Cost to buy vs reload

jmgdfther

jmgdfther

Member
Joined
Dec 18, 2016
Messages
138
Location
Charlotte
Rating - 100%
5   0   0
In light of the tremendous deals being thrown out for black Friday for all the ammo, I decided to take a look at the cost to reload vs buying. I only reload to shoot paper so I know there are benefits for consistency and load matching to specific guns for competition and hunting that will sometimes outweigh the costs and in most cases it still is cheaper to reload vs buy. But with the deal at Academy on 350 9mm Remington for only $39.99 after rebate, I can't reload that cheap. It costs me $0.12 a round to load 9mm and I don't have a cost for brass since it is free range pick ups mainly. I also don't factor in my time as I enjoy sitting in the garage when I have time and chunk out a few hundred rounds. My numbers are based on the last time I bought the components so as I buy new the cost will fluctuate some, but still I think it's worth saving my SPP and powder for the higher costing calibers like .380 or 45 instead of using them on 9mm.

Just some insight that I thought could benefit the group.

If anyone is interested in the spreadsheet, PM me and I can email it to you.
upload_2017-11-20_18-17-12.pngupload_2017-11-20_18-17-12.png
 
I have never saved a penny from reloading I simply shoot more for the same amount of money I would have spent on factory ammo. LOL

I can load a better load for exactly what that Remington is after rebate but it is still a solid deal. I picked up some 45 ACP and some 9mm American Eagle this year because of the rebate. Sometimes it is good to have a cache of factory ammo to go with the home rolled.
 
My coworker, our CPA, only reloads rifle cartridges, he agrees with pricing on 9mm not worth the time and effort.
 
hlpressley said:
If you're reloading to save money you're doing it wrong.
Click to expand...
Not reloading to save money, more like currently looking at the correct allocation of resources. Again I shoot paper so if I can buy 9mm for $.11 a round I can use my powder and primers on .380 and .40 which would cost more to buy. Granted I shoot more, but on paper it looks like I'm saving money.:rolleyes: At least that's what I tell my wife.
 
The thing about reloading and money for me is it spreads the cost, and I don't have to chase sales and I can load premium rifle for bulk prices so inclined.

With pistol I can tailor a better target round for less money.

Of course by casting bullets my time investment goes through the roof but my costs are in the range of nickle per.

To each their own though.

Sent from my SM-G360V using Tapatalk
 
Last edited:
More importantly, where are these tremendous ammo deals? I didn't see any in the black friday thread or hot deals?
 
I will admit up front that I don't have anything constructive to add to this thread. :D

You can definitely save money, IF you are reloading certain calibers. Right now, 9mm and 223 are NOT calibers you can save much money reloading. But I remember four years ago when that was NOT true. THAT is one of the big reasons I got into reloading.

After I got into reloading, I quickly learned the advantage of being able to tailor loads for particular weapons, or for particular shooting preferences. For instance, my wife does NOT like shooting factory 9mm or 45acp after I worked up loads for her to shoot. Consequently, she does not mind me spending money on reloading supplies (she gives me an allowance - seriously!).
 
This is an absolutely brilliant idea but I think I'd like to carry it one step further.

I'm wondering whether I could acquire (buy on the market or maybe convince one of you reloaders to make them for me) some soft loads. Then, I'd let my wife run those soft loads through a bunch of new guns I'd buy. I could tell her we need to buy those new guns because those kinda guns shoot so much softer for her.

Wouldn't that work? If so, maybe she'd increase my gun buying budget. :D
 
Sunk costs aside, I feel like I do pretty good vs buying but I'm only reloading for rifle. My current pet load (.308) using a 168 amax is coming in at approx. .64 cents on first reloading with cost going down (brass) thereafter. I get about 7-9 reloads before I retire the lot. probably could go further but my risk appetite is pretty low. If I do my part on the trigger this is a pretty consistent .66ish MOA, observed out to 550. I haven't checked comparative prices on an equivalent BH or other "match" but I'm sure I'm beating it per round.

All that being said, I have saved absolutely no money and don't foresee that changing between now and the flat edge of the map.
 
I got into reloading with the intention of saving money about 10 years ago. I was shooting a lot of one caliber and only had plans at the time to reload for that one caliber. When I was doing that I could save money.
Fast forward 10 years when I reload for everything I own and started to get into magnum handguns and slightly odd calibers that require you to reload so I am no longer saving money but I do have fun doing it so I don't mind.

Reloading has become a hobby of it's own and it gives me something else to do when I have a few minutes and want to relax.
 
I reload for accuracy, consistancy, and availability in that order. Economy is way way down the list but always drives the purchase of components. It's one reason I learned how to cast and powdercoat projectiles.
 
I reload because I find it somewhat therapeutic at times.

Due to the recent lower costs of some ammo on the market I have gotten away from reloading a bit just due to the time savings. I don’t have a big fancy reloading set up that can churn out hundreds per hour.

I also tend to shoot what I reload and store what I buy.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
spittinfire said:
Reloading has become a hobby of it's own and it gives me something else to do when I have a few minutes and want to relax.
Click to expand...
That is the way it was for me.

My hobby used to be target shooting.

Then I got into reloading, to support my shooting hobby. However, reloading became my hobby.

