Is reloading that economical?

[Boilermaker]

I currently reload all my own shotgun shells but I have been looking into reloading some handgun and rifle loads (9mm, .38/.357, 30-06). I started looking at what it cost to buy the components and it looked like by the time you buy powder and bullets your at about 75% of the cost of new ammo(figuring not to buy brass). Or am I just looking in the wrong place?

My primary loads would be 9mm but would probably load the others if I had a reloader. I have been shooting 9mm WWB and I try to make it to the range atleast once a month shooting 100-200 rounds. Does it sound like I shoot enough to justify the cost of a reloader or should I keep buying WWB? I would probably start out with some kind of an inexpensive single stage reloader or a used one. Second question then would be if it is worth the extra money to step up to a progressive reloader and save that much more time. (I don't reload for a hobby)

[sindiesel666]

9mm is really not that economical to reload. You'd have to load 2-3000 a month to justify the cost of a reloading setup. And of course loading on a single stage press means you'd have to load about 5-6 hours a day to come up with that much ammo. .38/.357 you'd see savings very quickly, and it just goes up from there (40 S&W, 45 ACP you save even more). My first 1000 .38 spl loads paid for my Lee Turret press, coz it saved me about 75-90 bucks over purchase of factory loads.
But if you only shoot, like you mentioned, a few hundred a month, there is no justification for shelling out hard-earned cash where your return on investment will be 10 years down the road.
I figured it'd take me about 3 buck for 50 rounds of 9mm to load, but I can buy factory ammo locally for 3.86$....i can load about 150-200 rounds/hr, meaning I'm saving only less than 4 dollars for every hour loading. Now, don't know about you, but I make a lot more than 4 dollars/hr at work, so the prospect of reloading 9mm went our of the window really quickly.....

[Handgunr]

Boilermaker,

I guess the best advise that I always give folks that ask that question is;

" you don't spend any less, you just get far more shooting for your money"......added to that is " more accurate loads for your particular gun as well as the pride in making your own".

I've been doing it for over 35 yrs., and I don't think I've bought a box of shells of any type since the early 80's. That's except rimfire stuff of course.

I cast and swage my own bullets as well. Haven't bought a jacketed pistol bullet in probably 8 or 10 yrs. anyway. But I do buy my components in bulk at one time. It usually lasts me quite awhile.

Another suggestion is to check out the Lyman reloading kits at www.natchezss.com, or www.midsouthshooterssupply.com.
Everything you need for one price much lower than buyng them seperately.

Try it......you'll love it.

Take care,
Bob

[TooTech]

Reloading the more common pistol rounds doesn't make much sense. Common rifle rounds starts to make sense, and it REALLY makes sense if you shoot uncommon stuff like 9.3x57, 8x57R, 9.3x72R, .348 Winchester, and .257 Weatherby.

I gave up on loading 9mm a few years ago when I found I could buy mil-surplus rounds for about $100/thousand.

[Leftoverdj]

The other fellows have it about right. 9x19 ain't worth the trouble. Your component estimates are probably way high, but it still ain't worth the trouble. You can save an easy 30% and maybe more buying your components mail order in bulk over gun store prices.

The odder the stuff you shoot, the more sense it makes to reload. When it come to rifles, the accuracy factor comes in. Very few of us shoot a pistol well enough to need better accuracy than factory ammo, and we can usually buy match ammo if we do.

One overlooked factor is that reloaders can save on guns. Guns for oddball calibers go cheap.

[Double Naught Spy]

Reloading can be $ economical, no doubt, but as noted, it isn't that economical for some really common loads like 9mm. Locally, we can get Blazer for $4 a box of 50, pretty cheap.

If you have the time, but not the funds, then reloading can be for you. I personally see all the time spend scrounging around for brass, sorting, polishing, depriming, priming, and loading as not being time economical. On top of that, most people that I know that reload will spend way too much time scrounging around on the ground for rounds that failed to ignite. They spend more time trying to assess why the round didn't go BANG than they spend practicing clearing malfunctions, for which troublesome rounds should make them experts.

Many people claim to be perfect reloaders with no troubles what-so-ever. From what I can tell, that group of people seems limited to benchrest competitors. People who load for fun plinking or drills will tend to have regular malfunctions where rounds don't go BANG. I have seen this with impromtu group plinking, IDPA and other local matches, and with friends who reload who come to shoot with me.

