How much do you save by Reloading

[Texas42]

If I were to plan on reloading 9mm, .40S&W, .45 pistol rounds, and some rifle rounds like .223, 7mm rem mag, How much would I spend/save per round? I'm not looking to shoot 5000 yards, just plink at a decent range.

Or how about one of the more uncommon rounds like a 6.8 SPC or 10mm

I'm assuming when the Obama craze goes away (or at least goes down).

Thanks.

 

[Peter M. Eick]

In the common calibers, I can reload in the range of a dime per round. Figure 5 to 7 cents for the bullet, 3 cents for the primer and 2 cents for the powder. That is about the normal for say 45 acp. If you go to 9mm and lead in say 10mm you can cut that down closer to the 5 cents for the bullet.

Regardless, figure that a box of 100 rnds will costs you around $10 if you are buying nice bullets. If you are going for lead bullets, 100 will costs you around 7$.

The fun of reloading is where it is at for me. I have loaded over 250,000 rounds on this press alone and shot over 20,000 rnds last year alone. I could not afford that on commercial ammo.

 

[jasont]

For 9mm it costs me about $105 per 1,000 loaded for 147 gr. FMJ. That's using free brass picked up from the range. Using cast lead and lighter weight bullets will save you more. Cost will be slightly higher for 40 or 45 but savings over factory ammo will be much greater. .223 costs me about $155 per 1,000 for 55 gr. FMJ also using range pick up brass.

 

[Texas1911]

Stockpile your brass and you'll save quite a bit. If you are buying bulk brass it kinda eats some of the savings.

 

[Leper]

I spent $220 on a case of bullets and $25 on a lb of powder and have been shooting for a few months. I have a bunch of powder and a ton of bullets not yet used.

I had been spending $40+ a week on commercial ammo so I am already below 50% and when my supplies run out I will have seen more.

 

[Skyjunky]

6.8's are still hard to come by. I spend about .75 a round on the first load.

 

[CowDog]

You do not save one thin dime. Any savings is quickly spent on more reloads and shooting them.

cd

 

[Rottweiler]

CowDog is right on this. You won't save much, you'll just shoot a lot more for the same money

 

[TAZ]

It all depends on how you calculate the savings. If all you count is the price of the components then the savings on some calibers can be worth it. If you add in your time and ammortize the cost of the equipment then the savings can dwindle a bit. You also have to take into consideration the costs of ordering bulk from someone like ammoman or similar places and not just comparing price per round at walmart or Academy. When you take all that into consideration, some calibers may not be all that cost effective after all. Others like 50BMG, 338LM or 308 Match... will always be more cost effective.

With all that said, if you like reloading, the cost savings are just another bonus to a fun and relaxing activity. The most accurate shooting sessions I have ever had were from loads that were tweaked to my guns.

Before my son was born I used to reload a LOT and it was relaxing. Now I treasure my time with him more than the savings I get from reloading so the machine sits idle and I buy bulk. I also dont shoot as much though...

 

[Old Man of the Mountain]

CowDog is right on this. You won't save much, you'll just shoot a lot more for the same money

That is true if you shoot them all up.

But if you goal is to stockpile some high quality accurate rifle ammo, then you can save money over American made factory ammo.

Right now MidwayUSA has their Dogtown bullets for .223 cartridge on sale in the 500 count box, don't recall the price.

I reload for a couple of rifle calibers, but I might have to begin reloading pistol rounds due to the cost of ammo. If I do, I will have to buy a progressive press too (I only own a single stage press right now) which will cut into the savings a bit.

Just in the past year, the .40 S&W ammo I buy has gone up about by about $120/1000 (that is just the increase in price).