Armory Sponsor
Posted: 7/26/2010 4:18:14 PM EDT
|
I'm sure you get this pretty frequently but I am wanting to ask the quesitons my own way to ensure that I am getting exact details. I have been considering starting to reload for about a year now, however it seems like every person has a different answer when I ask them the cost of reloading. I would like to know what I can reload for if I started tomorrow. I would like to know the cost of 1,000 rounds of 9mm would cost presuming that brass if free and what 1000 rounds of 5.56 would cost less the cost of brass as well. This will be plinking ammo used for training classes so it is really nothing special. I have started to shoot close to 20k per year of 9mm and close to 10k 5.56 so I am thinking that this may be in my best interests. I already know what reloading setup I want to go with, this would be strictly supply/material costs.
Thank you in advance for your advice. |
|
every person setup is differnt powder primers etc. if you brass is free that is a big part of the cost bullets price very on weight and type. for the 9mm look at companys like penn bullets lead cast great for just going bang and hitting paper. primers are 3to 4 dollare for 100 you can buy onlne but there is a 25 dollars hazmat fee so buy10 or 20 boxes to off set the local price. with the ammout you are shooting i would have been reloading from day one, it will alll pay for it self
http://www.pennbullets.com/9mm/9mm-caliber.html |
|
Reseach your oun question, find the bullet you want to use. =cost per one round
............powder @ 25 grain per round = 380 rounds +or- divide by cost per pound ........................................................................................primer cost per one round add together = price per round, not to be a snoob but it is all how you buy your components. Buy in bulk 5000 -6000 bulets much cheaper than buying 100 count boxes. Powder and primers the same way. I know that I won't buy the same price, quainity, or brand of product as you would. Location and availability enters into this also. Sorry I'm so I can't answer your question better but to many open equations in the mix. sdshooter......................... |
|
Quoted:
Reseach your oun question, find the bullet you want to use. =cost per one round ............powder @ 25 grain per round = 380 rounds +or- divide by cost per pound ........................................................................................primer cost per one round add together = price per round, not to be a snoob but it is all how you buy your components. Buy in bulk 5000 -6000 bulets much cheaper than buying 100 count boxes. Powder and primers the same way. I know that I won't buy the same price, quainity, or brand of product as you would. Location and availability enters into this also. Sorry I'm so I can't answer your question better but to many open equations in the mix. sdshooter......................... No problem I am just clueless when it comes to this and don't know anyone that reloads. I just purchased the ABCs of reloading in hopes of learning more on my own as to what powders and primers to use. The bullets will be the cheapest plated FMJ bullets that I can find. |
|
here is probably the best deal on 55 gr FMJ $449 for 6k |
|
5.56
Assuming you want 55gr..... H335...25.0grains per round =280rds per pound. 10,000/280= 36lbs of H335. POWDER $630 for 40lbs H335 @ powder valley + shipping... =$700 For my calcualtions i will use $630 for 36 pounds PROJECTILES 3x $147 per 3k pulled M193 Hitech ammo + 1k for $50 = $497 + Shipping $530 for 10k PRIMERS: CCI 41 $29/1k + hazmat and shipping =$340 Brass: Assuming this is blasting ammo I would get 1x fired stuff $300 Shipped for 5,000 once fired from bulletheads.com this is good for atleast 20,000 rounds. So the price would technically be $150 Total: $1510. |
|
There's are reloading cost calculator on-line somewhere, do a search and find it, then you can plug in different numbers based on component costs, etc.
What's a real interesting question is how many rounds you have to load before you pay off your reloading equipment cost. Often times, it about 30 or 40 thousand rounds or more. If you hope to reload 30K rounds at home, then you'll have to buy high end, highly automated equipment, expensive equipment. Unless you have lots of free time on your hand, and maybe, OCD to boot! You will drive costs down if you pick up and sort range brass, you know, free stuff. Also, if you buy powder locally (gun stores, gun shows, shooting clubs, etc) the HAZMAT costs are spread around many pounds of powder and primers. I buy in bulk (4 or 8 pound kegs and 5000 lots of primers) whenever possible, again, this reduces per cartridge cost. Wideners and Berry's are two places to find good deals on bulk bullets. They're not "match grade" by any means, but they sure work well in my guns for plinking and 3 Gun. Check the price difference per bullet when you buy 100, 500, 1000, or 5000. Again, bulk buying saves money. Keep and eye out for internet specials on "blimished" bullet and brass too. If memory serves, the last time I checked I was reloading 9mm for about $6.64 per box of 50 and 5.56 at about 22.3 cents per round. |
|
This link might help you, it helps me out.
http://www.handloads.com/calc/loadingCosts.asp http://www.handloads.com/calc/loadingCosts.asp |
|
Infinite: your right my math was faulty, 280 is right .
