Anyone looking to ditch their Reloading setup?

[gsxrken]

Got some teenage boys that I just can't afford to stay out in front of with the amount of .556 and .45 ACP going down range. Reloading would be a great father-son thing and put a nice dent in the costs. LMK if you aren't using yours enough anymore and can see it going to someone who will. Thanks!

[John Rogers]

You might want to give the Lee reloading and mold company a call as they their progressive presses work great AND they what they call "seconds" which are presses that have chipped finish and have been touched up. I got a Lee Load Master for about 60% cost and when we use it I can bang out 400 to 450 357 mag target loads in an hour! I hear Dillon also has the same type of deal on returns and seconds too.

[legion]

I switched from Lee to Dillon on my progressive presses because I spent more time fixing my Loadmaster and Pro 1000 than using them.

I'm on the verge of getting rid of my Lee Turret press because the turret "lift" is causing me sizing and bullet concentricity issues for my higher-precision rifle loads. I haven't decided what I want to get to replace it yet. I'm considering either a Dillon 550 or a CH4D.

[id10t]

I did some looking to see just how much one can save. Ignore the folks who say "pennies per round, 'cause I bought 3 million primers in 1993", etc. You have no stash, so look what it would take for components today.

I see various powders from various local retailers for $25/lb. Based on a 25gr charge in a 223 load, that is 280 per pound, or 9 cents/round

Primers are 4-6 cents each. Just like powder, sure you can order online, but the hazmat shipping fees kill you.

Bullets - 55grn FMJ .224" at bullets.com are 14c/ea when ordered by the 100, or as low as 9c/ea when you order 6000 at once.

So not including hazmat and/or heavy item shipping, your time, the actual cases you'll be reloading, or the equipment costs you are at 24-30 cents per round. Decent 223/556 ammo is available 30-35 cents/round. sgammo, palmetto state armory, bullets.com, georgia-arms.com, etc. Even my local Wallys have it at about that price.

For 45 ammo I think you'll see similar, esp. considering that Wally has the Perfecta 45acp for $15/50....

So... is reloading worth it for bulk? Unless you are feeding a machine gun, or sitting on supplies bought long ago for cheap and stacked deep, quite possibly not. If you need match precision stuff, then certainly....

[Jeff Higgins]

Most folks who stick with reloading do not do so to save money. Hell, we would reload even if it were more expensive than buying factory ammo. We reload because it is an interesting hobby in and of itself. We can put together ammunition tailored to a specific rifle or handgun to improve its performance on target or game, we can use bullets not available in factory ammunition, we can shoot arms for which ammo is no longer available, and stuff like that. No one "saves money" by reloading. Even the guys who just want lots of cheap ammo will simply wind up shooting more.

All of that said, it is a wonderful hobby to take up with your kids. Start with a single stage press, even if you do just want to crank out the ammo. A single stage will teach everyone what is going on, and make it far easier to learn a progressive later. Assuming you stick with it... if you don't, you have a whole lot less invested.

There never seems to be any shortage of barely used reloading equipment for sale. So many guys get into it and quit. Check locally - craigslist, shooting ranges often have bulletin boards with "for sale" items, gun shows, etc. There is a lot of stuff out there, just waiting for a new owner.

[gsxrken]

Originally Posted by id10t

So... is reloading worth it for bulk? Unless you are feeding a machine gun, or sitting on supplies bought long ago for cheap and stacked deep, quite possibly not. If you need match precision stuff, then certainly....

I'm disappointed to review your math and see how little savings there is to be had. And that is not factoring in whatever I have to spend in tools... we would be in the red for many 1000s of rounds before we broke even. We're silhouette and soda bottle full of water shooters, not match paper punchers. I thought it was much cheaper.
Anyone else?

[legion]

Originally Posted by gsxrken

I'm disappointed to review your math and see how little savings there is to be had. And that is not factoring in whatever I have to spend in tools... we would be in the red for many 1000s of rounds before we broke even. We're silhouette and soda bottle full of water shooters, not match paper punchers. I thought it was much cheaper.
Anyone else?

You can bring those numbers down if you buy in bulk, shop around, and stick to military surplus bullet weights. I typically buy my .223 55 grain bullets 2,000 at a time for around 7¢ a bullet. I spend about 2.7¢ a primer. Powder is around 23¢ a round. So I can reload .223 for about 33¢ a bullet.

The cheapest I can sometimes find .223 pre-loaded is for around 40¢ bullet. So I save about $70 for every 1000 rounds I shoot. (Having spent $330 instead of $400 on the ammo.)

Like Jeff, I do it for a hobby in and of itself. I also like that I can keep shooting when stuff gets scarce because of my component stockpile. Like Jeff, I'd highly recommend getting a single-stage press and loading .45 ACP to start. If you don't like that, there's no chance you'll loading like rifle ammo. Also, if I didn't start out on a single-stage, I'd have no idea how to troubleshoot a progressive.

[djmcmath]

I've been looking at reloading purely because I've started down the path to suppressed shooting. As I understand it, to make 9mm really quiet (and to reduce wear and tear on the suppressor) you have to shoot subsonic loads. They're the same as normal 9mm, except heavier bullets. And they cost a lot more. So loading my own subsonic 9mm could be worth the effort, if, for some reason, I need to load a lot of it.

