How much am I really saving on reloading?

OK, time to look at your basic assumptions.

If you are already shooting a lot, you probably have a bunch of brass, right? (Tell me you didn't toss it...) The most expensive bit is the brass, so if you already have it, your brass cost is effectively zip-diddly.

Next-most expensive is the bullet. If you insist on FMJ for your 9mm, well, you're going to pay a lot more than if you're willing to settle for plain lead bullets. Bullet Barn sells 9mm lead for $47 per 500 - less than 10¢ each (plus shipping and tax, of course). If you cast your own, it's dramatically less.

Primers will set you back maybe 5¢ each.

Propellant goes a long way - I use 3.4 gr of Red Dot for my 9mm, rather over 2,000 loads per pound. If Red Dot sells for $35 a pound, that's less than 2¢ a round.

So, using your own brass, you can be shooting perfectly good ammo for 17¢ a round as opposed to the 27¢ you quote for factory in bulk. So your potential savings are 10¢ a round - $1 every time you empty a magazine.

That's for 9mm Parabellum. Sorry, I don't reload .223, but you can do the research. If you want FMJ ammo, you probably won't be saving all that much for some calibres. (Now ask about .30-06, .303, .38-55 , the WSMs or any of the no-longer-current-military calibres. Your savings are much greater.)

Against that you have to factor in the cost of the gear. If you go top-end like the Dillon you mention, it's a lot of bullets down-range. If you're willing to pay less money but invest more time, using a single-stage press, you can be in business for as low as $300.

It's all a question of how much you shoot, how particular you are, how much time you are willing to spend reloading and how much money you have to spend. After that, it's all basic arithmetic.
 
Are you saving? yes, in cost per round, but not when it comes to your budget. You will be astounded if you keep track of all your spending, while "saving money". :D
 
SandRoad said:
Are you saving? yes, in cost per round, but not when it comes to your budget. You will be astounded if you keep track of all your spending......
Click to expand...

True, but that works to the same degree with cars, houses, pets or marriage.

Let's say that you spend $500 on reloading gear and components cost 17¢ a round (using my figures above):

If you reload 100 rounds, each one will have cost you 500/100 + 0.17 = $5.17. Bad bargain.

If you reload 1,000 rounds, each one will have cost you 500/1,000 + 0.17 = 67¢. Still expensive.

If you reload 10,000 rounds, each one will have cost you 500/10,000 + 0.17 = 22¢.

Break-even point is somewhere around 5,500 rounds, using those figures.

In the end, it all depends what the OP classifies as 'shooting a lot of ammo'. Once you set aside time (something easier said than done, to be true), it all hinges on arithmetic.
 
hometownhero said:
Doesnt take that long depending on what your setup is. For me to start saving money if I only stay loading 223 is 1750 rounds. That wont take long at all. I normally shoot 75-150 every time I go out plinking.
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And what I said was, unless you shoot hundreds of rounds a year, it won't save money. We agree.
 
ATOM said:
True, but that works to the same degree with cars, houses, pets or marriage.

Let's say that you spend $500 on reloading gear and components cost 17¢ a round (using my figures above):

If you reload 100 rounds, each one will have cost you 500/100 + 0.17 = $5.17. Bad bargain.

If you reload 1,000 rounds, each one will have cost you 500/1,000 + 0.17 = 67¢. Still expensive.

If you reload 10,000 rounds, each one will have cost you 500/10,000 + 0.17 = 22¢.

Break-even point is somewhere around 5,500 rounds, using those figures.

In the end, it all depends what the OP classifies as 'shooting a lot of ammo'. Once you set aside time (something easier said than done, to be true), it all hinges on arithmetic.
Click to expand...

Math sound bang on!!!! Like I said, my break even was 5567 :)
 
i have a 550 and a 1050.
1 have my 1050 set up for my highest volume shooting. which for me is .40 for ipsc.

I load 8 other calibers on my 550. the 550 is cheap for caliber conversions and very good for presice (slower loading) for my precision rifles.

my advice is get the 550 and the 1050, skip the bulletfeeder for now andv get familiar with the whole p;rocess.
 
I can make 1000 .45ACP for $81 bucks...

I cast my own bullets, all I pay for is 4.3 grains of powder (about 1 cent per round), $0.04 cents per round for a primer, and a couple cents for the cases I buy periodically (.45acp reloads forever....).

