If cost is the only motivation...

[Hickory76]

If saving money on ammo is my only motivation to get into reloading, would I find that I'm really not saving anything after factoring in the cost of quality equipment, time, education, and components? I'm only interested in reloading 9mm and .223 Rem and would probably only shoot a few hundred rounds of each, monthly.

I'm assuming that reloading is more for folks who enjoy it as extension of the shooting hobby, or want to customize their loads... Thanks!

 

[Biggfoot44]

Let's just say that those two calibers , would have the Least potential savings .

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* IF * your requirements are met by generic fmj in * those calibers * , I won't try to talk you out of buying ammo on sale , by the case .


Longer answer :

You'll hear about getting good deals on bullets in bulk , and that you presumably have a big stash of brass from your current shooting pace . All true . With the New Normal price for primers , that eats into what the margins would have been a couple years ago .

I would be able to tell you that loading your own you would easily have better / tailored to you & your gun(s) / wider variety of bullets and weights ammo for the same expenditure , but you said that wasn't a concern .

And in just about any other caliber , the savings would range from meaningful to substantial .

 

[dist1646]

Just wait until those new higher prices for ammo kick in!

 

[John from MD]

If saving money on ammo is my only motivation to get into reloading, would I find that I'm really not saving anything after factoring in the cost of quality equipment, time, education, and components? I'm only interested in reloading 9mm and .223 Rem and would probably only shoot a few hundred rounds of each, monthly.

I'm assuming that reloading is more for folks who enjoy it as extension of the shooting hobby, or want to customize their loads... Thanks!

Reloading is not about saving money. For your calibers, you wouldn't save much and it would take a long time to make up for the initial equipment expenditures.

 

[Uncle Duke]

Let's just say that those two calibers , would have the Least potential savings .

**************************************

* IF * your requirements are met by generic fmj in * those calibers * , I won't try to talk you out of buying ammo on sale , by the case .


Longer answer :

You'll hear about getting good deals on bullets in bulk , and that you presumably have a big stash of brass from your current shooting pace . All true . With the New Normal price for primers , that eats into what the margins would have been a couple years ago .

I would be able to tell you that loading your own you would easily have better / tailored to you & your gun(s) / wider variety of bullets and weights ammo for the same expenditure , but you said that wasn't a concern .

And in just about any other caliber , the savings would range from meaningful to substantial .

All of this. But not only the "new normal" cost of primers. Powder has quietly doubled in price, and in just the past 5 years. Arguably a better time than it's been in years for even reloaders to watch for whatever deals might remain on factory 9 and .556/.223 blasting ammo.

 

[Pale Ryder]

For the price of a new “Budget” rifle you can get the below. That’s how I started. I used the excuse of long term savings for justification, but it only led to more spending.
Don’t let that dissuade you from starting a new hobby. As I don’t shoot as much as I use to; I haven’t reloaded in years though.
As with any hobby you have to think about the longevity of it.

https://www.cabelas.com/shop/en/101430601-rcbs-rock-chucker-supreme-master-single-stage-press-kit-101430601

 

[Rockzilla]

Simple answer.
For you probably not. Depending on the definition of a few hundred.

Or.
Roinds per month × costs = total
Then...
Figure your reloading cost
Primers.... quanity ÷ price = cost each
Powder...cost ÷ 7,000 (if #) × charge weight = each
Projectile... cost ÷ quanity = each
Brass... you already have cost = .00

Per round
Primer each + powder each + bullet each = cost per round

Then.
Retail cost - reloaded cost = cost each x total rounds per month = savings

Now
Equipment outlay
Press, dies, powder measure, scale, manual ( or online source) trimmer, lube, ammo checker ( to be safe ), misc other little things
Total that up.

Return of investment. (ROI)
Savings per monthly shooting
Equipment cost - monthly saving per month as time goes on. How many months it takes to break even on your ROI
Then the big deal with some is " how much is your time worth?

Think I got the math right someone will surely correct me, there are spreadsheets that figure this and some sites.

Now..you can tailor a load to a specific gun. It's not a one round fits all application.in your common catridges the saving per round won't probably be that much, so your ROI is gonna take longer. There are some key factors , buy in bulk if you can, hit up the sales. When you get into the odd ball cartridges is where the real savings are.If you "cast" your own bullets like 9mm you will save a little more, but then you have another outlay on Equipment. Shop sales on it.

