Reloading Equipment Setup - Costs

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WalkedUp

WalkedUp

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I shoot far too much, it is slowly bankrupting me but what a great way to get poorer. I am thinking about reloading as my theory is thus:

1. Buy old equipment second hand, it generally retains value as, unlike electronics, there are very few advancements.
2. Consumables will be lower cost than factory.
3. Being in control of my supply will mean less rezeroing due to cartridge supply variance.
4. I will save some money over the next 40 years.

My questions to complete my business case:

A. Has anyone evaluated the cost of consumables per round?
B. What is the basic equipment needed?
 
WalkedUp said:
I shoot far too much, it is slowly bankrupting me but what a great way to get poorer. I am thinking about reloading as my theory is thus:

1. Buy old equipment second hand, it generally retains value as, unlike electronics, there are very few advancements.
2. Consumables will be lower cost than factory.
3. Being in control of my supply will mean less rezeroing due to cartridge supply variance.
4. I will save some money over the next 40 years.

My questions to complete my business case:

A. Has anyone evaluated the cost of consumables per round?
B. What is the basic equipment needed?
Click to expand...
When I briefly dabbled in reloading I found that I could make a considerable saving, on a per round basis, over the cost of factory ammo, but this saving was completely negated by the fact that having a seemingly unlimited supply of cheap ammo I spent a lot more time shooting it!
Now I've gone back to factory, and almost every round fired accounts for a deer.
 
It's a passtime in itself. Certainly if you shoot target/steel etc it's the way to go. As BS says above, you get the best out of your rifles. One thing that does negate the cost benefit is chopping and changing chamberings, buying new dies etc...ask me how I know...
 
WalkedUp said:
My questions to complete my business case:

A. Has anyone evaluated the cost of consumables per round?
B. What is the basic equipment needed?
Click to expand...
Those questions have been raised and debated/argued about on this forum countless times over the years. It comes up at least three times a year. :rofl:If you don't believe me just do a search, I will guarantee that you will soon loose the will to live. :)

In answer to your questions.
A. Yes many have evaluated how much it costs them to reload a round, and there are a couple of round cost calculators on line. I believe that Dillon actually do one of them. The cost varies greatly on the components that you decide to use.
B. The cost of basic reloading equipment to get started depends how deep you want to dive into the subject. Various people have widely differing opinions of what the basic equipment is. You can start reloading for as little as £50 or you can spend thousands of pounds. I'm in the middle, most of my equipment was bought many years ago and I've no wish to expand further.
 
go on dillon reloading cost calculator, it tells you how much it is to reload a round or a 100, but you have to be honest its free to download you can buy some great second hand kit you would faint if i told you how much around of 223rem cost make a list up and advertise on here what you want their,s some great guys and gals on here that will help you gl bs
 
I think much depends on your circumstances.
If you’re retired you possibly have more available time to spend in your cave.
Some need to work and have family considerations too.
Others, like VSS can probably be more productive doing something other than making ammo.
Factory ammo is perfectly acceptable for sporting use when you find some that your rifle is interested in shooting well.
If, (Like me) you like to shoot but don’t life in a target rich area and you kill paper often, either formally or otherwise you can get much pleasure and increase the accuracy of your ammo by loading your own.
One thing I would be very careful about is buying scales/ balances, mechanical or electronic if they are used.
Don’t ask how I know!
KN.
 
It's a deep rabbit hole as I am now finding!

I think it depends what calibre you reload as to cost, per round, but I did some fag packet maths for 222, it worked out at around 40p per round (using ppu brass from factory round costing about £18per 20.) Saving about 40p per round on new ppu.
 
I don't find it a rabbit hole, but it certainly can be!

It was a journey to acquire my current set-up but it was done incrementally using second-hand where I could (including Chargemaster auto dispenser). I stuck with Lee because its readily available, cheap and works. Having worked up my non-lead loads across 3 calibres many years ago, I just go out to the garage and quickly knock up another 20 rounds as and when needed - those 20 rounds take less than 20 minutes! Yes, I maintain stocks of powder, bullets, primers, etc, but where I see a bargain for items I use, its taken. If you frequently chop and change bullets, powder, calibres, etc, it will get expensive but, if you're in a "steady-state" as I am, it's a very cost-effective (about a quarter of factory equivalent) way of sourcing my ammunition. As I only shoot deer (targets only to set-up new optics, check zero, requal, etc), all of my reloading consumables are logged as business expenditure and 20% VAT claimed back, further reducing the costs.
 
WalkedUp said:
I shoot far too much, it is slowly bankrupting me but what a great way to get poorer. I am thinking about reloading as my theory is thus:

1. Buy old equipment second hand, it generally retains value as, unlike electronics, there are very few advancements.
2. Consumables will be lower cost than factory.
3. Being in control of my supply will mean less rezeroing due to cartridge supply variance.
4. I will save some money over the next 40 years.

