Reloading Really Worth It ?
after the start up costs of equipement and all, is it cost effective to reload for shotgun shells and .357 and 30-06 ?
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If your going to load more than 10,000 rounds, Yeah. 0 -
If you want something unobtainable in normal commercial trade, yes.
If you load exotic calibers, yes.
If you want common calibers with common loads, no.0 -
With out hesitation I will say that reloading, casting bullets and seeking knowledge about the subjects is the most satisfying hobby I have had. It is my passion in life, the way I relax. Reloading is well worth the effort.
My .020 -
Yes, it is for me.
I've got 750 cases of 45ACP prepped and ready to load.
I figure my cost for everything to be 65 bucks.
All my equipment has been paid off for years, now.
But that's just the money.
I play with loads for 22-250, 243, 270, 270WSM, 7.7JAP, 38Spl, 357Mag, 44Mag, 45ACP, 9X19MM and when I feel like I've got enough rounds in those calibers, I'll work up loads for 9X18Mak. (I just haven't tried that one yet.) I know my loads are consistent and accurate with the added benefit of getting me out of the house and into the "Batcave" for a few hours of time completely to myself.0 -
For exotic calibers that aren't available or are ghastly expensive; yes. For loading ammo that you can't buy; yes. For tailoring ammo to your gun for maximum accuracy; yes.
But you have to consider the cost of your time. I never loaded 9mm or .380 because the former is simply too cheap to buy and I don't shoot the latter enough to justify it. I am getting away from loading the .38 Special because I don't save enough to justify the time I spend. I still load magnum and big bore calibers.
I favor rifles in calibers that allow me to buy mil-surp for plinking. I have a lot of '06s, .308s, 8x57s and 7x57s and the ammo locker is full of these calibers. Other rifle calibers I do load.
I never loaded shot shells.
Some guys enjoy reloading. I don't.0 -
Shotgun in 12ga NO WAY if you are just trying to load cheep plinking loads.
.357 if you shoot More then 1000rds/yr Yes
.30-06 again if you plan on shooting more then 1000rds/yr
The .357 will most likely be your biggest savings. Keep in mind you will need to buy your components in bulk. As this will take a couple years to pay off unless you are shooting Thousands of rounds a year. CMP is selling .30-06 for about $200/1000 shipped and that is hard to beat. Cheep 12ga can be had for under $4/box still and it hard to load for that even if you didnt have to buy a press.
I know lots of people scoff at loading 9mm but prices are changing in a hurry the past 18mo and is not going to be getting any better. When I could buy 9mm for under $100/1000 it was not worth it but now that it is pushing $125-150 I can load for about $80/1000 and that is worth it to me. .308 has gone $250/1000 or higher and I can still load for about $130/1000 that is a huge savings.
All the prices of components are going up too so we will just have to see where that leaves us.0 -
quote:Originally posted by SaxonPig
...Some guys enjoy reloading. I don't.
That's one of the most honest posts I've ever seen. And I can relate. The more I shoot the 45ACP, the more of a chore its becoming. Which is my justification for a $600 progressive press. (I'll let you know how that's working out for me in five years.)
But I'm one of those guys who likes the sense of accomplishment and the solitude it affords me. I've got my wife and friends (those who don't reload) to understand that no, I can't chat with them and yes, it is that important to me.0 -
Reloading isnt a past time for me but I do it to save money. I can reload for my .40 for half the cost of buying rounds. Can reload for my 30-30 for a third, etc... I just got the stuff to reload for my swiss, saving big time there.
Sure it takes time to do but when I'm doing something I choose to do, I dont worry about how much my time is worth.
Oh, and you dont have to run out and buy tons of equipment. I bought the Lee Anniversary kit to start with, the Lee dies I needed and all the components. I have *maybe* 200 bucks in everything and have enough components to make thousands of rounds.
Only word of advice about reloading is beeeeeee careful and concentrate when doing it.
