Cost savings for reloading 300 Weatherby

Mudduck

Mudduck

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I purchased a 300 Weatherby. The price of ammo makes me not want to take it to the range. Im considering reloading if it can save me a reasonable amount of money. Does anyone know how much you save (%?) by reloading - just an approximate idea as I know there are a lot of variables.

Secondly, after reading all the info on different reloading kits Im really not certain what I need - any suggestions for someone starting to reload
I would reloading for my 308, 270 WSM and 300 Weatherby
 
Reloading your own Ammunition will save you anywhere from 50% to 75%. You also have the added bonus of experimenting with different powders, and different weights of powders to find the most accurate load that matches your rifle, if Accuracy is important to you. Learning to reload will teach you more things about shooting than if you just buy your Expensive Ammo off the shelf. You can set yourself up with a complete reloading kit for a couple of hundred dollars, which will pay itself off quickly, if you like to shoot and shoot regularly. All Reloading Manufacturing Companies have a complete Setup in a kit,watch for them On Sale. Or you can pick up a complete Used Kit here by watching the Reloading Ads here. There's always lots of stuff for sale.
 
Cost saving and Shooting don't go together.
For reloading
Rcbs chargemaster
Rcbs chucker press
funnels
inside outside chamfer
primer pocket cleaner
primer tool
shellholders
imperial size wax
calipers
dies
powder
bullets
brass
primers
reloading book or online data at powder/bullet manufacturer
Later you will want
Brass tumbler
brass trimmer
 
You won't "save" anything. In fact, after a year or so, add up everything you have spent and you WILL find it has already cost you MANY times MORE than just going out and buying the ammo..... :eek:


Others can pipe in with their own experiences..... ;)
 
SandRoad said:
You won't "save" anything. In fact it will cost you many times MORE than just going out and buying the ammo.....


Others can pipe in with their own experiences..... ;)
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For rifle I will have to agree. I have reloaded since the 60's never stopping shotgun and yes still save a bit. Decided about 2 -3 months ago to start reloading rifle again after 10-12 years, still had some of my old reloading gear which was outdated so I upgraded with almost all new gear, new brass, bullets etc. And this is no new scales or chargemaster since I had those for shotgun
I still have what I call bare bones start up powder and primers to buy ( $400.00) and will be reloading 3 calipers. I am going to be easily 1500.00 plus before I pull the 1st handle on my new rock chucker. The old cash sock is real empty right now so I have to wait to buy the rest.. But it is not about the money for me. I like having the ability to reload what I want to try and shooting as much as I can..
 
unlisted.handle said:
Reloading your own Ammunition will save you anywhere from 50% to 75%. You also have the added bonus of experimenting with different powders, and different weights of powders to find the most accurate load that matches your rifle, if Accuracy is important to you. Learning to reload will teach you more things about shooting than if you just buy your Expensive Ammo off the shelf. You can set yourself up with a complete reloading kit for a couple of hundred dollars, which will pay itself off quickly, if you like to shoot and shoot regularly. All Reloading Manufacturing Companies have a complete Setup in a kit,watch for them On Sale. Or you can pick up a complete Used Kit here by watching the Reloading Ads here. There's always lots of stuff for sale.
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$200? are you okay. maybe in powder if your starting out..I don't even want to add mine up.#### I have $2000 in bullets..
 
after you have bought your equipment , your cost per round could be from 50 cents to 2.00 dollars per round depending on the bullet used ( many of the premuin bullets are around 1 dollar per bullet ).

on one hand , it isn't exactly cheap to start out .... but once you have the equipment you are no longer dependant on expensive factory loaded ammo .
 
noneck180 said:
$200? are you okay. maybe in powder if your starting out..I don't even want to add mine up. s**t I have $2000 in bullets..
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Yep, I am scared to add up what I have just in 50 BMG components.... :eek:

Reloading, just like firearms and shooting, is just ANOTHER hobby, and like all other hobbies, it costs money. Saying it will "save" you money is just a way of justifying it to yourself (or to the one who must be obeyed......). ;)
 
Cost of reloading 300 weatherby per round.

Approx;

powder 37 cents
bullet ( depends ) for top of the line premium about 1 dollar each for basic one about 40 cents
pimer 5 cents
brass assuming about 5 reloads each 20 cents

total $1 to $1.62 ish per round a box of 20 300 weatherby with premium bullets can easily go $80. Thats $4 dollars every trigger pull

Equipment to reload is a long term investment and good equipment will last a life time or two. My rig is 30 years old and shows no sign of quiting.

You want to shoot a lot of rifles that aren't a 308, 22, or a .223 reload.

The nice thing is you can shoot just about any cartridge and the cost is about the same for everything. Bulk bullets can reduce the cost even more and if you use brass that can take reloading many times the cost of brass drops right off. The weatherby is a belted mag and about five reloads is recommended as they tend to thin out above the belt pretty quick but results may vary.
 
