saving money by reloading?

[monkel]

I checked the stickies and did a search and didn't come up with anything, although i'm sure its been discussed. I can see myself spending A LOT of time at the range once i get my M&P 9 so i'm wondering if i would actually save money by reloading? I've done some very rough price crunching and it seems that its almost just as much to make 1 bullet as it is to buy it (doing it by 1000 rounds). Any thoughts or ideas? Perhaps i'm only finding the more pricey stuff.

Either way it looks interesting and i could definitely see myself loading my own ammo in the future. Thanks in advance.

 

[Rule3]

Yes you can save money by reloading but think of it more as a hobby than a money saver.

If you only reload 9mm, there is not a lot of saving there.

After you pay off your investment of reloading equipment and supplies you will save a little (9mm) On other calibers 45, 45 Colt, 357 Mag there is more savings as that ammo costs a lot more and is going up.

Some say you will not save money as you will shoot more. This may be true if you do not budget your shooting.

To truly save you need to buy in large quantities of powder and primers as well as projectiles. Led bullets being the least expensive.

I load a lot of calibers so it certainly saves me money. I do not own a gun I can not reload for. Back when you could not find any 380 auto and if you could it was $20 a box of 50, I could load it for say $6-7. So to me that's a savings!

With 9mm going for $9-10 a box not so much, but still a little and it's the fact you are doing it.

Dive in, factory ammo is only going to get more expensive, it's never going to be less.

 

[R1_Demon]

Most times you can reuse your brass up to 10 times...did you figure that into your equation? Or are you figuring new brass for each reload?

I'm not sure what your pricing is, since you didn't post it, but unless you are finding a heck of a deal on bulk ammo or something, that doesn't sound right, otherwise I doubt all of these people would be "rolling their own".

I'm looking at getting into doing it for .40S&W and the cheapest I can find a box of 50 here is around $14.95. After averaging everything out, I can probably shoot 3 times that amount if I roll my own each month. So, I won't "save money" per se, but I will be able to shoot a lot more for the money I'm currently spending; which is what I want to do.

 

[alde]

You won't save a whole lot loading 9mm but you can end up with better ammo. You really start saving with more expensive rounds like 45 ACP or 44 Magnum and Specials. I can load 100 45 ACP's with cast bullets for around $10 give or take. The are much more accurate than factory rounds too.

You also have to consider your time. A progressive press is pretty fast but cost more. If you load on a single stage it may take you a couple of hours or so to load 100 rounds. If you only shoot around 100 9mm's a week I would not bother. If you just want to learn and branch out into other calibers go for it. It's really fun and rewarding.

 

[papajohn428]

There is little to be saved by taking up reloading for the 9mm given the current cost of ammo. For other calibers (44 Special comes to mind) the savings can be quite substantial.

For most of us that reload, it's less about cost than the ability to tailor loads to our guns, use different-than-standard bullet weights, experiment with different components, and shoot more for less.

In my case, I shot more for the same cost, got better at it, so I shot even more, got even better at it, and enjoyed it more, so I shot even more. It's a vicious circle. Shooting is a perishable skill, and maintaining proficiency requires constant practice. It's my keister, and I figure I'm worth it.

 

[gregintenn]

Reloading is about shooting more; not saving money.

 

[skeezix]

Here's a handy calculator you can use.
Handgun Cartridge Reloading Cost Calculator

 

[thndrchiken]

As has been said, for the 9mm there will not be a big savings when comparing bulk prices. Now once you have a thousand cases or so, then think of how much it costs to buy another thousand rds. To reload it will cost about $23.00 for a lb of powder, $30.00 for a thousand primers and about $50.00 for bullets (if you stay with something like Raineer or Berry's) So that's a total of $103.00 to load them. You won't be buying a thousand rds for that price.

 

[SMSgt]

Does one save money by selling an old clunker and spending $35000 on a newer car that gets 5 MPG more? If you don't want to spend your money on gas, then yes.

If you don't want to spend your money on new ammo, then yes.

At less than $10 for a box of .45 ACP reloads, I recouped my investment pretty quick. I look at reloading as an extension of my shooting hobby, not a cash-saving means.

 

[monkel]

Most times you can reuse your brass up to 10 times...did you figure that into your equation? Or are you figuring new brass for each reload?