My questions to complete my business case:

A. Has anyone evaluated the cost of consumables per round?
B. What is the basic equipment needed?
Click to expand...
1- good call bugger all wrong with old gear, if my press isn’t 40 years old I’ll eat my pants!

2- yes until you start playing with copper 🙈

3- yep that’s a deffo bonus

4- yes you will oncr you have your loads right.

As for cost I was loading copper 15 years ago at £1.50 per round today’s cost I don’t even think about😬🙈 as for lead probably about £1.10 a pop Ish

Advice to you would be get a powder that works in all of your rifles, buy as many primers as you can get your mitts on don’t be racist they all go bang!

buy as many lead bullets as you can lay your mitts on if you’re that way inclined if not copper is easy to get hold of.

I’ll take a picture of mine tomorrow. It is the bear essentials to make a bullet like I said my press must be 40 years old. Everything else is cheap. My dies are RCBS, admittedly I only do load for one calibre now which certainly makes life simple.

Last piece of advice is once you’ve got your cake don’t change the recipe. It will just cost you more money once it’s there you’re accurate. Leave the bugger.
 
Reloading is a big part of the overall shooting hobby for me.
I find it really relaxing to sit at my bench and turn out 50 rounds at a deliberate and careful pace.
My top tip, stick to common consumables you can replace easily. Some powders have a wide range of suitability, Viht N140 is good in quite a few chamberings for instance.
I started with a Lee Classic kit, press, dies for the chosen chambering, and all the bits and bobs to get you going in one box.
You can then add other dies if needed, but the kit covers all you need.
Having said that, second-hand kit can be a real bargain too.
 
I do a fair bit of target shooting and pick things up cheaply so I save a fair bit by reloading. You should be able to get an idea of your own costs by looking at some load data for a similar round that you use. Vihts site for example will list charge weights and you can work out how many rounds you'll get from a tub of powder and work out how much the primers and bullets will cost. Brass is more complicated, worth saving your factory cases but if you buy new you'll have to work out how many reloads you'll get from them.

I would have suggested something like a RCBS Rockchucker kit to get you started but they seem to have doubled in price in the last few years and you may not need everything in the kit. You could make do with a Lee Loader but I'd suggest the following as a minimum if you think you will be loading more than a few rounds.

Press (with primer seater), scales, case trimmer, primer pocket cleaner and case mouth chamfer, die set, case lube. Perhaps a caliper. I think that's it, you can add things later such as a tumber/case cleaner, hand primer, loading tray etc if you need them.

It's worth reading through a reloading manual or two, there's a ink to a download of an old Hornady manual on here: Hornady 10th Edition Reloading Manual

Also keep notes.
 
Nothing is cheap anymore, i missed the "good old days" when things were cheap, but i do recall working out that my rounds a at least half the price of good factory ammo,
my trouble is i started out with the basics, but quickly wanted more stuff and better quality makes, there were things id told myself " id never spend that much on one of them" that soon changed, now i pretty much have everything, most of it probably doesnt make me a better shot, or my rounds better or worse than anyone elses, but i love the whole prosses and as some have said its all part and parcel of shooting, and a hobby in its self, i spend many a happy hour at my ever increasing ( in size and equipment) reloading bench, set up costs can vairy too, all my gear is in the 1000's not hundreds, and between bullets, powders and primers, the same again, to avoid to many missions trying to find what i need when i want it,
if i was buying factory ammo i wouldnt shoot a quater what i do now, i do a fair bit of practice, trying for small groups and gong bashing at distance, and in my mind as everything is already paid for, my rounds are free :lol: which is probably not a good way to look at it, but, what the hell, were only here the once👍
 
WalkedUp said:
I shoot far too much, it is slowly bankrupting me but what a great way to get poorer. I am thinking about reloading as my theory is thus:

1. Buy old equipment second hand, it generally retains value as, unlike electronics, there are very few advancements.
2. Consumables will be lower cost than factory.
3. Being in control of my supply will mean less rezeroing due to cartridge supply variance.
4. I will save some money over the next 40 years.

My questions to complete my business case:

A. Has anyone evaluated the cost of consumables per round?
B. What is the basic equipment needed?
Click to expand...
Yes to Qs 1-4

A) yes: currently loading .308W FMJ for 67p per round, which covers the cost of the bullets, powder and primers - I already have a big stock of spare brass. If I include the cost of "once-fired" brass on here, and assume 10 reloads per case, it still works out at c.70p per round, vs 105p for GGG at Bisley.
For .222Rem my cost per round on the same basis is about 52p per round, vs 88p for the cheapest (and FAR less accurate) S&B.
Including all my equipment costs, I "broke even" at around 1500 rounds reloaded.

B) a basic press, dies, primer tool, scales, calipers, and a reloading book. But, once you start this hobby, you will get shiny brass eyes, and want tumblers, cleaners and an annealer. Together they will likely double your start-up costs!
 
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