Reloading... Worth the time and the investment???

Loading for obsolete or hard to find calibers will pay off a press and accessories within the first hundred rounds loaded. Even reloading cartridges that are $1.00 to $2.00 each for a factory round will quickly pay off a reloading setup.
 
I think this subject has been well covered in the above posts but I'll add.

What I tell most people who ask me if I think they should reload "it depends".

It depends on how much you shoot, what you shoot and how much free time you have.
I reload rifle rounds so for me the cost savings is huge. Also I'm a benchrest shooter so I'm always in search if greater and greater accuracy. Also I enjoy reloading so even if it cost the same per round I'd still do it.

Right now I'm reloading cast rifle rounds for around 10-12 cents a round so I can pretty much shoot all day for the price of a box or 2 of factory ammo.
 
If you do a lot of shooting then yes it would be worth it, or if you shoot a caliber that ammo is hard to find, or if you want to shoot 300 yds and beyond. If you just deer hunt at close range any factory ammo will do and you don't really need to get great accuracy.
 
I have a couple of rifles with obscure calibers that are quite expensive to buy good loaded rounds for, and they're hard to find most of the time. I haven't been able to find any 8mm mauser bullets at stores recently either. There are a few online places that sell it, but shipping ammo is expensive as well and adds to cost. The components for reloading bring me to 65 cents a shot the last time I calculated... Really good quality ammo for the 270 win is pretty expensive as well. The really high quality hunting bullets are around $3 per round last I looked... I can reload them for around 75 cents a shot with the same hunting bullet that costs$3 a shot, and the round is taylored to my gun... I bought some cheap ammo for my 223 to use as cases for reloading. I can't seem to find the bullets I like to load for it for hunting coyotes in a loaded form...
 
Thanks everyone for your opinion and insight! I think for the moment, I better stick to factory just because of the initial set-up cost and the time/labour required to make the rounds. Down the road, I will give it a shot when I have the time and the cash!! Thanks again :)
 
Like so many hobbies, reloading has savings following the investment in equipment.
Enjoyment in constructing loads for hunting and target is not measured in costs. Whether collecting stamps, coins, cars, firearms or equipment for any hobby, cost is rarely considered an impediment.
My first hand loads were made in 1965 and there were times the equipment sat idle but never for long and now my son is following.
 
rookie wildcat said:
How does that differ from a pregressive? Still takes 4-5 pulls to throw a round out. Don't believe me? Try loading only one round and see how many times you pull the handle. There is just less actual touching of the components and a slight bit more automation and that makes it faster. Unless, of course, you spend the big money and get motorized equipment or motorize what you already have.

I can easily do 200 .223 in an hour in my turret press (5-600 an evening). Far more than I shoot a week.
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ummmm....nope...yah need to rethink your math there.

Assuming you have 3 dies in a turrent press it will take you 3000 pulls to do 1000 rounds plus rotating the turrent after each pull. 1 pull per stage per round because the turent press is doing one thing on one bullet at a time.

On a progressive with 5 stations it will take 1005 pulls, 5 for the first bullet and to get all the stations started up, and I since I have automatic priming and a case feeder all I have to do is place the bullet on the case on station 4. The progressive is acting on all stations at once on different bullets so yes once its going its doing one bullet per pull.

With a good progressive you can easily do 400 rounds in an hour. People with more nimble fingers than me do a lot more than that.

That said, a lot of people also enjoy a quiet evening reloading pistol ammo on a single stage press, so to each his/her own.
 
The question is subjective and rather difficult to quantify as the motivation for folks to reload will differ for everyone. It really is a matter of what kind of shooter you are and whether you want to tinker with reloading. I figured I would take the plunge. I reload for rifle only. I have a 9mm and .22LR for pistol, so as others have said, not much point in reloading 9mm. Keep your brass though, you may run into someone at your club who can reload it for you and save you a bit of money. Brass is the most valuable component for reloading. Accuracy, loading your own, you can control some vital elements which will increase it. It isn't cheap, not really going to save money, but you may end up with more ammo to shoot when you want. Definitely a plus once ammo gets scarce to be able to "roll your own". Good luck.
 
My $0.02

I reload for rifle and pistol. Rifle is a wash on cost really. I do save a little over good factory ammo, but the real benefit of hand loading rifle cartridges to me is for better, more consistent ammo vs cheaper ammo.

For pistol cartridges it depends on what your loading. If your just punching paper at 25 yards with a 9mm, your probably better off buying factory reloads or cheaper new manufacture ammo vs hand loading. If your talking 454, 44 Mag, 45 LC, 45 ACP, etc.. then there is a definite cost advantage to hand loading.

The cheapest ammo I shoot and load for is 45 ACP, here is my real world price break down:

Tightgroup powder = $25+tax - $28.25/lb or 7,000 grains
Large pistol primers - $40/1000
Brass - all range pick up for me, I have several batches that have been loaded more than 20 times so far. I only lose brass from the occasional stove pipe.
Projectiles cost me labour only. I cast from wheel weights or freely sourced lead. I have over 300 lbs of lead and antimony sitting at home and didn't pay a penny for any of it.

