Cheaper to reload or ont?

[JayJayJay]

Beside the benefit of making your own rounds to make the gun run better I want to know how much are you guys saving by reloading? I am new at this and have no idea how much a reloading machine will cost me and the initial set up. If a box of 50 .40 cal costs me 15 bucks how much will it cost me to reload my own.

[CHA-LEE]

JayJayJay> If you buy in bulk you can save a significant amount of money by reloading on your own. If you are buying factory ammo at $15 for 50 rounds, that ends up being 30 cents a round. You can easily find high quality jacketed bullets for around 12 cents a piece, the brass is about 3 cents a piece, primers are 2.5 cents a piece and powder will be about 1.5 cents each round. This comes to 19 cents a round by reloading it yourself. Then when you reuse the brass it ends up being 16 cents a round. You could also use Lead bullets which would be even cheaper. So you are basically at half price when you reload your own ammo.

In the end the justification on buying a press and reloading your own ammo will come down to how many rounds you shoot each year. If you only shoot 1000 rounds a year, its probably not worth the cost to buy a good quality progressive reloading press. But if you are shooting 10,000 or more rounds a year it is well worth the investment. Basically the money you save in ammo cost in a single year will pay for the press its self.

The one thing that I will suggest is that if you do want to reload your own ammo don't go "Cheap" on the press and supporting materials. Expect to pay between $1000 - $2000 for a fully tricked out progressive reloading press along with all the supporting parts to make reloading easier. Pay a premium for high quality equipment once and be done with it. Verses trying to get something cheap and then needing to replace it anyway because its crap. I highly suggest looking into Dillon Precision reloading equipment. If you are going to be reloading 10,000+ rounds each year the XL650 is a good choice. If you are going to be reloading 20,000+ rounds a year then the Super 1050 is what you need. If you can afford a Super 1050 get one even if you don't reload that much ammo every year.

[Bob DuBois]

I'm sure the figures I'll give you can be beat but the Dillon Blue Press list 40 SNS bullets at $77.00 per thousand.

Primers have come down lately so $35.00 per thousand. I buy powder in 8-lb jugs and lets say $120.00 per jug. I would think around $18.00 in powder to load a thousand rounds. So roughly $130 per thousand, $13 per hundred, $6.50 a box of 50, if your using range pick up brass and shooting lead bullets.

Used brass should be in the $40 range and jacketed bullets, Precision Delta in 40S@W are in the $115 range so bullets $115, brass $40, primers $35 and powder $18 so that's $208.00 per thousand, $20.80 per hundred and $10.40 a box if you shot jacketed bullets, bought brass and the other supply's. You need to think in large amounts to save money on supply's.

As I tell a lot of new reloader's, it's more about tuning your ammo to your gun than cost savings. Well made handload's in most cases will out shoot factory. The cost savings comes after you have paid for the equipment. Buy the best equipment you can afford. I have two 550's that are older than a lot of people shooting the sports, good equipment lasts and holds value well.

Maybe some of the shooters in your area would show you their equipment so you can get an idea of the process, just ask at one of the matches.

[GForceLizard]

The amount of money we spend on shooting is mostly fixed. My shooting expands to consume the ammo and matches I can afford. My 40SW example. Real numbers rounded up with products I've purchased in the past year. Zero Bullet (2000 qty) .11 + CCI Sm Primer (1000qty) 0.032 + Powder (4#qty) 0.015 = $7.85/50 There are misc. expenses for corn cob, cleaning, lube, etc. Let's guess 10% overhead expenses. $7.85*110%/$15 is roughly 60% (rounding up again).

If you're only going to shoot 2000 rounds a year it's probably not worth it. If you're not going to be in sport for at least a few years again not worth it. How much do you think you're going to shoot?

[fastarget]

The amount of money we spend on shooting is mostly fixed. My shooting expands to consume the ammo and matches I can afford. My 40SW example. Real numbers rounded up with products I've purchased in the past year. Zero Bullet (2000 qty) .11 + CCI Sm Primer (1000qty) 0.032 + Powder (4#qty) 0.015 = $7.85/50 There are misc. expenses for corn cob, cleaning, lube, etc. Let's guess 10% overhead expenses. $7.85*110%/$15 is roughly 60% (rounding up again).

If you're only going to shoot 2000 rounds a year it's probably not worth it. If you're not going to be in sport for at least a few years again not worth it. How much do you think you're going to shoot?

[/quotee]

good advice....you have the initial start up costs to think about. After you shoot enough those costs will be absorbed and you will be saving money. However that will depend on how much you shoot. If you plan to run through 400 rounds a week or something, and plan to shoot long term, then go for it. If you plan to go to the range a couple times a month and shoot a couple of boxes each time, then probably not.

So as GForce asked, how much do you plan on shooting?.

