Reloading still costs a lot..

Thanks for breaking the costs down like this! I had been thinking about reloading in order to save money on 30-30 which I buy for $1 each.
I had thought I could make them for about what I pay for 7.62x39! Apparently we are being gifted the surplus ammo.
Appreciate that some can benefit by reloading because of really expensive cartridges or wanting to gain a precision advantage, but for me,
I'm on the down hill slide anyways so I just shoot for fun!:wave:
 
polaris said:
If you are cheap and just want to save money, it will not be for you.
Reloading won't save you any money, but you will shoot more, much more and much better.

If you really want to save money, get a slingshot. :)
Click to expand...

mbogo3 said:
It's like fly tying...........you could buy factory made ............or see what the fish are eating and go home and tie your own copy...........the satisfaction of making your first kill with your own reloads and keeping records of bullet performance/accuracy data....... priceless...Harold
Click to expand...

^Both very true, and both took me (several) years to stop being stubborn about it...and get down to business. In my case...and probably most other guys~it really has less to do with saving money, and more to do with getting a better result. The fact that they become fulling pastimes in their own right~just a bonus. I've got so much faith in reloading now I feel I can make almost any rifle accurate. Truth is, it's more like you can wring almost every ounce of accuracy potential out of a given rifle~provided the trigger is good, and the gun fits you 1/2-decently, etc.
 
Robert Nicholson said:
Thanks for breaking the costs down like this! I had been thinking about reloading in order to save money on 30-30 which I buy for $1 each.
I had thought I could make them for about what I pay for 7.62x39! Apparently we are being gifted the surplus ammo.
Appreciate that some can benefit by reloading because of really expensive cartridges or wanting to gain a precision advantage, but for me,
I'm on the down hill slide anyways so I just shoot for fun!:wave:
Click to expand...

Your advantage with the 30-30 would be in making some snorting handloads, perhaps pushing the Hornady FTX. That would be pushing 300 savage performance out of what is probably a lever gun.

So the extra performance on game, yes its worth it. Might get you a animal or save you buying a different rifle. Buying all the Hardware and components from scratch, only just to shoot a couple of boxes at paper. Not at all worth it.
 
tacfoley said:
Would I be correct in thinking that you are posting that with your tongue firmly in your cheek?

tac
Click to expand...

Yes I've been reloading for 40 years it does save money when compares to factory loads. It has always cost more to reload then buy military surplus. The OP was comparing apples to walnuts. Not the same thing.
 
Just for some reality in 1972 I had a 303 British hunting loads cost $6.50/ 20. At the same time I was paying $7.00/100 at Surplus Herbies in Kamloops for surplus.
 
with most of the cheap surplus ammo drying up fast, reloading is going to be the only way to go in the future. I have been reloading and casting my own for many years and it has saved me a ton of money. I reload for many calibers so it is worth it for me. if you are going to reload for one or two calibers you may not save a lot of money, but you will enjoy yourself at the range a lot more. when looking for supplies shop around and look for good deals and free is always very good. I shoot some harder to get and more expensive shells so it pays me to reload. my deer hunting 303 rounds that I have developed can produce half inch groups at 50 yards, the big doe that I got last week can tell you that.
 
While everybody is looking for 8mm Mauser surplus ammo (which is LONG gone BTW), I take ordinary 30-06 brass (which is plentiful and free most of the time), pass the brass through a 8mm Mauser die, cut to length "et voila" I got 8mm Mauser brass for free! I have a good supply for bullets (I just sold 700 on the EE), my 8mm Mauser reloads cost me close to $0.30..

I do the same thing for 7.65 Argentine Mauser at a comparable cost.

My 11mm Mauser reloads cost me $0.37, and they are reloaded in expensive Bertram brass.

And if you reload there are thousand more possibilities.

For me reloading is THE ONLY WAY to go!
 
Shooting is a silly and wasteful hobby. Making small holes in a sheet of paper at long distances does not make any sense. Most deer hunters could buy a 600 kg steer for the price of their hunting trip. Once you accept that the entire premise of saving/making money shooting is a myth, you will be fine.

Reloading makes financial sense for some calibres. Milsurp. ammunition is cheaper but its all over the place for accuracy and almost all is corrosive. For many, reloading is part of the hobby. Its a "cost saving" in the same way you justify the new rifle you just purchased as an "investment". If you enjoy it, it is worth it.
 
spooksar said:
Just for some reality in 1972 I had a 303 British hunting loads cost $6.50/ 20. At the same time I was paying $7.00/100 at Surplus Herbies in Kamloops for surplus.
Click to expand...