Of course one of the big benefits is that by being a reloader, you have a built in excuse for rounds not being accurate for some reason. You can blame poor accuracy on supposed troubles in reloading such as new loads, new powder, new slugs, etc. For folks like me who don't reload, we have to either blame the gun or dare I say it, blame ourselves!

I have to admit, I love reloading catastrophe stories where people don't get hurt, but manage a KB and yet don't seem to have learned from those who made mistakes before them. "I was taking my last drag on my cigarette when the cherry fell off into my primer bin and the primers just started going off" or "I don't know how it happened. The rifle blew up and I didn't do anything different while reloading. I never drink more than 2 beers while reloading, always have, and yet the machine must have malfunctioned because I must have had a double charge or not all the pistol powder was emptied before I set up the rifle reloads, but that sucker just blew!" and other such stories you can find on the forums (these examples recreated from memory and so may lack salient details).

In the final analysis, if you have the time, attention to detail, and enjoy the endeavor, then reloading should be great.

[HSMITH]

I reload jacketed bullet 9mm for less than $60 per thousand, less than $3 per box. The cheapest I have seen domestic factory is about double that. Some of the steel case import stuff is down around $100, but even at that I save $40 per thousand or shoot 1600 for the same cost! 9mm IS worth reloading!!!!!

Boilermaker, the savings comes from spending money just like shotshell components. You need to buy in bulk to get the best prices. Buy your bullets in 200 pound or more quantities, shipping is less than 1/4 of what it is for individual 1K boxes and you get a couple bucks per thousand off the price. Buy your powder in 4 pound minimum and 8 pounders if you can, it is a couple bucks a pound cheaper. The downside is you spend a couple hundred bucks at a time instead of $20-50.

[Boilermaker]

Thanks for all the info, I think I'm going to wait awhile until I have more time to spend reloading as well as shooting. Thanks for re-assuring me before I forked over a bunch a money and wasted a lot of time. Even though it really wouldn't be wasted. I do plan on buying a reloader someday when I loose a few other hobbies though.

[snuffy]

Anybody that figures what his off time is worth is kidding himself and everybody else!
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I figured it'd take me about 3 buck for 50 rounds of 9mm to load, but I can buy factory ammo locally for 3.86$....i can load about 150-200 rounds/hr, meaning I'm saving only less than 4 dollars for every hour loading. Now, don't know about you, but I make a lot more than 4 dollars/hr at work, so the prospect of reloading 9mm went our of the window really quickly.....
__________________
Just who pays you 4 bucks an hour when you're sitting in front of the TV? If you could SAVE 4 bucks on that ammo, you're that much money ahead.

I get plated bullets by the thousand, powder 6-8 pound jugs per box(surplus), primers by the sleeve and brass from a local police range. At that rate I can load 9mm for less that half what WWB costs, and it's good ammo. With my dillon 650 progressive, I can load 600 rounds an hour. Stuff like for my Glock M22 40 S&W I can save even more.

As for Blazer, if you want to run that abrasive crap through a pistol of yours, feel free to do so.

Don't let 00spy scare you out of a rewarding hobby.,
-------------------------
I have to admit, I love reloading catastrophe stories where people don't get hurt, but manage a KB and yet don't seem to have learned from those who made mistakes before them. "I was taking my last drag on my cigarette when the cherry fell off into my primer bin and the primers just started going off" or "I don't know how it happened. The rifle blew up and I didn't do anything different while reloading. I never drink more than 2 beers while reloading, always have, and yet the machine must have malfunctioned because I must have had a double charge or not all the pistol powder was emptied before I set up the rifle reloads, but that sucker just blew!" and other such stories you can find on the forums (these examples recreated from memory and so may lack salient details).

Comments like these from a non-reloader are humerous, especially the one in bold type. There's no such thing as a "PRIMER BIN", and a cigarete cherry wouldn't ignite a primer if there were! Yeah there's dumba§§es out there reloading, for the most part they get away with it, it's just not that dangerous.

[hawk]

No its not economical. You just end up shooting more often and hence there goes your savings.

[mtnbkr]

I can't load "cheap" 38special or 9mm ammo for the price I can buy it at gunshows, but I come out ahead on my heavy bullet 357mag loads, my 32acp loads, and my rifle loads. I still load 38special so I know it's done right. I've had more problems with cheap 38special than my handloads. I'm going to start loading 9mm just to try it.

On top of that, most people that I know that reload will spend way too much time scrounging around on the ground for rounds that failed to ignite.

