Want to start reloading

[Ben Lamb]

Gotta amortize those cases out for 5 or so firings. That mentally helps take the sting out of it.

View reloading as another hobby, not so much as just a component to hunting. There's enough fun gear to go down a rabbit hole and never return, I say as another $150 worth of bullet feeder dies & tubes heads to the house.

By and large, yes, your price per cartridge will decrease. You'll shoot more, you'll stockpile more & you'll obsess over your count so you don't get too low of 9mm and have to reload 700 in one sitting.

For rifles, you get to fine tune those loads, and really get to know your rifle well. As a hunter, shooter and hobbyist, this helps you immensely over picking up a few boxes of something that shoots ok.

And I'm with @shrapnel, but I've got some guns where 5 loaded rounds runs about $80. I can but 20 pieces of brass for $150, and those will last a lifetime. Lead bullets are cheap, and cheaper if you cast. You can save significantly on the cost per cartridge, but I gotta agree with @Don Fischer too that you'll shoot a helluva lot more.

RCBS Rock Chucker kit with a case trimmer, tumbler & a case prep tool, along with your bullets, brass, powder & primer, but that amortizes out well, too.

 

[mrklean]

I just got into reloading last month, i had been thinking about it for years going back and forth and finally decided to pull the trigger. I got a deal of a lifetime basically brand new RCBS Rock Chucker 2 press, trimmer, power dispenser, beam scale, 4 sets of dies and a bunch of brass for $150. Sold the brass and dies i didnt need ended up making a few $$. The thing i am struggling with now is finding powder and bullets, i have a bunch of brass ive saved over the years and found some primers a few weeks ago. I figure when the hoarders and gougers stop buying all the components to resell on Gun Broker the average guy will be able to enjoy them again.

 

[MarvB]

I'm not gonna start an argument but this is a prime example of Where's the components...... though I wouldn't complain if this is my camp either.

Lol...got to factor the home fire insurance into that reloading cost...

 

[Durango Mike]

I don’t know about anyone else, but I don’t load for accuracy, I load for economy. Today’s factory ammunition has never been better. Most guns and ammunition you buy in a store will shoot better than the buyer can shoot.

If you don’t shoot a lot, just buy the ammo and enjoy your time not reloading, otherwise you may end up like this...

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I started reloading in college dorm room with a Lee set up for 222 and 6MM rem, about 55 years ago so you do not need to be fancy. I found the biggest savings used to be in straight wall pistol cases and small gauge shotshells. Rifle never was about saving $ as I shot only 3-4000 centerfire rounds a year compared to 30-40,000 shotgun and the same for pistol when I was competing. Most normal times I shot factory match ammo in service rifle matches and it was hard to equal accuracy and ease of feeding in an M1A or Garand. I can load a 45ACP today with lead bullets for about 15 cents a round (even normal prices were 2x that), a 28 ga shotshell for 20 cents or $5 a box versus retail $10. A Dillon press loads 600 rounds an hour so the cost savings is material and not much wasted time. Obviously current conditions suggest rolling your own is advantageous IF you can find components.

 

[MO Betta]

Trying to decide if it is worth getting into reloading. I priced out all the components to make 50 rounds and it was $150 when i pay about $100 for 50 factory rounds. I know with everything going on the prices are out of wack but is it normal to pay more for reloading your own rounds rather than factory. I also know you will get better accuracy with reloads. I guess what i am asking is the increase in price worth it to you guys for better accuracy? I have a 300 win mag, 257 roberts and a 6.5 PRC that i would load for. Here is what i found for prices to reload the 300 WIN mag.

$78 Cases (Nosler cases)
$51 Bullets (Nosler accubonds)
$6 Primers ($12 for 100 Large Magnum)
$15 Powder ( $30 Hodgdon MIR 7828 SCC 1 Pound)

I don't think your accubonds are running higher than normal (around a buck a bullet seems right for those), but the primer prices you have listed definitely are. $30-40ish for 1k before this current madness, I've been getting them for around 50 per k right now. Powder is about spot on.

Factor in getting to reuse those Nosler cases a minimum of 3 times, takes the sting out of it.

Reloading can save money (especially if you're already a volume shooter), but a better argument is that it lets you tailor loads to your rifle. If you don't want to spend the time or energy to do it, then it might not be the path you want to go down.

As an aside - reloaders like @shrapnel aren't a factor in situations like the current one, guys with component stashes like that stock up when times are good.

 

[coleslaw]

Reloading never saved me a dime but that's not why I started doing it. Perhaps someday after I reload my 100,000th round I'll come out even, but then again I'm sure I'll find some new tool or some new powder or bullet to tinker with.
Cost be damned, I'd still recommend reloading to anybody willing to do it. If there's one piece of advice for you, that is to get yourself a good chronograph or doppler. What the books publish and what your rifle and brass actually shoots in terms of velocity are usually completely different. Also, the rabbit hole of variables seem to be infinite and it can make your head spin.

