How much cheaper is reloading vs. factory

[S & W 642]

I have never been around anybody reloading rifle cartridges and was wondering if there is a big $$savings or is it to get better performance out of the cartridges. I shoot a 7mm-08 encore pistol 15 inch barrell.

[R.W.Dale]

In all honestly there are NO money savings to be had by reloading. When a person gets bitten by the reloading bug the first thing that flies out the window is the entire notion of saving money.
 But don't let that discourage you reloading is a fun and rewarding hobby in of it's self.

[Don Fischer]

What do you mean there is no saving's? A friend of mine doesn't reload but has me do all his for him. To save him a bit, I give him primers (I've got about 30K), I let hin have all the olde bullet's I don't use (Herter's) and I got him started with 40 cases. He's saving a bundle! :roll:

[mjbgalt]

i just got into loading and unfortunately krochus is pretty close to the truth on that one...no exaggerations.

you start adding the things you need and then the things you want and you always end up with a choice, the cheaper object or the nicer object and you start to talk yourself into the more expensive one, you say you'll grow into it or that it's only $20 more.

if you go out and spend $500 on reloading stuff it will be a while before it all catches up in savings on boxes of ammo...

the real advantages are:


1) having an ammo factory in your basement....no more running out or having to go to wal-mart at 5am before a hunt.

2) tailoring your loads to your individual guns. you can choose which bullet, and powder you want to use and then make adjustments until you get superb accuracy from your firearm.

yeah you can reload cheaply and be frugal and really save some money over time but what's the fun in that?  



-Matt

[ricciardelli]

The object of reloading is not to save money.  It is to customize your ammunition to your firearm.  And, as it is, anytime you place the word "custom" in a sentence, it goes along with increased costs.

The initial cost to get into reloading, selecting equipment that will last a lifetime, is around $300 for the basics.  Add another $300 for little goodies that you will pick-up within the first year.  After that, the sky is the limit.  And that is just for the hardware.

Components are an additional cost, as are the die sets and shell holders for each caliber you load.  Figure another initial cost of around $200 for each caliber.  So to get strted loading for a single caliber, your initial investment will be around $500.

Now, that being said, your 7mm-08 factory ammo will run you around $14 a box of 20.  In other words, you can buy around 36 boxes of factory for what you will pay to load a single custom round.

If "cheap" is your only concern, buy factory and sell the once-fired brass for around $12 per hundred.

[Questor]

There are certainly savings, if that is your objective. I believe the confusion arises because to some reloaders, reloading is an end it itself.

I dislike reloading, but I do it because it makes shooting affordable.  If I had to pay factory prices for centerfire ammo, I'd either be shooting just rimfire, or not shooting at all. So in a sense the previous posts are correct in that you probably won't save anything, but it does make shooting a viable hobby for us working stiffs.

There are multiple answers to your question, depending on what kind of cartridge you're loading:

For typical hunting ammo using jacketed bullets, figure about 1/3 to 1/4 the cost of factory. For this, you will generally be getting premium ammunition for non-premium price.

For handgun ammo using cast bullets, figure about 1/5 to 1/6 the cost.

I spend under $30 loading 500 45ACPs for target shooting. The bullets are already cast. All I add is powder and primers and occasional new brass.

To make it work, you need to shoot enough to amortize the cost of the equipment.

When loading high pressure loads like 30-06 or similar rifle cartridges, you need to factor in the cost of replenishing brass relatively frequently. You might get 10 reloads. For my hunting ammo for rifles, I discard the brass after four reloads.  In the case of pistol ammo, I usually reload the brass until it cracks or until I lose it.  If I were just loading my rifle hunting ammo, reloading would not be worthwhile. By the time I started with rifle hunting, I already had the reloading equipment.

[Redhawk1]

I agree a lot with ricciardelli. I started reloading many many years ago to get the best accuracy I could achieve in my guns. Save money, no way, I just get to shoot a lot more. Now that I am set up, I do save money reloading for the 500 Mag. But with that said I also shoot more. When Cor-bon sells 500 Mag ammo at over $30.00 for 12 rounds, you will indeed save money. It is always nice to roll your own and take game with them.  

[Bullseye]

Make yourself a spreadsheet, put in the component cost and look at the numbers.  Reloading only saves about 10-20% on something like a 223, but about 60% on a 45-70.  Most standard calibers have a savings range of 40-50%.

I do end up with custom loads that shoot the best in my guns.  Reloading is time consuming and kind of boring, but I do it because the savings is there.  I could not affort to shoot every weekend like I do if it were not for the savings.

[ButlerFord45]

There is no savings in reloading.  It does, in the long run, allow you to shoot considerably more for the same amount of money.

