Actual reloading costs

[667]

Sorry if this has been beaten to death (I did try to search)...can someone tell me what the actual reloading cost per round is for 9mm, .45, .223 and .308?

It all depends on what you pay for your components...
Buy in bulk from a wholesaler and you'll load for far less than the poor guy who has to buy his boolits and primers 100 at a time and his powder 1 pound at a time.

 

[apu]

Personally, I find more value to reloading than the obvious economic perks. There is nothing like casting a lead bullet and loading a custom round that has taken your first Elk... priceless. Or casting lead, fire forming brass and reloading for an antique gun that would otherwise be little more than a wall hanger... priceless.

 

[Jarlath]

It all depends on what you pay for your components...
Buy in bulk from a wholesaler and you'll load for far less than the poor guy who has to buy his boolits and primers 100 at a time and his powder 1 pound at a time.

So true.

The true cost savings per round are found in the larger calibres.

Go buy 300 Win Mag.

20 rounds for $40 or $2 apiece.

Now go do the reloading route. I'll use $40 as a simple basis and all purchased components (Non Bulk.)

Primer $0.04 per round ($40 per K)
Powder $0.42 per round (say 75gr and $40/lb)
Bullets $0.40 per round ($40 per 100 Interbonds or whatnot)
Cases $0.40 per round (Assume 5 reloads per case and you bought a box of factory ammo to get the cases $40 per 20, reloaded 5 times)

So suddenly reloading costs are $1.26 a round and you save nearly $0.75 per round. That includes buying Factory ammo first just to get brass.

So for every 120 rounds you spend $40 for the initial factory ammo and $126 for the reloading life of the cases.
Versus 120 rounds of factory @$40 = $240

This is also where volume comes into play. You save more per round with larger calibres, but if you shoot lots, then it also makes a good reason.

Save $0.75 per 300 win mag round, tailored to your firearm for accuracy.
Shoot 50 times a year, you save $38 over factory.
Save $0.20 per 9mm/.40/.45/etc... also tailored to your firearm. Shoot 1000 times a year, you save $200 over factory costs.

As was mentioned. Cast bullets = Cheaper. If you cast your own, you can minimize the costs in that area. Buying 8lb's of powder = price reductions.
Primers, not so much. Cases? You can have cases last 1-2 reloads or dozens, depending on your load hotness, case design and sizing methods (Plus annealing).

The biggest requirement for reloading is time and usage. Time you are willing to spend for your needs.

I know a few hunters, who use a box of ammuntion every two years. Would I recommend reloading to them? Hell no. I do ask them for their brass however.
Some IPSC guys? 100K a year in a single calibre. Reload time = less range time. So they spend $4000 on a high end fully decked out reloading press. Time for reloading? 8 days for the whole year, and total savings of $0.20*100k=$20000 over factory. Press setup pays for itself in two days of effort.

 

[lannard]

rather than buying a box for initial rnds, u should get brass from the supplier. it is alot cheaper. it is 33$ for a bag of 50 unprimed at my guy for 300wm. this way you get another load out of the brass, and you can head to the range with more loads rather than just 20.

 

[Grizz Axxemann]

10mm costs around $35/box of 50, the last time I bought factory.

bullets run about $130/1000
primers $50/1000
powder $35/lb
Brass is reused, so I don't count that cost, and I've paid for maybe 600 pieces.

I can get roughly 1000rds for a pound of powder.
So my ballpark of $215 for 1000 rounds of 10mm (and these aren't neutered factory loads either) that I loaded myself

1000rds of factory @ $35/box would be $700. even at a mythical 50% discount for a bulk buy, reloading is cheaper.

I get good savings in my .22-250 and better bullets sitting on top too.

Oh yeah, I do it all on a single stage hand press too.

 

[Ganderite]

I think the big advanatge is being able to download power so load just makes the Power Factor (less recoil) and to tinker with the laod so it will shoot a tight group in your gun.

An easy recoiling and accurate pistol is a lot more fun than a rockem sockem spray gun.

 

[Onagoth]

I think the big advanatge is being able to download power so load just makes the Power Factor (less recoil) and to tinker with the laod so it will shoot a tight group in your gun.

An easy recoiling and accurate pistol is a lot more fun than a rockem sockem spray gun.

Why is the slide lock partially painted red?

 

[tigrr]

I cast my own bullets. I only factor in Primers and powder.
9mm is down to $2,10 for 50 rounds.
45acp is down to $2.90 a box of 50.
Retired, free range lead. Nice hobby!