[ebg3]

For me, reloading is the only way I stay active in this game. If you really shop around and find ways to get deals on bulk components, you can reload A LOT cheaper than any factory loaded ammo. For example, I know of Wolf primers going for $80/5000 shipped(in quantity), Powder can be had for $8/ pound in quantity, JHP bullets are $110/K shipped and you should be able to find .40 brass for free or no more than $20/K for 1x fired. With these prices, you can load 180gr .40 major for less than $150/K and that's figuring $20/K for brass. Cast your own bullets or buy cast and you can save a lot more.

As was said before though, if you are only going to shoot a limited amount, it may not be worth the initial investment in reloading gear. If you are going to shoot more than 5K this year you may want to start thinking about reloading. This is just my opinion.

[belus]

In the long run its definitely much cheaper.

In .40 I could reload a box of 50 for about $6.25 (but I don't reload 40 yet, so don't use my load data - its speculative.)

https://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?hl=en&hl=en&key=0ApOb07nlBK5-cmV5cm56a05fSkIwai1zU2pYRFR0UWc&output=html

I've spend about $1500 on reloading (press, components, accessories, caliber conversions, etc.) and I've loaded about 3700 rounds so far. Had I bought 3700 rounds at retail pricing as I needed them, it would have cost me about $1000. So far I'm in the hole.

However at about the 8000 round mark I'll have paid off the capital equipment with the savings over retail and I'll be shooting at half price. So its a question of how much you shoot, and how much cash you can give up in the beginning.

A word of warning though: you don't save money, you just get to shoot more.

edit: You don't have to decide now if you want to jump in, but at least start saving your brass. You'll be able to sell/use it later.

Edited March 24, 2011 by belus

[Youngeyes]

I'm still a newbie to reloading(~1.5 yrs) but I found learning on a good quality machine(read Dillon here) makes all the differance in deciding future needs and costs. Check BrianEnos.com. I'm sure you'll find a great set-up for a very good price without spending thousands of dollars. Learn, enjoy, shoot then reevaluate. Makes all the diff, especially on a budget. A great sport is only made better when you reload, even if you break even in the costs. You can always get a good resale price on starter level equipment and move up later. Just my 2 cents.

[JayJayJay]

I only shoot once a month at a local match. I guess I am only using about 2,000 rounds a year. I guess I will just buy ammo from this point or untill I start shhoting more. Thanks guys!

[twodownzero]

Buying ammo is a waste of money for a number of reasons, even putting aside the fact that ammo that is fitted to shooter and gun will be easier to shoot, more reliable, and more consistent with respect to power factor.

[Youngeyes]

I only shoot once a month at a local match. I guess I am only using about 2,000 rounds a year. I guess I will just buy ammo from this point or untill I start shhoting more. Thanks guys!

In that case can you send me your brass?

[Andrew T]

If you're shooting 2k rounds a year, you can still save money by reloading with a turret press. It's a middle of the road approach to reloading that doesn't involve a huge up front investment. For about $250 you can get everything you need to start loading a single caliber. I know this is a "Blue" forum, but there are options from other colors that can help you get started. 2k rounds a year is about 167 rounds a month. Most people can churn out 100-150 rounds an hour on a turret.

If you think you're going to be shooting at that rate for a while, then go ahead with a turret. If you think you will shoot less, then just buy your ammo. If you find yourself shooting much more for much longer, go ahead with a quality full progressive, like a Dillon.

[prreed10]

You can also look around and find good deals on equipment. I picked up my 2nd 550B from a member of my club for a price I couldn't pass up.

[wlmouret]

I can do $6.35 per 50 rounds and that was when prices were high.

[GuyC]

I can do $100 a thousand when shooting lead. Press is going to cost $900.

$900 for the press

10,000 rounds will cost 1000

Total $1900 for the first year.

Factory ammo at $300 a thousand is $3000. It is a savings of $1100 the first year and $2000 every year after that if you shoot lead.

[benos]

A thread from the often overloaked goldmine of reloading info, in the Reloading FAQs subforum.

be

[JayJayJay]

So for about 500 for a new press? I guess I may do this. Do I buy a DVD on how to build ammo? What other stuff will I need besides the press machine?

[t_kothmann]

An understanding wife that doesn't mind sounding weird telling her friends the he's " in the basement making bullets"

All joking aside I love sitting at the press. Some people don't. Some find the technical nature of making that machine work relaxing, Some don't.

