is reloading cost effective

frogman68 · Sep 19, 2014

At Cabelas today and had me thinking are some calibers not worth reloading ?

Looking at 45 brass , 100 count unprimed was 38.99 while a 100 count of rounds was 46.99 .

for 8 dollars without the cost of primers , powder or bullets seems that 45 isn't worth reloading.

I see that once I fire these 100 rounds I will have the brass so it would be cost effective but how many times can you reload the spent brass?

Streetgang · Sep 19, 2014

It's a lot cheaper per round than boxed ammo and you can tune your loads to your guns.
BUT, the more you reload, the more you shoot so it is nothing but another way to spend more money.

BradMacc82 · Sep 19, 2014

45, you keep reloading it until the brass shrinks to oblivion (semi-joking).

I've got casings that are beyond their 12th loading, still going strong.

Depending on caliber, it can be VERY cost-effective.

Infantry23 · Sep 19, 2014

Yes, very cost effective.

Blacksmith101 · Sep 19, 2014

frogman68 said:
At Cabelas today and had me thinking are some calibers not worth reloading ?

Looking at 45 brass , 100 count unprimed was 38.99 while a 100 count of rounds was 46.99 .

for 8 dollars without the cost of primers , powder or bullets seems that 45 isn't worth reloading.

I see that once I fire these 100 rounds I will have the brass so it would be cost effective but how many times can you reload the spent brass?

Buy the 100 rounds for $46.99 and reload that brass the next 1000 shots will be about $15 per 100.

iH8DemLibz · Sep 19, 2014

Can reload for FAAAAARRRRRRR less than what it costs to buy ready made.

K31 · Sep 19, 2014

If you don't count your labor.

Streetgang · Sep 19, 2014

K31 said:
If you don't count your labor.

and equipment investments....and, and and.
I make .45acp for about 18 to 19 cents a round. But shoot 5 times what I did when I didn't reload.

ken792 · Sep 19, 2014

I load .45 ACP at $0.137 a round. It's not particularly cost effective to load FMJ, so use cast or plated. I pay $0.094 per for my cast slugs from Missouri Bullet (their 230gr Softball).

My range has plenty of brass. I've never bought .45 ACP brass because there's so much lying around. I've heard of people getting 140 reloads out of .45 ACP and .38 Spc cases. I have a few cases that I picked up that have clearly been loaded a lot such as ones where the rims are so dinged up that they look like gears, ones with the headstamp almost illegible, and nickle cases with almost no more nickle on the rims.

j8064 · Sep 19, 2014

Geez, yet another "economics of reloading" thread...

Short answer is yes and no. After almost 30 years of reloading experience I reload over 30 different calibers to feed my toys. Some toys could not have range days otherwise.

The OP asks about reloading 45acp. Using free range cases I've accumulated and home cast boolits I reload the round for < 10 cents each.

Is reloading worth the time and effort? It is for me.

Uncle Duke · Sep 19, 2014

Guns are expensive. Factory ammo is expensive. Reloading equipment and components are expensive. But with handloading, you shoot larger volumes of tailored ammunition than you could otherwise shoot with the same expense. Which means that because you can shoot more, you can avail to yourself the opportunity to shoot more rounds more often. And tailored rounds combined with greater repetition tends to allow you to shoot better. To me, the sum of the parts equates to priceless.

ted76 · Sep 19, 2014

If you have kids and/or a needy partner it may not be worth it in the long run when it starts taking you away from the family.

240 towles · Sep 19, 2014

I reload 37mm, cause if I didn't it runs around 13.00 a round. Other than that, I stick to russian ammo 14.00 per 50.

DaemonAssassin · Sep 19, 2014

Let's see here. I reload 308 "match" ammo for 50c per round, where FGMM is going for $1.50-2.00 a round. You never compare your reload prices to the cheap stuff at the store, you compare it to "match grade" ammo.

