I calculate I can cast and load light .38 Special cheaper than CCI .22LR prices here

[tazman]

What killed centerfire pricing in the "I can load cheaper than a .22 sense" WAS the primer. At around three cents, it alone costs what the .22 long rifle round used to cost before the panic and was priced at three cents per primer a few years ago, but primer costs have risen with the panic as well. So the "I can load cheaper than a .22" comparison really wasn't relevant until fairly recently because we couldn't reload cheaper than .22's until the cost of 22's skyrocketed. That is, if all the costs of reloading are properly accounted for.

Given that .22's were around 55 cents or less for a box of 50 in the seventies......the .22's were always cheaper than reloading centerfire, faulty memories notwithstanding. As mentioned, the primer was (and still is) the fly in the ointment as the powder charges in pistol rounds were always small and cheap.

If and when .22's ever return to "normal" pricing.......they'll be cheaper to load than centerfires.......again.

All very true. I suspect 22lr prices will not come down significantly even when things get back to the new normal. I am currently paying about 3 cents per primer, about 1.5 cents per powder charge, and about 1cent per boolit. That totals 5-5.5 cents per round. I am retired and brass is cheap and re-useable so labor and brass are not counted.
Those prices are good for both 38 special and 9mm for me.
At the odd moment when 22lr actually are available to purchase around here the go for 10 cent a round or more.

I started doing this hobby/sickness back in 1974 in order to have enough ammo to practice.

[MT Gianni]

I bought a 1000 primer brick at Cabelas this week for $30. Lead for 105 swc is $1 a lb and 14 lbs for a 1000. Powder is 3000 gr or 3/7 of a lb, 8 lb keg of Red Dot was $145 last year when i bought one. $18 a lb divided by 7, multiplied by 3 is $7.75. Total to load 1000 rds is $51. Old 22 lr was $20 per 525 or $39 a 1000 and most went bang. If you still have free lead from reclaimed or other your costs is $37 a 1000. It was always cheaper to shoot 38 than 22, get into the 32 long and the saving just keep coming. 30-30 with pb or homemade checks, 7 gr Unique is only $48 a 1000 if your not paying for lead.

[35remington]

Since primers and powder are also seeing "new normal" pricing, as is brass, the price of lead, even scrounged lead is going up, as is propane to smelt it, I'm pretty confident that reloading costs have a lot of the "good old days" pricing factored in rather than the new reality.

In other words, there's a lot of creative math in the comparison. If you wanna think you're loading cheaper, the reality tends to get skewed a bit.

For example......figuring you "still" get free lead. Most don't, but more power to ya if you can always pull off miracles.

MT Gianni has more realism in his accounting than most. It makes the point that the cost of 22's had to go up noticeably due to the panic for most of us to "outcheap" their cost with a centerfire.

[jaysouth]

About a year ago my grandson was ready to learn shooting. I let him shoot my Handi .357 MAX with 38 Spl rounds that I cast for and an STI Trojan 1911 in 9mm. The STI is an all steel gun that weights over 40 ounces and has very little recoil with a 124 cast bullet over 4 grs. of 231. That particular gun had smaller circumference grips than anything else that was practical for him to shoot in my safe. Whether or not 38 and 9mm reloads were cheaper than .22rf was moot because there were none to be had at any price

Without quibbling about the precision of anyone's math, The bragging rights for a 12 year old shooting a 357 Max rifle and a 9mm 1911 are an order of magnitude greater than shooting .22 rf.

[Green Lizzard]

my contender carbine in 22 hornet is big fun with a pinch of red dot and a 50 grain cast bullet

[Digital Dan]

I wish somebody made an inexpensive single shot or bolt action rifle in 9mm. This would be a great fun/light game gun.

Be careful what you wish for...

http://www.bullberry.com/contender_barrels.html

[casterofboolits]

Yup! I do 9mm for less than $5.00 per hundred using my H&G #275 09-125-SWCBB. 40 S&W runs the same using a couple recut Lyman four cavity 9mm moulds that produce a 40-145-TCPB.

I still have a ton or more of free indoor range lead on hand.

I recently purchased a Springfield XDm 9 5.25 for a range/plinking gun and it works great.

[jonp]

I just got back from WalMart and while wandering around I saw CCI 22lr boxes of 100 on the shelf so bought 2. They were $7.48 each and there were a ton of them.

[dtknowles]

Started doing the math in about 1976. I don't think it was possible until recently. Free lead does help though.
BTW: 22lr will be on the shelves for under $3 for 50 sunday morning. Don't ask.

I don't see how free lead really makes a difference as you could sell it or trade it for ammo.

Tim

[farmerjim]

I don't see how free lead really makes a difference as you could sell it or trade it for ammo.

Tim

I shoot into my berm and recover the lead. It is melted, cast and reloaded. If I sold it I would not have it anymore. I am still loading plinking loads with herters primers bought at under $5 a 1,000 and powder (herco) bought at $ 1.25 a pound.

[10mmShooter]

primers are now back to normal so roughly 3 cents for primer and 4 cents for lead(priced at $2 a pound) assume brass is almost free. So about 8-9 a round for .38 . I haven't shoot my .22 in a while

[tazman]

I am currently getting my lead for $.50 a pound making my boolits about a penny each. For 9mm a little less than that.

[dtknowles]

I shoot into my berm and recover the lead. It is melted, cast and reloaded. If I sold it I would not have it anymore. I am still loading plinking loads with herters primers bought at under $5 a 1,000 and powder (herco) bought at $ 1.25 a pound.

I would consider this an exception instead of a rule.

Tim

[dtknowles]

I buy and shoot .22 LR because I have nice guns that shoot .22 LR and I like shooting them. I reload for my other guns because I can and it lets some of them shoot better. I have purchased jacketed bullets for some of them where each bullet costs more than four rounds of .22 LR.

I load rounds for my .22 Hornet that are quick and easy to load that cost less than cheap .22 LR and shoot better than some. I have paid as much as 40 cents a round for .22 LR match ammo.

If all you worry about is how cheap you can shoot that is fine too.

Tim

[sandman228]

I was figuring out the cost of my 38 reloads the other day also . right now im casting loading and shooting 148 wc bullets made with 50%range scrap I pick up and 50%wheel weight alloy. im using a 4 lb jug of herco I bought a couple years ago from a local shop going out of business at 70% off and magtech primers I bought a while back from grafs at 99$ a case . according to the reloading calculator on handloads.com my 38 wad cutter loads are costing me 2.7 cents each or 1.37 per box of 50 .

[tazman]

I was figuring out the cost of my 38 reloads the other day also . right now im casting loading and shooting 148 wc bullets made with 50%range scrap I pick up and 50%wheel weight alloy. im using a 4 lb jug of herco I bought a couple years ago from a local shop going out of business at 70% off and magtech primers I bought a while back from grafs at 99$ a case . according to the reloading calculator on handloads.com my 38 wad cutter loads are costing me 2.7 cents each or 1.37 per box of 50 .

Okay, now I'm jealous.

[sandman228]

lol sorry .

[Digital Dan]

You fellas shooting .38s and 9s are spending big. Hornets, Bees and the .25-20 make for some very, very cheap shooting. 93-155 bullets per pound of Pb. Few grains of this or that powder and a primer. Brass lasts a loooooong time if you anneal it now and then.

[tazman]

My wife is allergic to bees and hornets.

[jonp]

You fellas shooting .38s and 9s are spending big. Hornets, Bees and the .25-20 make for some very, very cheap shooting. 93-155 bullets per pound of Pb. Few grains of this or that powder and a primer. Brass lasts a loooooong time if you anneal it now and then.

Real men don't shoot bugs