[Castaway]

On a cost per box basis, roughly 1/3 the cost of factory.  Extra savings can be had if you cast your own.  As stated, set-up costs offset your "savings" for a few years.  There are many reasons to reload, for me: cost is one, tailored loads unavailable from the factory or speciality loads.

[Dusty Miller]

I've been reloading over ten years and I'm not at all sure I'm even CLOSE to recuping my investment but I'm sure glad I did it.

[Catfish]

THERE`S ALOT OF MONEY TO BE SAVED.
   I started reloading in 1965 when you could buy a box of high powerd rifle ammo for around $2 because I could load it for abt. 1/2 that price. I can still load rifle and handgun ammo alot cheaper than you can buy it for. Heck it`s so much cheaper to reload that I`ve about went bankrupt saveing all that money.  :roll:

[KN]

A lot of wisdom here. If you are going to shoot a lot it will save you money. If you are the hunter that only shoots a hundred rounds a year or so then no you will never recoup your costs.   KN

[Glanceblamm]

ButlerFord45 Wrote:

There is no savings in reloading. It does, in the long run, allow you to shoot considerably more for the same amount of money.

Very Well Said!
Great Reading Guys [/b]

[Jerry Lester]

There is no savings in reloading.  It does, in the long run, allow you to shoot considerably more for the same amount of money.

That about sums it up.

I save a bundle as far as cost of my re-loads compared to buying factory stuff. If I buy premium ammo(ALL mine is), 357's cost me about $15 a box v/s $4-$6 a box, 223's cost me about $12-$16 v/s $4-$5. The biggest savings comes in odd calibers like my 22 Hornets which cost around $25 per 50 v/s mine which cost me $14 per 100, or the 218 BEE which cost $40-$50 per 50 v/s mine at $15 per 100.

Like ButlerFord45 said though, I end up pouring the savings back into loading, and therefore end up shooting even more. It's a pleasant addiction! LOL!

[ihuntbucks]

I agree with everybody here.Reloading is one of the most enjoyable hobbies I have ever had the pleasure of doing.You can spend just about what ever you please to do so.BUT,when you start buying "goodies" for it;it can get very habit-forming :lol: .I started with a low-end Lee kit just a few months ago and now have 6 presses,more dies than the guns I own,brass and lead by the boxes,more loading books than the Library of Congress,every digital or electronic tools you can think of,ect....Will I ever justify the cost of all this stuff.....NO,but I don't care I love it;it makes be happy and Iam getting much,much better on the firing range.....Rick

[williamlayton]

I, also, have just begun reloading.
I looked at it pretty hard. I knew what amount I wanted too shoot and figured the cost of purchased factory ammo and figured the cost, including initial investment, of reloaded ammo. I believe that if one considers the total investment cost, over a period of time, and simular cost for factory ammo for a given 1 or two thousand rounds, there begins to be a profit-if this is understood correctly- by reloading.
It still costy money and there is no way to save money except by not spending any, but, Butler's answer is the most correct.
Blessings

[jgalar]

I haven't bought any new cartridges since I started reloading. I cast all my bullets. It costs me around $1.50 a box for rifle or handgun cartridges. Reloading and casting are enjoyable hobbies and there aren't to many hobbies that you don't spend money to start up and maintain.

I don't consider the cost of the reloading equipment when figuring what it costs to reload a cartridge. If I didn't spend the money on reloading equipment I would spend it on some other activity.

[NE Hunter]

I was lucky when I started to reload I bought my setup from a small shop and instantly aquired a mentor. His words of wisdom were ....

You won't save any money reloading but you will shoot twice as much for the same money

When I started out it was for .357 mag and yes you could reload them for about half of what you'd pay for a box of factory ammo but why shoot 50 when you have 100 ... he was right

I suppose if you took just 1 box of ammo instead of 2 ( or 3 ) maybe you could save some money but I don't have that kind of will power. Looks like I'm not alone here

[Steve P]

There is no savings in reloading.  It does, in the long run, allow you to shoot considerably more for the same amount of money.

This world has been blessed with many wise men who can say it all in a sentence or two.  This statement is very wise and to the point.  Well said.

I unfortunately was not born with that wisdom.  It takes me three tries saying the same thing three ways to make it understood.

Reloading has cost me money, because I have been able to shoot many more thousands of rounds than I would have without reloading.  So in the long run, it has cost.

I know of no factory loadings for 7TCU, 6TCU, 7 Super Mag, 30 Herret, 357 Herret, 30 Bower Alaskan, and several other calibers I load.  I couldn't shoot these without reloading.  

If Uncle Sam decides to ban all ammo sales tomorrow, I have enough reloading stuff to comfortably keep hunting and plinking for the rest of my life.  I couldn't shoot competition like I do now, but I could still hunt and would likely have more game to shoot at because of all those people who don't reload and wouldn't have ammo couldn't shoot up all the deer and elk and grouse and pheasants and ducks and geese and you get my point.

