Reloading Costs - Doing the math

AF_Reloader · May 8, 2008, 12:32 PM

I just wanted to post this so someone could check my math.

Here's what I'm loading right now:

Win AA Hulls
W209 primers
18 gr Red Dot
Downrange XL 1 1/8 Wads
1 1/8 oz #8 shot

I'm trying to figure out what I'm paying for 1000 rounds. I'm terrible at math, but this is what I have:

1000 Win AA Hulls = Free (other shooters give them to me)
1000 XL Wads = $17.98 = $.01798 per wad
1000 W209 Primers = $36.99 = $.03699 per primer
18000 grains Red Dot = 7000 grains per pound = 2.57 lbs per 1000
2.57 lbs Red Dot = $12.499 lb = $32.1224 total = $.03212 per load
1 1/8 oz #8 shot = Free (had 75 lbs given to me) but if I had to buy it
25 lbs = $39.99 (at local shop) = $1.5996 per lb
1 1/8 oz = 14.222 loads per lb = 70.3125 lbs per 1000 = $112.472 total = $.112 per load

Added together is: $.19909 per load / $4.977 per 25 / $199.09 per 1000 loads

Every other week I take 4 or 5 guys up to the range to shoot trap, and we go through around 16 boxes. To offset the cost, they donate $3 a box towards more supplies. Since they're all E-2/E-3s (Airmen - not exactly a huge paycheck) I don't want them to pay more; I'm looking for a way to cut costs.

If you see something in that list that I'm paying too much for, please let me know. I'm trying to find a good source close by for reclaimed shot (stationed at Beale AFB CA, 45 minutes north of Sacramento). If there's something you buy in bulk that saves you money, throw it out there. If I can get the cost per 25 below $4, I'll call it good.

gandog56 · May 8, 2008, 12:44 PM

http://www.handloads.com/calc/loadingCosts.asp

AF_Reloader · May 8, 2008, 12:56 PM

I saw that one, but it didn't look too shotshell friendly, so I did it by hand.

I'll definitely use it for my 9mm reloads.

tom234 · May 8, 2008, 01:12 PM

Quote:

I saw that one, but it didn't look too shotshell friendly, so I did it by hand.

Try this: http://10xshooters.com/calculators/S...ReloadingCost/

AF_Reloader · May 8, 2008, 01:26 PM

Thanks, that one worked out pretty well, and validated my math.

Now I'm down to money savers. I know there's that huge post about thrifty tips, but anything you want to add here would be great!

EDIT: I just found http://www.santarosaleadproducts.com/lead_shot.htm

Maybe I can get lead shot cheaper than $39.99/25 lbs, since that seems to be the hold up.

MrApathy · May 8, 2008, 02:07 PM

I use the handloads tool works fine.
just substitute the case for wad price since you get the casings for free.

try using promo instead of reddot. can use same load data as reddot but need smaller bushings for promo. promo is very inexpensive not much on the market that cost less.

AF_Reloader · May 8, 2008, 03:00 PM

Heh, it'll be a while before I change powders, since 16 lbs of it just came in the mail last night, but I'll look into it.

I was thinking about taking advantage of Connie's Components selling 10000 Down Range XL 1 1/8 wads for 129.99.

Anyone have a special place they purchase primers from? The $36.99 I paid for 1000 seemed kinda pricey.

tom234 · May 8, 2008, 03:51 PM

Quote:

Maybe I can get lead shot cheaper than $39.99/25 lbs, since that seems to be the hold up.

Last I checked Sportsman's Warehouse was selling 25# lead shot for $31. Maybe there is a SW near your location, where ever Beal is. SW sells all the other componets as well.

jimbob86 · May 8, 2008, 03:57 PM

My daughters trap club did a group buy........ we got the cost down to $4.50 a box....... Estate Cartridge Co. seems you are not saving much...........

AF_Reloader · May 8, 2008, 04:15 PM

Heh, I don't think I could convince my wife to let me buy a crap ton of ammo after buying $200 worth of Red Dot.

BigJimP · May 8, 2008, 05:36 PM

Buying in bulk, a group buy, is by far the best way to keep your costs down.

In general - you'll get a much better shell than a cheap Estate or Rio - you'll get something very comparable to a new Remington STS or Winchester AA shell at $ 7.50 a box or more retail. Besides its fun making your own shells and shooting your own stuff.

I'd recommend you change your recipe / and wad, etc - down to a 1oz or even 7/8 oz load - and that works real well for 16 yard Trap or Skeet - you don't need a 1 1/8 oz load for Trap especially at the 16 yard line. The cost of shot is going to probably keep going up - its close to $ 50 a bag in a lot of areas right now.

