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Cost of reloading
- Thread starter ruger333
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I load 124 grain JHP for less than 12 cents a round. The stuff on sale is often 115 grain FMJ, and my firearms don't like it as much as 124. And that's JHP for less than FMJ on sale.
With a turret press I can do 228 rounds per hour. More than twice that with the progressive including reloading the case, bullet and primer feeders.
With a turret press I can do 228 rounds per hour. More than twice that with the progressive including reloading the case, bullet and primer feeders.
That setup that someone up thread told you about that has a phone number is a good deal. Heck, if I had the time, I'd buy it and part it out and make a few bucks. It has everything you need plus some to get started.
And don't be afraid of a single stage. I have a nice system I developed and since I don't shoot 1000's of rounds every week, I can keep up with my consumption. Plus, a single stage is good to start on as you can create redundancies to be sure you are loading each and every round the way it should be.
Is it worth getting into reloading? Yes. The answer to this question is almost always, yes!
You never save money by reloading, though...that is a fallacy.
If the amount of money you spend on ammo is a constant, you will shoot more by reloading.
If the amount of ammo you shoot is a constant, you will spend less by reloading your own ammo.
Most people who get into reloading shoot the guns they have more often, buy guns in different/weird chamberings, and generally spend a lot more time/money on the shooting sports than they would have if they never got into reloading.
9mm is the gateway drug of reloading. Same with 223 for loading rifle rounds.
JeepHammer
SHOOTER
9mm & 223 being gateway drugs! Now THAT'S FUNNY!
I started for calibers I simply couldn't find (mostly 1,800s), or were so much cheaper to load cast bullets.
A little later it was for consistency, back then there weren't 300 'Super Premium' cartridges on the market.
Not like I could have afforded them at $1.50 to $3.00 a round, and I could build them for 30¢ to 45¢ a round.
Ammo is a LOT more consistent than it used to be 40+ years ago, so some of that has gone away, but it's still not cheap by any means.
Machining, forming & heat treating has come a LONG way, so have production rates that drive price down. Got to love automated manufacturing when it goes CNC!
A lot less mistakes and a lot more production per hour...
*IF* you have time to trade, then reloading let's you shoot more on the same money (less cost of reloading equipment).
On top of that, it's just a super interesting hobby you will be able to do until you die or get Alzheimer's.
I was reloading when I was in a body cast & back brace, one of the few things I could still do... I called it 'Physical Therapy'.
And it's time away from TV & internet on cold winter days or rainy days when you are cooped up.
As for cost, depends on what you load.
Your 'Savings' will be greater with the expensive ammo that doesn't have surplus on the market.
Ironically, the more expensive 'Premium' ammo is often better done on the lower cost single or 'Turret' (Tool Head) presses,
While large volumes of common 'Blasting' ammo is cheaper in on a more expensive self indexing progressive press.
Not as precise/high quality, but the volume of production is exponentially higher than with a single stage press.
With common components you can knock out 500-600 an hour without breaking a sweat.
-------------
Two tips it usually take years, sometimes decades to learn...
The 'Latest-Greatest' isn't always easy to work with, and the older 'Standards' are still around simply because they work really well.
Super hot powder that takes small volumes are easy to screw up and not easy to eyeball that screw up, and they are expensive.
The older 'Standards' take more powder, but the powder is cheaper so the price evens out, and you can see/sense a screwed up charge.
The latest bullets or dies might look good, but they might not load easily, which leads to screwed up cartridges (waste costs) and inconsistent cartridges.
An example is round base or boat tail bullets that insert into cases well, then switching for flat base bullets that like to screw up brass and don't much like bullet feeders...
I'm going though that now with a batch of .40 call bullets with flat bases, I should have stuck with what was working fine all along, and was cheaper.
While you 'Like' hollow points, the paper range/practice targets don't know the difference.
Practice is about your skills and not how much the paper screams when it gets hit.
No sense in wasting money on 'Super-Duper' hollow points when the paper doesn't know the difference.
FMJ/round nose are easier to load without damage and go faster when loading, less loading time & money means more trigger time!
I started for calibers I simply couldn't find (mostly 1,800s), or were so much cheaper to load cast bullets.
A little later it was for consistency, back then there weren't 300 'Super Premium' cartridges on the market.
Not like I could have afforded them at $1.50 to $3.00 a round, and I could build them for 30¢ to 45¢ a round.
