9 reasons reloading is better than store bought

I tend to look at it the other way round.
Instead of a cost, I perceive a benefit.

My dollars on components and equipment allow me to participate in an activity that I enjoy for even longer.

If i was buying factory ammo, then that activity would be limited to shooting it.

Because my money goes to components, I also get to prep and size brass, prime brass, develop loads, and ultimately shoot them too.

Yes, those things consume time (as do the many trips to cabelas to learn they are hopelessly out of stock on anything I want) but I paid for that time. Just like i pay to go to a movie. I dont buy a movie ticket and then sit in the lobby mining bitcoin until the last 5 minutes.

For me, its all part of the process that I invest in. Ultimately I probably spend more time loading and shooting than someone who just shoots but loading is part of the activity and I WANT to put that time in.

Yes. I could be working instead but I don’t like work.

I do think that if all you do is build hunting loads and hunt with them, then i cant see reloading saving you any money. It probably costs more. But if you are shooting for shooting’s sake then it doesn’t matter if it saves you money. Its part of the activity.

In my case i get a win win in that I really enjoy loading at least as much as shooting and I also enjoy shooting my own loads even more than I would factory ammo.

As an added bonus it definitely costs me less actualized income to do.
 
jethunter said:
I get it, you can't tell me what the numbers are because there are none.

There is no COST associated with unrealized potential income. That is a loss of revenue, not a cost.
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Now you're just nitpicking definitions and acting like words can only have one meaning. Cost has more than one definition, this one is more in line with what I'm talking about:

Cost: the effort, loss, or sacrifice necessary to achieve or obtain something.

By that definition the loss of revenue IS a cost.

Turns out we ARE in agreement here, you just haven't realized it yet...
 
Handloading is a hobby for many of us, its no different spending $$ on this or on another hobby, whatever floats your boat.
Myself, i like to tinker and perfect things - reloading is a perfect hobby for me, which i enjoy spending my time with.

I never even thought of the cost/revenue/time or any of that for my time and effort of handloading. Never will either.
 
Suther said:
Clearly you've never taken an Econ course that discussed opportunity cost...
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So, do you set aside money which you earned from an employer to pay yourself for the things you do as entertainment or create cost effective procedures????

That's part of the Econ courses as well.

When you take on a a "hobby" that helps to pay for itself in one way or another, you're effectively paying yourself, but with a different form of currency and evaluation.
 
Beeron said:
I tend to look at it the other way round.
Instead of a cost, I perceive a benefit.
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I don't think anyone here is saying there is no benefit or value to reloading - quite the opposite in fact. There are PLENTY of reasons to reload that are not financial.

But if one of your reasons is saving money, then your time should be factored in when doing the calculations to determine how much money you're saving.
 
Suther said:
Now you're just nitpicking definitions and acting like words can only have one meaning. Cost has more than one definition, this one is more in line with what I'm talking about:

Cost: the effort, loss, or sacrifice necessary to achieve or obtain something.

By that definition the loss of revenue IS a cost.

Turns out we ARE in agreement here, you just haven't realized it yet...
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Lol, who is nitpicking? You make up your own definitions now.

We are not in agreement. If we were, you could tell me what numbers to use for pricing the cost of my time while reloading. But you won't, because it's bs.
 
Suther said:
I don't think anyone here is saying there is no benefit or value to reloading - quite the opposite in fact. There are PLENTY of reasons to reload that are not financial.

But if one of your reasons is saving money, then your time should be factored in when doing the calculations to determine how much money you're saving.
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Right,
For those who reload simply to save money, then a more apples to apples comparison should include time as a factor in the production of ammunition.

Of course as has been said, the value of time is different for everyone so each person should make their own valuation.
 
jethunter said:
Lol, who is nitpicking? You make up your own definitions now.
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That is a very normal definition of cost when talking economics - you are focusing on the explicit cost, whereas I'm focusing on the opportunity cost. Both are costs, even if opportunity costs don't fit your narrow definition.
 
Suther said:
That is a very normal definition of cost when talking economics - you are focusing on the explicit cost, whereas I'm focusing on the opportunity cost. Both are costs, even if opportunity costs don't fit your narrow definition.
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I'm saying my free time spent reloading has no cost, but if it does I'd like to know what the valuations are for the purpose of comparison to the price of factory ammo.

If I work at a McDonald's, I might have the potential to get a better job, and by your definition I must be losing money every hour. But that's not how the CRA sees it.

Potential is a fish that you haven't caught yet and it doesn't count against your daily limit.
 
jethunter said:
Question for anybody except suther: what is the cost of time spent reloading on your free time? Dollars per hour.
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All depends on how long it takes to roll my own. 9mm I can zip through 100 empties in about 15=20 min so that makes it about 48 an hour. But if I reload my LM It's about 145 an hour. Cost savings are still worth something to me. IF I bought factory LM I'd get 40 rounds for the same cost as about 90 rounds. That's what I'm paid, an extra 50ish rounds.
 
A person would actually have to pay themselves to have their time actually represent a true cost. I would probably fire myself for taking too long. But I don't like to compromise on quality. You can't compare my Scotch Bonnet peppers to any store bought Poblano. Cheers
 
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I was going to fill my truck up today but fortunately I know now that the time i waste working for myself has a cost.

So i hired the neighbor to fuel up my vehicles for us from now on. He's charging $20 a go for his time.

This is the easiest money i've ever made.

:)
 
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I personally thinking the time-cost argument is a bad faith argument, it's literally impossible to be actively making money 24/7 (passive income isn't an issue because you still make that income while reloading). Aside from sleep, there's also burnout and mental well-being to consider... what's the opportunity costs of correcting those kinds of issues once they arise?

Additionally, If people are going to argue opportunity cost of non-money making time spent reloading I think it's only fair to include the cost of having someone else producing and testing custom ammunition for you during the time you spend going out to make money instead of reloading. Even for bulk ammunition loading (ex. handgun action shooting), most people customize it to some degree for the gun they are using rather than simply try to replicate a factory load for cheaper.

Are there any services will coordinate with you to work up a load that meets your exact specifications (including testing with your particular guns (which you kinda have to do yourself anyway because everyone operates a gun slightly differently), then produce a small lot (by comparison of industrial scale) for you? If so, how much do they cost?
 
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