Is it worth starting?

Euro

Euro

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Hi,

I have considered reloading for some time now with all the brass I have left over (many many). My biggest problem is the time commitment vs price of a box of ready to go ammo.

I was wondering if people could share what much time and money is spent reloading. Not including start up fee or bench items. What is your best price and time for making 50 to 100 rounds? I mainly shoot 9mm, 223 (semi), and at times 308.
 
EDIT Starting cost...under $500

Time. After work I used to take15-20 minutes. By the week end you have 60 -70 rifle rounds ready.

Get the hand press and do most of the work in front of the TV.

It's really not time consuming.
 
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My cost using cast for 9mm is $5 for 50 rounds, $7-$8 for plated. For 223 using plated 55gr bullets is $15 for 50.

The main thing to consider is how much do you shoot in a range trip and/or a year?


BTW here is a reloading calculator, check out retailers for prices and input said prices and you will find out your costs. LINK
 
it depends how you see the time past doing it. if you could be working 2 hrs of overtime to buy the amo you make in 6 hrs. then its simple math.

reloading for high volume lowest possible cost and handloading for uptimum accuracy are two completely differents worlds and the second is just a f%#ng money pit
 
If you consider your brass "free", then my cost for 50 x 115g 9mm Luger is about $9.00 (13% HST included) and takes less than 5 minutes to make on a progressive press
 
K-C said:
If you consider your brass "free", then my cost for 50 x 115g 9mm Luger is about $9.00 (13% HST included) and takes less than 5 minutes to make on a progressive press
Click to expand...

Yep. Exactly same here. I reloaded 300 rounds in about 1.5hrs today taking my time (using a Progressive press). With recycled brass I am running about $0.15 per round (9mm).
 
.223 is really worth to reload since most of my .223 brass are range pickup.

If I base my reload on range pick up for brass, each round will cost me .30 cents = $6/20 a box of .223.

Math:
Brass free from range pickup
Cam pro 55gr projectiles: $56/500 count = .11 cents
Powder $45, 24 gr charge (1 lb - 7000 grains), can make 291 rounds from 1 bottle -> $45/291 = .15 cents
primer: 40/1000 = .04 cents
Total .30 cents a round

A box of reloaded .223 ammo, 20 in a box will be .30x20 = $6 vs factory at $10-$13.00
 
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Last time i checked it was approx 25 cent per 223 round and 15 cent per 9mm. That was a few years ago.
Cast 9mm is basically free. Like 5 cents a round
 
I recently picked up a Savage 99 in 308 Win. and made loads for it from GD IVI brass, GD M80 FMJ-BT 147 gr bullets, CCI 200 primers, and IMR 4064 powder.

Here's what it cost me per brand new round (all costs include 13% sales tax):

Case 0.27
Bullet 0.32
Primer 0.08
Powder 0.34
Total per round 1.01

Cost per 100 rounds: 101.35

Cheapest commercial ammo I can find (Federal American Eagle) is 1.35 per round (135.54 per 100) . The stuff I would normally buy (Winchester Super X) is 1.53 per round (152.49 per 100).

That IVI case is going to last a long time. I feel like I'll get at least 10 loads out of it, but let's say I only get 5 loads out of it. The cost per round for the next 4 reloads of the same cases would be:

Bullet 0.32
Primer 0.08
Powder 0.34
Total per round 0.74

Cost per 100 rounds: 74.07

So, assuming those cases last for 5 reloads, the cost for 500 rounds is:

First 100 rounds 101.35
Next 4 rounds 296.28
Total for 500 rounds 397.63

Compare with Federal American Eagle at 677.72 per 500, and Winchester Super X at 762.47 per 500.

I enjoy the reloading process and I love the look of the finished ammo, so the time involved is worth it to me.

I reload 223 Rem but I don't think the cost savings are significant there. I have a lot of 223 brass stashed away but I have to admit that lately I've just been grabbing commercial stuff from my stockpile when I head to the range.