On Winchester Hulls - make sure which hull you have - there are a lot of the HS hulls out there now vs the older AA's in all gagues not just 12ga. The AA - HS hulls are a 2 piece hull and they're tapered differently than the original AA's so if you're going to use them they need a different wad and maybe an adjustment on your press for crimp, etc vs the old AA's. Be careful not to mix the AA-HS hulls up with the old style AA's - and make sure what you have right now.

AF_Reloader · May 8, 2008, 05:49 PM

Thanks for the advice on the load weight. 1 oz will be fine, especially if I bump the shot size to #8. I have about 1000 more WAA12 wads left to go, but after that, I'll switch.

As far as hulls, I'm using the one-piece Winchester AAs, although I have a ton of Remington STS, Federal one-piece, and Win Super-X hulls waiting in boxes in my garage.

BigJimP · May 8, 2008, 06:47 PM

I load 1 oz of 8's at about 1225 fps - as my primary load for skeet, trap and sporting clays in a 12ga.

If you switch over to the Remington STS - I think you'll find you have a much longer hull life - and frankly better and more consistent crimps especially on the 12ga.

The HS hulls look like one piece if you look at them - so check the labels on the hull sides and the base to make sure they aren't HS hulls. The Win super X is a difficult hull to load / or rather to crimp properly although there were a few variations of the super X hulls too. I'd recommend you toss the super X hulls out.

For crimp depth, quality of crimp, etc - you'll be better off settling on just one hull and tossing the rest of them. I think you'll find enough overall height difference in the different hulls - that it would take some time to set or re-set the press if you were always changing hulls. I get 25 reloads easily out of a new Remington STS or Nitro hull - so I've moved away from WIN hulls on 12 and 20ga especially. But good luck.

May 8, 2008, 12:32 PM	#1
AF_Reloader Member Join Date: February 18, 2008 Location: Beale AFB, CA Posts: 73	Reloading Costs - Doing the math I just wanted to post this so someone could check my math. Here's what I'm loading right now: Win AA Hulls W209 primers 18 gr Red Dot Downrange XL 1 1/8 Wads 1 1/8 oz #8 shot I'm trying to figure out what I'm paying for 1000 rounds. I'm terrible at math, but this is what I have: 1000 Win AA Hulls = Free (other shooters give them to me) 1000 XL Wads = $17.98 = $.01798 per wad 1000 W209 Primers = $36.99 = $.03699 per primer 18000 grains Red Dot = 7000 grains per pound = 2.57 lbs per 1000 2.57 lbs Red Dot = $12.499 lb = $32.1224 total = $.03212 per load 1 1/8 oz #8 shot = Free (had 75 lbs given to me) but if I had to buy it 25 lbs = $39.99 (at local shop) = $1.5996 per lb 1 1/8 oz = 14.222 loads per lb = 70.3125 lbs per 1000 = $112.472 total = $.112 per load Added together is: $.19909 per load / $4.977 per 25 / $199.09 per 1000 loads Every other week I take 4 or 5 guys up to the range to shoot trap, and we go through around 16 boxes. To offset the cost, they donate $3 a box towards more supplies. Since they're all E-2/E-3s (Airmen - not exactly a huge paycheck) I don't want them to pay more; I'm looking for a way to cut costs. If you see something in that list that I'm paying too much for, please let me know. I'm trying to find a good source close by for reclaimed shot (stationed at Beale AFB CA, 45 minutes north of Sacramento). If there's something you buy in bulk that saves you money, throw it out there. If I can get the cost per 25 below $4, I'll call it good. __________________ My country, right or wrong; if right, to be kept right; and if wrong, to be set right. "...that other sentiment, dear to every true American heart, —Liberty and Union, now and for ever, one and inseparable!" Last edited by AF_Reloader; May 8, 2008 at 01:22 PM.

May 8, 2008, 12:44 PM	#2
gandog56 Senior Member Join Date: May 31, 2006 Location: Mobile, Alabama Posts: 979	http://www.handloads.com/calc/loadingCosts.asp __________________ Some people think I'm paranoid because I have guns. If I have guns, what do I have to be paranoid about?

May 8, 2008, 12:56 PM	#3
AF_Reloader Member Join Date: February 18, 2008 Location: Beale AFB, CA Posts: 73	I saw that one, but it didn't look too shotshell friendly, so I did it by hand. I'll definitely use it for my 9mm reloads. __________________ My country, right or wrong; if right, to be kept right; and if wrong, to be set right. "...that other sentiment, dear to every true American heart, —Liberty and Union, now and for ever, one and inseparable!"

May 8, 2008, 01:26 PM	#5
AF_Reloader Member Join Date: February 18, 2008 Location: Beale AFB, CA Posts: 73	Thanks, that one worked out pretty well, and validated my math. Now I'm down to money savers. I know there's that huge post about thrifty tips, but anything you want to add here would be great! EDIT: I just found http://www.santarosaleadproducts.com/lead_shot.htm Maybe I can get lead shot cheaper than $39.99/25 lbs, since that seems to be the hold up. __________________ My country, right or wrong; if right, to be kept right; and if wrong, to be set right. "...that other sentiment, dear to every true American heart, —Liberty and Union, now and for ever, one and inseparable!"

