Starter reloading cost analysis, for .308 Winchester hunting loads

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scott_karana

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I am interested in reloading, and have no supplies or tools, and was curious about the cost breakdown so I made a spreadsheet to run the numbers for my own personal needs.

THE QUICK SUMMARY
Premium hunting rounds would cost me $1.24 on average (compared to factory, which is about $1.95)
Non-premium rounds cost $0.75 on average (compared to factory, which is about $1.41)

Factoring in the cost of equipment, would take a long time to break even for me.

If I only bought a single-stage press kit, dies, and shellholders, it would take 781 premium rounds, or $1,521.90 in total tools and supplies until I break even! :( That is a heck of a lot of hunting!

If I bought a kit *and* a stainless tumbler, it would take a good 1268 premium rounds to pay for itself: $2,471.82 total out of pocket cost.

Non-premium rounds work out a little better: 845 rds and $1188, or 1373rds and $1931 with a tumbler

And that's not counting the amount of time I'd have to spend reloading... (though I would probably enjoy it, so that doesn't count ;) )

Assuming my math was all right, and I don't find any sweet deals on used equipment, it looks like I'll be sticking with factory rounds for now, since I don't shoot enough to justify it. Ah well. :)



Here's the spreadsheet!
The first page/tab just has summary and pretty graphs, actual costs are in the rest.

Enjoy!
 
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A few notes:

  • I assumed that my time has $0/hr value. If I valued myself at all, the conclusion would look worse. :p
  • All components prices are "unit" costs: dollars per bullet/brass/primer/powder etc. ("Absolute" costs, like $35 for a bag of brass are still written down of course)
  • I mixed 150gr, 165gr, and 180gr bullets all together. Something more sophisticated would be really hard. Related:
  • Most powders appeared to cost similarly, and 43 grains of IMR/Hodgdon 4895 is apparently a standard load, so I just ran with that. Realistically, 180gr bullets would need a bit more powder and cost, yes? ;)
  • I assumed brass would last 10 shots on average before being retired based on posts about .308 reloading
  • I used mainly prices from Cabela's and Wholesale Sports, with some Hirsch and Budget Shooter Supply thrown in too, but if there is better please let me know!
  • I didn't include any taxes or shipping. :p
  • I assumed that Winchester/Remington brass is "good enough" for hunting (I have no plans to do long range stuff)
  • I averaged the costs of competing bullets together to account for taste or which might work better in my gun
  • I'm assuming that the reloading equipment and stainless media will never wear out, and didn't include the price of case lube either
  • I kinda winged it for classifying premium vs non-premium bullets. Call me out if I screwed it up!

Please correct me on any of these, if I'm wrong, for better or for worse!
 
Heavier bullets actually use less powder than lighter bullets.
Win/Rem brass is absolutely "good enough" for hunting loads.

If you're only reloading .308 (or .223 or 9mm) it'll take a long while to break even as you only save a little over factory ammo relative to many other calibres. If you were reloading something pricey like .45-70, .300WM, or .44 mag it would break even a lot sooner. If you could use cast bullets (mostly for big-bore straight-walled cases) then you can break even that much faster. Factory .45-70 for example are about $2.25-2.50/round (sometimes as high as $5/round for premium ammo) but reloads with cast bullets are maybe $.40-.50. .44 mag is $1.10/round but reloads with cast can run under $.25.

The more common the round, the less you save.
Once you start reloading you'll also find you shoot a lot more so you aren't saving any money but you are getting to shoot a lot more.
Some avenues open up once you start reloading if you're into weird stuff. I picked up a rolling block in 8x58R which is an obsolete round that isn't made anymore. I am converting brass and reloading for it but if I didn't reload, I wouldn't be able to shoot it unless I got lucky with some old European ammo from a gun show.
 
You're correct. If you want to reload for just cost savings, then you're better of finding another hobby and just shooting factory. If you want a new skill and better quality ammo built for your gun then reloading is the ticket.
 
One of the biggest misconception about getting into reloading is starting cost. I started with a Lee Loader kit, a cheap lee trim kit (the one that uses a drill), and digital scale.
Anyone who tells you that a Lee Loader is dangerous, or that much slower then a single stage press, has never used one extensively. I can pound out rounds with the Lee Loader in almost the same amount of time as my press. As for it being dangerous, I've loaded at least a thousand rounds with it and never had a issue. If they were dangerous they wouldn't be on the market for 50+ years. I do prefer to use a my Lee hand priming tool, but that is because it does a better job seating the primers.
If you want to buy a press, buy a used one on the EE, or a brand new Lee classic cast.

**308 win is one of the cheapest 30 caliber round to buy. If you just want to save money, I would be looking for boxes at gun shows for $15.

Cheers
 
Holy crap, the Lee Loader is really, really affordable. I guess I wasted an hour. :p
Maybe someone else can get some use out of modifying the spreadsheet at least.

