I reload most handgun calibers with homemade bullets cast mostly from salvaged lead. My cost for handgun ammunition is powder and primers (currently about 3.5 to 4.0 cents per round). I usually shoot weekly so I regularly produce ammo in batches of 500 to 1000 rounds and use up 5000-plus rounds per year. For comparison, most of my centerfire handgun ammo costs me about the same as .22LR rimfire at retail.

There are some calibers for which I purchase commercially cast bullets, such as the .44-40 (uses an odd diameter for which I have never purchased the equipment. The old Colt has a .426" groove diameter and .427" chamber mouths). That usually adds about 7 cents per round, so the ammo cost goes up to around 10 to 11 cents per round ($5.00 to $5.50 per box, compared to around $60 per box when you can find it in the stores!).

For several decades I have made a practice of adding a bullet mold and reloading die set every time I add a new caliber. I own a couple of firearms that were purchased new and have never been fired with factory ammunition.

Assuming that all of my reloading equipment has been fully depreciated over the past 48 years, I figure my annual savings in ammo costs at about $400 to $500. Of course, many folks who do not reload would simply shoot less to control the costs, so "savings" may not be the appropriate term for everyone. I suppose what it really means is that I can shoot as much as I want and as often as I want without concerns over the cost.

The other "savings" for me has been fully realized several times over recent years. When ammunition was unavailable, or only obtainable at scalper prices, I have continued to be independent of commercial supplies. I plan on staying that way, and now while components are again available at reasonable prices I am putting away a case or two of primers and/or a pound or two of powder each month, just in case there is another dry spell in the future. I learned that lesson a few years ago when primers went from $20 per thousand to over $60 due to shortages. Now I have about 20,000 in stock.

A quick peak into the ammo closet shows that I currently have about 2000 rounds of .45ACP, 1000 of .357 mag, 2000 of .38 Spl, 1500 of 9mm, 1000 of .40S&W, 500 of .44 Spl. Other calibers include .44-40, .32-20, .25-20, plus several others for vintage and antique guns (usually hard to find and very expensive when found). Last time I needed .45-90 Winchester brass I ordered it from Australia! .33 WCF hasn't been seen for decades, but I roll my own to keep the 1886 Winchester going. The .45 Sharps Express rifle requires just about everything be modified or made by hand. The Winchester .218 Bee would be impossible to feed without loading my own.