Where are the savings in reloading?

[Erich]

Like some others have mentioned, I don't reload for everything. It sure saves me a ton on my .41 magnum, and it's worth doing for my .357 mag and .38 spl loads as well, but - since it's a giant hassle - I don't bother for the 9x19 ($4.59/box for Blazers from Natchez right now) or the .45 ($6.99/box for Blazers from Natchez - even with shipping, it's a better deal for me than reloading).

 

[Sheldon]

I always hear the argument that you don't save any money and that you just end up shooting more for the same amount of money........bottom line is you still save in my opinion.

The real savings is you get to reuse the brass casing. In the case of pistol ammo, it is quite a few times over that of rifle ammo. If you shoot enough at public ranges you will accumulate a lot of free brass soon enough so I would not even bother buying new brass. If word gets out, your friends will hopefully save their cases for you as well.

Bullets are where your expenses will go to. I shoot a lot of lead myself. I have the capability of casting my own, but so far have not bothered. I can get 45 cal. 200 gr lead semi-wadcutters for about $40/1000, so I still can't see myself bothering to cast yet.

If you keep an eye out for guys selling off their reloading equipment, you can really get some bargains. I've had guys just throw in the components for free......so keep an eye out for them local yard sales!!

 

[Ben Shepherd]

The area were you truly save money:

When you load up that box of imitation corbon/garrett monstersuperstomperultrakiller rounds for your magnum wheelie. Or you want a super premium slug. Yeah, they are more expensive, but I can load a garrett style 44 mag for 10 bucks a box or buy them from garret for 50 bucks. You can load a premium slug at about the same savings ratio.

When you get into highpower rifle rounds the savings REALLY take off.

And the less money I have to spend on "premium" loads, means I have that much more money to spend on practice loads, no?

Nevermind the sheer enjoyment factor.

 

[Waitone]

Cost of non-Wally World .45 ACP==$15.00
Cost of reloads==$3.50
Savings per box==$11.50
Thrill of seeing your hand still attached to you arm after firing your first reload==priceless

Yea, it saves money.

 

[Valkman]

Yep, I saved so much I bought another Dllon 550B! Then I had new benches and cabinets put in to put it on!

I get brass from the Brassman, it's $40/1000 for mixed or $55/1000 for same headstamps. You should load .45 for at least half of what Win White Box costs, and have at least the same performance. When I tested UMC through my Chrony it was the crappiest stuff I shot in terms of velocity variation, and my reloads were much better.

Then there's other calibers. I shoot stuff like .454 Casull now because I can reload for it - no way I'm paying $25-$30 a box for ammo!

 

[jval]

Don't overlook the enjoyment of tinkering at the end of a stressful day. I also enjoy "learning" about all the variables in coming up with a dependable and accurate round.

Other than that, I get to shoot more for the same amount of $$ overall.

 

[Carlos]

ya, can't wait to load up some .45 ACP tonight.

I'm loading it for $4.35 a box of 50, using Silver Bullets, recycled brass, Winchester primers, and different powders.

My 308 Win rounds are coming out at $13.xx for 100.

Yes, I believe it saves in the long run.

 

[Sunray]

"...I can't see how anybody's saving any money..." AAAAHHHHH!!!!! It's not about saving money. It's about the quality of your ammo. By reloading, you tune the ammo to your rifle. You also don't have to search for the best deal on ammo. Nor do you have to try every brand of factory ammo to find the one that shoots best out of your rifle for every given circumstance. You just develope a load with the bullet, primer, powder and case you choose that your rifle shoots best. You won't save any money, but your rifle will never shoot better.

 

[another okie]

Loading for my .30-.30 and .308 seem to save me much more money than loading for .38 or .45. The biggest benefit for me of reloading for the rifles is that I can make some soft shooting rounds for practice. That's basically why I reload for .45, too, to create some rounds that just barely make power factor for IDPA and IPSC. The power floor in those sports if you're using a .45 is 165, which means a 165 grain bullet at 1000 fps. Most factory .45 ammo is much more powerful, probably up around 180, so recovery between shots is very slow with the commercial ammo. Now there may be some inexpensive target commercial .45 loads I know nothing about that are lighter than the typical commerical loads. If so, fill me in!

I'm still just a beginner at reloading, but I can truly say I never really understood ballistics until I started reloading.

 

[don]

reload-savings

Id shooting,don't scare the guy by talking about 1100 $ outfits. I use a Lee loading outfit that I have less than 50 dollars in and that includes scales. I paid retail. Granted it is very slow but works fine for my .270W. Idunno about pistols.

 

[don]

reload-savings

Id shooting,don't scare the guy by talking about 1100 $ outfits. I use a Lee loading outfit that I have less than 50 dollars in and that includes scales. I paid retail. Granted it is very slow but works fine for my .270W. I dunno about pistols.