Casting certainly helps keep the costs down. Bullets are usually the most expensive component and are not reuseable. It all depends on what you want to do. The lee kits are a great bargain and work well enough to find out.
Is it really worth it??
- Thread starter ScubaD
- Start date
I reloaded for a while and still do, I guess. I save my centerfire brass, but I've been shooting mostly .22 lately.
Money "SAVINGS"? None that I ever saw.
I did shoot more reloads than I'd be able to afford as factory loads, though.
At the end of the day, still the same amount of money out the door, just more bang for your buck (yuk yuk yuk).
Money "SAVINGS"? None that I ever saw.
I did shoot more reloads than I'd be able to afford as factory loads, though.
At the end of the day, still the same amount of money out the door, just more bang for your buck (yuk yuk yuk).
Avalonthas
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Toronto ON
Indeed your break even, you just shoot more. For me that is my primary benefit as I shoot a lot of rounds. If I am shooting pistol or AR15 I can normally go through 250-500 each caliber each range outting. Pistol calibers I save about 30% per round, and small rifle about 50% a round. When you get into the precision rifle stuff I am saving almost 80% as i load my own match rounds versus paying $2 bucks a round factory. I am personally not close to breaking even let alone saving money as I am constantly buying new equipment or upgrading existing stuff.
I put $300 into a Rock Chucker for precision rounds. Put $300 into a Hornady ultra sonic cleaner. Put $400 into various accessories (trays, pullers, etc). $500-800 in quality dies for everything I shoot. Looking at getting a Dillon 650 which is a big expense, etc. I also buy in bulk to keep cost per round low so the money is large up front to save in the long run. My primary reason for loading beyond the cost per round to shoot more for the same money is the fact that I hate going to the store to buy a few boxes of ammo. Unless I buy a steal online through CanadaAmmo or similar, I have never been to a retail store in several years.
Bullets purchased last month
Powder and bullets for precision bought two months ago
- Location
- Fort St John BC
Even factoring in my time at 50 a hour I save money. But I shoot twice as much so therefore I guess I lose money lol
Mystic Precision
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Summerland, BC
Reloading? Absolutely.
I can tailor my ammo for every firearms needs. The stuff I want simply doesn't exist in factory form.
Jerry
I can tailor my ammo for every firearms needs. The stuff I want simply doesn't exist in factory form.
Jerry
Urbansherpa
Regular
- Location
- Hamilton, Ont
I used to load 12 gauge for trap shooting. I'd load 7/8oz light loads, rather than shooting factory 1 1/8 oz. When you're shooting ten boxes (250 shells) a day, on the weekend it makes a difference on your shoulder. I got out of it because I wasn't saving any/enough money. I'm also one of those people that enjoyed it. Not a chore, really.
I must say though, that I always concerned that I might screw up a shell and blow up my gun (and myself). It never happened because I was diligent in what I was doing.....but the thought lingered When I bought my expensive Beretta O/U I decided to sell my press and all.
I never lost money because I bought the USED press, accessories and two tubs of AA shells for a lot less than I resold it for. Probably made $200 actually.
I recently bought a RCBS press to reload S&W 500 and hope to save a lot. Each factory cartridge costs over $3.00. I can make them for a quarter/third of that. I'll use it for .357 and 30-06, too.
I think that if you buy your press USED and later sell it, you probably won't lose money on the equipment.
I must say though, that I always concerned that I might screw up a shell and blow up my gun (and myself). It never happened because I was diligent in what I was doing.....but the thought lingered When I bought my expensive Beretta O/U I decided to sell my press and all.
I never lost money because I bought the USED press, accessories and two tubs of AA shells for a lot less than I resold it for. Probably made $200 actually.
I recently bought a RCBS press to reload S&W 500 and hope to save a lot. Each factory cartridge costs over $3.00. I can make them for a quarter/third of that. I'll use it for .357 and 30-06, too.
I think that if you buy your press USED and later sell it, you probably won't lose money on the equipment.
I like oddball guns with oddball ammo, and I also like using good bullets in hunting ammo. At the time I started, I wanted good bullets for hunting ammo, they were not loaded in factory ammo at that time.
So, I bought the reloading gear. Then my tastes evolved to the oddball guns and ammo, and some different shooting disciplines. Being able to reload ammo opens the door to many options.
I shot Coors Schuetzenfest, some silhouettes, some military stuff, a few clays, and I have shot some bigbores and own some guns you can't buy factory ammo for, or at least easily. Being able to load cast bullets has given me the opportunity to use some guns, do a lot of shooting, meet some really good people, and have a lot of fun.
It does make it hazardous to go to a gun show or shop however. But, I like the feeling of seeing a gun and saying, can if I want to!! I enjoy the research on some cartridges I've had to do, it always results in more knowledge.
So, I bought the reloading gear. Then my tastes evolved to the oddball guns and ammo, and some different shooting disciplines. Being able to reload ammo opens the door to many options.
I shot Coors Schuetzenfest, some silhouettes, some military stuff, a few clays, and I have shot some bigbores and own some guns you can't buy factory ammo for, or at least easily. Being able to load cast bullets has given me the opportunity to use some guns, do a lot of shooting, meet some really good people, and have a lot of fun.
It does make it hazardous to go to a gun show or shop however. But, I like the feeling of seeing a gun and saying, can if I want to!! I enjoy the research on some cartridges I've had to do, it always results in more knowledge.
turbo_bird
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Kamloops, BC
If depends what you shoot and how much you shoot if reloading is worthwhile for you. It certainly is for me. I just loaded 200 rounds of 460 Rowland to try out tomorrow. Some quick math says I'm into it for about $0.32/round if I figure on 10 reloads with each case, and using 230 gn fmj's. I don't know how much factory ammo would cost, because I've never seen it for sale in Canada. I also reload for .45acp and .357 mag. I think I paid around $1000-$1200 for everything required for both calibers (dillon rl550). I can reload using store bought bullets for about $25-$30/100 rounds, to buy factory around here is $50-$60/100, so it won't take too long to pay for the press and dies.
Kristian
Kristian
Well I just finished casting bullets and reloading 250 45 S&W Schofield rounds. Spent six hours between the casting and reloading. If you could find any commercial Black Hills ammo in Canada you would be looking at least $1 a round plus tax/shipping so probably just south of $300. Not counting the cost of the brass, my component cost was $26 or 10.4 cents per round. My spare time savings worked out to about $45/hr. So yes very worth it for me.
