The cost of reloading versus buying loaded ammunition

[JimT]

This is based on already having the equipment to reload.
You might check my math. I have been known to screw up adding and subtracting.

.45 ACP
Bullseye 1 pound = 7000 grains
a 5.0 grain load would make 1400 loads from 1 pound
at $47 per pound the powder costs a little over .033 cents per shot
...........
1000 primers @ $100 per thousand = $10 per hundred which is .10 cents per shot (as I write this on July 11, 2024 Natchez has primers for sale from $75 per thousand to $90 per thousand with no Haz-Mat charge)
............
Bullets 230 gr. FMJ $25.00 per hundred = .25 cents per shot
Powder .033
Primers .10
Bullets .25
That's a bit over .38 cents per shot or $38 a hundred.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

.45 Colt
18.5 gr. 2400 = 378 loads per pound.
That is 12 1/2 cents per shot for powder or $12.50 per hundred shots
$.10 per primer = $10 per hundred
I scrounge my lead so the bullets only cost me time
$22.50 per hundred

BUT - you will not save any money reloading. You will shoot more than you previously did if you are like many reloaders. You will be getting more shots per dollar than buying loaded ammo. And you can create ammunition that is not available from commercial loaders.

[Rockrat]

And if you cast your own for the 45 acp, then your cost per hundred drops significantly

[Wiresguy]

I’ve been enjoying the .32 Long and H&R for some time but went down the .32-20 rabbit hole last year when I purchased a used Freedom Arms 97 in .32 H&R that had the .32-20 extra cylinder, which I really wasn’t interested in at the time.

But, if you’ve got it, you might as well try it out. That’s when I discovered the LGS had UltraMax ammo at $100 per box of 50. Ouch! And brass was rare.

Starline recently produced some .32-20 brass, and I was able to lay in a supply. About .28 cents each.

Factoring in the cost of new brass at .28 cents each, .3.3 gr Bullseye for .028 cents (at most recent price of $51 per pound) and primers at .10 each, that puts my cost at 40.5 cents per round, or $20.25 per box of 50. If I consider that the cost of the brass is amortized on the first firing, then the reloaded round cost drops to .125 cents per round, or $6.25 per box of 50.

I cast my own bullets from wheelweights I purchased over 10 years ago; though the purchase price is long forgotten, it wasn’t much, so I don’t figure in the cost of the bullet.

And I didn’t really save any money by starting to reload the .32-20 as I realized I needed a Winchester 92 rifle to go along with the handgun. Sigh.

[6pt-sika]

I’ve not loaded a handgun round in several years . And just about everything I load anymore is out of necessity 8 gauge , 10 gauge , 6.5 Sherman Short Mag , 6mm-06 , 6.5-06 , 26 Nosler , 6.5x54 MS and 7x57 . And the 260 REM and 222 REM I load just because . I don’t look at any of these from a saving money standpoint .

[JimT]

And as I and others have said, it's not about "saving" money, it's more shooting for the money spent. As Wiresguy said, it leads to spending more money! I can attest to that for sure.

[.45colt]

Back in the late 80's when I was shooting a lot I had a couple of guys saving Me wheel weight's. I melted them down into ingots and stored them in 2 1/2 gallon buckets. have two WW and two pure lead. moving stuff in the shed this spring they really have gotten Heavy. . I better cast a bunch before I get any older.

[JimT]

A friend came to me one day and asked me if I would teach him how to cast bullets. I told him, "Yes. When the weather cools off." Then I told him, "Til then, go around to the tire shops and ask them if they will give you their old wheelweights." When the Fall was going good and it was cool I called him and asked him if he was ready to start casting. He said he was. I asked, "Did you get any wheelweights?" Apologetically he said, "Yes. I got some. All I could find was 6 5 gallon buckets full." I laughed and told him we could start with that.

We cast thousands of bullets that winter.

[earlmck]

A friend came to me one day and asked me if I would teach him how to cast bullets. I told him, "Yes. When the weather cools off." Then I told him, "Til then, go around to the tire shops and ask them if they will give you their old wheelweights." When the Fall was going good and it was cool I called him and asked him if he was ready to start casting. He said he was. I asked, "Did you get any wheelweights?" Apologetically he said, "Yes. I got some. All I could find was 6 5 gallon buckets full." I laughed and told him we could start with that.

We cast thousands of bullets that winter.

Man, wasn't that fine when we could get those good old wheelweights for next to nothing. I was asleep at the switch when the wheelweights started drying up and failed to lay in a few tons. Over the past several years I have got a fair amount of "range lead" which is much more variable as to composition, but can certainly be made quite serviceable. Thought i had a lifetime supply built up but now have a couple grandkids shooting buffalo guns with me and the "lifetime supply" is depleting rapidly. Either gotta' hurry up and die or lay in more supply.

