Price gap Reloads vs Factory
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This is my cost for 9mm excluding brass which frankly lasts forever in 9mm. For me it's not only worth my time to do but I get satisfaction seeing that blue tub fill up with rounds.
9mm bullet $0.1254
4.2 grains TG $0.0370
Primer $0.1456
Cost per round $0.3080
50 rounds $15.40
9mm bullet $0.1254
4.2 grains TG $0.0370
Primer $0.1456
Cost per round $0.3080
50 rounds $15.40
When people ask about the "time" it takes to reload I ask them whether they factor the "time" it takes to shoot their rounds into the cost of shooting...
Reloading is fun and even 9mm is worth it!
I save big time with reloading 44. I saw some in Bass Pro yesterday for $2/round.
I use campro bullets at $85/500, titegroup that I still got for $37/lb earlier this year, and primers, which went up a lot but I still have my stock from $50/1000, so my cost is somewhere around $0.28/round. I don't think I'd shoot that rifle at all at $2/round.
I use campro bullets at $85/500, titegroup that I still got for $37/lb earlier this year, and primers, which went up a lot but I still have my stock from $50/1000, so my cost is somewhere around $0.28/round. I don't think I'd shoot that rifle at all at $2/round.
Exactly! I usually ask them if they put a price on watching a hockey or ball game on tv or reading a book..
I consider reloading part of the shooting hobby.
As for the comments on factoring in depreciation or cost of the equipment; I bought pretty much all of my reloading gear used and can most likely sell it all for as much or more than I bought it for so I don't factor in depreciation. If you keep your eyes open and give it some time then there are still good deals on gear popping up from people who get out of it.
How much you save by reloading is directly related to the cartridge you are reloading.
For my 8mm Rem Mag, factory loaded 200 grain A-Frames are $130.00 + tax at the store.
I never bought any, for obvious reasons.
I reload for it with components bought when prices were a bit more reasonable.
Primer: $.06; Powder: $.50; 220 Swift A-Frame:$2.00; Brass: 1-F: $.20 Total for 1 round= $2.76
Box of 20 = $55.20 If I load 200 grain Partitions, the cost goes down by $15.00
Added bonus: My 220 A-Frame load is a fair amount faster than the factory 200 A-Frame load. Dave.
For my 8mm Rem Mag, factory loaded 200 grain A-Frames are $130.00 + tax at the store.
I never bought any, for obvious reasons.
I reload for it with components bought when prices were a bit more reasonable.
Primer: $.06; Powder: $.50; 220 Swift A-Frame:$2.00; Brass: 1-F: $.20 Total for 1 round= $2.76
Box of 20 = $55.20 If I load 200 grain Partitions, the cost goes down by $15.00
Added bonus: My 220 A-Frame load is a fair amount faster than the factory 200 A-Frame load. Dave.
As we all know, it has been very hard to find specific factory ammo lately. As an example, it seems impossible to find factory ammo in Nosler Partition for the 6.5x55 or the 30-06 in Canada these days. Form the other side, I believe the price of components has increased significantly more than factory ammo.
As Dave says, it really depends on the cartridge used.
For my 6.5x55, loading a box of Speer hot-cor 140 grains (the least expensive bullet I can find) costs me these days $30. I can still find S&B at the local store (for how long?) for $33. These S&B shoot around 1 moa from my Tikka T3. So the gap here is so small.
For my 270 win, loading a box of IL 130 amounts to $37. The cost of a factory box locally is $54. Of course, handloaded ammunition is more accurate. The cost for a handloaded box of NP 150 is now around $60.
Some staples like the 180 grains NP in 30-06 or the 200 NP in 300 win Mag as simply unobtainable in factory loads these days. Even the bullets are extremely hard to find. I have loaded a few and keep them for special hunts only. For my deer hunting and practice, I am relying on the Hot-Cor in the 6.5x55 and the IL 130 in the 270 Win.
As Dave says, it really depends on the cartridge used.
For my 6.5x55, loading a box of Speer hot-cor 140 grains (the least expensive bullet I can find) costs me these days $30. I can still find S&B at the local store (for how long?) for $33. These S&B shoot around 1 moa from my Tikka T3. So the gap here is so small.
For my 270 win, loading a box of IL 130 amounts to $37. The cost of a factory box locally is $54. Of course, handloaded ammunition is more accurate. The cost for a handloaded box of NP 150 is now around $60.
