The math on reloading... how different it is

[Reloadron]

If you think reloading is expensive, try owning a boat.

Been there and done that. Large hole in the water you pour money into.

Ron

 

[lightman]

If you think reloading is expensive, try owning a boat.

If you think a boat is expensive try an airplane!

 

[lightman]

<Off Topic> but somewhat humorous.

We can all pretty much agree those of us who reload do it for a myriad of reasons or reasoning with a few common denominators. So like fishing it's a hobby and not always an inexpensive hobby. Yes, I can buy fish for likely less than I can catch them. At least when I reload I know I will come away with something but fishing not so much. I like fishing simply for the relaxation.

So my brother the avid fishing type calls me, I want to say it was 2013 right after I retired. Wants me to go Muskie Fishing with him on Lake St. Clair which is in Michigan and actually bordered by Michigan and Canada. So I need a temporary Michigan and Canada fishing license. OK, why not. My brother has two of his friends lined up making a party of four. I figure I am not going to drive to Detroit on the Saturday but will drive up on Friday and I book a motel. I am in heavy traffic about 3 miles short of my exit and motel when the truck feels funny. Yeah, a look down reveals 4500 RPM and I am doing 50 MPH. Poor engine was screaming. I make it to the hotel, get checked in and ask the clerk if there is a neighborhood bar close. Well right across the street. So I walk across the street to ponder my problem. A few guys sit beside me at the bar and a conversation starts. The guy beside me is smashed and in conversation I mention my dead truck. Lucky me the drunk guys buddy just opened a repair shop so he calls the guy and hands me the phone. Nice guy and I explain my nightmare. Apparently God was with me because his shop is about 2 miles up the road. So I leave the bar and bid a farewell to my newfound friends. Walk across the street and take my truck to this guy and he gives me a ride back to my motel. My brother is there so I clued him in. The guy with my truck will call me Monday with a damage report after he looks at it.

So we show up at the boat Saturday morning early and one of my brother's friends is a no show. So now we divide by three for boat and mate tip. Boat and tip went from $250 each to $333 each but OK, nothing to do. Told my brother never invite friends whose wives won't let them go fishing! Fortunately I have a very good old friend who lives in Canton, Michigan just outside Detroit. We go back 50 years growing up NY. So I call Steve and he comes and gets me Sunday morning. Monday the repair guy calls and my transmission is toast as I figured and I am looking at $2,000 which for a GMC Yukon is actually cheap and that will include labor and a 70K mile warranty on the rebuilt transmission. OK, go ahead and do it. Four days later, Thursday, I get my truck back and on Friday I head back to Cleveland. Great week visiting Steve and we even took in a Tigers game.

I think it was an old Capitol One Visa commercial.

Gasoline about $100
Truck Transmission $2,000
Motel $200
Share of boat $333
Michigan and Canada fishing temp license $100

Catching my first Musky Fish after a good fight? PRICELESS!

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Ron

Thats a great story! Thanks for sharing it.

 

[Reloadron]

If you think a boat is expensive try an airplane!

Oh yeah, makes a boat look inexpensive.

Ron

 

[gifbohane]

If you think reloading is expensive, try owning a boat.

Yep, quick and dirty my boat cost me about $ 10 or 12 Thousand a year... and that is the costs that I can figure and does not include gasoline. Sold it three years ago. Happy Day.

I can buy a lot Dillon stuff for that amount.

 

[GeoDudeFlorida]

I started reloading because I thought it would be fun, interesting, and give me more accurate ammo. The cost savings (if you wanna call $/round savings savings even though I'm shooting more) were a nice bennie - not a justification for loading in the first place.

The myriad "Is it worth it to load [9mm, .223]?" threads I found interesting. I get why people might view reloading as only a cost savings venture, but as @kmw1954 pointed out, we all have hobbies where we don't look for justification based on saving money. We do them because they're fun. I'd load my own ammo if it cost more than what I could buy.

I recently tested some 9mm loads. This picture explains why I load: When i step on the firing line with ammo I've loaded myself I'm confident in what I've got and have a significant amount of personal satisfaction in the fact I'm the one that went through the work to find an optimum load.

I've said this before but I'll say it again: It's especially *fun* to be able to manufacture ammunition when there is a drought - but reloaders don't have any inherent ability to better weather ammo droughts than non-reloaders. The key to weathering an ammo drought is stocking up - whether that's reloading components or loaded ammo. In a drought both are hard to come by.
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Sounds like my reasoning. I started reloading because my Uncle told me to. He said it was a necessary skill if I was going to keep shooting - and being a good shot was necessary to being a hunter so if I wanted to keep going on hunts with him and my cousins, I better learn to shoot what I got. He bought me my first Lyman press and a set of dies for .38/.357 for my 12th birthday to go with the Ruger Blackhawk my parents gave me. He also got me started right by putting together a "kit" of essenitals: a Lyman manual (No.44, IIRC), a box of 100 primers, a box of 100 Speer 158gr. JHP, and a pound of Unique. I added some lead and jacketed found at various shops and shows... and a pound of Bullseye, then a pound of Red Dot, then... and it went from there. I tried Lee Loaders out and liked them. Tried a Dillon progressive press when they came out and hated it - went back to single stage because I didn't like how fussy and clunky the progressive felt. Quit for a while, started up again after near everything was lost or give away, stocked up and then moved and lost it all, etc. etc. It was never about money, though. For me, it's always been about making the ammo I need and want, as opposed to what the manufacturers say I should be using.

