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Old 07-10-2009, 10:27 AM
twofifty twofifty is offline
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: S.E. British Columbia
Posts: 4,579
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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.
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