kilimanjaro
New member
You can figure your cost per bullet using a simple Excel spreadsheet, cost of press, dies, scale, tools, powder, brass, primers, bullets. Keep adding to the totals when you purchase anything, and keep a total for number of bullets.
Then divide total cost by number of bullets, that's cost per round, loaded or not. To start, you'll see a number like $1,000 for the first round, then $500 for the second, and so on.
If you want to separate things out by caliber, just add a couple of columns. They should all total up to equal your total cost as a check.
Don't bother keeping track of the number of reloads per case, except as a side issue. just add the cost of new brass when you replace worn-out cases. The number of bullets vs. cost is the simplest way to track it.
Having said all that, I found out that it took about two years to amortize the expense of the gear and components to reload 18 calibers, down to a level that approached commercial prices of loaded ammo. Some calibers, like, say, .416 Rigby, I was saving money with the first 20 rounds, including the cost of dies, but when you look at the total expense vs. rounds loaded for all 18 calibers, the .416 Rigby data won't change things more than a penny or two.
Now I'm down to an overall cost per round, after three years, that is looking pretty good. The reason I started to reload, however, was to enjoy the hobby, which was an immediate benefit.
Then divide total cost by number of bullets, that's cost per round, loaded or not. To start, you'll see a number like $1,000 for the first round, then $500 for the second, and so on.
If you want to separate things out by caliber, just add a couple of columns. They should all total up to equal your total cost as a check.
Don't bother keeping track of the number of reloads per case, except as a side issue. just add the cost of new brass when you replace worn-out cases. The number of bullets vs. cost is the simplest way to track it.
Having said all that, I found out that it took about two years to amortize the expense of the gear and components to reload 18 calibers, down to a level that approached commercial prices of loaded ammo. Some calibers, like, say, .416 Rigby, I was saving money with the first 20 rounds, including the cost of dies, but when you look at the total expense vs. rounds loaded for all 18 calibers, the .416 Rigby data won't change things more than a penny or two.
Now I'm down to an overall cost per round, after three years, that is looking pretty good. The reason I started to reload, however, was to enjoy the hobby, which was an immediate benefit.