Replacement Cost Of Your Reloading Setup

[COSteve]

Deleted

[2ndovc]

There used to be an ad in the gun magazines, Hornady I think " Some reload to shoot, some shoot to reload". I think there's
some truth in that. I started reloading when I bought my first Winchester in .32-20 and shortly after a .303 Enfield. At the time in my area it was difficult to find either cartridge in the shops. So I started out of necessity and found that I really enjoyed it. I've actually gone to the range to burn up some old hand loads so I can make something different. Now that I'm getting into casting the investment and the enjoyment contiue to grow. So going on 30 years of reloading I hate to think of what it would cost to buy this stuff new. Even if I could. I'm sure I'd have a hard time finding another Hollywood Gun Shop Press ( which happens to be my favorite). I think I better go write down what I've got down there.


jb

[Shrapnel]

That is hard to calculate. If you consider loaded ammunition as well as components and equipment, I would guess somewhere around $50,000.00 or more...

[yooper2]

It would be awful hard to put a price on my reloading gear as most of it is several decades old, having belonged to my grandfather or his friends. It gets particularly challenging when thinking about my mold collection, some of my most used molds are antiques and long out of production, others I have modified to satisfy particular needs. The stuff no longer made or belonging to people I cared about are truly priceless to me.
I would definitely say that reloading has become a hobby just as engrossing as hunting and shooting. Casting is also a hobby in and of itself. Some folks think I'm a bit off due to just how much time I spend turning piles scrap lead into projectiles. I've bought guns just because I thought the caliber would be interesting to load for and I bought my first 41 Mag because I have a Hensley and Gibbs 220 gr. Kieth mold for it. Perhaps its not the most logical approach but I do really enjoy reloading as much as shooting.

Eric

[Old No7]

Actually, this does prompt an interesting, but related, question....

Do you guys insure your reloading setups for the replacement cost??? Should you/we???

God Forbid, we'd all have higher priorities if we lost stuff in a fire, or theft, but from the posts above, that a lot to lose!!!

Old No7

[El Chivo]

hard to figure when you add a tool or die here and there, but I think I'm under $500.00. My press was only about $80 at the time and my initial package about $200.00. I saved a lot because I bought it from Midway and got the birthday discount.

Big splurge was a separate RCBS priming press when I could have primed with the main press. I've also got two Redding tricklers now. Don't have to worry about replacement costs for those, if I get hit by a tornado everything else might be gone but the tricklers will still be sitting there.

[shooter]

If you're just counting reloading presses, dies, case prep, etc., I've maybe got $500-$700 into the setup. If you factor in brass, primers, bullet molds, casting equipment, and all that other stuff, the cost goes up to somewhere between $1500-$2000 I would guess. My stuff is probably worth a little more than that, but I am lucky in that a lot of it was handed down and passed to me by my uncle.

[Canuck Bob]

My marriage.

[adirondakjack]

Steve, tell the truth, nobody ever loaded anything in that "store window" you pictured

I don't want to know what I have in reloading (and casting) gear, but suffice to say the thought of a fire or other catastrophic loss gives me cold sweats.

[stretch]

I dunno what I've got invested in mine.

I DO know it would cost far more than I paid for it to replace!
A lot of the stuff was acquired used, and then of course
there's the time spent on benches and making mounts and
suchlike.

There's also the "loading book" - records of my loads and
performance which are irreplacable.

i don't wanna think of a fire or theft, either!

-Stretch

[Streetstar]

Actually, this does prompt an interesting, but related, question....

Do you guys insure your reloading setups for the replacement cost??? Should you/we???

God Forbid, we'd all have higher priorities if we lost stuff in a fire, or theft, but from the posts above, that a lot to lose!!!

Old No7

If you have general replacement cost insurance on your household contents themselves, your gear is covered.
Just make sure you have enough coverage

Firearms themselves need to be listed as a separate coverage item as most regular homeowners insurance policies cap firearms and jewelry coverage at 2500$ unless a separate rider is procured

Most homeowners don't find this out until the burglars or fire dept are long gone. It can be pretty sobering getting a 2500 check for a 30k collection.

[COSteve]

Deleted

[kimwcook]

I would guess somewhere around $50,000.00 or more...

I can only guess and it would be a couple thousand dollars worth.

[FatJackDurham]

Wow" 176,000 rounds over 11 years equals 50 rounds a day, every day. What is your day like?

6 am - shoot alarm clock. Double tap plus one for insurance.
6:15 am - turned shower on by shooting the spinner target attached to the tap. Two rounds, hot and cold.
6:30 am - fired a warning shot at my mother in law for flushing the toilet while I was in the shower.
7 am - two rounds fired to scare the chickens into laying a couple of eggs.
8 am - off to work on my skate board, recoil powered. Ten rounds, Desert Eagle.
9 am - board meeting.
9:10 am - bored in meeting.
9:30 am - annoyed my coworkers by shooting down their ideas.15 rounds. Lots of dumb ideas.
11:30 am - early lunch. Four pointer, 120 yards.
2:30 pm - cigarettes break. Oh, I don't smoke, I just light'em with a .44 for my friends. 3 rounds
5 pm - skateboard home. Down hill, so just four rounds.
6 pm - lit the stove with a .22 blank round
9 pm - seven rounds to honor my old pappy in heaven.