 

[std7mag]

One thing not yet mentioned.
The satisfaction or sense of pride you get after a sucessful hunt, good day at the range, time plinking with the kids you get from reloading your own.

 

[Pmacc60]

I don’t know about anyone else, but I don’t load for accuracy, I load for economy. Today’s factory ammunition has never been better. Most guns and ammunition you buy in a store will shoot better than the buyer can shoot.

If you don’t shoot a lot, just buy the ammo and enjoy your time not reloading, otherwise you may end up like this...

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Lol , I’m going to show these picture to my wife , she has been complaining that I have too much stuff for reloading. You make me look like a beginner! Awesome collection, most impressive.

 

[Caseknife]

Yes, cost per round is 30-50% of factory, but you definitely shoot more, which improves your shooting skills BTW. Working up loads for a particular rifle, I will load and shoot upwards of a 100 rounds until I get what I am looking for accuracy wise, different powders, bullets, seating length, etc. It is very satisfying to kill your game animals with ammo that you have loaded and matched to your rifle. That being said, do as others have said, get a couple reloading books read them cover to cover and start saving brass from your rifle so you don't have to purchase brass. Look for deals on equipment when it comes available and then start buying components.

 

[Don Fischer]

Ok. Saving money handloading. Shoot only two gun's One something like a 38 spec and maybe a 308, I use a 308! Now get a Lee loader for each Break into someone house and steal a bunch of primer's and powder and get a mold for 30 cal and 38 cal bullet's. Collect free lead anywhere you can, steal it if need be! I have a load for my 30-06 that use's a 180gr cast bullet with 13.0 grs Red Dot and my primer's are really really old which means didn't cost much! Come to think of it, my can of Red Dot is probably from the 1950's, metal 12# can I got from a close friend when he passed. He got it from his dad when he passed! I have about 30k primer's, mostly Herter primer's, when did they go under? Then you'll be saving money if you use old military case's! And don't buy anymore stupid toy's designed to make money for the guy selling them! Know why people that own company's making tools and supply's save money on reloading They don't pay for tools and supply's! But the fact is if i had it to do over again, I'd still reload!

 

[coloradoguy]

I have to interject on money saved. I see reloading as a hobby and not a business. I don't include hobby cost into my cost to produce ammo. I load match grade ammo at core-lokt prices. I only consider Price per piece for Primer, Powder, Brass and Bullet. Whatever time you don't spend reloading, is probably time that you are getting rid your excess funds elsewhere. Money not spent on equipment is probably gonna be spent on less productive stuff, Reloading equip is an investment in my opinion. Its an investment into equipment, some increased ballistics knowledge, patience, details, research, quality and quantity. Just my 2cents. But right now is an awful time to get started. I agree with some other replies to scavenge on the classifieds and pawnshops for books, presses and tools. By the time we start to see Primers, Powders, Bullets and Brass back on the shelves, odds are you'll have the equipment and a better handle than buying it all and taking a hurried stab at reloading. Components will be the most frustrating items to acquire for quite some time.

 

[44hunter45]

Someone is going to have a time dealing with all of that when you go to that great reloading room in the sky.

@shrapnel
I could do that.....

Will work for components

 

[Ben Lamb]

Lol , I’m going to show these picture to my wife , she has been complaining that I have too much stuff for reloading. You make me look like a beginner! Awesome collection, most impressive.

I strive to have that kind of a reloading room.

 

[mtmuley]

As an aside - reloaders like @shrapnel aren't a factor in situations like the current one, guys with component stashes like that stock up when times are good.

Exactly. But if you have more components than another guy, you get labeled a hoarder. mtmuley

 

[Ben Lamb]

Exactly. But if you have more components than another guy, you get labeled a hoarder. mtmuley

Haters gonna hate.

My stockpile isn't as good as a lot of folks, but it just inspires me to do better at procurement.

 

[SD_Prairie_Goat]

Just getting back to the original question, when I started reloaded, prior to the great shortages of 2020, I found that I was able to reload premium rounds for the cost of budget rounds.

I shoot a 308, so I could basically reproduce a $40-50 box for the price of a $15-20 box.


Now with how everything is going, I think it will be closer to a wash, if you can get the supplies right now.....

 

[buffybr]

I don't huh? Been doing it over 50 yrs now!

I started reloading in 1967 when I bought my first centerfire rifle, a .30-06. I started reloading shotgun and pistols in 1970 when I bought my first shotgun and centerfire pistols. I bought most of the reloading equipment that I still use today in the '70s and '80s.

