Author Topic: The price of a new caliber (Read 1090 times)

hornady · « **on:** September 09, 2010, 03:36:12 AM »

I will be adding 45 Colt to the list of rounds I Cast and reload. I had some time to kill so I checked prices, (item for item). Mid-South has the best price at $107,
.33 Graf & Son came in at $110.45 and Mid-way USA at $112.88. These prices included shipping. Not a real big difference. I use Mid-south most times, But a couple items for this order are on back order, so Mid-way will get this order, Graf also had an item on back order. This was a bare bones order, I will need to add a couple things. I here guys talk about how much cheaper it is to reload, and it gives me a good chuckle. This will be 12 calibers I reload, and 6 that I cast for. So over the last 40 years, this addiction has not been cheap, but a lot of fun.

nicholst55 · « **Reply #1 on:** September 09, 2010, 04:39:23 AM »

Last time I counted reloading dies, I had dies for right around 36 different cartridges, some with multiple sets of dies. Now I don't load for all of them at this time, but I don't believe in selling reloading dies just because I sold the only gun chambered for that cartridge. I've had to buy the same dies again too many times before I imposed this rule on myself.

Once you amortize the cost of your equipment, you really do save money. Or, so I'm told! My problem is that I always find a new piece of equipment that I absolutely can't get by without!

oldandslow · « **Reply #2 on:** September 09, 2010, 05:39:27 AM »

I look at it this way. It doesn't take much factory ammo to pay for a set of dies. It depends on the brand of ammo and dies as to how much. Other than that I have owned my other reloading hardware for a lot of years and it is free by now. I buy locally. I don't shoot enough to buy 8# kegs of powder or 50,000 primers to get the cheapest price and justify the HAZMAT charges when ordering from an out of town source. I still save quite a bit on the cost of ammo, especially considering the premium factory ammo, and get better accuracy. I know factory ammo has come a long way in the last several years but I can do better.

Reloading ammo is not my idea of fun but it allows me to experiment to find really accurate loads and to shoot more for the same amount of dollars. It's a means to an end. Also I'm retired and it keeps me from getting bored.

PawPaw · « **Reply #3 on:** September 09, 2010, 06:01:39 AM »

I normally don't try to pretend that I save any money by handloading, but I do shoot a lot more ammunition. I've got some pistol loads that I can duplicate for about 5 cents apiece and some rifle loads that cost me about a dime apiece. Not bad for ammo costs.

BBF · « **Reply #4 on:** September 09, 2010, 07:57:02 AM »

Quote from: oldandslow on September 09, 2010, 05:39:27 AM

..........................Also I'm retired and it keeps me from getting bored.

This is by far the topmost reason for me these days.

dieselman · « **Reply #5 on:** September 09, 2010, 05:19:25 PM »

Well when you can keep enought ammo loaded (or the supplies to load ammo) to get you through the days when prices go through the roof or fly off the shelf and cann't get any ammo for the guns you like to shoot is enough reason to reload for me. My first was for the 22 Hornet at almost $50 for a box of 50 it bought most of my reloading stuff to start, then it was all down hill from there.

Land_Owner · « **Reply #6 on:** September 10, 2010, 01:23:20 AM »

I keep an inventory in an Excel spreadsheet of everything I have on hand and update it about every other year (bi-annually). I should keep one for everything I have shot, which would complement the first (but that's another Thread). The inventory is quite extensive. Try it yourself. You will be amazed at how much "stuff" you have.

I know what I paid for the 'Fixed Assets' part of my inventory: rifles, pistols, range bag, gun cases, presses, dies, rifle & pistol cases, shell holders, scales, powder tricklers, etc.
I know what I paid for the consumable part: powders, bullets, primers, etc. I estimate or count how many consumable parts there are on hand. Estimates are faster.

The updated inventory 'TOTAL' is a loose measure of my investment (SUNK COST). It is easy (using Midway, Mid-South, Gun Brokers.com, and on-line resources) to extract TODAY'S unit prices for most of the pieces in the inventory (some pieces are "extinct" and no longer made) to get the DELTA between TODAY's cost versus what I paid for the same inventory. Tells me an interesting story.

It is easy to determine how many reloaded rounds of a single caliber are necessary to EQUAL the AVERAGE COST of Factory ammo for that caliber while OWNING the equipment that built the rounds. Ask me about it and I will describe the method further.

Curtis · « **Reply #7 on:** September 10, 2010, 02:27:22 AM »

The primary reason I hand load is because of the obsolete/wildcat cartridges for my Contender. The second is custom loads for the common calibers. Dead last is economy. I wish I shot enough volume to say that savings is in there, but combine my relatively low volume shooting with the fact that I'm punching paper with premium bullets (even Hornadys get expensive) and I'm not realizing any real savings. Sometimes I even find it a relief to shoot rimfire ammo or steel case 7.62x39 that I can just enjoy and not worry about where my brass is flying to.

