Is this right?

[grubbylabs]

I was talking to a friend about cost of reloading and I was guessing that I was about 5.00 for a box of 50 for 45. He had a customer in the shop that said there was no way I could load for a 45 for that cheap so I figured it out and it turns out he is right, I am actually 2.00 for a box of fifty.

My costs are

Unique powder $16.00-$21.00 per pound, I figured the $21.00
I use 5.7 grains and rounded up to 6.00 grains.

My primers are $32.00 per 1,000.

I did not count the cost of brass since most of it is rang pick up
and I did not count the bullet since I cast my own and the lead I picked up for free.

So what say you, is my math right?

[Atakawow]

Folks who are on the fence about reloading usually factor their costs with using plated/fmj bullets and cost of buying brass. I just tell them that they are right, it is not worth it to start reloading.

More lead and free brass for me.

[Atakawow]

I was talking to a friend about cost of reloading and I was guessing that I was about 5.00 for a box of 50 for 45. He had a customer in the shop that said there was no way I could load for a 45 for that cheap so I figured it out and it turns out he is right, I am actually 2.00 for a box of fifty.

My costs are

Unique powder $16.00-$21.00 per pound, I figured the $21.00
I use 5.7 grains and rounded up to 6.00 grains.

My primers are $32.00 per 1,000.

I did not count the cost of brass since most of it is rang pick up
and I did not count the bullet since I cast my own and the lead I picked up for free.

So what say you, is my math right?

I think your math is spot on. It is, however, can be lowered quite a bit.

- Wolf primers can be had for $16.00 per thousand.

- Bullseye is $15/lb. (15 / 7000) (4 x 1000) = $8.50 per 1000 charges of 4.0gr.

[Simonpie]

While your numbers seem cheap compared to what I do (45/70 black powder). I agree reloading is still cheap. But only IF you shoot a fair amount. Press, dies, brass(I bought, but it should last forever) scale, bla bla bla takes a while to amortize.

Don't knock the occasional shooter. They're the ones who pay the range fees without actually taking up firing line space. Factory ammo is fine for them.

I still can't imagine how they make primers so cheap. That and 22's. True mass production is just a crazy thing.

[grubbylabs]

The only two new items I bought for reloading other than dies is a Hornady powder scale I bought 5 years ago for weighing my bow hunting arrows and a Hornady case trimmer I bought a few months ago to replace a used one I bought. I have bought just about every think else used. Even though you still have to shell out the cash for it its not quite as much as buying every thing new.

[MtGun44]

Setup costs must be amortized. If you don't shoot at least 500 rds per year it would not
make much sense unless you did the cheapest and simplest equipment, and this is
probably without casting.

Once you shoot a few thousand a year, it works much better and if you spread the costs
over many years, it is very cheap.

Bill

[geargnasher]

I shoot a lot of .30-30 and .45 Colt. Last year I bought a gun chambered in .45 Colt, and the shop owner threw in a box of Winchester lead SWC ammo for free. The price on the box was $49.95. The progressive press and all accessories used to cast and load for that caliber come to less than $400, including the Lyman lube sizer, die, punch, and lube ingredients for a lifetime supply. One SASS match and my equipment payed for itself.

Now that's not considering the other several thousand bucks I've spent on loading and casting equipment and stockpile of components, and the extra guns I've bought because I can afford to shoot them.

I cast and loaded for years for my .38 revolver with less than a hundred bucks in equipment aside from my RCBS press, which was and is nice but not necessary.

Gear

[btroj]

I don't save money by casting and reloading, I just get to shoot ALOT more for the same o et.

[nwellons]

Reloading reallY pays when you shoot out of production cartridges that would require custom cartridges in the $40 to over $100 box range. That is what got me into reloading. I started with the .42 Berdan and .43 Egyptian.

[Von Gruff]

or when you get to the big stuff. I cant imagine paying for factory ammo for my 404 Jeffery, and even Woodleigh's are fairly xxy for reloading. Last lot were $2 a pop,then there is powder and primers.
With cast I can get same performance for range practice for the cost of powder,primer and GC, and that will change when I get a Frechexll for it as well as the one for my 7mm and my 7x57 is even better as I am only up for powder and primers. Russian primers are very cheap and with either red or blue dot I can shoot for pennies.

Von Gruff.

[XWrench3]

If you don't shoot at least 500 rds per year it would not
make much sense unless you did the cheapest and simplest equipment, and this is
probably without casting.

i agree with that statement 99%. for the guy who shoots 4 or 5 times a year, or the hunter, who shoots 3 shells just before deer season. there is absoloutly no point in reloading however, like everything else, there is an exception to the rule. especially if you have a gun that shoots very expensive shells. my brother has the best of both worlds. he shoots very little, but enjoys reload prices . he has a 300H&H, which shells cost $65.00 - 75.00 a box. if i had to pay those prices, i would buy a set of lee dies, and a hand press. the bullets, powder, and primers are simply expendables. at the price of those, it would not take very much shooting to pay for itself. he is lucky enough to have me to do his loading for him. he bought a used set of dies. period. when i load for him, i just have him pay me for the powder, primers, and bullets that i use at the current price. i shoot a 300 win mag, so the powder, primers and bullets are the same.

[7br]

I do not reload for my .243 although I have the dies. I do for the 6.8 and all of my pistols. I can reload hi quality ammo for everything I cast for cheaper than I can buy decent quality .22 lr ammo. Even with gas checks.

[1Shirt]

Reloading allows me to shoot more and support the shooting industry. Really doesn't save me a great deal due to the quantity of shots that go down range. It also keeps me from chasing fast women, which is good for them and me, and keeps the wife happy.
1Shirt!:coffee:

[olafhardt]

I shoot no more than once a month and never more than 200 rounds. I think I get more satisfaction out of reloading than shooting. I think of them as different but related endevors. I like to do it. As I type this I am surrounded by wine that I made from fruit I grew. I have an orchard, a vinyard, a cultivated thornless blackberry patch, a flock of laying hens and a vegitable garden. I eat some vegitables, very little fruit, almost no berrie, am not much on eggs and dont drink wine. I do all these things because I like to do them. I dont like them or do them because of any other reason than I want to so what does cost matter?

[303Guy]

I find that reloading keeps me fit. How, it takes me out into the hills with my gun to maybe have a few shots. It's satisfaction of the whole package for me. Carrying a 110 year old gun or one with rusted out bore that I'm able to make shoot straight with hand crafted paper patched boolits and loads. Saving me money - hell no. It cost petrol money to take the old out into the hills for a hike and maybe a head of game. Even getting to the range. But it probably saves me heaps on movie tickets and eating out and nights out at the bar.