Reloading - Is it still really worth it?

You send my a 40 footer I'll gladly pay the freight! I can retire on that in todays prices!
I've considered tossing stuff on GB and making a killing, then retiring to my new property with the private 1000 yard shooting range I built this past summer, 200 yard ammo testing straight out, 500 yard steel to the right and 4x8 sheet of plywood 1000 yards to the left and everything in between for steel, got a natural hump covered with a thick birch forest and heavy cottonwood trees for a safe backstop, plus I bought the land where the trailhead was & now it's a private drive, zero access from anywhere else due to large 40 acres parcels of private land all around

But ....won't have anything to shoot...... guess I'll just grow weed then, or peonies lol !

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I've considered tossing stuff on GB and making a killing, then retiring to my new property with the private 1000 yard shooting range I built this past summer, 200 yard ammo testing straight out, 500 yard steel to the right and 4x8 sheet of plywood 1000 yards to the left and everything in between for steel, got a natural hump covered with a thick birch forest and heavy cottonwood trees for a safe backstop, plus I bought the land where the trailhead was & now it's a private drive, zero access from anywhere else due to large 40 acres parcels of private land all around

But ....won't have anything to shoot...... guess I'll just grow weed then, or peonies lol !

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Beautiful place! You are just a little far, or I would have invited my self to test your range out!
 
I was lucky towards the end of my time shooting on the US Trap and Skeet team I bought 2,000lbs of extra hard 7.5 shot for roughly 7.00 to 9.00 per 25lb bag. still have 1,200 lbs left. We would get Semi loads delivered to us. Now my Nephew's and Niece's can enjoy it for a little while.
Probably have 8k federal paper hulls and 14k AA hulls and 5k federal. 75k wads sold some primers so only 12k in primers all bought in early 90's
Wish I had more money back then and would have bought 4 times those amounts
 
When I was younger I started reloading to save money, now I have 50 plus die sets, thousands of pieces of brass, bullets and primers. I would say I enjoy reloading and it is economical on a per piece basis but expensive on an inventory and equipment basis. I like to be able to shoot small groups and have proper bullet selection for the game being hunted and reloading helps insure that process.
I know you all have much better and more expensive equipment, but a basic kit from Lee with a turret press for rifle is under 275 dollars, and has everything needed to start out except maybe dies. Lee's single stage kit costs about $255. And Lee and Lyman make basic dies for under 50 dollars (Lee) and 55 dollars (Lyman). Lyman kits are more expensive, but start with a single stage kit at about $375, and their top of the line turret press kit a $785 or so, including everything you could possibly need, even an electric powder measure. The lee kit will do really well, though, especially since you can set your dies in the 4 hole turret and turrets for $15 each. I use one and it works well. I'd like to have the Lyman turret press, and may buy one in the near future. All of Lyman's kits also include the Lyman 50th issue reloading manual.
 
First of all I am not trying induce depression or deter people from starting to jump into the world of hand loading. I just am trying or shed some light on the real costs of this wonderful hobby I finally picked up a couple of years ago. For the competition shooter or the individual looking for consistent top notch accuracy out of their rifle, it will always make sense regardless of the costs. However, with the current cost of components, it is shocking to add up the cost of a hand loaded cartridge.
I just ran a quick component estimate for a round of 7RM using the cost of recent component purchases. I am approaching $3.00 per round in raw materials without factoring in the equipment/tool expense or time commitment. I realize that the cost of premium factory ammo is often times more expensive, but the wow factor of current reloading cost has me looking at the amount of times I visit the range and how many rounds of what rifle I will be firing.
In the end it reinforces the buy cheap and stack deep approach to reloading. Panic buying due to the FOMO syndrome is not a smart move.
I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season.
Hi... I can't say I didn't realize the some prices went up.. or shortage of materials... but
I reload my 300 win mag ( never max) shells have already 20 reloads. and sometime in get a 20 ammo box for 43 47 $ ( I buy them for fun and I save the shells) bullets.. bulk nosler for 215 $ for 250 .. primer still cost between 0.7 to 10 cents. so a box for 7 10 $ . with a pound of powder I still do around 80 reloads.. I guess I.m saving and shoot better.. is I start to talk about the 6.5 creedmoor... a lot lot cheaper.. I I can reload it. modifying 308 .. 243 Brass.. that u get at the range on the floor.. bullets always nosler 250 pieces for 175 $ and with a pound of powder.. 130 145 reloads.. no t even $ per ammo...( a box of 20 the cheapest one for us here in canada is 34$ a box.... I guess for that caliber I save at least 20 $ per box.. and shoot better.j
 
If ya'll haven't figured this out by now...the firearms industry should be treated like the stock market. It is fear driven, supply vs demand, ETC. Buy it cheap & stack it deep, buy low sell high, ETC. People crying right now about primers, and ammo, and components are way behind the curve. I'm sure there are members here engaged in the stock market and making more money than I could imagine, but they are the same ones to come here and be in desperation for components and ammunition. I began load development on two new cartridges these past few months and I'm not even worried about supply.

