Is reloading even worth it now?

So I'm the guy who ties his own flies.. I enjoy it.. the same goes for reloading.. it's not a chore.. it's cathartic..
I just ran the numbers on my most expensive ammo to make. My custom load of 160 grn. Hammer Hunter Tipped 6.8 Western copper lathe turned bullet assembled cartridges costs $3.92 each. My custom load of Nosler ABLR 165 grn. 6.8's cost $2.62 each. Factory comparisons would be Weatherby custom 130 grn. Hammer Hunters at $7.53 each or (there are no factory loads of 6.8 western in HHT's) Winchester Copper Impact 162 grn. at $6.46 each. The direct comparison of Winchester Expedition Big Game Nosler ABLR 165 grn. is the same at $6.46 each.
The Weatherby stuff has good quality control but it's still not really an apples to apples thing. The cost of equipment, brass and my time is irrelevant as it is a hobby and the cases have a value of zero being spent first. (brass weight only) If I add the cost of virgin ADG brass it's $4.72 each brass case for that one load to add to the total cost of the first reload. Zero for the next ten or $0.43 for the 11 shots total. Yes I will get ten or more out of my cases between annealing and leaving the spent primer in the pockets during cleaning. They stay tight that way.
Sometimes its just good to not think about other stuff going on in our world and read a book or involve yourself in something that gives you pleasure.. How much is happiness worth? Cheers
 
Licensed to kill said:
I have kids and grandkids that I want a future for. Will MY guns be taken away in my lifetime, highly unlikely but I don’t live my life only for me so I do have a reason to fight this battle. The speed at which things are changing is irrelevant to me. To each his own though.
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No argument from me here. Fight for what you believe in, 100%. Stick up for your legal ability to bear arms for instance, absolutely.

Today's kids, i suspect having their guns taken away will be at the bottom of their worries. Making their way in a model that hit its peak in 1970, had 50 years of stagnation (disguised by mechanisms like easier and easier access to debt/fiat currency for the masses) and has now very much entered a stage of accelerating decline that will be the reality for generations to come is not something they will be addressing with firepower. It will be best addressed - and this is just my opinion of course - by travelling very light (forget the dreams of comfy times) and being very responsive to change (the speed of which will absolutely be relevant to them, whether they agree it is not), little of which will be considered 'positive' by anyone conditioned to the vast ease and entitlements, which though dissipating, are still arguably the reality of current Canada.
 
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Hundreds of thousands, if not a couple million, guns have been banned since 2020.

Wouldn't be so confident that they don't come for close enough to all, and get them.

I'm still finding reloading pretty worth it. When you get a good deal on primers and powders you can use even for practice ammo, it goes a long way. Just bought some Barnes 110gr bullets for $56 a box of 50, which is going to make much cheaper ammo than buying boxes of them factory loaded.

Mind, when your fav ammo is on sale at a good price, stock up! lol
 
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iron cat said:
Yup, one does not want to spend the cash for factory ammo for either of those cartridges for sure!😜
Cat
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I thought reloading for .338LM, showed me the single round I thought was the only round I HAD to reload because of cost. And then I remembered my SWISS VETERLLI, and the whole idea collapsed. 303 BRIT, 300 Savage, 6.5 Grendel, .I just added .45 LC. to the mix for the reason same as the others.1) COST, Some are reaching 100 for a box of 20, the .45LC is 45 for 20 rounds. it brings up point 2) AVAILABILITY, there's no shop closer than a minimum of 1 hr drive that stocks them. I can also scavenge brass at the range 1ce fired (9mm for ex) and reload at a savings of over 8 a box of fifty rounds. It's not much, but I can host friends without worrying about the cost of it all.
 
To some people it's worth it and to some it's not. Just like not everyone owns a car or does car maintenance by themselves.
Some have invested into tools and components and learned long ago and can still appreciate the savings and enjoy the process.
IPSC shooters as an example usually go thru tons of ammo annually and savings can be quite substantial, not to mention one can customize ammo to their liking to improve their shooting results.
 
regulate34 said:
Is hunting worth it for the meat or work two extra weeks and buy a whole cow?

it’s a hobby and hobbys cost money.

any savings in reloading for me go down the barrel and then some. hahah.

put a price on the enjoyment?
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Yup, just like heating with wood thinking you are saving money, you’re not. Hunting to save on meat, you’re not, reloading to save money, that you can actually do if you shoot lots, other wise, nope. If it makes one feel better thinking you are saving money then that’s fine. Oh, the other Myth that gets thrown around a lot is “I hunt because wild game is healthier than store bought beef. LOL I suspect many that regurgitate these fallacies do it to appease the wife. She doesn’t know any better. There ARE rare situations when all these can be true but generally they are not.
 
handofzeus said:
I just spent a pleasant afternoon finally reloading some 44 mag after many years of not shooting too much and not reloading at all. I looked at the new prices of powder and nearly threw up. Luckily I had more than a few pounds of 4227 and a whole brick of large rifle primers but I looked at the prices on my old supplies compared to today and it was disgusting. My cans of 4227 were $19.99/lb before tax and the primers were $29.99/1000 before tax. Comparing those prices to $100 more or less for a pound of powder and nearly $100 for a thousand primers at today's prices. With the purchase of 500 cheap cam pro plated bullets and some new starline brass it cost me $1.31 to reload 44 Magnum per cartridge. Searching online the cheapest new factory ammo I could find was $29.95 for 25 rounds making it $1.35 per round for factory new. The only way I can see saving a little bit is to buy the factory ammo and shoot it and then reload the brass like I used to. This would give a break at $061.6/rnd. I remember 15 or 20 years ago doing a similar calculation and as I recall reloading was a quarter of the cost of factory new ammo in general. Sad times!
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Yes it is worth it .. and yes you need used brass .. I use pistol brass 10 plus times to help keep cost down .. in 44 mag try titegroup don't need much of it and it's about $65 .per pound
 
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