But the cost of reloading per round is all dependent on the cost of components. I can reload for x price per round but I bought my supplies in 1992 is not a good example, even if I use my latest prices they will be missleading, because that is all I can go by, this is why you need to do your oun leg work with your prices. Kimber, not trying to be vague but YMMV on your prices. It is another facet of the shooting sport which can be very rewarding, but it is on your talents to explore. For me I enjoy the time sent reloading and I hope if you do start that it is enjoyable for you also. With the volume you shoot it should be worthwhile, but only with a progressive type press; you have the volume to be buying in bulk also. Very Best Wishes : sdshooter............ |
|
Quoted:
Infinite: your right my math was faulty, 280 is right . But the cost of reloading per round is all dependent on the cost of components. I can reload for x price per round but I bought my supplies in 1992 is not a good example, even if I use my latest prices they will be missleading, because that is all I can go by, this is why you need to do your oun leg work with your prices. Kimber, not trying to be vague but YMMV on your prices. It is another facet of the shooting sport which can be very rewarding, but it is on your talents to explore. For me I enjoy the time sent reloading and I hope if you do start that it is enjoyable for you also. With the volume you shoot it should be worthwhile, but only with a progressive type press; you have the volume to be buying in bulk also. Very Best Wishes : sdshooter............ Im not sure if your saying my prices are dated, but I can assure you they are very current, as i looked it up as I posted. |
|
I am waiting for someone that say "Free" because there is always one in every crowd.
He'll say his grand-dad left him a Dillon 650, how he picks up all his brass at a range, how he went to a Military auction once and was able to get pull down bullets for $100 for 10,000. |
|
Quoted:
I am waiting for someone that say "Free" because there is always one in every crowd. He'll say his grand-dad left him a Dillon 650, how he picks up all his brass at a range, how he went to a Military auction once and was able to get pull down bullets for $100 for 10,000. I wish! lol. I actually think I am going to go with a 650 for my first press and perhaps a rock chucker for long range loads if I ever get around to that. I was thinking about going with a 550 but for the amount of rounds I am shooting, it seems like the 650 is the wise choice - there will just be more of a learning curve. |
|
Quoted:
I'm sure you get this pretty frequently but I am wanting to ask the quesitons my own way to ensure that I am getting exact details. I have been considering starting to reload for about a year now, however it seems like every person has a different answer when I ask them the cost of reloading. I would like to know what I can reload for if I started tomorrow. I would like to know the cost of 1,000 rounds of 9mm would cost presuming that brass if free and what 1000 rounds of 5.56 would cost less the cost of brass as well. This will be plinking ammo used for training classes so it is really nothing special. I have started to shoot close to 20k per year of 9mm and close to 10k 5.56 so I am thinking that this may be in my best interests. I already know what reloading setup I want to go with, this would be strictly supply/material costs. Thank you in advance for your advice. How much money do you have up front to buy supplies & equipment? Are you willing/able to buy more than 1000 now? If so, you will be able to significantly lower your cost per round. For example, at deltaprecision.com 115gr 9mm bullets are $70 per K, but if you buy 10K the price drops to $66 per K. Additionally, when you order powder & primers, you get hit with a $25 hazmat fee whether you buy 1lb or 48lbs. As an example, if you buy 4lbs of AA2230 from grafs (enough for just over 1100 rnds), it costs $19 + $25 hazmat + $5 shipping = $106 or $.096. Buying in bulk at 36 lbs (enough for you to load your 10K per year) the cost per round goes to $.071. Buying in bulk with today's prices, you could reload 9mm 115gr FMJ for $120-$130 per 1000 depending on which powder you use. Per round costs: $.066 bullet, $.035 primer, $.02-$.03 powder 5.56 is going to be more expensive at $180-$200 per 1000. Per round costs: $.075 bullet, $.035 primer, $.071-$.096 powder bought You said that you just got started reading about reloading, so you will see that reloading bottleneck cartridges is going to take about twice as much time to reload as straight wall pistol cartridges due to the extra prep work. You are also probably going to be looking at around $1000-$1300 with a complete Dillon 650 setup w/ case feeder, scale, tumbler, trimmer ect. That all being said, you would have your equipment paid off atfter about 10K rounds since you are saving just over $100 per K. In the end though, I think most reloaders would agree, you really don't save much money, but are able to shoot much more for the same amount you used to spend on factory ammo. |