Then I started wet tumbling. Now my hobby is to make dirty brass shine again. Shooting and reloading are just the means to that end. :D
 
I reload 9mm and shoot about twice as much as I would if I bought ammo.
And its a more pleasant load that does exactly what it needs to and nothing more or less.

If I only shot 50-100 rounds a month I'd just buy it. It's when I start shooting 1-2G a month that it becomes necessary for me.
 
I started out reloading handgun ammo during the ammo shortage a few years back, mostly to ensure that I had ammo to shoot. Then, I realized I enjoyed doing it. That was an innocent enough start.

Then, I started loading centerfire rifle ammo. The more I learned, the more it cost me....and it hasn' let up yet. Currently, I'm loading about 6 or 7 different calibers and am thinking about adding another. Then there is also the obsession of constantly striving for bugholes at 100 yards with each different rifle......and the saga continues. Just ordered a case annealing machine called Annealeez. I wonder what will be next. :D
 
Last edited:
223 and 9mm def arent worth it.

I reload very accurate 308 match (168gr hornady match hpbt) rounds for around 50 cent a round... thats 50-70 cents cheaper per round than buying match.

I got my 357 brass for free, so I can reload for it, like 15 cent a round? even cheaper if i use 38special powder charges.
 
My 2 cents worth on this is the last 4 years when you were paying at best .25 cent a round for 9mm, I was loading it at .12 cent and for the next 4 years, I will be loading it at .12 cent.
You may find them on sale today but they won't be on sale next week so unless you can somehow figure out a way to get all the rebates sent to different houses which is a major pain, I will still come out cheaper than you. If the crap hits the fan again, guess what I will be paying, yep, 1/2 of what you will IF you can even find ammo then. I say if you don't want to reload 9mm then you are lazy and don't shoot enough to justify it. For those that shoot 1000 rounds a year, sure, stock up when/if you find a sale. For the largest group of us that do load 9, we enjoy it and will be sitting back watch TV with a cold drink in our hands when the rest of you are out going store to store just hoping to find ammo one day at less than .12 cent a round.
 
I_load_my_own said:
My 2 cents worth on this is the last 4 years when you were paying at best .25 cent a round for 9mm, I was loading it at .12 cent and for the next 4 years, I will be loading it at .12 cent.
You may find them on sale today but they won't be on sale next week so unless you can somehow figure out a way to get all the rebates sent to different houses which is a major pain, I will still come out cheaper than you. If the crap hits the fan again, guess what I will be paying, yep, 1/2 of what you will IF you can even find ammo then. I say if you don't want to reload 9mm then you are lazy and don't shoot enough to justify it. For those that shoot 1000 rounds a year, sure, stock up when/if you find a sale. For the largest group of us that do load 9, we enjoy it and will be sitting back watch TV with a cold drink in our hands when the rest of you are out going store to store just hoping to find ammo one day at less than .12 cent a round.
Click to expand...

In all the past times where ammo sky rocketed, reloading supplies stayed the exact same price for you to load at .12 a round for this many years?
 
Simple economics, the price of ammunition is elastic dependent on supply and demand. Reloading levels out the curves, but not at the average price, but at costs near the bottom of those curves. While I may not "load for less money all of the time", but over any given period of time over 18 months, I will.
 
Without reloading, I'd never be able to afford shooting as much as I do.
 
Who cares about saving money..... it's just fun to make stuff , learn a skill and use what you made.
 
Reloading is so relaxing. I love reloading 9mm. 300 win mag is a must if you want to shoot 50 to 100 rounds at a sitting. Shoulder doesnt but I do. 223 not so much fun but still worth it since brass is freely available.
 
jmccracken1214 said:
In all the past times where ammo sky rocketed, reloading supplies stayed the exact same price for you to load at .12 a round for this many years?
Click to expand...
The price of components has skyrocketed since dad was getting pounds of powder under $10 back in the eighties or whatever.
I got into the game in about '05 and while prices overall may have crept up they haven't varied more than a dollar or two a pound/brick for any event. Availability has been the real variable I've run into. Keeping enough on hand for 5k or so seems to get me through thin times. I enjoy load development though so I generally have a few options if my first pick isn't there.
 
Bump it up a bit by casting your own bullets. Only costs powder and primer then. Less then 6 cents a round for 9mm or 7 cents a round of .45 or .41 Mag.

CD
 
jmccracken1214 said:
In all the past times where ammo sky rocketed, reloading supplies stayed the exact same price for you to load at .12 a round for this many years?
Click to expand...

For me and many others that reload, yes, because you buy in bulk when the prices are low so you can outlast the times when ammo is high.
If you are willing to keep a good stock on hand, you will win in the end but again.
You cannot look at the savings or loss of reloading for 1 days price level, it is over many years.
 
If you hunt for it, lead's still around. There's a fellow in the area (who sold lead to Lucky 13) who sold medical cask lead in different hardnesses for good prices. I bought a lot from him. Wheelweights are going away but there's tons of lead out in the supply chain. If all else fails, 70 lbs of it fits in a med flat rate box. There's a lot of 9mm in 70 lbs!
 
There's still some savings in loading 9mm depending on what you load for. I'm loading 147gr ammo which is harder to find and cost more than 115gr so it's worth it to me. I can load for less than a box of 50rds at Walmart so it's totally worth it.

If you're shooting more for the same money spent you are actually saving. If you're counting your time into the equation you should stick to commercial ammo.

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom