Is it really worth it??

So why should this issue not be solved by asking questions?
The question is being posed to reloaders and everyone will have a somewhat different answer.
It boils down to what is it worth to you.
Is it worth owning a gun, car, boat, horse, house . . . or whatever?
If you own a car is it worth it to buy insurance, put in gas, change the oil.
Rather than asking those committed to reloading why not ask someone who does not hunt nor own a rifle. Lay all the facts out to someone who will give you an honest answer without being committed.

And you are right . . . it probably has been asked 100 times. In order to get an answer to your question ask someone who's opinion you trust . . . not a bunch of strangers.
 
horseman2 said:
So why should this issue not be solved by asking questions?
The question is being posed to reloaders and everyone will have a somewhat different answer.
It boils down to what is it worth to you.
Is it worth owning a gun, car, boat, horse, house . . . or whatever?
If you own a car is it worth it to buy insurance, put in gas, change the oil.
Rather than asking those committed to reloading why not ask someone who does not hunt nor own a rifle. Lay all the facts out to someone who will give you an honest answer without being committed.

And you are right . . . it probably has been asked 100 times. In order to get an answer to your question ask someone who's opinion you trust . . . not a bunch of strangers.
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Good point and just to note, if I placed this post in the General forum it would have been moved to here any ways so..... and I do ask people who I know \ trust for their opinion this is just another avenue for info.... I realize that I'm asking a group of people who, all for the most part reload, but to get your perspective on the topic adds to the insight. From the reading that I've done and the videos that I have seen, reloading seems to be more of a sub-hobby to the hobby of shooting. most of you seem to agree that it comes more into play as a 'must do' when looking at the odd / bigger caliber of ammo. To get into this as a way to save on shooting seems to come with a "good luck" attitude from people. Sure it can save you a little per trigger pull on the common ammo but to get your money back on the setup your looking at a long time down the road and a hell of a lot of shooting. In summery, do it because it interest you as a new skill to learn, any benifts after that is a pure bonus.
 
It's a good thing to learn to reload, then when you are proeficient with it, it will be a choice, i choose to buy quality factory ammo and stock a lot of it, there is no wrong answer here... JP.
 
I reload for antique cartridges that disappeared ages ago, just for that it is priceless. I also reload because I enjoy shooting and can affordably shoot thousands of rounds in pistol/rifle so I can be proficient marksman. I compare this to my neighbour who proudly proclaimed to me the other day how he was on the same 20 round 300 win mag box he bought 7 years ago because "they are so expensive".
 
I get enjoyment in reloading. Theres great satisfaction in developing a load for a rifle that makes it a real tack driver. Then taking that rifle and making a really nice shot on a trophy animal.

You can then look back at the process that got there. The cold winter evenings sitting at the reloading bench looking through all the load data that didn't work so well. Then making another decision on a different powder and bullet weight for the next test batch of ammo.

Heading out to the range to try the reloads out. Cleaning the bore after every 5 shots. Letting the barrel cool down. Spending some personal time with some great family members while doing so. Eventually it will bring you right back to where your looking at a beautiful animal laying on the ground in front of you.

A hobby maybe, but to get really accurate ammo reloading is the only way to go.
 
Is it worth reloading. A good question. As has been pointed out in earlier posts, not in the short run, but over time it is certainly a lot cheaper. I shoot a lot, so the following makes sense to me. Firstly, by loading my own ammo I have total control over the components that I use, the length of the cartridge, etc. I also know what to expect from a particular load, because I have tested it. Costwise:
Brass = $0.09 (Based on $55.00 for 50 Hornady brass and 12 firings.)
Bullet = $0.45 (Hornady 140 grain BTHP)
Primer = $0.05 (CCI 200)
Powder = $0.22 (38.0 grains of H4350)
Total = $0.81 per round ($16.20 for a box of 20)

The last time I bought ammunition for this rifle it cost $33.00 for 20 and is likely more now. So a savings of 16.80 per 20 rounds. I shoot at l;east 60 rounds a week from this gun = net saving of $50.40 for this calibre. Don't know 'bout you guys, but $50.00 a week is significant to me. I shoot other calibres as well and calculate that I save about $110.00 weekly X 52 is $5720 annually. Your reloading set up is paid for by about 3 times in one year given this scenario.

Then there are the calibres that you just cannot easily buy ammo for (eg. 6mmBR). 20 rounds of that is hard to put a price on !
 
Sometimes the saving can be startling and immediate. A while ago I needed 550 rounds of premium bullet 458 Win mag on location. At the local prices and with the exchange rate that would have cost me $5500. By flying component bullets and brass, plus a 40 dollar Lee hand press, a set of scoops, a scale and my dies I was able to get that down to 1000 plus a 225 dollar extra baggage fee. Sitting in camp with my little cheap hand press was worth 1000 dollars an hour. That's good work if you can get it.
 
ScubaD said:
I'm sure this has been asked 100 times before but I went back 5pages and also did a search for "is it worth it" and had nothing good come up.

So I will pose the question again.
Is getting into reloading ammo worth it over-all?
Money saves, is it really there?
Time it takes, or does that not factor in?
Space it takes up?

