30-06 to or not reload? Lets do the math

sniper_26_99

sniper_26_99

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Looking at reloading 30-06 but just can't seem to get the math right?

Currently paying 17$ to 20$ for 20 rounds of Remington pre rolled.

Tax in that makes it about 1.30$ a shot.

Now either I'm not looking at the right place for bullets the price of reloading is practically just 25 cents less.

How much do you pay per 100 say for bullets to plink at the range and better hunting bullets?

I have 28 cents for a LR primer and 20 cents for 50 grains of Varget and 50 cents to 2 dollars for bullets.Win LRP 36$/1000 and Hodgdon Varget 28$/lb =.004 cents a grain


In my book that makes rolling my own at 98 cents to 2.50$ provided I already have the brass.
Is it worth the effort? What are you guys doing?

I've always rolled my own for the fun of it but I find the savings are just not there anymore.

Cheers
 
Check your math on the primer, I have your primer at 3.6 cents and your powder at .4 cents a grain, so thats 3.6 cents for primer and 20 cents for powder. Bullets can probably be had for under 50 cents, but lets go with that. That makes 73.6 cents per cartridge or $14.72 cents a box of 20. If your paying more then 50 cents for bullets, you will be looking a pretty premium bullets, such as partitions, triple shocks etc. If you are going to do that, then compare to premium factory ammo that is probably running $50 a box. A quick check on wholsales website has factory remingtons with A Frames at $57 a box, Winchester Supreme Elite Ammo is $47 a box, and I don't know what bullet it uses. So if you calculate in a $1 a piece premium bullet your handloads will cost $24.72. So then the savings is about half price, or you can be shooting premium ammo that matches your rifle for the same cost as the cheapy stuff.

The savings are there if you compare apples to apples. Of course if you shoot two boxes a year, the amortization of even cheap used reloading equipment will be a long time.
 
Your right 3.6 cents for the primer.

As this is my first hunting rifle I'm not familiar at all with the types of bullets available and further more being from Quebec the only stuff I can find close if old dusty overpriced stock left over from the cold war.......LOL!!!!

If I'm going to get a decent price I need to be doing mail order so its kinda hard to get a hands on feel at what I'm buying.

Basically what the best way to go plink with what you hunt or have 2 different loads for 2 different jobs?

I want your makes and weights of what most people use for the 2 different applications.
 
If your going to hunt with a premium bullet, and I think everyone should, because with what most of us spend on guns and hunting, the few premium bullets we will use in a year are insignificant, especially compared to lost and wounded game.

By premium bullets I mean A-Frames, Partitions, Triple Shocks etc. I have had really good success with partitions and Triple shocks, so I use them, but I am quite confident there are several more every bit as good.

If you want to do lots of plinking, it can be very nice to have a cheaper bullet for that. When I was shooting a .270 lots, I was very fortunate that in my particular gun, a 130 grain partition, and a 130 grain remington core lok shot to the same point of aim, with the exact same powder charge. Made loading simply, and I could practice lots with the cheap loads, then use partitions for hunting with no changes.

With my .375 H & H I haven't been as fortunate, partly because cheap bullets are hard to find in my hunting weights. So I have one load with 270gr Triple Shocks for hunting, and another with 220grain hornady flat points for gophers, and general plinking. However before and after hunting season I have to rezero my rifle for the appropriate load. (If you right down the number of clicks to do so, you'll find it helps a lot to rezero).

For your 30-06 you will probably be able to find a premium bullet and a cheap bullet that will fly very close.
 
It is not only the cost of factory ammo to look at....reloading can be fun and much cheaper in the long run. I buy bulk bullets at about 10 cents each for plinking and fun range time. the best of the reloading is tailoring your ammo to suit your gun. The 30-06 I shoot was terrible with factory ammo even at 50 yards. so I began building a combination that shot better. With my homeloads now, it shoots about 2" at 200 yards.Quite satisfactory for me. Having or getting once fired brass can lower costs and with primers, powder and bullets, I guess the cost is less than 50 cents per shell. And with persistance, you can have better than premium factory ammo that your gun likes..
 
