Cost of components

[jmemmert]

I have finally taken the plunge and bought a reloading press. I will be loading .223, 9mm, and eventually 45. I bought the press to save some money on my plinking habit (it will cost me more, as I will shoot more, but that means more fun) Anyways,. I am looking to load low cost plinking rounds, but have no knowledge of the good/bad pricing. What components are you all using and what are your final costs on those components. Please include whether it was shipped, or local.

Caliber:
Bullet: $
Brass: $
Primer: $
Powder: $
Cost/Rd:

 

[mospeada]

Caliber: .45ACP
Bullet: $ 0.12 inc shipping (zero bullet)
Brass: $ 0.04 indy 1500, once fired
Primer: $ 0.02 inc shipping (Powder Valley)
Powder: $ 0.01 local (Indiana gun club)
Cost/Rd: $0.19

The brass cost of course is amortized over time as I reuse the brass, but for the sake of this exercise, I thought I'd give you what I paid for it since you're a newb.

Caliber: 9mm
Bullet: $ 0.07 inc shipping (Rainier)
Brass: $ 0.00 I've never bought 9mm brass
Primer: $ 0.03 local (Indiana Gun Club)
Powder: $ 0.01 local (Indiana Gun Club)
Cost/Rd: $0.11

 

[U.S. Patriot]

Caliber: 9mm
Bullet: $100 per 1,000 (Winchester 115 grain FMJ) local
Brass: $0 I pick up my own
Primer: $32 per 1,000 (CCI #500 small pistol) local
Powder: $17 per LB. (Hodgdon TiteGroup) local

 

[rockhopper46038]

Those numbers look pretty good to me. My .45ACP bullets are cheaper than what mospeada has for his cost, and I've never bought brass so I can't confirm that cost, but his 9mm cost is right on what I have. Take a half penny off the primer cost maybe, if the guy at the 1500 is selling at his lower price vs his higher price.

 

[sbcman]

The two keys I've found to getting reloading costs on the floor are to buy primers in bulk when they are on sale and cast your own bullets. I got into 10,000 magtech primers once at $22/1000 and casting my own bullets, I'm making 50 round boxes of 38 special and 9mm using Universal powders in both for $5 a box.

Here's a little calculator that can help you compare prices per round:Handloading Cost Calculator

 

[Skip]

Caliber: 45ACP
Bullet: $ .00 (Cast boolits that I make at home! Range lead is free!)
Brass: $ .00 (I get free cases from our local gun range, but, if you saved your cases from purchased ammo, your price is the same!)
Primer: $ 16/1000 Wolf Large Pistol Primers
Powder: $ 10/lb Surplus powder from gibrass.com
If you use the components I mention above, the cost per box of 50 is $1.17!
Cost/Rd:$.023

That will get you a 230gr 45ACP load @ 800fps. If you have to buy lead bullets, Zero for instance, it raises the cost to: $0.122/rd; $6.12/50.

Every shooter should be a reloader, every reloader should be a caster.

Hope this helps!

 

[Aszerigan]

All these numbers may be true, but remember, quality components make quality ammunition. If you're getting started, don't just buy the cheapest you can find. You'll end up troubleshooting your way through the reloading process, and that's never good.

 

[Skip]

Profire,
You are so right. That is one reason that I started casting. I wanted to have good bullets when I wanted good bullets that fit my firearms, everytime.

Now, I have what I want, when I want for the purpose I want, as much as I want.

Some of the bullets that I have are not available from anyone commercially. Wolf primers have been flawless and are inexpensive. The powder I am using for most of my reloading now, other than the .358/25 WSSM, are surplus of some kind. Either Russian origin or from U.S. commercial loaders.

Quality doesn't mean expensive. Value is more than cost too.

 

[jblomenberg16]

Those numbers look to be in the ball-park of where I'm at.

A good source of bullets for range use on 9mm and .45 ACP is Montana Gold. There prices for bullets includes shipping and are tough to beat.


https://www.montanagoldbullet.com/pricelist.html

 

[shootinghoosier]

If you shoot cast lead bullets, I think Dardas is a good supplier.
dardas cast bullets

 

[mospeada]

Those numbers look pretty good to me. My .45ACP bullets are cheaper than what mospeada has for his cost, and I've never bought brass so I can't confirm that cost, but his 9mm cost is right on what I have. Take a half penny off the primer cost maybe, if the guy at the 1500 is selling at his lower price vs his higher price.

Yeah, I think I'm off by a bit on the 45 brass price. I want to say the last time I bought it, it was $18-$20 per 500, it's been a while and my memory is sketchy sometimes. I don't buy a lot of .45 brass as I keep what factory brass I shoot and get it given to me sometimes. At this point, my cost is nearly zilch for the brass, but if you're starting out, that's a pretty good price.

You can also save on .45 bullets by going lead, but I'm migrating away from it a bit for practice to better resemble my carry ammo. For steel plates, I reload 185g SWC that run less, but I bought in bulk when prices were lower, so I couldn't tell you what 185g SWC go for right now.