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How much money can I save by reloading?


benos

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I know for me I am considering it. though I can buy in bulk and spend about 672.00 to shoot 1k worth of rounds each for the 9mm and my .223, so as you can see... I am really considering reloding if I can get away with pennies on the dollar.

Edited by BigAL0311
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I put 600-700 rds/ wk down range and reload 9 mm lead for .10/ rd... That's $125 saving per 1000 rds over buying factory ammo which equals to a lot of new stuff even after paying off the investment in the XL650 ....

Edited by Nimitz
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It's tough everywhere right now. The usual way to get cheap powder and primers is online in a bulk order. Powder Valley currently has primers but have not had powder in awhile. When you figure out what powder you want to use buy as much of it as you can afford when it becomes available. That's the only way for me to enjoy this game. I find it very depressing to go into a big gun store and see empty shelves where there used to be tons of powder and primers.

Do a search on here and you will soon find where everybody orders their powder primers and bullets from. The only way to save on reloading is to buy on the internet, and buy in bulk.

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Bruno's Shooters Supply here in Phoenix told me that powder will be in very short supply until next Summer. Especially in 8 pound containers. Right now they've got all they can do to put out 1 pound containers with any availability. The demand for powder is going to be short until the manufacturers can up the supply. This is because demand IS NOT decreasing, or is it expected to. This is due to the fact that in the last year more people have gotten into reloading than in the last 10 years combined.

There have been a lot of shooters who were sitting on the fence about reloading. This past years ammo shortage has convinced them to take the plunge. This has increased the demand for reloading powder, primers, and bullets. Most factory ammunition is not loaded with powders reloaders use. They utilize canister grade powders not available to reloaders. These powders are run in large lots for the factories who order them. Only recently have primers become more available, and that is because they are easier to increase production on. .22 ammo will continue to be all but non existent as well. More firearms have been sold in this past year, and this has pushed the demand for ammunition and reloading supplies even higher. Naturally prices have gone way up on everything, and from the looks of things, they're not going to be coming down any time soon. About the only thing that has not been included in all of this has been shotgun ammo. The demand for it has remained somewhat steady since Newtown. Lead shot however has gone up tremendously. It is currently selling for around $50.00 a bag, (25 pounds).

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  • 3 weeks later...

Bill T and Sarge

Thanks for the info. Bill T's insights are the most I've ever seen on the subject.

I started shooting last year (april 2013 or so) and spent a fortune at Walmart before I finally broke down and bought a reloader. I must say it's been a very expensive and frustrating journey. It took forever to find the gun I wanted, then the 9mm ammo was impossible to find at a fair price. The only thing that kept me going was the Walmart app on my cell phone, and a huge effort to track it down and beat the other guys to the store before it sold out.

Then, finally I took the plunge and bought a reloader so shooting life would be smooth as silk. HaHa.. Oh well.. I'm in it now, and there's no looking back. What you said about finding a load and stocking up is the only way this will work for me. I'm on a budget, and have limited time to constantly search for components.

The only thing that's gone really well is they recently opened and awesome range in Tallahassee that's pretty much designed for competitive shooting.

I just tested a load this weekend that I think I'll be able to manage, so, once I get my hands on a chrono to verify it I'm going to stock up and pump out the ammo..

Sorry for the rant, but I needed to get this off my chest.

It's all fun. Reloading, practice, matches... It's all great, but it will be nice much better when the supply chain get's straightened out.

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From Sarge: "The usual way to get cheap powder and primers is online in a bulk order."

And therefore everyone who is doing this is who is causing the problem. I know people who have gone from buying enough to load 1000 - 3000 at a time to loading 10k at a time with at least a 30-100k stock pile ;').

"From Powder Valley"

Just a couple facts regarding powder sales over the past few years. Keep in mind that less than 1% of our sales are to the government. Sales of powder were relatively flat in 2010 and 2011 so those are my basis years. Sales of powder increased 70% in 2012 and another 58% in 2013 which makes sales volume in 2013 a 268% increase over 2011. I know there are a lot of people who believe that the government is somehow buying up all the powder or restricting US supplies. But here are some simple facts that you can review and come up with your own conclusion. I'm willing to answer most questions and thank Chuck May for asking this question.

Edited by Trident
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These are for top shelf match ammo.