Unfortunately I didn't have enough components (primers) to get me through the dry spell so I had to put my hobby on hold for a couple of years. This season will mark my re-entry as prices come down and I see my stockpile of ammo dwindling.

But, my first Contender caliber back in '89 was .256 Win Mag and like dieselman said it was all downhill from there.

Curtis

Old Fart · « **Reply #8 on:** September 10, 2010, 05:25:00 AM »

Like a lot of guys I haven't saved a red cent because of this hobby.

But I do shoot a lot more.

GH1 · « **Reply #9 on:** September 12, 2010, 02:20:52 AM »

Quote from: Old Fart on September 10, 2010, 05:25:00 AM

Like a lot of guys I haven't saved a red cent because of this hobby.
But I do shoot a lot more.

Yeah, I'm the same way. But the simple truth is, if you're shooting more for the same amount of money, you're saving money.
GH1

flashhole · « **Reply #10 on:** September 12, 2010, 05:21:20 AM »

"I keep an inventory in an Excel spreadsheet of everything I have on hand and update it about every other year (bi-annually). I should keep one for everything I have shot, which would complement the first (but that's another Thread). The inventory is quite extensive. Try it yourself. You will be amazed at how much "stuff" you have."

I do the same thing but only for reloading equipment, not consumables like powder, bullets, and primers. I add to the list whenever anything new graces the bench. For pricing I use the lowest retail price I can find because that's what it would cost to replace it if something happened. It does add up quickly. Early on I bought a lot of the bigger ticket items on eBay (before prices went nuts) so my actual out-of-pocket expense is a lot less than retail.

qajaq59 · « **Reply #11 on:** September 12, 2010, 12:06:22 PM »

I started loading because I wanted better ammo. The side effect was that I far shot more and got better at it. Whatever it cost me, it was worth the money.

jedman · « **Reply #12 on:** September 12, 2010, 02:09:28 PM »

+ 1 on everything qajaq59 said ! Jedman

hornady · « **Reply #13 on:** September 14, 2010, 03:24:47 AM »

The order went into Mid-south yesterday, just a little over $160.00 to start loading 45LC, now I did order a Lyman mold, a little over 50.00 for just that, and $40.00 for the die, but with the brass and shell holders that brought it up above the $160.00 mark, 45 LC ammo if you can find it, around here goes for about $30.00 a box. So not counting powder and primers. And with me casting the bullets. The $160.00 may sounds steep. But that would only buy about 5 boxes of ammo

qajaq59 · « **Reply #14 on:** September 14, 2010, 03:44:42 AM »

Quote

But that would only buy about 5 boxes of ammo

Yes, and those 5 boxes wont hold as good a bullet as you can load yourself if you're picky and keep good notes. And don't expect them to be perfect immediately. Just take your tme, do it according to the book, and you'll end up with top grade ammo.

Dezynco · « **Reply #15 on:** September 14, 2010, 04:47:56 AM »

I feel that in the not-so-long run that handloading saves money, serious money! If you do any target practicing at all, you'll see the savings very quickly. Sure it's a pretty good chunk of change to get started, but for most folks it will zero out with about 100 - 200 cartridges loaded. Anything after that is pure savings.

I can load a 30-06 (for example) for for around .45 with a premium bullet. Of course I'm not counting the brass which is free or cheap. That's $9.00 per box of 20 and it's tailored to shoot perfectly in my rifle. Bought any "premium" factory ammo latelely? I can get the price down even further for plinking/varmint loads.

I can load cast lead in my 30-30 (for example) for about .20 per round give or take a little. That's only $4.00 for 20! I'm not counting the investment in casting equipment, but if you're following my logic, you can see the advantages.

One does not have to purchase the fanciest press, powder scale, etc to get into the handloading. You can purchase the bare essentials and jump in.

I say all of this assuming that anyone like me who shoots a lot will want to load their own. If I didn't do a lot of shooting, say only a few rounds to sight in the rifle just before going on a hunt, then I wouldn't even bother loading my own because the cost savings would take so long to catch up with the $$$ spent setting up a reloading operation.

Autorim · « **Reply #16 on:** September 14, 2010, 02:47:42 PM »

My cost to add a cartridge is the cost of dies, shell holder, 100-500 cases and maybe bullets depending on the caliber. I most likely have everything else. For most cartridges I load and shoot, I have never bought any factory ammo. I occasionally buy 9mm white box ammo. Other than that and .22 rimfire, I load everything I shoot.