I'm not sure what your pricing is, since you didn't post it, but unless you are finding a heck of a deal on bulk ammo or something, that doesn't sound right, otherwise I doubt all of these people would be "rolling their own".

I'm looking at getting into doing it for .40S&W and the cheapest I can find a box of 50 here is around $14.95. After averaging everything out, I can probably shoot 3 times that amount if I roll my own each month. So, I won't "save money" per se, but I will be able to shoot a lot more for the money I'm currently spending; which is what I want to do.

Ahhhh no i did not! Thank you all for your responses! And my goal is to shoot more

 

[Titegroups]

If you only intend on owning one handgun for SD in 9mm I probably wouldn't bother. Spend your time learning to shoot well.

 

[robctwo]

I bought Hornady LnL back in 2004. I've run over 150,000 rounds through it. I bought it to load mostly 9mm and some rifle. It handles 300 WSM to .380 just fine. For pistol, a progressive press with the auto index is the only way to go. You can make one bullet at a time while learning, increase it to two at a time and then get the full five round rotation going. 200 to 300 per hour is a nice easy pace for me.

I pay about 1/2 price for 9mm, and up to 25% for .45 Colt for savings. I load .45 Colt for the same price as .45 ACP.

The savings pay for the equipment, then pay for the guns. All of my guns are "free". The more you shoot, the more you save, so you can afford other guns in different calibers and increase your savings by shooting more.

Reloading gives me better ammo, and the loads I want. I shoot a lot of light target loads out of .357, .45ACP and .45 Colt. I can load for bear if and when I want, but shoot 3-400 at a range session without killing my hand.

I'm getting way more than 10 reloads out of my pistol brass. I lose more than I throw out for cracking.

 

[Maximumbob54]

Everyone repeat after me, "I will learn to cast my own bullets!"

This is just some of the stash of range fodder. As soon as the .45 200 grain HP mold comes in... oh man, game on...

All made by the Lee Classic Turret with Lee carbide dies. I have yet to make a squib or have any problems. Learning to lube vs the velocity is the only issue still. Leading in my 625 is almost non-existent while leading in the 629 gets bad. This seems to be different because of the newer barrel threads. I'm betting with some alloy changes and better lube that problem will go away. The savings comes in the volume you shoot. If you only go shoot every now and then be prepared for a let down in the money you spend. If you go through bulk boxes of WWB and UMC and get upset when all the boxes run empty then you could be looking at savings and still have more volume.

 

[monkel]

Everyone repeat after me, "I will learn to cast my own bullets!"

This is just some of the stash of range fodder. As soon as the .45 200 grain HP mold comes in... oh man, game on...

All made by the Lee Classic Turret with Lee carbide dies. I have yet to make a squib or have any problems. Learning to lube vs the velocity is the only issue still. Leading in my 625 is almost non-existent while leading in the 629 gets bad. This seems to be different because of the newer barrel threads. I'm betting with some alloy changes and better lube that problem will go away. The savings comes in the volume you shoot. If you only go shoot every now and then be prepared for a let down in the money you spend. If you go through bulk boxes of WWB and UMC and get upset when all the boxes run empty then you could be looking at savings and still have more volume.

I just went from six to midnight if ya know what i mean. I'm a "hobbiest" i love hobbies and can never get enough of em. The more i read this thread the more i want to load my own ammo! I feel like from the video's i've watched loading is a lot dirtier then if i were to straight up buy boxes. Or does it depend on which powder you use?

... i have NO problem cleaning my gun and being anal about it, infact i'm the kinda guy to clean my gun and tear it apart if i haven't even used it haha.

 

[W.E.G.]

Your brass-scrounging skillz will improve over time too.

 

[monkel]

Will ranges let you scavenge like a junk yard? I would think it depends on the range. I'd like to just take the big bucket, sort it all and give em whatever left overs i don't use. Or is even asking them a big no no?

 

[Maximumbob54]

Or does it depend on which powder you use?

Powder selection, bullet lube, and amount of bullet lube will produce various amounts of smoke and flash. I started with Unique and Bullseye. Bullseye is a little smokey and Unique a little less so. Some to think of it, the amount of powder burn uniformity is another one for smoke and flash. There may still be more to it but I'm not at that level yet. To me WWB and UMC are partially filled with charcoal powder from last weekend's burger drippings BBQ coals leftovers. The stuff coats the end of my 1911 in black and brown soot. Not of my powders used to date have that kind of build up unless I shoot for a good long time. Which come to think of it, now I can afford to do so...

