and whistles that are constantly introduced. For me reloading was the ability to customize all common calibers available for sale and those that are not available. Also it was about making a round more accurate for each specific firearm that I owned. Reloading just maximized the accuracy of each firearm .

 

[DMW1116]

I broke even on all my reloading gear when I crossed the 1000 round mark for my Blackhawk. I’ve not saved any money but I’ve put a lot of rounds through that gun and had a blast doing it.

 

[Mark_Mark]

in theory , I also spend 10x the time reloading vs. Shooting

takes me .25 seconds to pull the trigger
takes me 3-5 seconds to make a round

So yes! I also spent 10-20X more time reloading than shooting!

 

[Armored farmer]

Reloading was essential for my dad to be able to afford entry fees and ammo for our ATA trapshooting hobby.
Another element is the fact that there wasn't a retail store that carried large amounts of ammo (cases) in stock.
We could go to regional trapshooter supply and buy ammo, primers, wads, shot and powder to heart's delight..

 

[emb]

Time vs shooting vs money were not factors for me. What I didn't like was finding a factory loading that shot well through a chosen firearm. When you needed more, it was from a different lot that didn't shoot well through the same firearm. That's what initially drove me to reloading. I then discovered accuracy and precision. The hole went deep from there.

 

[Walkalong]

Saving money was not something I considered when I started to reload,

I did, but like so many others, I just ended up shooting more for the same outlay.

 

[Buzznrose]

I probably shoot more than i reload. I try to be very efficient when I reload and spend as little time as possible.

When I decide I need more loaded ammo, I set everything up and then I usually do a “drive by reload” where I’ll knock out 100 or 200 rounds in 15-20 minutes and then reset the press for the next batch.

 

[bfalcon00]

I'm with the OP on this one. Got into the hobby for the same reasons. Now my hobby is reloading and I just happen to go to the range to support it lol.

Gotta get empty brass somehow!

 

[Charlie98]

Actually, in the beginning, it was to save money. Two dumb, broke kids (my brother and I...) who were already buying white box reloads at the LGS because we couldn't afford 'real' ammo most of the time. Reloading was a way to shoot .41MAG much cheaper than we were... and then we added .45ACP... and then, and then, and then...

Now it has become the tail that wags the dog, and part of that is, now, loading rifle rounds in addition to Unobtanium pistol rounds. But, at the end of the day, I enjoy it as much as shooting, sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less. I like having a stock of components that will get me through any nutty shortages or limits. I like being able to load specialty ammos for my firearms.

 

[MarshallDodge]

I don't worry about any of it, am I saving money, do I spend too much time reloading vs shooting, etc, etc. I load, I shoot, I buy what I need.

Pretty much the same here. I do try to purchase at reasonable prices but there are a lot more expensive things I could be doing with my money.

 

[JmacD]

Well, to buy the stuff that’s shoots as good as the stuff I’m loading, I’m about 33% of cost. Time? Ya… I’m probably 10ish times more. But I enjoy it as much as shooting… so…

 

[adcoch1]

I Don't spend a ton of time reloading, but I read about and think about it all the time. Nowadays all of my gun purchases are to try out new or somehow different cartridges to reload for, and I shoot with my family and a few friends to help unload the brass. I love guns, but the reloading has become my main hobby.

 

[JFrank]

Pretty much the same here. I do try to purchase at reasonable prices but there are a lot more expensive things I could be doing with my money.

Horses will do it real quick

 

[Mark_Mark]

Actually, in the beginning, it was to save money. Two dumb, broke kids (my brother and I...) who were already buying white box reloads at the LGS because we couldn't afford 'real' ammo most of the time. Reloading was a way to shoot .41MAG much cheaper than we were... and then we added .45ACP... and then, and then, and then...

Now it has become the tail that wags the dog, and part of that is, now, loading rifle rounds in addition to Unobtanium pistol rounds. But, at the end of the day, I enjoy it as much as shooting, sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less. I like having a stock of components that will get me through any nutty shortages or limits. I like being able to load specialty ammos for my firearms.

it’s still cheaper to reload uncommon cartridges. seen the price of .50 Beowolf or 45/70 or .460 mag???

it’s cool to go to the range and pop off 100 rounds of .460 mag for $0.20 round (max) !

 

[.308 Norma]

Saving money was not something I considered when I started to reload,

Saving money wasn't something I considered when I first got into reloading either. Saving money through reloading became something I took into consideration later on - after both my wife and me went kind of nuts shooting competitively (IHMSA) and going through hundreds of rounds of 44 Mag and 7mm IHMSA ammo every week.
Reloading, target practice and driving to a silhouette match somewhere a couple of times a month became more like second jobs than fun for us, except we weren't getting paid for doing those jobs. So, as I've said before, we quit IHMSA, and handloading became a fun and relaxing hobby again - even if I don't save much, if any money by doing it.
BTW, instead of helping me build ammunition like she used to, my wife took up crocheting. She doesn't save money at that either, even though she builds some beautiful things - some of which (like 7mm IHMSA ammo) are simply not available as "store bought."

 

[LV Gun]

I reload because I love reloading, I shoot because I like shooting guns . I really don’t consider time or cost for either part I just do what I love doing.

 

[shoebox1.1]

I started to be able to shoot 44 special as much as I would want to normally. The money means nothing to me. It’s a great hobby, FANTASTIC people (you!) the satisfaction of a job well done really does it for me. And independence from buying factory ammo

 

[shoebox1.1]

I’m not a .327 guy but if you were you HAVE to load for that! Very versatile caliber

 

[Heir Kommt Die Sonne]

I do it just to do it too. It's a skill, a skill that's very worth it to have when you consider ammo shortages or how it opens up the possibilities for new calibers regardless of availability.
Starting from black powder, for me it would just feel weird not being able to roll my own for any firearm that I own and shoot. Feels more intimate when you shoot a firearm with ammo that you crafted yourself.
I haven't gotten to the point of having built precision ammo, but I am at the point where it's cheaper to buy a big bag of 30-06 brass and just load those up and freely shoot as much of it as I want; whereas anyone else would have to rely on buying the 30 dollars per 20 boxes for that caliber. Or turning 500 empty 40 S&W cases into .357 sigs and shooting those.

 

[Dan Wesson]

It’s all enjoyable for me. Shooting is great—and reloading, once I get “in the zone” is just as good. I never have to worry about what’s in stock to go shooting. Like everyone, I spend way more time reloading than shooting. I don’t see that as a negative.

 

[cfullgraf]

Like most, I got into reloading to save money and even today, my component cost per round is less expensive than premium ammunition.

Yes, I shot more but the lower per round cost permitted that even if my out of pocket costs went up.

But, I found I enjoyed reloading. It was good way to spend an evening or two a week instead of vegetating in front of the TV.

Besides common ammunition, reloading lets me try difficult to find cartridges and shoot obsolete or wildcat cartridges.

Finally, bullets, powders and primers frequently are applicable to several different cartridges. I’d buy components in bulk and could easily manage difficulties finding various different cartridges during ammunition shortages.

Since I enjoy reloading, my time is recreation time so it costs nothing.

I’ll agree, reloading is not for everyone. Similar to me, I used to do all my own auto repair work. Now, I repair my cars with my check book.

 

[1976B.L.Johns.]

it’s cool to go to the range and pop off 100 rounds of .460 mag for $0.20 round (max) !

No way!
20 cents a round?
What's your secret, as I load 460 S&W also..............

 

[Berserker]

Myself, I buy more gizmos to save time. When was a kid, the idea was I would turning out cheap .357 ammo. Haven't loaded hand gun in years.
Not a progressive yet though. Not high volume