driftrider

Your cost savings will really depend on how much you plan to shoot. If you're like 95% of hunters, you might shoot 1-2 boxes a year through your rifle. In that case, if all you care about is strictly the cost, then factory ammo is the way to go and will cost you less. If you are a serious shooter and do so very regularly, then handloading might actually save you money.

The issue is not just the cost of the components that make up a loaded round of ammo, but also the necessary tools to make that ammo. The initial investment could be anywhere from $100 to $300 for a basic setup just to get started, depending on the type of press/tools you choose.

Another issue is the time you'll spend loading the ammo. Using a single stage press, the total time I spend to load a box of ammo, which includes all the routine case prep steps, is probably about 2 hours if I move quickly but cautiously (read safely). If I take my time and really pay attention to detail to make truly superior ammo, I might spend 3 hours a box. This doesn't include the initial new brass case prep I'll do like trimming to a uniform length, uniforming primer pockets and deburring flash holes, etc... If you don't mind taking on another full hobby, then you would enjoy handloading. If you hate repetitive and sometimes tedious work, or your spare time is extremely limited and valuable, then that might add to the value of factory ammo. You pay more for the convienience of just walking into the store and buying a box of your rifles favorite ammo.

However, the added value of handloading is that you get to experiment with different components, vary the powder charges (within certain limits) and fiddle with certain specs like seating depth in pursuit of that one "pet load" that shoots bughole groups all day long. Once you find that load, it makes it worth the effort. The problem is that you might spend a lot of time and money looking for it, it can be frustrating, but at least you'll get to do a lot of shooting.

Mike