Mudduck said:
I purchased a 300 Weatherby. The price of ammo makes me not want to take it to the range. Im considering reloading if it can save me a reasonable amount of money. Does anyone know how much you save (%?) by reloading - just an approximate idea as I know there are a lot of variables.

Secondly, after reading all the info on different reloading kits Im really not certain what I need - any suggestions for someone starting to reload
I would reloading for my 308, 270 WSM and 300 Weatherby
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You can save quite bit, but you didn't give enough information. How many rounds do you shoot in a year?

It will cost about $150-$250 to get a miminum usable reloading setup in place. That will consist of:
-single stage reloading press ($50-$100)
-dies & shellholder ($40-$50)
-scale ($50-$75)
-powder funnel ($5)
-electronic caliper ($10-$20)
-Lee trimmer (less than $10)
-and your components (brass, bullets, powder)

Considering only cost:
-If you would spend $100/ year on factory ammo now, then reloading isn't going to save you much.
-If you spend $200/year on factory ammo now, then reloading will pay you back in 1-3 years.
-If you spend $500/year on factory ammo, then reloading will pay you back in a few months.
 
When someone is going to purchase a firearm, I always make two suggestions:

-Decide if you willing to pay for factory loads to practice regularly with the gun.

- Consider getting into reloading.

If the cost of factory loads keeps you from practicing regularly, and you aren't prepared to get into hand loading, you are purchasing the wrong gun.

You can reload ammunition for 50% or less than factory loads, but the start up costs of buying the equipment means that it will likely take years to realize any savings.
 
I just wonder how many hunters buy a rifle. Fire it less than 10 times to check zero then go hunting. Spoke to one fellow who bought a gun that he said was bore sighted then did not pull the trigger unless he was hunting. He said the ammo was too expensive to practice with.:confused:


I like to make my guns go bang as often as I can. Isn't that the reason for having it in the first place:confused: Sort of like buying a fancy new truck and leaving it in the garage because fuel is too expensive.
 
The more expensive the ammo, the greater the savings. I have not seen the new numbers, but the old number was 60% on average. I have found that people tend to spend the same amount of money, but will shoot more.

If you just want to run some numbers there are calculators that break it down for you and then you can compare with the price of factory ammo. The calculators only take into account components, not equipment.

Here is one calculator ~ Reloading Cost Calculator
 
Thanks everyone for your valuable input. It sounds like I may need to get into reloading (especially since a box of weatherby 300 is approx $100 for 20 rounds) but I will need to wait for someone getting out of reloading/shooting and wanting to sell off their kit
 
Mudduck said:
If you were starting off which manufacturer would you buy your reloading equipment from - RCBS, Lyman, Hornady, Lee??
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I just re-bought everything from rcbs just because I used their equipment in the past and it was quality then and seems to still be quality. I have no experience with other makes
 
I have and use equipment from pretty much every manufacturer and a few one offs. As long as you stay with any of the major names you'll be fine. Some makers do some things better then others, which is one of the reasons you end up with different makes of stuff. I don't know if the OP has other firearms he will load for, or if his 300 Wby is it. However, just reloading for the 300 will pay for the equipment in short order. It is a spendy caliber to run (yes, I have one, early 60's German made Mk V) and reloading for it is easy. - dan
 
At $80.00+ per box of 20 rounds, a decent savings can be realized if you like to shoot a fair amount.
If your ammo usage is 2/3 boxes or less a year, then you are probably better off buying factory ammo.
Much of my reloading equipment I have had for a considerable length of time.
Additionally, I have a few "wildcats", for which factory ammo is unavailable.
As well, I shoot a couple of rifles in chamberings that the ammo tends to be very pricey.
Since I shoot 2000+ rounds of centerfire ammo a year, factory ammo cost is prohibitive.
You also get the satisfaction of taking game with a load you crafted yourself.
Reloading makes sense to me.
Regards, Eagleye
 
If you shoot often, or want to, reloading will save you quite a bit. An added bonus is you can also tailor your loads to a lower velocity, making practice sesions more enjoyable. This would be especially an advantage with the Weatherby series. You can download a 300 Weatherby to about a 308Win. For most of us, reloading isn't a chore, it's a rather enjoyable hobby.
 
big boar said:
If you shoot often, or want to, reloading will save you quite a bit. An added bonus is you can also tailor your loads to a lower velocity, making practice sessions more enjoyable. This would be especially an advantage with the Weatherby series. You can download a 300 Weatherby to about a 308Win. For most of us, reloading isn't a chore, it's a rather enjoyable hobby.
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Wow - I didnt even know you could download. That certainly gives me some options if I want to use the gun for for deer. I guess now I need to pray for some extra cash at Christmas so I can spend it on my new hobby ... cause I sure dont want to have to explain to teh other 1/2 why I need to spend more money on gun stuff this year :sok2
 
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