splattergun
Member
A few bucks per box cheaper X lots of boxes = lots of bucks.
Why Do People Reload When ...
- Thread starter Satasaurus
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MK75
Member
I reload because I enjoy it, and I shoot... a lot. Even if I save $.05 per round (I save much more) that's still $50 per 1,000. It adds up quick.
Happy Shooting
Happy Shooting
Crashbox
Member
I found out very quickly that I do not really save any $$ reloading because I shoot a LOT more. And I get to shoot ammo that I have tailored to my purposes, something the factory-bought stuff is very limited at.
And reloading is very enjoyable, almost therapeutic.
And reloading is very enjoyable, almost therapeutic.
Fishslayer
Member
I think I have found 1 (one) .41 Magnum case in four years of scrounging.
However, there are places that sell used brass and occasionally it shows up (usually small quantities) on private sales boards. Never lasts long though.
TheSaint
Member
I hear you regarding component shortages, but if you have access to lead and cast your own bullets, plus you have a large back supply of brass or pick it up regularly at the range, that means that you already have two out of the four components that you don't have to worry about. That leaves primers and powder, which in my book, is what we should stock up on when it is available and cheap. I'm going to do so once the madness dies down.
Fatelvis
Member
I always ask myself: Unless you're rich or have no free time, why would you NOT reload? 
Seriously, after you recover the brass savings, you can then cast your own bullets and take them out of the cost. Then you can tailor the loads to be most accurate, to your desired powder level, create loads that arent made commercially, etc. The flexibility is great! I enjoy casting/loading as much as shooting!
Seriously, after you recover the brass savings, you can then cast your own bullets and take them out of the cost. Then you can tailor the loads to be most accurate, to your desired powder level, create loads that arent made commercially, etc. The flexibility is great! I enjoy casting/loading as much as shooting!
45lcshooter
Member
I used to reload heavly, but i have been working more and more hours. So i dont hardly hit the bench at all unless i see a new powder and want to try it. Right now, reloading will always be cheaper than factory ammo.
1. you need to start your car or truck to go to the shop or walmart.
2. price of gas.
3. walmart or your shop wont have it, because of all the other non-reloaders blasting through ammo like water
4. get back in the car or truck, or by now with price of gas your bicycle
5. pull into the next shop only to find the same empty ammo shelves.
Total time wasted: better part of the afternoon, total amount of gas used .01-50.00
All that hassele for a box of ammo. WHEN
1. you can sit at your computer, and let the Postal Employee bring your bullets and brass to the mail box.
2. teach your children what reloading is about, and get them involved with the little things, like cleaning brass, sorting brass
3. equipment is a 1 time cost
4. brass and bullets for the most popular calibers is found on the ground at the ranges everywhere, and plastered all over the internet for sale
5. reloading is a great stress releiver, in knowing your not one of those people that count on the gun shop or wally world to stock your favorite ammo
6. you learn a hobby
7. you can see the benifits of reloading in your accuracy
8. reloading equipment is small enough to be kept in a closet, or as big as a 2 car garage(me personally i would love to have a 2 car garage filled to the gills for an ammo factory.)
1. you need to start your car or truck to go to the shop or walmart.
2. price of gas.
3. walmart or your shop wont have it, because of all the other non-reloaders blasting through ammo like water
4. get back in the car or truck, or by now with price of gas your bicycle
5. pull into the next shop only to find the same empty ammo shelves.
Total time wasted: better part of the afternoon, total amount of gas used .01-50.00
All that hassele for a box of ammo. WHEN
1. you can sit at your computer, and let the Postal Employee bring your bullets and brass to the mail box.
2. teach your children what reloading is about, and get them involved with the little things, like cleaning brass, sorting brass
3. equipment is a 1 time cost
4. brass and bullets for the most popular calibers is found on the ground at the ranges everywhere, and plastered all over the internet for sale
5. reloading is a great stress releiver, in knowing your not one of those people that count on the gun shop or wally world to stock your favorite ammo
6. you learn a hobby
7. you can see the benifits of reloading in your accuracy
8. reloading equipment is small enough to be kept in a closet, or as big as a 2 car garage(me personally i would love to have a 2 car garage filled to the gills for an ammo factory.)
Arkansas Paul
Member
Yep. Even if you were only saving two dollars a box, if you have several thousand rounds on hand, that's a lot of money. And for people who shoot IDPA or USPA, a couple thousand rounds won't last that long.
