At what point does relaoding become cost efficient?

[FrontSight]

Hi,

Just wondering, at what point do you save money when you compare the expenses involved in reloading vs. buying ammo?

I know that's a VERY broad question, so let's say if you shoot only fmj 45 acp, and are going with a middle of the line reloading equipment setup?

Hopefully that's enough info to go on; as you can tell I know nothing at all about reloading...

[Handy]

I broke even on the first 1000 rounds of jacketed 9mm with mid to lower end stuff.

Mid grade and .45 would probably work out the same. From round 1001 on you should be golden.

[Musketeer]

For 10mm it was arund 800 rounds.

45 Colt seemed to be about the same from scratch but since I already was set up for 10mm and had everything but a shell plate and dies for my LeePro 1000 the payoff for 45 Colt came much quicker.

[rn22723]

You never really save money reloading. Simply reloading allows for you to shoot more for less money! People need to quit trying figure out this or that. Reloading is a hobby! The shooting sports are hobbies. They cost money!

Reloading simply is way to enjoy another aspect of the shooting sports. If you have the time, space, and inclination go for it!

Some cartridges need to be reloaded because they are obsolete!

A reloader can produce loads that are tweaked for his or her gun! A reloader can turn out 1K of 45ACP for shade over 100 dollars, whereas 1K of WWB would run 200 plus tax!

[Musketeer]

You never really save money reloading. Simply reloading allows for you to shoot more for less money! People need to quit trying figure out this or that. Reloading is a hobby! The shooting sports are hobbies. They cost money!

Yes and no. I would not shoot, or even own, my 10mm or my 45 Colt if I didn't reload. Both have ammunition available but the cost of it either in a store or online is too high to justify owning the gun. That is for my situation at least. Without reloading I would most certainly not own my 45 Colt and my 10mm, which I had since 1992, would be a safe queen if it was in my collection at all. Odds are I would have sold it for a 1911 in 45 ACP.

If you shoot 45 ACP, or especialyl 9mm, or 38 spcl you do not NEED to reload. If you are serious about shooting 10mm or 45 colt and don't have piles of cash laying around you DO need to reload.

[Voyager AL]

Im agree with rn.
I bought My Lee Anniversary setup from Cabela's for 67 dollars. Plus dies, and brass,powder,etc. Had about 160 in enuf to load 500 .40's. Now, as addicting this hobby has become, i reload my 380 and my 45ACP. After the initial stock and die purchase, it makes shooting AS MUCH AS YOU WANT an affordable hobby.I love the Lee setup. Its not quick, but I'm not in a hurry. Its a stress reliever. Spend an hour in the basement, and load 100. Dop that 3 to 4 nights, and go to the range on saturday and shoot 500 rounds. Start over.....
I cant sAYenuf good about Lee Anniversary set....

[azredhawk44]

I think reloading pays off best for revolver magnums and for rifle cartridges.

I reload for .357, .44mag, .30-30, .308, .400corbon and .45acp. I own a 9mm gun, but I don't reload for it. Ammo is cheap enough that I don't worry about it.

It is very rare I shoot my .45's. I don't like chasing the brass. As a result, I only find about half of the brass I shoot. I worry that constantly being fixated on brass while shooting will affect my aim or my reloading skills that I may be working on. I only look for brass after I have shot my 1-2 mags that I have decided to shoot at my particular targets.

But, back to reloading: It costs me about $40 to load up 500 rounds of .44magnum for casual plinking. For more premium hunting or defense loads with higher quality bullets and higher velocity powders, it costs me about $60 to load up 300 rounds. Conversely, the best price I find around here for .44mag in stores is about $15/50 rounds, which comes out to $90/300 (not as good as my stuff at $60) or $150/500 (maybe a little better than my bulk stuff, but 4 times as expensive).

The most expensive components are primers and bullets. For generic copper-plated ball 230gr bullets you will pay about $35-$40 per 500. If you can shoot lead 180-230gr from your gun, you can get it for about $20/500. Primers run about $15/1000. A good powder for .45acp (Unique, Titegroup, Bullseye) will cost about $15 for a pound (7000gr/lb). The load varies between these powders, but runs from 5-8 gr per cartridge, giving about 1000 rounds per container.

[Barr]

I reload for 9mm, .410, and 12 gauge just becuase it is fun and is a stress reliever. I do save quite a bit of money on the .410 and a little bit on the 12 gauge.