Most of my rifles, pistols, and shotguns have rarely, if ever, shot factory shells. I have pistols chambered in 9 mm, .38 spl/.357, .44 spl/mag, and .45 acp. I almost exclusively shoot my cast bullets in them. My major source of lead I dig out of the range, and the smelting cost is offset by selling the copper jackets, so my pistol bullet costs are essentially zero, unless I add a gas check to the magnum bullets which add $0.02 per bullet.
Pistol primers are $30/1000 or $0.03 ea
Powder for my standard pistols is Clays Universal at $150/8#. At an average of 5 grains/cartridge is $0.013/shell.
So my reloads for my 9 mm, .38 spl, .44 spl, and .45 acp pistols is $0.03 + 0.013 = $0.043 ea x 50/box = $2.15/box.
The additional powder for my .357 and .44 magnums is $0.05 and $0.06 + the $0.02 gas check makes them $0.07 and $0.08 ea x 50/box = .357 mag @ $3.50/box and .44 mag @ $4/box.

Several years ago I bought a Weatherby Vanguard rifle in .223. To start reloading it I only had to buy a set of RCBS dies for $35. Like most of my other reloading, I buy my components in lots of 1,000 and powder in 8# kegs.
So to load for my .223 my costs are:
Bullet, Rem 55 grain FMJBT Blems @ $119/1000 = $0.12 ea
Primer, Federal 205 SR @ $30/1000 = 0.03
Powder, Hodgen CFE 223 @ $161/8#, 27.4 gr/shot = 0.08
Case, range pickups = 0.00
Total cost/round to reload = $0.23 ea compared to Hornady 55 gr FMJBT factory loads @ $1.20 ea IF YOU CAN FIND THEM!

So factory rounds cost $0.97 each more than my reloads.

Divide the $35 cost of my RCBS .223 dies by $0.97 and it only takes 36 reloads to break even on the cost of my extra reloading equipment for this cartridge.

Over my shotgun shooting career, I've shot somewhere in the vicinity of 300,000 shells at Trap and Skeet. Figure a 40 year average of $5/box of 25 shells(12, 20, 28, and .410):
300,000/25 x $5 = $60,000
I have four Hornady 366 progressive shotshell reloaders that I bought in the '80s for less than $200 each. Even at today's cost of over $500 each, my shotshell reloaders more than paid for themselves many years ago.

Our range sells 12 and 20 gauge shotshells for $6/box of 25
My costs to reload 12 or 20 gauge shotshells are:
Shell or hull, range pickups (I have thousands of once fired AAs) = $0.00
Primer, Fiocchi 616 @ $25/1000= 0.025
Powder, 700X @ $133/8# 15.2gr/shell = 0.036
Wad, Claybuster @ $89/5000 = 0.0178
Shot, I've made my own since the '80s, lead from range scrap,
the cost of smelting is offset by selling the bullet copper jackets = 0.00
Total cost/shotshell to reload = $0.079 round up to $0.08 ea x 25/box = $2/box

Our range sells Redropped shot for $30/25# bag
So for redropped shot, $30/25# x 16 ounces/# / 1 oz/shell = $0.075 or $0.08 + 0.08 (for primer, powder, wad) = $0.16 ea x 25 = $4.00/box A savings of $2/box

Our range sells 28 ga and .410 shotshells for $9.50/box of 25
These shells use less powder and shot than 12 and 20 ga shells, so they actually cost about the same to reload, so I am still reloading them for $2/box someone buying shot could reload them for $4/box for a savings of $5.50 from the cost of factory shells.

Long reply, but the only way that reloading would not save me money would be to quit shooting.

 

[Wind Gypsy]

Trying to decide if it is worth getting into reloading. I priced out all the components to make 50 rounds and it was $150 when i pay about $100 for 50 factory rounds. I know with everything going on the prices are out of wack but is it normal to pay more for reloading your own rounds rather than factory. I also know you will get better accuracy with reloads. I guess what i am asking is the increase in price worth it to you guys for better accuracy? I have a 300 win mag, 257 roberts and a 6.5 PRC that i would load for. Here is what i found for prices to reload the 300 WIN mag.

$78 Cases (Nosler cases)
$51 Bullets (Nosler accubonds)
$6 Primers ($12 for 100 Large Magnum)
$15 Powder ( $30 Hodgdon MIR 7828 SCC 1 Pound)

Folks touched on most of this but a revised breakdown:

Cases - Divided by 5 for each firing: $15.6
Bullets - 50 ct of accubonds are about $37
Primers - LRM are typically closer to $6 per box - $3
Powder - More like 33 and you'll prob burn a little over a half lb with 50 300 win mag rounds - $17

Total for 50 rounds = $72.60. From what I've seen that's about the going rate for 20 count box of factory 300 WM accubonds these days, and you should have better performance. That said, you'd have to load a fair bit of them for it to be worth the up front investment and your time IMO.