10 pm - fired a good night shot at the moon. Goodnight moon.

[COSteve]

Wow" 176,000 rounds over 11 years equals 50 rounds a day, every day. What is your day like?

Most of the year I try to out a couple sessions a week and I shoot 300-400 rds of centerfire calibers per outing. You have to remember that in the last 3-4 years I'm loading for 2 and sometimes 3-4 shooters. My son goes with me and also goes shooting with his friends and he's shooting my handloads. Also, I take out friends with their kids to get them interested in the sport a few times a year and they really go through the ammo. With 4 people shooting at once with a M1 carbine, two ARs, and M1A, as well as semi-auto Glock 20,L 21L, 22, 23, and recently a 24 going it's all I can do to keep all the mags loaded.

[Streetstar]

Lostowl, that was pretty creative , that gave me a laugh

Especially
9am board meeting
910am, bored in meeting

[Shrapnel]

I would guess somewhere around $50,000.00 or more...

I can only guess and it would be a couple thousand dollars worth.

Late pictures of the organized mess.

There are:
2 Dillon 650's,
Toolheads for all the various calibers,
1 Dillon 550,
1 Rockchucker,
1 Mec 600 JR
2 Hornady Apex Progressiveshotgun loaders
Loaded ammo in the 10's of thousands
Components enough to load it all again once or twice

Everything added up, yeah, $50,000.00 might be low...

[kimwcook]

Shrapnel, that's serious stuff right there now. I say it again, wow!

[FatJackDurham]

Obviously, reloading is saving you money. At that volume of shooting, I'd say even buying a new setup would be economical.

I guess that is normal for a heavy shooting family like yours, but it seems like to me you're almost a production shop. Do you have your own boxes, too?

[COSteve]

Steve, tell the truth, nobody ever loaded anything in that "store window" you pictured

Every single single case was prep'd, every single round was worked up, and every single rifle and pistol was cleaned and/or worked on at that very bench just as it's pictured. The wife wouldn't have it any other way!

[Griff]

Interesting numbers.

[win38-55]

Thanks COSteve. You gave me some inspiration to do some reloading tonight.
Loaded 100, 45 Acp bullets for my one buddy who wanted me to build some for him.
I love 230 Grain Hardcast lead in a .45 ACP

[Modoc ED]

It appears that many guys have their reloading area along with all their presses, dies, ammo, powder, etc. in the basement of their homes.

Anyone ever consider that one day their basement might spring a leak and flood with water? I see it happen to houses that have been bone-dry for years (since construction) and then one day the basement floods for any manner of reasons -- foundation penetration, floor penetration, etc.. I recall a few years back that I got a call from a friend asking me to help him empty out his basement because it had flooded. His house was over 40-years old and had been bone-dry since day one utill a small channel had worked it's way through his foundation wall. No telling how long it had been working it's way through the wall.

I've only got a small set-up. A RCBS single stage press and a LEE hand press (I've loaded many thousands of rounds with them) various dies, a brass tumbler, etc.. The bulk of my money is tied up in powder, primers, and brass. For instance, I've got 1000 pieces of un-fired .444 Marlin Brass and about 2000 pieces of fired .444 Marlin Brass along with several hundred rounds of factory loaded .444 Marlin and several hundred rounds of handloaded .444 Marlin. That's just one caliber.

My reloading area is in a stand-alone shed about 20-feet from my back door. It is completely insulated, has power, and a phone line but NO water.



I keep only what I need for day-to-day reloading on the shelves over my reloading bench. My bulk powder, brass, primers, etc. are under the bench-top on shelves or on a shelf unit to the left out of the picture.

[madman4570]

Wow, some of you guys on here really are stocked up!
I am small time compared to you guys.
Probably $1000 I could mostly replace my reloading setup enough for what I need, with new stuff.(could be more?)
How much ammo I have( )enough for me!
Remember this is a public forum,wouldn't list all my cards on the table anyway.

[Sixgun]

It adds up. I have 70 quality moulds, 60 sets of dies...... I ain't figuring it out. Money is relative compared to the amount of enjoyment and independence it gives me.

Comparing it to the amount of bucks we all spend on vehicles and insurance to keep 'em legal, its just a drop in the bucket. Who gives a rat's butt---I'm living now because there ain't no guarantee for tomorrow. ------------------------Sixgun

[Ysabel Kid]

I'd hate to even hazard a guess. I don't have nearly as much or as nice of stuff as some, but I have a lot and would hate to have to replace it all. I got into reloading when I was 16 so I could afford to shoot. Now I do it for enjoyment, to make loads no longer available, accuracy, etc. It's all good!

[El Chivo]

I'd hate to even hazard a guess.

Good one! for most of you guys...kaboom!


a friend of mine keeps his in a small outbuilding. I can't do that, but I would if I could.