What's considered cheap ammo?

[Golden_006]

I have an SKS and I thought ammo was expensive. My jaw hit the floor when I saw what some .303 cost. Although it seems to vary widely in price from $20 a box to $50.

What is the cut-off point for reloading for you in terms of price per box of 20? I am too uninitiated to even think about reloading/live in apt but at the same time i don't want to be a taken to the cleaners.

 

[MMCSRET]

I was introduced to reloading in my pre-teens, over 50 years ago. I just plan on reloading everything center fire that I shoot. I cast bullets for all my handguns and most of my rifles. Cost never enters into it, I just have developed a mindset that moves past cost without a glance and automatically into handloads.

 

[ants]

Reloading is primarily a hobby, because it takes so much time and effort.

What is the cut-off point for reloading?

There is no 'cut-off point'. You decide how much time, brain power, and money to spend.

Reloading is a whole hobby, it's not simply saving money. It may cost less to make quality ammunition after the initial investment and learning process, but it would be naive to think it stops there and you simply save money forever.

• Reloading involves taking on the ammo manufacturer's job to develop quality ammunition for your guns,
• and taking on the ammo manufacturer's job of purchasing and stocking inventory of components (do NOT underestimate this task!),
• and taking on the ammo manufacturer's job of production in anticipation of your needs.

You would be naive to think that these are slam-dunk activites that take only spare time now and then. It pretty much consumes your life once you start it.

And all this happens after you devote the weeks or months (or maybe years) to learn your craft. It's a dangerous hobby. You don't just start doing it like there's nothing to it.

 

[Golden_006]

Oh. Well then will you not buy a rifle because of the cost of ammo? And is .303 considered expensive?

 

[Sam1911]

$20 - $40 for a box of 20 is probably "average" for U.S. made, commercial ammo about now. It wasn't like that very long ago, but it sure is now.

Reloading for almost all rifle ammo makes sense almost immediately. Reloading for pistols USUALLY makes sense, though if you only shoot 9mm and/or .40S&W the rewards aren't so quick to appear.

If you picked up a Lee Anniversary Kit for about $95, and bought bullets, cases, powder, and primers to load .303, you'd earn your money back in probably less than 300 rds. And you'd be able to load better ammo for $0.50 a round than you could buy for $1.00 a round.

But, look at it this way, ammo for some rifles is not common and/or is just plain outrageously expensive. Some Weatherby factory ammo runs over $155 a box (of TWENTY). You could save enough on 2-3 boxes (allowing for buying very expensive brass) to buy your whole reloading kit, more than likely.

Would I not buy a rifle because the ammo was expensive? Heck no. I'd buy it and convince myself of how much I was SAVING with every (reloaded) shot!

-Sam

 

[WatongaJim]

I agree that Reloading is a hobby in itself and a great one at that!

Since the OP mentioned SKS, I want to mention that for me the 7.62x39 is the ONLY round that I don't reload. This is because my SKS is just used for plinking and I just plink away with the $5/box Wolf ammo. If I ever want more bullet options or accuracy for the SKS, I'll have to get some dies and reload it also.

EDIT - I have to add that I've never reloaded shotgun shells either but I do plan to do so at some point in the future. Again, it's just a hobby thing.

 

[stchman]

This is the reason why Mosin Nagants are so popular. The ammo is so inexpensive compared to other calibers.

 

[52grain]

Cheap depends on your budget. In certain calibers $1/round would not be high quality, but I doubt that very many people would consider it cheap.

Nothing's cheaper than .22lr.

 

[oneounceload]

Nothing's cheaper than .22lr.

At today's prices, 32 ACP, 32 S&W Long, among others, are as cheap or cheaper to shoot if you reload

 

[sig220mw]

Hey WatongaJim, I'm considering getting another sks. Had one years ago.
You mentioned the wolf ammo. If it is berdan primed doesn't that mean the primers contain mercury and cleaning immediately after shooting is a must?
It is the best deal on ammo I've seen recently for the 762x39.

 

[MMCSRET]

I have purchased a gun because it struck me that I wanted it; most of my gun purchases are done that way any more; then I go for dies and bullets if I don't already have them at home. I purchased an M44 just because I had never handled one, ordered dies and brass same day, never occurred to me to purchase surplus ammo. Now, powder, I've bought several hundred pounds of surplus powder.

 

[OpelBlitz]

This is the reason why Mosin Nagants are so popular. The ammo is so inexpensive compared to other calibers.

Though 7.62x54r is cheap, the main reasons the Mosin Nagants are so popular because there were so many made and they're therefore very cheap.

I don't reload 7.62x39. I reload .30-06 for my M1 Garand and '03A3, .30 Carbine for my M1 Carbines, .223 for my AR, and .45ACP for my Smith & Wesson M&P45. Reloading for the .30-06 is not only cheaper but also because Garand-compatible ammunition is very difficuly to find until the CMP sorts out their newly acquired ammo... That, and it's cheaper for me. .30 Carbine is just plain hard to find. .223 and .45ACP is for cost savings. My handloads are also pretty accurate, more accurate than any store-bought ammo I have had.

It's hard to put a market price -- I reload not only for cost savings, but also because I know that if another ammo shortage comes our way, I'll still be able to go shoot at the range while everyone fights over factory ammo at the gun shops and wal-mart.

That being said, Ammo for the SKS is rather dirt cheap and I'm sure you can find it for ~20-25 cents a round. I just buy that for now; it's not my main caliber.

 

[Arkansas Paul]

We got into handloading for an initial investment of about $400 and have probably already made our money back in less than six months. And we don't even shoot a lot compared to some people. A box of Federal Premium ballistic tips for a .30-06 costs $35-$40 and I can handload the same round and get better accuracy for about $11 if I already have the brass. It doesn't take long to break even like that. There's three of us that pooled our money for the reloading outfit, myself, my brother, and our dad. That's not really recommended, but we felt we could do it and it's working great. As soon as you get the room, you should definately give it a shot.

 

[WatongaJim]

You mentioned the wolf ammo. If it is berdan primed doesn't that mean the primers contain mercury and cleaning immediately after shooting is a must?

The wolf ammo I've used states on the box that's it's non-corrosive with berdan primers, so I hope it is in fact non-corrosive. I don't think it is because I've waited a couple of weeks to clean and never had any problems yet.

 

[blackops]

18 bucks is the cheapest I've come by rifle ammo. The same goes with everything related to firearms though, you get what you pay for. I reload and don't think about price. Either way I'm saving money and producing match ammo.

 

[Sam1911]

If it is berdan primed doesn't that mean the primers contain mercury and cleaning immediately after shooting is a must

Jim is right. Just because it is Berdan primed doesn't have anything to do with corrosive or non-corrosive priming compounds. Wolf prints right on the box that it isn't corrosive. A lot of surplus eastern ammo looks quite similar and IS corrosive. Swiss GP11 "7.5 Swiss" ammo for the K-31s is Berdan primed but is some of the highest quality match-grade ammo you can get.

There are some pretty simple test to see if ammo is corrosive. The easiest is to wait a day after shooting before you clean. You'll get some surface rust and then you'll know. (Yes, if you see a bit of rustiness, clean with water and then oil like normal.)

-Sam