Is It ECONOMICAL To Reload Anymore?

[PFD45]

I've reloaded thousands of rounds, mostly .45 ACP and .223, on my Dillon RL 550 and hundreds of "results oriented" hunting and target loads on my RCBS.

I got into it in the '80s because, if I bought my components right, I could reload a box of .45 ACP for under $4.00. About half the price of factory ammo at the time. And I was 19'ish and had to buy food also.

I remember the old saying "Reloaders don't save money, they just shoot more" and that definitely applied back then.

I haven't set up my press in a few years and ammo cost is less of an issue now but I was curious if it still makes sense economicly?

I'm not looking for a component source, I think I still have a few hundred primers with $1.xx price tags . . . just reminiscing.

[Freezer]

I've been pondering the same question. In the late 80's I was a broke butt with three children and a wife In college. My first press was a Lee Anniversary Kit that I bought as a Christmas gift to myself, a neighbor had gifted me $100. At the time I could buy a box of 357 for $9, not including dies and case trimmer it cost $2.38 to reload. Powder was $20 a pound, primers $20 a thousand, LSWC bullets $25 for 500 (Buffalo Bore molly coated). Most of my brass was once fired from the LGS. Roughly a 70% savings. 30-30 ammo was also $9 a box and I could buy factory seconds plinking bullets in bulk. As things progressed I was loading for my BIL and son. I was reloading at least 18 different cartridges. I know I put tens of thousands of rounds through that press.

Now I'm pondering reloading for my 6Arc. By the time I buy dies, powder, bullets and a comparator case, I'll have $200 invested. At my age and for as much as I'll shoot this rifle is it going to be worth it? I bought 4 boxes of ammo for testing this rifle, Hornady Match and Black, for $25 a box. I see decent hunting ammo for $42. My calculation, powder, bullets and primers will cost about $15 to $20 per box. Reloading custom hunting is a 50% savings but, when you add the cost of reloading equipment....

I have to admit to being disappointed in myself, this is the first time over 30 years I shot a rifle I own with fa...fa...fac...Ammo I didn't load myself.

[Bigslug]

I guess the better question would be, "Is it economical to SHOOT anymore?"

Scrounged brass and scrounged berm lead will carry you a long distance - at least on the bulk pistol stuff. But primers and powder? DAMN!

I think it can be done economically. The key - probably - is to not branch out into a bunch of niche cartridges. Problem is, most of us have done that for various reasons. But, if you logic your way through it, the trajectory of the latest wazoo round isn't much flatter than what we've had for over a century, and most of us aren't stretching the range anyway. Terminally, a bullet hole is a bullet hole, and we've learned a lot over the last 40 years about how to make effective ones - and it's NOT about the cartridge used to launch the projectile.

So yeah, folks are gonna call it "boring" but doing the bulk of your play with only a couple mainstream handgun and rifle cartridges will at least streamline the need to purchase a wide range of hardware and software to make the ammo.

[Ernie]

I reload for better accuracy, because of wildcat cartridges, and specific bullet choices.
I don't reload to save money, though I may have done that at one time.
That does not mean I don't use factory ammo sometimes.

If factory ammo fulfills your bullet and accuracy needs for a given gun, go for it.

[CPJ 2.0]

I can load (at today’s retarded prices inflated by wars and inflation, panic buying etc) load a box (20) of .223 for less than $12. Can I get bulk .223 for that? Yep. But bulk ain’t what I shoot. I want a specific bullet for a specific task. If I were to buy those, if even available, it would cost me 3-4 times more than what I can load them for. And I’d spend a fortune finding the load that worked best, IF I even found one.
Throw in bullet casting, so becomes way cheaper for rounds that can use cast bullets. Buying in bulk while painful, saves in the long run.

The equipment costs? Meh. Part of the hobby. Being honest, I can say that all my equipment has paid for itself with the “savings” over the years. Of course you have to shoot enough to pay it off. But that’s the point of the gun hobby….shooting. Unless you buy crap to hang on the wall and just fondle it from time to time.

I don’t factor my time in the equation. A hobby is just that. A hobby. It doesn’t pay. Because if it pays, then it’s a job.

There’s also the satisfaction of doing it myself. The pride of shooting a tiny group knowing I put in the work to do it. Seeing my daughter and son in law using ammo I crafted to harvest critters. Having them help me with said ammo. Crafting a 45-70 round suitable for an 8 year old to shoot a giant ass buck. (At the time nothing store bought available) Passing along the knowledge.

So, it’s worth it. No matter the cost, really.

[Elk Creek]

I load for obsolete cartridges. If I don’t load a good portion of what I shoot would sit in a safe. I like to shoot them!! That said it gives me warm fuzzies to know I can shoot for a long time on what I have squirreled away

[shotgunshooter3]

"It depends."

For my bulk ammo, 9mm and .223 fodder, it is not worth my time, even if some money is saved. I'll even go a step further and say for my low volume hunting ammo where I've found a suitable factory load, it isn't worth it.

For match grade ammo or specialty hunting ammo, it is still economical, especially with the more basic tools I use. 7mm Rem Mag, for example, with the bullets I want to use, is far more economical to handload. I suspect once I do the math .45-70 will be the same.