Reloading Math - yup its way lower cost

[bsa1917hunter]

Well if yer a hobbiest mechanic you need tools right?
So then not including the cost for satisfaction of doing the work yerself instead of a Stealership would be the same as reloading.

I reload to dial in my accuracy and to get out of the house to my safe space.
I do not pencil (nickel & dime) the costs per round because I already know it's cheaper & it takes up valuable time plus math is hard for a caveman.

Its all worth it in the end. Yes, I save a ton of money, plus I get enjoyment and satisfaction out of a job well done:


The math works out in my favor all the time...

 

[bsa1917hunter]

I'm going to be loading up some 375 weatherby here in a bit. We don't even want to see how much that stuff costs in the stores@!!!!!!!!! Oh wait, sorry, I just looked it up:

Weatherby Select Plus Ammo 375 Weatherby Mag 300 Grain Nosler

Weatherby uses only the finest components, such as Norma brass, to assure that each load is as precise as a shooter's favorite handload. Premium...

www.midwayusa.com

^^^For those of you that don't look at the link, that's $99.99 plus the cost of shipping...

 

[Mikej]

Oh , come on! I can save you some money!

Weatherby N375300Pt 375Weatherby 300 NPt 20rds

Weatherby 375 Weatherby Mag 300 Grain Nosler Partition

grabagun.com

$81.99

Edit: $12.99 shipping for Unlimited quantity! Stock up!

 

[bsa1917hunter]

Oh , come on! I can save you some money!

Weatherby N375300Pt 375Weatherby 300 NPt 20rds

Weatherby 375 Weatherby Mag 300 Grain Nosler Partition

grabagun.com

$81.99

Edit: $12.99 shipping for Unlimited quantity! Stock up!

Heck, that's an awesome deal Mike.... NOT!! I'll just take my lazy butt out to the garage and load some up... Need to shoot my new pistol today too. That's 9mm, so I'll just buy some cheap ammo for that and save the brass for some good bowling pin loads.

 

[Mikej]

Heck, that's an awesome deal Mike.... NOT!! I'll just take my lazy butt out to the garage and load some up... Need to shoot my new pistol today too. That's 9mm, so I'll just buy some cheap ammo for that and save the brass for some good bowling pin loads.

I've only been loading since December 2011. It was when I realized that Wifey and I could go through $40.00 of ammo in an hour at Johnson CreekGC. I still have a smile on my face every time I put that fresh minted round in a box. Even 9mm. If I was loading the rounds were discussing, I'd be like with every finished round as it went I the box! I'm just that frugal.

 

[cookie]

I started reloading with a RCBS Rock Chucker a friend brought over in 1976 in 1991 I bought a Dillon 550, 2014 I sent the Dillon in to be rebuilt it came back better than new. To me reloading is almost as fun as shooting.

 

[Certaindeaf]

Took some old friends shooting a week back. We met at my house and went up to the range. We geeked out a bit over the reloading gear and they ask if it really was lower cost shooting my own loads. I reload because I enjoy it not just for the $ savings. I know savings is there and I shoot a better overall quality of round but, was not prepared for their direct questions as to cost. But did the math later and figured I would share it here.

With three teenage boys, we shoot allot. Over a yr we average about:
500 9mm Subsonic rounds per month ($169.90 commercial vs. $70.20 home load)
300 9mm Supper sonic rounds per month ($47.94 commercial vz. $31.98 home load)
200 rounds 300blk Sub sonic per month ($179.90 commercial vs. $95.80 home load)

$397.74 per month if we shot commercial. (we would not shoot as much just due to cost)
$197.98 per month shooting our home loads.

$199.76 per month in savings loading our own. (NOTE: We would never be able to shoot as much as we do if paying for commercial loads or what we shoot would change) Even at 25% of this, the savings is still $50 per month. This pays down the reloading gear costs over time. But again I enjoy the reloading side to it so it's not just an exercise in cost savings.