For me the real benefit to reloading comes when you are dealing with uncommon or obsolete ammo. Having the tools and the knowledge lets me make ammo for things like 32 WSL and 7.5 Swiss 1882 Ordnance. Now I admit that those are not hard rounds to make. But I would never have gotten into the very cool firearms that shoot those rounds if I were not already reloading.
 
I buy some , and I reload some . I reload the larger cals. which is quite expensive to buy like 300 WM or 308 . For the smaller cals. like 9 mm and 223 , I just buy it . Once you have the reloading equipment and supplies , it really costs nothing to keep it ; and then if you ever decide to reload , then you have the equipment ready to go .
 
If I load 40 rounds of 7wsm or 300rum in an hour I save myself $50+. That makes it worth more than going to work, and I do that every day for some reason. I can shoot a lot more for the same money and frankly I think most factory ammo these days is garbage. I've probably spent less than $500 on my reloading gear and it didn't take long to pay for itself with the savings.
 
Euro said:
Hi,

I have considered reloading for some time now with all the brass I have left over (many many). My biggest problem is the time commitment vs price of a box of ready to go ammo.

I was wondering if people could share what much time and money is spent reloading. Not including start up fee or bench items. What is your best price and time for making 50 to 100 rounds? I mainly shoot 9mm, 223 (semi), and at times 308.
Click to expand...

I reload 303 British and 30-06. Both cost me 70 cents a shot. Much better than the vomit worthy price of these bullets from Cabela's. 9mm and 223 should cost less but 308 will be about the same

I use a lee Loader classic and I get 50 rounds in 30 to 50 mins. Depends on how much of a roll I get onto. Like others have said it really is a hobby by itself.

It really comes down to what your time is worth or if you see it as a supplementary hobby.
 
With rifle cartridges you do things in steps and batches. You can even do some brass prep while watching TV. The basic steps are
1. prep brass if/as required. includes cleaning, chamfering, trimming. May or may not be needed.
2. deprime & resize
3. install primers
4. install powder and bullet
You don't have to do it all at the same time. If you have 20 minutes, do something. Not hard to do 50-100 rounds a week in spare time.

People talk about what their time is worth and that is correct. If you are giving up something else that has value to make time for reloading, then you need to determine if it is worth the sacrifice.

OTOH, if the time you sacrifice to reloading is simply goofing off - watching TV, facebook, or whatever - then your time is free and it doesn't cost anything. Lots of people say their time is worth too much to spend doing ###, but the truth is most of those people aren't using that time productively anyway and the basic truth is they're just lazy.... and that's OK too. We all need to do what's right for us and that's your decision to make.
 
CobraGuy said:
Yep. Exactly same here. I reloaded 300 rounds in about 1.5hrs today taking my time (using a Progressive press). With recycled brass I am running about $0.15 per round (9mm).
Click to expand...

I loaded 600 rounds in 2 hrs last night. Using my buddies Dillion 550.

I'm at about 12 cents a round USD using federal primers and poly coated bullets (6.6 cents per). I'm not adding brass as I get mine for free.
 
Match grade 308 takes a while to load. All the brass prep, weighting all charges, single stage, etc. Bulk 223 takes a while because of brass prep. 9mm can be loaded like 800 rounds an hour on a 650. It depends what kind of ammo you want, but generally, pistol or thrown charge 223 is fast.
 
OP, you are the only one that can answer your question.

Some folks get lucky and find a rifle that will shoot just about any ammo available including surplus and bulk. If you don't have such a rifle, hand loading will give you the means to build ammo that is accurate enough for your demands at a reasonable price. If you only shoot occasionally and your rifle is accurate enough then it isn't worth getting set up to hand load IMHO. If you already have the equipment then use it.

When it comes to handgun ammo, I find it is just as cheap to purchase bulk quantities as it is to reload. Same goes for shotgun ammo.

You mention a strict time constraint. That is a huge factor, especially if you can afford the factory ammo pricing.
 
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