Steve  

[Swamp Yankee]

For me reloading has become an extention of the shooting sport:  I have learned a great deal and have a greater understanding of bullistic. I also get  satisfaction from making my own ammo and being able to produce taylor made ammo to my needs. It gives me something to do besides watch TV all night  too. Save money? not really, but I have gained so much more............Jim

[Coyote Hunter]

THERE`S ALOT OF MONEY TO BE SAVED.
   I started reloading in 1965 when you could buy a box of high powerd rifle ammo for around $2 because I could load it for abt. 1/2 that price. I can still load rifle and handgun ammo alot cheaper than you can buy it for. Heck it`s so much cheaper to reload that I`ve about went bankrupt saveing all that money.  :roll:

There really IS a lot of money to be saved, if that is your goal.  When I came to Colorado in 1980 I bought a 7mm Rem Mag for elk hunting.  I started reloading because ammo was so expensive.  As I added more guns it was natural to reload for them, too.   At one point I was even reloading shotgun.

Eventually I determined that I wasn’t saving any money on the shotgun and sold off the equipment.  Then I determined that reloading plinking rounds for the 9mm Luger wasn’t saving me much money and was too time consuming with a single stage press.  I still build defense loads for that gun, but buy plinkers at $90/1000.  Where I really save the money is with the rifles.  I can shoot ultra-premium ammunition for the cost of standard ammo – or less - from the Big Three.

Do I save money?  By the bucket full.  Do I still spend more than if I was shooting only factory ammo?  Yes, but I shoot a LOT more, too.

Here’s some costs from a spreadsheet I keep.:

.257 Roberts, per 20
$6.97 = 75g V-MAX
$6.96 = 120g Grand Slam
$10.23 = 120g Partition
$11.46 = 115g TSX
$16.55 = 120g A-Frame
$20.22 = 120g Trophy Bonded

7mm Rem Mag, per 20
$6.41 = 162g Hornady BTSP
$10.11 = 160g Grand Slam
$13.61 = 160g XLC
$19.60 = 160g North Fork SS

.30-30, per 20
$4.79 = Speer 130g FN
$4.66 = Speer 150g FN


.300 Win Mag, per 20
$14.30 = 180g TSX
$20.50 = 180g North Fork SS


.375Win, per 20
$6.23 = Sierra 200g FN
$6.27 = Hornady 220g FN

.45-70, per 20
$2.52 = 300g hardcast
$18.06 = Barnes 300g X
$9.81 = Speer 300g UCHP
$9.30 = Hornady 350g
$23.98 = North Fork 350g
$6.06 = Remington 405g JSP
$6.53 = Cast Performance 460g hardcast
$92.25 = Speer 500g African Grand Slam Tungsten Solid

[MnMike]

It is possible to save money reloading if:

You shoot more than 10 shells a year - some deer hunters don't.

You are not fascinated with gadgets. You can spend a lot on these. This is one of my weaknesses.

You are willing to buy and use equipment that works, not the best thing on the market. I know that my Lee equipment is not top of the line and it has some inconveniences. I also know that it produces good ammo.

You do not buy new guns or barrels just so you have some new loads to play with. This is another of my weaknesses.

You have free time. If you make $100 an hour, work more and buy good factory ammo.

You are such a perfectionist that you will try 30 bullets, 14 powders, and 4 primers in all combinations to get the "perfect" load. This is not a problem of mine. I only use one primer (anyone want to buy some failed bullets and powder?).

good luck
mike

[MnMike]

It is possible to save money reloading if:

You shoot more than 10 shells a year - some deer hunters don't.

You are not fascinated with gadgets. You can spend a lot on these. This is one of my weaknesses.

You are willing to buy and use equipment that works, not the best thing on the market. I know that my Lee equipment is not top of the line and it has some inconveniences. I also know that it produces good ammo.

You do not buy new guns or barrels just so you have some new loads to play with. This is another of my weaknesses.

You have free time. If you make $100 an hour, work more and buy good factory ammo.

You are such a perfectionist that you will try 30 bullets, 14 powders, and 4 primers in all combinations to get the "perfect" load. This is not a problem of mine. I only use one primer (anyone want to buy some failed bullets and powder?).

good luck
mike

[ihuntbucks]

MnMike,looks like you and I have a lot of the same weakness :lol: ...Rick

[koli]

I travel a lot for work and use a Cabelas Credit Card for all my purchases and motels.  I also have signed up for Trip Rewards (Super 8 Motels and their affiliates).  With the Trip Rewards you can get Cabelas gift cards with your points.  So, I got my books, Lee Anniversary Kit, calipers, bullets, and brass all for the price of the reloading kit.  (which I ordered from Cabelas and got 4x points) all for the price of the reloading kit.  (I did not have enough points saved up yet to get it all).

