Cost and savings in reloading

[Horace Patootie, SASS #35798]

When I started CAS, my friend that introduced me to it told me that I would need to start reloading.  I bought a Dillon RL550 in 2000 if I remember correctly.  He advised me what powder to use and set up the press with me because I was new to reloading.  I since have bought a 10 ga. and 12 ga. MEC, two LEE 4 hole turret presses and just recently a Dillon XL750.  The least expensive store bought ammo that I am aware of here is at Academy Sports where .45 Colt is $60 to $65 dollars per box of 50.  I have only had one or two .45 Colt cases split and occasionally I will crush one.  Today I figured that I am loading .45 Colt for $13.20 per box of 50 based on most recent cost of components.

Horace

[Edward R S Canby, SASS#59971]

Your experience is not unique.  Reloading metallic cartridges is cost-effective.  Reloading low recoil shotgun shells is also cost-effective though those who shoot full-power clays ammo would not save as much by reloading.  Black powder shooters would lack a reliable supply of competition ammo without reloading.

[Rye Miles #13621]

2 hours ago, Horace Patootie, SASS #35798 said:

When I started CAS, my friend that introduced me to it told me that I would need to start reloading.  I bought a Dillon RL550 in 2000 if I remember correctly.  He advised me what powder to use and set up the press with me because I was new to reloading.  I since have bought a 10 ga. and 12 ga. MEC, two LEE 4 hole turret presses and just recently a Dillon XL750.  The least expensive store bought ammo that I am aware of here is at Academy Sports where .45 Colt is $60 to $65 dollars per box of 50.  I have only had one or two .45 Colt cases split and occasionally I will crush one.  Today I figured that I am loading .45 Colt for $13.20 per box of 50 based on most recent cost of components.

Horace

I haven’t figured but based on your calculations I probably am loading .38’s for maybe $10.00 a box of 50 or less.
Factory.38’s are around $30-$40 a box of 50.

[Nostrum Damus SASS #110702]

Just last week I did some reloading arithmetic for a new SASS shooter who asked me if I was willing to load .38 Special for him and his bride.  I do not currently load .38 Special on my Dillon 750, and I build up dedicated caliber-specific tool heads for each different caliber I load so that once I get them dialed in, I don't fiddle with the dies again.  Here is how it all works out ....

 

Buying the necessary parts to build a dedicated .38 Special tool head for use in my set-up (powder drop assembly, dies, bullet dropper) will cost about $400, using an extra blank tool head in my parts box.  I load .357Mag so I don't need the rest of the caliber conversion parts for the press.

 

Buying ammo components at good prices from pards and such, including 3000 brass cases, and using 125gr Hi-Tek coated RNFP bullets and 2.5gr of Red Dot, works out to about 24 cents a round for that first 3000 rounds.  Assuming that the cost of the brass drops away after that (at least for a good long while), the cost per round drops to 18 cents a round.

 

Whether you want to use 24 cents or 18 cents, the cost savings are substantial and undeniable when compared with, for example, the cost of Choice Ammunition's very nice 125gr Hi-Tek coated .38Spl ammo which costs, after shipping, about 79 cents per round.  The cost difference is such that even during the first run of 3000 rounds, the $400 cost of the dedicated .38Spl tool head is recouped after loading only about 730 rounds as compared to buying Choice Ammunition's product.

 

I recouped the entire cost of my Dillon 750 press and all of its wonderful accessories within a year and a half of using it to make all of the Power Factor-legal .357Mag and .45 Colt ammo needed by my and Bullion Rose, when compared against the cost of buying commercially sold Cowboy Action ammo. 

 

Any questions?

[Nostrum Damus SASS #110702]

7 hours ago, Rye Miles #13621 said:

I haven’t figured but based on your calculations I probably am loading .38’s for maybe $10.00 a box of 50 or less.
Factory.38’s are around $30-$40 a box of 50.

That's spot on ... taking out the cost of brass (which gets used over and over and over again), I can load .38Spl for $9 per 50 rounds.  Including the cost of used brass, it is still only $12 per 50 rounds.  You can't buy commercially sold Cowboy Action ammo for anything close to that price.

