economics of reloading

western woodsman

Well-Known Member
I was wondering what savings you guys are making on reloading your own on average? I am figuring it is about 50% on store bought ammo on average once you have the kit.

Thoughts?!
 
Easily 50% probably more like 70% on some calibres but as you say once you have the kit. The biggest problem is that some people have to have the latest and best reloading kit and that tends to push up the initial costs to the point where you wonder if they are making any saving at all. However if you keep your head and buy wisely there are tremendous savings to be made.

To be honest though mate the subject has been done to death many times on this site which if you do a search will confirm. Some site members are confirmed reloaders while others will never be convinced of the benefits but that's people for you.
 
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here wills check at top of page see advert for 1967 spud he does any reloading gear and info,atb doug,:old::fox: oh and for the sake of fairness theres jd reloading as well sorry,
 
You need a lee zero error loader! (or even a bog standard one)
all in one, press-less reloading

learn the basics of reloading, make cheap accurate ammo and at 1/4 of the initial outlay on hardware

having a bench with all the gear set up is not for everyone
 
Western Woodsman I warned you about people going to extremes and having to have the very best and latest kit, well Brewsher is the other extreme and is a minimalist. :lol: However what he uses does work and produces good ammo for absolutely the minimal on kit outlay.
 
My reloading set up cost me £350 but will out last me more than likely. I get 170 rounds from a 1lb tub of powder making it 23p worth of powder per round, 30p per bullet guessing 5p a primer and the cases I get given . That makes it 58p per round ( not including the cost of the gear required)for me loading for my 243. That makes a box of 20 of my home loads £11.60

Al
 
Are you sure that you are really a Scot Al? :D

I worked out my costings for .308w the other day and this is what they came to;

.308win
Sako Hammer Head £12.50:50 = £25:100 i.e. 25p each
Primers S&B £32:1000 3.2p each
TR140 £52/Kg 367 rounds to the Kilogram 15p per load.
I normally disregard cases but the last lot of once fired Lapua cases were £10 per hundred and came from a very reputable source which I will not divulge. I get at least 8 loadings from each case more if I only necksize. What if we are extremely generous and allow say 5p per reload.

The total comes to 48.2p per round or £48.20:100 or £9.64:20

I am however very careful with my money, an honoury Scot perhaps? :lol: A friend of mine who is a Yorkshireman and an accountant to boot thinks that I spend too much and he is sure that he can do even better than me. He haggles over everything and I'm sure that retailers just get worn down by him and pay him to take goods away.:rofl:

In reality it's where you buy and where you are in the country can make quite a difference.
 
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Buy a rcbs starter kit and add a powder thrower and stand, thats what I bought 13 years or so ago and still use it all now,dont get sucked in with all the bull and fancy equipment, its waste of money,I single load everything, frow charges a little light and trickle,most of my reloads less than 20fps difference and get quite a few duplicate fps, my ammo gets shot at 1000yds and its premium stuff.go for it, better shooting your own
 
Just looked at the price of factory ammo and nearly died. .308 win was running in at £34 per 20 at garlands for branded type stuff. So a massive saving to be had on that. I agree with 8x57 on costs but just round it up to 50p a bang. I fired 50 shots last week finding new load for shortened .308. That would have cost £85 in factory. Instead it cost less than £25. And my groups are 1/2 to 3/4" Be a sod to buy 3 different factory rounds and only one be any good.
 
I've spoken to lots of people about it, and I have started collecting some bits. The general view is don't expect to save money. You need to buy the kit, then you need to test loads that you develop. Then you will find a powder or bullet is unavailable and you'll be back to load testing etc.

Re-load if you have the time and want an extra hobby for the cold winter nights. Don't do it to save a few pounds - because the likelihood is you won't!
 