When box ammo is cheap and plentiful, I buy box ammo and store it for when reloading supplies are scarce. Or, like recently, I sell my excess to those who can't load for themselves at current value. I have around 50 boxes of M41 .38 Spl US milsurp tucked away for when I run out of primers. I'll still be able to shoot long after the last box of primers is used up.

 

[Otto]

If you think reloading is expensive, try owning a boat.

The 2 happiest days of a boat owner is the day he buys it and the day he sells it.

 

[WeekendReloader]

Been there and done that. Large hole in the water you pour money into.

Ron

BOAT = Bust Out Another Thousand

Yep, quick and dirty my boat cost me about $ 10 or 12 Thousand a year... and that is the costs that I can figure and does not include gasoline. Sold it three years ago. Happy Day.

I can buy a lot Dillon stuff for that amount.

The two happiest days of a boat owner's life... The day you buy it and the day you sell it!

 

[GeoDudeFlorida]

BOAT = Bust Out Another Thousand

The two happiest days of a boat owner's life... The day you buy it and the day you sell it!

The most expensive thing I ever owned was a 1968 Triumph Tiger 650 twin motorcycle. Constantly needed some kind of part made of pure unobtanium that could only found in "shoppes" located in places like Redding and Leeds... I loved the bike when it ran but was happiest when the new owner rode off on it - right before I moved to Vero Beach. I gave him an ex-girlfriend's phone number to call "if" he had any problems with it.

 

[kalielkslayer]

Started with shotgun, an old Mec 600 Jr. I saved $$$, then learned to build “better than factory.” Burned through a 8lb jug of Win540 in less 2 years until they made steel mandatory for waterfowl. This started as a teenager in the 70s.

Then I got serious about big game and learned I could tune a load for a rifle better than any factory ammo. Most satisfying reloading experience is buying a new rifle, then developing a load that shoots sub MOA.

I usually buy the dies during this states 10 day waiting period.

For pistol, I bought the common dies over the years and just stored then, thinking I’ll start loading for pistol some day. Even bought a few 1,000 primers along the way. Then in April something told me to jump in while stuff was still available and I jumped in with both feet. After loading a few 100 .380 rounds on my old Rockchucker, I was on my weekly powder/primer run of the 4 stores I usually hit and saw 8-9 boxes of Dillion 550s. I asked the salesman how long they’d last. He told me the week before they got 25 750s in and they sold in 2 days. So I was the proud owner of a progressive press.

since I don’t see an end to the current situation, I probably made some of the best decisions, and purchases of my life in the last 8 months. Every day I’m online for an hour searching for components. Walked out of a store last week after paying ridiculous prices for 4 lbs of powder ($56 for 1 lb of RL22, $46 for Bullseye) with a smile on my face since it’ll keep my .338 and 7 mag running for life.

 

[otisrush]

The most expensive thing I ever owned was a 1968 Triumph Tiger 650 twin motorcycle. Constantly needed some kind of part made of pure unobtanium that could only found in "shoppes" located in places like Redding and Leeds.

You win today's "Make me laugh out loud so much my wife asked me what I'm laughing at." award.

Fantastic description.

 

[mdi]

FWIW regarding finding brass flung far and wide; The only brass I tumble to a high shine is my 32 ACP, 45 ACP and 30-06 Garand brass, so I can find them in the dirt, rocks and shotgun shells at the "range" where I shoot. Way easier to find a shiny brass case than a just cleaned one (9mm is so plentiful I can normally come home with a few more than I shot)...

 

[Blue68f100]

Been there and done that. Large hole in the water you pour money into.

Ron

No, That's a swimming pool. Far worst than any boat I have owned.

 

[LightninST]

Oh yeah, makes a boat look inexpensive.

Ron

Unless you are towing a boat behind a motor home !

 

[LightninST]

You win today's "Make me laugh out loud so much my wife asked me what I'm laughing at." award.

Fantastic description.

Try owning a Ducati ! Well at least the Ducs are faster
I also owned MGBs fun cars helps if you like to work on them !

 

[George P]

The most expensive thing I ever owned was a 1968 Triumph Tiger 650 twin motorcycle. Constantly needed some kind of part made of pure unobtanium that could only found in "shoppes" located in places like Redding and Leeds... I loved the bike when it ran but was happiest when the new owner rode off on it - right before I moved to Vero Beach. I gave him an ex-girlfriend's phone number to call "if" he had any problems with it.

Sounds like most British motor vehicles, especially those with anything from Lucas Electric. The old joke was "Why does a Jag owner always have two?, Why so he can drive one while the other is in the shop!" But then again, isn't that why most of us have more than 1 gun for protection?

