no longer econmical to reload

[FrankenMauser]

Wow you're lucky. I inherited a 30-40 Krag at the beginning of the shortage. My dad managed to find a friend who had 17 casings to start me off. Then a year later I finally found a box of shells on the shelf for $40.

Both Remington and Winchester make short once a year runs on brass and ammo and I was lucky to get 1 bag of 50 winchester that had 10 damaged cases in it. As a last ditch effort I have an enfield and have been saving my 303 brass for a rainy day. Not ideal but if it's rainy it's better than nothing.

Don't count on support from Winchester, in the future.
When I had my Krag, I talked to Remington and Winchester quite a few times, about the availability and scheduling of .30-40 Krag ammo and component brass.

Winchester only runs .30-40 Krag when they have a minimum backorder of 175,000 rounds of ammunition, with up to 50,000 of that being component brass. ...Or when they have at least 75k backordered rounds of ammo, and Remington has just shipped some .30-40 ammo (seriously).

Remington, on the other hand, only requires 75k rounds on backorder, with a forecasted demand of 125k rounds, in order to get the run on the production schedule.

Remington has no problem running .30-40 Krag, as long as there is demand for it.

Winchester, however, told me the last time that I talked to them, that they thought the 2010 production run would be the last .30-40 Krag ammunition ever produced by them. Their tooling is getting worn out, and they don't plan to replace it once it's broken or too far out of tolerance.

Stock up on brass (.303 Brit, if you have to), and don't count on support in the future....

[maillemaker]

I find reloading incredibly economical.

I use range-scrounged brass and I cast my own bullets from wheel weights.

I can reload a box of 50 .45 ACP for $4.50. A box of 50 store-bought still costs about $25 - 5 times as much!

Last time I looked at .44 mag it was close to $50 for a box of 50. I got dies and molds for Christmas so I'll be reloading it for probably $5 per box of 50. That's one-tenth the store-bought cost!

Definitely economical.

Steve

[BigJimP]

Component prices seem to be stabilizing in my area - at least a little..../ and its costing me about $ 8 for a box of 9mm with a Montana Gold 115 gr FMJ bullet ( and bullets make up most of the cost )....and as bullet weight goes up, the bullets cost more...so a box of .45 acp is around $ 10 / a box of .44 Mag is about $11 for a box....

I don't see time as a factor...especially if you're loading on a good quality progressive press...where you can easily get 800 rds an hour off the press..we all waste an hour here or there every day...( in my opinion )...

I've been reloading off and on for close to 50 yrs....and I'd keep doing it even if the savings was a wash...because I like it /its part of the hobby to me. Reloading today means I can shoot twice or 3 times as much with the same ammo budget as retail ammo.../ I don't save money / I just shoot more.

I'm heading to range today ...with 4 guns and 10 boxes... 4 in 9mm / 6 .357 mag for some entertainment - and run my tactical drills

[bbqncigars]

Once you find a favored load, buy the components in bulk. This does two things. The first is saving more money, and the second is keeping each component in the same lot number. The one cartridge I shoot the most is 25-20WCF. Factory ammo (if you could find any) is more than a buck a round. Last summer I shot just under 1500 25-20. I figure the Hornady AP has paid for itself now. Like others have said, some ammo is virtually unattainable (any .357AMP for example). If you want to shoot that gun, you have to make the ammo yourself. I happen to love casting, reloading and shooting equally. YMMV.

[Gregory Gauvin]

I value my time, and while certain calibers are becoming more and more abundant and affordable, I still continue to reload because it is something I do for relaxation. I enjoy reloading as much as shooting. And by reloading I mean anything except trimming brass .

No matter how you slice it, even in 9mm, reloading is always more economical. You don't have to go crazy. You may surprise yourself how many rounds you can pump out a week by merely running a batch of 100 per night.

A major component of consideration is what kind of shooting you do. If you are a high volume plinkerer, you won't mind shooting factory stuff. When squeezing accuracy out of your guns, you may find yourself running factory ammo just to acquire fresh brass. Factory ammo does not compare to what you can tailor in reloading.

My 1911 is more accurate shooting factory ammo then the average shooter can group, but as I developed my loads, I found it's sweet spot, and if I do my part, will now shoot single holes. It will only do this with one specific load I have developed.

