Hey everyone, I’ve got a really nice 1954 Savage 99 in .300savage. Love shooting it, but it’s $4 a shot now. Ridiculous. Is reloading actually worth it once time and acquiring all the required equipment is factored? Am I going to waste hundreds or thousands learning? Better to just suck it up and pay the $4 per round?
Savage 99 reloading
- Thread starter Gforce250
- Start date
- Location
- Nova Scotia
Well it cost you couple hundred for reloading gear. Then couple hundred for bullets, powder, primers.
If you shoot only a box or two it's not worth it.
The "couple hundred" would be if you get some used rig Or a single-shot loader. Really you'll spend around $500 or more, the Powder at ca $100/lb and bullets at ca $1/round. How many boxes of ammo will you want to buy for $1000-ish (incl taxes) ? Don't forget the learning curve.
Also, consider a diff rifle that costs $1/round like a .223 or even some .308-ammo goes that low for Mil-Surp.
Also, consider a diff rifle that costs $1/round like a .223 or even some .308-ammo goes that low for Mil-Surp.
I disagree. Depending on what you buy it can be done for pretty cheap. Obviously it will take some time to recoup your costs if you're only loading for one gun, but at $4 a pop for factory ammo it is certainly still economical long term.
OP it will all depend on how much you shoot. If you're going through 1 or 2 boxes of ammo a year, its gonna take a while, but if you're shooting 5 or 10 boxes a year it could pay for itself quite quickly. All you really need is a press, a scale, some components (hope you've been saving your brass!), and a few small tools for trimming and chamfering. If you buy used and look for deals you can likely get a press, scale, and the small tools for something in the ballpark of $100-200. It was under $100 for me when I did it, but that was like 7 years ago - Lee hand press for $30, Lee Safety Scale for $35, dies were $40...
$1000 is ridiculous. I could buy brand new stuff for half that or less.
Thanks for the reply.
I don’t know anyone that reloads, or at least I don’t think I do. I guess if I bought different dies and started reloading for my 9mm, maybe it would start to repay itself? 9mm is “cheap ish” so would take a ton of time to break even on that.
You are probably right, just suck it up and pay the $4 per shot for the amount I put through it.
I have one old box that I’m saving, price tag says $14.99 for 20 rounds. The good old days.
I don’t know anyone that reloads, or at least I don’t think I do. I guess if I bought different dies and started reloading for my 9mm, maybe it would start to repay itself? 9mm is “cheap ish” so would take a ton of time to break even on that.
You are probably right, just suck it up and pay the $4 per shot for the amount I put through it.
I have one old box that I’m saving, price tag says $14.99 for 20 rounds. The good old days.
9mm is not very economical. You'd be spending a LOT of time infront of the press to break even with that. Centerfire rifle is where its at for cost savings per shot.
- Location
- Nova Scotia
7 years ago we were buying 1000 primers for 50$, 40$ /lb of powder. Could find a single stage for 25$.
Today, you are looking at 100$ for a sleeve of primers, and lb of powder depending on what you get. Then 40$ a box of bullets. Then you need to figure a load and that can use up 1/4 of your primers and bullets.
And factory ammo was $22/20 and I paid for my gear in like a year.
The price difference between factory ammo then vs now more than makes up for the increase in component costs. At $80/20, it only takes 4 boxes to save $240 if you can make it at $1/pop, which is still very much doable if you're not using Nosler bullets and you already have some brass. (#### me nosler prices are stupid these days)
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Ya, I was pretty shocked when I started to add up the costs, it’s like over $2 to load one?
- Location
- Nova Scotia
Def gonna take several years to see any profit if any. I mean cheapest route is cast bullets. Yes odd cals you are left to reload for. But it's def not cheap.
At two boxes a year, absolutely its gonna take a few years. At 5+ boxes a year it would pay for itself in no time though.
But even if it takes 5 years, hes getting ammo tuned to his specific rifle and eventually will be making it for a fraction of the cost of factory ammo which is unlikely to go down in price any time soon. The sooner he jumps in, the sooner he recoups his cost, and unless he is going to quit shooting between now and whenever he covers his initial investment its a win long term.
AND even if he does quit shooting before then, reloading equipment and components have good resale value so its not like he'd be screwed out of the money he invested.
If you have brass from before its about $1 using mid-grade components. More like $1.30 if you need to buy brass. Can get much more expensive if you want to use high end brass and bullets, but in a 300 savage there is no reason to use anything but a regular cup and core bullet like a speer hot cor, which are about $40/100.
Keep your eyes open for used press and dies . Once you have the basic you're set for life , vs 300 Savage is a hard to find ammo today and it's not gonna get any better.
It may take a couple years to recover the cost but you will have endless supply after that.
Adding other calibers later as simple as another set of dies
It may take a couple years to recover the cost but you will have endless supply after that.
Adding other calibers later as simple as another set of dies
Ya, I have other guns, but this one is a special one that was handed down. I don’t mind banging out hundreds of cheaper rounds, I just wish this one wasn’t so expensive to play with.
Damn it, now I’m starting to think it is a good idea. If it’s $4 a round now, in 10 years it will probably be $8. I have some brass, and I know that the .300 savage is just a trimmed down .308, so plenty of brass available. Anyone got a reloading press they want to sell?
