Has reloading saved you money (casting excluded please)

[James2]

lykoris, I think you asked the wrong question. You asked, "Has reloading saved you money (casting excluded please)".

What you should have asked is: Does reloaded ammo cost less than factory ammo per round?

To that a resounding yes! I started reloading in 1957. I was still in high school. Still using the original equipment, with a few add ons since, but if the cost of that equipment was figured into the cost per round over that many rounds it is inconsequential. I figure I can reload for about half what factory ammo costs. That is buying bullets. Does that mean I save 50%? No, it means I only spend $9 instead of $18. I will probably shoot three times as much and end up spending $27.

If you are really interested in "saving" money, sell all your guns. Then you can put that money you are spending on ammo in the bank and really save it. (In the true sense of the word save. I am sorry, but buying at a better price is not saving. It is still spending.)

If you are interested in lower cost per round ammo, then by all means, reload.

 

[whenmonkeysfly]

Handloading 10mm Auto

Recycle Brass = 10mm Auto at $8.50/Box of 50 or $17/100 Rounds (17 cents apiece vs 80 to 84 cents apiece - DT price). Better quality than Double Tap (good full-house loads) which costs ~$42/Box of 50, plus shipping.

Using Recycled Brass (my own) I can produce 1000 Rounds of Premium 10mm for $170. Buying Double Tap, $800/1000 with free shipping.

I don't think I really save a lot of money because I shoot A LOT MORE. Shoot less and save more. 200 dollars a month allows me to easily shoot a thousand rounds a month and replace worn/lost brass in the mix, plus purchase case cleaner and lube.

I could probably save a lot more if I molded my own bullets, but I'm not quite there yet....

 

[scythefwd]

Not yet. I'm approximately 175 in the hole still. I got my setup for 250 and I've only reloaded 60 rounds so far. My cost for the rounds is 45ish. Cost to purchase the same rounds locally... 120. I'll be flush in the next year or so.

 

[LNK]

No it has not saved me money. I reload and consequently shoot more. Now if I didn't reload, I would shoot a whole lot less. Probably spend the same either way. But I enjoy shooting more as well as reloading. So it is win, win.....

 

[StandingTall]

So far, yes. Cost per round is down and my time at the range has not changed (yet).

However, the money I'm saving on ammo is probably going to go toward an new .40 Sig P239 next month.

 

[CraigC]

Bottom line--I have spent a lot of money on presses, dies, components, etc.
Not sure if the amount of ammo I have produced has offset that cost. But I am certain of two things.
1. Were it not for handloading, I would not be able to shoot once a week, and my skills would be at a significantly lower level than they are now.
2. Were it not for handloading, my 10 mm, .41 Mag and .45 LC (and perhaps others) would either never have been bought or would sit in the safe because I could not afford to feed them.

I reload so I can shoot. A lot. Every week. And walk the never-ending path to master the discipline.

Were it not for reloading I could not do it. My guns would sit in my safe, and I'd tell myself lies about how good I was. And any ammo I bought would be hoarded away, only to be brought out on occasions. Because I reload I know myself. I know my skill level, how perishable those skills are, how much and how often I need to shoot to keep them fresh.

And I don't look at my ammo pile as a treasure to be sat upon. It's the sustenance I will consume along the journey.

What they said!!! Handloading is the only way to "walk the never-ending path to master the discipline". Obviously every individual must make that decision for themselves based on their own needs and desires. Not everybody shoots enough to justify it. I do.

 

[BullfrogKen]

You know, sometimes it is fun to gather my components around me in a big pile, perch myself high atop them, and pretend I'm Smaug.


Hey, where did that pretty cup go?

 

[MtnCreek]

lykoris, I think you asked the wrong question. You asked, "Has reloading saved you money (casting excluded please)".

What you should have asked is: Does reloaded ammo cost less than factory ammo per round?

To that a resounding yes! I started reloading in 1957. I was still in high school. Still using the original equipment, with a few add ons since, but if the cost of that equipment was figured into the cost per round over that many rounds it is inconsequential. I figure I can reload for about half what factory ammo costs. That is buying bullets. Does that mean I save 50%? No, it means I only spend $9 instead of $18. I will probably shoot three times as much and end up spending $27.

If you are really interested in "saving" money, sell all your guns. Then you can put that money you are spending on ammo in the bank and really save it. (In the true sense of the word save. I am sorry, but buying at a better price is not saving. It is still spending.)

If you are interested in lower cost per round ammo, then by all means, reload.

That's it. For most, I think the money spent stays the same, we just shoot more.

 

[Ignition Override]

When the OP has his gear and realizes that he will save money per round, and will someday pay off the equipment cost, he might then become tempted to shoot much more often, which can result in a much higher total cost.

That's my self-delusion, but maybe this doesn't apply to others.

 

[Ret.CWO]

I know it saves like previous post a twenty round box of 30-06 18-21 dollars or $4.20 a box Brass (Free) .5 Cents Powder .10 Projectile 3.5 Cents Primer 2.5 Cents for lube, walnut medium, NuFinish. I've had a lot of my presses 35 years or better. Plus I enjoy loading as much as shooting so I can't count the time involved. A lot of my rifle & pistol brass has been loaded 5 to 7 times already. I don't load Hot, I load for accuracy. A lot of the brass I have is given to me by my friends that don't load. I also cast my own along with buying some. Use a lot of pull down powder along with components. Bought a lot of ammo from the CMP over the years and keep reloading the LC & HXP cases over and over again.

 

[SSN Vet]

yes..... no doubt about it....

I couldn't afford to shoot much if I didn't roll my own.

It especially saves when loading "expensive" ammo....

7mm-08
.45 acp
.357 magnum

 

[Arkansas Paul]

I actually spend more money than before, but I sure have more fun.
Also, as you'll hear over and over, reloading is a hobby within itself for some. I would just as soon load as shoot. If you get to that point, you won't be saving money. If you just view loading as a means to an end, then you will save.
Of course you'll be out an initial investment and it will take a little time to get to the savings part. Just as an example, a box of Federal Premium Ballistic Tips in .30-06 run about $43 a box. I can load the same exact thing for about $11 and it's more accurate.

 

[oldreloader]

I'm gonna agree with Arkansas Paul..

 

[jeepmor]

Yes it has. Lots.