Range officer reloading

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Erief0g

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Mar 13, 2018
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Charlotte, NC
The range I go to, Blackstone in Charlotte NC, allows me to pick up my range brass. They have RSO's on site that also sweep the brass.

Kind of feels odd to have someone else sweep your brass ro the corner but most say they need something to do anyway.

Regardless. The RSO comes up and asks if I reload 9mm also and wonders about any cost savings. I give him my math. 11.5 cents per round was my last 10k of rounds and my black Friday sales have lowered it to 10.7 cents each. Deals around on ammo have it pretty easily obtainable for 17 cents a round.

Then I give him that my accuracy is considerably better with my reloads. At the time of discussion I had a target with 15 3" circles in it sitting at 11 yards. I usually start at ten and move back yard by yard shooting three circles at each yard.

I also explained that I can load them to the power/ recoil i want for either my wife or i. I then lift, fire at what i would call a good pace but not rapid fire. Hopefully I've led someone towards the reloading niche.

He already had said he was considering 45acp for the savings and he saw that's what my first 100 rounds of the day were.
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I usually buy my ammo for my plinkers 9mm and .223.

In .223, I'll only bother to load "good ammo" i.e. 75gr SMK's, not 55gr FMJ's.

My big cost saving is my revolver cartridges. Even lowly 38spcl isn't cheap.

It lets me shoot calibers like 44mag and 45 Colt MUCH Much often though. And I can tailor it exactly how I want for accuracy and power level.

I wouldn't even buy half my favorite guns if I didn't reload due to ammo costs.
 
I reload for the fun of it. And, I enjoy tinkering with a rifle, pistol or revolver until I find what it likes best. IMO, reloading adds to my enjoyment of shooting. IMO, it simply fun..
 
I don’t have tons of time to reload, so I spend it reloading things that make the most economical sense to reload. I don’t waste me time loading blasting ammo like 9mm, 5.56, and 7.62, although I do load those particular cartridges for precision work.
 
Reloading is a hobby unto itself for me. I enjoy it. Every time I calculate the costs, reloading costs is always less than the cost of factory rounds if I do not attempt to include my time. It is a hobby after all.

I reload in part to insure that I always have the capability to make ammunition for any of my firearms. Something not possible if you rely on purchasing factory or surplus ammunition.

Everyone needs to figure their own cost of reloading and what is worth to them.

I respect their decision.
 
Reloading is a hobby unto itself for me. I enjoy it. Every time I calculate the costs, reloading costs is always less than the cost of factory rounds if I do not attempt to include my time. It is a hobby after all..

I keep trying to express to everyone that Until someone is willing to actually pay me for reloading then my time has ZERO dollar value. I am not going to try and pay myself for my time. If I were going to do that then nothing would get done.
 
I am always a big proponent of "doing it myself" and thats why I reload.

I always tell people, its a measure of how much your time is worth and how far down the rabbit hole you want to go.
 
Reloading is a hobby unto itself for me. I enjoy it. Every time I calculate the costs, reloading costs is always less than the cost of factory rounds if I do not attempt to include my time. It is a hobby after all.

I reload in part to insure that I always have the capability to make ammunition for any of my firearms. Something not possible if you rely on purchasing factory or surplus ammunition.

Everyone needs to figure their own cost of reloading and what is worth to them.

I respect their decision.

I keep trying to express to everyone that Until someone is willing to actually pay me for reloading then my time has ZERO dollar value. I am not going to try and pay myself for my time. If I were going to do that then nothing would get done.

My cost estimates include the sunk costs of equipment, tools, new brass, and etc. When calculated this way, it costs more to reload 9mm and 223 vs. purchasing factory ammo. But, I more than make up the difference by loading other less-popular or more expensive calibers! Overall, I estimate a 27% cost savings. My cost doesn't include labor because of the reason kmw1954 indicated...this is my hobby, after all. :cool:
 
I anyone's interested in a free Excel app to figure ammo costs for both metallic and shotgun. I copied the concept from a very good app that used to be on RCBS.com's defunct reloading forum. It's interactive, plug in what you want to make and it does the rest.

It's downloadable and free here: 2amunitions.boards.net/post/692
 
I load it all, including 124gn 9mm and 55gn FMJ 223, on my Forster Co-ax. I do tend to load 147gn RMR and 75gn SMK though since if I'm going to the trouble I might as well load premium.

IMO the 223 and 9mm dies still pay for themselves over time- it just takes longer. I've only bought 2,000 rounds of 223 from a store though and I've shot out one AR-15 barrel in that time so probably closer to 9,000-11,000 fired and at about 15 cents of savings per round (30 cents bought, 15 cents loaded) I save $150/1,000 and off of 5,000 rounds a full set of the best possible redding dies ($600-$700) is covered. 9mm is even less favourable so buy the dies early!!

My 9mm reloads shoot 1 more out of my 9mm rifles, better than factory WWB, UMC, etc by far.
 
I've never considered the cost of reloading. I do it because I can make the ammo I want .most of which I can't find to buy. The only ammo I buy is 22LR and I haven't bought any of that in years. I'm too busy shooting the ammo that I make
 
I'm glad my dad taught me to reload back in the late '70s. I sure hated it then though, as a teenager having a high power rifle match every weekend to go shoot was bad enough. Then having to spend extra time reloading. That was torture, at the time I wanted to be chasing girls and hanging with my friends. In reality it probably kept me from getting into trouble and taught me some discipline.
Now living in California with the stupid ammo laws, I am not at the mercy of the retailers with jacked up ammo prices and back ground checks. Not to mention the the great me time I get when I'm at the loading bench. Alls I can say is thanks Dad.
 
