[oldgutpile]

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.