[Olaf]

I began saving money, handloading the 8 x 57JS, as soon as I had loaded a bit less than 200 rounds.....as compared to commercial ammo. By that, I mean that I had amortised my original investment in equipment and materials. Of course, I am not comparing my handloads directly with milsurp ammo. However, for target loads, I often pull-down milsurp ammo....and reuse the bullets and powder. In that form, I can handload non-corrosive ammo, optimised for my rifles, for only about 2 cents per round more than the milsurp ammo. I do shoot a bit more than I used to, but I still save money, overall. For hunting ammo, I can handload for about $7.00 per 20 rounds, not including the cost of the brass (after the first firing, the brass is being recycled....so I only count it's cost the first time). On the first firing, the cost of my hunting ammo is about $11.00 per 20 - still better than almost all of the commercial stuff.

Ultimately, whether you save money by handloading or not, depends mainly on two factors. 1) What components you use (their cost)....and 2) How much you shoot. With a little planning and efficient use of materials, etc.....it is quite possible to save a good bit by handloading. As well, you will have rounds optimised for your particular guns - which is worth a lot, in and of itself.

[sundog]

If you load an 'obsolete', hard to find, wildcat, etc., or if you load ammo for common catrtridges that would not otherwise available because of the combination of components, it becomes cost efficient immediately. It does not take very much to start loading. sundog

[yorec]

Another thing to consider - what price do you place on the pride of being able to do-it-yourself and the knowledge gained from learning the proper methods?

[rcwpop]

I think rn22723 hit the nail on the head. Its not the money you save its the pride and accomplishment of hitting the target dead center or taking that big buck etc. with a round that you built. It boils down to personal satisfaction. You have to experience it to feel it. Its amazing to find out that you can do something as small as change a powder charge a half grain or so and suddenly produce a 1/2 inch group at 100 yards. AAH! Satisfaction....

Backstrap

[Dave R]

You never really save money reloading. Simply reloading allows for you to shoot more for less money!

That may often be true, but its not always true, and not in my case. I don't have time to shoot any more than I ever did. So I save 30% or so on 9mm and 50% or more on 7.5 Swiss and other centerfire rifle ammo. And of course, for the wildcat cartridge that forced me into reloading, I couldn't get ammo any other way.

I got into reloading cheap, with used gear and some donated gear. Breakeven for me was probably under 500 rounds.

[Edward429451]

I used to price out how much my reloads cost me to make and then compare what I had to what it would cost me to buy the same and subtract the savings from the price of the equipment until it was paid for. The only reason I do that now is for these threads to let people know how low it could cost for them. Fer' instance...

50 rounds of 45ACP range ammo, used brass, cast lead bullets: ($1.50)

50 rounds 44 mag hunting/power plinking, heavyweights: ($4.00)

Casting your own bullets seriously decreases the cost of reloading.

[Followthehollow]

I haven't kept exact track of it. But I've loaded over 1000 rounds of .44 mag, and some 300 RUM and 30-378's. So I figure I'm already even because those calibers are NOT cheap to shoot.

[caz223]

Well, I look at it this way:
When I reload, I can load premium ammunition for the cost of generic practice ammo.
I don't reload plated, or FMJ, I use premium JHPs in everything except for calibers that CALL for lead, like .45 colt.
.357 mag, yeah, I save over $6 a box.
.41 mag, at least $18 a box. ($30 for 50 rounds in my area.)
In .45 acp, I load 200 grain XTPs at +p levels for the cost of generic practice ammo, $10 a box. Maybe I save a buck or two.
10mm, I save at least $5 a box, and I shoot WAAAAYYYYYY hotter ammo.
The list goes on.
Remember the flow chart.
You don't reload to save money, you reload to shoot more.
When you shoot more, you become a better shot.
Therefore, reloading makes you a better shot.
See how that works?
That's why we do it.....

[kingudaroad]

I used to spend $75 for bullets and $18 for range fee for 1 and 1/2 hours of shooting. Thats $93 for one range session with my 44 mags. Now I reload for $20.00 for the same amount and better quality bullets and became a range member for $12.00 a month. I spend $92 for a month of shooting once a week saving $279.00 a month(100 bullets per session) or a whopping $3500 per year I spent about $500 on my reloading equipment. Don't tell me I won't save money reloading.