Not trying to be short or anything, the initial outlay can cost. But down the road can pay off. And with some of the ammo scares, the hoarding, shelves empty, which would you prefer no ammo or being able to reload your own and have some. Cause the most common are gonna be the first to go. At one time the components were cheap and plentiful, there's more price increases coming this month.

Its like a business owner starting out.

-Rock

 

[KRC]

Why don't you help (do) with the math?
At current prices, price out the cost of what you believe you will be shooting on a monthly and annual basis (may not be monthly x 12). Then adjust for greed-based inflation of ammo prices.

As you are not loading precision ammo, lower cost components such as bulk bullets and fired cases can be used to decrease per round cost. Powder cost can be estimated using well accepted powder charges of well accepted powders. Primer cost is easily calculated, and again, can be adjusted for bigflationary increases.

Once per unit cost has been determined, reloaders can help you calculate your initial setup cost that can then be considered amortized on an annual basis until break-even. My buddy has just begun reloading and has purchased some great used equipment at really good prices. Bargains are out there. The Cabelas kit shown by Pale Ryder above is a good start, but a few other pieces are needed.

Oh yeah . . . beware of rabbit holes . . .

 

[r3t1awr3yd]

A lot of people talk about cost as a bit reason to get into reloading without accounting for time which can raise the cost quite a bit depending on how much you value your time.

That said, the increase in accuracy even for just plinking is worth the investment alone imho. A lot of the high end rifle guys talk about that all the time but I've seen improvements in accuracy across the board.

 

[Neutron]

I'm sure I would have never gotten into reloading if I had not been given everything I needed to start. My neighbor was getting rid of her husbands reloading stuff and asked me if I wanted it. I had no interest at the time but agreed to take it all because she didn't know what else to do with it. It sat in my basement for a couple of years before I decided to look into how to use everything. After reading up and looking at this forum I decided to give it a try. The only caliber that had dies, was for 30-30. I loaded up a few and headed to the range not really knowing what to expect. Hard to imagine how that little bit of powder in this brass case would propel the projectile down range. When that first round fired and hit the target I was hooked. This of course led to wanting to reload for other calibers that I shot more frequently so my only other expense was for dies, bullets, primers, and different powder which was much cheaper than today's prices. Getting back to my original point, I doubt if I would have shelled out the money to buy a press, scale, powder, bullets,trimmer, primers, and whatever else was in the boxes given to me by my neighbor. That initial investment would have turned me off to the idea of reloading. I don't know where the breakeven point monetarily would be in today's reloading world but it would be way more than the volume I shoot. If you're starting from scratch it probably doesn't make sense to reload for common pistol calibers unless you're going to shoot thousands of rounds. Some rifle calibers that cost a couple of dollars per round are a different story, as are reloaders that want to customize their rounds for whatever reason. It is kind of an enjoyable hobby, so there's that too.

 

[Archeryrob]

I said I would never reload. I even passed on a 1873 Trapdoor, carbine, 45/70 because it would be so expensive to shoot without reloading. Then a year later 2020 happened and ammo dried up and go expensive. Got interested, already casted for muzzle loaders and got a karma deal on a free old press.

So it is all about self sufficiency to me. I can cast my own projectiles and reload all my own rounds. I've traded for most of my lead and been a hobby experimenting with bullet alloys and all. I never shot a lot before and now I shoot more because I want to see my stuff perform. I am basically tinkering with ammo and alloys and doing what I enjoy. It is like hunting, I enjoy processing the meat as much as hunting.

Cost for the rounds you mentioned, I would say no. I have bought other guns because I could reload for them. So there is that. I am now waiting on Starline to make 6.8 SPC cases so I can make ladder rounds and find the fastest load I can consistently shoot in my AR.

 

[Uncle Duke]

A lot of people talk about cost as a bit reason to get into reloading without accounting for time which can raise the cost quite a bit depending on how much you value your time.

That said, the increase in accuracy even for just plinking is worth the investment alone imho. A lot of the high end rifle guys talk about that all the time but I've seen improvements in accuracy across the board.