[AJMD429]

.
I bought a box of 50 Beowulf (20 rounds) for $65.00 last week...!

Thankfully the components for 500 S&W are about the same and I have some for that (levergun not revolver), but it was clearly a reminder that I need to fire up the reloading press again...

[Grizz]

.
I bought a box of 50 Beowulf (20 rounds) for $65.00 last week...!

Thankfully the components for 500 S&W are about the same and I have some for that (levergun not revolver), but it was clearly a reminder that I need to fire up the reloading press again...

I buy ammo for the 50. When you consider that ONE ROUND can do the work 5 or 6 'other' bullets, the price is surprisingly reasonable.

[GunnyMack]

I never bothered to wring out the costs of rifle or pistol. However, when I was shooting a ton of trap loads I could put a box of 12ga out for about 2 bucks . Of course that was when you could buy shot for $9 a bag, wads were almost free and buying cases of primers, 12lb kegs of powder. Boy I miss the 80s!

[LeverGunner]

I shoot more than if I bought ammo, but not as much as the cost of purchasing the amount of ammo. I save plenty. If a person considers the cost of stockpiling ammo, even in small quantities, you will save plenty of money.

[6pt-sika]

And as I and others have said, it's not about "saving" money, it's more shooting for the money spent. As Wiresguy said, it leads to spending more money! I can attest to that for sure.

When I first started loading it was shotguns exclusively and I was saving money as long as you didn’t figure in your time spent . Back then I had 2K tied up in the four PW 800C’s and the supposed monetary savings paid for the machines in a year believe it or not . But then shot was $9-12 a bag now the darn stuff is $50 . I never looked at loading rifle cartridges as a savings it was all about Accuracy and slaying brown cloven hooved rats .

[Ysabel Kid]

I got into reloading when I was 16. I was shooting my RSB .44 Mag and darn those rounds were expensive even back then! Plus, at 16, I couldn't buy them (some places still sold them to me ).

What I discovered was the ability to customize loads to stuff that isn't offered commercially. When I was young, this was most often pushing the limits. Perhaps young and stupid.

Then I added loading for rounds no longer available.

And now, just for the shear joy of it!

[6pt-sika]

A friend came to me one day and asked me if I would teach him how to cast bullets. I told him, "Yes. When the weather cools off." Then I told him, "Til then, go around to the tire shops and ask them if they will give you their old wheelweights." When the Fall was going good and it was cool I called him and asked him if he was ready to start casting. He said he was. I asked, "Did you get any wheelweights?" Apologetically he said, "Yes. I got some. All I could find was 6 5 gallon buckets full." I laughed and told him we could start with that.

We cast thousands of bullets that winter.

I started casting when I got the itch to shoot lever sction Silhoutte . I had a friend that owned a tire shop and when he wanted to go to Vegas or Atlantic City I’d run the place for him for a nominal fee . Part of the deal was I could take the old weights . I got close to two tons and that’s kept me going now for twenty years .

[Drawdown]

Most my life, all I shot to amount to anything was 22's, cause all I really wanted to hunt was mainly squirrels, but we used to varmint hunt a lot in my youth, especially foxes, those usually a 22 mag. And before I got married my girlfriend got me a 45cal Hawken cva, and shot it a lot, varmint hunted a few times with that. As I got older, I got a Marlin 336 30-30, but an occasional box of ammo filled my interest and what little deer hunting I wanted. On up in years I got more in deer hunting, and a 30-30 was all I needed, but the old Winchester's sure lit my eyes, but nothing in my area but Mod 94 somewhat, but 5 times more 336 30-30, few 35 Rem.
But word was, boxed factory ammo for 30-30 was as good as it gets! But when I retired, I started shooting centerfire lot more, 30-30 and 30-06. What else needed! But I was keeping my brass, and thinking, I need to reload, shoot more and cheaper! And that's the sum of it. I like everyone else probably spent more, but I enjoyed it all so much more, but compare 5hat amount of shooting to buying the ammo? Reloading a must, and you get custom product! Plus I'm into the 270Win now.
I still wish I'd gotten in casting and a 38-55. But now, I keep looking at maybe a new Mid 86 in 45-90? Black Powder & Cast? IDK, but maybe?

[marlinman93]

I think a lot of folks new to reloading look at the investment to start out and cringe. They don't consider the investment is returned very quickly. They also don't consider looking at quality used reloading tools that can be purchased for a fraction of new prices.
I recently got my son inlaw started out reloading by giving him my old Rock Chucker press when I bought my new Supreme. Then had him attend our monthly collector show and found a RCBS 505 scale for $10, and C&H powder measure for $5, and primers, powder, and dies to do his .45ACP and 9MM for very cheap. He spent maybe $125 for everything, and we headed home to set it up and show him how to start reloading.

