Hand loading just doesn't pencil out...

[bbbass]

Don't forget to add in the cost of equipment, other supplies (washing etc...) storage space...

Then deduct for; satisfaction, pride, quiet alone-time, relaxation, independence, knowledge acquired.....and the admiration of those among us (me) that don't re-load...

Total = PRICELESS!

Yes, I looked only at the consumables... too lazy to do an amortization of equipment, which is so variable anyway. My Dillon cost more than a Lee single loader, etc.

Right on regarding the personal items, except admiration???

 

[Bones2586]

All good discussion, for sure. It's therapeutic for me, generally crank out a couple/few hundred pistol loads during a session, especially when it's raining. Drives the misses a little crazy, hearing the Dillon 550 making bullets. Kids get a kick out of it, wife just shakes her head some...

HA!

 

[Argonaut]

My daughter bought 100 rounds of Winchester 45ACP ball last week at Walmart(?) for 33.00 tax free in Oregon. I nearly never shoot lead, prefer jacketed bullets and pure copper Barnes rifle bullets as of late so my bullet cost is a little higher. In the old days, you couldn't buy good factory loaded bullets for any price (like Partitioned Noslers) but it is very different today. Factory match and specialty ammunition is available equal to anything a handloader can do so it is down to economics for the most part. A casual shooter/hunter can get along quite well with factory loadings. Probably cheeper than investing time and money reloading (what does equipment cost today?) reloading is a separate craft from shooting.

 

[ageingstudent]

Perhaps the most valuable thing about reloading is watching the facial expressions from my incredibly "anti" 2a relatives and inlaws when they walk in my shop. Sometimes their eyeballs melt right out of their head LOL.

 

[2ndtimer]

You also should consider the flexibility handloading affords. You sure can't buy 9mm JHP ammo for $.20 per round. I can load good 124 gr JHP ammo for $.15 per round. And .357 Magnum ammo is far more expensive than 9mm or .45 ACP, yet can be loaded for just a little more than 9mm.
As for rifle, again, I can load better more effective and accurate ammo for AR-15's than the cheap FMJ stuff for about the cost of the cheap factory stuff. (I will never run steel case ammo with bi-metal bullets in any of my firearms).
And now that I am retired, I have time to do it! Of course, I managed to find time to reload while working over the past 36 years, so now I just have time to experiment more.

 

[Mygrainman]

I quit reloading years ago when I discovered I wasn't saving much, but then I picked it back up when I found how rewarding it was to work up loads specific to each chamber fo max performance and accuracy..

If you are loading to save money...This is a great sight that calculates the total cost for you..

Handloading Cost Calculator

I think I do save more by reloading because of the work that goes into every round... starting with picking through the grass, dirt, and gravel to find my spent brass, and ending with the final check in the chamber guage with what seems like 100 steps in between ... they become much more valuable, and I'm not as prone to waste... a bullet saved and all that

300 bo cost is coming down finally..S&B Subs can be found at <$13.00/20, but it's still cheaper to reload...

 

[Retired Guy]

When I first started reloading, the only place you could buy ammo was the LGS at full MSRP. While in college, I was getting paid $2/hr and a box of .45 ball was $12. I could reload that box of brass for about $1.

Prices for factory ammo is incredibly low right now. Same with reloading components. Recently I have been thinking that it's not worth reloading right now and have been shooting factory. But I think we all know that will change again soon. I was just commenting to a buddy that 4 years ago, I paid $400 for a case of M855 (plus another $40 for shipping) and thought I got a screaming deal. If I had more money, I would have bought more. Today I see that same case for $289 with free shipping.

I still reload a lot of rifle ammo because I believe my loads are usually more accurate than factory loads. I can tailor it to my rifle and my situational need.

I especially reload for my .44s. Starting to get arthritis in my shoulders and hands. Shooting factory .44 Magnum is getting painful. I now prefer a 240 grain LSWC with 8 grains of Unique. Pleasant to shoot and I can still ring the gong with it. Much cheaper than factory .44 ammo too.

Properly stored, factory ammo and reloading components will last for decades. I was just shooting some M2 ball out of my M-1 that was made in 1967 and reloading it with primers I bought in the early 90s. Why not stock up both and cover all bases?

 

[SUPER X]

Hmmm...

Xtreme Plated .45RNFP 180gr x 500 $56 = $.11/
Titewad powder 1lb $20 3gr/rd = $.008/
CCI Large Pistol Primer $28/1000 = $.028/

Total = $0.146/rd

Cheaper Than Dirt: Armscor 230gr/50 $19.19 = $0.38/rd

IMO unless you are shooting steel case, .45ACP reloading is still worth it.

9mm cost analysis is:

Xtreme plated 9mm 115grRN x 500 = $.08/
Clays powder 1lb $19.48 5gr/rd = $.013
CCI small pistol primer $33/1000 = $.033

Total: = $.126/rd

Cheaper Than Dirt: Winchester 115gr/50 $9.49 = $0.18/rd

That's getting close but still reloading is 70% of the cost of new in this case study. Greater savings could be had with higher bulk levels of purchase of either components or new. I enjoy stroking my handle but not nearly as passionate about reloading 9mm as .45ACP. Hunting rifle calibers are not even close in cost nor in accuracy. Too lazy to do a study on .223 or 5.56mm.

Cheaper than dirt usually has shipping cost that can through the advertised price over the top.

 

[Caveman Jim]

Don't forget to add in the cost of equipment, other supplies (washing etc...) storage space...