 

[fbimagery]

Even with one pistol, it is still more economical to reload. Back in the starvin-student days,
I reloaded with a second hand, single stage Lee for my 38/357.
Even with powder,primers, and bullets it was far cheaper, and less recoil, to shoot than factory reloads.

 

[JBD]

Reloading is exponentially more expensive

Reloading is exponentially more expensive. The only time most folks come near a range is during hunting season to sight in thier rifle. Many fire 3 -5 rounds a year and call it good.

Total ammo cost is about 3-5 bucks a year

I shoot about a 2000 rifle cartridges a year for about 200$
and I shoot about 4000 pistol cartridges a year for another 200$

So my ammo cost is about 400 a year vs 3-5 bucks for the average shooter.

 

[relliott]

Reloading is exponentially more expensive. The only time most folks come near a range is during hunting season to sight in thier rifle. Many fire 3 -5 rounds a year and call it good.

Total ammo cost is about 3-5 bucks a year

I shoot about a 2000 rifle cartridges a year for about 200$
and I shoot about 4000 pistol cartridges a year for another 200$

So my ammo cost is about 400 a year vs 3-5 bucks for the average shooter.

If you are a low volume shooter it doesn't make sense. But if you are a high volume IPSC or I*PA competitor (20 -30 K per year or more) there really isn't any other option. The savings will pay for the reloading equipment in six months to a year and after that it's clear sailing.

 

[Sask Hunter]

For me...reloading allows me to build custom PREMIUM ammunition at bargain costs. I am loading for 5 guns and 3 different calibres...I build custom loads depending on the game being hunted and rifle being used...I can select bullets vs being force fed the same old stuff...

For example:

I have a T/C Pro hunter in 7mm-08 Rem...It would not shoot factory ammo into a minute of whitetail let alone MOA so I began handloading and based on Reloading Manual info it still would not shoot accurately, it was more like a scatter gun. So a non relaoder would say that gun is crappy and would sell it asap but by handloading I was able to determine that it had a long throat and the bullets needed to be pulled out past the recommended OAL. I pulled my 139 gr hornady interbonds out to 2.920 OAL which in my rifle is 10 thou of the lands and now have a factory rifle that lands 3 shot groups into .75 at 200 yds. So for me reloading has allowed me salvage brand new guns that a non reloader would have sold and classified as junk...not to mention I get to shoot premium bullets at Walmart Remington soft point pricing...just my .02.

Happy New Year...

 

[tsmith]

Reloading is worthwhile for many people. It just depends what your time is worth. I use it as a get away as well as to save money. It also depends on how much you are going to shoot. If you're an occasional shooter, say less than 200 rounds per year, it isn't worth the hassle or the space it takes up. If you shoot more than that and if you can find a decent, used press, either progressive or single stage, then pay back will come about within the first 20x50 boxes. After that, you will be into cheap shooting. Many people compare the cost of shooting center fire pistol with 22rf. If you can't afford 22rf, stay away from center fire. You can't afford it.

Now, don't take this as a flame, it isn't intended as one in any way. The old adage comes to mind and is a valid point that I learned the hard way, "If you have to ask how much it costs, you can't afford it". I can understand frugality but if it's going to create hardships for your family, you can't afford it.

There are companies like BDX that offer loaded ammunition at very decent prices. Especially pistol ammunition. I bought a thousand 38spec/wadcutter from Omma in Vancouver for $125. At that price, I won't bother to reload.

Another thing, the larger the bullet diameter/weight the more expensive it gets. Johnone made some valid points. If you want it to be cheap you have to cast your own and buy components in bulk. Again, a substantial outlay of cash, depending on your circumstances and proximity to components. If you live in a rural area, the only source of cheap lead is wheel weights at the tire shop. That is if you can beat the down rigger crowd to it. There are also cast bullet manufacturers, like the Bullet Barn on Vancouver Island, they make a very good product but shipping will cut the savings way down.
If cost is a major factor, you may just be hooped, unless you can find a mentor to share his/her machine with you. That would be the ideal scenario for a newbie to get his feet wet.
A few years ago, I helped out a fellow that really wanted to get into shooting his 45acp 1911. He very diligently bought 1000 pieces of brass, primers, powder and commercial cast bullets at a local gun show. His cost was about $10/50 for his initial outlay. He still has 800 of the original batch left. He lost interest rather quickly. I admit, I don't have a progressive or automated press, just a turret press set up for pistol cartridges. It took him all of one full day to load the cartridges. He did a very good job of it to. He felt the effort wasn't worth the result. He sold his pistol and I told him to sell the cartridges as well.

Who is Omma in Vancouver?
Does he ship to Toronto?
Please pm me with details.

