Cost per round, store bought VS homemade.
- Thread starter henry22
- Start date
Find out if you really enjoy shooting first and how much ammo you use before you make price comparisions. Re-loading is time consuming and expensive
to get into, it takes a while to get good at it before your loads become as good as store bought.
Most of these guys who have posted in this thread are long time re-loaders who shoot a lot, they may have forgotten how hard it is to make good ammo
cheaply because they already have all the equipment and they have all the knowledge already.
to get into, it takes a while to get good at it before your loads become as good as store bought.
Most of these guys who have posted in this thread are long time re-loaders who shoot a lot, they may have forgotten how hard it is to make good ammo
cheaply because they already have all the equipment and they have all the knowledge already.
BigUglyMan
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- New Scotland
I don't have the numbers to back it up, but I feel very confident that I am reloading my 470 NE for MUCH less than the $230 I paid for 10 rounds of Norma factory ammo. Other than that I never buy factory ammo. Why would anyone in their right mind buy factory if they intend on reloading? And who can call themselves a gun Nut if they don't reload?
In some cases the only reason I buy factory ammo is to establish a quantity of brass for reloading. Often the brass alone will cost almost as much as some loaded ammo, so buy some stuff just to shoot and get the brass.
Wow, that was a whack of info. Much thanks to all. It's because I'm debating which lever to commit to. I could easily buy a Marlin 39AS in 22LR, or a Henry in 22WMG, or a Henry 22 Lever frontier model 22LR etc, and I'd probably be very happy. BUT, I keep watching these damn videos of hickok45 on you tube doing demos of Marlins and Henrys, shooting colt .45 and 357, 45-70, and they just seem more funner!
22 ammo is so cheap, and I'm thinking it would be cost prohibitive shooting colt 45, but that's what I want the experience for, a real cowboy cartridge - like in the "olden days".
But a box of Winchester, 50 rounds of that stuff at Cabela's, 250 grain, is 32.75 bucks, including HST, or roughly 66 cents per round. Not bad.
It keeps looking more and more like 22LR, or at best 22WMG.
CCI 22WMR, 50 rounds at 21.45, including HST, and at about 43 cents per round is better, but not by much. It's almost worth paying the extra to shoot colt 45
22 ammo is so cheap, and I'm thinking it would be cost prohibitive shooting colt 45, but that's what I want the experience for, a real cowboy cartridge - like in the "olden days".
But a box of Winchester, 50 rounds of that stuff at Cabela's, 250 grain, is 32.75 bucks, including HST, or roughly 66 cents per round. Not bad.
It keeps looking more and more like 22LR, or at best 22WMG.
CCI 22WMR, 50 rounds at 21.45, including HST, and at about 43 cents per round is better, but not by much. It's almost worth paying the extra to shoot colt 45
Last edited:
Lonesome Donkey
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Central Alberta
Some say that reloading is not a cost saver because you just end up shooting more to the limit of your budget.
But, I never found this to be the case.
I only shoot so many targets for each range excursion.
I have loaded for .44 magnum and .45 LC for years without buying any factory ammo.
Otherwise, I could not have afforded to shoot these revolvers.
The things to consider is these.
1) Each brass casing can be reused up to 8 or more times, depending on the pressures and stresses involved with each particular cartridge, so you can calculate the cost per shot at 1/8 of what you paid for the brass up front.
2) You can use plain lead bullets that you buy, or cast yourself. Either way, it's quite a bit cheaper than factory jacketed.
These two things alone will cut the cost of shooting hugely.
Lately I have noticed that brass available at Wholesale Sports and Cabela's has become outrageously priced compared to high quality Starline brass available from Rusty Wood and The Bullet Barn (to name two palces).
Starline .45 Colt brass is running around $39.00 a hundred or 39 cents each.
That would work out to maybe 4.9 cents per shot for brass until it is unusable.
Bullet Barn bullets would run $89.00 per 500 for RNFP 250 grain hard cast, or 17.8 cents per shot for a factory cast bullet.
Powder might cost 5 cents per shot.
A primer might cost around 5 cents per shot.
Not counting shipping and GST, each round would cost around 32.8 cents, or $16.40 a box of 50.
Maybe $18.00 with shipping and GST costs factored in.
American Eagle .45 LC (the cheapest) is $33.60 a box of 50, GST inclusive.
Usually you can pick up Bullet Barn bullets at a gun shop somewhere not to far away to avoid the shipping.