[badaceds650]

just depends on the bullets u are reloading heres what it cost to load my plinking loads -----30.06=4.90--45colt=3.45--45auto=3.45--380auto=2.45---now to buy those cheaply as possible non corrisive of course 30.06=12.00 45colt=14.00 45auto=10.00 380auto=7.00 so theres a big diference but in the 9mm and 7.62x39 and a few others there not worth it i dont even load 7.62x39 yet but if they keep raising prices i guess i will

[Guy B. Meredith]

What is the total bill for the equipment and components to start? Varies per your choice.

What does commercial ammo cost, how much will it cost you to produce your own and how much do you shoot? How hard is it to find ammo you like?

In my case the complete setup cost less than $1000 for .38 spl and .357 magnum. I prefer copper plated bullets, and was buying commercial reloads for $7.50 per 50, less for bulk. Cheap lead or jacketed rounds were costing me $10 per 50, better rounds about $15 per 50. I was competing and shooting a minimum of 1000 rounds per month.

My very fancy custom .38 spl reloads with copper plated bullets cost less than $4 per 50. The equipment and initial component cost was paid off in about one year compared to the commercial reloads, 8 months compared to cheap commercial and 5 months in comparison to better commercial ammo. Every year since I have been "making" money.

[badaceds650]

lyman turret and scale(used)=$25--rcbs uniflow=$60--4 dies(some used some new)=$100--hornaday tumbler=$45--misc other things like trays lube trays chamferers trimmers and ez prime=$75--bench i made one at work with there metal and welding supplies paint and primer was some i had left over from painting my toyota--prices are real close to what i paid but it was about 8-10 years ago on some so thats what i recall also i know my time is worth money but to me reloading is an enjoyment and its better then watching tv i try to do my reloading during michael savage radio show anyway--total cost $305 wow it even adds up when you are cheap like me

[scottmphoto]

I very recently started reloading. Right now, I only reload for .303 British. I've about figured it that I had my equipment paid for and am starting to save money at less than 200 rds. At $1 a shot for factory, reloading is much "cheaper"...so I can shoot even more.
I got a "new" 1934 Russian Mosin 7.62x54r last weekend and even with the inexpensive surplus ammo, I'm looking for dies and brass for it right now.


See Y'all at the range...

[BigSlick]

Of course as has been stated above payback varies with how much and what you shoot.

For some calibers it is all but mandatory, e.g. 500SW.

I can load 50 rounds of good, practice level range ammo for ~ $5 a box with TiteGroup, about $8 a box with full house loads with slower/magnum powders.

El cheapo factory ammo is $32 for 20 rounds. Premium rounds cost up to $3.50 per round depending on source and bullet.

I can load premium commercial ammo equivalent ammo for about $14 a box of 50.

With this caliber alone, I've (on paper only) saved enough to actually pay for all my gear and am currently generating a profit

By next year I'll be rich

BigSlick

[pax]

It never does. The more you reload, the more you have to shoot.

pax

[mack59]

I started reloading to reload 308 for my M1A National Match and Savage 10 FP LE2B - I couldn't see shooting surplus or cheap ammo through them when I bought them to shoot for accuracy. I buy sierra match bullets - federal match primers and IMR or other powders to build custom loads fitted to each gun. The ammo I produce is more accurate in my guns than what I could buy off the shelf and it costs 1/5 of what it would to buy premium ammo. Since I already had the equipment I bought some 45ACP dies and started reloading 45ACP - that saves me a lot per box - as I can use the brass over and over. Bullets are the biggest expense - followed by powder for rifles - primers and powder for pistol run about 15 to 17 dollars each per 1000.

I do save money per box or round of ammo, which means I do shoot more - so in the end I may not save actual money, but I do get satisfaction from making my own ammo especially the rifle ammo. It is also relaxing as reloading clears my mind of daily worry and problems. It is very satisfying at the end of a session to see a box or two of custom handloaded rifle ammo - cases carefully measured and weighed, cleaned, and neck turned, powder measured to the half of a tenth of a grain, bullets weighed and measured. It is almost as satisfying as later shooting it and getting that tight sub- MOA group. Enjoy - reloading is a hobby of its own and one you can do in comfort even in the dead of winter.

[Lawyer Daggit]

It really depends on the cost of the ammo you are loading and the expense of the reloading set up you go for.