And there's this to consider. I started reloading solely to mitigate the cost of ammunition for my .44 magnum.
After I loaded a hundred rounds or so I realized I had been bitten by the bug. Now I reload for four handgun calibers just because it's fun (we don't shoot rifle very much.) I stopped considering cost when I got the second set of dies.
After I loaded a hundred rounds or so I realized I had been bitten by the bug. Now I reload for four handgun calibers just because it's fun (we don't shoot rifle very much.) I stopped considering cost when I got the second set of dies.
I have a friend who lives in Tampa and complains that no indoor ranges there allow reloads. Then she went on to say that they had to buy a 22 bcuz it's so expensive to shoot their 9 and 45. She admitted that they will have to shoot their 22s since they don't/can't reload. I explained that there are some ranges where you can shoot reloads but she might have to drive a few miles. But with her being obstinate, she wouldn't even listen to me, and resorted to being quite insulting about it. Well, I'm wondering how many 22s she's now shooting considering nobody even has 22s ?
In the meantime, I continue to shoot several hundred rounds a week since I cast and reload.
None of us foresaw the current ammo shortage; well, neither did I. However, I had gradually built up my component inventory over the years to the point where I have enough that I still don't even consider a shortage. I still load 9s for less than the cost of the 22s I had bought years ago, too. I have enough that I believe it will last me the rest of my life.
In the meantime, I'm looking for a cute sweet little shooting gal to shoot with and then leave my estate to....
It surely won't be my "friend" in Tampa.
In the meantime, I continue to shoot several hundred rounds a week since I cast and reload.
None of us foresaw the current ammo shortage; well, neither did I. However, I had gradually built up my component inventory over the years to the point where I have enough that I still don't even consider a shortage. I still load 9s for less than the cost of the 22s I had bought years ago, too. I have enough that I believe it will last me the rest of my life.
In the meantime, I'm looking for a cute sweet little shooting gal to shoot with and then leave my estate to....
It surely won't be my "friend" in Tampa.
ljnowell
Member
RoGrrr said:
No, there were a lot of us that saw it coming a mile away. Anyone that reloaded through the 08 election knows what happens and how fast it happens. When I heard Obama say in the debate he supported an AWB it was only a matter of time. As soon as the first news report hit of the shooting in SH I told my wife, here it comes, it has begun. Sure enough, there it was. Next time this happens you will see it coming from a mile away too.
dragon813gt
Member
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I reload 9mm for $.03 per round. I think I save quite a few pennies at this cost
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TheSaint
Member
$.o3 a round? That seems mighty cheap! Assuming you are picking up other people's brass at the range, where on earth are you finding primers/powder that cheap? Are you calculating that cost on stockpiled component good prices from years ago when you bought them for less? Curious minds and all that...
zxcvbob
Member
That would probably be Wolf or Tula primers bought a year ago, and homemade cast bullets, and a fast powder like Red Dot or Titegroup.jcwit
member
I even beat that.
CCI primers I bought years ago for a little less than $40.00 a sleeve of 5,000, thats .0008 cents a primer.
Powder I bought for $8.00 a lb, in 8 lb. jugs, using an avg. of 5 grains per handgun load thats .005 cents per load.
I cast my own bullets, my lead is free, reclaimed when I help clean the backstop at our indoor range.
Cases are all range pick/ups so no cost there.
So I reload for $ .013 cents per round, comes out to approx $1.30 per box of 100.
Moral--plan ahead and buy the specials and closeouts.
Now tell me reloading isn't worth it.
rodinal220
Member
Because they don't make it anymore:Like if I have to make some 32 rim fire loads.
I can custom tailor my load for each firearm or application.
Accuracy:many types of good factory match ammo,but hand loads are supreme.
Its a lot of fun and helps me relax.
I can assemble better ammo than some of the bargain priced ammo and steel cased stuff from countries that were not found on my steel globe when I was a tyke.
The quality of many types of bargain,training,promo loads is some of the lowest QC I have ever seen due to the unprecedented demand for ammo.By reloading I know what goes into every round and I control the QC.
I can custom tailor my load for each firearm or application.
Accuracy:many types of good factory match ammo,but hand loads are supreme.
Its a lot of fun and helps me relax.
I can assemble better ammo than some of the bargain priced ammo and steel cased stuff from countries that were not found on my steel globe when I was a tyke.
The quality of many types of bargain,training,promo loads is some of the lowest QC I have ever seen due to the unprecedented demand for ammo.By reloading I know what goes into every round and I control the QC.
