ORIGINAL: bmumford
I just purchased my first centerfire rifle (a Savage with the new Accustock in .30-06) and I want to know if reloading is going to save me enough money to make it worth my time and money buying equipment (I don't know how much I'm going to shoot it honestly; I guess that depends on the cost, but I'd like to shoot it a lot if possible). The shooting range is right by work (or about a 20-25 minute drive from home), but I don't have a lot of time on my hands (so I want equipment that will expedite the process).
Anyway, to buy target rounds, let's say a box of 20 150 gr. Federal American Eagle ammunition is exactly $18.49 at Midway. I found it a little cheaper at another website, but the cost of shipping made it more expensive. If I buy 3 boxes from Midway and pay $10.49 for shipping, that works out to be about $1.10 a round.
On the high end, if I buy a box of 20 165 gr. Federal Premium Vital-Shok lead-free ammunition to go hunting with, I'm looking at spending about $2.62 per cartridge.
So, my question is; what can I reasonably expect to pay per cartridge if I hand load/reload my own ammunition (including shipping). Assume I've already bought the equipment.
Thanks!
Well, here's the kicker......One particular brand of factory ammo may shoot well in your rifle. Another may not. Simply because one is cheaper than the other to me is no basis to be buying ammo on. If the cheap stuff does it for you, fine and good. But it may also take a premium ammo to shoot better. MAYBE.
The crux of reloading is to tailor-make ammo for your particular rifle that will most likely be cheaper than the factory stuff, and should work out to be the most accurate also.
It DOES cost a bit to get into reloading. However, if you feel serious about getting the most out of your rifle, it's the only way to go. You've been given a close breakdown bycjohnson3006 here in relative terms as to cost. If you feel that you would like to shoot more at a reduced price, reloading is the answer, but you will have to absorb the cost of getting set up with equipment. I AM gonna warn you right off the bat that reloading is addictive. It can lead to more shooting (which is really good for you), and creates an itch for more things (guns) to load for. Hope this helped???
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