Reloading Vs Cheap Ammo
 

When do you decide to make the jump to reloading.. All of my riflesare used for hunting but I still like to shoot them.. But the cost to shoot is getting pretty outrageous. I will buy, site in andhunt with the better constructed bullets, but is there an advantage to reloading. I mean we are talking reloading for a 22-250, 243,6MM,7mm08,308, and 444 Marlin. I can get pretty inexpensive ammo for the 22-250,243 and 308. But would you reload or just plink with the inexpensive stuf??

RE: Reloading Vs Cheap Ammo
 

I cast my own bulelts and reload those for plinking and target shooting in nearly all of my rifles. Its really cheap at a few cents per round- about 2.5 cents for the primer and a few cents for the powder, the brass lasts forever. I don't even blink at the thought of loading up 300-400 rounds of 30-06 at a time and shooting them all in one day. Really cheap, though if the amount of time involved with casting, culling, and sizing the bullets were factored in, not so cheap.

RE: Reloading Vs Cheap Ammo
 

Time is certainly an issue with a 2 year old at home and 1 due in july..

RE: Reloading Vs Cheap Ammo
 

I really thought this might be a statement as opposed to a question.

Reloading (actually handloading, handcrafted, gun matched, component specific ammo) versus cheap ammo....is not a question.

You get back what you put into it.

RE: Reloading Vs Cheap Ammo
 

Umm yeah. I have a 5 and a 2 year old at home, I have to do all of my 'fun' activities late at night. :D

RE: Reloading Vs Cheap Ammo
 

For the 223 and 308 I can buy the metal cartride ammo for 6 bucks a box of 20.. That is pretty cheap IMO.. What does it cost per round to reload.

RE: Reloading Vs Cheap Ammo
 

It really depends on how cheap you get into it...It is easy to spend $5-600
on just the equipment to get started...If you are patient and a good bidder some of this can be picked up on ebay...

RE: Reloading Vs Cheap Ammo
 

If you don't shoot that much, reloading is not for you if you are doing it to save money. I can buy 45ACP Federal American Eagle for about $13 a box of 50. It probably costs me $10 to reload them, using the same brass.
I reload for a couple of reasons. 1. Its a great pass time. 2. I can tailor my loads to a particular rilfe/handgun. 3. Satisfaction of taking game or shooting tight groups with my own ammo. 4. Cost, simply because I shoot a lot. At least once a week with different weapons. But the cost savings is the least of my concern. Don't forget, if your starting out there is a lot of equipment you will need to purchase. Things like press, scale, dies, powder dispenser, case trimmer, primers, powder, bullets, brass, etc., etc. This will add up to a few hundred $.

RE: Reloading Vs Cheap Ammo
 

To me its not just about saving money. Its more of a trust thing; I'd rather make my own rounds than have someone else do it. And its just kind of fun to play around with.
Im 13 and i reload w/my dad all the time and i enjoy it so when yourkid gets older that may be something to think about too.

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I used to reload shotgun shells bc of the same reasons above.. .. But never got into the rifle reloading..

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Been a reloader for well over 40 years.Got into it because I wanted ammo that was more accurate than the factory stuff. It is possible to save money reloadingonce your equipment is amortized.It would cost $400-500 to buy everything that is needed to get going in reloading, including a case tumbler. It does not take long to burn $500 worth of commercial ammo at todays prices. Currently my .308 re-loadscost me 33 cents a round, exclusive of case and labor.These are precision re-loads that will shoot a <1" five shot group at 100 yards.

If you are thinking about getting into re-loading lay in a good supply of once fired cases. Pick them up off the range, scrounge themfrom friends or whatever. The only commercial ammo I have bought in ten years is .22 rimfire andsome .300 Win. Mag. that Wal-Mart had for $11 per box.

RE: Reloading Vs Cheap Ammo
 

CJ,

I started to reload cause my 243 would not shoot 100 grain factory bullets worth a crap. I tightened up those groups, but then found it really liked my 85 grain handloads. Then I found out it loved 60 grain bullets. Now I reload for my 22-250 due to high volume shooting. Just loaded my first .270 bullets this week. I would never shoot this much if I were still buying factory ammo. There's nothing quite like turning in a tight group with your own handloads.