So, yeah, I make my money on .45ACP....

http://www.theammosource.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_33_282&products_id=1088

.308win I'm making rounds for about 70 cents per round (my local guy has insane prices, so I'm buying my next batch or powder and projectiles elsewhere). Commercial runs around a $1.10 each or so...

.223 is like $15.99 for 20. I can make 20 for $6.75
 
i am going to get into the 12ga slug game. i did a quick cost calculation at 55cents a round. thats on the high side and not bargan shopping. when the cheapes cost a bucka trigger pull and sabots are in the 2.50-4 $ range its gonna save its self easly. i am not getting into reloading for a $ aspect. its just somthing to do. i played alot of lacrosse. i loved to re-string lacrosse sticks. i turned it into a job just to pay for my own stuff. this may go the same way
 
trekstor said:
Hey,


I can buy 1000 rounds of AE .223 for $379.95. What would it cost if I made it my self after all is said and done for 1000 rounds?

and

American Eagle 9mm, 115gr FMJ, 1000 Rounds for $269. Whats the production cost assuming we are using new brass and bullets...?
Click to expand...

For 1000 rounds of 223 it will cost about 350$ to reload at todays prices.
brass 70.00
Bullets 115.00
Primers 40.00
Powder 125.00


Your 1000 Rounds of 9mm will cost about 220 if you have to purchase all the components.
 
greg11 said:
I can make 1000 .45ACP for $81 bucks...

I cast my own bullets, all I pay for is 4.3 grains of powder (about 1 cent per round), $0.04 cents per round for a primer, and a couple cents for the cases I buy periodically (.45acp reloads forever....).

So, yeah, I make my money on .45ACP....

http://www.theammosource.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_33_282&products_id=1088
Click to expand...

Sounds very close... I dont cast my 45ACP, I buy boolits for $160.00 per 1000.. given your numbers $81.00 + $160.00 = 241.00 which equals about half price.

phew ! I am saving money after all :)
 
my experience with reloading has not saved me any money but i shoot twice as much for equal money. i reload my 223 for about $220 for 1000 my 9mm is 180 for 1000 and 45 acp 220 for 1000 all of which is much better ammo then the cheapest store bought caparison. my 45 acp and 9mm are using fmj bullets and my 223 is using jhp. now if you really want to save money start loading 300win mag or 7mm rem mag thats where the big savings are
 
ATOM said:
True, but that works to the same degree with cars, houses, pets or marriage.

Let's say that you spend $500 on reloading gear and components cost 17¢ a round (using my figures above):

If you reload 100 rounds, each one will have cost you 500/100 + 0.17 = $5.17. Bad bargain.

If you reload 1,000 rounds, each one will have cost you 500/1,000 + 0.17 = 67¢. Still expensive.

If you reload 10,000 rounds, each one will have cost you 500/10,000 + 0.17 = 22¢.

Break-even point is somewhere around 5,500 rounds, using those figures.

In the end, it all depends what the OP classifies as 'shooting a lot of ammo'. Once you set aside time (something easier said than done, to be true), it all hinges on arithmetic.
Click to expand...

+1. Shooting fairly cheap cartridges like .223 and 9mm makes reloading a long term break-even prospect. OTOH, if you shoot pricier stuff the break even comes way down. I spent ~$1000 setting up for reloading and recouped that in the first year. The details to that are I was reloading for .44 Mag, 6.5x55, 30-06 and .338 Win Mag. The savings on .44 Mag and .338WM were more than enough on their own with just moderate amounts of shooting.

To me, the big reasons to reload are:

1) Being able to customize loads to the firearm and purpose.
2) Being able to produce ammo that is simply not available commercially at any price.
3) Better quality ammo than any factory offerings.
4) Load development as an excuse to shoot more.:D

Saving money is simply gravy.


Mark
 
I agree 100%.

If you want your setup to pay for itself in the first weekend, just start loading 300 Win Mag. At $50 / box of 20, it's not hard to make great rounds using excellent components for less than 1/3 the cost. The downside for me is my Lee press paid for itself so fast, now I'm justifying getting the Hornady LNL AP to move up to progressive reloading.
 
The short answer may be "nothing".
However, satisfaction, accomplishment, achievement and knowing you can make something far superior to factory does not have a value. For everything else there is MasterCard!
 
I can almost load 00 buck cheaper than birdshot(~$25 per 100 shells), provided that lead is near free. Slugs are about the same.

I haven't started loading 308 yet but according to my calculations, I should be able to do "match grade" stuff for around $85 per 100.
 
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