Reloading really is becoming a labor of love

For common cartridges in common loadings, it makes sense to buy what is most economical. Often, my time is more valuable spent at my business than at the reloading bench. If I want 45 ACP, Hardball, I buy it. If I want my 45 ACP to carry a wadcutter bullet and a hardball dose of powder, I go to the reloading bench.

If you don’t value your time, reloading is a bargain! Anyone who runs a successful business knows how much their time is worth.

Kevin

(I see Varminterror and I were typing at the same time. And similar concepts. Great minds…)
 
ballman6711 said:
This is something that most don't consider. I can load .223 62gr hollow points for almost the same as 55gr fmj's if I catch the bullets on sale. 62gr hp's are not even close to fifty cents a round, maybe $1 a round for factory ammo IF you can find it.

chris
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Yeah, it really depends. Most of my centerfire shooting is done with "old fashioned" revolver rounds; things like Elmer Keith and Skeeter Skelton used to use. Even when such factory rounds can be found, they're usually several times more expensive than those I make. And when it comes to things like the .500 S&W, or .45 Colts loaded with blackpowder, that's even more true.

But if I was starting over today, and using common cartridges like 9mm, .223, etc., I'd have a hard time convincing myself that handloading would be worthwhile.
 
BreechFace said:
I can tell you I get no enjoyment removing crimps, uniforming primer pockets, trimming brass, chamfering and deburring 5.56 brass. And my thumbs and fingers really don't.
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Same. It’s my least favorite caliber to reload, which is why I don’t do it. I save my brass and have components if the situation gets bad enough. But it hasn’t yet
 
AJC1 said:
I'm gearing up to load 6x45, anyone know where I can buy it at a reasonable cost..... at any cost... 😁
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Yup. It’s always about cheap NATO vs. expensive handloads. As if they’re equivalents.

I shoot less 9mm and 5.56mm than anything else in my collection. That’s me. YMMV. I can’t remember the last time I saw 180gr. Spritzer Soft Point 8mm Mauser in the box on a store shelf. It was probably 2003/04? And it was (IIRC) WW-Silver box at $40+/20. The same for .30US (.30-40Krag-Jorgensen). 7.7Jap? The last I saw was Norma in the old orange and black boxes.

If all you shoot is NATO standard rifle/pistol, stop reloading unless you really like it as a hobby. If you really like it as a hobby, the cost of components is not a deciding factor.
 
I still have components from before the pandemic, although I am good for about 2 months before the old stuff gets used up. 223 is still costing me 22 or 23 cents.
 
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GeoDudeFlorida said:
Yup. It’s always about cheap NATO vs. expensive handloads. As if they’re equivalents.

I shoot less 9mm and 5.56mm than anything else in my collection. That’s me. YMMV. I can’t remember the last time I saw 180gr. Spritzer Soft Point 8mm Mauser in the box on a store shelf. It was probably 2003/04? And it was (IIRC) WW-Silver box at $40+/20. The same for .30US (.30-40Krag-Jorgensen). 7.7Jap? The last I saw was Norma in the old orange and black boxes.

If all you shoot is NATO standard rifle/pistol, stop reloading unless you really like it as a hobby. If you really like it as a hobby, the cost of components is not a deciding factor.
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You mean rhese 17063000985416717393829642660115.jpg
 
One can find 7.7 Jap on Ammoseek from multiple vendors if anyone needs any new for reloading.
 
My start in reloading was just to afford the ammo for the SBH. These days the .223, 7.62x39 and 9mm are bulk commercial, and everything else I load for cost and availability reasons. Some factory ammo in the rounds I shoot frequently (25-20, 38-55, 45-70, and .50BMG) is rather spendy.
 
I don’t know if I would consider it a labor of love, but I thoroughly enjoy it….
I load plenty of cartridges that are prolly a break even, and plenty that I am ahead of the game….
Reloading is just another hobby that I don’t live for, but it does make my spare time enjoyable….
 
I started reloading 50+ years ago. Am I going to wake up tomorrow morning and decide it's more practical to buy factory ammo than to reload? Probably not. I started shooting 60+ years ago. Am I going to wake up tomorrow and decide I would rather watch other people shoot than to shoot myself? Probably not. If someone started doing something 50-60 years ago and still enjoys it I would think that would define practical in itself.
 