I have just orded more bullets and brass using just points.

The only thing that I purchase (locally) is powder and primers.  Too expensive to pay for hazard shipping and the local prices are cheaper.

The factory loads my rifles like are Federal Premium loads which run about $20-$22 a box.

I am attempting to match these loads or surpass them in accuracy.

Even if I paid for the bullets and brass,  I would save about $.50/cartridge.

But the way I am doing it now, I am shooting for the price of powder and primers.  btw I purchase these with my card and get points towards more bullets and brass. :eek:

[Robert357]

I would echo much of this thread and some of the experts who have already commented.

Reloading is a wonderful hobby, but only in very special circumstances should it be undertanken as a means of saving money, especially if you are not thrilled with the hobby.

This is doubly true for common rifle calibers that are commercially manufactured and for certain military calibers for which surplus government manufactured ammo is available.  The reason is that most rifle shooters, unless they are into target shooting (in which case reloading for accuracy/performance will be the real reason), don't shoot all that many rounds a year and it would take a lot of rounds to ammortize the investiment in loading equipment and supplies, especially if you don't value your time (i.e. it is a hobby you enjoy).

A second reason is that reloading usually implies "load work ups."  This means that you will be shooting rounds (translation = spending money & time), that you normally wouldn't shoot when you purchase commercial ammo.   Again, from a hobby perspecitive, load workups are part of the fun of claiming responsibility for the accuracy of your round.

If you do competitive shooting (and go throught lots of ammo that can amortize the capital investment), if you want a new hobby and don't value your time for other things, or if you want to shoot a firearm in a caliber where the ammo is hard to get or very expensive, then reloading might be a way of saving money.

Further, if you shoot a fair amount and are willing to shoot cast lead bullets and mold wheel weights or salvaged lead into the bullets you reload, then there is the potential for saving real money (by involvement in a hobby with serious health risks if you don't do it right).

I think that the majority of folks on this thread feel reloading is something "most folks do" for reasons other than saving money.  

A final though is the economic concept of sunk cost.  Once you have the reloading press, dies, scale, bench-full-of-gadgets, powder, bullets, primers, brass cleaning equipment purchased; then the incremental out of pocket cost of putting together a couple boxes of ammo is trivial.  It is only every so often that you seem to need to buy another pound of ammo or 100 rounds of bullets or box of 1000 primers and then if it is only one of them then it is usually a $20 bill or less and an excuse to go to the local gun show or gunshop.  In those circumstances, reloading "appears" to be very inexpensive, when infact the initial decision may not have been entirely economic.

I think reloading is a wonderful hobby that every serious shooter should experience.

[Dirty Tiger]

I just started handloading .357 with a classic Lee Loader, I shot my first batch of 100 sunday.

I used once-fired brass Speer .158 grn JSP, and I know I saved money....groups were very satisfactory out of my Winchester 94.

I plan on casting bullets soon.

A $13 Lee Loader pays for it's self real soon, plus it's very satisfying!

[PaulS]

I just started handloading .357 with a classic Lee Loader, I shot my first batch of 100 sunday.

I used once-fired brass Speer .158 grn JSP, and I know I saved money....groups were very satisfactory out of my Winchester 94.

I plan on casting bullets soon.

A $13 Lee Loader pays for it's self real soon, plus it's very satisfying!

Dirty Tiger,

Have you detonated any primers seating them with a mallet yet?
I got a small arbor press after the first day of reloading and never had any more problems after that.

Paul

[ButlerFord45]

I just started handloading .357 with a classic Lee Loader, I shot my first batch of 100 sunday.

This has been the opening lament at Reloaders Annonamous for decades

[guote="Dirty Tiger"]I know I saved money....groups were very satisfactory[/quote]

The only thing left out is "I rather enjoyed doing it, it was relaxing"  I got ahead of my self, I just saw that you did add the "it was satisfying" later in your post

I plan on casting bullets soon.

You are doomed.  Next you're gonna say "I can save even more, all I need is the coleman stove/hot plate I already have, a $2 stainless steel pan from a yard sale, I can make a ladle from one of the big serving spoons from Wally World for $.50, wheel weights are free so the only thing I have to buy is a Lee mold for $20.  I can pan lube with toilet rings and crisco so I can now have 10,000 bullets for less than $25."  
Sounds good, doesen't it!!??  Every word of it true!

A $13 Lee Loader pays for it's self real soon, plus it's very satisfying!

Yup, I'm still writing a check every month paying for that $13 Lee Loader I bought some 30+ years ago.