While working preliminary loads for a K-31, utilizing surplus 308 bullets and reformed 284 Win Brass, surplus pull down powder, I hit a node the rifle liked...I sill have much more load development to go, but would have ZERO reservations to take this rifle up against any tricked out remington 700 against factory loaded ammunition.

[Daffy]

Not at all about the economics for me.

Rounds taylored to my firearms would be high on the list of why I do it.

The feeling of self satisfaction in the creation of projectiles to a finished round.

Looking at empty shelves and knowing it just don't matter to me.


Back in the day I spent money chasing women(caught one), pounding beers at the bar, and many other things. Having a few grand worth of reloading supplies around and empty brass to fill keeps me sane from the doldrums of life and the idiots that seem to be growing in numbers by the day.

[hartcreek]

I just got through loading 2600 9mm on my rockcrusher. 2000 of those rounds are for someone else si I had to work up a load using HS6 since it was the only small pistol posder I could find since I was not going to use my Unique. I loaded up nine aluminum casings with 6.7 grains of HS6 and the 105 grain bullet that I cast and New Year Day just before dark I walked down the drain ditch behind my parents place.

At the place where the water runs in during irrigation season there was a perfect target sitting fifty feet away in the bottom of the ditch. Someone had rolled the bottom of a smudge pot down into the ditch. Perfect for trying out the Star that I had just picked up and the load. I nailed that smudge pot bottom nine times with a load and gun that I had never shot before.

That there is a good enough reason to reload.

[Wat_Tyler]

Having a few grand worth of reloading supplies around and empty brass to fill keeps me sane from the doldrums of life and the idiots that seem to be growing in numbers by the day.

This right here is the #1 reason to reload!

[44 AMP]

I loaded up nine aluminum casings

Any chance you mean nickel? (nickel plated brass)

The only Aluminum cases I know are Blazers, and they have berdan primers...

Not reloadable.

[sixgunluv]

Well i don't know if anyone mentioned here yet, but the number #1 reason i reload is when there is an ammo scare..... I'm not scared.

When my friends that don't reload were saying, man i can't find any ammo, I said hmmm.. i guess i'll go load me up some and take a trip to the range since i have enough powder, primers, and bullets to last for years of moderate practice/range time.

#2 Reason....tailoring loads.
#3 It's fun.

[Gunplummer]

When I was younger, you could not trust reloads. I put off reloading until about 20 years ago. If I had something I could not get ammo for, I simply rebarreled it. I shoot a lot of weird stuff, so it really does pay me to reload. The payoff is in "I could not buy it, so I either make it or reload it." It has definitely been cheaper for me, I just never thought about it before.

[Bucksnort1]

Nick C S put it perfectly. As Larry Potterfield says, "a job well done".

[Deja vu]

I still reload especially 45-70. Most rounds run about $3 a round. I can reload Jacketed bullets for about $.80 and Cast for about $.20 If I already have the brass.

Even 357 magnum is cheaper. It flips the other way with Common rounds like 9mm and 223.

[Rimfire5]

When you are loading match bullets to get superior accuracy, it is far more economical to reload than to pay $26 a box or more for good .223 match factory ammo.

When you can load the best match bullets with the best powders that are tuned to your rifle's chamber for 38 to 51 cents a round, depending upon which bullets you load and what brass you use, it costs from 7.63 to 10.25 a box.

I'll take that kind of saving any day for better accuracy. My time at the range is just as important as my time at the loading bench. I don't like to spend more than twice as much to shoot less accurately.

[colbad]

I too have to agree that the time for reloading as a means of cost savings is past. I used to shoot a lot of ATA trap across the country competitively. As such, I had a hydraulic loader with foot pedal. It now sits idle with the price of shot so crazy expensive.

I can buy cheap shells on sale significantly cheaper than what I can reload for in order to practice. Same for center fire cartridges, no real cost savings. However, like many other hobbies, its not always about the cost in terns of dollars. There is w/o question a certain amount of therapeutic benefits to be had just tinkering.

Like many, I just kind of enjoy tinkering with a few special loads. However, for most general shooting, you don't need $50 a box ammo to punch holes in paper and cheap bulk ammo is just fine, especially when I figure what my time is worth to reload bulk ammo.