9mm 115gn FMJRN

$0.16 Best price I can find in a store per round.
$7.99 per box 50

$0.154 Best price I can load to per round for exact match to factory load
$7.70 per box
$0.12 115 FMJRN Hornady bought in 3000 bulk pack with free shipping from Midway
$0.0097 4.1gr Tite Group powder bought in 8lbs keg $16.63 per lb. 1lbs = 7000grn
$0.0239 CCI 500 Primer (bought on 20% off sale from Bi-mart)

$0.1066 Best price I can load to per round for close match to factory load
$5.33 per box
$0.073 115 Plated RN Xtreame w/free shipping
$0.0097 4.1gr Tite Group powder bought in 8lbs keg $16.63 per lb. 1lbs = 7000gr
$0.0239 CCI 500 Primer

9mm 165gn plated RN

$0.34 Best price per round when you could buy Hush (the only way to get this commercially loaded that I know of)
$16.99 per box 50

$0.14 Best price I can load to per round for exact match to factory load
$7.02 per box
$0.109 165gr plated from Xtreme w/ free shipping
$0.0074 3.1gr Tite Group powder bought in 8lbs keg $16.63 per lb. 1lbs = 7000grn
$0.0239 CCI 500 Primer (bought on 20% off sale from Bi-mart)

300BLK 220gn Subsonic

$0.90 best price I can find in the store per round as FMJ BT
$17.99 per box of 20

$0.479 Price I load to per round for WAY better round than factory. If I did just the best price I can get lower cost projectiles, way lower. But this is what I like to shoot.
$9.58 per box of 20
$0.43 Hornady ELDX projectile
$0.023 8.3gr LilGun powder bought in 8lb kid at $19.63 per lb. 1lbs = 7000gr
$0.026 CCI 450 primer

7.62x51 180gr Siera Match King BT precision
Not even running the numbers on this one. WAY way in my favor to load beside the fact my home loads are more accurate with my rifle as I have loaded to it. Would have to pay someone to make these for me, the only way to get this. Shooting 40 per month on average its about $25 in savings total compared to the closest 175gr Black Hills. But not even adding these in.

drtwt but just realized Home Load would be a cool band name.. kinda like home slice but loadier.

 

[TTSX]

Tell me how much you're saving when you load belted magnums. If I were to use the cheapest powder I bought plus the cheapest bullet, not factoring in brass (I count that under equipment usually) I believe I'm sitting at just north of a quarter per shot. That's a $5 box of 7mm Remington Magnum.

 

[Johnny Tremain]

30-06 15 cents a round.
45/70 25 cents a round (bought some Controlled Chaos rounds, they were $63 for 20)
45ACP a dime a round

Can not tell you how much store boughts cost, its way more that what I pay.
I do not load for cheapness.
I reload for super match accuracy.
Dont really care about the cost

 

[awshoot]

Tell me how much you're saving when you load belted magnums. If I were to use the cheapest powder I bought plus the cheapest bullet, not factoring in brass (I count that under equipment usually) I believe I'm sitting at just north of a quarter per shot. That's a $5 box of 7mm Remington Magnum.

30-06 15 cents a round.
45/70 25 cents a round (bought some Controlled Chaos rounds, they were $63 for 20.
45ACP a dime a round

Can not tell you how much store boughts cost, its way more that what I pay.
I do not load for cheapness.
I reload for super match accuracy.
Dont really care about the cost

Are you guys casting bullets or buying 50,000 lots? My bullets aren't that cheap, though I know I still save plenty reloading.

 

[TTSX]

Are you guys casting bullets or buying 50,000 lots? My bullets aren't that cheap, though I know I still save plenty reloading.

Bargain bin. The ones I'm referring to were $8/100. Not exactly a common thing but once in a while I really score. The powder was second hand old stock but still sealed. So my cost will jump after that supply runs out

 

[leadcounsel]

Well, my ammo is almost FREE.

I just purchased 2000 rounds of lake city steel core brass case 5.56 and 125 rounds of brass cased M80 .308 for ~$700 total shipped. Took me 3 minutes; or about 700 rounds per minute at 26 cents per round average.

Recently bought 600 rounds of S&B brass JSP .44 magnum for $280. That took 3 minutes. Can you load 600 rounds in 3 minutes? For ~ 48 cents per?

Just bought 2000 rounds of brass S&B 9mm (FMJ and HP) for $400 (20 cents per round), and 1000 rounds of 7.62x30 for $187. (19 cents per) That took 3 minutes.

No reloader can reload that cheaply, fast, or of high quality.

