When Loading *IS* Worth Our Time

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otisrush

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In this hobby we so frequently get into the "Is loading worth it from a time perspective?" question....I thought I'd pass along today's experience that shows, in my opinion, there clearly are calibers where it IS worth our time.

I'm taking my son's friend shooting for the first time this weekend. I won't let anyone but me shoot my reloads, so I went to Walmart to buy some .38 Special.

OMG - $21.50 for a box of 50. I load 50 .38 Spcls for $7 or so.

This is why we all say we shoot more after we began loading. :D

OR
 
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Ha. Try going to Walmart (or anywhere) and purchasing .348 Winchester, .30-40 Krag, .38 ACP, 9mm Bergmann, or .38-44. I handload so I can shoot these obsolete cartridges, and the brilliant firearms that chamber them.

I've also been known to shoot .30 Luger, 7.63 Mauser, .44 Special, .44 Magnum, .50 Action Express, and .45-70; no cheap factory ammo.
 
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7.7mm Arisaka....

MAJPATT said:
Ha. Try going to Walmart (or anywhere) and purchasing .348 Winchester, .30-40 Krag, .38 ACP, 9mm Bergmann, or .38-44. I handload so I can shoot these obsolete cartridges, and the brilliant firearms that chamber them.

I've also been known to shoot .30 Luger, 7.63 Mauser, .44 Special, .44 Magnum, .50 Action Express, and .45-70; no cheap factory ammo.
Click to expand...

I can make 7.7mm Arisaka rounds from 30-06 cases with a die, a tubing cutter and a trimmer. Then I anneal them for a few seconds with a propane torch. Then I load them for .27/round which comes out to...$5.40 for a box of 20 that I can get shipped in for well over $30. If I use coated bullets you can cut that by more than half.
 
$21.50 for a box of 38spl? I typically order them by the thousand for 30 cents a round. Gun stores here sell for about $16/$17. The only $21 boxes I see are hollow point SD ammo

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Arik said:
$21.50 for a box of 38spl? I typically order them by the thousand for 30 cents a round. Gun stores here sell for about $16/$17. The only $21 boxes I see are hollow point SD ammo

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

I'll have to check LGSs. I just assumed WM was cheapest.
 
otisrush said:
I'll have to check LGSs. I just assumed WM was cheapest.
Click to expand...
I never judge by Walmart. They are not consistent in what they carry and where they carry. I don't have Walmarts that sell ammo. Id have to drive 45 minutes to find one. To me it's like judging all car prices by the one guy who has a car for sale in his driveway. He's not a car dealer and Walmart isn't a gun store.

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Hasbeen1945 said:
I always heard you don't save any money reloading. You just get to shoot more.
Click to expand...

Probably very true. I know some people have actually done the math. It really depends on what you shoot and how much you shoot it.

The initial investment in dies, presses, powder, primers, bullets cases, calipers and all of the other little goodies that go along with the hobby, can be quite expense.

I don't shoot enough to truly justify the cost of my reloading gear (even though I shoot some expensive stuff like 44mag/44spl/357mag/45acp).

I find it to be a relaxing hobby. That in itself justifies the cost.
 
I reload for all my firearms except my AK47 7.62x39. For that caliber it is cheaper to buy surplus ammo than going to the expense of reloading it.
 
IF you shoot 9mm, 38 special , .223 and .45 auto ball. and just a few boxes a month, you can probably get by with store specials and bulk purchases where the cost is not too bad. When you start buying .357 mag, 44 mag, hollow point , and premium rifle ammo, and you shoot a lot, reloading starts paying off. .44 magnum was the caliber that started me on reloading, even back in the 70's that stuff was pricey.
 
True, I do shoot more....

Hasbeen1945 said:
I always heard you don't save any money reloading. You just get to shoot more.
Click to expand...

If I take a couple of kids shooting I can go through 200 rounds of 9mm ammo easy. Add in .38s, .357s and 30-06 where the cost savings really are. This is a cheap good time for me. I don't fish much anymore. It's worth a lot to me for kids to have some instruction and positive use for guns rather than shooting each other. Which happens quite a lot around here. Being on a fixed income I wouldn't be able to do that.
 