Then deduct for; satisfaction, pride, quiet alone-time, relaxation, independence, knowledge acquired.....and the admiration of those among us (me) that don't re-load...

Total = PRICELESS!

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
This right here, money means little when your happy and content with a full cabinet of relaoding components and a full tank of fuel in both the boat & truck...

 

[Caveman Jim]

Cheaper than dirt usually has shipping cost that can through the advertised price over the top.

Plus they are on my boycott list...

 

[Mygrainman]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
This right here, money means little when your happy and content with a full cabinet of relaoding components and a full tank of fuel in both the boat & truck...

Me and the boy are looking forward to helping you burn through that fuel tomorrow... and the wife and daughter can't wait for a fresh Kokanee supper!

 

[Lefty60]

When funds are low components can be purchased in small amounts, then just like magic, you have the fix'ns for loading 1,000 rounds! The last shortages caught me short; it won't happen again!

I find reloading relaxing, and I get the quality/kind of loads that I want! Properly stored ammo will last longer than I will! AND, I'm retired with nothing better to do! I still buy factory ammo when I find a good deal! I've been reloading for about 50+/- years now, no reason to quit!

 

[Mygrainman]

Reloading equipment and supplies are also an essential prep.
If the SHTF, or if(when) our state goes Commiefornia and starts regulating ammo purchase... having the ability to roll your own becomes priceless indeed.
Bullets=$, the term "shot glass" comes from the old west when a guy could put a bullet on the bar to pay for his whiskey...

 

[SUPER X]

Perhaps the most valuable thing about reloading is watching the facial expressions from my incredibly "anti" 2a relatives and inlaws when they walk in my shop. Sometimes their eyeballs melt right out of their head LOL.

I'd like to see that

 

[Capn Jack]

Saving Money
For my cast bullets, I decided to try and beat the cost of copper gas checks, aprox. $35.00k and bought a gas check cutter. $100.00

Right away I found it was very difficult to make the cutter work in my RCBS jr.press, so I bought a 1 ton Arbor press.$50.00

The Arbor press was great, but the cutter kept falling over, so I had to buy some oversized drills and counter bore the press anvil to hold the cutter. $25.00

Now for material: My local Sears has .014 aluminum flashing 50'x6". You can special order it from their supplier, for $40.00 a roll. Cut into 3/4" wide strips, that's approximately 800 strips per roll.

By being careful, I can punch 8 GC per strip giving me 6,400 gas checks per roll. That's a savings of almost $5.00.

At this rate I'll only have to shoot about 6,400 .459 cal. bullets (275lbs of lead) to amortize the cost of making my own gas checks.

After that, THEY'RE FREE !!!

Been thinking about saving some more money by buying a.....

Oh! Can't forget the the cost of Kelvar gloves and a box of Band Aids for handling the cutout scrap material. It's like Razor Wire.

There's also the saving I made by buying a .22lr adapter for my wife's pistol. ($250.00) Now, I can save alot on the cost of 9mm....which I don't "buy" anyway....

 

[Legs]

There is great pride in catching trout on flies one has tied and the same can be said with taking game with ammo one has rolled himself. I got into reloading over forty years ago solely because I wanted to handgun hunt deer with my Ruger 45LC Blackhawk. There were absolutely no commercial rounds available, and if one wanted to snoose up the 45LC than reloading was the only way to go.
Now I reload varmint loads for my Ruger 223 Target, 25-06 for several rifles, as well as 223, 35 Remington, 47-70 for Contender pistol and Marlin lever actions. Some years back I acquired an interest in small ring Mausers in 7X57 and found my reloads much more accurate than store bought cartridges, just like most rounds I reload for. I also have quite a few pistol caliber carbines and levers, and reloading will extract the best performance from those cartridges, especially 357 magnum. I make up my own 9X19 and 45acp and use it for practice.
So, I never look at cost of reloading, but at performance and satisfaction.

 

[turbo_vanner]

I built my first .308 a year ago, and maybe 500 rounds in, I'm now loading .308, with .223 not far behind.

Since I have all the equipment, I will probably load 9mm subsonics, and tailor them to my suppressed guns, but saving a couple cents for plinkers, I dont know.

 

[jordanka16]

I dont count the cost of brass since for anything common it is very cheap and lasts a long time.

It's going to cost about 4-5 cents per round for primers and powder for common pistol rounds, so your biggest cost is the projectiles. I always order bullets in bulk, at least 2000 at a time, you will save a tremendous amount that way. All my 9mm loads are 124 JHPs, costs about 12 cents a round , still cheaper or comparable to factory, but of a much higher quality standard.

You can also cast your own and save a lot more. Paying high scrap price for lead, $1 a lb., it costs about 3.3 cents for a 230 rn bullet.

I dont factor in my time, doesnt take long on a progressive anyway, an even steady pace is 500 rounds an hour. If you're still using a single stage for pistol ammo you might want to upgrade, a turret press is a good next step or a 550 is excellent and will load nearly anything.

 

[HB of CJ]

Just a nice hobby. Lots of times the cost can not be justified. However sometimes hand loading creates ammo that is tailored to your own use. Also consider that if you know what you are doing the hand loaded ammo also is much safer to use. We have found this to be true hand loading the M1 Carbine round. Case length and over all length plus enough powder to properly function the gun.

 

[bbbass]

This is a great site that calculates the total cost for you..

That's cheating!! I did all my calculations by hand. I like yours better tho and we were only off by $0.05 diff.