Is reloading even worth it now?

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?
Click to expand...

Contrary to popular belief and rumours, you won't save any moey relaoding (in most cases).
You will shhot three times as much ammo, however.....
 
Licensed to kill said:
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.
Click to expand...
heating with wood is most defiantly cheaper for me. even factoring in the insurance difference. on propane i was 3500$ a year
electric when i go away for a week in the winter is noticeable on the bill. i would guess 5000$+ a year.

to get all my for for the buring season is about 1/2 tank of fuel in the truck and 5l of fuel and some bar oil in the saws.

under 300$ with a new chain or two.
 
The most appealing thing about reloading for me so far has been consistency. Not necessarily in terms of my reloads on paper performance. But rather I can develop a load that perfectly meets my use case requirements, cycles reliably and shoots excellent in a particular gun, then load hundreds of it.

No more hunting around for certain boxes of factory loads, maybe even paying to ship them in, no more screwing around with zeroing optics to a new load or learning new hold overs.

Im even starting to reload .223 and 7.62x39 for this reason.
 
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!
Click to expand...
 
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!
Click to expand...
 
Morph said:
For the average hunter, handloading is not practical. To buy all good equipment nowadays, you must load a lot. However for finer accuracy, obsolete cartridges and serious target shooters, handloading is the way to go.
Click to expand...
Do not overlook what you must carry around between your ears. A local guy and his son showed up here to "learn to reload" - my offer to them, to get them started, was that they could use my gear as they accumulated their own stuff. There are 9 brands of reloading manuals on my work bench - probably 30 more obsolete manuals in boxes on the shelves. The guy appeared astounded there was circa 100 brands of powders available for sale - at least that many types / brands / weights of bullets to use - and there is NO recipe that duplicates your favourite factory ammo - if you want a load for your "aught six" - basically you have to develop it. In other words, I do not know of any way to load up a "best load" for your rifle, using random components that you might have got at auction sale or yard sale for cheap.

For some reason, some shooters think that reloading ammo can be done for reduced cost - I used to do that for others, but I no longer do. I used to be able to profitably reload a box of 20 rounds for $5 for others - those days are long gone. Go out to buy stuff to reload your 12 empty brass cases - you will find primers at minimum 100 per tray. Find bullets - some Premium bullets are sold in boxes or bags of 50 - most are sold in quantities of 100 bullets. Get powder - how much you use is seldom exactly to the one pound or 8 pound jugs that you will buy - then read that subsequent purchases - especially powder - ought to have the same "lot" number. Get that stuff - find someone with "know-how" and reloading gear - load up your few rounds and take the unused stuff with you - tell me how "cheap" that was to do?
 
  • Like
Reactions: DGY
Potashminer said:
For some reason, some shooters think that reloading ammo can be done for reduced cost - I used to do that for others, but I no longer do. I used to be able to profitably reload a box of 20 rounds for $5 for others - those days are long gone. Go out to buy stuff to reload your 12 empty brass cases - you will find primers at minimum 100 per tray. Find bullets - some Premium bullets are sold in boxes or bags of 50 - most are sold in quantities of 100 bullets. Get powder - how much you use is seldom exactly to the one pound or 8 pound jugs that you will buy - then read that subsequent purchases - especially powder - ought to have the same "lot" number. Get that stuff - find someone with "know-how" and reloading gear - load up your few rounds and take the unused stuff with you - tell me how "cheap" that was to do?
Click to expand...
yes , I get about 100 rounds from 1 lb of powder @ about 110$ Primers @ about 15$ Lapua bullets were about 100 for 100. Store bought is over 10$ per round for 338LM. All my gear is paid off through use. 10's of thousands have gone through them, and I used the buy once cry once methodology. I started on a RCBS RC Supreme kit, added a lock and load die set to help cut down on wasted time. I then purchased a DILLON 550 setup, added some ebay/amazon parts. Yes it costs, but I can take a few hours in the evening and have all the stuff I intend to shoot done. My time is actually paid as a medically released vet. Everyday i put my feet on the floor I get paid.