|
Quoted:
Quoted:
I'm sure you get this pretty frequently but I am wanting to ask the quesitons my own way to ensure that I am getting exact details. I have been considering starting to reload for about a year now, however it seems like every person has a different answer when I ask them the cost of reloading. I would like to know what I can reload for if I started tomorrow. I would like to know the cost of 1,000 rounds of 9mm would cost presuming that brass if free and what 1000 rounds of 5.56 would cost less the cost of brass as well. This will be plinking ammo used for training classes so it is really nothing special. I have started to shoot close to 20k per year of 9mm and close to 10k 5.56 so I am thinking that this may be in my best interests. I already know what reloading setup I want to go with, this would be strictly supply/material costs. Thank you in advance for your advice. How much money do you have up front to buy supplies & equipment? Are you willing/able to buy more than 1000 now? If so, you will be able to significantly lower your cost per round. For example, at deltaprecision.com 115gr 9mm bullets are $70 per K, but if you buy 10K the price drops to $66 per K. Additionally, when you order powder & primers, you get hit with a $25 hazmat fee whether you buy 1lb or 48lbs. As an example, if you buy 4lbs of AA2230 from grafs (enough for just over 1100 rnds), it costs $19 + $25 hazmat + $5 shipping = $106 or $.096. Buying in bulk at 36 lbs (enough for you to load your 10K per year) the cost per round goes to $.071. Buying in bulk with today's prices, you could reload 9mm 115gr FMJ for $120-$130 per 1000 depending on which powder you use. Per round costs: $.066 bullet, $.035 primer, $.02-$.03 powder 5.56 is going to be more expensive at $180-$200 per 1000. Per round costs: $.075 bullet, $.035 primer, $.071-$.096 powder bought You said that you just got started reading about reloading, so you will see that reloading bottleneck cartridges is going to take about twice as much time to reload as straight wall pistol cartridges due to the extra prep work. You are also probably going to be looking at around $1000-$1300 with a complete Dillon 650 setup w/ case feeder, scale, tumbler, trimmer ect. That all being said, you would have your equipment paid off atfter about 10K rounds since you are saving just over $100 per K. In the end though, I think most reloaders would agree, you really don't save much money, but are able to shoot much more for the same amount you used to spend on factory ammo. Thanks for your input. I am budgeting $1500 on my intitial setup and I am planning to buy enough supplies to load 10k 5.56 and 10k 9mm for now. |
| One other thing I would recommend doing is getting your C&R FFL. It costs $35 for three years and you will be able to get dealer accounts at lots of places resulting in even more savings. Grafs in particular, since they have dealer pricing on dillon presses/accessories and reloading supplies which would save you several hundred off your initial setup costs. The application process is fairly painless and took me about six weeks to get the FFL. As a bonus, you can buy and have C&R firearms shipped directly to your house. |
| Alright. I am looking for a place to purchase my equipment from (C&R FFL is out of the question right now as I will be moving shortly for the military), and Brian enos looks like a good site but I just added everything to my cart that looked good and ended up around $2,200. Does this sound about right? Casefeeders, etc? |
|
there are a lot of factors that go into cost: i will give you the cheapest possible method i can think of to get into reloading. but there are tradeoffs, mostly speed and convenience. the round quality will be the same as the more expensive methods produce. as you up grade bullet components, the cost will increase as well. where you buy your components affect cost as well, remember there are shipping and hazmat fees when mail ordered.
brass –– you have. a lee loading kit –– about $20 –– you need a mallet from your garage. no need to buy a press and dies. a pound of unique powder –– about $20 –– this is enough powder for 1400 9 mm rounds. wolf small pistol or rifle primers –– $24/1000. bullets –– i get my lead for free from a tire shop. when i started i used a discarded pot and ladle, a camping stove and a lee moulds (today $20 at least 30,000 rounds later this mould still works great). an $84 investment can be your entire cost for 1000 rounds if you want to experiment with reloading. remember $35 is consumables. so your after equipment expense for perfectly good rounds could be as low as $35/ 1000. over time i suspect you might trade up in equipment to gain some speed. but the quality will not change. think of this as the mo-ped of reloading. once you learn the process you can step up the the high volume presses that suit your needs. that all said. i have dillons or ponsness/warrens for each cal i reload for. think of these as the mercedes benz's of reloading. i have not stepped up to the bentley / rolls royce class (yet  ).