Reloading ammo is the most retarded thing I do, if this was food and it cost me less to eat at a restaurant than at home I would be at Dennys.

People asked me at my gun shop and gunshows if I would help them get into Reloading, my response is yes I will but here are the facts unless you plan to do something very specific it's not worth the effort.

Idc about accurate loads as a justification, the VAST MAJORITY of shooters are using bargain basement ar15 carbine and 9mm pistols. Guess what those two categories of weapons will produce accurate hits in the range of 25 yards for handgun and 200 yards for a carbine.

I would advise anyone who has not started to reload to continue to shop for deals of ammunition and stack it deep when available.

I know this comes off as I got mine and forget about the other guy but the economy is too tight to give poor advice.
 
Lennyjoe said:
Bottom line, I still enjoy reloading and developing new loads, but reloading in bulk is taking up too much of my time so I’ll do a cost benefit analysis and determine what’s best for me.
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I haven't seen anything mentioned about the press you're using, only the cost of components vs. factory ammo. But now that you've mentioned time, I'll make another suggestion.

Use a progressive to load your "bulk" ammo. I use a single stage press and can load 50 pistol rounds in about 75 minutes if I'm trying and everything goes smoothly. But I usually take my time and enjoy loading so that same 50 rounds takes me about two hours. Rifle ammo takes me longer still. With a progressive I could easily load a couple hundred rounds an hour, and possibly 3/400 rounds an hour. That equates to five hours at most at the press to load 1K rounds, and possibly as little as two hours or so.

The only downside I can see is you may take a very long time paying for the press with the savings of loading bulk .223 or 9mm.

chris
 
Yep, I haven't loaded any 9mm recently for this reason. I've got plenty of brass, powder, primers, and bullets, but factory ammo is around 28c/rd and I can't do it much cheaper.
I do enjoy handloading but since I'm employed, my free time is limited and valuable. I'm buying factory 9mm and 5.56 right now and spending my handload time on the harder to get and/or more expensive stuff like 45colt, 300wm , and pet loads for my other calibers.
Another plus is the factory ammo will become brass that I'll need later at some point.🙂
 
With the current component prices, I've also noticed reloading some rounds doesn't make any sense. Particularly 5.56/.223 and 9mm range fodder. With prices hovering around $260/1000 for a case of 9mm ammo, I'll buy it instead of using up components that can go to other rounds.

For .223 Remington, if I just want FMJ range ammo for shooting in an AR carbine, buying factory makes sense when I look at the time it takes to load versus how much I actually use. But I reload more "specialized" ammo, say hollow points for my bolt action or AR match rifle. It helps that I have a bunch of primers and match bullets from my Highpower days.

I didn't originally plan to wander down the rabbit hole of reloading for my .308 Winchester hunting rifle. Which means I naturally did last spring, trying lots of different bullets and several powders. It still isn't a rifle I'll shoot a lot, and I could probably just as easily buy a couple boxes of factory ammo a year and call it good.

After all of that, it still makes a lot of sense to me to reload for my favorite pistol, a 1911 in .45 ACP. Since it runs happily on any kind of lead, plated or powder coated round nose 230 grain bullet and W231 powder, I can shoot it all I want at just over half the cost of factory hardball. And .38 Special is so simple to reload, I'll keep doing it too.

Of course there are the side trips I've made in the past with things like .260 Remington, .45-70 and .38 Super that were partially fueld by a "hey, I can reload those" attitude.

However, for a new shooter just looking for range fodder in 9mm or 5.56, I wouldn't recommend picking up reloading in our current environment.
 
Wolfshead said:
Well, in NY you have to have a background check, and you also have to pay a fee to buy ammunition.
Not yet with components.
Labor of love, or labor of necessity?
Click to expand...

If I lived in a local such as yourself, that would definitely be a labor of necessity! Unfortunately, it’s probably only a manner of time before CA/NY has the same restrictions on primers and powder as they are dangerous and ‘splody.

These egregious over stepping of the 2A need to be struck down.
 
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I’m still shooting .223 I loaded before Y2K. My .223 is a T/C Contender. No mag to dump.

“range fodder”. 😒
 
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