Ammo is a LOT more consistent than it used to be 40+ years ago, so some of that has gone away, but it's still not cheap by any means.
Machining, forming & heat treating has come a LONG way, so have production rates that drive price down. Got to love automated manufacturing when it goes CNC!
A lot less mistakes and a lot more production per hour...
*IF* you have time to trade, then reloading let's you shoot more on the same money (less cost of reloading equipment).
On top of that, it's just a super interesting hobby you will be able to do until you die or get Alzheimer's.
I was reloading when I was in a body cast & back brace, one of the few things I could still do... I called it 'Physical Therapy'.
And it's time away from TV & internet on cold winter days or rainy days when you are cooped up.
As for cost, depends on what you load.
Your 'Savings' will be greater with the expensive ammo that doesn't have surplus on the market.
Ironically, the more expensive 'Premium' ammo is often better done on the lower cost single or 'Turret' (Tool Head) presses,
While large volumes of common 'Blasting' ammo is cheaper in on a more expensive self indexing progressive press.
Not as precise/high quality, but the volume of production is exponentially higher than with a single stage press.
With common components you can knock out 500-600 an hour without breaking a sweat.
-------------
Two tips it usually take years, sometimes decades to learn...
The 'Latest-Greatest' isn't always easy to work with, and the older 'Standards' are still around simply because they work really well.
Super hot powder that takes small volumes are easy to screw up and not easy to eyeball that screw up, and they are expensive.
The older 'Standards' take more powder, but the powder is cheaper so the price evens out, and you can see/sense a screwed up charge.
The latest bullets or dies might look good, but they might not load easily, which leads to screwed up cartridges (waste costs) and inconsistent cartridges.
An example is round base or boat tail bullets that insert into cases well, then switching for flat base bullets that like to screw up brass and don't much like bullet feeders...
I'm going though that now with a batch of .40 call bullets with flat bases, I should have stuck with what was working fine all along, and was cheaper.
While you 'Like' hollow points, the paper range/practice targets don't know the difference.
Practice is about your skills and not how much the paper screams when it gets hit.
No sense in wasting money on 'Super-Duper' hollow points when the paper doesn't know the difference.
FMJ/round nose are easier to load without damage and go faster when loading, less loading time & money means more trigger time!
I have been reading a lot of reviews. I really like the Dillon 550 but adding everything I would want started getting pricey. I might opt for the Lee classic turret. I like the idea of switching calibers easily without having to readjust a lot of stuff or spend a ton of cash to do it.
If you buy dies other than Lee you don't have to readjust the dies every time you Change them. I have RCBS dies that have held a setting for 40 years. Lee lock rings don't hold a set when changed. Lee dies are ok but bye the time you put good lock rings on them the price is the same as the others. There is a lot to the old saying you get what you pay for.
I have thought the same. I started out with only RCBS dies b/c I had a Rock Chucker press. When I bought my LCT, I got the 223 dies from Lee. As long as you get a turret for each caliber, you don't have re-adjust the dies. Set them, tighten them down, then just switch turrets.
I agree with you 100% but the op doesn't have a press yet. He has stated he is looking for a deal. What are his chances of finding exactly what he wants. This way he knows the ups and down side of Lee lock rings.
If he finds a good deal on a breach lock he should know to make good use of that he has to purchase inserts for all his dies but he can use Lee locking rings if he keeps the insert and die together.
The exact savings depend entirely on what assumptions you make. Not just what caliber, but what bullet?
For example, I can buy Geco .223 locally for 34 cents a round. I can load .223 with 13 cents for the primed case, 12 cents worth of powder and a cheap 8 cent bullet. In other words, 33 cents a round with bunch of effort, vs 34 cents a round. It is worth a LOT of time to save a penny a round for plinking ammo?
Not to me. I don't like loading ammo that much.
Now, what if I'm instead planning to load premium match ammo? Well, now I'd be paying $1.40 each for Winchester match of Black Hills MK262.
Now, my cost is the same 14 cent primed case, a little less powder (12 cents) and a premium bullet that might be up to 35 cents. (Sierra, Berger). Now I'm paying about 50 cents a round. But I'm saving at least 70 cents a round, maybe more. Is that worth my time? HECK YES.