I am just wondering, as I have a friend who does reloads for his 12ga and when I ask him about these things the reply is more of a "hmmmm... it takes a lot of time and also a lot of time to get your money back from the initial purchase"

Seems like something that would be interesting to get into and learn about but I have my doubts about whether its really worth it.
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I think it's something everyone should look into, even IF it's not for you? You can still learn a lot about firearms and ammo. And no, you don't have go out and buy a press and buy a whole mess of other stuff. Youtube is a great resource (IF YOU KNOW WHICH CHANNELS TO USE!) for people who are curious about it all. IraqVeteran8888, Sootch00 and lots of others out there like Hickok45, BigDaddy1911.

It IS a very involved process but like anything else? You don't have to do it all the time and for many? It's just something to do or to kill boredom (what's the bag limit on boredom in AB by the way? Permit/tag fees? LOL)

Honestly? I don't because I don't trust myself enough to load the charges quite right. I may or may not have loaded a couple extra grains of powder. No damage or anything since it was only a couple grains over but if you do that too much? It'll cause excessive wear and tear which isn't good for the firearm. If you go way overboard? Yeah.... results could be pretty ugly!
 
Blackgun, some factory ammo varmint guys, the sks crowd and some hand-gunners. Then there's the clay shooters that don't reload but still need a dolly to get their weekly trap loads out of the store.there are entire genres of shooters that run up the round count and never reload a shell.

How many large bore center-fire guys run up meaningful round counts without reloading? Practically none.
 
ScubaD said:
To get into this as a way to save on shooting seems to come with a "good luck" attitude from people. Sure it can save you a little per trigger pull on the common ammo but to get your money back on the setup your looking at a long time down the road and a hell of a lot of shooting. In summery, do it because it interest you as a new skill to learn, any benifts after that is a pure bonus.
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I don't know what people are handloading to end up with that result. On my .38 caliber handguns I save about half on ammo, and with my 45s and 44s I'm saving between 70 and 80 percent between trigger pulls.

I find handloading for handguns extremely tedious. I don't do a lot of load development as the farthest I'm shooting them is 50 yards and at that point my body is going to fail me long before a load does. I find loads that are comfortable to shoot, can make a reasonable 25 yard group, and stick with it. I don't handload handguns because it's fun. I do it because if I didn't I couldn't afford to shoot.
 
If you're loading handgun ammo on a single stage press, I agree. Use a progressive and it becomes much less of a chore - and you'll shoot more!
 
In the case of the more popular handgun ammo calibers the amount you need to load and shoot is a LOT to pay off the equipment and for reloading to make sense. And our own time is a valuable commodity as well so we need to consider that as well.

The equation shifts strongly in favour of reloading if we start shooting a significant amount of magnum calibers or things that start with a .4 other than .40S&W. Or pretty much shoot significant numbers of rifle caliber ammo in anything other than .223/5.56.

Or, like me, maybe you enjoy shooting a historical cartridge that just doesn't have a lot of off the shelf options. Or the even odder stuff with NO off the shelf options.

Or maybe you don't shoot enough of any one caliber to really shift you towards reloading. But if you put them all together?
 
ScubaD said:
I'm sure this has been asked 100 times before but I went back 5pages and also did a search for "is it worth it" and had nothing good come up.

So I will pose the question again.
Is getting into reloading ammo worth it over-all?
Money saves, is it really there?
Time it takes, or does that not factor in?
Space it takes up?

I am just wondering, as I have a friend who does reloads for his 12ga and when I ask him about these things the reply is more of a "hmmmm... it takes a lot of time and also a lot of time to get your money back from the initial purchase"

Seems like something that would be interesting to get into and learn about but I have my doubts about whether its really worth it.
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Factory ammo for a 416 Rigby...$150-$200/box (20ct)
Factory ammo for a 470 NE...$250/box (10ct)

Yup. Very much worth it.
 
I view it as an extension of the hobby. I find reloading calming, I'm focused on only one thing (which is rare).

To me, it's worth it in shear enjoyment, I haven't run the numbers.

ITB
 
In The Black said:
I view it as an extension of the hobby. I find reloading calming, I'm focused on only one thing (which is rare).

To me, it's worth it in shear enjoyment, I haven't run the numbers.

ITB
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^^^THIS^^^

Between my pistol and rifle loads I figure I average 50% off factory rolled stuff. It is really satisfying once you hit that magic combo as well. I've figured some loads for both pistols and rifles that have made significant improvements over off the shelf options.
 
BigUglyMan said:
Factory ammo for a 416 Rigby...$150-$200/box (20ct)
Factory ammo for a 470 NE...$250/box (10ct)

Yup. Very much worth it.
Click to expand...

A picture of the high tech setup I used on a buffalo cull. Since the loads were already worked out, I probably didn't even need the scale. Left everything there except my dies. I'd load ammo in the mornings or evenings.

I left the tools at an Australian friend's place. He shoots F-Open and is no stranger to precision loading. Anyway, curiousity got the better of him and he started playing with the El Cheapo gear. Got an email from him the other day, about how good the bargain set-up actually did work. I believe that in the right circumstances huge saving can be had if the shooter sets that as his priority and sticks with it.

 
Reloading strickly measured on value for time spent is a losing proposition. If you measured your time per hour (use what you make at your job per hour), then the math is easy and you would buy all your ammuntion.

But since this is a hobby, I don't add the value of my time to the equation. I enjoy the process of reloading, just adds another dimension to shooting as a hobby. Most factory ammuntion is pretty darn good, but careful selection of components and testing will result in better accurracy for those willing to spend the time.

I liken it to those that like to work on their cars or project cars. Sure you can pay some one to do all your car maintenence, but for a true hobbyist, getting your hands dirty is part of the fun.
 
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