Predictably, TIME TO EARN MONEY will be cited. And you'd be correct because ECONOMICS. Other factors are overhead, inventory, research, storage and reloading room area, etc. which are all overhead and sunk and variable COSTS reloaders never factor.

In this ECONOMIC discussion where reloaders never factor overhead, like time, and since time has no value in the reloader world, all this ammo was basically free because I don't count the time it took to earn the money, or research the best priced ammo.

And I also have no dies, no overhead, no special reloading room...

But like reloaders, I don't have to count my overhead like time. So my ammo is FREE.

That's my math. YMMV.

 

[DizzyJ]

Well, my ammo is almost FREE.

I just purchased 2000 rounds of lake city steel core brass case 5.56 and 125 rounds of brass cased M80 .308 for ~$700 total shipped. Took me 3 minutes; or about 700 rounds per minute at 26 cents per round average.

Recently bought 600 rounds of S&B brass JSP .44 magnum for $280. That took 3 minutes. Can you load 600 rounds in 3 minutes? For ~ 48 cents per?

Just bought 2000 rounds of brass S&B 9mm (FMJ and HP) for $400 (20 cents per round), and 1000 rounds of 7.62x30 for $187. (19 cents per) That took 3 minutes.

No reloader can reload that cheaply, fast, or of high quality.

Predictably, TIME TO EARN MONEY will be cited. And you'd be correct because ECONOMICS. Other factors are overhead, inventory, research, storage and reloading room area, etc. which are all overhead and sunk and variable COSTS reloaders never factor.

In this ECONOMIC discussion where reloaders never factor overhead, like time, and since time has no value in the reloader world, all this ammo was basically free because I don't count the time it took to earn the money, or research the best priced ammo.

And I also have no dies, no overhead, no special reloading room...

But like reloaders, I don't have to count my overhead like time. So my ammo is FREE.

That's my math. YMMV.

You could have done better on the 9mm.

 

[turbo_vanner]

Well, my ammo is almost FREE.

I just purchased 2000 rounds of lake city steel core brass case 5.56 and 125 rounds of brass cased M80

No reloader can reload that cheaply, fast, or of high quality.

Lol, no reloader bothers to reload ammo that shoots as crappy as m855 or m80. Your whole argument was lost in your first paragraph.

FWIW though, I load 77gr otms for less than your plinkers, so you still dont make sense.

 

[arakboss]

When I factor in the equipment startup cost and my limited time I push the "factory ammo" button.

Time is huge (especially for single stage reloaders) if you count that, most reloaders don't.

 

[jr leadslinger]

For the money you just spent on buying ammo, you could have bought all your reloading supplies and still saved some $. but sounds like you are just a shooter, next time the shelves are empty I will be shooting while you are looking for ammo. YMMV

 

[Xaevian]

A handloader can still get it done before the UPS man would ever get to your door - even with a single stage, so yeah, stll faster.

 

[Esam85]

Oh man this is back with a vengeance I see....
Someday I'll spend more time reloading handgun ammo but it won't be for a while as my time is worth more than the cost of target 9mm

 

[leadcounsel]

For the money you just spent on buying ammo, you could have bought all your reloading supplies and still saved some $. but sounds like you are just a shooter, next time the shelves are empty I will be shooting while you are looking for ammo. YMMV

So what trees do I plant that grow primers, and what plants do I grow that grow gun powder? As I recall, the last shortages had reloaders scrambling for all 5 components (lead, primers, brass, powder, and TIME). A ammo buyer is in better shape just looking for already made ammo, really.

If you factor both the reloader has an inventory, AND the shooter has an inventory of ammo, the shooter has the advantage because no TIME to reload is required.

TIME is a valuable asset.

Another point. Reloaders must juggle dozens of components, sizes, types of shells, types of powder, types of primers, dies, etc. A real balancing act. If you have 10,000 .308 cases but zero primers, you have no ammo... you have useless components. I'd rather have 1000 made .308 ammo versus that scenario.

In other words, reloaders are actually MORE vulnerable to supply shocks as they need 5 components to make a functional round.

 

[jr leadslinger]

Only two items I have to stock up, primers and powder. I have enough of the other items to last a life time. No juggling act here just have to be organized