I did the math on 223 reloading and found that I can make "match grade" varmint ammo for about 25c per round, but to buy FGMM it is about $1.00 per round.

Is 2-3 hours out of my life, per 1k rounds, worth me saving $750 on 1k rounds of 223 or $1500 on 1k rounds of 308? Your damned right it is!!! But then again, what do I know? I did spend the money on a Dillon 550 progressive press.

coopermania · Sep 20, 2014

ted76 said:
If you have kids and/or a needy partner it may not be worth it in the long run when it starts taking you away from the family.

I have had some of the best times and conversations with my son while we are both spending time in the reloading room. And I am too old to tolerate a needy partner.

trickg · Sep 20, 2014

I think a lot of it depends on how you want to look at reloading. It can be time consuming, but most people reload as part of their hobby, so they (I) don't mind putting in the time and don't factor the time into the cost.

Here's something to consider:

A box of 50 of basic Winchester 240 grain jacketed .44 mag ammo is currently running $46.99 at Midway USA. This isn't a special ammo - more like a plinking ammo, if you consider anything with 44 mag "plinking."

My Dad had a bullet casting setup, and he had a setup with the local Farmer's Co-oP where he'd get a 5 gallon bucket of wheel weights a couple of times of year.

So when you consider that once he was tooled up, he was casting bullets essentially for free, minus his time of course, back then it was about 2 cents per primer and about a penny's worth of powder, so 3 cents per round. Compare that to Winchester WW .44 mag ammo:

$46.99 per box of 50
vs
$1.50 per box of 50

I realize that not everyone is into casting, so let's factor what a box of plated .44 mag bullets costs from XTreme bullets - $61.50 per box of 500, or a touch over 12 cents a bullet. At today's rates, it's about 3 cents per primer and about a penny's worth of powder, which runs our cost up to about 17 cents per round, or $8.50 per box.

That's still WAY cheaper than buying .44 mag ammo with the added bonus that you get to choose how to put the load together.

Of course you'll need brass, but that's easy enough - buy some bulk ammo with reloadable brass, save it, scrounge any extra you can at the range, and over time you'll wind up with a fair amount of brass. As for how many times it can be reloaded, that depends on certain factors, but generally you reload until you start seeing signs that it's done for - typically cracks and that sort of thing.

DaemonAssassin · Sep 20, 2014

I added a part in this thread about the cost effectiveness of reloading. It is near the bottom. I primarily reload 308, so that is why I wrote it up regarding 308.

http://www.mdshooters.com/showthread.php?t=137551

trickg · Sep 20, 2014

Nice post! I primarily load for handgun, and since all I'm doing at the moment is punching holes in paper at the range, I'm doing everything I can to keep it as cheap as I can get it, although I recently moved to plated bullets from hard cast bullets - they make for a cleaner shooting experience all around - less smoke, less smoke/powder residue and it eliminates the issue of leading in the barrel, which is aside from the fact that I can shoot them in my polygonal rifled USP barrel.

JBinDC · Sep 20, 2014

OK, so if I were to make the investment to get into reloading, which of these calibers I shoot would be "cheapest" to consider reloading:

9mm
40S&W
45ACP
223
30-30
7.62x54R
12G - Trap & Sporting clays from an Autoloader if it matters

Also, what gear would a newb best get started with, new or used...

TIA

DaemonAssassin · Sep 20, 2014

JBinDC said:
OK, so if I were to make the investment to get into reloading, which of these calibers I shoot would be "cheapest" to consider reloading:

9mm
40S&W
45ACP
223
30-30
7.62x54R
12G - Trap & Sporting clays from an Autoloader if it matters

Also, what gear would a newb best get started with, new or used...

TIA

All of them, except for the 12G.

You will see massive savings on the 762x54R versus buying brass cased stuff at the store. Same thing with 30-30 and 223. Your margins will drop some when you get into pistol calibers, but you will still be saving a decent amount.

The real question I have to ask is what do you shoot the most of?

is reloading cost effective

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