COST EFFECTIVENESS OF RELOADING

[jtull01]

Hi Folks,
So after a trip to the gun show this past weekend, I saw a number of nice lever action 30-30's. At very competitive prices. But at a $1.00 or so a cartridge, it is cost prohibitive to shoot.
For that matter .357 averaged about .40 cents a round.
So I'd rather get the .357 lever gun, if I could find one for a decent price.
Now, looking into reloading; bar the purchase of the equipment, is it cost effective to reload, or load your own .357 ammunition?
Can it be done and use the same load for a rifle and a revolver?
Is our ammunition going to make cobwebs grow in our guns?
Is there a force trying to unreasonably drive up the cost of ammunition so only criminals will be able to afford it?
Thanks for your comments

 

[Nightwalker65]

IMHO it's very cost effective to reload your own ammo......I've only been reloading for a short time, but I've already noticed that I can duplicate a premium load(using published data) for about half the price of Winchester white box.......definitely worth it..............just my

 

[G_Stines]

Hi Folks,
So after a trip to the gun show this past weekend, I saw a number of nice lever action 30-30's. At very competitive prices. But at a $1.00 or so a cartridge, it is cost prohibitive to shoot.
For that matter .357 averaged about .40 cents a round.
So I'd rather get the .357 lever gun, if I could find one for a decent price.
Now, looking into reloading; bar the purchase of the equipment, is it cost effective to reload, or load your own .357 ammunition?
Can it be done and use the same load for a rifle and a revolver?
Is our ammunition going to make cobwebs grow in our guns?
Is there a force trying to unreasonably drive up the cost of ammunition so only criminals will be able to afford it?
Thanks for your comments

I reload my .357 lever gun, and handgun for around .08c a round with cast bullets, and around .18c with jacketed.. Can I use the rounds in either gun? yup. But I usually load my rifle rounds a little higher, so I don't because of the recoil it would cause when I would shoot my handgun. But definitely possible. Cobwebs shouldn't grow in guns. Not if they get used enough.

Well, those forces also argue that by driving up prices will prevent criminals from possessing it also. Whose to say criminals won't start reloading?

PS. I can reload 30-30 rounds for a comparable price that I reload my .357s.

 

[shootinghoosier]

Handloading will significantly save you money after your initial investment in the equipment. Some people might say that reloading takes too long and their time is worth more than what they save, but I say that's BS...reloading is a great hobby in and of itself. I look forward to my time at the reloading bench because it's something to focus on besides the economy, Obama gaffes, etc., etc. and helps me clear my mind. Going out to shoot my reloads is just icing on the cake.

However, if you are not willing to safely learn how to reload, allocate plenty of time to reload your shells AND concentrate on what you're doing, you're only kidding yourself that you'll be able to save money because: 1) you'll probably find yourself at Walmart buying bullets or 2) you'll make a mistake and blow up your gun, or hurt yourself.

 

[ckcollins2003]

As others have said, reloading does save cost. They haven't mentioned that since you will be starting out, there is a large sum of money invested in all of the equipment. For example, I reload .308 rounds (also $1.00 a round) for roughly $0.26 a round. However with the initial cost of the equipment I didn't start to save money until after I had already shot 350 rounds. I also don't value my time at the press since I just do it when I have nothing else to do. I enjoy reloading on my down time and am very proud of the groups I shoot with my reloads.

If you look at reloading as work and value your time at a cost you probably won't find it's worth it. It takes around 2 hours for me to reload 100 rounds of .308 on a single stage press. If I were to value my time at $10.00/hr I'd actually not be saving much money compared to buying Winchester white box ammo from Walmart.

It is what it is. You can make match grade ammo at a fraction of the cost from the retailers as long as you don't mind spending the time to do it. You also have to shoot a lot in order to see the savings, which in turn means spending more money out of pocket but saving more in the long run compared to buying all of those rounds.

 

[zenbruno]

I've never put pen to paper to determine if I'm saving money (though, I suspect I'm saving a little), but hand loading for me is enjoyable, and it's an extension of my love of target shooting. I like the control and understanding of the process that I get from assembling my own cartridges. And nothing feels better out at the range than shooting well with ammunition that you made.

Along with the possible cost effectiveness of reloading, those are just a few other points that may or may not appeal to you, and that may or may not be worth investing in for their own merit.

 

[shooter1054]

I look at it this way as well, I take pride in my loads. When I take a deer with a round that I have loaded, I value that deer more than I would shooting factory ammo. Or when I'm at the range, when I shoot a tight group, there is a little more pride in that not only did I shoot well, but I loaded well too. Also for the rounds I reload, the savings is significant. 300wsm cheap factory is about $1.50 a round. I can load for about $0.50 a round.I also load 243, 357, 44 mag, 40S&W 45acp. and soon 338.

 

[G_Stines]

Here's what I have to say about the value of time in this chart:
https://skydrive.live.com/P.mvc#!/view.aspx?cid=55D1D7BCDD0117FF&resid=55D1D7BCDD0117FF!184

I cooked that up when I was thinking about the actual value of time. The days are based off of a 365 day year, then took that and divided that by the 24 hours of the day, and then down to the minute of the day. So if you spend two hours reloading, you can see how much of your time you "spent" and whether it (combined with your x per round cost) is really worth your time. Hope you like it and that the people who feel their time is worth more get a little wake up.

