Reloading costs

[LTC]

As many others have stated cast lead is the way to go if you are looking at price. I just purchased 1000 230 gr LRN for about $103.00. Bullet = $.103, Free brass = 0, Winchester primer at about $.028. 4.0 grs. of Bullseye = $.012. Rough total = $.143 per round for 45acp. Maybe a penny more for .45 Colt.

Works out to about $14 to $15 per hundred or about 40% of common factory loads.

P.S. It's never cheeper, you just get to shoot more.

LTC

 

[ray45]

Nothing is free! lol

 

[scattershot]

I like Red Dot, and have developed loads for just about all my handguns with it. It doesn't hurt that a friend gave me 12 pounds of the stuff.

 

[hotrod150]

While I don't have any 45's these days, back in the day I loaded several thousand rounds of 45acp. Mostly I used a hardcast 200gr SWC (good old H&G #68!) over about 5.6 gr W231 for close to 900 fps out of a 5" barrel 1911. No signs of any leading at that velocity, and enough power to qualify as "major caliber" for SWPL matches and/or to use as a self-defense load. Any good sized gun shop worth it's salt which carries handloading supplies oughta have some of these, or you can buy online.
Swaged factory bullets are another option-- spendier than cast, but cheaper than jacketed. When I recently took up handloading again for my 38 special j-frames, I started out using a hardcast 148gr DEWC. The locally-cast bullets used a pretty smokey lube, plus I changed tack on my approach to anti-personnel rounds, so I switched to the Speer 158gr swaged lead SWC-HP. No smoke plus IMHO better terminal performance, and not a helluva lot more money than the hardcast bullets.

 

[SMSgt]

I don't buy in bulk, but my current cost for a box of .45 230 grn LRNs is @ $9.00, less if I bought bulk components. I collect range brass, so that cost is not a factor and it lasts forever with mild range load.

 

[Robert Palermo]

Cost factors aside the advantage to "rolling your own" is that you have more choices to load ammo in a wider variety of loadings to suit your type of shooting. Whether its light, medium or heavy loadings you are after you can taylor the load to your needs. You have a far broader selection of bullets available to you than factory ammo.
This coupled with the fact that you can now tune the loads for best accuracy in your gun are far better reasons than just cost savings alone but those are there as well and can get very low by careful selection of components.
Good powder selection for .45 is a big help as well. I personally like WST and Clays for my loads.

 

[colt44sp]

Doing 45 ACP with 230 gr. lead for around
$7 a box of 50. Get all my brass free. Once fired
commercial. 44's and 357's are less than that
with lead bullets also.

 

[jimkim]

I have pretty much switched to Promo from Red Dot. I can see no difference in accuracy nor velocity. They work equally well in my 45 acp 230gr, and 44 magnum 320gr cast loads.

 

[hotrod150]

The bummer about handloading for an autopistol is retrieving your brass. I don't reload for my little 380, which is a good thing as it flings it's brass all over hell's half-acre. If you shoot at an indoor range, you may just have to kiss goodbe any brass which ends up down-range from the shooting stall as it may be impossible to retrieve safely.
That used to really tick me off. Kinda nice nowadays shooting a revolver-- no scrambling around on all fours for your precious brass, just dump the empties into a coffee can like a civilized person.

 

[RobsTV]

The bummer about handloading for an autopistol is retrieving your brass. I don't reload for my little 380, which is a good thing as it flings it's brass all over hell's half-acre. ....

The good thing about reloading is all the free brass you get by mistake, that you someday might use. Simply picking up my spent .40 and 9mak cases would always give me a few 380's in the mix by mistake. A few months later and I now have a 380, so look in my pile of brass, and surprise.... couple hundred 380 cases already there! Thanks for leaving them for us! (And thanks to all those that leave 40's and 45's as well!)

My reloading costs using Berry's Plated bullets:
S&W 500, powder .12, primer .03, bullet .21, = .36 each
40 S&W, powder .015, primer .03, bullet .11 = .155 each
9 mak, (9x18) powder .012, primer .03, bullet .11 = .152 each

Switching to my own cast lead brings the cost of the bullet down to less than a penny for most rounds, and .015 (+ .03 for GC) for 440gr bullets that the 500 uses. So, S&W 500 = .20, 40S&W = .055, 9mak = .05

BTW, best prices I found for online haz materials is Grafs when used with C&R license.
An example =
5000 primers $120 (+ one time hazmat of $27.50) = $147.50 or 3 cents each.
4lbs W231 $63 (haz mat paid, so add order shipping of $15) = $78 or roughly $20 a pound, or .003 per grain.

EDIT: Forgot to add the best part. My groups were cut in half (or better) simply by switching from factory jacketed or berrys plated to cast lead properly sized to barrel.

 

[Rich/WIS]

Wish I could find primers that cheap here, usually $35-40/K.
I cast my bullets for 38/357, 44, 45, and 30. Bought some foundry type for $2/pd and alloy it with range lead, works out to less than 20 cents per pound. Bullets for the pistols average out to about .5 cents each.

Powder is some WW 452, 473, or 571 I got gifted to me ages ago and at the load I shoot have enough left for about 12K rounds.

Brass is all range pick up (God I love rich people who leave their brass).

Figure about $4.50 a hundres, bit more for 44, bit less for 357. Not upon current powder prices (pistol anyway) but doubt if it would double my costs.

30/06 cast are a bit more, may 15 cents each depending on powder and gas check costs.

Next primer buy will order like a poster above and save more money. I don't want to sound like a cheap Charie, but hey, a few cents a round adds up.