Yes. The differences can tend to be very quickly noticable. One finds though that the further down the rabbit hole one goes, the more one has to do to find more incremental gains in precision.

It's like a golfer in some ways, for those who play and understand the game. The difference between shooting 110 and breaking 100 can come for many fairly quickly. It's a much slower process for a 100 golfer to be able to break 90. A far slower process still for a guy who shoots 90 to be able to break 80. From there, you're doing what most can't in lowering scores, and shaving a stroke or two is a feat, and takes truly considerable work. And as hard as one may try, most will never break 70.

Precision in shooting is in many ways like this.

 

[r3t1awr3yd]

Yes. The differences can tend to be very quickly noticable. One finds though that the further down the rabbit hole one goes, the more one has to do to find more incremental gains in precision.

It's like a golfer in some ways, for those who play and understand the game. The difference between shooting 110 and breaking 100 can come for many fairly quickly. It's a much slower process for a 100 golfer to be able to break 90. A far slower process still for a guy who shoots 90 to be able to break 80. From there, you're doing what most can't in lowering scores, and shaving a stroke or two is a feat, and takes truly considerable work. And as hard as one may try, most will never break 70.

Precision in shooting is in many ways like this.

Agree 100%. Which is where I stopped. Just basic reloading is enough for me. If you're measuring neck concentricity and using specialized tools for the most even engagement of the bullet when seating, you're already 45 miles ahead of why I personally do it. But I see what some of the competition folks do in YT videos and it's incredible. It's just not for me. Plenty of golfers have a trash handicap but still enjoy the game lol

 

[Squaregrouper]

I agree with the rest that reloading .223 and 9mm will not show cost savings, especially when considering equipment and time.
The above being said, I can load .357 Sig for about $1.00 more per box than reloading 9mm. When commercial ammo is 3x the cost per box, that is significant.
I started reloading because I shoot oddball calibers such as .30-40 Krag, .303 Savage, et al. Most of the time factory ammo is made of unobtanium, so reloading is the only way to shoot them.
Precision shooting is another reason to reload. My 6.5 Bandwagon and 6.5 Grendel loads are much more consistent than any factory loads.

 

[Squaregrouper]

Yes. The differences can tend to be very quickly noticable. One finds though that the further down the rabbit hole one goes, the more one has to do to find more incremental gains in precision.

It's like a golfer in some ways, for those who play and understand the game. The difference between shooting 110 and breaking 100 can come for many fairly quickly. It's a much slower process for a 100 golfer to be able to break 90. A far slower process still for a guy who shoots 90 to be able to break 80. From there, you're doing what most can't in lowering scores, and shaving a stroke or two is a feat, and takes truly considerable work. And as hard as one may try, most will never break 70.

Precision in shooting is in many ways like this.

Very good analogy and I don't golf.

 

[davsco]

i got into reloading a few years back because black hills stopped making their blue box reload .223 69g that i use in the longer range stages in 2 & 3 gun. but i'm still buying blaster .223 for all the short range blaster stages. reloading 223 sucks, just a lot of processing needed.

now if you get a progressive press for 9mm (eg dillon 750), that's not too bad of a process. the big savings is picking up brass at the range and the hassle of processing it. if you're paying $85 for a thousand primers and $100/k for bullets, you're at $185/case before brass and powder so compare that with what you can buy loaded rounds for.

the best thing about reloading is you can tailor loads to your guns and needs (to get more accuracy and/or less-recoiling loads.

if one is just hitting the range periodically and having fun and blasting away, i'd just buy factory all day long.

 

[lazarus]

A lot of people talk about cost as a bit reason to get into reloading without accounting for time which can raise the cost quite a bit depending on how much you value your time.

That said, the increase in accuracy even for just plinking is worth the investment alone imho. A lot of the high end rifle guys talk about that all the time but I've seen improvements in accuracy across the board.

That. Unless your time has no value, then almost no reloader saves money except loading uncommon/expensive loads.

Even with a good progress press you would struggle to load 500 rounds an hour if you take into account setup and tear down time. Time to load primers and components on the press outside of the actually pulling the handle time. Add in the time to collect brass to reload. Possible time to prep brass (rifle). You'd be hard pressed to load 200 rounds an hour accounting for ALL of the time invested in the reloading process for rifle. Now you can save time with things like brass catchers and what not.

