what's your average cost per round reloading?

[eachitandi]

Growing up, I helped my father reload shot gun shells, but I have no idea how much he spent to do it (he's gone now or I'd ask him).
I'm looking to pick up the Dillon Square Deal "B" for a reloader. After that cost, and cost of brass, primers, lead & powder, how long until I see a return on the investment (granted, I realize it depends on how much I shoot).
I usually buy rounds for about $37/100 which comes to 37 cents per round. How much does it cost you to reload your rounds?

 

[Double T]

I can reload for the cost of primers and powder. So I'm lucky

 

[x10]

Primers $36/k, bullets 90-110/k (lets say 100), cases 45/k, Powder at $25/lb = 7000grains per lb, load of 5 gr per case (9-40-45) so thats 36+100+45+ 17.86 = 198.86/k

prices may vary

 

[Broom_jm]

It really does depend on a lot of variables, but for loaded jacketed bullets in a "like-for-like" scenario, you can expect to save 40-60% over buying comparable factory ammo.

Now, if you're shooting 9mm and 223, that's not a lot of savings, so you have to load/shoot quite a bit to realize your ROI. However, if you start loading for less common cartridges, which cost a lot more, you cost savings per round goes up significantly.

 

[eachitandi]

It really does depend on a lot of variables, but for loaded jacketed bullets in a "like-for-like" scenario, you can expect to save 40-60% over buying comparable factory ammo.

Now, if you're shooting 9mm and 223, that's not a lot of savings, so you have to load/shoot quite a bit to realize your ROI. However, if you start loading for less common cartridges, which cost a lot more, you cost savings per round goes up significantly.

Good point, I'll be loading 40 s&w.

 

[eachitandi]

Primers $36/k, bullets 90-110/k (lets say 100), cases 45/k, Powder at $25/lb = 7000grains per lb, load of 5 gr per case (9-40-45) so thats 36+100+45+ 17.86 = 198.86/k

prices may vary

Roughly 20 cents per round, thanks for the info

 

[maverick5990]

I load 40's for around 22 cents per. The big variable is the bullet.

 

[BIGnTall83]

I load 115gr Lead round nose for my 9mm, I average $0.12-$0,14 / rd depending on which powder/primers are available

 

[ultraz]

I can reload for the cost of primers and powder. So I'm lucky

Second that, and range brass, cast own bullets

 

[x10]

Second that, and range brass, cast own bullets

The way I look at it, that's not free, Range brass is time and casting is a hobby unto itself, I've looked several times into casting and for volume it just doesn't make sense, 5k rounds a year is a lot of time melting lead even in a 4 cavity mold, And lead isn't free all the time, if it is you have to scrounge through a lot of stuff to get your lead.

I'm just saying there are some hidden costs

 

[N8RV]

I bought a Dillon XL650 last year and dipped my toe in the reloading pond. I made some errors initially getting the press set up correctly, but once it was all tweaked, it cranks 'em out faster than my arm and shoulder would like. Coupled with my ADD, I'm only good for a few hundred rounds per session, and then I'll see a squirrel or a shiny ball and wander off to do something else.

I had a boatload of once-fired brass, saved from my own use over the years in the hopes that one day I would reload. Helping with classes netted me a few thousand more brass cases of various calibers and brands. Plus, I've bought a few thousand new or once-fired brass in recent months, just because I've already reloaded a lot of what I had stockpiled.

The ballpark cost of ~20 cents per round is what I've found. I've been waiting for sales of X-treme plated bullets and then stocking up, which helps. If you factor in the cost of the press and dies for several calibers, it would take a LOT of rounds just to break even. I looked at it more like a hobby. Buying the machine is just the price of admission to the hobby. Pilots try all kinds of logic to justify owning a plane, and it never washes. It just is.

I just bought some Federal 115-gr 9mm at Wally World last week for $14.77/box of 50. With tax, that's $15.80/box, or about $.32/round. Reloading at $.20/round represents a savings of over 1/3 the cost of the ammo, and given that it doesn't really cost me much more to load .40 S&W or .45 ACP, the savings add up even faster with those calibers.

Is it worth it? That depends on whether you have the spare time -- and interest -- in reloading as a hobby. I'm still quite a novice, but even loading the three calibers that I do has been worth it for me. I shoot a few hundred rounds every week, and have several thousand now stockpiled. In fact, I need more .50-cal ammo cans!

Hope that helps.

 

[87iroc]

I think I'm reloading .38 spcl right now for in the 11 cents/rd range. I don't buy brass in volume. I bought a bunch of factory ammo and have been saving the cases. .357 is harder to come by and the freakin factory ammo is jacked out of sight on cost. So I have bought some brass for .357. I plan in the future I think to commonize on .357 brass.

I paid 32/1000 for primers and I can't recall what I spent on my jug of TiteGroup...but I spent too much I'm sure. Probably 35/lb or so. If it wasn't for that single jug being available higher priced, I'd just be getting to reload now rather than a few months ago.

Brass is pricey to start off with. I think its better to just save it...BUT it depends on factory ammo costs. On the bullets, I load lead bullets that I purchase mainly although I am going to switch to coated lead bullets from Xtreme on a future batch.

 

[shibumiseeker]

The way I look at it, that's not free, Range brass is time and casting is a hobby unto itself, I've looked several times into casting and for volume it just doesn't make sense, 5k rounds a year is a lot of time melting lead even in a 4 cavity mold, And lead isn't free all the time, if it is you have to scrounge through a lot of stuff to get your lead.

I'm just saying there are some hidden costs

Meh, depends on what you view as a cost. I'd rather spend an hour on a range scrounging $50 worth of brass than an hour at work making $18 that the government will take half of eventually. That time spent is enjoyable, so it is a hobby unto itself, much like metal detecting or gold panning.

The same goes for casting. I enjoy the process of casting, most of my lead is recycled from my own shooting or scrounged. If you saw me find a wheelweight on the side of the road you would think it was pure gold from how excited I get. Friend takes a battery in for recycling, let me knock the terminals off. Spend an afternoon on a roof helping a buddy, get the lead flashing, AND get paid.

So, if you view those things as a chore then yes, there is a cost. But if you enjoy those things and it doesn't take time away from something you enjoy more then it has no more cost than a mid-afternoon nap, or time spent in a hammock on a great spring day. Reloading is not a chore for me, to the point that I eschew progressive loaders BECAUSE I enjoy the process, not just the end result.

 

[tk71]

If I put in my info into this calculator I am at roughly .13
Handloading Cost Calculator

 

[N8RV]

If I put in my info into this calculator I am at roughly .13
Handloading Cost Calculator

That's probably closer to what I really spend. I used that calculator to enter exactly what I just spent for .40 cal X-treme bullets, a 1-lb bottle of Power Pistol, and the last batch of CCI primers that I bought, using my saved or range brass (cost = 0), and came up with about 13.5 cents per round. Figure in the cost of new or once-fired brass and I'm pushing (or passing) the 20-cent mark.

 

[straight-shooter]

If you figure in the cost of your once fired brass then divide that by 10 since your going to reuse that brass at least that many times.

 

[VERT]

Costs me 18 cents a round not including the brass. You will see a faster return reloading 40 and 45 compared to 9mm.

 

[ghitch75]

45ACP's $.09 for me as i cast too....

 

[Chance]

$0.11 ea

40 S&W with plated bullets.

 

[spencer rifle]

12 cents or less for 9 mm JHP.
.308 for twice that.