Cheapest ammo

9mm in a carbine. Canadian BDX gets you pretty close to 20 cents per round.

A "real" rifle cartridge? Past 100 yards? Non-military? Nothing is cheap anymore.

`Roll your own or shoot some corrosive 7.62x39 if you want to save money - windex and elbow grease are cheap!
 
Bite the bullet (no pun intended) and start reloading, so you can shoot whatever you want. I just started myself and I can already tell it is the best course of action.
 
TargetAcquired said:
Bite the bullet (no pun intended) and start reloading, so you can shoot whatever you want. I just started myself and I can already tell it is the best course of action.
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Can you reload 5.56 for less than 28 cents? Norinco ammo if you can find it is/was $400 for 1600
So including set up costs (yes I know after years of reloading it pays for itself) however how many reloads would you need to do to break even at 28 cents a round?
 
little_airwolf said:
Can you reload 5.56 for less than 28 cents? Norinco ammo if you can find it is/was $400 for 1600
So including set up costs (yes I know after years of reloading it pays for itself) however how many reloads would you need to do to break even at 28 cents a round?
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I am an avid handloader, and I just got an AR15. So I broke out the calculator and began sourcing components. I came so close to your 28 cents a round I just could not justify it currently. Maybe when the price of 55 gr FMJ normalize I will. But after landing some 223 for 24 cents a round, I have 3K to burn through before I have to make that decision again.
 
Yes, pricing or even getting relaoding equipment is sometimes difficult, as well as costs for current ammo is higher than normal , but bullets, powder etc is also in short supply making the decision even harder to figure out. Today's "new Normal"
 
little_airwolf said:
Can you reload 5.56 for less than 28 cents? Norinco ammo if you can find it is/was $400 for 1600
So including set up costs (yes I know after years of reloading it pays for itself) however how many reloads would you need to do to break even at 28 cents a round?
Click to expand...

I'm sure I don't know - like I mentioned, I just started, and am beginning with reloading .303. You don't need a calculatior to see that you'll break even on it in a relatively short period of time, especially if you like to shoot as much as I do.

And, when I move onto reloading other calibers, my invesment to start with them will be much lower because I've already got a bunch of the required equipment.

So, who cares if it takes more than a year to break even - you eventually will, so it makes sense regardless of what you shoot.
 
If you look at reloading as money saver, don't kid yourself. Add up all the little nic nacs you have picked up and what your time is worth. We reload because we enjoy it, want something not offered readily, or to escape some other hell!

I just find I shoot a higher volume now that I reload, simply because I can have whatever ammo I want without leaving my home!
 
little_airwolf said:
Can you reload 5.56 for less than 28 cents? Norinco ammo if you can find it is/was $400 for 1600
So including set up costs (yes I know after years of reloading it pays for itself) however how many reloads would you need to do to break even at 28 cents a round?
Click to expand...

you can easily get 70% of your money back should you get out of shooting/reloading. the other 30% pays itself off (pending the calibre) quickly enough. once you reload for one calibre you will very likely start reloading others and pay for it even more so IMO it's a moot point.
 
That's if you shoot multi caliburs. I'm shooting .22 and .223/5.56
At 26-28 cents for 223, how many reloads would you need to make before you break even on the reload gear?
The best reason to reload I've been given is - playing with bullet weight/powder and seeing how your gun groups it. I've seen just as much difference with reloads as a .22 is picky with ammo.
Again, just a basic reload question, what is the break even point on .223? Can you reload for less than 26 cents?
 
if you cast and get free wheel weights, then you only pay for powder and primers, it all depends on what you can get your components for.

but i don't reload for 223 so i cannot answer your questions. i reload 9mm, 38spl, 357mag, 45acp, 500 s&w and 12 gauge.
 
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little_airwolf said:
That's if you shoot multi caliburs. I'm shooting .22 and .223/5.56
At 26-28 cents for 223, how many reloads would you need to make before you break even on the reload gear?
The best reason to reload I've been given is - playing with bullet weight/powder and seeing how your gun groups it. I've seen just as much difference with reloads as a .22 is picky with ammo.
Again, just a basic reload question, what is the break even point on .223? Can you reload for less than 26 cents?
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Best I could do was 22 cents and that was brass I got for free. Figure $60 for 1000 brass your at 28 cents. If you belong to a range brass can be sometimes found for nothing or cheap. Like it has been said it is a hobby in itself. Equipment costs will be a bit steep in the start, but will last for years. I like being able to go out to my setup and make a couple hundred rnds of 9mm in 2hrs and hit the range. If I were you and just starting, buy cheap ammo that is brass cased and save your brass until you can get a reloading setup.
 
I'm finding that I'm using the 22's more often and the milsurp guns. A far as my regular rifles I barely shoot them except for my moose rifle, I test it once a year and then carry it all week.
 
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