|
|
Quoted:
Alright. I am looking for a place to purchase my equipment from (C&R FFL is out of the question right now as I will be moving shortly for the military), and Brian enos looks like a good site but I just added everything to my cart that looked good and ended up around $2,200. Does this sound about right? Casefeeders, etc? In my post I included where I was finding al that stuff, they had it in stock, and my prices include shipping and come to $150/1,000 rounds |
|
Quoted:
Quoted:
Alright. I am looking for a place to purchase my equipment from (C&R FFL is out of the question right now as I will be moving shortly for the military), and Brian enos looks like a good site but I just added everything to my cart that looked good and ended up around $2,200. Does this sound about right? Casefeeders, etc? In my post I included where I was finding al that stuff, they had it in stock, and my prices include shipping and come to $150/1,000 rounds I think you misunderstood my post. I mean the equipment like reloading press, casefeeders, dies, etc. Its all dillon, just looking for a site with the best prices. |
|
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Alright. I am looking for a place to purchase my equipment from (C&R FFL is out of the question right now as I will be moving shortly for the military), and Brian enos looks like a good site but I just added everything to my cart that looked good and ended up around $2,200. Does this sound about right? Casefeeders, etc? In my post I included where I was finding al that stuff, they had it in stock, and my prices include shipping and come to $150/1,000 rounds I think you misunderstood my post. I mean the equipment like reloading press, casefeeders, dies, etc. Its all dillon, just looking for a site with the best prices. Oh ok. Lok on Midway's website. They frequently have coupon codes, and they have anything you can think of. |
|
Quoted:
Alright. I am looking for a place to purchase my equipment from (C&R FFL is out of the question right now as I will be moving shortly for the military), and Brian enos looks like a good site but I just added everything to my cart that looked good and ended up around $2,200. Does this sound about right? Casefeeders, etc? If I were you I would call and have him line you out with the press and everything, he really knows his stuff. You will only need one casefeeder, and additional casefeed plates. Not multiple casefeeders. |
|
KimberTLE45,
I will recommend that you wait until you have completed TBS, MOS school, and you get your feet under you at your first Battalion / Squadron before you spend 2k on hand-loading equipment. You are going to have your hands full and you time obligated; and most likely have 4 PCS moves ahead of you until you get to that first fleet unit. If you know that you are going to be a Mike Co. Lt for some time, or if you are headed to flight school; feel free to disregard my previous comments. Matt |
|
Quoted:
KimberTLE45, I will recommend that you wait until you have completed TBS, MOS school, and you get your feet under you at your first Battalion / Squadron before you spend 2k on hand-loading equipment. You are going to have your hands full and you time obligated; and most likely have 4 PCS moves ahead of you until you get to that first fleet unit. If you know that you are going to be a Mike Co. Lt for some time, or if you are headed to flight school; feel free to disregard my previous comments. Matt Matt, Thanks for the advice. I'm a ground pounder so I won't take it lightly. I leave for OCS in May/June next year for 10 weeks, I was supposed to do two 6 week increments but got mono so was Dq'd and have to wait unitl next summer. However I will be waiting on my degree to get my commission and likely won't make it to TBS with the current backup until about spring of 2012. I shoudl also mention that I'm fully employed currently and it is only about 2 weeks pay for me. So I am thinking between the time I get back in August to when I leave for TBS, I will really be able to get into reloading because I wont have much to do other than work and hit the gym... Thoughts? |
|
Quoted:
So I am thinking between the time I get back in August to when I leave for TBS, I will really be able to get into reloading because I wont have much to do other than work and hit the gym... Thoughts? Yes, I totally agree that you will have some time to get good use out of your reloading equipment. Disregard my previous thoughts; get some good equipment and don't harbor any hesitation. |
|
Quoted:
Quoted:
So I am thinking between the time I get back in August to when I leave for TBS, I will really be able to get into reloading because I wont have much to do other than work and hit the gym... Thoughts? Yes, I totally agree that you will have some time to get good use out of your reloading equipment. Disregard my previous thoughts; get some good equipment and don't harbor any hesitation. Very cool. I am going to be fresh in the USMC (obviously), so any bit of insight helps immensly and I very much appreicate it. |
Armory Sponsor