Although it may not be as much of a savings, personally I think that the quality of your ammo should be taken into consideration. Factory ammunition's consistancy may not be as good as what you can put together yourself.

Just something to consider. You may think differently, but I guess it's just personal preferance.

Happy shooting.
 
Well, I bought 21lbs of WC-735 from Higginson's a few years ago @ $13 a pound, along with several thousand Remington PSP bulk bullets.
So, my cost on .30-06 hand-rolled runs about like this:
Powder = 9.3 cents
Primer = .03 cents
bullet = 23 cents
brass = free (picked up at the range, we'll say)
so total cost of a round is 32.33 cents. That makes a box of 20 bullets for me $6.46. Store bought Winchester XP are about $26 a box (tax in), so, I guess, the answer to your question would be my question. "Why would I pay $25 a box when I can pay less than $7??"
Even if I had to buy powder (which I do this year) the price would only go up to 12.8cents a round, a difference of 70cents per box, still coming in at just over $7. ($7.16). Still less than 1/3 store-boughts. Thank you for this thread. Helps me to remember why I reload. And as was said here earlier, I can screw around with cheap bulk bullets then move up to the premiums for the hunt with minimal changes to sighting or charges. And even then, premium bullets will only cost me an extra $1. So, I'd still get a box of premium bullets (Barnes ###, Partitions, Berger...) for $28 while you pay close to $60.
 
One thing about reloading for 30-06.... factory ammo is somewhat under-powered because of older rifles. You can usually improve on the balistics quite a bit when you hand load, assuming that you will be using the ammo in a modern rifle.
 
Reloading means improving accuracy which you can't buy in the store at any price, the combination of different bullets and the amount of powder you put in the case controls barrel vibrations and thus accuracy.

barrelvibes.jpg


You can also reload and make ammunition of lesser quality and accuracy than factory loaded ammunition so attention to detail is important.

Reloading is a state of mind that says "I" can make them better...........

A simple Lee Loader can make very accurate ammunition, and a RCBS reloading die with the decapping-expander ball locked off center will make ammunition far, far worse than factory loaded ammunition with excessive neck runout.

With your 30-06 you could download your ammunition for short range hunting by using 170 grain 30-30 bullets at 24-2500 fps and have a "30-30 magnum".

For long range shooting you could up the velocity and use boat tail bullets and have an 06 that shoots just as flat as a .270 Winchester. The 30-06 factory loaded ammunition has a lower rated chamber pressure due to all the older military 30-06 still being used and a new bolt action 30-06 can be reloaded to the same chamber pressures as the .270 and be very flat shooting.

If you reload your 30-06 you can make short range plinking loads loading 100-110 grain bullets and a reduced amount of powder for small game or easy on the shoulder practice at the range.

Reloading means you love your brass as much as your wife. (Or even more)

IMGP5183.jpg


If you get a divorce chances are your wife wont want half your brass.

IMGP5184.jpg


Reloading is a state of mind.........and my son is even teaching me how to "reload" brown bottles.

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I have been reloading for over 40 years, I've been married for over 35 years and my wife still loves me......................and I still have all my brass.


Life is good.............

smilingpig.jpg
 
If you're fine with factory ammo, and do not shoot lots, you will probably not save much (if anything) by starting to reload. Guy's forget that besides the cost per round, they have to buy all the equipment to get going, and it's not free. How many guys have dumped $1000 into their equipment, but forget to factor that in when they are asked how much their reloads cost?

If you are a 5-10 boxes per year hunter/shooter and are fine with factory ammo, stick with it and you're done.

I've got to dissagree with scar270 on the cost of premium bullets too. 50 cents DOES NOT get you 30 caliber TSX's or Partitions etc. You're looking at $1.00 per, or more.

