Can You Save Money Reloading?
- Thread starter Old_Me
- Start date
Reloading can save you a ton of money depending on the round or the components used. I reload 220gr subsonic .300blk for around 50 cents a round which usually sell for $2.00 a round. If I loaded supersonic 125gr .300blk I wouldn't save as much as the subsonic rounds.
youngolddude
Professional
I started reloading .44 magnum after discovering what boxes of 50 sold for more than 20 years ago. My most common calibers are .32 Mag., .38 Special, .45 Schofield, .45 ACP and .45 Colt. I also do .380 and 9mm for plinking. Shotshells are getting spendy, too and reload 12 ga. for cowboy matches as well. I couldn't afford what the wife and I shoot if I had to buy retail and would likely shoot more .22.
Just think how much shooting the government could subsidize if it didn't spend all that money on illegals.
Just think how much shooting the government could subsidize if it didn't spend all that money on illegals.
TEXASforLIFE
Ronin
Usually range type ammo (mostly fmj) don't save much as target and hunting ammo will. I was able to buy 338lm w/250gr smk's (Sierra match kings) for $1.47/rd, so I bought 1k. Can't even buy brass for that price (usually 2 times as much without primers). What can do is make/produce more accurate rounds.
Old_Me
Ronin
i just did some "quick math", however, i don't buy powder in 1 pound containers, i buy 8 pound containers, so i still have a way to go to break even.
as he said, retired people are in NO HURRY to get things done......lol
and for me, that is true..i have like maybe 1200 rounds of 45 ACP i need to make.....when..??
do i really care when i get to it..????....NOPE.
right now at the 45 ACP round count, i have done 3375, on my Dillon
the 9mm round count, i have done 1900, on my Lee
as he said, retired people are in NO HURRY to get things done......lol
and for me, that is true..i have like maybe 1200 rounds of 45 ACP i need to make.....when..??
do i really care when i get to it..????....NOPE.
right now at the 45 ACP round count, i have done 3375, on my Dillon
the 9mm round count, i have done 1900, on my Lee
Obviously you save more if you do it but bulk. That said me personally I only reload 45 acp and 38/357 mag. I find the 9mm is so much less I don’t mess with it. Also I shoot more 38 and 45 these days than 9mm.
I never messed with rifle rounds a so have enough 4.55 to last til I either die or get rid of my ARs since I never hardly run them anymore 35 years of using them quite frequently I’m good.
Everyone else might vary
I never messed with rifle rounds a so have enough 4.55 to last til I either die or get rid of my ARs since I never hardly run them anymore 35 years of using them quite frequently I’m good.
Everyone else might vary
youngolddude
Professional
We shot 350 .45 ACP, 120 .32 Mag, 240 .38 Special, 156 .45 Colt and 120 12 ga. in a month. We missed one match or it would have been more. Don't ask me to figure out the cost, but I guarantee it would be expensive at retail prices.
I don't consider the cost of my presses or brass since they've been paid for years ago.
I don't consider the cost of my presses or brass since they've been paid for years ago.
Old_Me
Ronin
yeah for me, i do it to keep a stock on hand for practicing.
as i do 1 box reload, and 1 box new for nearly every range trip.
then too, since we never know what will happen in the future, having as much ammo in stock, new and reloaded ain't a bad idea.
Grayfox
Custom
I really don't think you save that much money reloading. What you do is shoot a whole lot more for the same cost. 
I rarely load in lots of less than 500 rounds. Usually in 1000 round batches. Cost efficiency is better that way.
I'm retired and have plenty of time.
But to be honest, for the last few years powder and components have been hard to come by. For common calibers like 9mm or 5.56, I've just been shopping around for good deals and buying bulk factory ammo. I save my reloading supplies for the more expensive and harder to find stuff.
I rarely load in lots of less than 500 rounds. Usually in 1000 round batches. Cost efficiency is better that way.
I'm retired and have plenty of time.
But to be honest, for the last few years powder and components have been hard to come by. For common calibers like 9mm or 5.56, I've just been shopping around for good deals and buying bulk factory ammo. I save my reloading supplies for the more expensive and harder to find stuff.