Your friends need to pay more attention to what they're doing. In 5 years of reloading and probably over 5000 rounds, I've only had one squib and that was when I was experimenting with VERY light 38special loads (1gr of Bullseye or less). But, these were loads for plinking, not for serious work (target or defense).

Of course one of the big benefits is that by being a reloader, you have a built in excuse for rounds not being accurate for some reason.

Nope. My handloads tend to be more accurate than the factory stuff I shoot. That's one of the reason i handload. I can match the load to the gun.
Example: my Model 70 Featherweight will shoot about 1.5" to 2" at 100yds with factory ammo, but will go well under an inch with my handloads (if I'm able to shoot that well at that time). For that load, I hand measure each charge. It's labor intensive, but works for me.

Attention to detail is all it takes. You don't have to have the focus of a nuclear scientist, but you do have to pay attention to what you're doing at that time. I've gone back and pulled bullets if I don't completely trust what I just did. I'll dump powder I just dropped into the case to make sure I got it right. I'll not stop mid cartridge to talk or do anything else. I finish that cartridge and THEN stop.

Chris

[Crosshair]

snuffy

Anybody that figures what his off time is worth is kidding himself and everybody else!

As the saying goes, I have more time than money. I would say that you save much more money on rifle rounds than pistol. Again some common stuff like steel 7.62x39 may not pay to reload. My SKS throws the brass around so there is little chance that I would reccover much. But I plan on reloading .223 for my bolt rifle using once fired brass. If once fired brass workds for you, the the savings can pile up. The case has been used only once and you can usualy get at least 5 more loads out of them (Depending how hot they are) Also you can experiment with loads that are above SAAMI spec. (Do this at your own risk though.) It's fun having a 22-250 that can push a 55 grain moly bullet past 3900 fps .

[Jbar4Ranch]

Anybody that figures what his off time is worth is kidding himself and everybody else!


It depends what caliber, and how many, you're reloading. Take the .500 S&W mag for example. Locally, 440 grain Corbons are $38 and change for 12 rounds. I load the same box of twelve with exactly the same load that CorBon uses for about $2.16.
New Starline cases are about 50¢ per, primers are about 2¢ each, and 38 grains of H110 will set ya back about a dime. I cast my bullets from *free lead* (I worked at a lead smelter for 23 years), and I get at least eight reloads per case, which makes my long-term case cost 6¼¢ (or less) per unit, for an average cost per finished cartridge of about 18¢ vs about $3.20 per round from Corbon, or $2.16 vs $38.xx per box of twelve for a savings of over thirty six bucks per dozen rounds!

On the other hand, 9mm is cheap and not worth reloading, IMHO.

[rn22723]

One thing that really gets me is that people think that a hobby is supposed to be cost effective. It is a a hobby afterall and it is for recreation. Yeah reloading will get you more trigger time for you buck! It costs money. Gee I supposed when some of you guys go fishing you want the bait dealer to take back what you did not use? LOL.

If you want to enjoy another facet of the shooting sports, reloading is an excellent opportunity to do exactly that! Remember it is a hobby! If you have time and resources to engage in it go for it!

[Nnobby45]

"It's fun having a 22-250 that can push a 55 grain moly bullet past 3900 fps."

How'd you do it? Haven't used Moly bullets, but my 55gr. bullets don't exceed 3600 with 24" bbl.

I've figured it out numerous times and It seems to always come down to about half the cost of factory ammo----EXCLUDING the cost of cases. As for the time factor, only the handloader can put the price on that.

[Leftoverdj]

Crosshair, the 7.62x39 is a great example both ways. I shoot dime a pop steel case junk in my SKS and it makes perfect sense. I also have a CZ 527 in the same caliber and it gets careful handloads. It's a bolt so I don't lose cases and it's extremely accurate with good ammo. If there is any good 7.62x39 ammo on the market, I don't know about it and probably couldn't afford it. I shoot the CZ with my home cast bullets for the same dime a pop into groups a third to a half the size I get with Wolf and Barnaul and more potent ballistics; i.e, 159 grain bullet @ 2200 fps instead of 123@2400 fps.

Were I limited to factory ammo, I would not have bought the CZ.

[Art Eatman]

Lots of ways to look at reloading, and various ways to go about it.

I've never worn out a press, scales, dies or powder measure, so you could figure, say, 2% of the purchase cost for amortization. If you buy $200 worth of gear, that's $4 a year to own it.