IF it was only about cost, we'd be only shooting .22lr
 
Potashminer said:
Do not overlook what you must carry around between your ears. A local guy and his son showed up here to "learn to reload" - my offer to them, to get them started, was that they could use my gear as they accumulated their own stuff. There are 9 brands of reloading manuals on my work bench - probably 30 more obsolete manuals in boxes on the shelves. The guy appeared astounded there was circa 100 brands of powders available for sale - at least that many types / brands / weights of bullets to use - and there is NO recipe that duplicates your favourite factory ammo - if you want a load for your "aught six" - basically you have to develop it. In other words, I do not know of any way to load up a "best load" for your rifle, using random components that you might have got at auction sale or yard sale for cheap.

For some reason, some shooters think that reloading ammo can be done for reduced cost - I used to do that for others, but I no longer do. I used to be able to profitably reload a box of 20 rounds for $5 for others - those days are long gone. Go out to buy stuff to reload your 12 empty brass cases - you will find primers at minimum 100 per tray. Find bullets - some Premium bullets are sold in boxes or bags of 50 - most are sold in quantities of 100 bullets. Get powder - how much you use is seldom exactly to the one pound or 8 pound jugs that you will buy - then read that subsequent purchases - especially powder - ought to have the same "lot" number. Get that stuff - find someone with "know-how" and reloading gear - load up your few rounds and take the unused stuff with you - tell me how "cheap" that was to do?
Click to expand...
When i started reloading "the aught six" i had a Lee Tool, a can of imr4064, a box of 100 bullets, and a 100 primers. I loaded good ammo and I didn't run out and buy 5 loading manuals and 40 pounds of powder - that was collected over subsequent decades. Most people won't do that.
 
Last edited:
jethunter said:
When i started reloading "the aught six" i had a Lee Tool, a lb of imr4064, a box of 100 bullets, and a 100 primers. I loaded good ammo and I didn't run out and buy 5 loading manuals and 40 pounfs of powder - that was collected over subsequent decades. Not everyone would do that.
Click to expand...
Similar to me - except it was .308 Win - then came the .243 Win, then the 22-250, then the .338 Win Mag, then the 7x57 - and kept on from that. I started circa 1976 with a Lee Loader tool - 100 bullets, one hundred primers and 1 pound can of powder (oddly, perhaps, but also IMR 4064) - I kind of got carried away from there. Much reloading gear was given to me, or bought used very cheaply - and I have given a lot of it away. It took me "decades" to accumulate all the reloading stuff that I use now (some stuff I purchased and used once - then never again - a "better" idea often came along, or the tool did not perform in my store bought guns as the maker claimed), and to read the various theories about "performance". Some shooters are happy to get a deer - some shooters want .020" 10 shot groups at 100 yards - to each their own. Some only use jacketed store bought bullets - some make their own - some cast their own lead bullets or bullet cores, or buy them pre-made by someone else. At one time or other, I tried most of that.
 
Last edited:
Having reloaded for over 40 years I do agree with all comments.
I still for reload for the same reasons that I started, custom tailoring and "cheaper".
Most of my hoard was accumulated when things were much cheaper, Example 8 lbs TAC for $180.
Recently however I decided to revisit my old 30.06 with the new Federal Terminal Ascent.
Bullet prices were over $100 for 50 and I decided to forget about even though I had already prepped some brass.
Low and behold I found new Federal factory loads that were cheaper than using reloads with new brass.
Amortizing the brass with 10 firings brought the costs to about even.
It seems as though reloading is being squeezed out.
 
I might as well pile on. It seems to me that most of us started reloading to save money and then kept doing it for other reasons. This is certainly the case for myself.