So, quit all the bellyaching. I wish I would have known about the gamestop stock incident. 10K would of had me 3.2 Mil. Well, I can't go buy that $347 stock for $18 now!
 
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When you have 10 Arab's comming after you with machete's while sitting on your front porch one evening,what ya gonna do yell, Hey Honey can you drive to the store for a box of ammo or just go in to your reloading table and grab a few rounds and then just take care of business!
It won't be Arabs, nor will it be Chinese. It'll be Antifa / BLM / Marxists indoctrinated in our schools. When you're finished defending your house and stacking them like sandbags, it'll be the Gubmint, more specifically, the local DA, coming after YOU because you defended your self and your home rather than acquiesce to "economic redistribution."

Another reason why I reload. With what I've accumulated, I don't have to worry about the supply chain. I have enough to shoot out almost every one of my rifles, and enough for tens of thousands of pistol rounds. Putting them all together, and making more when I shoot them all out, is relaxing and peaceful. That is priceless.
 
Another reason why I reload. With what I've accumulated, I don't have to worry about the supply chain. I have enough to shoot out almost every one of my rifles, and enough for tens of thousands of pistol rounds. Putting them all together, and making more when I shoot them all out, is relaxing and peaceful. That is priceless.
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Reloading has numerous advantages other than cost savings, and for certain loads, there may not even be a savings. However, a good history lesson around reloading, casting, swaging, etc can give one valuable insight into what has become a lost art in most loaders arsenal. (Pun intended)

Casting lead alloy bullets for practice loads can save mucho $$ Especially in handguns and reduced vel/recoil loads in rifles. This old hobby has really died off these past many years, but I am seeing and hearing a few people returning and some digging out those old dusty melting pots and molds.

Swaging jacketed bullets was nearly once as normal as casting, but with the advent of easily acquired commercial bullets in varied weights and styles, it died many years ago. I kept all my old dies, presses, jackets, lead wires etc, and today, they are invaluable and coming back into use. For someone starting today, components like jackets and lead wire can be hard and pricy to locate, but the old timers didn't use lead wire. They cast their own cores in molds. Many hand made by local machinists. I have a few old sets of these, and they still work great.

Jackets can be made from copper tubing, and I have seen some made from other materials. One can also make jackets from 22LR brass, 22mag, and varied pistol brass can be used to form handgun bullet jackets. Let your imagination run wild (And buy a book or two on the subject to study)

Basically, as times get harder, and they will, it is wise for dedicated shooters to relearn a lot of the history that created our hobby of handloading, for much of it was based in necessity of the times. Even names many take for granted like Speer and RCBS have their roots in the shortages of the Great Depression and WWII era, and Berger began as a hand swager in search of better bullets for the BR game. (As many of us did)
 
I tie my own trout flies, fletch up and adjust FOC for my own arrows, adjust and make my own trolling spoons, tie my own trolling salmon flies, so reloading is just another means for me "make" what I use. Heck, started building (assembling) rifles to get exactly what I want.

My fav rifle is the .270Win (Thors Hammer) that has 0.290 freebore to shoot the 156HH that I wanted to shoot.

Reloading IMO, adds in a personalization to the hunt or target that you cannot achieve with factory. There is a sense of personal satisfaction that is unique when you shoot your own loads.

Cost? This is a hobby or addiction that if you shoot a lot, the ONLY means to do so is to reload. I bought 5K each FM210 and FM215 primers in 2019 at $39/K so way ahead of costs today. Plenty of brass and good selection of bullets. Yes, shooting Hammers so they add to cost but the total cost is still far below factory AND the loads are rifle specific for best performance I can achieve. When you belly up to the "reloading bar", you can order from "bar shelf" or go top shelf. Its your choice. Factory ammo is similar for performance at SAAMI chamber where you can buy bar shelf ammo or premium ammo which may shoot fine at SAAMI. If you do not shoot that much, heck yeah, why reload?

I enjoy the shooting sport, the reloading aspect to customizing load to specific rifle and purpose and the satisfaction from it. The cost IMO, is offset from the total enjoyment I get from shooting my rifles with a custom load.

If you have $$$ custom rifles, you already have the anal attentive addiction that takes you down the reloading rabbit hole.
 
I refuse to load for semiauto pistol today. I will reload 357 mag for a Henry and a revolver. I would not shoot a rifle w/o loading for it myself.
Many posts concerning shortages, once shelves are stocked with loaded factory ammo, things return to normal, or semi-normal. Across the board, it costs a lot more to have inventory of loaded compared to components.
 
I bought all my reloading stuff for years.So if you look at what those thing cost today,I have a gold mine.I'm still shooting my premium ammo reloads for around $10-$12 a box.Much cheaper than shelf ammo.
Exactly!
My wife and I shoot prairie dogs 2-3 times a year. We spend a week or 10 days on each trip. Where could I find that volume of the same loads for our 223s and 6BRs. Being prepared with plenty of loading supplies paid off.
 
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