How much are u saving by reloading

[E in CO]

Whatever the cost savings you put on paper will be used up and probably end up costing you more since you’ll probably end up shooting a lot more rounds and more trips to the range. That’s not a bad thing...just something to consider. Weird how it turns out that way!

 

[Elkdreamer]

With the piles of money I have been spending as a new reloader to get set up. There is no way I will save any money in my life time.

However, I will have the loads I need when I need them. Awesome!!!

 

[HeavilyArmedHIppie]

I think the only savings I’ve ever realized is measured in accuracy and enjoyment, for rifle anyway. Anytime I’ve ever gotten close to getting ahead I probably bought some shiny new tool to make the process more elegant or the bullets more perfect. For me it’s more of a hobby than a means to an end.

One way it saves me big time is reloading plinking cowboy ammo for 44MAG, buying bullets by the thousand for little more than the cost of the lead. I’m probably going to start reloading .223 which I never messed with before because ammo was so cheap and now it’s not.

 

[MattB355]

It saves you just as much money as hunting does on meat for the freezer...lol.
I do it for accuracy and tinkering. There is cost savings per round but not when you factor in your time and opportunity costs. It is a hobby that costs money just like everything else.

 

[rootacres]

In my experience . . .

Rifle ammunition you aren't saving a ton, it depends on the caliber. But it all does add up. I think most people that reload rifle do it for a few reasons. They enjoy all of it, it allows you to really fine tune a load for a rifle, lends itself to be extremely consistent and allows them to use a variety of components that may or may not be available in a factory load.

Pistol ammunition can really be a savings. I lost my excel sheet but when I was shoot a lot of USPSA I calculated it out where after my first year of shooting my Dillon RL550B more than paid for itself. I did it to fine tune a load to make power factor requirements and to save money. Coincidentally I joined a contingency program with a bullet company and after winning some major matches I got all my bullets paid for.

 

[wyosam]

It costs a ton of money, but there is zero chance I’d shoot anywhere near as much buying it. It does save my sanity though, and that is tough to put a dollar figure on.


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[rayporter]

some of you say you will never earn back what you have spent on equipment but i dont think that is true. it is only a matter of time and loaded rounds. most of my stuff for hunting ammo was bought before 1970 and i would think at todays prices i have made it back many times. the target stuff----------well lets leave that out.

25 years from now, if you can still shoot, you will look back and consider it a very good investment.

 

[mlgc20]

I’m just now getting my own reloading setup. I have a buddy who has all the gear that I’ve been using. But, I’ve decided I want my own stuff and stop driving over to his place. Starting from scratch though, it’s hard to imagine this ever “saving” me money when you factor in all the equipment. Just today, I spent $80 on a press stand, $30 on shell holders, $100 on brass, $60 in case gauges, $25 on a funnel, $35 on check weights, $20 on sizing wax, $25 on another manual and $300 in dies. And I can already feel my mind talking me into needing a new gun to shoot this shiny new ammo.

But, I’m not getting into reloading to save money. For me it’s about having more control over my ammo options and performance. And I think it’s fun.

 

[wyosam]

some of you say you will never earn back what you have spent on equipment but i dont think that is true. it is only a matter of time and loaded rounds. most of my stuff for hunting ammo was bought before 1970 and i would think at todays prices i have made it back many times. the target stuff----------well lets leave that out.

25 years from now, if you can still shoot, you will look back and consider it a very good investment.

I’m probably close to “paid off”. I guess it all depends on how you look at it. Even if I have saved enough to pay for the equipment, I’d have never gone through that much ammo if I was buying factory. So not really “saving”, but definitely making a hobby more affordable.


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[gbflyer]

Nothing. But don’t tell my wife that

 

[hodgeman]

With my .300WSM, loading premium rifle rounds and using the brass 5x I can load for about 30-40% of new. That's a pretty substantial savings. My 6.5 is about 30% but I can stretch cases to 10x. My .308 I can load with more economy minded components but I can load them for $8 a box if I'm using range brass and a plain Interlock or Speer bullet. They still kill stuff just fine BTW.

IMHO, you don't save so much as you get to shoot a lot more. Going from 40 rounds a year (the two box a year hunter) to a 200 rounds per year yields a huge increase in how well you shoot in the field.

The other big benefit is you get more performance from your rifle- in either cost, velocity, or accuracy. A little time spent loading and you quickly realize how much factory ammo just sucks.

 

[Mattys010]

It’s all about access for me. I live in a state that you can’t buy ammo online... only the parts

 

[mlgc20]

It’s all about access for me. I live in a state that you can’t buy ammo online... only the parts

Your post got me curious about how many states ban or make it very difficult to buy ammo online. I was surprised how many their were.

 

[Mattys010]

Yea it’s frustrating

 

[TimberHunter]

Negative many dollars.... too many reloading gadgets that become “necessary”


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[Highcountrybulls]

As mentioned above, unless you shoot thousands of rounds per year reloading doesn't save much when you factor in equipment costs. Most of us do it for the enjoyment. Many of us find great satisfaction in reloading and tinkering, and it passes time on these long dark nights up here! But speaking of cost savings, my primary hunting rifle (375 H&H) costs about $1.50 per round to reload and about $4.20 per round to buy comparable loads from Sportsman's. Maybe by the time I'm 90 the reloading cost will pan out when you factor in cost of dies, fancy powder measures and all the other gadgets we can't seem to reload without.

 

[rayporter]

hey hi country, are you saying you save 2 dollars and seventy cents per shot?

if you shoot 50 shots per year that is a hundred and thirty five bucks savings.

in 8 years that is over a thousand bucks you save, and that is a pretty good return in my estimation.

in 15 years it is over 2000$ - that will get you another rifle and then you can start the cycle again.

for my small target stuff i blow out about .55 to .60 cent per trigger pull. if i figure it at a dollar i will have enough to buy a new barrel in 2000 rounds.

 

[Quin]

Hunting ammo, I'm coming in right around $0.95/shot so about $19/box. An equivalent box is $40-45 at Cabelas. A buck a trigger pull adds up fast -- so you either save a bunch of money or get to shoot twice as much for the same coin -- either way you look at it is a win.

Now where I get tripped up cost wise is tinkering. I tend to experiment so I've got a number of half boxes of bullets and half pounds of powder. Even when I find a combo I like, I still try more things. That is the hobby part I suppose. (I mean I could pick up an alternate hobby like golf... but thats not exactly cheap either).

 

[meta_gabbro]

My goal was to recreate the performance I was seeing from Federal Premium Gold Medal SMK ammo. Here's a breakdown for 100 rounds.

5x Federal Premium GM SMK 168gr: $184.95

100 x Once Fired Lapua Brass: 47.50
1 x Sierra Match King HPBT (100 per): 34.19
1 x Federal 210 primers (100 per): 5.00
1x IMR 4064 1lb canister: 31.95

$184.95 from Federal vs. $118.64 doing it by hand, so nominally I'm saving $60/40%-ish. As others have said though, the more you reuse your brass the better the numbers are (for your second run you're looking at 95 cpr), so I'll hit break-even for my equipment in 400 or 500 rounds. As a bonus, I'm looking at more consistent and higher velocities than that Federal reference ammo, and the SMK behaves almost exactly like a TTSX so come hunting season I just bump my loads by 0.1gr and swap bullets.

 

[Treerat-sniper]

Thousands... of course I re-invest it in more components. Casting bullets will actually save you some depending on what discipline you shoot.