Why the disbelief?

Status
Not open for further replies.
I keep relating this story. 2 years ago when I returned to shooting and reloading I already knew that I would only be shooting and reloading pistols. So with that I also knew that I didn't want to reload again on a single stage press. Started my research on presses and looked at all the brands and models, read all the reviews and comments in forums like this one and then started looking for a used press to save money. Well during this time I found I wanted a Lee Auto Indexing Turret press and found these presses were holding their value pretty well and when a used one came along they were mostly pretty beat up and just a bare press. Then one day I came across a Lee Pro 1000, very reasonably priced and it was complete, almost. The cover to the primer tray was missing as were the tubes for the case feeder. The only thing wrong was it was set up for 38/357 and I really needed 9mm.

I bid and won that little press and when it arrived it was surprising to find that it was in like new shape. I did buy another shell plate and die set and all total I had about $150.00 into it with the extra shell plate and dies. Still don't own a 38/357 but I'm lookin. I now use that press regularly and am very glad I bought it. I have also added a Lee 3 hole turret, an RCBS JR3 and just recently a the new Lee Breech Lock Pro press. Not that I needed it but because I like to tinker and was curious.
 
kmw1954 said:
one day I came across a Lee Pro 1000 ... I now use that press regularly and am very glad I bought it.
Click to expand...
Welcome to Pro 1000 club.

Most of my load development and accuracy test rounds are loaded on Pro 1000 (I use C-H 205 single stage press for more precise loads) due to floating shell plate that contacts carrier top under load for more consistent finished OAL (around .003" variance for unresized range brass and .001" variance for pre-resized brass) - https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...progressive-press.833604/page-2#post-10779806

Couple with Pro Auto Disk that meters most small granule powders with .1 gr variance (.05 gr variance for Sport Pistol) and you can produce very consistent rounds - https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/new-alliant-sport-pistol.816514/page-5#post-10598431
 
Texas10mm wrote:
I'm loading 9mm for well under $0.05 a round right now.
...
Primer $0.0175
...
You can get Fiocchi primers for $0.026 each if you buy a case.
Click to expand...

I'm not questioning the veracity of your claim, but what I don't understand from the original post is where the 1.75 cent cost for the primer comes from when you say that you are buying Fiocchi primers for 2.6 cents each.

Did I miss something?

Can you please explain?
 
hdwhit said:
I'm not questioning the veracity of your claim, but what I don't understand from the original post is where the 1.75 cent cost for the primer comes from when you say that you are buying Fiocchi primers for 2.6 cents each.

Did I miss something?

Can you please explain?
Click to expand...

Texas10mm said:
My .45 ACP loads are broken down like this.

Primer $0.0175
Powder $0.0125 Winchester WST 4.4 gr, I bought 14 lbs for $19.99 a lb when Gander Mountain went out of business.
Bullet $0.007 200 gr SWC that I cast.

Total cost $0.037 each or $3.70/100

If I go with replacement costs then it breaks down like this.

Primer $0.026
Powder $0.0133
Bullet $0.007
Click to expand...

Note the replacement cost part.

As I've stated several times I'm currently using S&B primers I purchased from Cabela's when they had a sale. The price was $17.50/1000 with free hazmat and shipping. I just wish I had bought more of the SPP. I only got a case of those. I also have a case of Federal SPP that I paid $115 for. After those are gone my next primer purchase will be the Fiocchi primers since it seems the S&B primers are no longer available.
 
jmr40 wrote:
Time is money too.
Click to expand...

Yes.

And if I compared a box of my own reloaded ammunition with the cost of factory ammunition, deducted my direct costs and expressed the difference in terms of dollars per hour, I would be envious of what a child chained to a sewing machine in a Bangladeshi garment factory is paid.

Or to look at it another way, if I accounted for the value of my time (at my net hourly rate before I retired) then a box of 50 cartridges would average about $125.

While any true comparison of the cost of reloaded ammunition versus commercial ammunition should properly be presented using full absorption accounting in accordance with the applicable cost accounting standards, I doubt most handloaders see themselves as competing with ammunition manufacturers. I shoot to support my reloading habit, so even if factory ammunition were cheaper (and it sometimes is), I would reload my own anyway.

