BTW, I still haven't started reloading for mine. At $32/box of 50 I don't want to spend the time or money for equipment. It's cheap to shoot at that price as far as I'm concerned.
You've got to reload!
It's a very fun and interesting hobby. I too thought the cost issue wasn't worth it at first, but look at it this way:
Let's assume you take home 50-100 spent .44 Magnum brass cases from your next range session. On the way home, you stop by a big-box sporting goods store and pick up the following:
RCBS Rock Chucker Supreme Master Reloading Kit: $300
RCBS .44 Magnum/.44 Special die set: $40
RCBS .44 Magnum/.44 Special shell holder: $7
1,000 primers: $30
1,000 240-grain jacketed bullets: $175
4 lb. canister of powder: $60
Misc: $50
You can now reload 1,000 of your own .44 Magnum jacketed rounds for about $670.
1,000 rounds of standard .44 Magnum 240-grain jacketed range ammo at around $35/50, comes to $700.
Keep in mind the majority of the up front reloading cost (about $350) is a 1-time expense. So with the occasional purchase of brass, you end up reloading on a long term basis for about $.20/round, or $10/50 versus $.70/round or $35/50 off the shelf. By about round number 750 (or the equivalent of sporting goods store 50-round box number 15), your savings ($375) have more than paid for the price of the equipment. Every round of reloaded .44 Magnum you shoot from that point forward is 50 cents of savings in your pocket!
Factor in the ability to reload economical lead "cowboy" loads, all the way up to "bear-busters" and the pure joy of the .44 Magnum cartridge really starts to show through.
I just bought my third .44 Magnum firearm (A Ruger Super Blackhawk) and I can honestly tell you that if I never got into reloading, I'd only have 1 .44 Magnum firearm.