Thanks for the feedback, guys! :)
 
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I would hate to do a cost breakdown. I would probably cry. I almost enjoy reloading as much as shooting and love tinkering and adding tools to the bench. Always helps if you have a buddy with the gear and just need to provide primers, powder, bullets. My brother in law uses my stuff to load his 7mm hunting rounds. If I didn't have all the equipment it would make no sense for him.
 
I have never saved money reloading.
I get to shoot more, better quality ammo for the same price though.
Lapua .308 ammo, almost as good as many hand loads is more than $2.00/ round plus tax and shipping, so for competitive rifle shooters the benefits add up more quickly.
 
I suggest the Lee Precision 50th Anniversary Reloading Kit it costs $190 delivered from amazon ($150 not too long ago). All you need in addition to this is a powder trickle and a cheap pair of cnd tire calipers. I started on this set up and I still use it for all my precision loads. It has paid for itself many times over. Hand loading offers the highest possible accuracy because you can fine tune the charge to your rifles harmonics. For the hunter, bullet selection out performs anything that you can get from factory. One can choose projectile based on terminal ballistics to perform in short medium and long distance applications.
 
savagelh said:
You're correct. If you want to reload for just cost savings, then you're better of finding another hobby and just shooting factory. If you want a new skill and better quality ammo built for your gun then reloading is the ticket.
Click to expand...

A big x2 on that one....Component prices have gone crazy.

As far as press and related tools go, if I had it to do again, I would buy used. Never saw or heard of a worn out press.
 
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Over the years I have often been asked that same question--will it pay me to reload for my hunting rifle?
My answer has always been the same. If you are using your rifle for hunting only, forget about reloading. If you are shooting as a hobby, or shooting in competitions, then reloading should pay.
 
Reloading for hunting only isn't practical. Unless you're an avid grouse hunter and shoot .410
Or if you're a prairie dog/varmint hunter and require high accuracy and affordable ammo. Reloading requires a commitment to testing your product and adjusting where necessary. It's a hobby, I like it. But if all I was doing is hunting, I'd just buy 3 or 4 boxes of premium hunting ammo, go somewhere, shoot, see what's most accurate, you're done.
 
SupersonicSupply.ca said:
I suggest the Lee Precision 50th Anniversary Reloading Kit it costs $190 delivered from amazon ($150 not too long ago). All you need in addition to this is a powder trickle and a cheap pair of cnd tire calipers. I started on this set up and I still use it for all my precision loads. It has paid for itself many times over. Hand loading offers the highest possible accuracy because you can fine tune the charge to your rifles harmonics. For the hunter, bullet selection out performs anything that you can get from factory. One can choose projectile based on terminal ballistics to perform in short medium and long distance applications.
Click to expand...

cabela's just deliverd mine today for 150$!! free shipping too ;)
 
nomad 68 said:
I can't venture a guess what it cost me to set up. Press,bench,dies for 5 calibers, manuals, tools all bought new and then the components I've built up.....sigh, I need a drink.��
Click to expand...

Just think of all the money you've saved that allows you to buy that drink! :cheers:
 
Agree with the above statements. If your only hunting with them, buy 4 boxes of premium Ammo and see what shoots best.
Save your brass and sell it.

If you want to shoot 40 rounds a week start reloading. It only costs me about 1.50 around to make premium ammo.(using Lapua brass and Accubonds) factory Accubonds cost about 3$ a round and mine are more accurate.

Your equipment gets paid for pretty quick at those prices and the knowledge you'll gain about shooting when you start to reload is priceless.
Good luck!
 
I started reloading .308 about a year ago and my two cents is;
If you shoot a lot as a hobby it will eventually save money if you don't count your time and you focus on match grade equivalent
It takes a lot of time so you had better enjoy doing it as I do
Accuracy is better, at least for me, and being able to tailor a load for a specific rifle really makes a difference and is fun
Reloading is right for some people, but if you aren't generally careful and meticulous, I would avoid
 
I shoot probably 600 rounds of 9mm and 50-100 rounds of .223 per month as practice, and another 200 9mm per month if I attend a competition. Having already laid out the money for the equipment, buying dies and larger projectiles were the only costs to getting me into 308. So even if I shot it rarely, it's not a large initial outlay.

Contrast that with starting out buying everything versus how many shots you'd be hunting with - 50-100 max per year, including sighting, and reloading then becomes more of an "I want" then an "I need".

Not to say that's a bad thing. I cost-out and analyze everything too... that's part of what I like about the hobby. If you're going to shoot large quantities of 308, reloading is a great idea - just as great as reloading just because you want to "roll your own". But if you ever wind up adding a semi-auto caliber, like a pistol, the cost of your reloading gear gets recouped very quickly :)
 
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