Buck13
Member
It was good! That was the third batch I made, in 1992. I used Laaglander dry malt, which gave a high FG and a little residual sweetness. In 5 gallons, there were 3 or 4 oz. of fresh ginger, and either a half or whole teaspoon each (don't have my notes now for exact amount) of dry red pepper flakes and ground cinnamon. The cinnamon was a lucky guess: just added a little earthiness that kinda pulled it all together.
Surprisingly, almost everyone liked it. I expected it to be controversial, at best.
Fishslayer
Member
I started with .45ACP & .38/.357 in 2009. It took about a year for the newness & excitement to wear off. By then, I had stacked up...well... let's just say that storage space was becoming an issue!
dragon813gt
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$.o3 a round? That seems mighty cheap! Assuming you are picking up other people's brass at the range, where on earth are you finding primers/powder that cheap? Are you calculating that cost on stockpiled component good prices from years ago when you bought them for less? Curious minds and all that...
Actually my math was off. It's actually $.035 per round. And that's at last summers prices using CCI SPP and W231. I don't pay for 9mm brass. And I cast my own bullets w/ free lead. Even w/ cartridges where I've had to buy brass like 357/308/300 Savage I save a lot of money. I always buy in bulk. And my definition of bulk has changed since December. I'm patiently waiting for PV to have a healthy stock so I can place an order that should have me sitting good for a long time.
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The more-exotic cartridges can yield incredible savings through handloading.
For example, take my .416 Rigby....
Midway lists .416 Rigby factory loads at from five DOLLARS per round up to about TEN DOLLARS per round.
Are you ready for this? I shoot factory-equivalent .416 ammunition for less than twenty CENTS per round. This is accomplished through the use of my own cast bullets. With savings of the magnitude involved here, tooling costs are amortized VERY quickly. My .416 has now fired almost 2000 rounds, all handloaded....figure out what THAT would cost, in factory ammo!
Naturally, very few shooters would (or could) fire that much factory stuff, so in this case the handloading is an enabling factor, allowing me to do something which would otherwise be impossible. The same can be said for my .404, and to a lesser degree for my .45-70.
Oh.... performance? My most-used .416 load drives a 365-grain cast bullet at 2100 fps with accuracy sufficient to group TEN rounds inside an inch at 100 yards. At this level, the gas pedal is still a LONG way from the floorboards!
For example, take my .416 Rigby....
Midway lists .416 Rigby factory loads at from five DOLLARS per round up to about TEN DOLLARS per round.
Are you ready for this? I shoot factory-equivalent .416 ammunition for less than twenty CENTS per round. This is accomplished through the use of my own cast bullets. With savings of the magnitude involved here, tooling costs are amortized VERY quickly. My .416 has now fired almost 2000 rounds, all handloaded....figure out what THAT would cost, in factory ammo!
Naturally, very few shooters would (or could) fire that much factory stuff, so in this case the handloading is an enabling factor, allowing me to do something which would otherwise be impossible. The same can be said for my .404, and to a lesser degree for my .45-70.
Oh.... performance? My most-used .416 load drives a 365-grain cast bullet at 2100 fps with accuracy sufficient to group TEN rounds inside an inch at 100 yards. At this level, the gas pedal is still a LONG way from the floorboards!
THe Dove
BOOMER SOONER!!!
I reload because it is fun and I really enjoy all aspects of it. It relaxes me and I enjoy researching the different loads, etc... If I didn't enjoy it, I probably wouldn't do it......
The Dove
The Dove
Squeaky Wheel
Member
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- Oct 22, 2011
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- 157
This. Before I started hand loading I bought a box of Winchester 45 Colt (cowboy loads) and found 2 defects in the box of 50. One of the bullets was inserted backwards and another bullet was deformed.
I'm still pretty new to reloading and I use a plain-jane single stage press. I enjoy the solitary time and get satisfaction of producing my own loads. As others have pointed out, it's not for everyone. I can also see that I probably wouldn't enjoy reloading small calibers as much as the larger ones.
Maddawg2020
Member
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- Jan 18, 2011
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- 18
reload your own
you will get more a heck of lot more out of an hour of reloading than 100 hours with your therapist.....not to mention it will cost a lot less than the therapist will charge you
you will get more a heck of lot more out of an hour of reloading than 100 hours with your therapist.....not to mention it will cost a lot less than the therapist will charge you
35 Whelen
Member
Exactly. Reloading is my time to take a mental bowel movement.
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