Shane0 -
Started with a single stage RCBS, then to a Lyman turret head. Bought a Dillon 550B, used, about 10 years ago. The Dillon has more than paid for it's cost. Still load my hunting ammo on the RCBS. I do enjoy reloading when I really get into it. But doing a few rounds at a time seems a chore. 0 -
It depends on you. If you're just the casual plinker, then no, it's not really cost effective.
If you're involved in competition shooting, and burn up lots of rounds in both the match and practice...oh yeah! It'll save you about 1/3 the cost of factory ammo, over a period of time.
I shoot black powder in cowboy action shooting, and build the loads to suit the guns and the application. If I had to buy factory ammo to play our game, it would get real expensive, real fast!
Read a lot of different sources, compare the data, and work up your load from there. No two loading manuals will ever agree on the same caliber or load. Find a comfortable middle ground, and go from there.0 -
quote:Originally posted by stevenrayspeck
If your going to load more than 10,000 rounds, Yeah.
Shotgun - no.
Steve - you can drop by the (pick your favorite) ________ at my house...I will give you a bill for the reloaded ammo.
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Honestly, yes. You save a lot.
If you want, you can find a GREAT load with little effort. Check the reloading forum on this site.
I load for 17 Rem, 204 Ruger, 223, 243, 6.5x55, 270, 7.5x55, 300 win mag, 45-70, 357 mag, & 44 mag.
I do not buy components in bulk, but DO look for good/great deals.
I worked up a spreadsheet for reloading 1000 rounds each for the 223, 6.5x55, 7.5x55, 357, & 44. AFTER buying GOOD equipment, brass, bullets, powder, and primers, you will save $1600. Works out to paying yourself almost $25/hour after purchasing the equipment and supplies. (I only purchased 100 rounds of brass for each)0 -
quote:Originally posted by SaxonPig
For exotic calibers that aren't available or are ghastly expensive; yes. For loading ammo that you can't buy; yes. For tailoring ammo to your gun for maximum accuracy; yes.
But you have to consider the cost of your time. I never loaded 9mm or .380 because the former is simply too cheap to buy and I don't shoot the latter enough to justify it. I am getting away from loading the .38 Special because I don't save enough to justify the time I spend. I still load magnum and big bore calibers.
I favor rifles in calibers that allow me to buy mil-surp for plinking. I have a lot of '06s, .308s, 8x57s and 7x57s and the ammo locker is full of these calibers. Other rifle calibers I do load.
I never loaded shot shells.
Some guys enjoy reloading. I don't.
From what I have been seeing, the above in red is changing dramatically. Anybody else?0 -
I load for .308 and .260. The .308 I have no problem getting reasonable commercial ammo for and would not have to reload for it. But with ammo prics going up I think I can do it cheaper, even though component prices are going up too.
Where I really find the value is loading for my .260 Rem. There are not alot of commercial loads available for this especially when you like to specialize and say make a 95 grain VMax load.
But for me there is something else. I get a deep sense of satisfaction from knowing that when I harvest a Whitetail with the .260, that I did so with rounds I put together. My 8 yr old son also enjoys helping me reload. What he doesn't know is that next Christmas he is getting a Ruger 77 compact in .260 to load for himself!
Lots of reasons to reload; only some of them are about the cost.
TB0 -
tr fox -
yes. the ammo prices have gone up. I stocked up a few years back, I will probably not have to buy .223, .308. .30-06 in the near future...nor 9mm or .38 special.
Maine Cartridge used to have great deals a few years ago...never had a prob with their pistol ammo, never purchased their rifle stuff
I used to reload for my S&W Mod 52 when I was bullseye shooting, but it's been a long time, and I still have 500rds left specifically for that gun0 -
Metal prices have soared recently and of course ammo is largely metal hence the dramatic rise in retail prices of late (metal price increases will affect reloaders, too, keeping the relative difference between loading and buying the same). This may be temporary or maybe prices will just be higher. I still have to balance my time vs. the savings. At $12 a box it's not worth my time to reload because the savings are maybe $6-7 and it takes me about an hour to reload that box and I'm not really interested in working for $7 an hour.
