Okay, the age old question is CAN you save money by reloading.

All of us go into this proposition with a resounding YES only to find out later, we either hoard ammo or just shoot more.

The fact of the matter is this though: You CAN save money by reloading and even more if you cast your own projectiles.

Here is a case in point:

Our local mega pusher has CCI Blazer Brass Ammo on sale for $16.99/50. Using that as a cost, and listen, you folks that buy your own ammo KNOW that $17/50 is a mighty low price no matter what, let's see if it is feasible that money COULD be saved.

Go to handloads.com and use these numbers to calculate your reloading costs.

1lb. of powder=$17 (Bullseye by the pound. It goes to $12lb if you buy it by the 8lb jug.)
5gr powder charge
1000 primers = $15.50 (Powder Valley, Wolf Large Pistol Primers available now!)
1000 cases = Hopefully you have some already! 45ACP
1000 bullets= $160 (230gr 45 caliber SMS plated bullets purchased today @ Kempf)

Click the "Calculate" button and it comes to $9.38/50.

Buying the powder in the larger quantity brings that cost down to $9.20/50.

Wanna get freaked out? Take the cost for your bullets to $5/1000 and see what happens!

Here is what that cost represents, 230gr LRN that you cast out of a 130# 5gallon bucket of wheel weights that you paid $20 for. (I may have rounded a bit but still.....)

It comes out to $1.45/50 for those bullets! Bullets that you can have when you want in the quantity you want made to the exact length you want and that function in your firearm flawlessly.

What is the price for that? Custom ammo?

So, theoretically, you can save as little as $8/50 to $17/50 if you don't shoot any more than what you do now.


Listen, you CAN save money. What you will do is still spend the disposable income that you have. Maybe, you will buy the wifey something nice more often, that would be a good idea for some of you! Maybe you will make more trips to the range and shoot more. That is a plus as long as you aren't just practicing more wrong stuff! I have seen that done too.

Imagine though, saving $16/week by loading 100 rounds a week. $832/pyr. So, theoretically, if you can payback your capitol investment in less than a year, it puts it in the category of "Why didn't we do this before?"


Think about it!

Just to put the other option into perspective: Casting your own gives you almost $1800/pyr savings shooting the same 100 rounds/pwk.


Seriously, think about it!

I think it depends a lot on how much you shoot. I figure I'll save from 1/3 to 1/2 on a box of ammo. I cast my own handgun bullets & that helps a bunch if you don't count your time for much.
Components are going up all the time. but I still think it's more economical to reload.
Do I save money??? NO, but I do shoot more for the same money. Plus my reloading equipment has paid for it'self many times over.

One thing often overlooked by those trying to squeeze the last penny out of a pound of powder is the fact that you can custom tailor a load for a given gun, whether it's trying to squeeze the last 1/1000th of an inch from a group or get more penetration, or you name it.
The satisfaction from taking game with a load you put together & tested in your gun can't be measured.
Good shooting.
Frank

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US RIDE FOR THE BRAND OR LEAVE

Saving money is not a matter of how much you shoot. How much money you save is. That is where the ROI (Return On Investment) comes in.

With the figures above, you save those dollars as long as you shoot 50 rounds. Payback on $1000 is going to take a long, long time, if all you shoot is 50 rounds a year.

Whenever you do shoot those 50 rounds, if you reloaded them with the price of components mentioned above, you saved money, cash outlay for that ammo may be a better term.

How fast you recoup your investment is a different matter altogether.

Skip, guess I should have been more specific. I was talking about someone who only might shoot 10 boxes a year. Does he really shoot enough to invest say $250 in reloading equipment? Maybe Maybe not.
I still think how much you save is tied to how much you shoot. If you shoot 10 boxes a year, your investment in reloading equipment might be better spent on ammo???
Everyone will have to decide for themselves. Not trying to start or continue an argument, but I've known people who invested in reloading equipment & didn't really get much benefit from it???
I'm not trying to discourage anyone from reloading as for me the satisfaction I get from it is about equal to the savings.
Frank

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US RIDE FOR THE BRAND OR LEAVE

I thought I was gonna save money! But I just shoot more!!!

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"Whatever trips yer trigger!"

So the real answer is "yes, you can save money" but then with a footnote that says "but no one to date ever has." Its not really an unpleasant outcome. What all of us do is end up shooting more, and stockpiling or squirreling even more ammo away. Not to mention the huge investment we have in components. The longer you reload, the more time you spend scrounging for ever more components.

Many of us could stop buying today and we'd still be reloading years into the future. I've still even got components my dad purchased back in the 1940s and 50s. I bring this up because it impacts the "savings" you might enjoy. Most of us never use up all them we acquire. There may be those who do, but I'd think those are the rare one caliber guys.

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Dick Burg

That's one of the best reasons to reload right there. You can determine what loads give the best groupings; this can vary from gun-to-gun. You can make light loads for family members that are recoil-sensitive. You can make hot loads for hiking in bear country. The list goes on.....

...isn't "saving money" reducing the per-round count? To me that's what "saving money" means.

I bought a M29 a couple of weeks ago, and spent $75 bucks on ammo that lasted about fifteen minutes...

So the next day I got a reloading press and dies for the 44 and 40 (40 is my volume cartridge).

What I learned is that I have a new hobby. Reloading! I think I may be one of those that shoot to reload rather than reload to shoot

My point exactly. You CAN, seldom is it realized BUT then your ROI changes as well. The more you shoot, the more you save so the more you shoot!

Circular reasoning, I know. I am just an observer of the cycle!

Im a realist ...
No, you cannot save money by reloading.
you can only shoot more.

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it just needs more voltage

Let's put some real numbers to our proposition.

A Lee Classic Cast Turret Press kit from Kempf comes with these items:

Pistol Caliber Kits Include:

Lee Classic Turret Press
Lee Deluxe 4-Die Set for the pistol caliber of your choice. (3 Die set in 380, 44/40 and 357 Sig)
Lee Auto Disk Powder Measure
Lee Safety Prime System (Large AND Small)
Lee Auto Disk Riser (Required for the Safety Prime System)
Six MTM 50 round Plastic Ammo Boxes
$199

You will need to add a scale. Let's pick one from Dillon:
Dillon's 'Eliminator' Scale $60

A manual: Lyman's #49
$25

Cheap set of calipers:
Harbor Freight: Pittsburgh 6" Digital Caliper $20

The components listed above will need to be purchased. So your original outlay will be $304 for tools. Now, you may want more, that can come later on.

Shooting 100 rounds/wk and saving that $8 per week, that means in 38 weeks you have paid for those original tools. You will shoot more and then you will spend more and then you will save some and then you will shoot more and then......

You get my drift.
p.s. 38 weeks is just a bit over 8 months. Ammo is NOT going to get cheaper, nor more available, period. Neither are components BUT as components move up so will ammo and that will keep things pretty much on an even keel.

My calculation exactly except our costs are about $400 with tumbler,etc. included. I have been saving brass for a year anticipating starting to reload.
I think your original savings was $8/50, so you would recoup the initial investment in 17 weeks. And my brother and I are splitting the cost of the equipment so it will be recouped in half that time.

No, but you'll have a bunch of equipment.

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Lost it all in a boat accident

Good point, sir and thanks for the correction. Of course, all of our realists are right but IN THEORY YOU CAN save money.

Not quite. I have loaded thousands of rounds with nothing but a Lee Hand or Reloader press, three die set and a ram prime. If you are only loading to save money this is enough and, since Lee products don't have any resale value, you can probably get them for under $15-$20 if you can find them used. Just make sure you get the shell holder, powder dipper and charge tables with the die set.

Jelly,
Are you off of your meds? You seriously aren't going to argue over a savings of $75, are you? How much is a Lee loader? How much is a Lee whatever press?

You just made my point even better, and thanks for it. Let's not squabble over the equipment chosen, it is just an illustration. Can you get into it cheaper? Sure. My other point is, you don't need to. My original illustration is nothing too rich for anyone, even the unemployed usually have income for cigarettes, candy and their cell phones so......... $304 is pretty reasonable. I was just trying to show that there is a kit that gets someone pretty far down the line towards reloading. (The dies are included in the kit too by the way.)


The COMPONENTS: Clarification .........Primers, Powder, Bullets, Cases. The other things are NOT listed as NEEDED, you will need some kind of tool. You pick!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Seeing that huge list of things you "need" to just get started is pretty funny. Over 40 years ago I didn't have that kind of money. Of course things weren't as expensive back then. All I could afford was a Lyman 310 tool and a set of Lee dippers. I'm sure the tool was under $10, and the dippers probably less than $5. I still have them.

And I can turn out passable ammo. If I had nothing but that tool, one of the dippers (my choice), and some of my components, I could reload for a long time. My oldest son has the Lyman set I bought at a flea market for, I think, $28. It had never been used and the seller told me it was a bottle capping kit. He was clueless, both about what it was and the kind of price he should have been asking. I have friends who've gone to estate sales and yard sales. Scoring big. Never pass one of those without looking.

Even if you've got a small set up, buy one when you see it. Often the widow or old guy who has given up the hobby will sell cheap. They'll even toss in their components, just to help someone getting started.

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Dick Burg

Skip, my post was in line with rburgs, and yes it does agree with your argument, and more. I'm not sure what Lee is getting for the items I listed now, but they were very cheap when I bought them. We're not talking $75 difference, more like $250. And I wasn't talking about the Lee Loader thingy that needs a hammer, those are actual presses.

For someone that is only getting into reloading for the sake of savings over factory ammo, he can do it with very little investment, much less than $300. However, I've never met anyone that got into the hobby to see how much money they could save before. Most of them do it to either stretch their ammo budget or for an improvement over factory ammo.

Sir
Do not let these gentelmen mis-lead you, reloading leads to an addictionshooting more, then you get in to matches and that is more shooting & you become a shooting junkie.

I really don't think that "saving money" is a good reason to get into reloading. It can be done but you need to be careful not to buy every gizmo you see.
I loaded 800 rounds of .38 and some .357 over the weekend, prepped another 500 cases, so all they need is powder and boolits. I cast my own.
It was time consuming,... I enjoyed every minute of it. The last I figured I was loading .38's for around $3.75 a box. I have lots of time in smelting, casting lead and sizing, lubing. I enjoy it, it's a hobby for sure
What reloading does and it's good, is makes you a student of ballistics, bullet fitment and the appreciation of making something which very often exceeds what you can buy.

Best Rick

I'd also point out that commercial cast lead bullets can cut your bullet cost buy 30-40%

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Dave

Components play a big part in how much you save. This is a good suggestion too. Thanks for the input.

I might add that buying in bulk helps quite a bit.

Case in point: Powder Valley has Wolf LP primers on sale for $15.50/1000. With the Hazmat being $25, not sure on shipping yet, if you buy only 5000, that makes the price for 1000 go to $20/1000. If you buy 10,000 with the same hazmat fee, I think that you can buy up to 40,000 for the same fee, it brings the price per 1000 to $18. That is what I just did. Pretty cheap primers. Brings the price of reloading down too. Just in case you are concerned with that aspect!

40,000 primers. I am hoping that was a group buy. Can't even imagine spending $720 on just primers.

For over the last 20 years or so I have always purchased in bulk. Powder in 8lb jugs,primers by the case. Commercial cast bullets from someone who shipped with Flat Rate USPS boxes. When I shot skeet I also bought wads by the case. Also I would hook my order onto the clubs order when they bought clay birds and components,saved on shipping that way.
Currently contemplating an order now for two 8lb jugs of powder and 10-15,000 primers. That would spread out a HAZ-MAT if I order over the internet.

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U.S.A.F---E-7--Retired

I have done some group buys but still not to the 40,000 primer count mark!

A friend of mine and I split 20,000 once. That was when they were $13.90/1000! Hazmat was $20 I think.

Still, you get my point. Buy in quantities where the saving can be had. Share with others. Work together.

FWIW

The best way to save big money is to have Skip send you all his free, nada, zilch lead.!!

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Still Running Against the Wind

I have moved beyond cost savings and equipment madness.

I just like to load my own and I find it fun and relaxing in this mad world.

Reloading hasn't saved me money since I shoot more now. But I can shoot more for the same budget. more/$ =

Right with ya Bob! It is almost to the point now that I even enjoy casting more than all!

But as was said...if proper practice is performed, more shooting can't but help! Though I agree that the reloading equipment and powders, primers and bullets are far from cheap. But the process itself is sort of a joy, and makes experiementing with various loads easier and handier. I say...RELOAD!

You can only save money if you put zero value on your labor time and the reloading equipment has been fully amortized. LOL

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Doug

Time spent in a hobby is never going to be cost effective, it is supposed to be fun though. No one that likes golf ever puts a price on how long they hit that little white ball around. Just sayin'.

What about this though, 500 rounds of 45ACP ammo in 30 minutes?

Using the numbers above the savings over that amount of ammo would be $8/50, right? $16/100? Okay, $16 * 5= $80 saved in that half hour. Anyone out there make $160/hr without a law/medical degree? Yeah, not me either!

Those 500 rounds I loaded, I did on a Dillon XL650. Got the whole shootin' match, excuse the pun, for $1000. @ $16 savings a week, it takes 63 weeks to pay that off. Imagine if I still shot that 500 rounds a week, which I almost did when I was shooting competition. @ $80/week savings it only takes 12.5 weeks to pay the press off. After that, I start saving money big time!

It is just something to think about. This is exactly how companies, small and great, decide on spending money for capital improvements. If this was a business venture, and I could get an ROI of 12.5 weeks, I would be stupid not to do it. Most companies thing that an 18 month ROI is a good deal!

The plus side of all of this is having ammo, your ammo, customized to your firearms, when you want it.

"CAN" is the operative word though.

Attached Images

230gr Plated 5_0gr Bullseye 30min XL650.jpg (85.8 KB, 34 views)

If you shoot anything other than the Walmart calibers savings by reloading add up fairly quickly. I regularly shoot 32 WCF, 32 Long and 38 S&W, to name just a few. Shoot just one box of any of these cartridges every other week and a progressive press will pay for itself in a year as compared to buying factory ammo. IF you can find factory ammo that is.

Reloading has always saved me money, it’s one of the best hobbies that I have. Do I shoot more? Hell ya!!!! The more I shoot the more I save.

One thing that really hasn’t been mentioned here is the reloading equipment is an investment. Over the 30+ years of reloading I’ve bought, sold & horse traded equipment. I can easily sell the reloading equipment and quadruple my money. It’s a beautiful thing to be able to have a hobby that not only saves money but will also turn a profit selling the tools of that hobby when I’m done with them.

Forrest,
I guess I have to admit two things here. #1, I have never sold one piece of reloading equipment yet. #2, I have given bunches of it away to family members to get them started reloading!

Reloading keeps me from having that little killjoy calculator adding up the dollar signs in my head at every range session...so my answer is yes, it saves me money and worry!

LMAO. Remember loading a clip and thinking as I filled my 5906 mags. Well here goes $3.30 in factory ammo. Now that I am reloading for my 1911, each mag costs about $0.20**, instead of $2.64 with factory.

**Using Unique powder given to me for my b-day. 500:230gr. Berry's plated purchased for $0.00 with my Cabelas points, and CCI#300 primers I purchased for $25/1000. Also using once fired brass that I saved from previous factory purchased ammo. My cost is sure to go up when I run out of Cabelas points, but enjoying the cost saving now.

Target sports USA has tula .45 230gr for 14.99 A 50 round box, free shipping, Your savings would be minimal unless you shoot a lot. I have shot this brand of ammo a lot, It`s great stuff. And I don`t have to spend my time reloading. Please figure what your time is worth 2 an hr 4 an hr. If I work 1 hour over time I make 75 dollars, OR i could reload my own ammo for 3 dollars an hour. But then again I love to shoot, I don`t like to reload. Life is short Buy your ammo

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The absence of pain is...death

I’m going to say something conflicting here. I like that I cast my own, but I find casting to be beyond boring and monotonous. I don’t know why I feel that way other than swinging around a brass mold full of hot lead in the Florida heat and humidity isn’t so fun… Add to that I reload in the A/C and I guess I just answered my own conflict. I try to only buy four cavity minimum when I buy a mold. I love some of the Lee aluminum six cavity molds. That makes a pile of bullets in no time. But I really need to fork over money for a Star Lube Sizer. Tumble lube is getting old, pan lube is not for me since I tried it once and never again, and I don’t see why I would buy the Lyman or RCBS when the Star seems so superior. I love these Ranch Dog bullets than I’m casting, but dipping them in the LLA and then mixing a 50/50 of LLA and Johnson’s Paste Wax is just tedious to an extreme. Get in where you fit in though, I guess. I will just keep dreaming Star dreams for now.