Yes, slightly cheaper (or a lot cheaper, depending on the cartridge) ammo is a bonus, but the big draw is being able to custom load ammo for whatever my purposes are. That is priceless and simply not available with factory ammo. I like milsurp rifles that ammo is not necessarily available for, which means reloading is a necessity if I want to shoot those. Those rifles are often a lot of fun to shoot with light cast bullet loads. Again, that is a reloading only proposition.

As long as I carry a decent stock of components I am not affected by fluctuations in ammo supplies, which have been a problem in recent years.

If your only use of a gun is hunting and you do it with something standard that ammo is easily available for then there is little point in tooling up to reload. Just suck it up and pay the extortionate prices for factory ammo and carry on. At a box or two per season you will never recoup your start up costs. But if you want to shoot more, more cheaply, make ammo suited to unusual cartridges or specialized purposes, or really fine tune the performance of your guns, then reloading is the answer.


Mark
 
Last edited:
Potashminer said:
Similar to me - except it was .308 Win - then came the .243 Win, then the 22-250, then the .338 Win Mag, then the 7x57 - and kept on from that. I started circa 1976 with a Lee Loader tool - 100 bullets, one hundred primers and 1 pound can of powder (oddly, perhaps, but also IMR 4064) - I kind of got carried away from there. Much reloading gear was given to me, or bought used very cheaply - and I have given a lot of it away. It took me "decades" to accumulate all the reloading stuff that I use now (some stuff I purchased and used once - then never again - a "better" idea often came along, or the tool did not perform in my store bought guns as the maker claimed), and to read the various theories about "performance". Some shooters are happy to get a deer - some shooters want .020" 10 shot groups at 100 yards - to each their own. Some only use jacketed store bought bullets - some make their own - some cast their own lead bullets or bullet cores, or buy them pre-made by someone else. At one time or other, I tried most of that.
Click to expand...
Yes. And the point I was making is not everyone will obsess on reloading like you and I. Very few, in fact.
 
mmattockx said:
I might as well pile on. It seems to me that most of us started reloading to save money and then kept doing it for other reasons. This is certainly the case for myself.

Yes, slightly cheaper (or a lot cheaper, depending on the cartridge) ammo is a bonus, but the big draw is being able to custom load ammo for whatever my purposes are. That is priceless and simply not available with factory ammo. I like milsurp rifles that ammo is not necessarily available for, which means reloading is a necessity if I want to shoot those. Those rifles are often a lot of fun to shoot with light cast bullet loads. Again, that is a reloading only proposition.

As long as I carry a decent stock of components I am not affected by fluctuations in ammo supplies, which have been a problem in recent years.

If you're only use of a gun is hunting and you do it with something standard that ammo is easily available for then there is little point in tooling up to reload. Just suck it up and pay the extortionate prices for factory ammo and carry on. At a box or two per season you will never recoup your start up costs. But if you want to shoot more, more cheaply, make ammo suited to unusual cartridges or specialized purposes, or really fine tune the performance of your guns, then reloading is the answer.


Mark
Click to expand...
For some reason I’m drawn to the more obscure cartridges than most of the mainstream stuff and I’m not sure why. I wanted a 6.5 and I felt the creed case was a little small so it was between the prc and 6.5-284. At the time I put the rifle together there was no availibilty of 6.5 prc brass so 6.5-284 it was. It’s kind of nice not factoring in commercially available ammo. And everything else I buy goes the same way 7saum, 25 creed, 6 creed, 6br, but my favourite to load and shoot is any 223 bolt gun.
 
Bustercluck said:
Who here started spending less money on ammunition when they started loading their own? I sure haven’t, I just shoot way more.
Click to expand...
This week, i contemplated "just buying a packet of ammo" beause it would be easy and i could just shoot 20 rounds an group them etc...
down here that would be say $60 for Bluebox 150gr..........

i almost bit the bullet - but i said , $60.... 20 shots..... hmmmmm i would end up with the brass- cool.
but i think for $60 i could proberly load a few Reloads (night time before bed) and it wont really cost me 'anything' , out of pocket right now.
isnt that the reason i stocked up on projectiles and powder in the first place?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom