How much am I really saving on reloading?

trekstor

trekstor

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Hey,

Can you guys share your story on how much you manage to save over buying complete rounds?

Lets assume we are using new brass, new bullets.

How much cheaper is it? is it worth a 2500$ investment into a Dillon 1050 with auto bullet feeder?

I shot lot of ammo, and I would like to produce lots of ammo for my own needs.

Where is the best source for brass and bullets?

I am trying to figure out if it is worth even getting into reloading if I can buy bulk.

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...?
 
Lots of variables. I load 45LC, 45acp and soon will reload 38-55. . I can load those calibers for very close to 11 cents a round at the price I am paying for bullets, powder and primers. Could be cheaper if I cast my own. A box of 50 45LC cowboy loads at retail is around $35 plus tax as opposed to $5.50 for loading my own. That does not include the cost of the brass, but then I can reuse it many times. After the initial layout for loading equipment and brass the cost goes way down. The fact is that I could not afford to indulge in the my gun sports if I did not reload.

I know there are certain calibers of rifle ammunition that can be purchased very cheaply. But that is usually for FMJ which has limited uses.... However, loading might not be as economical for that side of things.
 
You won't save much buying Hornady brass and 100ct boxes of premium bullets... Start looking at 1F or starline brass, bulk powders from higgonsons and 5000+ lots of bullets from campro/berry's/lake city/prvi etc.

Reloading in a big way takes substantial investing and keeping ones eye on the horizon... You start off as a hobbyist and end up obsessed... If you think twice about buying $400 worth of AE ammo perhaps the thought of spending twice that just to get an extra 10% off a single component on a bulk purchase will put things more in perspective....

Big progressive machines are hungry beasts... In a leisurely Saturday afternoon I can spit out several thousand .223/9mm/.308/10mm etc on my 650... It takes several months of Carefull planned bargain shopping to amass the components to do such... And a lot of additional time in case prep and wifeasskissing as well. But I can save 50% on most calibers and have a large supply of exotic ammo such as lots of trace, endless bucket of lead 9mm plinking ammo, more then enough HP 9/10mm to survive the zompocalypse and enough .223 to last a very long time.

....don't ask how many thousands of dollars it took to get to this point tho... Even I really don't want to know.
 
When I got into reloading it was to save money in the long run. Even buying premium bullets I am able to load ammo way cheaper than what I can but it for from the factory.

To date I have spent more than I care to count on compoents. I have enough compoents to load anything I have. The only things I don't reload are 12 gauge and rim fire. For the amount of shogun I shoot there is no advantage. Especially since stell shot is very expensive to buy.

As for costs I can load 45acp with cast bullets for $8.5 a box. My 338 win mag using barns bullets for about 30 a box. That hard to beat. But in the end it's not just about cost. You can tailor a load to your rifle or pistol. You can make them do more things that what factory can offer. As others have said. It starts off as a hobby but I must say that I am addicted.
 
Number of threads already with estimate on cost saving from 9mm to 45ACP to rifle rounds.

As expected the more expensive the factory round the more the saving. 9mm and 308Win/30-06 takes a lot more rnds to save vs 45ACP and 300WM.
 
If you are getting all the best equipements and components, you dont save much, it is more you are going for the perfect group, it would be impossible to get if you did not handload, commercial load can do so much, after that it is up to us... JP.
 
To put it into perspective, I have spent exactly $1492.63 on reloading equipment and supplies since December 17, 2012. I have fired exactly 167 handloads and have another 60 handloads in my inventory. It will be some time to come before I recoup my "investment". Aside from my wife biatching about time spent prepping brass in my basement, I find it to be quite an enjoyable hobby. I never intended to get into volume production, but rather to focus on extreme accuracy from my rifles. Yes, if you want to "save money" it might be easier to buy in bulk, especially the FMJ plinker crap that seems to be everywhere in 500 round boxes (9mm, 223, 308, 7.62x39, etc.).
 
While it is true that the "per round" cost of reloads is less than factory loads, there is no way you will save money by getting into reloading unless you shoot many, many hundreds of rounds per year. Do you?

I reload for many reasons. Saving money is not one of them.
 
i figured this out the other week for my 30.06. taxes in im shooting for about 77 cents a piece all said and done, cheap factory ammo is about 1.25 a shot and the better quality stuff is 3.39 a shot. im pretty sure with some more practice ill reload the same quality and accurate stuff as the expensive loads and tailor them to work in my gun. to me its worth the time. to spend that much coin on a reloading set will eventually pay off. im pretty sure with what ive shot my lee press and accessories are just about paid for now
 
You must compare apples to apples. Handloads with premium bullets are, or rather can be, more expensive than cup and core factory loads. Conversely, handloads with cast bullets are way cheaper than jacketed factory ammo. Look at it this way, when you handload you remove the brass from the cost equation, that will approximate your saving with any load in any metallic cartridge.