 

[Mule]

Never saved a dime. Just shot more for the same money. Scrounged wheel weights for home cast bullets, 9mm was about $2.50 for 50 rounds, including bullet lube, 30 years ago. Best part, I can build ammo I can never buy. Round ball 30\30. multiple projectile 38 special, 1/2 oz 12 gauge. The list and the fun never stops.

 

[Mark_Mark]

If you think a boat is expensive try an airplane!

if you think a airplane is expensive, try shorting Game Stop

 

[Varminterror]

On the topic of reloading economy:

Tallying every piece of gear I touch during a reloading batch for PRS competition, I total almost exactly $3000. This process could be done with less expensive gear, but not as quickly.

Comparatively, I have a realized cost of 68-72¢ per shot fired in 6mm Creedmoor, or 63-66¢ per shot fired in 6 Dasher. In factory offerings, Berger ammunition with the same bullet costs $2.75 per shot, with Clay’s Cartridge Company offering ammunition at $2 per shot.

That puts me breaking even somewhere around 1400-2300 rounds... Effectively, that means I pay off my reloading gear - $3000 in realized savings - every barrel, which is to say, I realize that savings twice or more every season.

I work in technology business development, so my day-to-day work is this kind of analysis to determine investment worthiness. Any project with a payback period of less than 6months and an ROI of 200% is a no-brainer... so for me, I save thousands of dollars every year...

 

[LightninST]

Never saved a dime. Just shot more for the same money. Scrounged wheel weights for home cast bullets, 9mm was about $2.50 for 50 rounds, including bullet lube, 30 years ago. Best part, I can build ammo I can never buy. Round ball 30\30. multiple projectile 38 special, 1/2 oz 12 gauge. The list and the fun never stops.

Round ball 45 Schofield with Goex out of a SAA or ROA

 

[Mark_Mark]

Here is the Simple answer!

Yes! if you are a season reloader and have been stocking up. These Reloader have been telling you for years... decades. Now the have the right to “I TOLD YOU SO” but them a beer!

No! if you didn’t take the seasoned reloaders advice about getting into reloading. Or atlease buy your supplies as they were cheap as water in Hawaii

I TOLD YOU SO!

 

[GeoDudeFlorida]

Sounds like most British motor vehicles, especially those with anything from Lucas Electric. The old joke was "Why does a Jag owner always have two?, Why so he can drive one while the other is in the shop!" But then again, isn't that why most of us have more than 1 gun for protection?

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More than one gun... yup, absolutely. Way I always figured it was all about purpose and range of efficacy. The purpose of a handgun is to fight your way to a long arm, be it a rifle or shotgun. A shotgun for crowds and a rifle to keep a crowd from forming.

Why are most Jaguars only driven on Sundays?
Because they're in the shop the rest of the week.

Tea Kettles make nice riding bikes - elegant and comfortable - when they run. Rice burners are efficient machines with all the soul of a flat iron. BMW builds the best motorcycle nobody wants to ride. The German word for "comfortable" also means "adequate" (auskömmlich). That about sums up the BMW airheads for riding comfort. I had a '77 R100S for a while. Good machine. It cooked my feet every time I rode it. In the winter it wasn't so bad but when the temps hit 90, it was horrible. We went to Bike Week on it one year and my boots started smoking while we were stuck in traffic on A1A.

Lucas Electric refrigerators is why British ale is served at room temperature.

 

[LightninST]

Now the have the right to “I TOLD YOU SO” but them a beer!

. ??????
In your defense it was post 666

 

[GeoDudeFlorida]

Never saved a dime. Just shot more for the same money. Scrounged wheel weights for home cast bullets, 9mm was about $2.50 for 50 rounds, including bullet lube, 30 years ago. Best part, I can build ammo I can never buy. Round ball 30\30. multiple projectile 38 special, 1/2 oz 12 gauge. The list and the fun never stops.

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.45ACP/AR-Webley. I have a Webley Mk. 1 some idiot way back when cut for .45ACP on moon clips or .45AR. Problem: the Mk. 1 was made in 1887 for black powder. Webleys are strong guns but a steady diet of nitro - especially nitro way past BP proofing load pressure - is a formula for disaster. I make BP loads to fit the cut chamber using FFFg and proper shaped bullets. Nobody sells .455Mk.1/ACP so I have to make it.

 

[cfullgraf]

One advantage for reloading versus stocking up on factory ammunition is that components can be used in several applications.

Primers and powder can be used in several cartridges and bullets can be cast, so, the case is the only item "unique" to a particular cartridge.

Hence, if you unexpectedly run low on a particular cartridge, there is a good chance you can replenish your supply with an adequate inventory of supplies.

If you think a boat is expensive try an airplane!

I'll have to disagree, but I owned an airplane at the right time.

I sold my Cessna 172 after 15 years and about 1500 hours of flying for more than twice what I paid for it. The extra cash more than paid for an engine overhaul, paint job, and an upgrade to instrument flying capability.

Out of pocket cost for a trip was about the same as driving my full size van. Even though the hours in the airplane cost more, the miles were less and I got there in half the time.

I could even fly from Atlanta to home in Cincinnati, door to door, in less time and cost than flying commercial. Of course, the general aviation airports were more convenient to our homes than the commercial airports and we did not have to deal with security at the commercial airports.