I too, reload because I like to. When I started it was not to "save" money, but out of curiosity. In '69 I was shooting and when I emptied the cylinder of my 38 Special I thought; "I wonder if I could reuse these?". And so it began...
 
Some of what I reload is for cost reasons, like .38 Special, .357, and .45ACP. Some of it is because if I want something decent in an obsolete cartridge, it's best I do it myself, like .32 Long and .38 S&W.
 
Being honest, I’m reloading everything I shoot for the simple reason that I can. I’m one of the worst excuses for a submarine sailor...I don’t drink, don’t smoke, don’t swear, and I’m an avid investor...so no drunken spending sprees.

Consequently, I need something that qualifies as a pastime that puts me back among an elite minority in American society. I know that thousands of people reload...and that’s just it...thousands, 10s of thousands...but in a nation of 300+ millions, we’re still a minority. Just as I was once a dinq non-qual (submarine lingo) trying to earn acceptance as a qualified submariner, I’m a junior reloader gaining experience and skills from my betters on this and other forums. I’m too new at this to care whether it costs less to reload or buy...I load everything I shoot in order to have enough skill and knowledge to make that determination. I don’t imagine I’ll live long enough to gain the experience and expertise that many of you have, but I’m getting my sons, my grandsons, and assorted other family members interested in this sport, hoping that my investment in equipment and supplies will continue being used by the next several generations.
 
All of my equipment was purchased used and I have loaded and shot enough that I believe it has paid for itself so I do not feel I need to amortize that cost any longer. Brass at this point is free, I do not buy new brass. Which all this then leaves just to buy components/consumables. I have to really try hard to find 9mm for less than $10.00 per hundred which is what it costs me to load..

Time spent. There are all sorts of examples of time; Time to Work, Time to Sleep, Time to Eat, Time to Play. Then there is Wife time, Chore time, Kids time and lastly, MY TIME. Thing about My Time is I can spend it any way I want. I cannot place a dollar value on My Time as to what it is worth and I don't ever want to.
 
I started reloading back in the early 70's with a rcbs "jr" press and all the stuff needed to start. Thanks to my Dad for getting me started. We shot 270 an3006 in Winchester model 54"s. He thought we could do it cheaper and get better accuracy. I think of him every time I load those calibers. I now load everything I shoot except 22lr.
 
All of my equipment was purchased used and I have loaded and shot enough that I believe it has paid for itself so I do not feel I need to amortize that cost any longer. Brass at this point is free, I do not buy new brass. Which all this then leaves just to buy components/consumables. I have to really try hard to find 9mm for less than $10.00 per hundred which is what it costs me to load..

Good point, kmw1954. I just checked my cipherin' and realized that I just recently passed the break even point in my sunk costs! No longer need to account for that in my cost savings calcs. Sweet!

As for "free" brass, not the case for about half of the calibers I shoot. But that's OK, since I reuse my purchased brass...duhhh.
 
As for "free" brass, not the case for about half of the calibers I shoot. But that's OK, since I reuse my purchased brass...duhhh.

Over the near 40 years of reloading, I've acquired my share of pick up brass from various sources. Of late and with the availability of Starline brass, I've pretty much standardized on buying cases from Starline and have consistent quality cases for most of the cartridges that I load.

Mixed head stamped lots of brass end up with various problems here and there.

I'll also admit in my early years of reloading, my time was less valuable and I was willing to put up with brass issues to save a few bucks.
 
Back before the Xtreme crash they were running a rebate program; buy bullets get Free Xtreme Brass. I took advantage as I was shooting Xtreme anyway and now I have a lot of Xtreme 45acp and 380 Auto brass still in the bags unopened.

I have stated before that IMO reloading isn't for everyone. It does take time, effort, understanding, patience and in some cases dedication. Some folks also should never be allowed anywhere near a reloading bench because they are dangerous enough to themselves and others w/o being around gun powder. The expression; could screw up a one car funeral comes to mind. While others just do not have the time, inclination or need to. They are happy with buying factory ammunition and there is nothing wrong with that either.

Being this is a gun forum all I can ask is that everyone stay safe and enjoy their guns and shooting. Do what you can to preserve our Freedoms!
 
Being honest, I’m reloading everything I shoot for the simple reason that I can.
Me too. Doesn't matter if it's a caliber I shoot two rounds per year, or 20,000 per year. If I shoot it, I reload for it. Well, with the exception of 22LR, but I'm even considering that, too. ;)

There's a lot of banter about "you'll never save money reloading" vs. "you'll save so much money reloading." Well, if I were to assume that I would've shot the same amount of ammo if I *hadn't* reloaded, I've "saved" enough money to pay for all of my reloading and casting equipment many times over. Buying dies for a caliber I hardly ever shoot is a drop in the bucket, and in the end, an asset to be passed on to the next generation, or sold.

Not to mention the fact that I have hours and hours of memories with my son in the reloading room. Watching him grow from "What's this, Daddy?" as he was pointing at a reloading press to, "Hey Dad, I'm working up a new load, come check this chrono data" are memories that you just can't put a price tag on.

My own Father has given me a lot of very old reloading equipment that I still use to this day (my 38 Special, 44 mag, 280 Remington dies, to name a few), and it still takes me back to the hours I spent with him.

When I buy a new-to-me caliber gun, the reloading dies for it are purchased at the same time. When my wife buys me a new gun, she'll ask if I have the dies for it, and if I don't, she'll make sure she gets the dies, too.
 
Using factory ammunition is like letting your car shift itself.
It’s all about controlling the process.
(Of course I do not build the car or the firearm.)
Take control where you are able, while you are able.
 
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