Cost of Ammo

beechessam

Well-Known Member
I know many of you home load but I would like to know how much you all pay for your factory loads.

I currently pay £25-£30 per box of 20. Federal/Norma

Am I paying over the odds as my local shop has a reputation for being expensive?
 
When I do buy factory rounds (very rarely these days) I noramlly pay between £18 and £25 per 20...

I know the initial expense when setting up as a home loader is a lot but it does pay for itself. Plus can help with acccuracy!

Chops
 
I last bought factory rounds, with the exception of rimfire, about eight or nine years ago for my Hornet and I forget how much they were. I currently reload for four calibres and, with the exception of my Hornet, none have ever fired a factory load. Looking at the prices that are being paid for twenty rounds, I am very pleased about this.

I agree with Chops, after the initial outlay in setting up for home loading, it is the way to go. Depending on how much you shoot the initial cost can soon be recouped. Plus it is another string to your reloading bow, very interesting, enables your control over velocity etc and improves accuracy.

John
 
DON'T DO IT..... RELOADING

DON'T DO RELOADING. IT WILL CAUSE ALL SORTS OF PROBLEMS. YOU WILL KEEP HAVING TO TRY NEW BULLETS, NEW POWDERS. YOU WILL HAVE TO BUY LOADS OF MANUALS. YOU WILL SPEND HOURS IN THE RELOADING ROOM, THEN MORE HOURS ON THE RANGE. IT CAN TAKE OVER YOUR LIFE.

YOUR GROUPS WILL GET A BIT TIGHTER THOUGH AND YOU WILL BE ABLE TO AFFORD TO PULL THE TRIGGER MORE.

if you want to do a bit of shooting and are happy with the factory performance of federal or pmc or privi then stick to factory stuff.

If you are like me and want to shoot the best groups you can. with bullets you couldn't normally buy/ afford and want to start a really absorbing hobby then reloading is for you.

swampy
 
Im paying £22.50 for a box of 20 fro my .243 remmington, but they shoot well with my rifle.
Out of intrest how much does it cost to set up your own reloading kit. and once you have payed off the cost of the initial outlay, how much is it per round.
 
I can't remember how much the kit I have now cost to set up, My first bought set was a Lee hand loader back in the early sixties, cost £6 and built up from that.
I know how much my rounds cost now and I load .222 - 22-250 - .243 and .308 and they all, more or less, come out at apx 30 to 35 pence each. I could use more expensive bullets like V Max, ballistic tip and others I've heard of but my cheap rounds do the job so I stick to them.
 
At Minsterely Ranges the price of twenty 6.5x55 Norma Nosler is £19.
I would like to take up Reloading but don't get enough trips out to make it worth while. That I think is the thing that you may need to consider, otherwise its a false economy.

I have improved my grouping by switching from Lapua to Norma and dropping from 156 grain to 120 grain, sweet!

Although after going to see the film 'The shooter' at the pictures last week I did start looking through the reloading catalogues again! :confused:
 
I used to have to reload when I was pistol shooting as I was shooting up to 500 rds a week and all different calibres,comps and practise and generally messing about.
But now I buy factory and try and buy at least 100 @ time or 500 @ time for discount purposes (.22 I buy 1000), and also when ordering that amout theres a good chance of being same batch.
I haven`t felt the inclination to reload, if I had serious problems with accuracy I may think about it though.
My 30-06 costs £15.00 per box for Federal, not sure about the 22-250,still working my way through last lot, and the 458 is £50.00 per 20.All very reasonably priced I think.
 
Has anybody tried these Privi Partisan, I think that's how it's spelt.
I have heard mixed reports but most seem to of the opinion that they are good enough for 'hunting purposes', I assume they mean 1" groups at 100yds, and they are extremely cheap, as advertised in Gun Mart.
I have looked at the range available, which is quite extensive and the price makes it sound attractive even if you only 'fire them off' and use the Brass for reloading!!!
Unfortunately none of my local shops stock them and carriage makes it a bit of a no no at the moment.
If they were/are any good I may give up reloading for a while and get some even if it means travelling, maybe a romatic week-end away with the wife and 'Oh look Dear, there's a gun shop I didn't know that was there'!!lol
 
Word of warning to ALL of you considering buying this cheap Ammo.

