Cost of reloading vs factory loads.

[Mark K]

I am wondering, based upon a comment made by another member, DirtclodAZ who said "
Shoot factory loads.I hand loaded for 40yrs. Can,t match Factory loads.
Light loads for children.(Hand load) Factory for Men.
Send a couple more slugs,It shows you care!! "

Is it still worth our time to reload ammo or is it better to buy off of the shelf. I have reloaded a few thousand rounds and assisted in countless loads growing up. At one time, I was reloading for my picky 22-250 which I dislike. You pretty much had to load for it because it was a pain in the ass.

Also, I went out in the garage and dug through the old ammo boxes of ammo from the old man. I found a buttload of 30-06 spg and .308. all ball so far as I can tell. Can I use this ammo to practice and get me in the ballpark and fine tune with higher end loads?

 

[rwc101]

It definitely is for me with my 270 WSM. Source some components and use a cost calculator like this https://www.dillonprecision.com/reloading-cost-calculator.html

The ball ammo might work for getting your scope on paper and be good for practicing technique.

 

[jryoung]

I hand load for some rifles and use factory for others. Cost (monetary) isn't a factor in my decisions, it's performance + time (which is a cost).

My 7RM would shoot anything, but my last few boxes of factory haven't performed like they use to so I'll work up another load over the winter.

 

[Mallardsx2]

I reload my 30-06 shells for $12/box.

There is HUGE savings on my 300 WSM loads for sure. But I never calculated it.

To buy ammo of the same quality it would be about $30-$40/box.

So There is some savings.

I use 4064 for all of my rifles so there is some savings there since I buy powder in bulk and primers in bulk and bullets in bulk.

To each their own.

I replied to another post with the same question the following:

Best advice I can give you is to find one powder and even a bullet that works in all of your rifles. That way you can buy it in bulk and save money. Others may disagree but the way I look at it is that you will be fine tuning with the powder anyhow. Why not use something across the board.

IMR 4064 all the way. It is a VERY versatile powder that can be used in a TON of different rifles and loads....and I mean a TON!

Most people buy 8 different powders and 25 different bullets and WASTE a ton of money and have crap lying all over their bench...

If you can stick with one powder and 1 bullet and make them all work by fine tuning to each of your rifles you will save money and pay for your investment.

Also, DO you need a rifle that shoots 1/2" groups at 100 yards or will 1" groups work?

Ask yourself that before you waste a ton of time and money.

ME, a sub- 1" group at 100 yards will suffice for ALL of my hunting applications. I consider it the benchmark as I dont shoot past 400 yards for anything anyhow.

Others will 100% disagree but others have spent a fortune on supplies over the years and never saved a dime in the long run.

I love shooting. But I love my money more than .25" 100 yard groups.

For the record I mix my brass and re-size to a .003 setback for headspace dimensions every time on all of my rifles. I achieve the 100 yards accuracy stated above and never have failure to feed issues.

I also buy my bullets in bulk (I hand cast and posder coat all of my pistol bullets) and powder in 8 pound jugs. I also stick with the same brand of primer when possible and buy those in bulk as well.

Almost all of my shotgun loads use the same powder/Primer with the exception of my .410 and I use bulk pistol powder for it with the same primer I use for my shotgun shells..(I make my own shot so I save costs there big time)

If I could hand cost .30 caliber bullets that preformed well I would use those for my deer rifles as well but I just cant get the consistency to acheive those sub 1" groups at 100 yards and they wont handle the higher velocity....YET...(Working on this with some new coper plating technology...lol)

 

[Fsmith]

My wife just asked yesterday “when does this saving us money come in?”

 

[rwc101]

My wife just asked yesterday “when does this saving us money come in?”

Very true. I reload for about a third the cost but end up shooting five times as much.

 

[MThuntr]

Not sure you actually save money because once you start reloading you inevitably go down rabbit holes and then a new powder hits the market so you give it a try and then you decide to toss it because the first powder was good then you go down another rabbit hole with a new tool or process. Before you know it you're running a progressive press because it saves you time...thousands of dollars in dies, presses, etc if you get addicted to it.

I can beat factory loads every time in accuracy and cost if I ignore the base cost of the tools. If you're happy with some bluebox Federal in a 308 and shoot 1 or 2 boxes a year I don't think you're ever going to save money by trying to reload. If you shoot 1/2 dozen or better rifles and burn piles of ammo then the economy of scale kicks in. Of course shooting more costs you money so almost all savings are imaginary. What you do get is ammo specifically for your rifle or possibly ammo that doesn't exist from the factory.

 

[m77hunter]

I know I'm not saving anything! I really enjoy reloading, the pride and confidence that comes from a well developed load is something I can't get from factory ammo. I do it for the option to load the exact bullet, at the exact velocity that I want.

I don't think there is much of a cost savings for the average hunter, they don't shoot enough rounds per year to see a cost benefit.

 

[Mallardsx2]

My wife just asked yesterday “when does this saving us money come in?”