Ps. That link should work, but if it doesn't for some reason, someone send me a PM, its on my online backup but that one should be publicly viewable.

 

[U.S. Patriot]

I'm currently reloading 9mm, and I'm saving roughly $6 per 50 rounds. May not seem like a lot but that adds up, especialy if you shoot a lot. I will eventualy be reloading .223 as well as .357 magnum.

 

[slipnotz]

The cost to reload, will depend on the equipment you use and the components used. I figured one time, that I needed to reload 2500 pistol rounds to cover the cost of the equipment. After that you are saving money if you don't count your time. That is always the big discusion. I can reload pistol rounds for around .10 a round with lead bullets. Rifle rounds for the .10 if using lead bullets. Rifle with premium bullets will run around .50 a round. If you plan on shooting over 2500 rounds, start reloading.

 

[Chance]

Time only counts if you are getting paid for it

I have reloaded ammo for almost 30 years. It definitely is a money saver.

You "time" only has value if you would otherwise be doing something for which someone else is paying you.

 

[U.S. Patriot]

It just took me 1.5 hours to charge, load, and crimp 50 rounds. Add the time it takes to de-prime and prime 50 cases, add about another 1/2 hour. So roughly 2 hours to reload 50 rounds. That is using single stage press. What else could I have done besides being bored, time well spent.

 

[buford t justice]

I reload for several reasons, accuracy mainly but also because I don't like paying $40 to $50 a box for 338 win mag.

 

[jtull01]

Hi Folks,
I truly appreciate your advice, input and recommendations. Aszerigan also kindly contacted me to to take one of his courses. From what I have read here on the Board, they are top notch.
I'd like to see first hand an avid operating home reloader/loader in operation. I'd prefer it in town where I live so I can ask a million questions. Seeing it first hand would help me make a decision on whether I can handle the process.
Please let me know where you are buying very competitive brass, bullets, and powder. I'd probably load .357, perhaps 30-06, and if it can be done for .40 a round, 30-30.

All but two of my pistols are 9mm, does it pay to load 9MM? I usually buy bulk ammo in this caliber and try to keep it around the range of .20 cents a piece.

Again thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Jeff

 

[Leo]

Reloading .357 magnum saves a lot of money fast. It only costs about a penny more to reload .357 as it does to reload .38 jacketed bullet rounds. Since .357 is well over $7 per box more when you buy it new, all those savings stack up pretty fast.

 

[billybob44]

Another Look at it..

jtull, so far, from what I have read, all of these are good points.
If you remember right, around three years ago prices+availability of a large amount of various calibers, went "Through the Roof".--I believe this was when the current administration took over in Washington, DC.???
If you are an avid hand loader these trends do not hit so hard, as to your acess to shooting. As a non-hand loader people had a hard time buying a BOX of .38 Spl., or .380acp. As an avid hand loader, I was looking to buy primers for less than $35.00 per K.
Now, keep in mind that most hand loaders keep at least 5 to 10K primers in reserve, so we could still shoot during those times, our stock just went a little low.
If you also value your Independence to the ups+downs of the current political climate, as to your sport AND defense of your homestead, through acess to ammo, you will see that being to make your own loads is a "No Brainier".

As the title said: Just another look at it...Bill.

 

[msd]

I'm sure theres several out there like me.
Started out to save money by reloading.
Ended up enjoying reloading so much, price is not of concern.
What started out to cut costs for my hobby, became a hobby within a hobby.

 

[88E30M50]

Reloading is definitely a money saver. I can do .380 for a bit under $5 per 50 and 9mm for around $6 to $7 a box. Another benefit was when .380 was impossible to find, I was able to load and shoot as much as I wanted at a fraction of the cost when you could find it. I now load .45, 9mm, .380, 7.62x54R, 8mm Mauser and .223. The benefits of each caliber differ, but all are less expensive than commercial.

Aside from the cost savings, there is a lot of satisfaction in finding a load that works well with a particular rifle or pistol. I'm in the process of trying different powders and loads to see what works best in my short barreled 1911. A lot of folks are reluctant to hand load their SD ammo because of a fear of being labeled negatively if they ever get into a shooting, but my belief is that if hand loading lets you practice with your carry load more, it reduces the chance of hitting an innocent bystander. I would much rather answer to shooting an attacker with my own ammo than answer to shooting a bystander with ammo that I was unfamiliar with because I could only afford to fire a handful of rounds in practice. Hand loading gives you the option of developing a good, accurate round for SD, then practicing 4 times as much for the same money.

There's lots of win in reloading.

 

[kludge]

Depending on the bullets, you can save a TON of money reloading .357 magnum.

Roughly $28 for 100 rounds using XTP bullets. For lead bullets it's about $18 for 100 rounds. (Assuming 5x loaded on the brass)

Hunting ammo with XTP's can go for $20-$25 for 25 rounds, so I save ~65%.

 

[chandler10r1]

In the very long run, I believe reloading will save money. But for immediate cost effectiveness it is not practical. Reloading is a fun hobby, but good equipment is very expensive. Start up will cost you a lot of "cash on the barrel head".