Some staples like the 180 grains NP in 30-06 or the 200 NP in 300 win Mag as simply unobtainable in factory loads these days. Even the bullets are extremely hard to find. I have loaded a few and keep them for special hunts only. For my deer hunting and practice, I am relying on the Hot-Cor in the 6.5x55 and the IL 130 in the 270 Win.
The 9mm factory I'm seeing is more like $30 a box.
When I got into reloading, I thought I would NEVER reload 9mm. I run only a single stage press, manual powder scale. If I already have the brass prepped, it'll take me 45 minutes to do 50 rounds.... but I enjoy it. I put on a podcast, or some good music, and let the time melt away. I also make a point to not reload during the summer, or the Spring/Fall days where it is nice outside. I save all my reloading for the cold, dark days of winter. It may be minus 30 in January outside, but the temperature at the reloading bench is always comfortable
Premium hunting bullets have always been pricey, I use them sparingly for certain circumstances only. I actually prefer a regular old cup and core bullet for most hunting, especially early season before snowfall.
Its a bit disingenuous for those saying "my cost is x because I bought my components y years ago". One also maid less back then. I can say my ammo reloading is dirt cheap. My 9mm reloads cost me approx 6-8 cents each: 1-2 cents for a primer, 4-5 cents for a bullet and less than a 1 cent for powder. Sounds fantastic in today's dollar but not so much years ago, although cheaper overall back then than today using relative costs. I would have to say if I factored in the old prices for that era, I would be around 10-13 cents a round back then.
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Honestly, with SP primer shortages worldwide, I've seen SP sold for upwards of $200/1000 + $120-$200/1000 bullets + $30 powder, assuming the brass is free, the cost of reloading is basically your time + $350-$430 per 1000 rounds. That cost almost the same as factory rounds.
"It depends".
Popular cartridges are closer to parity when comparing factory to reloads. But there are some important considerations as well, for example my .30-06 likes 180gr bullets but my handloads will easily net me well over 100fps on top of factory loads. So while I might only save $10/box, I usually load 30-40 rounds and they always significantly outperform factory loads.
Same thing with 7mm Rem Mag - SAAMI spec calls for a COAL of 3.290" but I load mine to 3.340" and there's a fair bit of performance to be gained. No matter what the economics look like there the factory loads just don't match up.
But I did buy a few boxes of match ammo for 6.5 Creedmoor that were $50/box - not cheap, but with 130gr Berger bullets I think the economics would be pretty close and the performance as well.
Something like a .28 Nosler, no question. Reloading is WAY cheaper for the boutique stuff. Even Weatherby cartridges, the days of the $49.99 boxes of .257 and .300 are long gone. I have enough brass to last a lifetime in both cartridges and can afford to shoot them a lot more as a result.
Then there's the 6.5 PRC, simply due to availability you're probably much better off reloading once-fired cases. I have a friend who lives a ways out of town that bought one when they were released and still hasn't fired it yet due to ammo availability (I have 3 boxes of Hornady Precision Hunter here for him, a Thanksgiving surprise).
Popular cartridges are closer to parity when comparing factory to reloads. But there are some important considerations as well, for example my .30-06 likes 180gr bullets but my handloads will easily net me well over 100fps on top of factory loads. So while I might only save $10/box, I usually load 30-40 rounds and they always significantly outperform factory loads.
Same thing with 7mm Rem Mag - SAAMI spec calls for a COAL of 3.290" but I load mine to 3.340" and there's a fair bit of performance to be gained. No matter what the economics look like there the factory loads just don't match up.
But I did buy a few boxes of match ammo for 6.5 Creedmoor that were $50/box - not cheap, but with 130gr Berger bullets I think the economics would be pretty close and the performance as well.
Something like a .28 Nosler, no question. Reloading is WAY cheaper for the boutique stuff. Even Weatherby cartridges, the days of the $49.99 boxes of .257 and .300 are long gone. I have enough brass to last a lifetime in both cartridges and can afford to shoot them a lot more as a result.
Then there's the 6.5 PRC, simply due to availability you're probably much better off reloading once-fired cases. I have a friend who lives a ways out of town that bought one when they were released and still hasn't fired it yet due to ammo availability (I have 3 boxes of Hornady Precision Hunter here for him, a Thanksgiving surprise).
BattleRife
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The approach is fairly simple. If you have to pay $200/1k primers, you don't reload 9mm, you buy it.
When you can get primers for $75/1k, like True North Arms was selling them a couple of days ago, that's when you buy to reload 9mm.
To be fair primers were $60 per brick in December 2021.... so less than 1 year ago we were paying half to 1/3 the price of today
