How much cheaper is reloading?

Awesome comments guys, really appreciate the honesty, and the differences in opinion.

I kinda fell in love with shooting the swedish mauser.. light to shoulder, but still with some kick and decent accuracy.
There is an urge to shoot this more.. as well as improve the results... more practice is key.. more practice means more ammo.

I suppose my goal is to improve in this particular caliber.. saving more on ammo would give me more practice.

On a side note... do decent presses come up in EE very often.. honestly never looked... Thinking Lee classic
 
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Some of my loading kit was used when I bought it. My powder measures come to mind.

I haven't bought factory ammo for my centerfires in years. With the exception of 22 Hornet, and that was an excuse to get some brass for reloading...

Everything over 30 cal sees cast boolits. 30-30, 303, etc. My 348 Winchester costs about $80 per box of 20 (last time I saw a box for sale in a gunstore), and I can reload, with cast, for probably less than $20 for a box of 50. My biggest expense is powder. I have a few hundred pieces of brass, and they're on second or third reloadings, and will last for a while longer yet.

I don't save as much on the 30-30 or 303, but I save a little bit, and can easily download for catsneeze , which you definitely can't buy in a store, which save more dollars for more shooting.
 
How far down the rabbit hole to go?
All told I've spent close to $3k on reloading and casting gear. Making jacketed .223 bullets was a fair bit more expensive than just casting.
I can crank out a .45 round for about 7¢ and rifle calibres I cast for for under 50¢.
I do tend to buy used and have gotten some great deals, since it's hard to wear out most reloading gear this is a great way to build up a setup.
 
I must reload because you can not purchase the ammo that I shoot. Wildcatting is very rewarding when you have found the perfect setup.

It can also be expensive with the initial and following equipment purchases.
 
midnightpossum said:
Is it cheaper to shoot sub MOA groups reloading, opposed to factory ammo?

Based on the other comments and insight in this thread.. leaning towards "yes"
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Its not impossible to find factory loads that can shoot sub moa groups, though its not very common, I have found a few boxes that do over the decades.

What a few batches of test loads can do is to tweak up for YOUR rifle for the tightest group possible. Sometimes .5 grains of powder can make the difference of above or below MOA. Its my opinion that no two rifles are exactly the same, although they can be very similar. I have two Win Mod 70s that are identical and generally shoot quite similar with factory ammo, yet on the best reload group they are half a grain of powder different to get moa or less. My brother's Rem 30.06 has a honey load almost 2 grains of powder more than my honey load for my Win 30.06. My shooting partner has a .223 that clover-leafs his shots ( >.5 moa) where I cannot seem to get below .75 moa. My favourite hunting (best) load for 30.06 gives my neighbor a 5 inch group in his rifle.


Its all part of a journey. My best advice for someone who has not reloaded before is to spend a few hours with someone to take you through the process before you dump your hard earned cash into it. Sometimes one persons favorite device is of no use to the second person, and what is a satisfactory result for a novice hunter/ shooter , is not good enough for a precision shooter. I load quite differently for hunting loads verses target loads. Most places where I hunt there are very few possible shots over 250 yards because of the trees and rolling hills so a 6 or 8 inch group at 250 is a kill shot every time. My buddies who hunt in the bald-ass prairies need moa shots for taking deer up to 500+ yrds. There is a big difference in the amount of time you spend to get Decent results, compared to the amount of time you spend to get the best/perfect results. Its all part of the fun !
 
Also if you don't enjoy having your hands dirty, trying things, experimenting, spending hours in your small personal Heaven with tools and gears, then don't start reloading. You will feel frustrated and miserable for every snag you hit, for every failure.
The outcome though, it's amazing. Now is up to everyone to start or not reloading.
 
midnightpossum said:
Is it cheaper to shoot sub MOA groups reloading, opposed to factory ammo?

Based on the other comments and insight in this thread.. leaning towards "yes"
Click to expand...

I agree. You might be lucky and find a gun and/or factory ammo that will shoot well together but then again you might not. Said factory ammo may be inexpensive but more likely not (since quality control and high quality components cost more). If you reload, you can find the best load for your rifle often at the cost of bulk plinking ammo. Guns of the same type, identical in all outward respects can shoot differently with the same ammo. Many shooters don't realize how much ammo affects their precision until they start reloading.
 
If you shoot enough of anything it will save you money - centre fire pistol in 9mm is the cheapest round I use and my reloads cost about 12 cents each. Once you get to bottle neck cartridges you will save big money, .223 being an exception to the rule as surplus ammo is pretty cheap.

You will invest in reloading equipment and you can spend hundreds or thousands depending on your approach. Truthfully I think that a $1000.00 for the equipment to load a couple or three calibres is likely realistic.

Will you shoot more if you reload? I don't know but the guys that I know that shoot a lot are either sponsored by manufacturers or reload themselves.

The psychology of reloading appeals to me. Even if I could buy factory ammo at the quantities that I shoot it would kill my range experience because I'd be loading mags thinking one box equals $20.00. With reloads I see the rounds as something I made and replaceable with an hour of my time and they're 12 cents each. Yes I am playing pretty liberally with the facts but this way of manipulating the facts makes shooting more fun and unencumbered for me. Also when I look at a stack of factory ammo I get uptight about depleting it. I never look at my reloads this way, meant to be shot I say... When I look at the money that I have tied up in components I don't get uptight because I am a pack rat and having inventory makes me feel good. My psychology of reloading may or may not be important for you but you may also see things the way that I do and in that case...

Reloading is fun and draws me further into the shooting activity, it has increased my knowledge about my shooting hobby and that is a good thing as well. For the same reason that I tie my own flies for fly fishing I reload my own ammo for shooting. I think that the dollars and "sense" add up for me but the satisfaction factor cannot be bought with every box of factory ammo no matter what.

The RCBS Rock Chucker kit is a great place to start, I started there and still use it along with my progressive to this day.

Good luck.
 
1000$ in reloading gear is subjective realistic. I personally know guys who bought 300$ reloading kit then they had terrible regrets, fights with wifes etc. I spent at least 8000$ and I still want more. Is all up to each taste, use and necessity. Some are just hoarders plain and simple.
 
I wanted to reload for trap 12ga shells. Borrowing the shell reloader from my uncle (so it didn't cost me anything), I was barely capable of getting even if not a little under the price of cheap Winchester 12ga trap loads, so it wasn't worth it for me.
 
That's because you bought the shot and the hulls. Hunt for free hulls (yeah, don't be ashamed of bending to pick them up after other guys shot them AA's) and start making your own shot. Then tell me how much cost you reloading for 12 gauge.
 
Within a short time, most become addicted to reloading. Cost savings go out the window. I used to reload so I could shoot, now I shoot so I can reload.
 
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