KEJ

RE: Reloading Vs Cheap Ammo
 

I got into it because nontox shotshells were $15-20 a box and weren't killing birds that wre well hit at short range in the very cold end of the season . I inherited a scale and a 12ga pressspent about $60 on the next 80 rounds since then my cost is about $5.60 a box for steel $5.20 for lead . .38 specials and 357 run3.60-4.10 about 6.00 if I get all spendy and go to the high end HP's. For my 30-06' it doesen't matter what it costs as my 1965 Savage 110 won't shoot any of the many factoriesI've fed it over the last 15 yrs.

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Reloading has saved me a ton of Money. I would say that it took me less than a year to make up the cost of my reloading gear. Depending on what you are reloading for, Pistols, you might save $2-4 on a box, for me, I save about $80 on a box for my .338 Lapua. Figure 8-10 boxes of reloads, and my equipment is paid for and half my rifle is too.

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Reloading is much cheaper than what it costs to buy factory ammo for. You "can" get into it for around $150 if you buy Lee stuff, mainly starting off with one of their anniversary kits and then adding in your dies and case trimmers etc. The prices given earlier of $5-600 is for premium, albeit well worth it RCBS or Hornady, Dillon etc. The Lee stuff will produce good ammo but will have a clunkier feel to thier presses and the scale that comes in the kit only goes up to 110 grains and thier dies some people dont care for, but many of us have never had a problem with. Bullets and brass seem to be the big cost to reloading, but for just plinking there are inexpensive bullets and you can always find used brass from friends and the range.

RE: Reloading Vs Cheap Ammo
 

"Cheap ammo"?? What cheap ammo?? When you toss out a once-fired piece of brass, you are tossing 75% of what that round cost you! ANYONEwho likes to shoot a lot, and tosses out the brass instead of reloading it, is either very wealthy, not too bright, or both!!

It is not expensive to START reloading - In addition to a reloading manual, (which you should buy one of just to read it!!) ALL you need is a set of dies for the caliber you intend to load; a press; a powder scale, and a set of calipers to measure case lengths with. That's all for tools.

Also 100 primers, a box of bullets, and a can of powder to begin with. In a short time (depending on how much you shoot), you will need a case trimmer also. As the cases lengthen, you'll need to keep them the correct length.

I find most everything in the way of equipment on e-bay.
Press example: $17.00
http://cgi.ebay.com/Single-Stage-Metalic-Reloading-Press_W0QQitemZ280203261012QQihZ018QQcategoryZ7112 0QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Dies:$10.00
http://cgi.ebay.com/lyman-308-reloading-dies_W0QQitemZ180217489704QQihZ008QQcategoryZ31825 QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Powder scale: $25.00
http://cgi.ebay.com/Lyman-Ohaus-Model-D5-Powder-Measure-Scale_W0QQitemZ230225016302QQihZ013QQcategoryZ7111 9QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
$52.00 for these tools. What does a box of ammo cost you??

With these three items, your reloading manual, plusa box of primers, some bullets, and a can of p[owder, you can begin reloading! I started with a Lyman 310 hand tool,a set of dies for it, and a $10.00 Pacific powder scale. That's all that is ESSENTIAL!! The rest of the stuff is "nice to have" or "will need later, MAYBE!!".

The other stuff, case trimmer, etc., you can add later, as needed.

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I havent loaded any yet but on paper, i have priced the cost of reloading a .223 with a 75gr Hornady A-Max bullet maximum safe amount of powder for a bullet of that weight at .48 cents if you manage to salvage all that brass for a second use, the price will drop down to .28 per round after that. I priced it all from Midwayusa.com, using a .223/5.56military grade powder, mil spec primers and Remington brass. The basics nothing too fancy.
while you might find cheaper ammo online, they might be old and are usually underpowered with 55gr bullets.

RE: Reloading Vs Cheap Ammo
 

I can shoot 223 for 23cents a round using the Steel Cartridge shells.. They are probably not the most accurate, but for plinking they seemed to work fine.I use the Factory Ammo for hunting for more accuracy when I go to sight in.

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ive thought about reloading but i dont shoot enough to justify my initial cost to get set up. id like to reload the rounds for my glock but shooting reloads voids the warranty. I dont think that would be a good idea with the sheriff's department's gun.

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I don't reload to save money, rather an extension(progression) to my hobby/passion. It allows me to tailor my loads for gun and usage without comprimising perfromance. Ie; my cheap plinking loads produce results similar to my premium hunting loads, it gives me confidence to sit down and shoot good groups with all my loads. I shoot because I reload, but I reload and shoot b/cI love to hunt;). Reloading forcing me to shoot more which leads to more confidence through repitition. It's rewarding to harvest game with something you created, equally rewarding to see results on paper by your own ammo. Your limited by the bullets offered not by what manufacturers load, opens up the door to other "out of the norm" choices in all cartridges. More choice means better results = more return on investment.

Reloading requires some dedication though, if you only run through a few boxes a year the advantageswon't bevery clear. However if your the type that routinely shoots and has numerous rifles to pick from then it more then pays for itself and will keep you honed in your skills. Just like shooting reloading requires practice to be proficent, the more you load the better you'll be. Can always do it agroup withhunting or shootingbuddies to help lessen the investment costs. I own the equipment my buddies all own rifles and are welcome to use it as they please..we share in upgrade, mannual, equipment costs. Everyone is responsible for their own components & dies.Allows me to shoot and load other cartridges without having to buy them. WIN/WIN as I get to enjoy my hobby more and try stuff wih my time being the investment:D. Friendship extension, but you must have indivdiuals you can work with and who'll pay the bill when its time too. Coattail riders, sit/gab or those who need to drink when with others need not apply.

I have 2 girls they are little older now at 8 7 10 but still I do most of my reloading after they hit the rack. I often break it down in stages, case prep, priming, load reserachand crunching (powder and seating bullets). I do alot of case prep and priming in advance, then when its time to gear up for shooting I can concentrate on loading itself.

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I reloaded shotgun shells for years when I was a kid. Heck I learned to reload shotgun shells before I ever even shot at a clay target. My father had all the stuff to do it with, and set everything up for me.... showed me the process, told me to pay attention and get to it. Off I went. I enjoyed it and still do.

I got into reloading rifle rounds because somebody gave me a press and some of the related crap to do it with. What the hell..... before I knew it I'd dropped another $200 on dies, digital scales, digital calipers, reloading books, case trimming tools blah blah blah. I primarily shoot a 7mm-08, and have for better than a decade. Back then, you had about three ammo choices. So handloading was the bees knees, because there were several 7mm bullets available. Three years ago, I started loading Barnes TSX bullets in 120 grain and found them very accurate and they perform extremely well on game. Until 2008, there was no company loading TSX bullets in 7mm-08... federal now loads a 140 gr option. Another favorite bullet of mine is the Sierra Gameking, as well as the Hornady interlock SP. I've loaded everything from 100gr up to 162 gr in that gun with those two bullets.

I had a guy come by the gunshop I used to work at selling a WInchester 94 in 30/30 Ackley Improved. I'd only remotely even heard of Ackley Improved rounds at the time, but he had the dies, the gun with a Leupold Scope and a couple boxes of ammo.... I knew how to reload.. what the heck.. he only wanted $300 for it! I guess its been about 5 or 6 years now, and I've shot a PILE of deer with that gun. That was about the time I got into shooting does on crop damage permits, and I used that little tack driver a lot. Gun isn't as long as a yard stick, and LORD it shoots sweet!

Point here is that if you want to reload... do it. You'll learn a heck of a lot, and if you play at it enough you'll end up finding some loads that shoot better out of your gun and much more consistantly out of your gun than factory loads will. In the long run, you will save money, whether you are loading premium ammo or just cheap target loads. No matter what, your cheap target RELOADS will be leaps and bounds better than that $6/box crap you are buying now.