These are some of the powders I have used so far:

My first SWC .40 SW bullets from a Lee six cavity mold:

And my sometimes very cluttered reloading bench:

I did the usual thing and bought the ABC's of reloading, which I highly recommend by the way, bought a few manuals (I prefer the Lee and Lyman books), and started first with a single stage press. Had I known how great the Lee Classic Turret is then I would have just bought that. And don't forget you gain the ability to custom make your ammo tuned for your gun. Casting adds even more to that. I had no idea how deep into it I was going to jump when I first started. You may not go as deep as myself or others or you may devote a room in your house to loading your own. (I almost have at this point...)

 

[Maximumbob54]

Will ranges let you scavenge like a junk yard? I would think it depends on the range. I'd like to just take the big bucket, sort it all and give em whatever left overs i don't use. Or is even asking them a big no no?

You have to find out up front if you are allowed to pick up brass. Many of them have started making side money by declaring themselves "Lost Brass" ranges. They don't allow any brass that hits the range floor to be picked up, but they themselves pick it up and sell it as once fired brass. I get that they are a business, but I disagree with if my brass from my 1911 hits their floor then it becomes theirs. So I don't frequent those ranges anymore and go elsewhere. It's also another good reason for me re-falling in love with revolvers like my 625 since it doesn't spit out what it eats. But ask first or you could be kicked off the range. Another good tip is to mark your brass with a Sharpie (I use a green one) so you don't argue who's brass belongs to who. Some guys will get downright childish over it and it just isn't worth it. I have also tried various catch nets but have yet to stick with one for long. Lastly, beware of this one... Just like all the ranges banning military ammo or worse yet the ones that make you buy their ammo or only bring in sealed boxes of factory ammo... Many ranges are now saying NO HANDLOADS!!! I can only guess they think it is a liability issue since it is so easy to sue in this current world. It doesn't take much to see blown apart actions, barrels, cylinders, or worse with a simple Google search. This forum has seen the blown up 629 enough times by now. Loading your own is just as dangerous as driving a car. Pay attention to what you are doing and you will be just fine. Join the ranks of people who make their own version of magnum +P+'s that aren't listed in any honest manual and you will likely get yourself hurt, your gun ruined, and another range closed to handloaders.

 

[monkel]

You have to find out up front if you are allowed to pick up brass. Many of them have started making side money by declaring themselves "Lost Brass" ranges. They don't allow any brass that hits the range floor to be picked up, but they themselves pick it up and sell it as once fired brass. I get that they are a business, but I disagree with if my brass from my 1911 hits their floor then it becomes theirs. So I don't frequent those ranges anymore and go elsewhere. It's also another good reason for me re-falling in love with revolvers like my 625 since it doesn't spit out what it eats. But ask first or you could be kicked off the range. Another good tip is to mark your brass with a Sharpie (I use a green one) so you don't argue who's brass belongs to who. Some guys will get downright childish over it and it just isn't worth it. I have also tried various catch nets but have yet to stick with one for long. Lastly, beware of this one... Just like all the ranges banning military ammo or worse yet the ones that make you buy their ammo or only bring in sealed boxes of factory ammo... Many ranges are now saying NO HANDLOADS!!! I can only guess they think it is a liability issue since it is so easy to sue in this current world. It doesn't take much to see blown apart actions, barrels, cylinders, or worse with a simple Google search. This forum has seen the blown up 629 enough times by now. Loading your own is just as dangerous as driving a car. Pay attention to what you are doing and you will be just fine. Join the ranks of people who make their own version of magnum +P+'s that aren't listed in any honest manual and you will likely get yourself hurt, your gun ruined, and another range closed to handloaders.

Thanks for the good info/heads up i'll make sure to call around to the ranges around me and ask some questions!

 

[ar15ed]

handloading is fun! i really look at it as part of the whole shooting experience. tailoring rifle rounds to be EXTREMELY accurate, or tailoring handgun rounds to hit to point of aim are big positives, as is saving money. after you get set up, when you add calibers, your savings just keep adding up. some rounds, like 45colt, or 338 lapua pretty much come in for pennies on the dollar, while more common stuff, like 9mm, you don't save hardly as much.