Reloading - Is it still really worth it?

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.
☝🏼I think that is the true value. Accumulate components over time. When you need a brick of 1000 primers but 2-5. When you need a box of bullets but 2-5. When you need 100 rounds of brass but 200. And then when times are tight and therefore more expensive, like they are now, it doesn't hurt as bad to reload and shoot. Spreading the Expense out helps a bit.

And also what butter bean said — don't get into it to save money — when you add all the tools and time etc etc, the break even point is thousands of rounds down the line; the reward is really in producing the perfect load with a low ES/SD and the confidence that comes with it.
 
I have multiple rifles in the same cartridges, die sets for each, sorted bullets, brass and primers all set aside for each rifle.
If I didn't handload for each, I wouldn't be able to afford to shoot with the cost of ammo here.
I never started out handloading to save money…I wanted precision loads, but now it has come to a point where it is scrimping and saving every penny, working a day job and a night job just to pay for the extras like reloading.
We haven't had a pay rise in Australia for a decade, but the costs of living keep steadily rising each and every year.
I can no longer afford to pay my FFL, it's just money I won't recuperate and is out of reach now.
Covid has crippled the population, and is just another tightening of the noose.

Cheers.
Do you wonder how much is on purpose? I do.
 
I started reloading because I like to do things myself and learn. However I do save some scratch too. I understand some calibers are certainly pretty pricey to load for, but I've been fairly frugal with buying components. I've been able to buy CCI LRP 3x at Sportsmans Warehouse for $49.00 p/thousand. Not my first pick but they work. I know the days they get routine shipments and I pop in every now and again and I get them.

For my general 'plinker'- a .308, I'm on my 10th reloading with my torture test of Peterson brass. I use IMR 4064 which is not difficult to find and I've 16lbs of it. Sierra bullets are not hard to come by either- I can walk into my local Capital Sports and find 500 on the shelf routinely.

So yes- I save money on that rifle and load match grade ammo to boot.

If one is frugal and stays the hell away from Gunchoker, do a little horse trading yeah you can save some coin in the long haul. Of course it depends how far down the rabbit hole you want to go with equipment.

For example- I just bought about 7,000 various primers from a local estate sale for about .04 cents a primer, and I'm buying a Dillon 650B plus 5-6 plates including dies for about $350. I'll sell off a few of the die/plates, some of the primers I don't use and maybe have $275 in a new press and some primers. (I'm getting brass in the deal too).

Reloading, to me, is part anal accuracy AND frugality. Just my .02c worth...
I bought some of my brass and primers over the years at pawn shops and most I just pick up from the range because people throw away their 9mm, 45ACP, 30-06, 270 and 300 Win Mag. If you have 4 or 5 shooters a day for each caliber you can find a lot of once-fired brass. My brothers also collect brass for me in 300 Win Mag and .270, which I use to make 25-06. I can also generally find .44 mag, but its hard to find .45 Colt brass.
 
.284 160gr. They seem to nonexistent in the market right now.
Are you shooting the .280 AI? You might try Sierras or Speers and IMR 4350. Of course, you probably already have, but its just a thought. Brass can be made by using270 and necking up and fireforming, I expect. I could be wrong, though.
 
Saves me money. I guess you haven't seen the price of factory ammo. The only time it doesn't pay to reload is with shotgun. Factory is cheaper to buy than reloading with the price of cold shot.
You think getting started in reloading is going to save money in the first year? First 2 years? First 5 years? Depends on how much you shoot, how many different cartridges you shoot, and WHAT you shoot.
Don't forget to add the price of all the tools, your set up, and your time to reload. Lots of overhead there. Too many people don't think about or add those costs into the reloading price.
Press, dies, shell holders, case lube and pad, bushings, expanding mandrels, calipers, headspace gauges, bullet comparators, trimmers/pilots and collets, tumblers and media, funnels, scales, electronic chargers, trickler, bullet pullers, tools, case prep tools, annealing tools/machine, reloading bench, electricity, TIME, trips to the range to do load development (gas, range fees, vehicle wear and tear, targets, TIME again).

Then you have components.
Most serious people don't reload with the cheap components. I don't know a single person who loads their own Rem or Win PSP type bullets. Sure, once you buy your brass, it will last if you are not running them hot. But look at Nosler brass prices, ADG, Peterson, Lapua, Alpha. All are $1-3+ per piece of brass. That is $20-60+ per 20 right off the bat. Add primers nowadays ($.07-.13/ea), powder at $40-60/lb, premium bullets at $.40-1.00+/ea, and those add up. Add the cost of an ammo box.