.223 and 9mm in particular are most likely to present you with situation where you cannot compete with the massive economies of scale. More 9mm rounds are produced every year than any other caliber. .223 is also an incredibly high volume cartridge. It's almost impossible to load a clone of any Lake City load for less than Lake City can do it. You simply can't get brass, bullets, or powder cheaper than they can.
Can you load ammo cheaper than buying some in 9mm or .223? Yes, but it will almost always be cast bullets and cases you've had on hand forever.
I load 9mm for the cost of a 10 cent bullet, a 3 cent case, a 3 cent primer and 2 cents worth of powder. In other words, it's 18 cents even USED cases.
Or I can buy a box of 50 rounds for $8.99, which happens to be 18 cents/rd with new brass and factory made. Worth the hassle of reloading to save no money at all? NOPE.
However.
I can spit out premium JHP handloads with Starline brass for 36 cents for the case, 3 cents for primer, 2 cents of powder and a 20 cent Gold dot. That's 61 cents a round for a premium JHP you'd pay well over a dollar for. Does it makes sense to handload JHPs instead of buying? ABSOLUTELY.
So even though the economics work against you, there are instances where even .223 and 9mm will save you money.
Me, I bought reloading gear last year simply because I told myself I will NEVER AGAIN be out of ammo and unable to purchase some. I saw the dependence on store bought ammo as a huge vulnerability.
For example, I can buy Geco .223 locally for 34 cents a round. I can load .223 with 13 cents for the primed case, 12 cents worth of powder and a cheap 8 cent bullet. In other words, 33 cents a round with bunch of effort, vs 34 cents a round. It is worth a LOT of time to save a penny a round for plinking ammo?
Not to me. I don't like loading ammo that much.
Now, what if I'm instead planning to load premium match ammo? Well, now I'd be paying $1.40 each for Winchester match of Black Hills MK262.
Now, my cost is the same 14 cent primed case, a little less powder (12 cents) and a premium bullet that might be up to 35 cents. (Sierra, Berger). Now I'm paying about 50 cents a round. But I'm saving at least 70 cents a round, maybe more. Is that worth my time? HECK YES.
.223 and 9mm in particular are most likely to present you with situation where you cannot compete with the massive economies of scale. More 9mm rounds are produced every year than any other caliber. .223 is also an incredibly high volume cartridge. It's almost impossible to load a clone of any Lake City load for less than Lake City can do it. You simply can't get brass, bullets, or powder cheaper than they can.
Can you load ammo cheaper than buying some in 9mm or .223? Yes, but it will almost always be cast bullets and cases you've had on hand forever.
I load 9mm for the cost of a 10 cent bullet, a 3 cent case, a 3 cent primer and 2 cents worth of powder. In other words, it's 18 cents even USED cases.
Or I can buy a box of 50 rounds for $8.99, which happens to be 18 cents/rd with new brass and factory made. Worth the hassle of reloading to save no money at all? NOPE.
However.
I can spit out premium JHP handloads with Starline brass for 36 cents for the case, 3 cents for primer, 2 cents of powder and a 20 cent Gold dot. That's 61 cents a round for a premium JHP you'd pay well over a dollar for. Does it makes sense to handload JHPs instead of buying? ABSOLUTELY.
So even though the economics work against you, there are instances where even .223 and 9mm will save you money.
Me, I bought reloading gear last year simply because I told myself I will NEVER AGAIN be out of ammo and unable to purchase some. I saw the dependence on store bought ammo as a huge vulnerability.
i cant say ive ever saved any money by reloading.
i mainly shoot USPSA open division, my gun's "preferred" load isnt available commercially, so reloading is my only option.
ive reloaded 10's of 1000's of rounds on a dillon SDB that i bought in '96.
it's been quite a shock to my wallet over the years. LSWC that i was paying $14.75/500 20 years ago are now $44/500. powder and primer prices have doubled.
the cost of a progressive press has nearly doubled, add in a tumbler, scale, dies, toolheads ect, and it's gonna take a l o n g time to "break even"
this season, i'm predicting i'll run 3000 rds in my open gun for USPSA, and another 6000 or so 22LR for steel challenge
if i was starting out today, i'd probably be buying factory ammo in bulk, and not bother reloading.
i mainly shoot USPSA open division, my gun's "preferred" load isnt available commercially, so reloading is my only option.
ive reloaded 10's of 1000's of rounds on a dillon SDB that i bought in '96.
it's been quite a shock to my wallet over the years. LSWC that i was paying $14.75/500 20 years ago are now $44/500. powder and primer prices have doubled.
the cost of a progressive press has nearly doubled, add in a tumbler, scale, dies, toolheads ect, and it's gonna take a l o n g time to "break even"
this season, i'm predicting i'll run 3000 rds in my open gun for USPSA, and another 6000 or so 22LR for steel challenge
if i was starting out today, i'd probably be buying factory ammo in bulk, and not bother reloading.
if i was starting out today, i'd probably be buying factory ammo in bulk, and not bother reloading.
