is reloading worth it ? is it cheaper ?
 

just like the title says I am thinking in starting reloading for saving money on ammo but have no idea if it is worth it for 3-4 boxes per year ...probably not.
I shoot a 7mm RM.
Thanks.

You won't necessarily save money unless you shoot a lot. I have found reloading to be a very satisfying hobby, it's fun to custom make ammo for your own rifles. You can also shoot more for less money than factory ammo, so in that way it is worth it. It also allows for flexibility.... you can load lighter, practice loads for target shooting at the range, or choose premium bullets for that moose hunt that you've been waiting for years to draw your tag. I say go for it!

Pay Someone
 

You could probably find some one to reload for you close to you. You buy the bullets, powder, primers, dies etc and they supply the press and knowledge and you suplly the refreshments (Afterwords, ofcourse) This is one reason you should have a location on your listing.

way cheaper
 

Depending on the loads you are making (meaning more-so to caliber than graind of bullet, etc.) the cost is mainly in the casing itself. For example, the 30-378 I just started loading for, costs about 108.00/box off the shelf at wholesale sports. I can reload the spent casings for aprox. 20% of that.
Back in the day when I was a coyote hunting fanatic, it was nothing to go through a box of shells in a weekend. Store cost at that time was around 16.00/box, and I could reload them for 4.00!
The initial cost of the set-up will more than pay for itself over time.
There is also the satisfaction of playing with different loads until you come up with the magic recipe that just seems to work wonders in your individual gun.

ok. so it is cheaper by 80%..... as oldgutpile says..... provided you re-use the casings.
then how many times can you reload a casing ?And is that available for all calibers?

If you are looking for cheap ammo then go pick up some super-x.
If you are willing to take up a very satisfiying hobby then go pick up some dies and a press I would say for a decent new set up you would be looking in the $500 range you can buy a decent ammount of bullets for that.
I reload personally but not for the money savings, I reload for two major reasons improved/tuning accuracy and the personal satisfaction of shooting a big game animal with something you have made.
I reload and reuse brass and can probably shoot 60 bullets handloaded for what the same lead in a premium bullet would cost me for 20 so I guess when you think about it that way in two or three years you reloading setup would be paid for.

You can get 3 - 6 shots off a casing on average but a inspection is required everytime.
Most calibers are avalible for reload, depending on the case there are some cases where a sizing die might not be avalible but there are ways around that.

Reloading as a cost saving measure only, is a pretty tough sell.

Unless,

You shoot lots.
You shoot a hard to find chambering.
Or,

want to shoot more for the same money, and want a hobby that is able to be done year round, and will allow you to possibly meet some very interesting folks, and allow you to move into different shooting sports.

I think I grasped the gist of it, for me it's a lot more than saving a few bucks, heck I'm far past that:lol:, it's something that is a part of something much bigger.

You know the sense of satisfaction when you know it's your load and it's development that either fills the freezer, or puts a memory of a life time on the wall.

Or the knowing that all that time spent tinkering and researching has come to a culmination, when that group on that target, is simply amazing.

It's a tough thing to describe how some of us get into this thing called reloading, sure we started with a single motive, but over time it evolves into something larger than words.

Just do it....You'll like it.

If your only shooting 3-4 boxes a year, you need more practice:lol: It's not worth reloading. Reloading probably saves me at least $1500 a year.

If you shot 100 rounds (5 boxes) of priemium ammunition a year the costs would look like this (taken from wholesales website).

58.99 box of winchester supreme accubond = $294.95


37.99 box of 50 = $75.98
32.99 pound of powder - will get roughly 120 round per pound
5.79 100 primers
39.99 50 winchester brass Since you reuse 50 will get you buy for the year.


Factory premium ammunition = $294.95
Handloads = $154.75

You would be looking at roughly 3 1/2 to 4 years to pay off buying the reloading tools. The RCBS rockchucker starter kit is 400, and figure another hundred for dies and misc.

Of course if all you want is cheapand you are not worried about performance then get winchester super-x 27.99 a box or 139.95 for 100.

ok.
thanks...I will stay with the cheap loads.
no time for another hobby here...would like that but not enough time.

At 3 to 4 boxes of 7mmRM per year, as others pointed out, it will take a long time to pay for your initial investment as you are not shooting a high volume.

If the OP shot other calibers in greater quantities, in a competitive setting (benchrest, silhouette, HP, F-class, whatever), then the math would show a shorter payback period on the equipment and the cost of each round fired would go down quickly. But then you've defeated your initial reason which was to save money - components are getting very expensive IF you can find them in stores.

Personally, I think that $500 for equipment understates the true setup costs. The high pressure 7mmRM case, which quickly grows beyond the max safe length and has a shorter useful life than non-belted cases) calls for adding a case trimmer and calipers to your reload kit.

Do not overlook the cost of developing your first load. As a new reloader, expect to shoot half a 100box of bullets and half a # powder just to work up a load, and that's if you quickly stumble on a bullet, powder and primer combination your rifle likes, at a seating depth your rifle likes. If you don't quickly find your load, you're back to the store for components. Expect that the load you develop will likely yield slightly lower velocities than what comes out of box of factory Win Super-X.

How much 'accuracy' does a hunter need in the field, shooting from improvised supports at normal hunting ranges? Hitting an animal's kill zone does not require benchrest groups. Truth is that nowadays factory ammo, though increasingly expensive, is also consistent and accurate enough for hunting purposes.

If the OP, whose name tells us he owns a 12gauge, happens to have a serious clays and game/migratory bird habit, reloading shotshells might make economic sense. He'd have to run those numbers to figure out what his payback period would be. Perhaps that is a cost effective way for the OP to get involved in the pleasurable reloading hobby.

Great post long bomber, that realy put everything into perspective for me, another person who's been thinking about getting into reloading.

I guess, if you shoot one caliber, a couple of times a year, it doesn't make sense. but once you have the basic set of equipment, the price of two boxes of shells will just about set you up in any new caliber.
Grizz

I would be scared to know how much I save reloading...only cause I would need to figure out what I spent!! I load at least 80 rounds a month of 300rum, 20-30 300wsm, 20-30 325wsm, plus some other randoms (223wssm, .223 etc). I also load for a few friends, they buy the components and drop them off, I usually charge them dinner or something for loading 50 rounds, but I think the price might need a 2009 adjustment like everything else.

The biggest advantage of reloading is you can shoot the bullet you want for the task at hand and have it tuned to your rifle, but this does require time and money. In a few rifles this can make a big difference, I have loaded for guys that thought thier rifle was just fine at 2 inch groups with super-x, but once they tried some tuned loads, that stay around an inch, they would never go back.

If you looked at just the 300rum it costs me 1.5 pounds of powder ($55), 2 boxes of nosler 200gr accubonds ($90), 200 primers ($11) a month. Of course to buy 100 rounds locally I would be looking at almost $500, instead of $156. Not to mention you can't buy those bullets factory loaded and my loads are tuned for my rifle. If you start shooting more, or shoot a few calibers the savings start to add up.

i have to go along wth what DICK284 said
as for saveing you actualy spend ten of thousands on reloading equipment
its what you get out of it personly that counts
go ahead try it