If you shoot thousands of rounds each year it would be of value to invest in a progressive reloader. I don't get to shoot that much so I am still using my RCBS Rock Chucker I bought in 1976.0 -
I use a Dillon 550 and its pretty easy to crank out 500 rounds or so and at very reasonable cost per unit.
It depends a lot on what you shoot as to what the savings are. I pick up and sort through a lot of brass at my indoor range. So I don't have to spend the money for brass. I shoot a lot of 45 ACP and use a target load so the brass lasts a long, long time. My per unit cost is a fraction of what it costs to buy new ammo.
When loading some of the more expensive cal like 357 sig, 44 special, 45 Long Colt, 44 Mag, 357 mag the saving can be quite significant.
I use a lot of lead bullets with my target loads so that cuts the cost of reloading down a lot also.
Heck when I could buy 9mm on sale for $6 a box it was not worth spending the time to reload it. But 380 at $12 I suppose its well worth it. Ammo prices have shot up here in Oregon and so my savings per unit has gone up as a result. When the powder cost and bullet cost follow suit then my savings will drop.
I find the big bullets very easy to load quickly. 45 ACP, 45 LC, 44 Special, 38 Special, 44 Mag, 357 Mag are so darn easy to load quickly and accurately. I have never tried to load the 380 since it is quite small and some of my loading experience with the 357 sig has not been pleasant. I think the smaller bullets require a bit more care to reload accurately.
I am retired so I have the time to reload if I choose to do so and I enjoy the quiet time at the press. It would be very boring to me if I had to do it for a living eight hours per day though.0 -
quote:Originally posted by RunForest
after the start up costs of equipement and all, is it cost effective to reload for shotgun shells and .357 and 30-06 ?
Just for your information. I sold last year two complete sets of single stage reloading equipment for around $125 each. A RCBS rock chucker set and an older Pacific set.
Both sets included the powder measures, scales, press, some dies, and other goodies.
My point is you can find used sets at very cheap prices out there and make up that initial cost very quickly if you shoot often.
Look on Craigs List in cities near you or at the gun ranges in your area. I sold one set at the gun range and one set on Craigs List, both sold very quickly.0 -
Like what everyone else has said it depends on you and your shooting habits. For me I now have 30+ rifles that are mostly Remingtons, no milsurps, some are repeat cals but I still have 20 different rifle chamberings and to go to Walmart and buy 100 rounds for each of them would cause me to have to take out a personal loan at the bank! For me reloading saves me lots of $$ because many components are spread out among different rifles such as primers and powder and even bullet cost can be spread out among different rifles due to some of them being same cal such as a 7mm Rem mag and 7mm Rem Ultra mag or .30-06, .300 Win Mag and .300 Wtby mag. I cannot imagine buying factory ammo, to me it is a waste of money and time to shoot factory ammo due to cost and performance. Sure I can buy a box of super duper hotrodded ammo at a cost of almost $40 for 20 rounds but I can make ammo just as good if not better for $5 per 20. It has taken several years for me to be able to reload costg effectivly but now that I am here there is no way I would buy factory ammo not even to harvest the brass.
When I buy a new rifle one of the first things I do is get on MidwayUsa and order a Redding three die set and brass for that gun and I most likely already have plenty of bullets and powder so right there an investment of $75 is already cheaper than buying 4 boxes of ammo for it! With neck sizing I can load some brass up to 10Xs without signs of wear while others may go 5 loadings but it is still cheaper than factory.
Like one other poster mentioned, pride of taking an animal with ammo you made is there as well as going to the range and shooting awsome groups with ammo you made. For me as well it is hitting the ram at 1000 yards with my ammo or plowing the steel groundhog at 500 yards each and every shot like it was only 50 yards away. I have begun to use my rifles more for entertainment on the long bench than hunting and real soon I will be shooting 500 yard and 1000 yard compitition and using my ammo to compete makes me feel good.
Now if I owned a bunch of milsurp guns that was used only for making noise and scaring people at the range [:D] then I would buy surplus ammo but since that aint my cup of tea I will continue my quest to see just how long it takes to wear out that RCBS Rockchucker[:D][:D]0 -
Yes[:D] 0
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