To me, the true advantage of loading is that I can taylor the ammo to a specific use, rather than for the savings which I may or may not realize from doing so. If I want to go squirrel hunting with my .375 Ultra, I have a load that is suitable for doing so. I can load .30/06 ammo that is suitable for bear work where normally a larger cartridge would be preferred. I can load .44 ammo that outperforms any factory stuff, with the exception of the stuff made by a few custom loaders, or I can load powder puff loads a 6 year old could manage. Mostly my own ammo is more accurate in my rifles than is factory ammo, because my ammo is made for my rifles, not for everyone's rifles like factory ammo must be.
 
I have to agree with "Boomer" you can load to suit your needs....
Why load your .44 mag to 1500fps if you are shooting paper indoors ?

I load .41mag, .44 mag, .45lc on my 650.... I shoot a lot, is it cheaper ? bet on it these are all expensive rounds....
I load .45acp on my 1050, spend a few hours and you have enough ammo for a month at the range....
I also load several calibers that are either difficult to buy or completely obsolete, .22 hornet, .22/3000, .219 Donaldson, .25/20, .32/30, .32-40, .43 Mauser, .57 Snider, just to name a few....
After 50 years of reloading I'm still learning, enjoy

John
 
The time you spend can be directly proportionate to how much money you save.

I got a used single stage press, powder measure, dies, priming tool, scale, tumbler, trimmers, moulds, wheel weights, etc, the whole bit for about 400 bucks. I save about $20 per box of 20 rounds that I handload, so after a few hundred rounds, my equipment was paid for. It takes HOURS, but "free time" is time you would not otherwise be using for something productive, so you can't put a dollar amount on that.

I could have gone out and bought a while bunch of top of the line dillon stuff, but then i wouldn't have any fun. It would have taken minutes instead of hours to do all the reloadign i've done. AND I'd still be paying for it.
 
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First of all, do you REALLY need a top of the line Dillon loader? You quoted $2500 and for $300-$500 you can get other brands of progressive loaders. They will load quality ammo, but just a bit slower. At $500, you could buy a lot of components for the $2000 difference.

As far as costs go, you really do not save much money - you just get to shoot twice as much.

Buying components in bulk saves more money and shipping charges. If you share with a Buddy, you can split shipping costs, and possibly get a bigger discount on your bulk orders.

I do agree that you can get more accurate loads than factory ammo, as you can taylor your loads to a particular load for a particular firearm. I have an old RCBS 4x4 press that was set up over 40 years ago for the .303 British and it has not loaded another calibre since. My old Star has never changed .38 Special dies since 1960, and my big, heavy RCBS RockChucker is used only for sizing and reforming cases. Most of my other loading is done with two Lee Turret Model presses with several turrets with dies already in them which makes for very fast calibre changes.

My advice is to start with a less expensive press, such as the RCBS, Hornady, or Lee mentioned and after a year or so, re-evaluate your needs. You do not need a Caddilac to haul firewood, you need a pick-up truck. After you have hauled a lot of firewood, then you can consider a Caddilac pick-up truck.
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What are you reloading?

The 1050 is a pretty serious (but very good) machine. I wouldn't even look into it unless you are shooting over 4k rounds of a specific calibre per month.

The 550 is much cheaper than the 1050 and will do 3-500/hour depending on how you are at running the machine. There are lots of other great machines also. I have heard really good things about the hornady LNL AP. If you are loading alot of pistol ammo, I would go with a progressive from the get-go.

I mostly load 9mm. It seems to cost me about eight bucks to load 50 rounds. New ammo generally costs about 15 bucks a box normally, or 12 bucks plus taxes if you get a really good deal. If you shoot alot, then then are most definitely savings to be had.
 
BTW my cost for eight bucks for 50 rounds is using either plated or jacketed 9mm projectiles. Cast would be cheaper.

And I don't save any money reloading. Like other shooters have mentioned, I just get to shoot alot more! :)
 
I reload 9mm for 7 - 8 bucks a box after taxes or $180 per case, again that AFTER TAXES. So about half pricefrom factory and my stuff is more cconsistent and accurate IMO and I can load them down a little bit so the wifes hand doesnt hurt. I got the Hornady LNL for about $500 and a wack of supplies for a couple hundred more. Now If I had to buy brass my cost would be about 2/3 of factory cost. I figured out payback at 5567 rounds lol and for me and the wife I firgured on about 6 months. I've done 4235 since January so by the time its used up I'm about on track. Even if you buy brass, remember that you can recover it and reload it again and again so costs drop once you have some inventory.

For me it was purely for cost savings due to heavy usage to the tune of about 800 - 1200 a month so I hope that pputs it is perspective for ya. If you shout less that 1000 rounds a year and money is your prime concern its probably not worth it. But thats your call, hope that helps
 
rral22 said:
While it is true that the "per round" cost of reloads is less than factory loads, there is no way you will save money by getting into reloading unless you shoot many, many hundreds of rounds per year. Do you?

I reload for many reasons. Saving money is not one of them.
Click to expand...

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.
 
You will want more than just the 1050 and a bullet feeder to do 223, a giraud or gracey trimmer will be another 500 (taxes and shipping included). Depending on how many rounds you go thru, this may or may not be worth it in the time you need to invest. You will be able to make some good quality ammunition, but will it be cheaper? You have to take your labour into account as well as the cost of components.
 
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