Sometimes there are also independent bullet casters selling in your area as well.
Of course, bullet casting would cut your round cost to less than half of when buying factory lead bullets.
Contrary to what some would have you believe, hand loading is an easy process.
Your first rounds loaded can be as accurate as factory, if you simply follow the instructions and loads listed.
There is a learning curve to get started, but that is rapidly mastered.
It would cost you about $585.00 to set up with an RCBS single stage Rock Chucker kit, including a cast iron press, powder measure, priming hand tool, and a good quality analog scale.
A Lee aluminum Challenger single stage press kit might cost $220.00, although the scale included is poor, and the powder measure is of cheaper construction.
You do have to commit a couple of hours to generate a 150 rounds with a single stage press, but what is your time worth compared to the cost of shooting hugely expensive factory ammo?
But, I never found this to be the case.
I only shoot so many targets for each range excursion.
I have loaded for .44 magnum and .45 LC for years without buying any factory ammo.
Otherwise, I could not have afforded to shoot these revolvers.
The things to consider is these.
1) Each brass casing can be reused up to 8 or more times, depending on the pressures and stresses involved with each particular cartridge, so you can calculate the cost per shot at 1/8 of what you paid for the brass up front.
2) You can use plain lead bullets that you buy, or cast yourself. Either way, it's quite a bit cheaper than factory jacketed.
These two things alone will cut the cost of shooting hugely.
Lately I have noticed that brass available at Wholesale Sports and Cabela's has become outrageously priced compared to high quality Starline brass available from Rusty Wood and The Bullet Barn (to name two palces).
Starline .45 Colt brass is running around $39.00 a hundred or 39 cents each.
That would work out to maybe 4.9 cents per shot for brass until it is unusable.
Bullet Barn bullets would run $89.00 per 500 for RNFP 250 grain hard cast, or 17.8 cents per shot for a factory cast bullet.
Powder might cost 5 cents per shot.
A primer might cost around 5 cents per shot.
Not counting shipping and GST, each round would cost around 32.8 cents, or $16.40 a box of 50.
Maybe $18.00 with shipping and GST costs factored in.
American Eagle .45 LC (the cheapest) is $33.60 a box of 50, GST inclusive.
Usually you can pick up Bullet Barn bullets at a gun shop somewhere not to far away to avoid the shipping.
Sometimes there are also independent bullet casters selling in your area as well.
Of course, bullet casting would cut your round cost to less than half of when buying factory lead bullets.
Contrary to what some would have you believe, hand loading is an easy process.
Your first rounds loaded can be as accurate as factory, if you simply follow the instructions and loads listed.
There is a learning curve to get started, but that is rapidly mastered.
It would cost you about $585.00 to set up with an RCBS single stage Rock Chucker kit, including a cast iron press, powder measure, priming hand tool, and a good quality analog scale.
A Lee aluminum Challenger single stage press kit might cost $220.00, although the scale included is poor, and the powder measure is of cheaper construction.
You do have to commit a couple of hours to generate a 150 rounds with a single stage press, but what is your time worth compared to the cost of shooting hugely expensive factory ammo?
Last edited:
I have Henry lever action in both .22lr (H001T) and .357mag (H012M) and while they're both great guns, the .22 tend not to get shot so much now that I have the .357. It's a question of "where's my earth-shattering kaboom?" mostly: something is simply missing in my shooting experience with the no-recoil "pop pop pop" of the .22! Still a fun and accurate gun for plinking clays or foam balls and paper plates and whatnot!
I picked the .357mag because it's relatively cheap either store-bought or reloaded and I really didn't have a real need for something more powerful like the 45-70. It's also a joy to reload (straight wall cartridges are so much easier!)
I could shoot .38spl also out of it but the impact point at 100y is a full foot lower. Compensating for that much drop is a bit of a pain.
I have both the .357 Big Boy and the Henry Classic in 22WMR and it is cheaper to feed the 357 with reloads than to buy a box of CCI 22WMR. Anyway you look at it you can't go wrong with a Henry Rifles regardless of the caliber.
- Location
- Prince Albert, Sk
The larger and more obscure the chambering , typically the greater the savings, and yes, it is cheaper.
Also add in, that the more precise the ammo, the greater the cost savings.