But then you wouldn't have your "preferred load". Isn't it worth it just for that? I am currently buying bulk, but I have reloading equipment (single stage) and components. I have been mulling over whether to continue to reload my preferred load, shoot factory stuff, sell my equipment or keep it for the next time ammo gets scarce.
An idea is to shoot factory now and keep reloading stuff for another time.
i picked up my USPSA open gun 25 years ago, and found out it was tuned for a certain load. ive been using that same bullet, with a few changes in powder, ever since.
maybe i should have said, if i was just starting USPSA competition now, i'd decide on caliber/pistol and make factory ammo work with it.
over the years, rule changes, lowered power factor, and added divisions have made getting into USPSA a lot easier. back when i started there were only 4 divisions, open, limited, and revolver. L10 was a new division.
no separate divisions for single stack, production carry optics or PCC.
i'm still shooting a single stack 45acp in the open division,
at one time i shot limited with a single stack in 45acp.
I’m a rookie reloader with only 3-4 years of experience, so I was in the OP’s position not long ago. This is what I wish I knew back then.
Reloading is a hobby and you have to view it as such. However, you can save money. This allows you to shoot more for the same dollar.
Let’s say you jump in with both feet and buy some nice (blue) stuff. There’s a $1000 outlay.
For this example I’ll use 223 and 45acp because it’s what I know. Going off of ammoseek’s cheapest brass cased stuff today, I can save $0.07/round ($0.16 vs. $0.23) on 223 and $0.075/round ($0.15 vs. $0.225) on 45acp. Getting deals can drive the prices down further, but I feel those are realistic numbers.
I figure to break even, you’d need to load about 7100 rounds of 223 and 6600 rounds of 45acp. Add in 9mm ($), 357 ($$), and 308 “match” ammo ($$$) and you break even more quickly.
Using the same method of figuring, you’d need to load 20,000 rounds of just 9mm to break even. That’s 10 lifetimes for some and 1 season for others.
So is reloading worth the cost? I think so. It’s a rewarding hobby.
Sorry for the novel, but I hate to see people dismiss reloading because “you’ll never break even”.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Reloading is a hobby and you have to view it as such. However, you can save money. This allows you to shoot more for the same dollar.
Let’s say you jump in with both feet and buy some nice (blue) stuff. There’s a $1000 outlay.
For this example I’ll use 223 and 45acp because it’s what I know. Going off of ammoseek’s cheapest brass cased stuff today, I can save $0.07/round ($0.16 vs. $0.23) on 223 and $0.075/round ($0.15 vs. $0.225) on 45acp. Getting deals can drive the prices down further, but I feel those are realistic numbers.
I figure to break even, you’d need to load about 7100 rounds of 223 and 6600 rounds of 45acp. Add in 9mm ($), 357 ($$), and 308 “match” ammo ($$$) and you break even more quickly.
Using the same method of figuring, you’d need to load 20,000 rounds of just 9mm to break even. That’s 10 lifetimes for some and 1 season for others.
So is reloading worth the cost? I think so. It’s a rewarding hobby.
Sorry for the novel, but I hate to see people dismiss reloading because “you’ll never break even”.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Hell I prob have $3k into my reloading supplies. I def save tons of money on high power stuff and a lot of rifle. Pistol? I load because I like to. Just did 5k 9mm at $3.50/box, because of deal hunting!
I found my deal. Ended up with a preowned but never used Dillon 550c that came with Lee 45 acp dies. Paid $350. I bought a Hornady manual, used digital scale, primer tray,tumbler with separator, lube, 500 coated bullets, 1000 primers, and a jar of power for another $325. I have what I need to get started.
Clay Pigeon
Shooter
Excellent... Now the fun begins.
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