Let's figure two scenarios. 6.5CM and 7RM. Both using middle of the road components.
6.5CM= $1 (brass), $.08 (primer), $.27 (powder @ 42.0gr @ $45/lb=167 rounds per lb), $.45 (bullet). $1.80/round or $36/box of 20. Not bad at all. But don't forget to add all the overhead costs. And don't forget to add all the component costs to get you the final load.
7RM (let's go on the higher end for this) = $2.50 (Nosler brass), $.10 (primer), $.55 (powder @ 70.0gr @ $55/lb=100 rounds per 1lb), $1.10 (bullet for something like a 169 Hammer). $4.25/round or $85/box of 20. Price drops to $1.75/round on your second reload, as you save on the brass costs. Again, add the components used in load development. And all your above mentioned "overhead" in getting set up.

Running to the local gun store and buying whatever is on the shelf seems to make more sense financially if you don't shoot more that 100 rounds a year in a rifle. But, you are at the mercy of how well and how consistent factory ammo shoots. For 500 yards and in, most factory ammo should suffice. Shooting 1000, and you need a lot more consistency than most factory ammo can deliver.
 
I have been reloading for 45 years and will not be giving up on it. I started doing it for two reasons had to for a round we could not buy (218 Bee in the late 70's) and purely to save money. The precision benefit came later and even today I save money because I have a lot of brass and components. That being said I never factor in what I paid 20 years ago for components to justify I am saving money. (Yes I have components even powder older than 20yrs I use) The main reason is I reload both rifle and pistol for maybe 15 other people. I would always say I got it just pay me when you pick it up.

After election 2020 I have said SORRY I CANT FRONT THE STUFF ANYMORE. THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT YOU NEED AND THE AMOUNT YOU NEED. BRING THAT TO ME AND I WILL LOAD IT FOR YOU. I WOULD GUESS I HAVE NOT LOADED 300 ROUNDS FOR OUTSIDE PEOPLE IN TWO YEARS. WHAT I HEAR IS THEY CAN BUY FACTORY AMMO CHEAPER AND OR I CANT FIND ANY OF THAT STUFF. I NORMALLY WOULD LOAD 1000'S OF ROUNDS A YEAR FOR PEOPLE. EVEN MY KID WAS GOING TO GET INTO RELOADING WITH HIS OWN GEAR...JUST LAST WEEKEND.....HOLY HELLO DAD....ITS CHEAPER FOR ME TO DRIVE THREE HOURS ONE WAY....SPEND THE WEEKEND THEN BUY ALL THE EQUIPMENT AND CRAP TO DO THIS.
Even today just from a cost savings I save money over buying factory ammo on my centerfire. When loading bulk/practice 223 FMJ, pistol rounds, shotgun of equal quality/components its cheaper to buy unless I lower my quality of components. (Already posted and clarified this earlier) If I cheapen on components for larger centerfire....yes they work and have worked for a feaking 100 years it is dang close on costs. The factory ammo and guns have increased in quality noticeably, and I can still gain on precision usually 98% of the time over factory hunting ammo and even most match ammo. There are still lots of people who dont have several stores to stop and shop at on their way home from church or work and I am one of them. So component cost short notice is exponentially more.

I'm not caving in and quitting, and this current reality from many angles has me shooting anything (even 22lr) almost down to nothing. It is pretty bad when my buckets have not been rotated out in two years. I just don't have the funds, nor the desire to spend the amount of money it takes lately. I shake my head telling people "No way in Hello am I paying $50 for primers". Yet today, I am bartering for surplus bullets from people 10-15 states away just to load for a certain gun.
 
Scary to think I am at just over 5300 centerfire rounds fired in 2021...no wonder I can't afford to buy a new F250 for cash! That and 4 new customs this year....
 
You think getting started in reloading is going to save money in the first year? First 2 years? First 5 years? Depends on how much you shoot, how many different cartridges you shoot, and WHAT you shoot.
Don't forget to add the price of all the tools, your set up, and your time to reload. Lots of overhead there. Too many people don't think about or add those costs into the reloading price.
Press, dies, shell holders, case lube and pad, bushings, expanding mandrels, calipers, headspace gauges, bullet comparators, trimmers/pilots and collets, tumblers and media, funnels, scales, electronic chargers, trickler, bullet pullers, tools, case prep tools, annealing tools/machine, reloading bench, electricity, TIME, trips to the range to do load development (gas, range fees, vehicle wear and tear, targets, TIME again).