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Went into a place the other day for a few .22..........
looked at the 9mm just for the heck of it.
Cheapest box was steel case 115fmj at $9.98 and some SD ammo was at $35 for 20 rounds.

I did not bother to turn around and look at the rifle ammo, behind me.
I had seen enough gouging.........
 
I work a lot of hours, by the time I have dinner and sit down to spend a few minutes with my wife it is 8pm and TV doesn't interest me. Thank goodness for reloading, it is my 'other part' of shooting that I enjoy, for me it is 'time' well spent:)

I don't get to shoot often enough so it is reloading and gun tinkering that keeps the hobby going overall for me!
Enjoy it all.............
Karl
 
I like being able to tailor my loads besides the big cost savings. I currently load, .38 SPL, .357 Mag., .44 Mag., .45 ACP, 9mm, .30-06, .223 and 12 ga. The only ammo that is not really worth one's time loading is 12 ga. shotgun, but I don't mind taking the time to do it. If one is independently wealthy and isn't particular about what he or she can get for ammo, then it probably isn't worth their time. For the other 98% of us, reloading is worth our time. Most of us waste time watching tv or on the computer/ smart phone. That time can be better spent at the loading bench.
 
I think the "time factor" is looked at mostly by people who consider reloading a chore.

For lots of us, though, it's a hobby. Do I add up the hours I spend at my other hobbies? Of course not. Although, my wife might point it out to me.

Reloading is the way to bring out the best in any firearm. Except for rimfire, of course.

It's also a way to have any load we want available when we want it. Try going to the store and finding .44 Magnum wadcutters, or .30-30 Win. with 130 gr. hollow points.

This has been discussed time and time again, and there's almost always naysayers. To each their own, just don't try to convince me I'm not saving money. I know, I know, I'm not saving money, just shooting more. But when you look at the price per round, it actually IS saving me money.
 
I worked both sides. I find the reloading process to be therapeutic, plus it saves money and I get exactly what I want. Also, like MAJPATT above, I reload for odd-balls. Try to buy rounds for 8mm Lebel Revolver or .455 Webley at your LGS. Unfortunately for those of us in the People's Republic of California starting 01-01-18 it will no longer be legal to buy ammo off the net and it will even be illegal (though hard to enforce) to travel out of state and bring ammo back. Ain't liberalism wonderful??? (NOT.)
 
Something as recent as 41 magnum , at Cabela's , they claim to carry one Remington load....but every time I've checked....SOLD OUT. And forget about big box stores.
A supply of once fired brass , two Lyman , one Lee and two NOE bullet moulds and I don't have to worry about "finding" ammo.
This is a great hobby !
Gary
 
robertrwalsh said:
I worked both sides. I find the reloading process to be therapeutic, plus it saves money and I get exactly what I want. Also, like MAJPATT above, I reload for odd-balls. Try to buy rounds for 8mm Lebel Revolver or .455 Webley at your LGS. Unfortunately for those of us in the People's Republic of California starting 01-01-18 it will no longer be legal to buy ammo off the net and it will even be illegal (though hard to enforce) to travel out of state and bring ammo back. Ain't liberalism wonderful??? (NOT.)
Click to expand...

Don't you feel so much safer knowing the government is going to protect you...by taking away the ammo ...(NOT) !
 
I posted this several years ago. Still holds true. ('Cept I've installed an AC now. :) )

Was out in the garage sizing and priming some brass, eventually going to work up some loads. Had to wait until evening, as it is hotter than well you know.

Just beginning to reload, and I am beginning to discover some of the "other" enjoyable parts of reloading. Not just the actual product, but the process, and its quietness and solitude. Better half understands the need for no distractions, so I am left alone (or maybe its because it is hotter then h*** Took a moment between calibers to enjoy the peacefulness....crickets, train off in the distance.....

Think I'm gonna like this
 
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A few things we are forgetting..

I can't get ANYWHERE near the variety of loads I like to shoot buying factory ammo.

You can't count on a store having what you want.

If you are in a shortage situation like in the last few years, NOTHING is on the shelf and prices go sky high. I'm NOT going to be at the mercy of trends.
 
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