 

[blujax01]

I sometimes forget how good we have it in central Ohio. Between Vance Outdoors and Fur/Fin/Feather I'm spoiled. About every month CCI or Federal primers are on sale for $26.99/1000. I never pay over $20 per pound for powder - okay $21.99 for 2400 - but usually find 4 pound jugs of Unique, W231 or Tite Group for around $60.

 

[gwpercle]

We all get started with the Idea that we will save money. That's what got me started in 1967 . That is not quite rightt though, It's what I tell my wife when I buy more reloading stuff, but the truth is you will get to shoot more with the money you have to spend. And what you do save on ammo you just spend on more dies , shellholders , bullets , primers, presses and the list goes on. I should have every piece of gear needed by now, But I'm fixing to order more stuff from Midway right now. It's an addiction and fun hobby that I have enjoyed and so will you. Just don't believe that rumor that you're gonna " save a lot of money ".

gary

 

[Twoboxer]

If you reload to save money, you can certainly do that. Rifle and less-popular or large calibers offer more potential than small or popular calibers/loads. In any caliber, the more specialized the bullet or load, the more opportunity to save by reloading.

If you reload as a hobby, you are far less likely to save money overall . . . at least over the short run.

The difference between the two is discipline . . . the discipline to buy only the tools you need and use man-hours of labor instead of neat or gimmicky purchases, and to limit the joy of exploration in an environment (ie, firearms) that you enjoy.

In between the two "extremes", you can apply some or most of the reloading savings back into shooting and reloading. It's up to you.

 

[SMSgt]

The bummer about handloading for an autopistol is retrieving your brass. I don't reload for my little 380, which is a good thing as it flings it's brass all over hell's half-acre. If you shoot at an indoor range, you may just have to kiss goodbe any brass which ends up down-range from the shooting stall as it may be impossible to retrieve safely.
That used to really tick me off. Kinda nice nowadays shooting a revolver-- no scrambling around on all fours for your precious brass, just dump the empties into a coffee can like a civilized person.

Problem - solution:
You pick up all the range brass you see, pick out your .380s and send the rest to me. I'll do the same, pick out all the .380s, and send them to you. We both should have more than enough brass!!

 

[Prof_Fate]

ran into a guy at the range and he shoots 45 for less than a 22lr. Shoots all his guns that cheap, or close to it.

how? Free lead and he casts his own bullets. So that's 3c for the primer and what, 2c for powder, so 5c a round! Good 22LR ammo is 7c a round.

I can load 30-06 for 28c a round with pulled mil bullets or 38c with new winchester bullets. You GOTTA be able to do a pistol for less...

But then I chose 9mm over 45 because 9 is about 50-60% the cost to shoot. 12c a round or so.

I'm starting to load 30-06 for CMP garand, borrowed rifle. A fellow competitor says to buy an AR as it's good for more types of competitions and is a lot cheaper to shoot, and isn't much more than a good quality garand. Still mulling that one over...rack grade garand is what it is, historical but not really improvable. An AR will cost more espeically since it can be improved...

It just never ends, does it?

I did get a rossi 92 chamberd in 38/357 cause I can shoot it for 12c a round vs 25c or more on my 30-30.

 

[Prof_Fate]

ran into a guy at the range and he shoots 45 for less than a 22lr. Shoots all his guns that cheap, or close to it.

how? Free lead and he casts his own bullets. So that's 3c for the primer and what, 2c for powder, so 5c a round! Good 22LR ammo is 7c a round.

I can load 30-06 for 28c a round with pulled mil bullets or 38c with new winchester bullets. You GOTTA be able to do a pistol for less...

But then I chose 9mm over 45 because 9 is about 50-60% the cost to shoot. 12c a round or so.

I'm starting to load 30-06 for CMP garand, borrowed rifle. A fellow competitor says to buy an AR as it's good for more types of competitions and is a lot cheaper to shoot, and isn't much more than a good quality garand. Still mulling that one over...rack grade garand is what it is, historical but not really improvable. An AR will cost more espeically since it can be improved...

It just never ends, does it?

I did get a rossi 92 chamberd in 38/357 cause I can shoot it for 12c a round vs 25c or more on my 30-30. More trigger time is the idea, not so much saving money.

 

[LTC]

My per round cost just went up for next year. I recently purchased a Dillon case feeder for my RL550. With all the caliber conversions it was about $350 or so. I figure my break even number will be about 1750 rounds of .4 anything caliber wise. Probably fewer if I load a lot of .44Spec./.44mag. & .45 Colt.

LTC

 

[Murphy2000]

Down thru the ages, legendary shooters from all disciplines reloaded their own ammunition.

And later in their shooting career, if they were fortunate to be under contract to shoot for a major gun company (Rob Leatham for Springfield Armory and Jerry Miculek for S&W just to mention 2), they are provided all the ammunition they can shoot.

That being said, not long ago I took a stroll down the ammunition isle at Walmart. The prices on ammunition astounded me. I've a spent a young fortune over the years on reloading equipment and casting gear. I don't regret it one bit. I can head out to my shop in the morning, cast and load 1000 rounds for less than a 100 rounds of WW White Box in any caliber.

I guess in the end, it depends on ones needs and wants in ammunition. I got started into reloading because I couldn't buy the bullet Skeeter Skelton so dearly loved, the Lyman #358156 for my .357's.

Murphy2000

 

[blujax01]

My per round cost just went up for next year. I recently purchased a Dillon case feeder for my RL550. With all the caliber conversions it was about $350 or so. I figure my break even number will be about 1750 rounds of .4 anything caliber wise. Probably fewer if I load a lot of .44Spec./.44mag. & .45 Colt.

LTC

Add to that the "satisfaction factor". I just bought a case feeder for my XL650 and it makes a huge difference in the flow of things.