briandg, I understand your position and point of view. I just don't agree.
I've done the math before, specifically for my swaged bullets that use .40 S&W cases as jackets. There ARE 'hidden' costs. You are correct. There always are - as jmorris hinted at. But they're still minimal ... arguably inconsequential, in some cases.
I obtain range lead when I'm already at the range to shoot. I already have a membership to shoot, and don't have to pay for extra time to enjoy picking up those nuggets of lead. It can't even be argued that there's any cost in the containers used for collection and transport, either. I use empty water bottles (tear resistant
) or bags from my vehicle, and/or empty ammo boxes from the range garbage cans (when no bags or water bottles available ... and I'm not using someone else's from the trash).
I melt range lead with a dutch oven that was given to me because it was rusted beyond saving for food preparation, a turkey fryer burner that was purchased for other uses, and thrift store utensils ($1.25 total - they still have tags on them!).
Ingots are poured into molds that paid themselves off long ago.
Propane cost to run the turkey fryer burner is about $1.00 / hr.
Handling is done with old welding gloves.
I can process more than 90 lbs of usable alloy through that little dutch oven in about an hour (more if I'm not dealing with range lead). That's barely cracking one cent ($0.011) per pound in processing costs. ($0.00000157 per grain)
Tumbling the brass for cleaning uses about 70 watts. I pay $0.74 / kwh. I tumble for about 30 minutes for most loads, up to an hour for really dirty stuff. We'll meet in the middle at 45 minutes. That's 0.07 kwh at $0.74 / kwh, for 45 minutes. It works out to $0.039 per load ($0.03885).
I rarely run solely .40 S&W, but if I do, it's about 250-300 pieces at a time. So, that's $0.0000141 per case for cleaning.
I no longer bother, after actual field testing on game and test media, but if I were still bonding the cores of my swaged bullets, that would be another 'hidden' cost. The cheap stuff that I use costs $1.89 for a 2 oz container of paste flux, and is good for about 450 cases/jackets. That's about forty five ten-thousandths ($0.0045) of a cent per case/jacket.
I use a 7x57mm sizing die for swaging. I paid $5 for an old Bair 2-die set that came with an additional sizing die; and the seating die is also actually suitable for the swaging process. Total transportation cost to get those dies was minimal. I was already in the area to pick up some other things, and happened to get a call from the seller. I detoured just 1.5 blocks off the main road, and back. So... call it $1.70 per die, with a usable lifespan of about 15,000 bullets per die. (Using fired cases increases die wear, due to embedded abrasives.)
But, but... but! I also own several 7x57mm rifles. Those dies can serve double-duty.
I call that an inconsequential cost. Others might call it 'hidden'. Even without a use for making actual 7x57mm ammo, and figuring for 5,000 bullets per die, the cost per bullet is less than 4 ten-thousandths of a cent ($0.00034).
And, of course, there are more tools and processes that could be discussed.
But I'll add up the above, and see where that gets us.
Figuring for a 9mm 115 gr FN**, somehow being made via a similar process with .380 Auto brass as the 'jacket' and some fictional sizing die that is suitable for swaging the necessary bullet shape:
$0.000102 (= $0.00000157/gr x 65 gr per bullet for alloy processing [the cases weigh 50 gr, so less lead is needed])
$0.0000141 (cleaning)
$0.0045 (flux for bonded bullets)
$0.00034 (die amortization)
=
$0.00495641 for a bonded bullet.
$0.00045641 for an unbonded bullet.
Less than half a cent for a bonded bullet.
Less than one two-thousandth of a cent for a standard bullet.
The point...
Some hidden costs do add up, like the flux used for bonding in that example. But omitting that flux (which I have done in real life, because it doesn't matter) drops the cost to the point that the entire cost of the bullet is inconsequential. This example, though fictional to stick with the 115 gr 9mm line of discussion**, is sitting at $0.45 per thousand!
None of the above uses special tools or requires special skills, either.
**I really wanted to go with my .430" diameter, 275 gr '.40 S&W' bullet, but it skews the numbers in a manner that makes the comparison difficult. --Just as cheap, pound for pound, but the comparison isn't as clear.
Anyway...
If you made it this far, thanks for reading. Enjoy your weekend.
I know you and I disagree a lot, but I'm not really trying to argue here. But, the discussion is here and I dabble in many of the less popular activities in the reloading world, so it's fun to talk about how some of those activities compare to "normal" people's reloading.