Now, 303 Brit runs about $30 per box around here,IF you can find it. Feeding the pigs is les costly with reloads, especially with cast bullets. But then I just shoot more ammo and more often so bottom line is I still spend lots on my hobby. Trigger time costs money.
The other advantage to reloading, as mentioned earlier in this thread is making ammo fore hard to find or obsolete calibers. Just try to find ammo for 6.5x54 Mannlicher Schoenauer at your local gun shop.
 
My Swiss 1882 eats, on average, a mere 3.1 to 3.2 grains of Trail Boss per round... it lasts a long time, and I have a spare new container.
Bullets (lead cast), if you know where to look and ask, can be as low as $100 for 500 rounds. Not giving the name of my supplier :)
Brass? except for the odd crinkled case in the resizing die, I have reused my brass at least 12 times and still going strong... I also have another 100 brand new cases.

Shooting in general is a ridiculously expensive hobby, especially when your tastes mature and you get into collectibles, custom builds, and high quality wood.

Thankfully, it's a pleasant hobby that provides a great deal of personal satisfaction. I particularly like reloading on cold, dark, winter nights while listening to music and drinking a hot cup of coffee.
 
I have reused my brass at least 12 times and still going strong... I also have another 100 brand new cases.
Click to expand...

Do you anneal the brass? I would match the brasses to the rifle uses them. And only neck sizing, not FL every time. But annealing might be still necessary for each 3-4 reloads?
 
I've been reloading since the early 1970's. Especially with lighter loads, it has saved me money when talking about comparison to factory loads.

Each to his own. I enjoy reloading. I have recently discovered Trail Boss and the amazingly simple formula used to determine starting loads. I have also used kegs of 700X in handgun and light rifle loads.
 
Last edited:
Personally I am capable of making some calibers of full power rifle ammo for as little as 35 cents a round. That being said most of the stuff I reload costs about 75 cents a round usually.

For me reloading is not only about cost but also availability, it has allowed me to shoot calibers which otherwise I wouldn't have shot and rifles that likely haven't been shot in at least 70 years. I don't see any 8mm Lebel or 6.5 Carcano kicking around to buy commercially either.

In terms of surplus being cheaper, yes that is true for some calibers (the only stuff I really see kicking around in quantity is .308, 7.5x55 Swiss, 7.62x39 and 7.62x54r) but it is limited in quality (excluding GP-11) and firearm options (nothing wrong with Mosin Nagants, just sometimes it is nice to enjoy other firearms). I have even used surplus ammo to make cheaper reloads, its actually cheaper to buy 7.62x54r and pull the bullets for .311 diameter bore rifles, than it is to just buy the .311 diameter bullets from the store (.25 cents for a pulled bullet vs .40 for a factory one).
 
I have been handloading for over 50 years. I can honestly say I have never calculated nor considered the cost. It is a wonderful hobby in its own right.

That said, I have sometimes bought commercial reloads in 9mm cast bullets at about $8.50/50 in the theory that my time has to be worth more than that.
 
Ganderite said:
I have been handloading for over 50 years. I can honestly say I have never calculated nor considered the cost. It is a wonderful hobby in its own right.

That said, I have sometimes bought commercial reloads in 9mm cast bullets at about $8.50/50 in the theory that my time has to be worth more than that.
Click to expand...

Whoa! You are making too much sense there!

I get a kick out of people who have given up hunting because "the bleeping licenses cost too much". The same guys think nothing of driving all over the country to go to a football game. But, as I said above, each to his/her own. :)
 
At the moment I only reload .303 Brit and 6.5x50mm. On the former I save a bit on each round and on the later I save as much as 60% per round. More importantly I do it for availability -- commercial 6.5 Jap is rare and getting rarer.

I also do it to relax. That's worth more then the money spent.
 
jeanlikethis said:
Do you anneal the brass? I would match the brasses to the rifle uses them. And only neck sizing, not FL every time. But annealing might be still necessary for each 3-4 reloads?
Click to expand...

I think he was talking about Trail boss, plinking ammo. The newbie thing is often to try to hot rod reloads to, and past book maximum. While one can get good brass life doing this with standard calibers, any caliber with magnum in the headstamp is going to have life taken by doing this. For me this is akin to hitting a 8 iron 155yds, and trying that on the course. My safe is full of rifles, if the 308 has a low velocity accuracy node, there is always a 30-06 or a 300.....the 7 iron if you will. LOL.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom