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Posted: 12/15/2009 7:05:31 PM EDT
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I've been reading the Reloading forum for almost a year... there's a vast knowledge base here.
I'm finally considering reloading. For me, it's not a quest to gain the most perfect consistent round (although that's nice), but rather an issue of economics. I'm thinking about it to save money on shooting, but prices of components have gone up significantly in the last couple of years. I'd be reloading mostly .223, .45ACP, and .30-06. So, my question is... what's the break-even point? Without the variable of SHTF and a lack of steady ammo supply, how much ammo do I really need to reload to start recouping my investment in equipment? This would be a personal endeavor - not looking to become Joe the ammo man for my buddies. Don't have the time for it. In advance, thanks for any wisdom you can provide. |
| If you are doing it for the economics, it isn't going to happen. It will take you decades to recoup the cost of the equipment. On the other hand, if your priority was to be able to craft some top notch stuff that does what you want it to every time, thats what its all about. |
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Quoted:
I've been reading the Reloading forum for almost a year... there's a vast knowledge base here. Welcome I'm finally considering reloading. For me, it's not a quest to gain the most perfect consistent round (although that's nice), but rather an issue of economics. I'm thinking about it to save money on shooting, but prices of components have gone up significantly in the last couple of years. I'd be reloading mostly .223, .45ACP, and .30-06. Everyone starts with "shooting ammo", sooner or later you will want moar. So, my question is... what's the break-even point? Without the variable of SHTF and a lack of steady ammo supply, how much ammo do I really need to reload to start recouping my investment in equipment? This would be a personal endeavor - not looking to become Joe the ammo man for my buddies. Don't have the time for it. All depends on how much you shoot and what you were paying for ammo. So do some math, most of us can reload 223 with a quality FMJBT for around .15 to .20 cents a round. 45 ACP with my own cast bullet, .04 cents a round. Commercial cast bullet, add .10 cents. Depends if you order components in bulk, which saves money. The standard answer goes like this, you don't save any money reloading, you shoot a lot more for the same money. In advance, thanks for any wisdom you can provide. |
| The cost of your equipment is the cost of your hobby .... You can recoup the cost of equipment inside a year if you shoot a lot and with a modest equipment list..... or you could go Cadillac and not shoot much and be decades recouping your costs. I can tell you what happens when you do start reloading ..... you start shooting more. |
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You recoup your money back pretty fast. You will also enjoy the feeling of knowing that box of ammo you just shot didn't cost $25 in your 30-06. I reload my own .308 with premium bullets for about $12 a box ... and that's starting with new brass and expensive projectiles. I can easily reload it for $6 with surplus components. I know that my equipment paid for itself in the first year ... then again; I shoot about 10,000 rounds a year at minimum.
If your not a high volume shooter; then spend $50 on a single stage press, $30 bucks on a scale, and $20 on a set of dies. You can just dip the powder out of the can with a spoon to measure it. The cheap digital scales are not very consistent but will get you within +/- .3 grains every time. A brick of primers and a can of powder will set you back about $45 ... so for less than $150 you will have your own reloading setup. If your shooting rounds cost you $20/box then you can figure that you can reload it for about half that $10 ... consider that $10 saved. Just to keep the math simple consider you buy new brass to load every time ... it will still only take you 15 boxes, or 300 rounds to pay for the stuff. Then you will still have plenty of primers left over from that first brick and your powder will be pretty much gone. In reality; you will save more than that because you will be reloading your old brass each time ... saving you more and more. The good thing about reloading equipment is that it keeps its value really well too. If you decide you don't like it; you can get your money back pretty easy .. if you like it and upgrade you can keep the small press for a odd jobs or recoup some costs. I have a progressive and two singles on my bench ... the single stages are used just as much when I have quick jobs that I want to do, and not have to spend the time to set up the progressive. With all that the knowledge and experience you gain is priceless; plus the first time your roll a coyote at 200 yards with a bullet that you not only placed, but also made ... it's an all different kind of rush. Sarg |
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And, if you're stocked up on supplies you don't worry about finding ammo at the store before you can head to the range...or if the ammo availability is restricted by the powers that be.
I started to allow for cheap plinking and now that I'm building a 6.5 Grendel I'll be reloading just to have ammo. I also ignore the cost of the equipment...it's easier to justify the hobby that way  .
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Quoted:
If you are doing it for the economics, it isn't going to happen. It will take you decades to recoup the cost of the equipment. That's only true if you shoot a few hundred rounds per year. I can save about 19 cents per round on .223. I can pay for $700 worth of reloading equipment in under 3700 rounds. That's not even counting my savings on various pistol caliber ammo. |
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If you are doing it for the economics, it isn't going to happen. It will take you decades to recoup the cost of the equipment. On the other hand, if your priority was to be able to craft some top notch stuff that does what you want it to every time, thats what its all about. That depends entirely on what and how much you shoot. If you're using a few hundred rounds per year of bottom-of-the-barrel Wolf as your cost comparison, then you're probably right. But if you're doing a lot of shooting with practice rounds that are made to closely match the ballistics of your PD/hunting ammo then you can recoup the cost of an average equipment setup pretty quickly. I don't know about you, but I can easily go through at least a hundred rounds of both .223 and 9mm in a single trip to the range. |
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The cost of components has dropped back down. Before I was reloading 223 for 16.1 cents now it is 17.9. Way cheaper than factory brass ammo.
I got back into reloading about 3 years ago. I used to stop after work at the bar and spend $20 every work day. I stopped doing that and paid for all my equiptment in a couple months. I load on a single stage RCBS. Since I am off work this week in the last two days have taken once fired LC brass and loaded 800 rounds. I enjoy everything about reloading except case prep. 
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Quoted:
If you are doing it for the economics, it isn't going to happen. It will take you decades to recoup the cost of the equipment. On the other hand, if your priority was to be able to craft some top notch stuff that does what you want it to every time, thats what its all about. When I help a buddy setup for .40s&w his point of paying for everything was like 1300 rds , and now that he is reloading for a .44mag also it's really saving $$ |
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Quoted:
I've been reading the Reloading forum for almost a year... there's a vast knowledge base here. I'm finally considering reloading. For me, it's not a quest to gain the most perfect consistent round (although that's nice), but rather an issue of economics. I'm thinking about it to save money on shooting, but prices of components have gone up significantly in the last couple of years. I'd be reloading mostly .223, .45ACP, and .30-06. So, my question is... what's the break-even point? Without the variable of SHTF and a lack of steady ammo supply, how much ammo do I really need to reload to start recouping my investment in equipment? This would be a personal endeavor - not looking to become Joe the ammo man for my buddies. Don't have the time for it. In advance, thanks for any wisdom you can provide. Sir, when I started reloading I did so because the cost of a box of factory cartridges was pretty high compared to what I calculated a box or reloaded cartridges would cost in terms of components. I started reloading .357mag/.38 Spl and the primers and powder cost per round was about $.04. I cast my own bullets back then. I figure it took me about a year to make up the cost of the reloading equipment I bought. I quickly discovered that the real benefit of reloading was that I always had plenty of ammo on hand to go shooting and also that I was able to craft ammo that was noticeably more accurate in my guns. When I got into competition shooting, reloading became a no brainer, unless you have somebody giving you everything most of us working folks need to reload to have enough ammo on hand to compete and practice enough to actually get better at it. The long and short of the story is the fact that I now have four presses, three that I use regularly including a Dillon 550 and 650. I have plenty of ammo on hand whenever I get the opportunity to go shooting and I do shoot a lot in comparison to most people. I reload over a dozen different cartridges for four times as many firearms. Will I ever recoup the cost of all my equipment? Probably not, but who cares? I can make ammo that is more accurate than any I can buy and a lot of the match ammo I use I cannot buy commercially even if I could afford it. JMHO, 7zero1 out. |
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Last winter when factory loaded ammunition was either not available or not affordable, guess who was still shooting - the reloaders, especially those with supplies set back (i.e., hoarded). Have y'all started hoarding components yet? If your loading premium rounds (like Hornady TAP) or match ammo. You will save big $. If your a blaster buy WOLF. That's IMHO. Mike |
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Sell your .223, .45ACP, and .30-06. and buy 10mm. You'll recoup your investment faster.
I began to reload after I bought a Glock 20. I had been thinking of it since the mid nineties (I recently found in my garage a Stoney Point OAL gauge for .264 WinMag I never got around to reloading). A friend of mine and I were going to get into reloading but he moved away after we bought a tumbler and a few other things I kept until I got the 10mm. Since then I've reloaded for 9mm, .38Sp/.357, .40S&W, .45ACP, .32-20, .223Rem, .308Win and 7.7Jap. I save more on the 7.7Jap than 9mm, naturally. Realistically, I haven't saved anything. If I had to buy commercial ammo I probably wouldn't shoot more than 3 or 4 times a year. I would never have bought most of the firearms I've picked up. I'd have sold the Glock, kept the HiPower and hung the Arisaka over the mantle. Now I can shoot, probably for the rest of my life, with what's in my house, regardless of market or political considerations. And I've added to my knowledge base. I've gone out on a tangent and learned to neck turn, although it isn't considered necessary with semi autos. Still, you never know when it might come in handy. Lastly, your "cost" should take into account the residual value of your equipment. If you're serious I would skip the cheap stuff (buy once, cry once). Go for quality. It will last longer, give better results and retain value. JMHO. Consider reloading as more than just a way to save a few bucks. You'll enjoy it more and be a better reloader. |
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You can save decent amount reloading .45 and a smaller percent on .223 assuming it's for blasting and not the precision stuff. If replicating precision loads than your percentage of savings goes up. 30 06 I have no idea but it seems you can get decent new ammo from CMP.
Pistol ammo is cake fast and easy. Tumble and straight to the Dillon. About 250-300 hour. Have no idea how much it would cost to reload these with components priced right now. I still have a good stash that will last years. Bottleneck cases are a PITA and take much time. If you have the .223 cases you should be able to reload for $.18 per round at today's cost. If you have to buy brass then looking at $.26 per round. If you are just blasting I'd just buy Brown Bear and call it a day. AIM has a sale on them at about $235. That being said I do reload my blasting ammo cause my blasting ammo is almost as good as premium ammo. Only could imagine if I got some SMK 77 grainers. It trully depends on how much you shoot. When I was shooting lot of .45 I paid for my Dillon in about 4 months. This is when WWB value pack of .45 was going for $20. I like my Dillon but they are spendy. If you can, buy Dillon 550 or 650. If money is tighter I'd suggest you look into a 3 or 4 turret press from Lee. Going to be slower but significantly cheaper. You also have to buy components in bulk in order for this whole reloading thing to make economic sense as well. Good luck in your decision. Also you don't save a red cent since you only shoot your savings FYI. True story bro |
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