May 8, 2008, 02:07 PM	#6
MrApathy Senior Member Join Date: December 21, 2004 Posts: 529	I use the handloads tool works fine. just substitute the case for wad price since you get the casings for free. try using promo instead of reddot. can use same load data as reddot but need smaller bushings for promo. promo is very inexpensive not much on the market that cost less. __________________ Divided and conquered, Gripped by fear Wishful thinking that it can't happen here It's well underways but nobody knows A repeat of history, That's how it goes

May 8, 2008, 03:00 PM	#7
AF_Reloader Member Join Date: February 18, 2008 Location: Beale AFB, CA Posts: 73	Heh, it'll be a while before I change powders, since 16 lbs of it just came in the mail last night, but I'll look into it. I was thinking about taking advantage of Connie's Components selling 10000 Down Range XL 1 1/8 wads for 129.99. Anyone have a special place they purchase primers from? The $36.99 I paid for 1000 seemed kinda pricey. __________________ My country, right or wrong; if right, to be kept right; and if wrong, to be set right. "...that other sentiment, dear to every true American heart, —Liberty and Union, now and for ever, one and inseparable!"

May 8, 2008, 03:57 PM	#9
jimbob86 Junior member Join Date: October 4, 2007 Location: All the way to NEBRASKA Posts: 8,722	My daughters trap club did a group buy........ we got the cost down to $4.50 a box....... Estate Cartridge Co. seems you are not saving much...........

May 8, 2008, 04:15 PM	#10
AF_Reloader Member Join Date: February 18, 2008 Location: Beale AFB, CA Posts: 73	Heh, I don't think I could convince my wife to let me buy a crap ton of ammo after buying $200 worth of Red Dot. __________________ My country, right or wrong; if right, to be kept right; and if wrong, to be set right. "...that other sentiment, dear to every true American heart, —Liberty and Union, now and for ever, one and inseparable!"

May 8, 2008, 05:36 PM	#11
BigJimP Senior Member Join Date: February 23, 2005 Posts: 13,195	Buying in bulk, a group buy, is by far the best way to keep your costs down. In general - you'll get a much better shell than a cheap Estate or Rio - you'll get something very comparable to a new Remington STS or Winchester AA shell at $ 7.50 a box or more retail. Besides its fun making your own shells and shooting your own stuff. I'd recommend you change your recipe / and wad, etc - down to a 1oz or even 7/8 oz load - and that works real well for 16 yard Trap or Skeet - you don't need a 1 1/8 oz load for Trap especially at the 16 yard line. The cost of shot is going to probably keep going up - its close to $ 50 a bag in a lot of areas right now. On Winchester Hulls - make sure which hull you have - there are a lot of the HS hulls out there now vs the older AA's in all gagues not just 12ga. The AA - HS hulls are a 2 piece hull and they're tapered differently than the original AA's so if you're going to use them they need a different wad and maybe an adjustment on your press for crimp, etc vs the old AA's. Be careful not to mix the AA-HS hulls up with the old style AA's - and make sure what you have right now.

May 8, 2008, 05:49 PM	#12
AF_Reloader Member Join Date: February 18, 2008 Location: Beale AFB, CA Posts: 73	Thanks for the advice on the load weight. 1 oz will be fine, especially if I bump the shot size to #8. I have about 1000 more WAA12 wads left to go, but after that, I'll switch. As far as hulls, I'm using the one-piece Winchester AAs, although I have a ton of Remington STS, Federal one-piece, and Win Super-X hulls waiting in boxes in my garage. __________________ My country, right or wrong; if right, to be kept right; and if wrong, to be set right. "...that other sentiment, dear to every true American heart, —Liberty and Union, now and for ever, one and inseparable!"

May 8, 2008, 06:47 PM	#13
BigJimP Senior Member Join Date: February 23, 2005 Posts: 13,195	I load 1 oz of 8's at about 1225 fps - as my primary load for skeet, trap and sporting clays in a 12ga. If you switch over to the Remington STS - I think you'll find you have a much longer hull life - and frankly better and more consistent crimps especially on the 12ga. The HS hulls look like one piece if you look at them - so check the labels on the hull sides and the base to make sure they aren't HS hulls. The Win super X is a difficult hull to load / or rather to crimp properly although there were a few variations of the super X hulls too. I'd recommend you toss the super X hulls out. For crimp depth, quality of crimp, etc - you'll be better off settling on just one hull and tossing the rest of them. I think you'll find enough overall height difference in the different hulls - that it would take some time to set or re-set the press if you were always changing hulls. I get 25 reloads easily out of a new Remington STS or Nitro hull - so I've moved away from WIN hulls on 12 and 20ga especially. But good luck.