The cost of reloading 9mm and .223 is it worth it?

Status
Not open for further replies.
TheDomFather

TheDomFather

Member
Joined
Feb 22, 2017
Messages
469
Ok so there have been many threads on this so I made a video and provided some data below to show you what the cost of reloading is relative to purchasing factory ammo. Take a look please hit the thumbs up if you like the video and feel free to comment and if you have any advice, suggestions or feedback I am all ears!



Cost of reloading.jpeg
 
hdwhit said:
What are the criteria by which you (or anyone else) is supposed to make the determination that the cost is "worth it"?
Click to expand...

If you are purely looking at it from a cost perspective I would say the criteria is can you make ammo cheaper than you can buy it. Assuming equivalent accuracy. That would be my criteria. Now that being said the cost of presses, dies, tools etc are high considering everything you need but the more you shoot the quicker you pay that down.
 
It all depends on your point of view.

It seems in most discussions on the cost savings of reloading, the first major sticking point is the labor involved with reloading, the second is the capital cost.

The folks that mostly treat reloading as a hobby, these costs are irrelevant. They enjoy the time spent crafting quality ammunition with some cost savings as a side benefit.

The folks that are looking for financial justification and include labor and capital costs in the reloaded ammunition costs will never be able to justify reloading cartridges such as 9x19 or 223 Remington as long as inexpensive surplus ammunition is available.

Of course there are other reasons to reload such as better quality ammunition or difficult to obtain ammunition but most of the discussions center around cost.

Until the cost of factory ammunition increases dramatically or reloading components costs drop dramatically, these discussions will not change.
 
ReloaderFred said:
I've had an endless supply of the ammunition I've needed since 1963, unlike the retail outlets, especially in times of political uncertainty............

Hope this helps.

Fred
Click to expand...
This is definitely a factor. I counted today and I think I have 26,000 primers stocked up! Why I dont know but you can never really have too much!
 
There seems to be a factor in the above costs which makes reloading higher. Shipping costs are killers and can make 7 cent bullets cost 10 or 11 cents. Many of us also don't have the need to order in 1000 lots, that is more cost. I thoroughly investigate many on-line dealers and their shipping costs before ordering.
When the man charges you $12 for shipping and you can prove he only spent $8 for it or could have done it cheaper, I shy away from that dealer. He is a bait and charge artist.
 
As you can see from the table above bobs bulk bullets and the rocky mountain reloading are the shipped to you price. If you look for deals you can always find them.
 
It wasn't too long ago that .223 was a buck a round if you could find it, and 9mm was fast approaching $40 for a box. You can beat the higher end loads any day. Not so with the 55fmj bulk stuff (I do but barely). 9mm is a casting proposition. I dont touch commercial pistol bullets anymore. Then again all of the above is currently available. I think you're asking the wrong question. It should be: is reloading 223 and 9mm worth it when you can't find cartridges or components to buy?
 
Interesting.
Thanks for posting that.
I have been reloading for over 30 years, but any potential savings was never an issue for me. That isn't why I reload.
With .223, I am typically loading premium bullets (77 grain SMK). I never see that in my local stores...it's all cheap junk for the crowd that likes to shoot computer monitors and propane bottles at 20 yards.

If I want cheaper stuff, I have bought factory ammo but it didn't give me anywhere near the accuracy of my handloads (groups sized 2x or 3x........significantly less accuracy). With 9mm, I am typically loading cast or plated cast bullets and I don't know of any place close to me to get that. So in that case, handloading them is my only option.

Almost every day I see someone asking about the cost of reloading. I guess they never consider the idea that there are a whole bunch of other reasons for reloading ammo.
 
If you have to put a pencil to paper then it is not worth it. But that's not the reason we reload.

We can justify reloading costs by buying supplies in larger quantities. With that we can build up our stash and shoot more. At least that's what you can tell your wife. Mine didn't buy it. Maybe that's why she left. :D
 
Using a quality 55gr Hornady FMJ bullet I can load .223 ammo for under 20¢ a round. Even the garbage Tula ammo with steel cases are no less than 30¢ a round. Hornady ammo using the same bullet I'm loading will cost you at least 70¢ a round and the cheaper steel case Hornady ammo is 49¢ a round so yes, its well worth loading.
 
TheDomFather said:
As you can see from the table above bobs bulk bullets and the rocky mountain reloading are the shipped to you price. If you look for deals you can always find them.
Click to expand...

If I got down to 26,000 primers I'd feel destitute. You can never have enough primers, since that's the key to the whole business. Without them, powder is just fertilizer and bullets are just fishing weights..........

Fred
 
TheDomFather wrote:
If you are purely looking at it from a cost perspective...
Click to expand...

I'm not. I'm asking you what criteria should go into a determination of whether or not the activity is "worth it".
  • Cost?
  • And if cost, just variable costs or fully aborbed?
  • Accuracy?
  • Quality?
  • Ability to load something not available as a factory loading?
  • Pride in the accomplishment?
  • Bragging rights?
And is one criteria more significant than others or does one trump the rest?