Below is a photo of my loading bench. Most of the gear I have bought over a 40 year period, some second-hand.
The RCBS Rockchucker press was bought new and the other items gathered up whenever they appeared.
I have 3 powder droppers as currently I load for 3 calibres and it saves messing about with the verniers .
The case trimmer only rarely used is a Lyman. The RCBS `Dial a Grain` beam scales on the left side upper shelf were bought new and are the best ever made by mortal man.
Over the years many thousands of precision cartridges have been produced.
The white boxes on the left contain segregated brass of various calibres and manufacturers.

Precision humane killing of your quarry and winning prizes in rifle competitions with bullets fabricated by yourself is very satisfying.

HWH.
 
Are you sure that you are really a Scot Al? :D

I worked out my costings for .308w the other day and this is what they came to;

.308win
Sako Hammer Head £12.50:50 = £25:100 i.e. 25p each
Primers S&B £32:1000 3.2p each
TR140 £52/Kg 367 rounds to the Kilogram 15p per load.
I normally disregard cases but the last lot of once fired Lapua cases were £10 per hundred and came from a very reputable source which I will not divulge. I get at least 8 loadings from each case more if I only necksize. What if we are extremely generous and allow say 5p per reload.

The total comes to 48.2p per round or £48.20:100 or £9.64:20

I am however very careful with my money, an honoury Scot perhaps? :lol: A friend of mine who is a Yorkshireman and an accountant to boot thinks that I spend too much and he is sure that he can do even better than me. He haggles over everything and I'm sure that retailers just get worn down by him and pay him to take goods away.:rofl:

In reality it's where you buy and where you are in the country can make quite a difference.

You must be an honoury Scot x Yorkshireman :D I'm certainly a Scot but always looking to save more money

Al
 
I was wondering what savings you guys are making on reloading your own on average? I am figuring it is about 50% on store bought ammo on average once you have the kit.

Thoughts?!

I'm only just starting out and so I've bought an RBSC RC Supreme Kit, saved my Remington Brass for the past 12 months and bought where possible in bulk with bullets, Powder and primers to ensure consistency at the right price.

After buying the kit and the obligatory prep tools, dies, sonic cleaner and callipers and other odds and ends, I've worked it out that once I've produced 600 rounds I'll be quid’s in with all kit paid for.
I'll then be paying £6.80 for 20 rounds of .223 in place of £21 and up saving for half decent rounds.

Saving £420 pounds on my next 600 rounds.

New found hobby that saves me money; IMHO great investment.
 
Below is a photo of my loading bench. Most of the gear I have bought over a 40 year period, some second-hand.
The RCBS Rockchucker press was bought new and the other items gathered up whenever they appeared.
I have 3 powder droppers as currently I load for 3 calibres and it saves messing about with the verniers .
The case trimmer only rarely used is a Lyman. The RCBS `Dial a Grain` beam scales on the left side upper shelf were bought new and are the best ever made by mortal man.
Over the years many thousands of precision cartridges have been produced.
The white boxes on the left contain segregated brass of various calibres and manufacturers.

Precision humane killing of your quarry and winning prizes in rifle competitions with bullets fabricated by yourself is very satisfying.

HWH.

Just been listening to a trailer on Radio 3 for a documentary about composers and their rooms. It was interesting to hear one state how he needed to feel as though in a "nest" such were the challenges of composition.

Clearly this is something common to all given of a passion be it crochet or crimp!

Nice scales as you rightly point out.

K
 
Divide cost of brass by number of reloads.
A 1lb tub of propellant = 7000 grains...divide that by charge weight to get number of rounds & cost.
Add cost of primers approx. .04p each
Add cost of bullet - whatever your choice is.

You're not going to worry about the labour are you. ATB:thumb:
 
I am however very careful with my money, an honoury Scot perhaps? :lol: A friend of mine who is a Yorkshireman and an accountant to boot thinks that I spend too much and he is sure that he can do even better than me. He haggles over everything and I'm sure that retailers just get worn down by him and pay him to take goods away.:rofl:

Yorkshireman, that's just a scot with the last ounce of generosity squeezed out. In Durham we know that coz were stuck in between them
 
I was once told that copper wire was invented by two Yorkshire men fighting over a penny.:lol:
 
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