I recently purchased a 357 handgun for dispatching deer, plus a box of this ammo in 357. On the eight time I used this ammo, head parted from the lead core and jammed in the barrel of my revolver. Luckily for me it is only a 2 shot revolver. I have just this weekend received the weapon back from the dealer, who is now in conflict with the supplier. Needless to say I am also none too happy. Previous to this I have never had a problem with any ammo, although I load all of my own rifle ammo. But this stuff is JUNK.
 
I have heard mixed reports from other stalkers, some say accuracy is brilliant, others say it`s crap. So leads me to believe consistency isn`t all it should be and we do want consistency.
 
malcolm said:
I recently purchased a 357 handgun for dispatching deer, plus a box of this ammo in 357.

I find a couple of downloaded rifle rounds in my stalking jacket inside pocket far easier to carry around than a pistol and there's no need for messing about trying to get the relevant sections on your FAC.
 
Bradley, I agree, but just so you know I was offered the chance twice by my now retired FA Officer, and although I declined the offer from them the first time, the second I time for the cost of £29 I said ok.

Never ever look a gift horse in the mouth.

Plus for RTA and some of the other deer management work I undertake it is easier with a handgun, than a rifle.
 
Reloading/Cost of Ammo

Having been an avid reloader for many years there are two important points regarding reloading and costs that should not be underestimated.
Firstly, if you want to be able to shoot accurately, there is no substitute for practice and practice costs money especially some of the heavier calibres. Reloading costs about 30% of factory ammo in regular calibres and even less in the big stuff.
Secondly, there is no doubt that with properly controlled home loading greater accuracy can be obtained when the load is tuned to your rifle, but you need to feed enough through it to get it right speed, weight and bullet combination, ask any benchrest shooter.
Yes, you can get on perfectly well with factory ammo, but for the serious shooter hand loading is the answer, it gives a great deal of satifaction and the confidence to know you can put the bullet in the right place.
One thing I have not seen mentioned in this topic is the use chronographs I consider this to be invaluable if you want to get the very best from you loading with todays technology there are some very good bits of software to create, analyse and record your loadings and help create some very interesting loads, it is not all about max veleocity.

If anyone is interested in getting started give me a call, I am scaling down my hunting for personal reasons and retirement, so I will be getting rid of a lot of my reloading equiptment including presses dies and a as new chrono.

Good Hunting.
 
Terry,I`m a serious stalker/shooter, does this mean I should reload ? :lol: (though some may say I never been serious in my life :eek: )
If i was worried about the expense, I would reload again, but as dont use that many rounds, I can cope with the cost.
I think reloading is like golf,I personally, can`t see the point of hitting a ball round a field all day; but some people get so addicted to it !
And,, alot of reloaders do get so into it and soo serious about it,anoraks is the word that springs to mind, isn`t that right Wayne??? :lol: :lol:
 
cost of ammo/reloading

Cheers John I was waiting for that. I guess some of us want perfection others settle for less :D
 
Whilst I do load my own ammo for my rifles, I am not one of those people who looks around for the ultimate all singing all dancing load that some homeloaders seek like the holy grail. I am not heavily into ballistics etc, but I know what shoots well from my rifles and loading your own can be quite satisfying on a rainy winters afternoon.

I have used the same bullets and loads in all my rifles for a number of years now, and loading your own does achieve a better grouping and consistency. Also some ammo is not easy to get in my area, such as 25.06 and 375HH, which is also another reason why I load my own. I also rather enjoy the fact that when I take an animal it is my bullet that I loaded, and has completed the whole hunt. On my trips abroad, and in particular when I go up against dangerous game, such as Buffalo and Elephant, I make sure I check every case, head and cap as a problem with any miss fire or cartridge jam, could be your death warrant. If this is the case then its my fault, and no one else is to blame.

That for me adds up why I load my own ammo for my rifles.

My kit is all RCBS which I bought back from the States.
 
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