For 42 years, I have been able to say (with the exception of rimfire and the first shots out of a new gun so the manufacturer can't blame any problems on my reloads), if I shoot it, I loaded it. I'm proud of that and don't want to give it up, so I consciously don't consider the value of my time.
 
I don't see the point of shooting as cheaply as possible. I don't pick my firearms that way, and I wouldn't pick my ammo for any purpose that way. Using discarded brass, lead styphnate primers, and casting lead bullets presents more health risks than it's worth in any savings. I can easily afford to reload and shoot more than 10,000 rounds a year, and without being a serious contender in any competition, I don't see how shooting a lot more is going to improve anything. I'd almost certainly be better off making those rounds count. I choose to spend on lead-free primers, lead-safe (plated or solid) bullets and new high-quality brass. I keep lead residue out of my gun and off the reloading bench and out of the air I breathe. In the long run, I'll save something that's worth a lot more than a few cents per cartridge.
 
I don't lick the lead. I shoot outdoors. I don't eat my tumbler media. My lead levels are low normal, and I'm not spending 2x as much for primers.

If you're buying new brass and only loading it once how are you saving money?
 
Every gun forum has this thread and it'll go on forever, even have calculation software to determine "cost" per round.

I asked a local gun shop owner why he didn't stock/sell anything related to reloading.
His answer: "Reloaders are the cheapest bastages in the gun/shooting/hunting sports and will scrounge the world, wasting time and money to save a penny, and rarely buy anything."
Not my words, his :uhoh: …
:D
 
labnoti said:
I don't see the point of shooting as cheaply as possible. I don't pick my firearms that way, and I wouldn't pick my ammo for any purpose that way. Using discarded brass, lead styphnate primers, and casting lead bullets presents more health risks than it's worth in any savings. I can easily afford to reload and shoot more than 10,000 rounds a year, and without being a serious contender in any competition, I don't see how shooting a lot more is going to improve anything. I'd almost certainly be better off making those rounds count. I choose to spend on lead-free primers, lead-safe (plated or solid) bullets and new high-quality brass. I keep lead residue out of my gun and off the reloading bench and out of the air I breathe. In the long run, I'll save something that's worth a lot more than a few cents per cartridge.
Click to expand...

Stay out of poorly ventilated indoor ranges and your lead stays in check. I cast thousands of lead bullets a year and smelt all sorts of lead and I have low lead levels. Guys that spend time at the indoor range are the ones with the issues. Won’t matter a bit that your shooting the clean ammo if the range is contaminated and has dirty air.
 
Last edited:
Tilos said:
Every gun forum has this thread and it'll go on forever, even have calculation software to determine "cost" per round.

I asked a local gun shop owner why he didn't stock/sell anything related to reloading.
His answer: "Reloaders are the cheapest bastages in the gun/shooting/hunting sports and will scrounge the world, wasting time and money to save a penny, and rarely buy anything."
Not my words, his :uhoh: …
:D
Click to expand...

Yeah, we make our own powder and primers. I use a file to make my own dies.
 
On my Dillon 650, I load 550-650 rounds cer hour. Labor time isn't much of a factor.

And one thing I've always wondered. For those that factor "labor time" into their reloading cost, do you also factor gasoline cost, food and lodging, and hourly rate into your price per pound for venison????:evil:
 
It's not that time is necessarily ~expensive~, it's just that time is a finite resource, yet we all have different amounts of tasks that must be performed during our individual schedules. .

Some have "quite a bit of unoccupied time' on a daily basis, and keep busy / productive any way they can.

I consider recycling, in just about any form, a 'positive' that can make good use out of our resources. Recycling lead is 'a positive' , but I simply do not have the time to embark on such an endeavor.

Dad, on the other hand, gets so bored he goes to town and 'dumpster dives' for aluminum cans. (Nickle a piece deposit.)