"Look Honey, I saved xxxx dollars. It was on sale"!

That's usually what my wife says when she comes home with a new outfit. In all reality she didn't save money, she just didn't spend as much as she thought it was worth, or at least the original price tag. Did she need it? Probably not but it was a bargain to her and she's happy so that's all that matters.

Can you save money reloading? Sure, depending on whos point of view you're looking at it from. I never tell my wife that I saved money by buying reloading components because she's just too smart for that. I just tell her it's an investment

I now have a Magma/Star. Not looking back either! Get one, you won't be sorry!

Boy would I love to make $50 an hour. In this economy I'm happy to have a job. As for reloading if you don't like doing it, then it isn't worth it. If you consider it an additional hobby to shooting, then it is worth it. If you are counting the time spent reloading, versus time spent earning money. Do you also consider the time spent shooting, versus time spent earning money?

Some companies will offer wholesale prices and waive shipping and hazmat fee's if you do a bulk order and accept private truck deliveris. Our Club does one twice a year. We save Big.

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Dave

NOW THAT IS A GOOD IDEA!

Gonna float that one at a meeting soon! Thanks!

I love to shoot, Yes

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The absence of pain is...death

You can actually spend more reloading because you shoot more so the real statement is that reloading allows you to shoot more for less.

This has all just been a ruse! There is NO way I am ever going to save money reloading! I just bought my second XL650!

It was used though and I saved some. They guy that sold it had had the press for 10 years and hadn't gotten it set up! The seller lives in the same state as I do and I asked if I coud come pick it up. They agreed and in about half an hour after getting it home, it was up and running!

Couple parts need to be bought, couple parts need to be replaced where they had tried to get it working. No big deal with their guarantee. I had the parts from my other XL650 for the primer apparatus to make it work.

This one will get setup for small primers while the other is set up for large. Not that it is too difficult to make the switch though. Less than 15 minutes if you plod like an ox going across country!

FWIW

I'll add to this. I have saved money and have been able to shoot revolvers in competition.

I would have been stuck shooting 9mm in USPSA production division if I hadn't started reloading. I'm able to reload 38 Special that makes minor power factor for less than I could by 9mm. Its hard to find any factory 38 special that makes minor.

I buy poly-coated lead bullets in bulk. I use moon clips so I get all my brass back. I figured out that my cost is about half what I bought my last box of White Box 9mm at Wallmart for. I shoot the same two matches a month and still have one practice session at the range a month.

I use a Hornady progressive press, got a 1000 free bullets with it, 100 will the die set. Volume does make this cost effective. about 500 rounds a month.

It also gives me a relaxing hobby that is gun related when I can't get to the range. That keeps me out of trouble, not even sure how much that has saved me.

Westczek

Not true. Let's take the simple 45acp. At a production rate of 600rds/hr, you save $20/100 or $120/600rds reloading vs factory. Since you would have to make at least $160/hr + to achieve a net $120 more to buy the ammo, your time cost will vary by your hourly worth. I don't know many folks that are making $330K/yr, so yes, even counting your time, you can save of a lot of $$ reloading.

Gear cost: Shooting 500rds/m, 6K/yr of the same 45acp. That is about $2400 in factory ammo cost (Walmart + ST). You could reload it for $1200 or less. That $1200 is the cost of a very high end progressive setup, one that would allow you to achieve the 600rds/hr easily. I submit most that do not want to reload have a fear of it or low attention span for detailed work, nothing more. Sure, if you are one fo those fortunate enough to make $300K/year, or don't shoot much, you can afford factory ammo.

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NRA Cert. Inst. IDPA CSO

No, that always gets thrown out there but reality; YOU DO save on every round of ammo you shoot. What you choose to do with that svings is on you. Some shoot more, some buy more guns, some take their wives out to dinner more often. You DO SAVE on every round fired though.

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NRA Cert. Inst. IDPA CSO