For most of the rest of my shooting, it makes more sense in a dollars-per-hour perspective for me to just buy retail ammo. I'm already into homebrewing, which is to beer as reloading is to ammo. I mean, for an investment of half an hour, I can drive down the street to a spectacular local brewery, and they'll fill my keg for about 15% more than my cost to brew an inferior product. And I spend a whole afternoon brewing that inferior product.

I guess, in a way, there's the whole "zombie apocalypse" aspect. I mean, in an apocalypse, people who reload will still be able to shoot, and I'll be stuck making beer. Anyone want to trade beer for ammo? Haha.

[svandamme]

It's defo not cheaper once you start adding up all the equipment.. especially not if you have a couple of different calibers but you get better ammo in return.

If you calculate the time spent doing it, and you will spend time ,a lot of time if you want to do it well.. Then it's stupid expensive. And while it is fun in the beginning, if you shoot a lot , at some point it becomes a chore..

[John Rogers]

That's why I shoot muzzle loaders! No cases, no cleaning cases, ETC, ETC. Do it for fun and the challenge to make a more accurate load than the factories. It also impresses folks to pull out those 100 round boxes with labels that show that each row has a 1 grain difference and you're testing, testing, testing. Otherwise it is just as well to buy the cheap stuff at Walmart or in bulk at a gun show.

[id10t]

Did not mean to be a downer about costs/savings. I just dont think that bulk quantities of available-in-bulk is the proper use case. It will quickly pay off for other calibers. Using 222 Rem or 243 the cost per round may stray up to 50 or 75 cents per round. But the Wally price is over $1 per so you can see the benefits if you shoot enough to amortize the equipment costs. And of course there are the intangible benefts like higher accuracy, being able to shoot uncommon, obsolete or wildcat rounds etc

[Taz's Master]

Originally Posted by svandamme

It's defo not cheaper once you start adding up all the equipment.. especially not if you have a couple of different calibers but you get better ammo in return.

If you calculate the time spent doing it, and you will spend time ,a lot of time if you want to do it well.. Then it's stupid expensive. And while it is fun in the beginning, if you shoot a lot , at some point it becomes a chore..

I cast and reload for .38/.357. And it is definitely cheaper when you add in equipment.

If you're shooting .45, 5.56 and 9mm, just keeping track of the brass is a pain, but that isn't where the world begins and ends.

Scrounge wheel weights for lead, you can get about 2,000 rounds of .38 special from a pound of bullseye, primers for 3.5 cents each. So if you've saved your brass from previous shooting and scrounged your lead, those 2,000 rounds cost you $95. 1000 rounds of .38 special Tul Ammo is $285 from Luck Gunner.

[Bill Douglas]

I'm not ditching my Dillion 550b. I mainly shoot .45acp and factory loads are very expensive in this corner of the world. Whereas if I reload it's as cheap as chips. Plus I can just squeak in with power factor for the competions and have a very accurate load for my six inch barreled 1911.

[theFONZ]

With ALL things considered (components, equipment, time, bench space), if you just want to plink it's not worth it to reload. I bought 9mm for 5.99 per 50 round box on Black Friday. That's 12 cents per round. While components may be able to beat that by a few cents reloading, and save $1 per 50 round box, I'd spend near an hour total and need a couple hundred dollars of equipment to do it. Oh and that's not including the hassle of picking up and cleaning my brass. Not even close to worth it just to plink. Not to mention the factory ammo is Brass/FMJ and I'd be reloading plated bullets.

I'm not considering casting my own bullets, because that's a whole 'nother equipment, space, time, and component investment, not to mention the possible health implications. That and I can't use them in my guns with polygonal rifling or with supressors.

Now reloading for precision, hunting, or competition is a different story. That's where you save tons of money and get better, or optimized, performance. For a couple of my hunting rifles I save over $50 per 20 rounds! 375 Weatherby Mag is damn expensive (maybe $75 per box if you can find it) but I make it for around $1.50 each, and that's a load that I have built up for my specific rifle and shoots great. 375H&H is slightly less expensive in store but similar cost for me to reload. Even .308 can be made for half the price of premium hunting ammo. I have a few loads I make that shoot under a half inch out of a lightweight hunting rifle that run about $1 in component cost. I used to load tons of 40s&w for competition that ran about 12c-15c per round, but it was a custom load built up for competition. Even with those savings, however, I spent a TON of time and who knows how much on gas, a chronograph, reloading equipment, spotting scope/tripod, shoulder abuse (375 mags), shooting rests/bags, and who knows what else. Did I still save money. HELL NO! But it sure is fun and I can be proud of the performance I've gained.

FWIW, I have a Dillon Square Deal B, two Dillon 550s, and an RCBS Rockchucker. I use Redding Competition dies when I can, and RCBS or Redding regular dies when I don't need absolute precision. I use mostly Sierra bullets for rifle, sometimes Nosler Partitions, and whatever plated pistol bullets are cheapest. My rifle brass is mostly Winchester or Nosler and I reuse it until it's not relodable anymore.

All in all, reloading will not save you money, unless you don't value your time. With that said, it's a great and rewarding hobby that you can lie to yourself and justify it by saying you're saving money like I do.