Doesn't 'have' to by any stretch of the imagination, but,,,,,,, it keeps him occupied,,,
 
"My time is worth", What? I'm making these for myself so I don't know anyone that is going to pay me to do it, including myself! I don't have an FFL so I also cannot sell them when I'm finished. How about "Billable Hours"? Am I or do you send yourself a bill for the hours worked when finished? If not then your time is worth?
 
Reloading is actually one of the less expensive things I like to do, so time spent doing that is often keeping me from spending more money somewhere else.

If you want an expensive hobby get into auto racing, any kind. The only way to make a small fortune in racing is to start with a large one.

In most cases, it costs me more to go to a movie for two hours than it does to reload for two. Not to mention I have nothing to show for the two hours wasted in the theater.
 
cheygriz said:
On my Dillon 650, I load 550-650 rounds cer hour. Labor time isn't much of a factor.

And one thing I've always wondered. For those that factor "labor time" into their reloading cost, do you also factor gasoline cost, food and lodging, and hourly rate into your price per pound for venison????:evil:
Click to expand...
Yea my wife gets mad about it taking 2 years to feed out a beef. I always tell her ok you can buy that junk at the store with pink slime and Ill go deer hunting. That usually stops it for a week or so. Of course I’ve always been too cheap to actually hunt a deer, I’ve shot a few to make jerky but they were ones that needed to be shot. I have friends that feed corn by the pallet, I’m like you guy do know you could feed out a whole beef with that pallet of corn and it would actually be delicious! Feed the corn to a beef (or pig!) and let’s go shoot some coyotes!
 
[QUOTE="jmorris, post: 10926385, member: 20589]

If you want an expensive hobby get into auto racing, any kind. The only way to make a small fortune in racing is to start with a large one.
.[/QUOTE]
That’s no lie and it’s very addicting. I used to do sand drags and if you only tore up $800 in parts that was a good weekend. My dirt track friends spend 800 before they pull out of the garage I’d imagine. A set of tires and fuel probably eats that not counting that each night may eat $500+ of engine depreciation and a few body panels guaranteed. There is occasionally someone who makes a name for them self though. I went through a spell where I built enough engines to pay for my sand sports. Then the parts got extra Chinese and people about quit running the Vw’s since the engine prices went up when you had to fix new parts to make it a sellable engine you could stand behind. That’s one thing we’re pretty fortunate about in reloading. Not much china equipment and components to mess with.
 
Not much china equipment and components to mess with.[/QUOTE]
Lets not even talk about this.:what:
 
The one factor people neglect a lot is time. My time is more valuable than the cost of ammo. Even at my lower pay rate it only takes me 1.5 hours to make enough to cover a case of 9mm. Perhaps if I ever get the ability to shoot the .50BMG more, or something that's high precision where tuning the load makes a dramatic difference, I'll wind up reloading for it. Until then, your commodity calibers just don't make economic or time sense for me.
 
Dwb1957 said:
Yeah I bought a used Dillon 550 over fifteen years ago for 175 bucks and it's never missed a beat has been and outstanding machine and is still in good condition I'm sure I could make a little on it IF I wanted to sell it. It's loaded well over a 100k. I would say that equipment cost is minimal if you get into any kind of shooting sport or you like to shoot a lot.
Click to expand...

.. and if you shoot this much, saving money is almost a moot point, wouldn't you say? Because you're
still going to spend a ton of money on bullets, anyways. It's 500 instead of 275, sure, but there's still a
considerable amount spent.
 
The one factor people neglect a lot is time.
Click to expand...

I factor that in almost all the time. You can most always be paid for time but it’s much more difficult to buy it.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

H
  • Locked
I just saved $1,000
2 3
Replies
62
Views
3K
Walkalong
Walkalong
BigBore45
  • Locked
Just a reminder to why we reload.
2
Replies
36
Views
3K
Wreck-n-Crew
Wreck-n-Crew
L
  • Locked
check my math - cost of reloading
Replies
7
Views
679
armoredman
armoredman
O
  • Locked
Cost analysis - 200 rounds / .204 Ruger
Replies
2
Views
2K
Outlaws
O
J
  • Locked
Disassembling Walmart Promo Shotshell Loads
2
Replies
27
Views
2K
jcwit
J
Back
Top