My cost on 45 ACP loaded ammo is:

powder 5 grains = $0.0201/ round
Primer = $0.04/round
Brass - $0.00 still reloading brass I've had for many years that I didn't pay for in the first place.
Projectile = my time to cast

$6/100, $60.17/1000

So yeah, it's well worth it for me.
 
Reloading isn't about saving money. It's about using the best possible ammo out of your firearms. You'll be tailoring the ammo for each firearm and it'll make he endless search for the best price for ammo go away.
"...it will take a long time..." Depends on what you're shooting and how often. Handgun calibres take about 6 months of weekly shooting to 'break even'.
 
In my opinion, if you're reloading 45acp or smaller, you're not really saving anything. I'll only consider fully jacketed ammo here, if you want to shoot lead it becomes more financially appealing. I've never personally liked the idea.

Anyway, 45acp used to be economical too but now with Norc 45 being available at 1000 rounds for 320 bucks, you'd be hard pressed to justify the time and effort to reload.

If you're reloading larger calibers, there is simply no question, it's massively cheaper. I shoot at least 50 rounds of 50AE during every outing and I'd be broke buying it retail but it's very reasonable if reloaded. Same for 500S&W and rifle calibers.

But there's more to it in my opinion. There's just the reloading itself which I find very satisfying. I've got a TV with a media player on my reloading bench, I put on a good movie and crank away. It's highly nerdy, I love it.

There's also the convenience. With a good stock of supplies, you never need to run around looking for ammo, or wonder how much to buy, look for deals. You are your own ammo manufacturer - gonna be busy so no shooting for a while? No problem, do nothing. Going shooting this weekend? Head to the basement and crank out as many rounds as you like for the guns you're going to bring.

Do it and don't look back.
 
I am a reloader, not to save money [because I shoot so much more, I do not save]
I want the most consistent, highest quality ammo to shoot in my rifles.

I also have several bullet choices when I reload that are difficult, if not impossible to find in loaded ammo.

If I am looking to find a load that works well, I can pull down unsuccessful tries, and start over.
If I was using factory ammo, and it is not working, I end up with several rounds of useless ammo laying around.

Many of my best loads are not only accurate, but also exploit the velocity potential of the round I am loading.
If I want a 30-06, I will shoot a 30-06, not a 300 Mag neutered to shoot at 30-06 velocities.

I now have accumulated over 60 sets of dies, and rarely sell any, even if the rifle is long gone.

Regards, Eagleye.
 
"Guys, I'm impressed" !

Usually threads like this get jumped all over by eager beavers who sugar coat the issue with insanely inaccurate claims of huge cost savings they get loading 9. The OP is getting a fair assessment and good advice here and may well conclude the cost issue, for loading common calibers, is a wash. Penny pinching is the least likely motive to be satisfied by taking up the dark art. Reloading IS very worthwhile and is commonly done for about the same cost as buying cheap ammo and selling the spent brass ,,,, which makes reloading a bargain because of its benefits. Cost sweetening is misleading and unnecessary.

As to the SS press vs turret, I'd propose that a 3rd option well worth considering is the SS press capable of accepting the Hornady L&L bushing conversion. This conversion is inexpensive, simple to do, and its main benefit, as with turret models, is that you set up your dies only once and can change between them very rapidly. The system's advantage over the turret is that you can preset ALL your dies not just the ones you are currently using. "Check em out".
 
TheJuggernaut said:
In my opinion, if you're reloading 45acp or smaller, you're not really saving anything. I'll only consider fully jacketed ammo here, if you want to shoot lead it becomes more financially appealing. I've never personally liked the idea.

Anyway, 45acp used to be economical too but now with Norc 45 being available at 1000 rounds for 320 bucks, you'd be hard pressed to justify the time and effort to reload.
If you're reloading larger calibers, there is simply no question, it's massively cheaper. I shoot at least 50 rounds of 50AE during every outing and I'd be broke buying it retail but it's very reasonable if reloaded. Same for 500S&W and rifle calibers.

But there's more to it in my opinion. There's just the reloading itself which I find very satisfying. I've got a TV with a media player on my reloading bench, I put on a good movie and crank away. It's highly nerdy, I love it.

There's also the convenience. With a good stock of supplies, you never need to run around looking for ammo, or wonder how much to buy, look for deals. You are your own ammo manufacturer - gonna be busy so no shooting for a while? No problem, do nothing. Going shooting this weekend? Head to the basement and crank out as many rounds as you like for the guns you're going to bring.

Do it and don't look back.
Click to expand...

Really? I was thinking about getting into it for .45 ACP So, if i reload using jacketed bullets, i can't make 1000 rounds for under 300 bucks ?
 
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