My cost for reloading 30-06 is about $.80 per round. Like most guys, I cannot afford to bulk buy 20 lbs of the same powder at a time or 1000 of the same bullet. I get a pound of this powder and a box of that bullet here and there. I'm pretty sure my reloading costs are fairly typical. If I reload for $.80, but could buy for $1.00, I'm not saving much at all.

I think the real gain in reloading is to get the maximum performance out of your ammunition; and because it is an enjoyable hobby. The only real financial gains would come if you've got a fair bit of money into your reloading components (read thousands) and you can buy in bulk and reload significant amounts of ammo.
 
I have never considered hand loading to be about saving money - to me it's about creating the best possible ammunition for each particular rifle.

Secondly, I find a lot of satisfaction in it....when I become engrossed in my loading bench, the anxiety and crap of the day gets pushed aside. By the time I have 50 shiny new cartridges built, each as identical as possible to the last (and knowing that each will go exactly where I intend it to as long as I do my part), I feel pretty darn good.

I have FAR more confidence in my hand loads than I've ever had in any factory loads.
 
I have been reloading for over 50 years. Cost has never been a factor. I don't shoot that much anymore but I still find it very interesting to read and talk about. New bullets ,powder,bullet performance etc. It has been a life long interest.
 
Northman999 said:
I've got to dissagree with scar270 on the cost of premium bullets too. 50 cents DOES NOT get you 30 caliber TSX's or Partitions etc. You're looking at $1.00 per, or more.
Click to expand...

Go check what I said again, I put premium bullets at a dollar. Otherwise we are pretty much echoing the same things, I did the math with powder and primers not bought in large bulk amounts. He will save maybe $5 buying cheapie ammo or loading with cheap bullets, however he can save $20 dollars a box loading premium ammo vs purchasing premium ammo.

You are absolutely right, and I said it too, that if you shoot a few boxes a year, amortization of the equipment may not pay off. However I have much more then that invested in reloading equipment, and I've paid for it many times over.

Accuracy is the other factor, and while factory ammo can and usually is quite high quality, that doesn't mean your rifle will shoot it well. I can make finely crafted hand loaded ammo with high consistency that still shoot 4" groups in one gun, and sub inch in another. If you find factory ammo that shoots well, buy a bunch of that lot up and call it good if you only shoot 2 boxes a year.

If you want to shoot more and become a better shot, then reloading allows you to do that.
 
With some good deals, My 300 Win mag with Sierra 190 MK Moly is less that $0.60 for target work. Hunting loads with 190 Hornady are $0.70.
The last .22 LR Eley Match was $141.00 for 500 so that was over $0.28 each.
Reloading should yield quality.
Ukranian Wheel may have some deals and there are no guarantees from lot to lot.
If you get satisfaction buying over the counter factory stuff - Good For You - I don't

I do shop around for bullets, powder and primers.
 
horseman2 said:
Ukranian Wheel
Click to expand...

Never heard it called that, good one. I usually call it Cambodian Tire.

Once you get into casting your own bullets and only have to pay for primers and powder, you can really have fun on the cheap.

For my hunting rifle I cast a Lyman 170 grn flat point that I can keep inside 1.25" at 100 yards at about 1900 fps. I bought 2 box's of 165 gn Hornady bullets about 15 years ago and I am still working on them. After I plink around with the cast bullets all year (about 300-400 rounds), I dial my scope back into where it needs to be set for the Hornady bullets, take 3 rounds to the range to make sure it is correct and away I go.

I also hunt thick timber with my .444 Marlin shooting a 300 gn cast bullet.

These two rifles is what I use for all my hunting needs depending on where I hunt, prairie or bush.
 
For hunting, IMHO, it's not worth reloading. Get 200 rounds of 150gr/165gr/180gr of factory ammo in total, and it should serve you well for a looooong while.
 
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