338LM match vs 338LM handloads. I can be almost exactly half on this one with $3 one time use new brass. When it is a savings of $3 or $4 each time you pull the trigger , a press and dies and scale can be paid off pretty quick.An expensive progressive to load 9mm , well that is certainly going to take longer.
Also add in, that the more precise the ammo, the greater the cost savings.
338LM match vs 338LM handloads. I can be almost exactly half on this one with $3 one time use new brass. When it is a savings of $3 or $4 each time you pull the trigger , a press and dies and scale can be paid off pretty quick.An expensive progressive to load 9mm , well that is certainly going to take longer.
I would stay away from anything 22WMR unless:
1-You hunt with it or;
2-It's a dual calibre firearm (22lr/22WMR) such as a dual barrel revolver or something like that.
The problem with 22WMR is that it's as expensive as some centerfire (roughly the price of 9mm), but it's still a rimfire. If you're talking about cost per round, then 22WMR is probably the worst fun/price ratio. I know 4 people who own Ruger Single six convertible revolvers, all of them have shot exactly one box of 22WMR "just to see how the recoil feels" and the rest was 22lr.
At 35-40$ per brick of 500 rounds, you can plink 22lr a whole afternoon for less than it cost to fill the tank of a subcompact.
If you go centerfire, my personnal preference would be 357 over the other calibre you mention, but it really boils down to personnal preference.
This is absolutely true on a per round basis, but I shoot 150-500 rounds of 9mm per shooting session. When I shoot a large calibre rifle (none of which are even close to 338LM), I don't shoot anywhere near that many rifle round. When hunting it can be days between shots...
Same equipment can be used to reload both pistol and rifle rounds anyway. All the case prep stuff (including the tumbler) are usefull no matter what you reload even if you have multiple presses.
- Location
- Prince Albert, Sk
As an owner of a Marlin 1894c in 38/357, I can attest that it's a fun gun, but difficult to find. They don't make them any longer - there was word they were tooling up to start making them again 3 years ago or so, but I haven't seen any recent ones.
You can find them used in the $900 range though.
As for reloading, yeah, it is it's own hobby within itself. Costs are cheaper after you factor in the costs of getting setup (press, brass cleaner, etc). Most of my 38/357 loads with plated campros are half the cost of factory, and about 1/3 the cost when I melt my own. The press and initial setup costs are paid for if you reload / shoot enough. For the guy who only goes out twice a year, it's a hard sell to spend $4-500 on getting setup.
You can find them used in the $900 range though.
As for reloading, yeah, it is it's own hobby within itself. Costs are cheaper after you factor in the costs of getting setup (press, brass cleaner, etc). Most of my 38/357 loads with plated campros are half the cost of factory, and about 1/3 the cost when I melt my own. The press and initial setup costs are paid for if you reload / shoot enough. For the guy who only goes out twice a year, it's a hard sell to spend $4-500 on getting setup.
Personally, I'd agree that .22lr isn't nearly as much fun as center fire in a lever action. If it were me, I'd start out with a 22lr bolt action in the $200-300 range, and later go to a lever 30-30, 44 mag, or 45-70. Those are fun to shoot, but the ammo is much more expensive.
I would go for a semi-automatic 22lr but I think he wants lever-action, not semi-auto or bolt-action. Seems like the only thing he's sure about.
With 357 or 45LC, OP can also get matching calibre revolver eventually.
You want to really save get in to casting. Its not all plane sailing when casting, BUT if you can get the lead then you can save.
I load 45-70 and 44 mag all cast (costs not including equipment which all paid back after years of casting) is approx $15 per 20 45-70 (405gr) & 44 mag is approx $12 per 50
These depend on powder used and price etc. I tend to buy bulk when it comes to reloading so i still have primers, powder from 2 years ago. I have not purchased brass for years, only used 50 brass out of 200 so far for 45-70, and reloaded those 5 times.
Last edited:
Buy your reloading equipment off the EE. It's already depreciatyaboit as much as it can, so if you move on or move up, you can resell it on the EE for close to what you paid for it. (So it doesn't become a part of the cost per round)
Also, watch the EE for once fired brass. Some great deals can be had. The posty is delivering one such deal to me today
Also, watch the EE for once fired brass. Some great deals can be had. The posty is delivering one such deal to me today
I know, I'm just giving options and op makes up his own mind. There is no perfect answer to his question - A lever 22 isn't really any more fun than a bolt action 22, and op already kind of figured that out. OTOH feeding a center fire gets expensive if you shoot much and don't reload.
