Thinking of reloading

With ammo hard to find, and with the rebellion upon us, was thinking of getting into reloading. How many 100s or 1,000s of round does it take for the economics of it to make sense?

At this point the components and hardware may be harder to find than ammo. It will depend on what calibers you are looking at as for the economics and that is changing daily

Thanks
Buck

I don't look at it for the dollar savings, but knowing I have consistent ammo that will shoot the best out of my rifle.

Your question is kinda like asking, "what mileage does a F350 get?"
The woman who was laying on your bed got up,got dressed and left, and now you're thinking about the deed.
It may take a few years for her to come back, or you might get lucky.
If I were you, I'd work at getting lucky.

Bad time to think about getting into reloading. Just too late..

Yeah right now is the worse time to get into reloading. That's unfortunate. When things get somewhat back to normal, I'd reconsider getting into it. At least at that time you'll be able to buy the things you need.

As stated in a couple of places above, reloading has many facets to it.

I reload pistol cartridges and AR loads for convenience and quantity. I have loaded literally tens of thousands of rounds of these simply to feed the many guns that I need to have a large quantity of ammo on hand for.

Those (pistol and some AR) would be loaded by me for specifically economic/savings reasons. My "real" rifle loads, however, are loaded with entirely different end goals in mind.

Most of us here load for accuracy, velocity, overall quality of loads and other issues that have very little to do with any economic savings. The question you asked about any known break-even point, falls apart in this realm. I can guarantee you that with components, time, effort and equipment costs including much specialized equipment/tools, my finished loads cost considerably more than any factory ammunition I have ever purchased.

figure out why you would want to reload. Either cheap ammo, or accurate ammo? Often it is hard to do both.

Combine all of that with the near impossibility of finding "shootable quantities" of any of the components required to complete a round, and, as stated above this is a difficult time in history to get into this hobby.

Ha! Save money by reloading....that's a hoot!
Once you start down the rabbit hole, there is no turning back. Think of all the half shot boxes of bullets you tried and discarded to try another type or weight.
All the basic, then the niceties in reloading equipment you will buy. Press, trimmer and pilots, trickler, autothrow, dies, shell holders, scales, micrometer/caliper, headspace guages, funnels, priming tools, case prep tools, etc.
Then there is powder choices....and primers.

OR, good time to buy used equip from folks giving up from lack of components. Reloading is like owning a bass boat to win tournaments. The reward from reloading is not in cost but the satisfaction of tuning the load to your rifle to maximize its performance. The question is "how much is that worth to you?". Its really more of a hobby than a "cost effective" way to get ammo. At the end of the day the real purpose is better and consistent accuracy. I would take my time and start collecting the tools to launch into it when you can. Good luck!!

lancetkenyon said:

Ha! Save money by reloading....that's a hoot!
Once you start down the rabbit hole, there is no turning back. Think of all the half shot boxes of bullets you tried and discarded to try another type or weight.
All the basic, then the niceties in reloading equipment you will buy. Press, trimmer and pilots, trickler, autothrow, dies, shell holders, scales, micrometer/caliper, headspace guages, funnels, priming tools, case prep tools, etc.
Then there is powder choices....and primers.
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Gots any speer grand slams in there?

308 - 150gr

Muddyboots said:

OR, good time to buy used equip from folks giving up from lack of components. Reloading is like owning a bass boat to win tournaments. The reward from reloading is not in cost but the satisfaction of tuning the load to your rifle to maximize its performance. The question is "how much is that worth to you?". Its really more of a hobby than a "cost effective" way to get ammo. At the end of the day the real purpose is better and consistent accuracy. I would take my time and start collecting the tools to launch into it when you can. Good luck!!

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I like this answer from Muddyboots. Perhaps it says most of what I was trying to get across - in a less ominous way.

I, along with countless others here, do not want to discourage you - or anyone else - from the wonderful, time-consuming, often frustrating, but ultimately rewarding endeavor that is reloading.

You are just coming into it at an exceptionally difficult time. Muddy was right, though. You stand to pick up a good amount of equipment from those who are frustrated enough to get out of the hobby during these dry times.

Good luck in whatever you decide to do, and welcome to the madness!

Handloading is a costly endeavor, even if you don't factor in the cost of tools.

jasonco said:

Handloading is a costly endeavor, even if you don't factor in the cost of tools.

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True! But can be such a rewarding endeavor as well. Though I use to have hair.

lancetkenyon said:

Ha! Save money by reloading....that's a hoot!
Once you start down the rabbit hole, there is no turning back. Think of all the half shot boxes of bullets you tried and discarded to try another type or weight.
All the basic, then the niceties in reloading equipment you will buy. Press, trimmer and pilots, trickler, autothrow, dies, shell holders, scales, micrometer/caliper, headspace guages, funnels, priming tools, case prep tools, etc.
Then there is powder choices....and primers.
View attachment 241219

Click to expand...

You forgot about the annealer. LOL.

Muddy Is right, there is a great satisfaction in producing your own high quality ammo, whether for harvesting an animal, punching your first "homemade Cloverleaf", or ringing steel at a mile. Given the current market, be patient and wise in your purchases.