 

[308BAR]

Don't assume you need a Dillon to reload ammunition. One could even do it on their single stage or better a Turret press for ~$150 Anniversary kit by Lee, your cost recovery time would be less. Components like bullet, powder, brass for me is the driving cost of reloading. I don't reload a lot of during a year but knowing I could make more accurate ammo with better components is worth it for me. More accurate ammo means less spray and pray, means more money saved.

Any rate even if you decide to get out of reloading, equipement doesn't depreciate like cars and hold pretty good resale value. IMO.

Who is Omma in Vancouver?
Does he ship to Toronto?
Please pm me with details.

Oma is not in Vancouver any more they sold and the new owners are on Vancouver Island. Triple W.omaproducts.com/

 

[Tomochan]

I reload primarily for my TRG, Kimber Tactical (both .308) and 10FP (.223) and for these rifles I can make ammo as good as or better than FGMM at about half the price of factory. These are accuracy loads and, quite frankly, I couldn't afford to shoot as much as I do if I always had to buy match ammo.

I also reload for some milsurps ( 8mm Mauser and .303 ) and for hunting rifles (.243, .270 and 30-06) because I enjoy doing it and also because for one of the calibres ( the 8mm ) factory ammo is hard to find and loaded light ( factory JS ammo is very hard to find ).

I don't reload for AR's or handguns as I feed them American Eagle and don't shoot them a lot anyway.

I have found that reloading saves costs, of course, but also has become in and of itself a very rewarding hobby ( thanks CGN member LIONHILL for showing me the ropes ) and has allowed me to tailor rounds for specific rifles thereby getting the best out of them.

 

[Pudelpointer]

Using the calculator from post 2, I ran some real world Canadian costs.

I mostly used prices from WSS (crappy website so some costs may be a little off) as those are decent prices for what most reloaders are going to be able to access. I used 308 win and 44 mag, as the OP asked about 308 and I was curious about my 44.

308 with new cases assuming 8 reloads, non-match primers and IMR 4064 (8lb price).

$$ per 20 round box vs. Approx. cost of loaded ammo

Sierra 150 HP $9.98
Sierra 150 MK $15.10 vs $36.00
Hornady 150 SST $13.18 vs $32.77
Hornady 155 Amax $13.78 vs $36.10
Berger 155 $13.78
Nosler Ballistic Tip $14.78 vs $33.00
Nosler Partition $24.00 vs $42.00
Barnes TSX $26.00 vs $47.00

Absolute cheapest 308 ammunition I found was $18.00 p/20 (Fed. Blue Box or American Eagle).

44 mag brass assumes 5 reloads, powder is 700x (8lb price and it is what I have a few lbs of).

$$ per 50 vs. Approx cost of loaded ammo.

300 XTP $21.34 vs $59.36 (20 box price x 2.5)
Cast (bulk) $13.59

American Eagle 44 mag 240gr are $38.00 p/50.
Win White Box 44 mag 240gr are 48.00 p/50.


You can find cheaper components of course, and sometimes cheaper ammo, but I was trying to find an apples to apples comparison as best I could. So for the price of the cheapest non-crap ammo you can load with premium bullets or you can shoot almost 3 times as much.

 

[mmattockx]

As has been shown, the reasons for reloading for pistols and rifles are somewhat different.

For handguns, especially 9mm and .45, it is almost entirely economic to save money. Accuracy is usually fine with either factory or handloads for the typical IPSC/IDPA uses.

For rifles, especially the larger centerfire calibers, it is often not so much economic as the ability to fine tune loads to the use and the gun at the same or slightly lower cost than factory ammo. You can make match quality ammo with premium compnents for comparable costs to run of the mill commercial ammo. A secondary benefit is the ability to load for unusual/obsolete/out of production/wildcat cartridges that are simply unobtainable at any price in factory ammo.

Mark

 

[canadaman30]

I have also seriously pondered the idea of reloading as well. I shoot a 223,308,450 and probly fire 200-300 rounds a year. I have found accurate factory loads for each gun with out alot of time trouble and money spent. I spend more time hunting than shooting. Is reloading really worth it in my case.

 

[relliott]

I have also seriously pondered the idea of reloading as well. I shoot a 223,308,450 and probly fire 200-300 rounds a year. I have found accurate factory loads for each gun with out alot of time trouble and money spent. I spend more time hunting than shooting. Is reloading really worth it in my case.

For that kind of round count, probably not. You could do it easily with a single stage press, and that wouldn't cost much in terms of capital outlay, but if you already have loads that are accurate enough to do what you want there probably isn't any real point. Certainly, the volume wouldn't be enough to realize any meaningful savings.