Loading for the S&W 500

[montana500]

Or why is this ammo so expensive?

$51 for 50 500gr Hornady XTP bullets
$27 for 50 NIB Hornady Brass Casings
$7 worth of Hodgdon H110 powder
Pennies for Large Magnum Rifle Primers

is $1.70 per cartridge per handload... Or course reloads then are $1.16.

Or I can buy the complete cartridge at $60 per 20 or $3.00 per cartridge.

Hell -- loading a batch of 50 pays for my dies. Another couple of batches pays for the press, etc.

What's the deal???

 

[JackRussel]

I imagine it's just supply and demand. Relatively speaking there aren't that many 500s' out there, and many of them probably don't get shot very often. The suppliers have to tool up to make the components and they are going to try to make their money back as quickly as possible. I like to shoot mine alot and there is no way I could afford it if I didn't reload. I'm probably going to buy molds and start casting my own heavier bullets.

 

[montana500]

I've been reloading for over 30 years, and the cost savings is usually negligible unless their is bulk reloading being done. This is the cartridge that really demands reloading, and the cost savings pays for itself immediately.

 

[ruggyh]

It has been stated many times on this forum that the 500 S&W and 460 S&W both are handloader guns/cartridges. Not just because of ammunition cost but to maximize the potential of the cartridge.

All the big bore calibers are in the same bucket - 500 JRH, 480, all the Linebaugh cartridges and others.

If you own and shoot these it pays to reload.

Good luck and be safe.
Ruggy

 

[BLUEDOT37]

Once you have the brass you won't have to worry about it's cost for awhile, especially if you shoot reduced loads more frequently as I do at the indoor range.

Bullets are then the main cost. If you're hunting or shooting max. loads you're stuck with using premium bullets because of the pressures/velocities.

If you're happy with "reduced loads", that still give a thrill, but won't run everybody off, then $35/100 is easy to obtain.

I recently mentioned some here:

http://smith-wessonforum.com/reloading/487269-range-fodder-500-s-w-acme-hsm-bullets.html

.

 

[STCM(SW)]

Once you have the brass you won't have to worry about it's cost for awhile, especially if you shoot reduced loads more frequently as I do at the indoor range.

Bullets are then the main cost. If you're hunting or shooting max. loads you're stuck with using premium bullets because of the pressures/velocities.

If you're happy with "reduced loads", that still give a thrill, but won't run everybody off, then $35/100 is easy to obtain.

I recently mentioned some here:

http://smith-wessonforum.com/reloading/487269-range-fodder-500-s-w-acme-hsm-bullets.html

.

About says it all.
If I didn't reload, I would have never gotten a 500 Magnum.

 

[fredj338]

Go to coated lead & drop the price further. Cast & coat your own, ridiculously cheap.

 

[Wise_A]

is $1.70 per cartridge per handload... Or course reloads then are $1.16.

Or I can buy the complete cartridge at $60 per 20 or $3.00 per cartridge.

Hell -- loading a batch of 50 pays for my dies. Another couple of batches pays for the press, etc.

What's the deal???

You're using worst-case components and still getting a 50% cost savings. And throwing the brass away when you're done with it, apparently.

Using a 400-grain RNFP (powder coated, lead) from Missouri Bullet Company, and a 15-grain charge of Titegroup, here's what I get when I run real-world pricing through my Bullet Beancounter:

Per Cartridge
27.5 cents, bullet
4.5 cents, powder
3.5 cents, primer

Price Per Round : 35.5 cents
Per 25: $8.87
Per 50: $17.75

So twice as expensive as .44 Magnum reloads, but still less than a third of the price of factory.

 

[rwsmith]

I do save money reloading.....

I save a little money reloading 9mm rounds

I save more money loading .38/.357 rounds.

I save a TON of money reloading rifle rounds. When several new rifles and calibers came into my life it wasn't hard to justify.

Any cartridge that isn't the most popular or the biggest seller is going to have a premium attached for low volume production. If you shoot any of these, reloading is for you.

Anytime you buy a new caliber, the price of ammo must be considered. And things even change over time. .38 special used to be the most popular, but it isn't anymore and it's reflected in cost and availability.

 

[montana500]

And throwing the brass away when you're done with it, apparently.

Not at all. How did you come to that idea?

 

[Wise_A]

Or why is this ammo so expensive?

$51 for 50 500gr Hornady XTP bullets
$27 for 50 NIB Hornady Brass Casings
$7 worth of Hodgdon H110 powder
Pennies for Large Magnum Rifle Primers

is $1.70 per cartridge per handload... Or course reloads then are $1.16.

Because nobody includes the cost of brass when calculating anything. You may as well include the cost of dies, press accessories, and ammo boxes.

 

[montana500]

Because nobody includes the cost of brass when calculating anything. You may as well include the cost of dies, press accessories, and ammo boxes.

I bought the brass so it is a cost up front. How long they last is unknown. Dies, ammo boxes, press and accessories etc. last long enough to become pennies and don't really factor. I'll reuse the brass, and would pick some up if I were to find some laying around.

 

[Wise_A]

At only five reloadings, Starline brass would add up to 14 cents per cartridge. At a more realistic 12-15 (what most people report), it's barely more than the price of the most economical powders available.

Which--the price difference between H110 and Titegroup or Longshot is literally as much as the brass will cost.

An initial purchase of 250 pieces from Starline would provide between 1,250 and 3,750 rounds. Or between $443.75 and $1,331.25 worth of powder, bullets, and primers.

Fun fact, at 2,500 total loadings, it would mean 143 pounds of lead downrange! That's 2.2 times your mail carrier curses your name as they lug your $14 Flat-Rate parcel from the street to your porch!

Amortizing the cost of even the most expensive brass isn't worth the effort. For most cartridges, it's truly insignificant. For man-portable artillery, the 4-14 cents a loading doesn't matter to the guys that really want to shoot something like that.

The one time I would suggest it absolutely makes sense is semiautomatics in uncommon calibers. You're going to lose way more cartridges than you break, and it's not like you're going to find range pickups. So figuring in 5%-per-loading loss is a good idea before you buy a gun and get married to its brass.

 

[7P's]

You're also shooting some mighty fine jacketed bullets for paper punching. If you want to run those big 500 grain slugs at warp speeds, you could just purchase gas checked cast bullets @ $0.40 each, 440 grain gas checked bullets at $0.36 each or 400 grain coated bullets at $0.20 to $0.28 each and 350 grain cast even a bit cheaper - purchased in quantity of course.

Casting your own will make the cost of cast bullets next to nothing, depending upon your scrounging abilities.

If you purchase say, 100 XTP's or 100 Hawk bullets for hunting purposes - that should last you a lifetime of shooting big game - cast bullets for paper punching will save you some bucks over your shooting career.