Hmmmm..............

B

Bob Wright

New member
I just noticed the photo of this box of .44 Magnum cartridges I reloaded.



Loaded forty seven times? Hmmmmm............

A box of brass, fifty cartridges costs about $16.65. So if I have one box of ammunition, and save my brass, I get 46 x $16.65, or $765.67 savings over buying factory ammunition?

Bob Wright
 
Now I understand why ammo manufacturers charge so much. Their
sales are not up to the levels they could be because of people like
you!

Shame, shame, shame, shame. :p
 
A box of brass, fifty cartridges costs about $16.65. So if I have one box of ammunition, and save my brass, I get 46 x $16.65, or $765.67 savings over buying factory ammunition?
Click to expand...
Not quite.....you gotta buy bullets, powder and primers.....not to mention stickers.
Nearly every time someone does a calculation of how much they are saving they leave out a couple of things:
1. cost of their reloading equipment.
2. their time.

For a lot of people time has value. If spending time reloading is a relaxing and rewarding hobby you are blessed.
 
My reloading equipment is around 30 years old so it's been amortized already and since I'm retired my time is free.

And you're right, reloading is kind of relaxing...
 
dogtown tom said:

Not quite.....you gotta buy bullets, powder and primers.....not to mention stickers.
Nearly every time someone does a calculation of how much they are saving they leave out a couple of things:
1. cost of their reloading equipment.
2. their time.

For a lot of people time has value. If spending time reloading is a relaxing and rewarding hobby you are blessed.
Click to expand...

What you say is true, of course, but to a certain degree. That money saved on brass will buy a lot of components and dies etc.

Time? What might I spend my free time on that is better than reloading? TV? I've plenty of that. This is my recreational time just the same as shooting or horseback riding.

Again, I say I don't really save any money, but I shoot a whole lot more for the same amount of money.

In buying factory ammunition, you pay for bullets, powder, primer and brass; the box your ammunition comes in, and somebody to load that ammunition.

So that amount of money I claim I save is not really money in my pocket, its just more bullets down range.

Bob Wright
 
Uncle Ed:
Now I understand why ammo manufacturers charge so much. Their
sales are not up to the levels they could be because of people like
you!

Shame, shame, shame, shame.
Click to expand...

I feel that burden of remorse at each range session. It lasts a second or two.

Bob Wright
 
Not quite.....you gotta buy bullets, powder and primers.....not to mention stickers.
Nearly every time someone does a calculation of how much they are saving they leave out a couple of things:
1. cost of their reloading equipment.
2. their time.

For a lot of people time has value. If spending time reloading is a relaxing and rewarding hobby you are blessed.
Click to expand...

I am an economist by trade. The term "time is money" is derived from the notion that people get utility from money because they can buy stuff with it.
But, there are intangible values allotted with certain activities where the individual derives utility from the activity itself. For instance, some people enjoy working out, others would require a paycheck to workout regularly.

The simple reloading budgeter simply looks at his costs vs. the cost of factory ammo, and sees the money saved. This budget also often also ignores that good handloads shouldn't be compared to bulk bulk ammo like Tul ammo if it is being tailored to his rifle.

The more advance reloading budget accounts for his time, amortizes his equipment, and recognizes his ammo is better than factory ammo so uses premium ammo as a benchmark for cost comparison (if Warranted). And also obviously budgets for components.

But, if you derive utility from the act of reloading, then you can actually count your time as $0 because you derive happiness from the act. In fact technically you can have negative time dollars if you really like it, in that you should be paying for the opportunity to reload.

however, in my case, I do not enjoy uniforming primer pockets, removing crimps, trimming, or sorting thousands of rounds by headstamp. So in my budget my time is $0 because there are some reloading aspects I really like, and some I don't.
 
I get tickled at folks who add the "cost" of their time into their reloading cost. Like if they were watching TV instead, they would be getting paid for it. :rolleyes: Have to wonder how much it "cost" them to post to the forum. But, maybe that's just me.
 
Mississippi said: (In part)

however, in my case, I do not enjoy uniforming primer pockets, removing crimps, trimming, or sorting thousands of rounds by headstamp.
Click to expand...

As to trimming, I trim only when necessary, about every tenth or fifteenth loading. And firing my cartridges removes the crimp. And if you notice my plastic box, the fired rounds go right back into that box. My case tumbler holds fifty rounds, so my cases are kept separate by headstamp, and allows me to keep track track of the number of times the cases have been reloaded.

My practice is to keep my carry and hunting loads confined to cases loaded no more than ten times. After that they are moderate target loads.

Bob Wright
 
I've always looked at it this way. Say the cost for each case is $.50. Loaded ad shot is now worth $.20. Loaded and shot again $.12 1/2 and so on. That's the only real variable as the cost of the rest of the components is pretty much fixed.
Paul B.
 
Drive it like you stole it!
Until the cases crack and the crack is lower than the base of the bullet, keep on truckin'. ;)
(I jest, of course. But I know plenty of shooters that do it with light loads.)



I get tickled at folks who add the "cost" of their time into their reloading cost. Like if they were watching TV instead, they would be getting paid for it. Have to wonder how much it "cost" them to post to the forum. But, maybe that's just me.
Click to expand...
Exactly.
I don't reload during work hours. It's my off time, or "leisure time".
I'm not getting paid for it if I'm not working. And I'm not "losing money" if I'm not taking time away from work to do it.

I do enjoy reloading. And I enjoy shooting my handloads more than factory ammo -- especially budget/bulk ammo. It's even better with cast bullets; even better than that with cast bullets from a mold that I designed; and even better than that with my home-brew 'Redneck-Swaged' bullets.
There is no loss. There is no cost for my time.

Time at the reloading bench costs me nothing; but saves me a lot*.
I always like to think about my "ultra-premium' 7.62x54R load that's stuffed with Woodleigh 215 gr RNs, at times like this.
It costs me about $17 to put together 20 rounds in Lapua brass.
The closest factory load used to run up to $140 per box! (From A-Square. -- Now discontinued and even more difficult an expensive to obtain.)
"Savings"?*
$123 per box; or $6.15 per round; or $2.05 per pull of the press handle.
It is the most extreme example that I have ever, personally, dealt with. But a real example, nonetheless.

A little less extreme: My swaged 275 gr .431" jacketed bullets made from range pickup .40 S&W cases and range lead cost me less than a cent apiece (mostly in electricity and propane), yet perform like a Hornady Interbond in .444 Marlin, or a Barnes Buster in .44 Mag.
Happy face and a wallet that barely feels it!
It's not about the time. It's about the pride and satisfaction.


*As we often discuss, with various approaches... The reality of the situation is that I would not even consider shooting a $140 / box factory load. I'd laugh at the price and walk away.
But the fact that I reload means that I can put together an equivalent (or better) load and afford to shoot it, because it costs just a small fraction of what retailers want(ed) for the ready-made stuff.
 
None of my brass has crimped primers. You using military brass?
Click to expand...

In my AR-10, custom built (by me) SAIGA .308, and my 556 AR's yes I use a lot of military brass. I love the fact I can load it hot and primer pockets stay tight. I have a load in lake City 12 .308 Brass using about 41 gr of IMR 4064 and a 175 gr Match king that shoots 3/4" at 200 yards if I do my job.

If you anneal it, military brass has a long life.
 
What's my time worth? Well nobody is paying me so I guess it's worth nothing accept to me. Therefore I guess I can put just about any dollar amount on it that I like.

Long ago an old wise man once told me, "sonny I've got more days behind me than I have in front of me, So what's your time worth?"
 
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I don't see how you can attach a cost of your own time spent reloading unless you could have gone back to work and made overtime. If you can do that at will, just buy the ammo.
 
I figured my time spent reloading does not pay for what is saved. After all I could be flying my Lear Jet or piloting my yacht to France with my spare time or even attending board meetings with executives from my gold mine.
Shopping for ammunition is the fatiguing part of shooting , so I let my valet handle it as well as cleaning my guns.

Jeeves
 
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