[ErieRich]

Jay,

I am very new to reloading as well... I've been at it for only a few months (I also reload .40). Like you, I was initially drawn to it due to the potential cost savings. I only started shooting regularly again last summer, and based on my current rate I would be surprised if I shot more than about 3000 rounds this year. Still, I decided to invest about $1000 in Dillon equipment and the other accessories needed for a couple of reasons: (1) good quality equipment holds its value extremely well. At a rate of a couple of thousand rounds a year, it is going to take you several years just to break even. But, considering that you could easily get 70-80% of your original investment back if you decide to sell the equipment, you will actually be "even" in the first year. (2) Reloading is fun! I live about 45 minutes from my range in Colorado. Between the lack of time and the weather, there are plenty of weekends during the year where I'm not able to go shooting. The time spent tinkering with the equipment, trying out new builds, and basically just playing around with a different aspect of our hobby really makes it worth the investment. If you have the means, I would definitely recommend jumping in to reloading. You will probably find it is worth it due to aspects that you never considered...

[CocoBolo]

When I started shooting 3 years ago I was buying Blazer Brass for $6.57 a box. When it went to $16.00 a box I bought a LNL. I just checked my round count sheet for 2011 and its at 7575 rounds. I've been shooting a lot this year. Suffice to say it will save you about 40% of the cost of WalleyWorld Ammo. A big mistake some make is to buy cheap tools that don't do the job or don't hold up. Get a LNL or a Dillon XL650 along with a scale, caliper, drop check, and a bullet puller. My initial equipment buy for 3 calibers with the LNL was about $1000.00 but I was cranking out 300 rounds an hour right off the get go.

If you only have one scale get a beam, electronic are nice but like your computer sometimes you can't trust them. Same goes for the caliper, no need for electronic. Did you ever have a car with a digital speedometer its impossible to stay at one speed it just flips back and forth 80, 81, 80, 81 and thats with the cruise control on, with an HUD its just bigger.

[raysracer]

I've looked at getting a reloading press for years.

I didn't buy because i was making good money, and I couldn't justify spending the time to save a couple of bucks.

recently, i was shooting some practice rounds and my buddy gave me ten rounds of .40 that he had reloaded the day before.

WOW! what a difference. softer recoil, faster second shot... I couldn't believe it.

so, now I've sold all of my factory ammo. Done my research for what I want.

BTW. Brian Enos is awesome. He answered all of my questions.

I'm buying a 650 with the next paycheck.

[belus]

So for about 500 for a new press? I guess I may do this. Do I buy a DVD on how to build ammo? What other stuff will I need besides the press machine?

If you're only reloading .40 (no rifle length rounds), you can get started fairly cheaply with the Square Deal B from this page: http://www.brianenos.com/store/dillon.sqdeal.html

Press - $371 (includes dies)

Primer Flip Tray - $19

Calipers - $28

Digital Scale - $75

Vibratory cleaner - $140

Total: $633

Some items can be had a little cheaper by going with other brands from other vendors. Digital scales are a little more expensive ($20 more for the digital scale is worth it in my opinion). You won't find much difference in prices among Dillon machines between vendors, and Brian has built some great resources into this site (http://www.brianenos.com/pages/dillon.html) which makes him a favorite source for many members.

First 1000 rounds of 40 would probably run you

Primers - $35 (buy locally if you're not getting 5k+ at a time, shipping is expensive due to hazmat)

Bullets - $100 (http://www.precisionbullets.com/ just as an example)

Powder - $15 for a pound or so (you'll only use 1/4 lbs to load 1000 rounds though)

Brass - $40 (but you may already have some saved up)

Reloading manual - $25 (lots of good choices)

Total: $215

So we're looking at a budget of $850 to set yourself up and get shooting. Every 1000 rounds you load you'll be saving about $150 over buying commercial ammo. Equipment will be paid off in about 4000 rounds.

Edited March 25, 2011 by belus

[benos]

So for about 500 for a new press? I guess I may do this. Do I buy a DVD on how to build ammo? What other stuff will I need besides the press machine?

Dillon FAQ:

http://www.brianenos.com/pages/dillonfaqs.html

“Which Dillon”:

http://www.brianenos.com/pages/dillon.html#which

[bofe954]

I'd think more about how long you'll be shooting and less about how much. It ALL gets more expensive with time. You may be comfortable with what you pay now but it will go up. So will the cost of the presses and other equipment. So buy sooner than later.

If you keep shooting long enough, you'll probably start shooting more anyway.

As for SDB vs 550 vs 650 vs LNL. Don't get too hung up on it. You can sell whatever press you buy for a minimal loss if you want something else. The presses seem to go up in price every year, so if you keep it awhile you may be able to sell it used for close to what you paid anyway.

Don't have a lot of money? Buy a flip tray and a scale, a bullet puller and a caliper (and maybe a strong mount if you're buying a dillon). Wait awhile, buy a press.

[smoothdraw]

It's cheaper to reload unless you don't plan to compete or train. Reloading is fun as well in a good machine like xl650. The sheer opportunity for you to tune your own ammo is enough reason to reload. Buying new ammo is also good....for us realoders because we can get your once fired brass.

Thank you in advance.