Basic questions - cost

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pierrody

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I am currently thinking about getting into reloading - buying a single stage press, dies, powder, primers, bullets, etc. I just need some advice from those experienced reloaders on CGN.

I have two main reasons for starting to handload:

a) MAIN reason: Cheaper ammo

b) Close SECOND: Avoiding ammo shortages (not being able to find 9mm within 300 km for three months is nuts!)

So I have a basic question about the cost of reloading. As I see it, I have two main categories of costs:

a) One-time expenses: Press and accessories, dies, manual, brass (I understand that its reusable), etc.

b) Component expenses: Bullets, primers, powder

I see that .308 bullets, for example, are around $0.60 a pop. Once you add in powder and primer - how much cheaper is reloading than factory ammo?

So for example - how much does .308, .223, 9mm, 45ACP cost to make? Can I make decent .308 for less than $0.50/round?
 
Lawyer: I would add the main reason for reloading, more accurate, consistent ammo, tailored to your individual guns. Costs of equip. depend on your requirements and how much you will shoot, and whether you go single stage(C0-ax) or progressive(Dillon). I deal in lead,(cast bullets) and they can save you a bunch, cost is .08 cents for . .45 bullet and .15 cents for rifle hard cast gas check bullet. Powder and the rest is easy to figure out, pick a load from a manual and divide the grans used into 7000 and that will tell you how many loads you will get out of your $35.00 can of powder. For the rest, do the math....make sure you buy a few good reloading manuals first and study them, Lymans' 49th is a keeper!!!
 
I only load 40SW right now but I just bought a whole set-up (Lee Turret, 40SW dies, Tumbler, media, 1lb of powder, 1100 plated bullets and 1100 Small Pistol Primers) lastweek in London....total cost was $ 774.98

I used to buy Wolf Reloads for about $18/box which was far cheaper than factory ammo around here. So figure 20 x $18= $320 per thousand

Finished loading the last of my bullets lastnight....my next batch of a thousand will cost $189.76

So, according to my reloading spreadsheet my equipment will be totally paid off after my next batch. Then I'm making 1,000 40SW rounds for just under $0.19 per round. (Plus I have equity in the equipment because I could probably have it all sold tonight for at least half of what I paid for it)
 
I've got a Lee Hand Press, that I reload both 9mm and 45-70 with.
All brand new.

Capital Investment:

Press Starter Kit - 70$. (Press, ram prime, lube,powder funnel).

Caliper- 30 $ from KBC Tool.

Scale- 100$ from Canadian weight.

Dies 9mm - 40$ (get carbide and be done with it).

Primer pocket cleaner - Broken key for a vending machine -free

TOTAL: 240 (not including tax and shipping mind you.)

Consumables:

Titegroup- -25$ per LBS. At aprox 4grains a round thats 1650 rounds; you have to account for powder loss due to various reasons.
Furthermore, I use the OAL to increase the pressure slightly to stop this powder from smoking like nuts with cast bullets. Be warned this is not for the lighthearted. I should try lowering the charge weight to see if I can tone these loads down so they are not that spicy and/or marginally unsafe.

Primers-27$ per 1000.

Bullets 124grain LRN- 35$ for 500. You can get this down cheaper by casting. Not an option for me, not yet at least.

For brass I use factory ammo to start with. Don't really care for sorting it out.
Mostly winchester and some FC. FC primer pockets are easier to clean for some reason IMO.

Not including cases it costs me about 55$ for 500. Which is not bad at all. Keep in mind the Lee hand press is not made for speed. Yet If you are starting out, its probably better to start with single stage and work your way up. The benefits of the hand press is that you don't need a lot of room. All my tools apart from the dies fit into an oversize shoebox.

Some things I would do differently: Get the best scale you can afford. Read,read,read and then read some more reviews. Lee Dies are ok but there are better. One thing I did to the Lee dies is bought some Hornady lock rings, since I found the stock rings would not stay put. No issues since then. The Lee 9mm expander die has a wierd design that sometimes causes sticking on the downstorke.

Speaking of reading. Get a good reloading book to start. Lyman 49th has always been good to me and gives hints about starting loads. I really should have added this to the capital investments. Lots of trusted authorities exist for free on the internet, you just have to search for them. By trusted I mean manufacturers such as Sierra, not some joe blow geopage.

Hope this helps. Nevermind the spelling and grammar; I am at work:(.

-Oleg

P.S. Ben makes a mean 420 grain 45-70 pill.
 
look at the cost of factory ammo and cut it in half. I started on a single stage and found it to be far to slow and time consuming to do pistols or high volume ( 223) so I got a Dillon off the EE for $500 used.
All my reloading equipment paid for itself probably within the first year. I wont even look at a box of factory ammo anymore.
 
Perhaps the most important question.. how many rounds per month do you shoot? If it's a box a month, then maybe a bit of volume buying (2-3 cases) is the answer... HOWEVER, if it's 2-8 boxes a WEEK, reloading pays!!
 
Here's a great way to figure out how much it will cost you in component.

http://ww w.handloads.com/calc/loadingCosts.asp

45ACP is expensive to reload due to the cost of bullets. You can reload lead to cut down on the price. You can buy 224 in bulk when it's available. If you shoot a lot, you might want to invest in a progessive press. I can't imagine myself reloading 1000 rounds of 9mm or 45ACP with a single stage press. With a progressive, it can be done in 2 hours.
 
Well, you may not have to deal with ammo shortages after you start reloading, but you will have to deal with component shortages like primers.:D

I too am looking at getting to reloading, so far all I have done is bought a book: "The ABC's of Reloading 8th Edition. "
 
What most people don't tell you is that, reloading makes you buy guns so that you can reload for them.

There should be a public health warning on the kits. You can be down a couple of grand in no time.

Just buying bullets does not have this effect. :D
 
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