Best part of about reloading in these times is if you were already stocked up on supplies before this mess started.

 

[shrapnel]

I started reloading in 1967 when I bought my first centerfire rifle, a .30-06. I started reloading shotgun and pistols in 1970 when I bought my first shotgun and centerfire pistols. I bought most of the reloading equipment that I still use today in the '70s and '80s.

Most of my rifles, pistols, and shotguns have rarely, if ever, shot factory shells. I have pistols chambered in 9 mm, .38 spl/.357, .44 spl/mag, and .45 acp. I almost exclusively shoot my cast bullets in them. My major source of lead I dig out of the range, and the smelting cost is offset by selling the copper jackets, so my pistol bullet costs are essentially zero, unless I add a gas check to the magnum bullets which add $0.02 per bullet.
Pistol primers are $30/1000 or $0.03 ea
Powder for my standard pistols is Clays Universal at $150/8#. At an average of 5 grains/cartridge is $0.013/shell.
So my reloads for my 9 mm, .38 spl, .44 spl, and .45 acp pistols is $0.03 + 0.013 = $0.043 ea x 50/box = $2.15/box.
The additional powder for my .357 and .44 magnums is $0.05 and $0.06 + the $0.02 gas check makes them $0.07 and $0.08 ea x 50/box = .357 mag @ $3.50/box and .44 mag @ $4/box.

Several years ago I bought a Weatherby Vanguard rifle in .223. To start reloading it I only had to buy a set of RCBS dies for $35. Like most of my other reloading, I buy my components in lots of 1,000 and powder in 8# kegs.
So to load for my .223 my costs are:
Bullet, Rem 55 grain FMJBT Blems @ $119/1000 = $0.12 ea
Primer, Federal 205 SR @ $30/1000 = 0.03
Powder, Hodgen CFE 223 @ $161/8#, 27.4 gr/shot = 0.08
Case, range pickups = 0.00
Total cost/round to reload = $0.23 ea compared to Hornady 55 gr FMJBT factory loads @ $1.20 ea IF YOU CAN FIND THEM!

So factory rounds cost $0.97 each more than my reloads.

Divide the $35 cost of my RCBS .223 dies by $0.97 and it only takes 36 reloads to break even on the cost of my extra reloading equipment for this cartridge.

Over my shotgun shooting career, I've shot somewhere in the vicinity of 300,000 shells at Trap and Skeet. Figure a 40 year average of $5/box of 25 shells(12, 20, 28, and .410):
300,000/25 x $5 = $60,000
I have four Hornady 366 progressive shotshell reloaders that I bought in the '80s for less than $200 each. Even at today's cost of over $500 each, my shotshell reloaders more than paid for themselves many years ago.

Our range sells 12 and 20 gauge shotshells for $6/box of 25
My costs to reload 12 or 20 gauge shotshells are:
Shell or hull, range pickups (I have thousands of once fired AAs) = $0.00
Primer, Fiocchi 616 @ $25/1000= 0.025
Powder, 700X @ $133/8# 15.2gr/shell = 0.036
Wad, Claybuster @ $89/5000 = 0.0178
Shot, I've made my own since the '80s, lead from range scrap,
the cost of smelting is offset by selling the bullet copper jackets = 0.00
Total cost/shotshell to reload = $0.079 round up to $0.08 ea x 25/box = $2/box

Our range sells Redropped shot for $30/25# bag
So for redropped shot, $30/25# x 16 ounces/# / 1 oz/shell = $0.075 or $0.08 + 0.08 (for primer, powder, wad) = $0.16 ea x 25 = $4.00/box A savings of $2/box

Our range sells 28 ga and .410 shotshells for $9.50/box of 25
These shells use less powder and shot than 12 and 20 ga shells, so they actually cost about the same to reload, so I am still reloading them for $2/box someone buying shot could reload them for $4/box for a savings of $5.50 from the cost of factory shells.

Long reply, but the only way that reloading would not save me money would be to quit shooting.

Thanks for doing that, I didn’t want to take the time. If you think you could afford to shoot factory ammo at the rate I shoot at just one prairie dog shoot, you could probably buy the truck cheaper than the amount of ammunition I have in there.

The guns aren't cheap either, so you need a bunch cooling while you are warming the other barrel up...

 

[std7mag]

Caseknife mentioned looking for deals on equipment.
A good source i've found are estate auctions, and flea markets.
Don't overlook them.
But don't run the bid up on me if i'm there, either.