9mm 147gr Montana Gold CMJ

$132 per K

40 S&W 180gr Montana Gold CMJ

$152 per K

Practice ammo

9mm 147gr Black Bullets International

$94 per K

40 S&W 180gr Black Bullets International

$111 per K

As a newbie and i was wondering how much per cartridge does it break down to using your own brass but buying :bullets,powder and primers for 9mm,.45cal,.40S&W ??

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It all depends on how much your components cost. Buy in bulk, your component cost is cheaper. Average cost of 1k primers with hazmat is 5.8c each. Buy 5k at one time, the price drops to 3.5c each...buy more, they get cheaper...same with powder and bullets...

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In this day and age I don't know if reloading to save money on ammo is even applicable. If you can find components, the prices have gotten so high that for your standard factory loads, if money is the motivation to start reloading, you have to think long and hard before fronting the cash. Of course if a fancy progressive machine isn't needed, that does change the $ factor significantly.

I look at reloading, as both a necessity and a convenience. I primarily shoot USPSA Open division so I don't have a choice but to reload my ammo. As for 9mm, 40 S&W, 45 ACP or other "factory" loads I look at it as being able to control the quality of the ammunition and shoot premium ammo for @ little less than factory price on the "common stuff"

Just my 2 cents :)

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I shoot a fair amount, the cost savings are still there. The ability to just make ammo when I need it is also nice.
My "all in" costs on a 650 plus components for 10k rounds of 9mm were about 3150, 1550 of which was components.

I had about 15k of 9mm brass already saved up, so that was free.

My costs per round are 0.153. 1600/0.15= 10.6k Break even. After about a year I will have paid for the press and be rolling on the savings.

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Like others have said, reloading per round may be cheaper but you will end up shooting a lot more (which isn't a bad thing) which will cause you to spend more money than you are now. The bright side is you will have more fun and be a better shooter!

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for me (in australia) cost saving is about 30% over commercial reloaded 9mm and 50% or more less than factory 9mm.

commercial reloaded 9mm costs 0.30c per round. that's a 135gn RN coated lead, mil and win once fired brass (crimp removed nicely so reloadable easily) and whatever powder and primers they have at the time. quite reliable, but pretty hot at about 140PF our of my CZ shadows.

factory ammo is at least 40c a round and more like 50c.

my reloading costs:

I have a couple of presses but currently using a lee loadmaster that I bought cheap second hand. I use a lyman tumbler and lyman media which lasts at least a year between changes (costs $15 to change). that's about it for equipment apart from stuff like scales and calipers etc.

Brass, I either keep the brass from the commercial reloads, or if I have to buy it new starline is 30c a case! but lasts many loads (maybe 15 or more).

I would say my brass cost per load is about 1 to 2c.

primers, I like federal SPP. they used to be 4.5c each but are now are up to 6c each. I have a decent supply. I would say my current price is around 5.5c each.

powder costs me $140 for 2kg of ADI AP50N (great 9mm powder, similar to VV N340, bit slower than clays or bullseye). I use 3.6gn in my common 9mm minor load.

Now correct me if I'm wrong, but at 3.6gn of powder I get 8573 loads per 2kg. at $140 for the 2kg that's 1.6c per charge?

bullets I can use a frontier 135gn CMJ which costs around 11c per projie. Or a nice coated lead 135gn RN or SWC costs me 8c.

so:

brass 1c

primer 5.5c

powder 1.6c

projie 11c for CMJ or 8c for coated lead.

that's 19.3c for a CMJ round

or 16.1c for a coated lead round.

That's not exactly 'cheap' but it's still a significant saving here. I only shoot about 300 a week but it still adds up.

The biggest benefit for me by far is having better quality ammo and ammo that is tuned to my gun, the type of matches I shoot (IPSC) and the type of shooter I am.

Even the commercial reloads which are marketed at IPSC are way too hot, way too dirty to shoot and OAL is far from ideal for my set-up.

Being able to set-up a load that's best for you is great.

I also agree you should settle on a load, and then stock up big on the projies, powder and primers you need to make that load. :)

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  • 5 months later...

For 9mm I save over 50% from factory. Factory 9mm up here runs 16 a box, so $320/1,000. My powder changes almost every pound due to availability, but it is still worth it.

My friend recently did the math with me, and he has to shoot less than 5,000 rounds and he will pay off his progressive press.

My really large savings comes from match rifle loads. My match 308 runs me 65c each, while factory is 1.50 per.

With all that said, I havent saved a dime. I have shot volumes more, gotten to be a better shooter, and found a second hobby.

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