[vancelw]

Reloading is, by far, the most expensive hobby I have ever had....not counting shooting.
At one time, I had more money tied up in equipment and supplies than I did firearms.
I fixed that by buying more guns!
I can usually load 50 for what it costs to buy 20.

So I get to shoot 150% more

[4t5]

What else ya gonna do on a rainy day?
It’s about the only way to feed my 375 big bore.

[Drawdown]

If you shoot lotta them old Hyphen calibers you gotta reload. In my old age now I wish I had several of em, money well spent!

[Griff]

Many years ago, my wife questioned the purchase of a Dillon 550B. I was loading for 3 shooters in cowboy action, and it took nearly a couple of hours every evening during the week to load up shotshells, 45 Colt for me and .38 Specials for her and the boy on the RCBS Jr II I had at the time for the 3 matches a month, (sometimes 4) we were shooting. I forget the cost of the Dillon at the time, but I seem to recall that with carbide dies for .38/.357, 45 Colt and 45 Auto, it was just under $300. Taking into account my salary at the time, ($22.50/hr), it took <6 months to offset the price of the Dillon based on simply time savings. In the time it took me to load enough ammo for one match, I could load up enough for 3 months. Her being an accountant for an oil company at the time, she always included my hourly wage in calculating the cost to make ammo vs. buying read-i-mades. It NEVER cost near as much to make my own.

[COSteve]

The current retail value of my entire Dillon setup; press, caliber conversions, etc. that I've bought in the last 25 years is currently $7,054.36, while I only paid $3,048.66 for it.

If I sold it, I could get 90% of the current list price or $6,348.92 as I keep my equipment in 'like new' condition. That's a profit of $3,300! (I sold my 550 and 650 that way and made money on both).

Further, handloading is a hobby so to figure the cost including labor is nonsense. If it's a business, then charge labor. As a hobby that's just plain stupid.

Why? Do you charge yourself an hourly rate to watch TV, to go to the movies, to go to the park or out to dinner?

How about when you read and post here, that takes time so do you charge yourself labor too? Do you charge your wife an hourly rate to make love to her as well?

[Griff]

That's a little harsh there Steve. If you read what I wrote, you'd see that my wife calculated that as a cost... I don't.... however, maybe I should, as I'm self employed, and if reloading or anything else takes away time that I could be earning a living... I should include that as a cost. Feel free to disagree, but keep your criticisms to yourself next time.

[marlinman93]

If you shoot lotta them old Hyphen calibers you gotta reload. In my old age now I wish I had several of em, money well spent!

Very true!
If I hadn't started reloading before my interest in oddball obsolete cartridge rifles began I'd have been stuck with a bunch of safe queens I couldn't shoot and really enjoy! Being able to not just reload for, but also make brass for obsolete rifles has really opened things up for me. I have friends who pass on buying anything they can't either buy ammo for, or can't buy preformed brass to load for. I've tried to tell them how to form brass for various obsolete ammo, and which brass works best, but they just don't want to go that route to enjoy the guns.

[COSteve]

That's a little harsh there Steve. If you read what I wrote, you'd see that my wife calculated that as a cost... I don't.... however, maybe I should, as I'm self employed, and if reloading or anything else takes away time that I could be earning a living... I should include that as a cost. Feel free to disagree, but keep your criticisms to yourself next time.

I wasn't criticizing you Griff. Rather, I was stating my opinion in general. My point is that if you judge the need to add your labor costs, maybe you shouldn't be reloading because you consider it a chore, not an enjoyable hobby to feed your shooting.

I've seen countless "Should I reload?" posts and many responders who add their labor rate to their potential cost of the hobby but object to adding any labor costs to any other hobby or activity. My examples were meant to be ridiculous examples of other activities that people spend hrs at and don't even consider the cost of their labor.

Again, the post wasn't aimed at you but I realize I should have used the term "one" instead of you. I meant to point to the general "you". Sorry for my error, I was trying to make it ridiculous, not mean.

[Griff]

No problem. As one who shoots so I can reload, I understand the distinction. As with hot rods, or just about any hobby, either you do it because you enjoy it, or it becomes a chore. When I was younger, the worst feeling in the world was the pressure to get the car fixed so I could get to work... My hot rod became a true hobby when I didn't have to rely on it to get to and from work! You know when you're in over your head when the number of projects equals the number completed!!! Or you find yourself starting a new one before the current one is finished!