HEAD0001

IMO cost is not a reason to reload. I reload for more shooting precision and the joy of reloading. I would guesstimate that the vast majority of hunters do not save any money when reloading. The majority of shooters just do not shoot enough to recoup the costs of getting started into reloading.

IMO you need to rethink the amount of shooting that you definitely will do. And whether you need, and want the extra precision. And whether you are willing to spend the time, effort, and money to get started. After you make these decisions then whether you do reload will become an easy answer. Tom.

eldeguello

Of course it depends on the cost of thebullets you choose to use. But when you toss out a cartridge case, that represents 75% of the price of that round of ammo

Powerfisher

We are kinda in the same boat. I just up graded my ancient Savage 110 E to a NIB Remington 700 in a 30.06
I just recently (8 months ago)started to reload and I am stoked. I bought the Lee Breech Lock Challenger Reload kit. A couple of the accesories are sub par but for the most part, I like it. Its a single stage press. The whole kit cost about $120.00 with tax. I got it at Cabelas. It comes with a powder measure (barely adequate), hand primer w/shell holders (sub par), case lube, powder trickler, and a few more odds and ends. It does have allthe basic tools needed to get started. (except, powder, primers, cases and bullets.) The only thing that was disappointing was the hand primer. It broke after only 40 primers. Right now its hard to find a lot of the components needed for reloading. Primers are basily non-existant. Powder is hard to find as well as bullets and cases but it is out there you just have to find a way to get them. I go to the local gun shows, stake a claim at 0400 and load up my wagon. By loading your own, there are many benefits. Accuracy is definatly one of them. My first 30.06 rounds were more consistant than any factory load, premium or otherwise. Cost is another. By reloading you will drop the cost of most ammo. Once you get in the smaller rounds, the margin is not that much but it is still an improvement. I did the same thing when I started to flyfish. I dumped a ton of cash on all the fly tying gear and that was 9 years ago and I havent bought a fly since. The same goes with reloading. Have fun!

Briman

Breakdown of what my 30-06 match loads cost in today's components assuming that you have once fired brass:

Box of 158 gr Sierra Match Kings ~$29
1 lb of IMR 4064 ~$22
100 Primers $4
Total= $55/100
For hunting I use Sierra Game Kings which cost about the same as SMKs.

FWIW, Federal Gold Medal Match Ammo was selling for around $1/round a few years ago, back then it was costing me about $45/100 to reload same quality loads.

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

Powerfisher

I shoot once a week. 20 or so rounds out of my T/C Omega, 20 or so out of my Traditions Hawken, 20 or so out of my 30.06, and the same with my .45 and a TON of .22 from my revolver and rifle. I spend a minimum of 5 hours at the range a week. I rarely take my other firearms out to play. So, I need to load an average of 40 rounds a week between my .45 and 30.06. 160 rounds a month, 1920 rounds a year. Thats just for two guns. I dont reload shotgun shells...yet. Reloading is time consuming and its really therapy for me. I have no problem taking a few hours handloading a box of ammo, or a dozen flys, or reading my Lyman Reloading Bible......again. (I always learn somthing new every time I go through it.) Your right though drifter, it depends on a few variables. Time, money and patients. My biggest challenge is time. I have a 10 year old boy and he is in sports and I coach. I usually go to the Man Cave around 9 or 10pm and put in my time on the bench or vice. I have left a fly in the vise fordays before I got time to get back to it. Not with reloading though. Once I start, I finish and then start the prep for the next batch.

Briman

Or not....

We all know about the viscious cycle:

Reloading makes ammo cheaper therefore more ammo is shot up.
Since you are 'saving' money with every shot, you can easily rationalize to yourself that if you bought more reloading tools, they will 'pay for themselves'


Really the only place where I see that there may possibly be savings is where you are cranking out thousands of rounds of identical ammo per year for for some sort of competitive discipline- trap, IDPA/IPSC, High Power Rifle. Reloading on a single stage press is very inefficient cost and timewise, but the trade off is that you can make very accurate ammo.

anything elsesort of falls into the same mindset as when your wife comes home from shopping and says that she 'saved' your family $300on great sales, but in reality spent $500.

Powerfisher

I reload cuz I like to. The Lee single stage press kit was the best way for me to get started and I really dont mind it. I reload all my rounds in stages. I totally complete one before I start the next stage. Buying ammo off the shelf here in CA is nearly impossible. Even when I go to Nevada, if ammo or reloading suppliesare in stock, its regulated in most stores. Cabelas, Scheels, Sportsmans Wearhouse and all the gun shops are all regulating what and how much you can buy. Even .22can behard to find around here at times. For mereloading isnot really about saving money, its about shooting what and when I want. Its theraputic as well. A few hours at the press washes a horrible day away. One day I will get a better press im sure. I am not one for bells and whistles. Thats why I hung onto my Savage for so long.One ofthe reasons I would buy a multi stage press would be so I dont have to change dies as often.Single stage for myrifles where accuracy counts and the multi stage to pump out my hand gun rounds.If I didnt roll my own I wouldnt be able to shoot anything but my BP rifles and my .22s