In my case, I reload because it is one of the few activities that I enjoy doing enough to take my mind off the other distractions in my life and let me refresh myself enough to go to work to make the money to allow me to keep on reloading. It becomes "worth it" because I deem it to be so.
 
cfullgraf wrote:
The folks that mostly treat reloading as a hobby, these costs are irrelevant.
Click to expand...

Not if the TheDomFather's criteria (or the criteria of anyone else) for whether it is "worth it" is cost. If cost drives "worth it" then the expenditures are most certainly relevant whether or not it is treated as a hobby.

Of course there are other reasons to reload such as better quality ammunition or difficult to obtain ammunition but most of the discussions center around cost.
Click to expand...

Which you just said was irrelevant, yet your post continues to address cost.

It seems your criteria for what makes reloading "worth it" is something other than cost, yet neither you nor TheDomFather will answer my question as to what those criteria are.
 
Jesse Heywood wrote:
If you have to put a pencil to paper then it is not worth it. But that's not the reason we reload.
Click to expand...

Then what is the reason you reload that makes it "worth it"?
 
hdwhit said:
I'm not. I'm asking you what criteria should go into a determination of whether or not the activity is "worth it".
  • Cost?
  • And if cost, just variable costs or fully aborbed?
  • Accuracy?
  • Quality?
  • Ability to load something not available as a factory loading?
  • Pride in the accomplishment?
  • Bragging rights?
And is one criteria more significant than others or does one trump the rest?

In my case, I reload because it is one of the few activities that I enjoy doing enough to take my mind off the other distractions in my life and let me refresh myself enough to go to work to make the money to allow me to keep on reloading. It becomes "worth it" because I deem it to be so.
Click to expand...
So for you like many of us its an enjoyable hobby that can have cost benefits!
 
hdwhit, re-read post #4 again.

The cost of labor and the capital cost of equipment are irrelevant to the hobby reloader. I never said that component cost was not important to the hobby reloader.
 
If cost savings is all that is important to you, then no, you will probably feel that it is not worthwhile to reload these relatively cheap cartridges. A few extra bucks a box and you can save the time and effort and just buy factory ammo.

My ammo is in fact a little cheaper, but I do it because I take pride in doing things myself.
 
Last edited:
As far as hobbies go....there aren't many out there that give you "best bang for your buck" like hand loading does.
I do like being able to "talk shop" with the other gun guys I find who also happen to roll their own... And then there's the peace of mind that comes with knowing each round, and what it will do.
Besides being a productive pastime, I love that I know each and every one has an intact primer, a flash hole, and an appropriate amount and type of powder.
It'd be worth it to me, even if it was a net loss to my wallet.

Of course is worth it, is hand loading!
 
My time is worth something to me. I'm retired, but work part time. I generally work 1-2 days a week 7 or 14 hours, but sometimes more if needed. The money I earn in one day is more than I'd save in 7 hours of reloading 9mm or 223 A lot more, I just buy those off the shelf. I do load for my center fire big game cartridges. It isn't high volume loading and I do it more to get better performance than to save money.
 
I work like a dog and travel the world for work, my time is precious and there is nothing like the peace and solitude of sitting in my garage loading ammo. Estrogen free zone!
 
Reloading is so worth it for many reasons:
I know that what I load will go off.
What I load is dialed in for each gun and marked as so.
With bulk purchases on good components shortages are irrelevant.
When I need more ammo I just load it, not go to the store and hope they have some.
I actually do save money reloading, and all my equipment has paid for itself many times over.
I reload to relax and unwind, prep brass with the kids, and cast bullets because I can.
You have the pride of knowing you made that round that hit the "x", or dropped that big buck, boar, or bull.

You can also go the other way with it and think:
I'll never get my money back on this equipment.
I'll be stuck here for hours loading for a match.
I'd rather work some overtime and just buy it, my time is too valuable.
I really don't enjoy this, but it is a necessary evil.

If any of those apply reloading might not be worth it to you, even through you may still do it. Weather it is worth it to you is something only you can determine, but more than likely it is. :)
 
hand loading is worth it for me , just the quality of of my ammo makes it worth it , plus I normally have plenty of ammo on hand and the ability to make more, you can't compare hand loads to cheap bulk ammo apples and oranges, I did run out of 223 this summer so I bought some and after a decade of shooting my home brew the cheap bulk ammo really is pure JUNK, so yes I can reload good QUALITY ammo cheaper than bulk JUNK ,
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

R
  • Locked
cost to reload .223 Remington?
Replies
21
Views
6K
Sport45
S
D
  • Locked
Loading 9mm and .223 and breaking even on equipment cost
2 3 4
Replies
86
Views
4K
Bonesinium
B
W
  • Locked
Cost/Benefit analysis
2
Replies
39
Views
1K
RustyFN
R
J
  • Locked
reloading 9mm cost effective?
2
Replies
27
Views
3K
germ
G
S
  • Locked
newb: Reloading Costs vs. Bulk
Replies
15
Views
670
Tarvis
T
Back
Top