I have a portable stand I carry to the dining table, and reload while watching Monday Night Feetsball. Done that since MNF first started. Sort of a "best of both worlds" deal, since I happen to like watching football, and MNF keeps me from trying to hunt and watch football at the same time, Saturdays and Sundays.

Reloading in the evening keeps you out of the beer joints, which is a double plus.

So there is my own happy little view of the money and time aspects.

What's really important is the tailoring of my loads to what I want to do. Light loads for plinking; full max for hunting, with different bullet weights for different critters, and all matched to my own rifles.

Freedom of choice, I reckon...

Art

[OfcrBill]

A lot of you fellas got it right. I reload because it is a very rewarding hobby. I enjoy creating a well-made bullet from nothing but discarded casings. Oh yeah, I told my wife I do it to save money, heck yeah. But, now that I got her her own S&W Sigma 9VE, we both shoot regularly and go through ammo like beer. She surprised me with an early Valentines gift with a Dillon Progressive press (RL 550B), so I can make way more in less time. This is quite an upgrade from my RCBS Rockchucker. I think I created a monster, hahahaahahhaahahah and she shoots extremely well.
If you want to buy that crappy Russian bulk ammo, it's your choice. IMO it's not worth your hard-earned $$$ to put that garbage in your guns. Now I have to figure out this Dillon. Thanks, Bill

[LSUBOY]

**Iffin you're looking to save some money by reloding, you won't cause you'll just shoot more.

**The only advantage to reloding is to make MUCH better ammo for your spacific gun{s}.

**Get a single stage press and learn the game REAL good, then step up to a good progressive. If going progressive remember that RCBS warranties their stuff for life. And, if going the progressive press route consider this:

A. How much does it cost for the shell holder for each caliber that you'll be loading? The hornady ones are about 17 bucks or so...others are 35.00. whew!

B. Try and pick a progressive press that has a large opening where the empty shells go, ie. Hornady, etc. as per I prefer a large opening just in case I want to do something with my hand to a shell at ANY station.

BYE!

[accordingtome]

I really thought about getting into this.. but time is money and i would have to shoot a whole lot to = the cost of the setup and supplies. Plus when you factor in ((Time is Money)) and i just don't have the time to reload. hmmm maybe if you shoot a lot of the bigger caliber stuff. i dunno..

[jsflagstad]

I do think it is cheaper, but you will shoot more which I don't see as a bad thing. But, shooting more may offset the cost savings, but again you get more trigger time (Crazy circle)

I reload 357mag, 38spl, 40 s&w, 22-250, 7mm-08, 35 rem, 7mm Rem Mag and some others.

I like what Art said, being that it keeps him out of the beer joints. Next time my wife rides me about time or money I spend reloading, I am going to put my coat and shoes on. She will then ask where I'm going, and I will say "To the bar". That'll get her going and probably allow me to load more.

Reloading is addicting, there is great satifaction in what you can accomplish and you will learn a lot if you want to.

It's great to be a part of thei forum, I have learned a lot here and there are many smart minds here.

JSF

"Shoot Low, Their Riding Shetlands" -some guy on the radio

[donkee]

not cheaper, funner.....

[highteckredneck]

My .44 mag. actualy costs me more to reload. I am reloading for a 14" TC Contender though so loads have to be much hotter than what you can buy in the local gun shop to produce the accuracy I want. The added accuracy is well worth the extra $ I spend though. Factory loads 125 yard max. that I am comfortable shooting. My reloads I sight in dead on @ 150 yards 8" low at 200 yards. Have taken a deer at 225 yards with this handgun and my reloads.

I also reload .38 special, .357 mag, .243, 30-30, 30-06, 7.62X54R, and save $ on all of those loads

[J 92 Brigadier]

I bought 1000 rounds of 9mm Winchester White Box at WalMart today for $10.98/100. Keep in mind Glock advises against reloads and we have all heard the Glock Ka Boom stories with reloads. I can see reloading .45, not only to save money, but to fine tune for a lighter, target load. With all the ammo bargains and the work involved in reloading, you have to enjoy the idea of spending time measuring and weighing powder, etc. in order to make it worthwile.

[brickeyee]

"...Glock advises against reloads..."

Every gun 'instruction manual' for the past 20 years or so has recomended against reloaded ammunition. Usually in a phrase like "Use only new factory ammunition int eh correct caliber for this firearm." CYA, but given the number of idiots out there, understandable.