Maybe you could get it to more like 300. If you save a penny a round, that is only $3 in savings for an hour of your time investment. You'd be hard pressed to save 10 cents a round these days even getting things in bulk and good deals. Now, $30 an hour isn't bad. But still not factoring in the time scouring websites to GET deals. Etc.

Education time. Time to dial in a load. Those are both up front time/expense costs.

But you'd have to figure probably needing to load around 5,000-10,000 rounds of .223 to equalize the capital investments. Not including what you value your time. 9mm would be slightly worse, but only slightly worse (less savings, but easier to reload, less equipment and/or steps needed to reload it, speeding up your time investment).

I don't value my time as much as what my actual hourly rate is for work. Cause otherwise I'd just work a few extra hours for the $ instead. But my free time isn't worthless. If there is something I'd rather be doing, I've gotta be saving (or making) myself at least $10-20 an hour for whatever I am doing.

I do enjoy reloading though.

And I also reload less common rounds where I CAN easily be saving 30-50 cents a round. Plus match 223. My reloads even for blasting stuff is more accurate than blasting ammo from commercial makers.

An hour of loading 44 magnum coated lead at 44spc levels (240gr, ~1100fps) and I can save about 50 cents a round and crank out about 200 rounds in an hour on my Lee classic. That's just about $100 an hour in savings.

But I even reload 9mm and .223 on my Less classic. Again, runs a bit more accurate than factory stuff and it's also fun for me to load. And if I hunt deals, I can get primers more like $65-70 for 1k SRPs and bullets around the same price, around $70-80 for 1k for 55/62gr FMJ seconds or blems. Powder is getting $$$ though. Brass is free, other than my time to process it.

So I enjoy it all. I enjoying finding deals on components. I enjoy reloading. Probably the only parts I really don't like are cleaning brass and trimming/resizing brass. But even that is fairly fast. I use a Lyman xpress trimmer which is very fast. I can do about 500 cases an hour. Wear gloves though or it'll dig into your skin after a few hundred rounds. I also don't shoot a huge volume. 1000 223/5.56 cases will last me about a year. And trimmed brass is going to stay within the case overall length specs for a few firings.

That said, I have to do a MUCH better job segregating my processed and fired brass from range brass. That way I don't have to run it all through trimming. All range brass after sizing I trim to the same length just to get the same starting place for all brass. In testing, even different manufacturers cases all seem to grow at close enough to the same length. That said, I've only ever done two subsequent firings after resize and trim, but all of the brass was no more than .002" of each other after resize, trim, load, shoot, resize, load, shoot, and resize, check case length.

 

[danimalw]

As others have said, it all depends on a lot of variables, such as timing of ammo shortages/availability, caliber, when people got/get into it

When I got into the 6.5 grendel in 2009, cheapest factory ammo was $1.32/round, (black hills gold with Lapua brass and 123SMK). Shopping for deals, I could reload using 123SMK's for 35-50¢/round. That adds up fast, so I've saved about $750 just on Grendel ammo.

223 plinking, I can load (with what I have on hand from before the clusterfk price increases) for ~ 25¢/round and precision 223 for 35¢ ea. When m193 and m855 was back down to 27-29¢ each after the Obama rush, it wasn't worth my time to reload plinking ammo, so I may have stocked up on cheap ammo and saved components for rainy day.

270 weatherby mag... At $3-4 per round now, can load for under 50¢ ea.

A friend was over and saw a 250 ct box of nosler 240gr 44 bullets with sticker of $25 on it. Had to explain that I've had it for so long, that's why it was only $25, since now that's about $100.

 

[bbrown]

A friend of mine reloads .455 Webley, .45 Autorim for cut Webleys, 7.7 Japanese, .303 British and .30 carbine for me. I supply all the raw materials (brass, powder, primers, bullets) and he does the dirty work. I can't thank him enough.

 

[Neutron]

If you don't enjoy reloading it makes no sense to do it, no matter how much money you save. In fact I would go so far as to say that someone doing reloading and not enjoying the process is less safe and more prone to mistakes because they are not interested and pay less attention. Their time is more valuable doing something else.