[Farmland]

I never got the time thing. It isn't like I charge an hourly rate 24 hours a day or 7 days a week. By counting time with an hourly rate then when I am watching TV I am losing a ton of money.

I can buy what you want to spend your free time doing. For example maybe fishing is a lot more fun than reloading. But I certainly would not say that my fishing time was worth an hourly rate.

That gets me to saving money. If I had to figure in all of the equipment including the building of the reloading room, modifications such as electrical work and other related stuff I don't know the answer. I'm sure there is a break even point somewhere along the line.

However I appear to spend a lot more on components and shoot far more ammunition making it my self. I doubt I would have bought and shot as much factory ammunition.

In the end reloading works for me and I never ever had a concern of running low during the ammo crunch. I was shooting when others could not for the lack of ammunition.

[hartcreek]

The aluminum cases I reloaded were headstamped CCI.

[Fox84]

At 58 years old I enjoy the fact I have components to last me to the end. I don't have to rely on others to allow me to have ammo. I cant put a $ figure on that fact.

[Jeffm004]

Extreme Bullets has an internet deal of the day, 5% off the 124 grn 9mm plated.


All in $80 with $5 flat rate shipping for 1,000. I'm scraping the bottom of the bullet bucket. It happens when it is -5 outside. $4/box in bullets, $2/box primers, $1/box powder, = $7/box. Even on my antique 550 I can make 7 boxes an hour, at about $13 new, $42/hour savings tax free. It is the same as earning $80 an hour having fun. I really like sticking it to the man.

Get a 650 if you buy a loader. 7 boxes/hour is work on a 550. I'm usually running at 5 taking my time.

The 45-70 is saving $1.50 a bang, that really adds up.

[MarkCO]

The OP is right, not worth it. Sell all your presses and components, you won't need them.

[RichC]

As others have said, buy in bulk. Buy when items are on sale. Stock up and keep ahead of the curve. Yes, it requires cash flow, but when pickings are slim you'll be glad you have inventory.

By reloading I have the opportunity to customize loads. My daughter prefers a light shooting 9mm load, and I like them snappy.

But I also have the ability to make up ammo when needed. It's one thing if ammo is readily available. But we've learned that a growing base of gun owners with emotional, panic buying leads to limited supplies that can go on for many months. If my son and I want to go shooting I can slam out all the ammo we need in a few hours.

Finally, and this is just me, I enjoy reloading. I do have lots of time constraints in life as the owner of a couple of businesses. But there's just something cathartic about turning out ammo in the quiet of my basement.

I sit at a desk most of the day dealing with nonsense. Creating ammo helps me feel productive, making something of use. In many ways, once I have the "recipe" set for a particular caliber, it is mindless. And I enjoy that part, actually!

[Deja vu]

May be I am weird but it sounds like people are complaining that the cost of ammo has dropped...

[WCWV]

Well fellows, I still find it economical to reload, and even if it wasn't I would still do it because I enjoy it. I cast for my revolvers. Just today I casted 300 357s and 250 9mm.
I like loading for my rifles because I can really dial them in. It's been years since I purchased factory ammo. Just really enjoy it

[Paul B.]

I've been handloading ammo since 1954 and have no intention of stopping any time soon. While I can appreciate the OP's preference for not loading .223 and 9MM consider this. Our friendly BATFE is considering banning M855 and possibly green tip 5.56 ammo in the very near future. Guess it depends on if enough people raise hell or not. What then should that "cheap" ammo go the way of the dodo bird. I reload .223 for my coyote rifle and even have a small game cast lead load for the gun. I only shoot cast bullets in all my handgun including my SD loads.
Back when I started handloading, you could indeed save money. Over the years on average I've probably shot 100 or more cast bullets for my firearms for every jacketed round.
One rifle I own costs $215.00 a box for ammo. Needless to say it's mostly handloads at $2.50 a shot. Federal factory .416 Rigby is $10.75 a shot for the premium ammo, whether softs or solids. I definitely save reloading that one. Even so I rarely shoot it anymore. My 77 year old shoulder protests too much.
Several of the cartridges I shoot are made on a seasonal basis. I definitely handload those.
My .223 Rem. handload will put ten rounds under a dime when I do my part. For me, that's reason enough to load the round. Cheap milsurp won't do that. "I don't shoot an AR. Never had much use for one." to quote Quigley.
Paul B.