Geezerbiker
New member
Compared to the cost of the rest of the hunt, premium bullets only add a couple $ to the cost of the hunt. Gas and food for the trip cost way more even if you're camping out for the trip.
Tony
Tony
Is Reloading too Expensive?
- Thread starter Ranting
- Start date
I started loading circa GCA 1968.
The panics and price fluctuations move in a great circle. It ain't my first rodeo.
As a kid I bought a Pacific "C" press I still use.
I started loading as a "brass recycler" Leftovers,range pickup. Fifteen rounds was a useful quantity of ammo.
Since 63,maybe 64,there was an early AR-15 in the house.SN was 37XX .Thats over 50 years AR-15 experience.
I also bought an M-1 Carbine. And a 98 Mexican Mauser sporter in 7X57.
High school.
Gun show 5,56 was two to three cents a round,by the thousands. 100 primers were about 75 cents. I had a friendly gunsmith who sold me Hogdon powders bulk for $1.60a pound. From those days,I have some nickel jacket Norma bullets. 93 gr 30 Luger was good in the Carbine. 150 gr 7mm SBT's. About $3 a box.
Given I had the brass,I could handload for between a nickel and seven cents
with jacketed bullets.
I think about the time I bought a Rem 700 7mm Mag,senior year in highschool, I transitioned some. I was looking for prairie dog accuracy,and upgradng my process.
I wanted my rifle perfectly sighted in. Two things messed with that. Weaver hunting scope semi. -precise adjustments. On a bad day,I could spend 40 rounds chasing the group around the paper.
The other was,the gun shops seemed to NEVER have the same ammo I bought last time. Always a different load.
Don't try this load today!! I was using surplus H-4831. It was in Sierras book at the time. 70 gr of 4831 and a 160 gr Sierra boat tail. Thats a serious overload with Newly Manfactured H-4831, It was a zippy max load then.
Then came the 44Mag Ruger Super Blackhawk. H-110 and cast wheel weights. Wheelguns,cast bullets...like bacon and eggs, Fun,cheap shooting.
Now a nearby brother has a Dillon 1050 with a feeder that removes primer crimps and trims cases in the process. A loaded round per crank pull.
And he's gone into the long range game plus combat handgun shooting. 45,9mm,and 38 Super. The tooling is all there. Sweet reloading room.
When prices were about $100 a five gallon bucket for once fired,we had the sense to say "These ARE the good old days!" and we stocked up.
I don't do range pickup. And I almost never buy a factory load. The exception was Walmart WW White box 45 and 9mm.
I buy a 500 or 1000 lot of virgin brass. I get very high quality ammo that way. And I buy powder in 8lb jugs,
Consistency! And,as it works out,I have no panic.
Today's prices?? Don't much matter. I don't need to buy. I can easily go a Presidential cycle. Or two.
I'll restock when prices drop.
As I said,it ain't my first rodeo.
Some folks listened when I said "Time to buy" And some did not.
The panics and price fluctuations move in a great circle. It ain't my first rodeo.
As a kid I bought a Pacific "C" press I still use.
I started loading as a "brass recycler" Leftovers,range pickup. Fifteen rounds was a useful quantity of ammo.
Since 63,maybe 64,there was an early AR-15 in the house.SN was 37XX .Thats over 50 years AR-15 experience.
I also bought an M-1 Carbine. And a 98 Mexican Mauser sporter in 7X57.
High school.
Gun show 5,56 was two to three cents a round,by the thousands. 100 primers were about 75 cents. I had a friendly gunsmith who sold me Hogdon powders bulk for $1.60a pound. From those days,I have some nickel jacket Norma bullets. 93 gr 30 Luger was good in the Carbine. 150 gr 7mm SBT's. About $3 a box.
Given I had the brass,I could handload for between a nickel and seven cents
with jacketed bullets.
I think about the time I bought a Rem 700 7mm Mag,senior year in highschool, I transitioned some. I was looking for prairie dog accuracy,and upgradng my process.
I wanted my rifle perfectly sighted in. Two things messed with that. Weaver hunting scope semi. -precise adjustments. On a bad day,I could spend 40 rounds chasing the group around the paper.
The other was,the gun shops seemed to NEVER have the same ammo I bought last time. Always a different load.
Don't try this load today!! I was using surplus H-4831. It was in Sierras book at the time. 70 gr of 4831 and a 160 gr Sierra boat tail. Thats a serious overload with Newly Manfactured H-4831, It was a zippy max load then.
Then came the 44Mag Ruger Super Blackhawk. H-110 and cast wheel weights. Wheelguns,cast bullets...like bacon and eggs, Fun,cheap shooting.
Now a nearby brother has a Dillon 1050 with a feeder that removes primer crimps and trims cases in the process. A loaded round per crank pull.
And he's gone into the long range game plus combat handgun shooting. 45,9mm,and 38 Super. The tooling is all there. Sweet reloading room.
When prices were about $100 a five gallon bucket for once fired,we had the sense to say "These ARE the good old days!" and we stocked up.
I don't do range pickup. And I almost never buy a factory load. The exception was Walmart WW White box 45 and 9mm.
I buy a 500 or 1000 lot of virgin brass. I get very high quality ammo that way. And I buy powder in 8lb jugs,
Consistency! And,as it works out,I have no panic.
Today's prices?? Don't much matter. I don't need to buy. I can easily go a Presidential cycle. Or two.
I'll restock when prices drop.
As I said,it ain't my first rodeo.
Some folks listened when I said "Time to buy" And some did not.
jetinteriorguy
New member
Thank you.
Don Fischer
New member
See if I got this right. If you shoot enough the ammo becomes free?
Quote:
Originally Posted by 101combatvet View Post
I once tried to calculate the savings, but it isn't worth the effort because the saving is pretty substantial. The simple math formal is: As a reloader, the more you shoot, the cheaper it gets; as a buyer of ammo, the more you shoot, the more expensive it gets.
Yeah, not a good comparison. That is obviously a comparison of a reloading cost per shell figuring in the cost of reloading equipment, to a total cost of bought ammo for which the price per box basically remains fixed.
Don
Originally Posted by 101combatvet View Post
I once tried to calculate the savings, but it isn't worth the effort because the saving is pretty substantial. The simple math formal is: As a reloader, the more you shoot, the cheaper it gets; as a buyer of ammo, the more you shoot, the more expensive it gets.
Yeah, not a good comparison. That is obviously a comparison of a reloading cost per shell figuring in the cost of reloading equipment, to a total cost of bought ammo for which the price per box basically remains fixed.
Don
Yes! I believe MarkCO is there.
jaguarxk120
New member
In today's world cartridges are not only free but the reloader is making money!!
I was at Sportsmans Wharehouse looking for handgun shells.
Nothing to be found, so if you can't buy it and you reload your are
money ahead!
I was at Sportsmans Wharehouse looking for handgun shells.
Nothing to be found, so if you can't buy it and you reload your are
money ahead!
USSR said:
Except it inflates, sometimes wildly beyond the average rate of inflation. That's especially true now with the metals shortages due to slowed metals production resulting from COVID practices. So laying in components or even loaded ammo before 2008 or even just before 2020 would pay off as a good investment today, even if you just use them yourself and don't sell them on an auction site.
Maybe it is better said this way.
Reloading gives you choices that buying factory ammo can not. That may be saving a few hundred to a few thousand dollars on your annual consumption, shooting more, shooting higher quality ammo, trying out various loads, etc. Choices are good.
Reloading gives you choices that buying factory ammo can not. That may be saving a few hundred to a few thousand dollars on your annual consumption, shooting more, shooting higher quality ammo, trying out various loads, etc. Choices are good.
At todays prices you can still load 357 Mag for 1/3rd the cost of factory ammo. Factory 357 Mag is running $1 per round or more. $.15 for a primer, $.15 for a bullet and a $.05 for powder and you're still right at 1/3 the cost of factory ammo.
101combatvet
New member
Yes, in comparison to buying boxed ammo.
101combatvet
New member
Yeah, not a good comparison. That is obviously a comparison of a reloading cost per shell figuring in the cost of reloading equipment, to a total cost of bought ammo for which the price per box basically remains fixed.
Don
Boxed ammo remains fixed? Where?
Don
Boxed ammo remains fixed? Where?
USSR said:
…And you missed my point, which was simply that the price of commercial ammo is not "basically fixed". It keeps getting higher faster than the rate of inflation.
The idea that shooting more reloads makes reloading cheaper is true on a per-round basis. It is not true on a total annual outlay basis. So which one we are talking about has to be clarified.
1895Gunner
Inactive
101combatvet
New member
True if you don't plan on shooting much. Shoot a few boxes of ammo, retire, and you just saved a ton of money.
I bought 97,000 rounds worth of reloading components over the past 8 years. So do your math and explain to me how / when i will "save money" . Guys who claim to be saving money by reloading are just kidding themselves. Guys who also brag by posting a hard dollar CPR are also kidding themselves as when you reload your brass is an ever changing cost variable. I reload for the precision, the passion, and most importantly right now , i reload for the independence.
101combatvet
New member
Buy everything in volume and you will save money on reloading components.
And that was my initial problem with the statement that compared reloading on a per round basis to a total cost of commercial ammo fired basis.
Not at this time. Basically, nothing is available in volume. I did it 3 - 5 years ago at a great savings, but anyone new to the game is going to have to wait this thing out.
Don