I do have a substantial investment in components and equipment. I guess I don't want to know how much. I just enjoy shooting and this is the way I choose to shoot more.

jimster · « **Reply #17 on:** September 14, 2010, 03:27:30 PM »

Sometimes for some calibers you just can't buy factory ammo that pleases you, and the 45 Colt you just decided to add is one of those. The loads you can load for yourself will be much better than anything you can buy off the shelf, and if you send away for medium power or high end stuff made special you will pay a whole lot more. In that caliber, you almost have no choice to invest some money, but it's worth it.

375supermag · « **Reply #18 on:** September 18, 2010, 07:06:13 PM »

Sometimes the cost of dies and bullets is the cheap part of a new caliber.

I have bought guns just so I had something in a new caliber to reload...

In fact, right now I am contemplating buying a Blackhawk in .30 Carbine just so I can experiment with something different.
I have no real need for a .30 Carbine Blackhawk or any other additional Blackhawk, for that matter.

I may need a little counseling, but, really, I'm fine...

Land_Owner · « **Reply #19 on:** September 18, 2010, 09:55:14 PM »

It disturbs me how our advertisers have infused "saving" with the spending of money and we run with the concept. How on earth can you "save" at the same time you are "spending"? Illogical. Does not compute. Either we are spending or we are not spending. Everything spent is a comparison to something else (retail vs. wholesale; retail vs. make your own].

It is well documented that shooting factory ammunition will cost you MORE in the long run than purchasing the equipment and materials to make your own. It is an easy comparison to determine how many rounds you need to make with your own equipment and components to equal the same number of purchased factory rounds. The beauty of this is you get to keep your equipment and make MORE ammunition - but you are still spending and it is still a comparison.

1.) Add up all of your dollars sunk into equipment and components by caliber.
2.) Divide your sunk cost per caliber by the AVERAGE UNIT PRICE of your favorite factory round in that caliber.
3.) The result is the number of rounds you will need to make on your own equipment in order to equal the AVERAGE factory cost for that caliber.
4.) there are some adjustments to 1. above, but they are for the mathematicians among us...the "Purists".

Use the average factory cost since you will probably not purchase that many factory rounds at one time and the retail price fluctuates over time (usually upward).

375supermag · « **Reply #20 on:** September 19, 2010, 06:37:40 AM »

When I started reloading, cost was the driving factor.
My first wife and I were both shooting competitively in two leagues a week with .357Mag revolvers. It took 50 rounds for each of us for each league, plus we were shooting 3 other nights a week for practice at about 50 rounds each a night. And I was shooting about 200-300 rounds through a .22 revolver to practice sight alignment, breath control and trigger control. The costs were quickly going out of control...even buying factory reloaded ammo that the range sold wasn't cost effective. Reloading was the only answer.

I purchase a cheap Lee single-stage aluminum frame press and a set of carbide Lee dies and taught myself how to use it. Sunday soon became a reload all day long affair, just so we could shoot through the week. A Lee progressive was soon purchased to speed things along. I soon discovered that faster wasn't necessarily better...that Lee progressive had a bad tendency to seat primers upside down and sideways and also didn't always dump the correct amount (or sometimes any) powder. Incorrectly seated primers are easy to spot...light or non-existent powder charges are not.

Back into the box went the Lee progressive, replaced by an RCBS RockChucker, a case prep center, APS bench-mounted priming system and a seemingly never-ending assortment of accessories, tools, gadgets, gizmos and reloading dies. I don't shoot competitively any longer (aging eyes and lack of time), but I shoot many more calibers, have a much better time (no competitive stress) and am proud to say I never saved a dime in shooting expenses. But, I have shot more and had a better time doing it than I ever would have at the cost of factory ammunition. Plus, there is a certain sense of satisfaction in cracking open a shooting bag and pulling out 600-700 rounds of personally constructed ammunition that I have made myself, especially when my shooting buddies are complaining about spending $50 for a single box of factory ammuntion. I just smile and collect their empty brass. Free brass makes the cost of reloading nearly free...

Land_Owner · « **Reply #21 on:** September 19, 2010, 07:20:45 AM »

Quote from: 375supermag

Free brass makes the cost of reloading nearly free...

You got that right! There are only a few "Fixed Costs" in reloading. Using the same brass over and over is EXTREMELY cost effective.

Powder, primers and bullets (unless you cast those too) are the only expendables and are pennies on the dollar per shot when you build your own rounds.

375, you used to shoot a LOT! Bet you're still a pretty good shot too! I just like to plink and stay familiar with my concealed carry pieces so in that fateful instance when I need to know, the hand/eye coordination and reaction time are not diminished by a lack of familiarity.

qajaq59 · « **Reply #22 on:** September 19, 2010, 09:19:10 AM »

Except for dies, molds and a new pot occasionally I'm still pretty much still using the same stuff I bought in the sixties. And it doesn't owe me a thing. However I do 99% of my loading for rifles, and I only shoot a 100 plus rounds a week.