Reloading still costs a lot..

jeanlikethis

jeanlikethis

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A quick math:

1 pound of powder ($40) is 453 gm, if use 2.5gm for each load, this turned into: 180 rounds and $ 0.22/ rd
Primer: 1000 costs $35 and cost per round would be: $ 0.035/rd
Bullet: 100 costs $40, per round would be: $ 0.4/rd
Brass: assume $1 each and could be used for 10 times, so $ 0.1/rd

Put all together: 0.22 + 0.035 + 0.4 + 0.1 = 0.76 / rd plus all the loading equipment and time....

Most surplus costs from 0.25/rd to 0.70/rd. shipped to your home. Commercial rounds shipped to your home by $1.5/rd
 
Ok. Reloading produces far more accurate ammunition than the other two options so for a bolt gun at least, reloading is the way to go. For blasting away with the semi I run bulk (.223).
 
Reloading especially comes into its own when you want accurate loads for a specific gun or are shooting less common calibers. Some simply don't exist for any money, others push $3-5 per round.

Plus you can reduce costs by scrounging scrap lead and brass. Shooting isn't a cheap hobby, but hey, hobbies aren't generally supposed to be cheap :p
 
OP the big fly in your ointment is that with milsurp ammo you seldom know what the quality/consistency of that lot of ammo will be. Most of the brass/steel cases aren't reusable (some are) so it is a complete loss. The other is that you can't legally hunt with full metal jacket bullets for big game. The other factor is that your hypothesis is only valid if you shoot milsurp firearms exclusively or in compatible sporters which has its risks as well and likely will not give you the same points of impact as commercially loaded hunting ammo.

Shooting is no longer cheap. It doesn't matter if you handload or not. Where your argument is really valid is for competition shotgun shooters. Commercial ammo can be had for the same or less money than we can assemble handloads. Again though some shotguns just seem to do better with custom loads made up with selected components. Most don't know the difference from one brand to the next.
 
I also do reload and I believe one of the of the old reasons for reloading is for cost reasons.

Reloading is fun as it keeps your hands busy and you enjoy the touching holes on the target paper.
 
For the number of reloaded rounds that I've shot so far (6000+) the cost savings have paid for every scrap of equipment several times over. And it's been a lot of fun.
But there are some calibres that aren't or are just barely worth it, these are things that one has to decide for themselves. For me, having the ability to try different combinations and see the results first hand is a big plus.
One strange side effect is that I drink less. Now instead of kicking back with a few beers, I'll choose to load up a bunch of ammo. I have to say that I'm finding that far more relaxing.
 
It is a hobby, you get specific taylored loads to your gun, premium projectile at 30-40% of retail. If you are shooting a semi 223, with little expectation of extreme accuracy, then bulk is cheaper. If you are shooting relatively low volumes of clays in shotgun, again cases in the store is cheaper. Where loading really comes into its own is on obscure rifle calibers, sub gauge shotgun, and some pistol.

My 308 NM is $5-6/round for factory ammo, Rum calibers start at about $70/box, go up quickly from there; i can reload for less than 30 even with only about 70 loads/lb in the Rums. By far the biggest savings would be with some of the African calibers.
 
For some calibers it's just not worth it to me. 7.62X39 is still readily available so I don't bother, same with 9mm.

That said, I couldn't shoot nearly as much if I didn't reload for 44MAG, 45ACP or 45/70Gov't. My cost per round is well under the store bought price.

Also I can produce ultra tasty H110 loads for my 44MAG :D
 
Can you point me in the direction of 505 Gibbs surplus ammo, I'd like to try some, how about 7 MM Remington Magnum, or any of the Weatherby cartridges.
 
It actually depends what your are reloading as well. 9mm for example costs anywhere from $15-$40 for 50 rounds. If you reload you can get that price down to $6-$9 bucks for 50 and they are more accurate loads.
 
If you are cheap and just want to save money, it will not be for you.
Reloading won't save you any money, but you will shoot more, much more and much better.

If you really want to save money, get a slingshot. :)
 
It's like fly tying...........you could buy factory made ............or see what the fish are eating and go home and tie your own copy...........the satisfaction of making your first kill with your own reloads and keeping records of bullet performance/accuracy data....... priceless...Harold
 
jeanlikethis said:
A quick math:

1 pound of powder ($40) is 453 gm, if use 2.5gm for each load, this turned into: 180 rounds and $ 0.22/ rd
Primer: 1000 costs $35 and cost per round would be: $ 0.035/rd
Bullet: 100 costs $40, per round would be: $ 0.4/rd
Brass: assume $1 each and could be used for 10 times, so $ 0.1/rd

Put all together: 0.22 + 0.035 + 0.4 + 0.1 = 0.76 / rd plus all the loading equipment and time....

Most surplus costs from 0.25/rd to 0.70/rd. shipped to your home. Commercial rounds shipped to your home by $1.5/rd
Click to expand...

By your numbers, reloading is about half the cost, comparing apples to apples, i.e, new factory ammo vs reloads. It is possible to further economize from this if you can find once-fired brass. Sometimes, the difference in price between new brass and factory ammo is small enough to make it worthwhile to just buy factory ammo and reuse the brass.

Common calibres have lower cost FMJ projectiles (55 grain .224" or 147/150 grain .308" from Campro or Hornady) compared to typical prices for hunting bullets sold by the box of 100.

Low power cast bullet loads are another opportunity for cost saving if all you want is short range plinking ammo. There are also plated bullets in .308" and .311" that can fill this role.

Shooting just about any rifle from 6mm and up in calibre is fairly expensive either way, but there is still a substantial cost saving in reloading.
 
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