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9mm and .223 are “low profit” items to reload. You’ll save a bit, but not much. Go to a more expensive caliber (.45; .44; .38/.357; 30-06 and the savings per round add up pretty quick. I’ve got an ancient Lee Turret, with a turret set up for everything I load, so caliber changes are quick and easy. I try to buy components when I find them at a good price and refrain from buying when the’re up in price. A little planning and you can save some pretty good $$
Old_Me
Ronin
what i found "enlightening" is that according to the video, our reloading presses, are only worth half of what we paid for them..??
i'd have thought they held thier value better than that.
which the only press i paid for along with the essentials, (dies, digital scale, bullet puller) was the Lee..
as for the Dillon, i paid for a NIB 550C, (no dies), a repeat of all the accessories i got for the Lee, and the rest of his reloading room, including bullets, and brass, 2 vibrating machines, all for the price of the Dillon alone.
so even "if" all i get back is half the price of the 550C, i still am ahead.
i'd have thought they held thier value better than that.
which the only press i paid for along with the essentials, (dies, digital scale, bullet puller) was the Lee..
as for the Dillon, i paid for a NIB 550C, (no dies), a repeat of all the accessories i got for the Lee, and the rest of his reloading room, including bullets, and brass, 2 vibrating machines, all for the price of the Dillon alone.
so even "if" all i get back is half the price of the 550C, i still am ahead.
powerboatr
Professional
break even or save money???? not in last 10 years
primers are insane as you know what
but i bought lots of powder and primers when they first started going north
i also bought boxes and boxes of primers from a widow after her husband passed, he was a long time member of our club and his reload BUILDING was like a Remington plant.
but now i search the web for deals and buy small lots to ensure i have enough to make me comfy
have not bought new brass in years and years
my square deal B dillion is a wonderful machine and have had only one real fault with a die last fall.
it gets field stripped about every 10k rounds, or if i need to find the missing primer
i harvest much once fired brass at our range ,
i do it for the relaxation content of the event, it really helps to purge the demons from the brain through focus
its a ZEN event , best therapy ever for "look squirrels" and "why i cant wear white after labor day", mind drifts
primers are insane as you know what
but i bought lots of powder and primers when they first started going north
i also bought boxes and boxes of primers from a widow after her husband passed, he was a long time member of our club and his reload BUILDING was like a Remington plant.
but now i search the web for deals and buy small lots to ensure i have enough to make me comfy
have not bought new brass in years and years
my square deal B dillion is a wonderful machine and have had only one real fault with a die last fall.
it gets field stripped about every 10k rounds, or if i need to find the missing primer
i harvest much once fired brass at our range ,
i do it for the relaxation content of the event, it really helps to purge the demons from the brain through focus
its a ZEN event , best therapy ever for "look squirrels" and "why i cant wear white after labor day", mind drifts
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youngolddude
Professional
I shoot a crap ton for what it would cost to shoot factory. Do you stop driving when gas goes up?
The good old days are not going to return, but you can buy when you find a "bargain" considering today's prices. Some calibers offer more savings than others.
The good old days are not going to return, but you can buy when you find a "bargain" considering today's prices. Some calibers offer more savings than others.
Old_Me
Ronin
and that is exactly what i have no knowledge of.....the prices you guys/gals paid for everything regarding reloading.
from components to presses.
all i have is what i got now, from 2022.
oh and no, i can't say many of us make our own gasoline, so it really is a choice to reload or not...but driving we need to do.
jumpinjoe
Hellcat
This guy knows what he's talking about. He's far more than just into reloading too. He has a machine shop and tool room bigger than a high school gym and knows how to use it all. No one will go wrong paying attention to him.
jumpinjoe
Hellcat
No question the bigger savings are based on caliber rather than simply how much reloading is done. Cost of components is based on commonality of that particular component and availability of the same.
But almost without question the savings is not in true money savings because typically one will continue to shoot more for the same or similar costs. Not sure I've said that correctly, but I'm pretty sure you know what I mean.
Local market prices make reloading more expensive for range ammo...meaning I'd save no money for the calibers shot en-masse (9mm, 10mm and 5.56). In my area, you might save money reloading on premium SD/HD loads...but I don't blow through those at the range. So absolutely no to the question if I would save money by reloading. I tossed the idea of doing it 2-3 years ago for this very purpose. I wanted to get in to it for hobby and maybe saving, but it does not save money (where I live). Heck, around me I haven't seen anything but off-name imported primers for 3 years.
I stopped saving my brass because I know it's not likely to change...
I stopped saving my brass because I know it's not likely to change...
jumpinjoe
Hellcat
Mine is a very similar story ... I started back in the early to mid 70's when I first started shooting competition. It was mostly handgun stuff in the beginning (HP Silhouette- big bore), but later on got involved with long guns over and above just my hunting rifles. Late 70's and into the 80's, the wife decided she wanted to get involved. We traveled a good bit around the SE to various comps and between us we would sometimes shoot 1200-1500+/- rounds/mo. So as time went on it became more an economic requirement than as at first just striving for better performance in my ammo.
Never really did an actual cost analysis back then, didn't really care. Today I shoot so little it wouldn't matter a great deal either way, but I still reload for the pure enjoyment. I remember thinking back when things began to tighten up and components, especially primers began to be so scare, that it really wouldn't impact me much since I didn't shoot as much. But surprisingly as time went on it became more and more obvious to me just how much I did miss the reloading.