Then you have components.
Most serious people don't reload with the cheap components. I don't know a single person who loads their own Rem or Win PSP type bullets. Sure, once you buy your brass, it will last if you are not running them hot. But look at Nosler brass prices, ADG, Peterson, Lapua, Alpha. All are $1-3+ per piece of brass. That is $20-60+ per 20 right off the bat. Add primers nowadays ($.07-.13/ea), powder at $40-60/lb, premium bullets at $.40-1.00+/ea, and those add up. Add the cost of an ammo box.

Let's figure two scenarios. 6.5CM and 7RM. Both using middle of the road components.
6.5CM= $1 (brass), $.08 (primer), $.27 (powder @ 42.0gr @ $45/lb=167 rounds per lb), $.45 (bullet). $1.80/round or $36/box of 20. Not bad at all. But don't forget to add all the overhead costs. And don't forget to add all the component costs to get you the final load.
7RM (let's go on the higher end for this) = $2.50 (Nosler brass), $.10 (primer), $.55 (powder @ 70.0gr @ $55/lb=100 rounds per 1lb), $1.10 (bullet for something like a 169 Hammer). $4.25/round or $85/box of 20. Price drops to $1.75/round on your second reload, as you save on the brass costs. Again, add the components used in load development. And all your above mentioned "overhead" in getting set up.

Running to the local gun store and buying whatever is on the shelf seems to make more sense financially if you don't shoot more that 100 rounds a year in a rifle. But, you are at the mercy of how well and how consistent factory ammo shoots. For 500 yards and in, most factory ammo should suffice. Shooting 1000, and you need a lot more consistency than most factory ammo can deliver.
Us reloaders want more people like you! Will bring the component price down!
We load for accuarcy! Our loads are PREMIUM+ I know Weatherby sells 300WBY with 180 TTSX "out of stocknow" for $99/20. And it is not as ACCURATE as my load!
 
This is what I do when supplies are limited. I know I will get a load of backlash and criticism, but it has worked for me.
I talk to my friends that have simillar rifles and see what load works for them. I confirm with manuals that it is below max. (I do have rifles and friends that shoot above max...NEVER a starting point!)
These days I might even do a few "simulations" with QuickLOad or Gordon's Reloading Tool! I triple check my data before I go to next step.
I load a few rounds and test. This has been very successful in me 30.06, 300WBY, 300WM, 338LM.
I know the "purist" will have many comments, I welcome them!
I've done the same. There was a time when I couldn't afford to experiment much, so I would look in the Lyman manual and load their accuracy load, and work up to what I wanted in velocity. I still have an old Speer manual from 1965 and use it. I think it is Speer no. 8. I used it for most of my loads up into the '90's. I was in the Army then, and living on a Staff Sargeant's pay while supporting a wife and two kids. I had a Lyman turret press and RCBS dies that were probably 15 years old, but they worked. I bought them while working in the Oil Field before it dried up thanks to Carter. I could buy primers and Speer or Sierra bullets at the main PX in Fort Carson, so I could afford to reload, but that was the only way. I'm a little (or a lot) influenced by old times and so I don't worry about whether my rifle/load combination will shoot into less than 0.5 at 100 yards, and believe that perfect is the enemy of good enough. If I have a hunting weight rifle that I can get down to 1" or less consistently, that's good enough for killing game at 600 to 700 yards, and that's all I need. I do have heavy barrelled rifles in 25-06, 308 Win, 223/5.56, and 30-06 which will go inside 0.5" with the same loads, however. The 30-06 is the winner, with an ER Shaw barrel that's 20" and made on a small ring Mauser 98 action. It is a full bull barrel, and shoots one slightly ragged hole with Hornaday Amaxes. Velocity with the 168 grain Amax is around 2730 or so, but it'll stay supersonic out to 1100 at sealevel, so that's good enough. This load with IMR 4350 also shoots well in my three M1 Garands and is capable of consistent sub 0.8" 5 shot groups in my -03A3 with the original August 43 barrel.
 
Top