I use to load my 30 06 and 22 250 25 years ago .bought a couple of weatherby mk v 7mm rem .for my son and I. Is it still cheaper to reload ur own and get a good shooting load .or just buy a premium load .looking to load a deer load .thanks great site
Reloading 7mm vs premium loads
- Thread starter Cbprov
- Start date
Yes and no. They can, but that's not where they shine. Where they shine is on game performance, and if you're shooting a magnum cartridge that can be important.
Think of it this way. With reloading you can reload standard ammo for less than you can buy standard ammo (think federal blue box etc), and you can reload premium ammo for less than you can buy premium ammo (think federal Red box, nosler ammo, etc). You save more per round reloading the good stuff, even though the components are more expensive. I can load a 20rds of 270win with a premium bonded bullet for less cost than a box of federal blue box, but I got my bullets on sale and didn't pay for brass.
At 7mm rem mag velocities I would advise against a cheap bullet for shooting game. Considering how much money is spent on tags, gas, equipment, etc etc for most successful hunts, a few more dollars spent on the bullets - the one thing that actually touches the animal you're looking to harvest - is a no brainer IMO.
pete dobinson
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Courtenay BC.
If you already have the reloading equipment it will be cheaper to reload, even if you use premium components me thinks.
I’m pretty sure reloading loses me money. Oh sure, the price per box is way down but its easy to spend more developing a pet load for a single rifle than a typical factory ammo hunter will shell out in a couple decades. Part boxes of bullets and open cans of powder abound as the shooter who was perfectly happy with his factory fodder before now decides that nothing less than bughole groups is good enough to kill a deer with.
There are a lot of reasons to hand-load rifle ammo, but for the most part saving money is way down the list. Accuracy, consistency and specialty hunting bullets is what keeps me going. Most of my rifles have never seen a factory round though.
There are a lot of reasons to hand-load rifle ammo, but for the most part saving money is way down the list. Accuracy, consistency and specialty hunting bullets is what keeps me going. Most of my rifles have never seen a factory round though.
Some of my rifles have never seen a factory round.
One might buy 5 boxes of factory bullets and find their rifle does not like any . . . same might apply to buying bullets for reloading.
There is more to reloading than just slapping some rounds together. When I first started in the 60's that was more or less part of the learning curve.
With time and reading articles I am fairly confident in my abilities and strategy.
Is money saved or is there a lot of satisfaction gained.
Picking the right bullet for your particular application is a start then there are the powders, primers and brass.
What contributes to my success is selecting bullet weights from Barnes, Sierra and Nosler for most accurate loads.
These are great starting points but it is important to recognize failures early and change course.
I thought the 115 grain Barnes in my 25-06 would be a great round. That load would not group at 50 m., so it was abandoned and the remainder of the box sold.
The definition of insanity is trying the same thing repeatedly expecting different results. Cut your losses early and move on.
One might buy 5 boxes of factory bullets and find their rifle does not like any . . . same might apply to buying bullets for reloading.
There is more to reloading than just slapping some rounds together. When I first started in the 60's that was more or less part of the learning curve.
With time and reading articles I am fairly confident in my abilities and strategy.
Is money saved or is there a lot of satisfaction gained.
Picking the right bullet for your particular application is a start then there are the powders, primers and brass.
What contributes to my success is selecting bullet weights from Barnes, Sierra and Nosler for most accurate loads.
These are great starting points but it is important to recognize failures early and change course.
I thought the 115 grain Barnes in my 25-06 would be a great round. That load would not group at 50 m., so it was abandoned and the remainder of the box sold.
The definition of insanity is trying the same thing repeatedly expecting different results. Cut your losses early and move on.
- Location
- Prince Albert, Sk
My guess would be be it's about 1/4 to 1/3 the cost per cartridge to load ammo vs the equivalent over the shelf, it seems that the "premium" store bought ammo increases exponentially in price.
I've seen $70-$90 ammo that I can load for $25-$30 a box on premium stuff.
But like Dogleg stated, it's pretty easy to spend ,rip out 50 reloads and burn them off and do it all again.
And, it's addicting trying to engineer and squeeze the most out of your ammunition.
Before I got into reloading a box of ammo would last years , now, it's about 6 minutes.
I've seen $70-$90 ammo that I can load for $25-$30 a box on premium stuff.
But like Dogleg stated, it's pretty easy to spend ,rip out 50 reloads and burn them off and do it all again.
And, it's addicting trying to engineer and squeeze the most out of your ammunition.
Before I got into reloading a box of ammo would last years , now, it's about 6 minutes.
Excellent. I always tell people who ask that never start reloading your own because you want to save money, because, if you do it right, you can't. And, you probably won't even be trying to.
^^^This
I do save some money, on some cartridges. 455 webley, 45 Schofield, 9.3x57, 8mm French Revolver, and other oddball stuff that costs an arm and a leg for factory ammo if you can find it. I can load 50 rounds of 455 for ten or fifteen bucks, factory is $90. Paid for the dies in the first 50.
I spend way more on reloading supplies than I would on factory ammo if I didn't reload. However, I've learned to enjoy shooting much more. Perhaps most importantly, I feel much more confident in my hunting shots simply because I shoot the gun much more often.