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Yes you can load a better round for a specific gun (tayloring your loads) and for less cost. Here is the big BUT....for me it has been another obsession. I started out loading for my 7mm mag and now load for 8 more cal. that I own (only buy .22 rounds). A buck here, a buck there and 25 years later I look at all my reloading stuff and it could fill a shelf or two at any outdoor store. Perhaps others are more disciplined to buy only what you need (I guess to start but it is hard to remember what I started with) but then you get trimmers, calipers, scales, micrometers, tumblers, more dies, manuals, moldsand more and more and more. Add it with all my bow, ML, and rifle equipment, add in all the waterfowl stuff, camping and canoeing equipmentand thank the heavens above and a wife that rather have me in the bush than in a bar, I have a room where I can escape to enjoy a hobby that has taken a lifetime to develop. My two boys are in their mid and late teens and I can remember many a time when it was only after the end of a long day spent cartering to everyone else (job of a dad never ends) that I was able to pursue the hobby. So there is much more to be considered than the price of a round. If you are only going to do it to save on the cost of a couple of boxes of rounds a year then it is not worth your while.

RE: Reloading Vs Cheap Ammo
 

First, let me differentiate here. Reloading consists of replacing the primer, powder and bullet in a cartridge case after it has been fired. Essentially, reloading involves the same tasks as reloading a muzzleloader you just fired. The only difference is that you are putting the power, new cap, and bullet into a cartridge case instead of into the barrel of your gun! On the other hand,if you have the equipment, you can buy brass, powder, primers and bullets and assemble custom-made cartridges. This is calledhandloading. Slightly different, as you produce a NEW round of ammo this way.

If you fire a round of factory ammo, then toss out the empty case, you are throwing awayabout 75% of the purchase priceof that round of ammo, regardless of how much it cost in the first place. To me, that is just too much of my initial investment to throw away. So I reload. How much it costs to do this depends on how much you spend on powder, primers and bullets. There are sources of military surplus, salvaged powders that are pretty inexpensive even today. For load development and target practice, you can also buy relatively inexpensive bullets as well. (For example, in almost every cartridge I reload, I found that I could use a Sierra bullet of a given weight, then switch to the same weight Nosler Partition. Usually,performance is generally close to identical, and the Nosler bullets, for hunting only, cost twice as much as the Sierras!!)

Another advantage is that using your loading tools, you can produce ammunition with features that you cannot buy already loaded. You can use bullets and powders to obtain ballistics and accuracy performance for which NO factory load exists. In additon, you may have, or may acquire, guns for which no factory ammo exists at all. If you are daring and resourceful, like the Lone Ranger, you can use your tools to make ammo for such critters. For example, I have an old German 8X60RS double rifle. I make ammo for it, as there is none still in production for it anywhere in the world, not even in Deutschland. When I see a gun I like, the fact that it is chambered for some oddball cartridge that is not available anywheredoes not concern me at all. Because it is mostprobable that I can whip up some cartridges that I can use in it. Using George Nonte's Home Guide of Cartridge Conversions or Cartridges of the World, I get the critical dimenstions and loading information so I can figure out what brass I need for modification, the powder and bullet specs, & which of my extensive collection of tools will let me make the stuff! (I will not keep any gun I cannot shoot! I am a shooter, NOT a collector!!)

I guess I really enjoy reloading and making special ammunition. It is, however, something you need to enjoy -or it can become just tiresome work. If you would not enjoy being able to do these things, just buy your ammo.

RE: Reloading Vs Cheap Ammo
 

(It is, however, something you need to enjoy -or it can become just tiresome work. If you would not enjoy being able to do these things, just buy your ammo.)
eldeguello

Best advice given!!!!

RE: Reloading Vs Cheap Ammo
 

Hello everyone, I have a question to anyone that might tell me how to reload speer shotshells for a .357 mag. i know how to reload bullets, my dad passed away and i have all his reload equitment and my son and i shoot s&w .357 and my dad did the reloading for the shotshell, i have all is empty cases and powder , just don't know how to load them, small game season is about to hit , so i need to get my butt moving and start loading , any one with the know how i would be greatful Thanks Mike, my email is [email protected] thanks again [8D]