Help me justify this....

greg11

greg11

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Well, maybe justify is the wrong word. But I'm just trying to rationalize reloading 175gr SMK's in .308. I've worked my costs out to approx. $0.801 a round. I figure that, on 1000 rounds, I'm saving at least $200 (if I bought the cheapest stuff) and getting far better ammunition than the cheap $1/rnd crap. I don't think my ammo is quite match grade yet, as I don't have a tumbler, and am not serious into trimming and annealing and truing the projectile in the case ect... But I still think my ammunition has to be far superior to the bargain factory stuff, and at a discount of at least $200.

Just looking for some general thoughts. I produce about 1MOA at 100yds, which I think will get a little better once I get a higher power optic (8-32x56 Sightron SIII in the mail presently). I'm currently running a fixed Bushnell 3200 Elite Tactical 10x and I can't see the bullet holes under the cross-hair at 100yds since my reticle is about 2-3x fatter than the hole itself, so I suspect that my ammo is actually a lot better than I'm seeing currently. Plus, of course, there are some shooting fundamentals which I need to perfect as well...
 
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Sounds like good math and reasoning to me. And the most important thing is you get to shoot, for fun and for building skill/practice!
 
Factor in as well that any saved brass is reusable, so even if your initial cost per bullet isn't that different from commercial, the 2nd time around you save around $0.50+ per round. That adds up over a couple hundred rounds.
 
.308 just seems to have less of a "margin" than any other caliber I load. .223 gets real cheap when you're handloading, I find. But I think, more than any other caliber, I guess I need to factor in "quality" as well as price.

Here's a copy of my notepad file where I was figuring my rough costs vs. retail... I cast 9mm, .45 and .30-30

For .30-30 I'm just comparing my cheap hand cast Bluedot loads (pistol velocity) to retail just for fun. :p Crazy how much I save in some calibers compared to .308.

This isn't including the price of brass... I don't really include the brass because you can reuse em. I probably should, but it would make matters worse. I'm jedi mind tricking myself...

Especially for .45, of course. I love that cart so damn much.


9mm
Powder = $0.0251rnd
Primer = $0.056rnd
Free Projectile
Total = $0.0811rnd
per 1000 = $81/1000
Retail 1000 = ~$339

.45acp
Powder = $0.0251rnd
Primer = $0.056rnd
Free Projectile
Total = $0.0811rnd
per 1000 = $81/1000
Retail 1000 = ~$587

.308
Powder = $0.245rnd
Primer = $0.056rnd
Projectile = $0.50
Total = $0.801rnd
per 1000 = $801/1000
Retail 1000 = ~$1000 (Crap) ~$1750 (Higher End)

.223rem
Powder = $0.142rnd
Primer = $0.056rnd
Projectile = $0.14
Total = $0.338rnd
per 1000 = $338/1000
Retail 1000 = $847

30-30 Bluedot
Powder = $0.048rnd
Primer = $0.056rnd
Free Projectile
Total = $0.104rnd
per 1000 = $104/1000
Retail = $1072
Click to expand...

Wow, just saw on WSS that "SUPREME SIERRA MATCHKING™ TARGET RIFLE AMMO - 308 Winchester Winchester Ammunition" goes for $45 (Tax In) for a box of 20. That's $2260 per 1000rounds! LOL....
 
How about this for justification:
Half of your enjoyment in the sport can be the reloading... the making rounds that will do better than factory then improving on them. Pulling the trigger and making a hole in a sheet of paper 100m away doesn't have to be the end of your day. If you think about it from the fact that you are going to spend hundreds of dollars on ammo regardless to get those little holes on the paper down range, think about the extra hours of making the rounds not as a chore, but part of the shooting experience. And as a bonus the rounds are also cheaper than factory!

How's that for a justification? :p
 
Only other way to start knocking the expense down is to cast your own bullets.
Then it is just a matter of primers and powder,gaschecks and new brass once in a long while after the first year. Although, it can be a trap. There are always new moulds to try, a new bullet design to try. But, it also increases the scope of cartridges and guns you can play with, which can make a gun show a very expensive place to be.
 
You are not going to save any money by reloading. Don't kid yourself, you are going to spend just as much or probably even more. You will just have more ammo on hand.

The resaon you get into reloading is that you take pride in the fact that you are doing something that others don't or can't do. You can make better ammo for each of your guns. Also as others have said here it gives you something to do at nights especially in the winter months when it get dark early and is to cold to do things outside. It will be a great learning expwerince for you as well.

Just my two cents worth.

Graydog
 
Stewie333 said:
Fact of the matter is, that shooting is a fairly expensive hobby if your shooting center fire on a regular basis.

Nice gun, nice scope, reloading gear, reloading components $$$.

Irritating Socialist Liberals because of my hobby...Priceless
Click to expand...

Add to that, that we are feared as a nation on the whole because of private gun ownership and the level of expertise within the private sector. This perception helps keep those who covet our land at bay.


To the OP, there ya go, reloading is patriotic and helps defend our borders. Great justification.
 
If you do the math using the same projectiles, once you move to above your cheapest-of-the-cheap projectiles, you save lots of money. Many of us load .308 for about $0.70 per round, but if we bought the same stuff from the factory it would be about $2.00.
 
madpat said:
How about this for justification:
Half of your enjoyment in the sport can be the reloading... the making rounds that will do better than factory then improving on them. Pulling the trigger and making a hole in a sheet of paper 100m away doesn't have to be the end of your day. If you think about it from the fact that you are going to spend hundreds of dollars on ammo regardless to get those little holes on the paper down range, think about the extra hours of making the rounds not as a chore, but part of the shooting experience. And as a bonus the rounds are also cheaper than factory!

How's that for a justification? :p
Click to expand...



Wise words...
 
There are cheaper options if you're just plinking at 100 and reloading to save some money, but if you're shooting the .308 beyond 300m the performance of the 175gr smk will be well worth the expense.
 
I started reloading 9mm recently after debating abou it for ages. I figure the savings if I'm smart about powder choice and bullet types ( I just dont have any desire or time to cast my own) are about 45%. After taxes a 1000 roud case of 9mm is about $285 To reload with Berry or Canadian BDX bullets comes in around $160 - 180. I bought a Hornady LNL auto progressive and I figure my payback will be at around 5000 rounds, or about 6 months. So if you dont get carried away you can save money, and as said above, it can be part of the fun
 
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