Best I can tell is that if I save $15/box. I would need to reload about 33 boxes to break even. If I factor in other die sets for different calibers I shoot it probably comes down a lot faster because at that point all I need is the dies. Some calibers I can pay for the dies after reloading 2-4 boxes of shells.

For the average Joe reloading isnt cost effective. I mean most people dont shoot 33 boxes of shells in a lifetime.

 

[Mallardsx2]

Not sure you actually save money because once you start reloading you inevitably go down rabbit holes and then a new powder hits the market so you give it a try and then you decide to toss it because the first powder was good then you go down another rabbit hole with a new tool or process. Before you know it you're running a progressive press because it saves you time...thousands of dollars in dies, presses, etc if you get addicted to it.

I can beat factory loads every time in accuracy and cost if I ignore the base cost of the tools. If you're happy with some bluebox Federal in a 308 and shoot 1 or 2 boxes a year I don't think you're ever going to save money by trying to reload. If you shoot 1/2 dozen or better rifles and burn piles of ammo then the economy of scale kicks in. Of course shooting more costs you money so almost all savings are imaginary. What you do get is ammo specifically for your rifle or possibly ammo that doesn't exist from the factory.

This is why I just stick to one powder that works in all my rifles. lol The rabbit hole effect. I like that. Very true for a lot of guys.

 

[BuzzH]

I don't know really about cost savings, but I load 500+ rounds a year. I enjoy it and can use whatever components I want, not what a bean counter wants me to shoot.

 

[bluespruce]

My hunting reloads were running around $0.75 per round last time I added it up. Equivalent load in factory form is $2.00+. I started reloading as my .30-06 just doesn't seem to like factory loads (I have yet to find one that shoots as well as my handloads). The cost savings do add up if you shoot several boxes of those a year.
Even for .223 "blasting" ammo, I can save a few cents per round and get a more accurate round to boot.

All that said, the most variable and potentially expensive cost of handloading is your time. With a wife and kid, I find myself having less free time as of late (okay, no free time) so I'm simply loading less and less.

 

[golfer]

I think I totaled my cost for shooting a 257 weatherby and 110 accubonds. I’m not sure how to factor in brass cause you get multiple firings per case, but I think $70 gets me 100 loaded rounds I’m not sure what the lowered price is for loaded ammo from weatherby is now but it used to be $74.99/20.

 

[Fsmith]

Best I can tell is that if I save $15/box. I would need to reload about 33 boxes to break even. If I factor in other die sets for different calibers I shoot it probably comes down a lot faster because at that point all I need is the dies. Some calibers I can pay for the dies after reloading 2-4 boxes of shells.

For the average Joe reloading isnt cost effective. I mean most people dont shoot 33 boxes of shells in a lifetime.

.257 wby mag is a prime example of paying for tooling quickly!

 

[JLS]

I am loading what I feel are the absolute best hunting bullets available, for a cost of about a buck a round. I could possibly buy ammo cheaper, but I don't care. I never have to worry about finding ammo, because it's already loaded. I grab it and go.

 

[Mallardsx2]

For sure there are a ton of different calibers that you can pay for dies quickly.

Especially if you are into pistols and cast your own bullets. I paid for my lee-loadmaster very quickly. $2.50/box for my 9mm loads.

Most of us didn't grow up with an unlimited pile of beans. So I'll count mine at the end of each day.

 

[Ben Lamb]

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$66 for 5, or $70 for 50 (brass amortized out after 5 loadings).

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$90 for 20, or $60 for 50 (Brass amortized out after about 5 loadings as well)

I'll stick to reloading.

 

[Bluejeep]

Just depends on how far down the rabbit hole you go. Keep a simple setup with a single stage press, balance beam scale all done on the garage workbench, no problem you'll save money.

BUT, go with a Forester coax single stage for the precision guns, then a progressive for the pistol, then another progressive for the "blasting" rifles, then an auto powder trickler, then the electric brass prep station, competition series dies, and while youre at it might as well load shotgun shells also, ect, ect, and you may never recoup your money.

And all that fancy reloading stuff is a gateway drug to wanting better guns, which then leads to wanting better/different reloading tools and components.

 

[Ben Lamb]

Just depends on how far down the rabbit hole you go. Keep a simple setup with a single stage press, balance beam scale all done on the garage workbench, no problem you'll save money.

BUT, go with a Forester coax single stage for the precision guns, then a progressive for the pistol, then another progressive for the "blasting" rifles, then an auto powder trickler, then the electric brass prep station, competition series dies, and while youre at it might as well load shotgun shells also, ect, ect, and you may never recoup your money.

And all that fancy reloading stuff is a gateway drug to wanting better guns, which then leads to wanting better/different reloading tools and components.

I need a progressive for the pistolas. Loading 1000 rounds on a single stage is fine when it's -20 in February, but other than that, it's the pits.

 

[Mark K]

I have boat loads of brass and bullets from the old man. I have about 20 pounds of Herters 101 which has been stored in the dark and in a dry place. The stuff is damned near as old as I am. I figure that I can work up some loads with that and not break the bank. Since I have all of the reloading stuff except the scale which I suspect my brother used for dope years back, I will not be too far into it money wise until I run out.