[Nostrum Damus SASS #110702]

Someone asked me -- "but what about the cost of your time?"  I nearly laughed out loud but the question was asked in earnest so I answered in earnest: "I'm practically retired and reloading time spent at the bench in my workshop is -- at least to me -- one of the most enjoyable and relaxing aspects of the entire Cowboy Action Shooting game."  We love going to big matches, shooting regularly at club matches, getting all dressed up for fun, and all the great people we've met and continue to meet, but reloading is also a big enjoyable part of this hobby for me.

[Go West]

Don't forget that buying in bulk will save a bunch, too. 8 lb. powder kegs, primers in quantity ( I do 5K at a time), and bullets enough to get free shipping.

[Edward R S Canby, SASS#59971]

20 minutes ago, Go West said:

Don't forget that buying in bulk will save a bunch, too. 8 lb. powder kegs, primers in quantity ( I do 5K at a time), and bullets enough to get free shipping.

 

38 Special once-fired brass is available on online auction sites for ~5-cents per case.  This brass is suitable for rifles at major matches.

[Go West]

I bought 2K once fired .38 over 20 years ago to start reloading and am still using the majority of them. 

[Nostrum Damus SASS #110702]

7 minutes ago, Edward R S Canby, SASS#59971 said:

 

38 Special once-fired brass is available on online auction sites for ~5-cents per case.  This brass is suitable for rifles at major matches.

Yes, but typically PLUS sales tax, PLUS shipping, PLUS the auction site's fees, in my experience.  

[Frontier Lone Rider]

As mentioned above, if one goes to the Dark Side, your ammo options are very limited if you don't reload.  Especially trying to buy black powder shotgun shells.

 

I shoot 44-40 with Black Powder, trying to be historically correct, and would not be able to afford this sport if I did not reload.

[Colorado Coffinmaker]

 

Ah well Horace,

 

All is well, until you factor in your expenditure on all that reloading gear 🤪  It takes a goodly while to amortize all that equipment and realize real actual savings. 🤠  It took me a godly long while to amortize my Dillon 650s.

 

I no longer consider the brass into the equation.  After the first load and reload, I consider it amortized and "free" going forward.  Since I can't buy factory ammo in my preferred loading, I consider ALL my reloading as profit.

 

PLUS ONE fer Lone Rider - Absolutely

 

[Nostrum Damus SASS #110702]

6 minutes ago, Colorado Coffinmaker said:

 

Ah well Horace,

 

All is well, until you factor in your expenditure on all that reloading gear 🤪  It takes a goodly while to amortize all that equipment and realize real actual savings. 🤠  It took me a godly long while to amortize my Dillon 650s.

 

 

Really?  How long is a "goodly while"?  And what are you comparing it to when you do the comparison to determine your break-even point?  As I said above, Choice Ammunition .38 Special Cowboy ammo costs 79 cents per round delivered.  Even including the cost of the brass, I will load .38 Special with the same weight and profile coated bullets for 24 cents per round.  That is a saving of 55 cents per round over the cost of buying ammo.  For each 1000 rounds I reload, I've spent $550 less than buying the same 1000 rounds.  After I've loaded 5000 rounds, I've spent $2,750 less on ammo than had I bought it from Choice Ammunition.  And I think I'm coming close to loading my 30,000th round, and it has not taken me all that long to do so.  Heck, I loaded close to 7000 rounds in the last two months alone.  And the actual savings are even greater when I drop out the 6 cents per brass case, as you have done.  All of that savings buys a LOT of reloading equipment, and it is the gift that keeps on giving.

[Choctaw Jack]

......... and the cost of ammo gets even cheaper if you cast your own bullets.

Most of my " cowboy" guns have never had a commercially produced bullet through them.

As close as I can figure, my home cast and coated .45 bullets cost around 4-5 cents each.

Of course, YMMV

Choctaw Jack

[Jonathan Slim Chance]

Casting your own bullets definitely shifts the scale, and for me I enjoy casting bullets.  It's hard for me to determine how much each one actually costs as most of the lead I'm working from was aquired 25+ years ago (scrap lead prices had crashed, large local tire shop had mounds of wheel weights and I bought a bunch).   

[Horace Patootie, SASS #35798]

I never did get into casting, even though it's almost hot enough in Texas summers to melt lead.  Most of my lead is what I'm sitting on  

Horace

[Colorado Coffinmaker]

 

I'm not even saying you won't save a bundle by loading/reloading.  The actual savings will depend on the volume reloaded.  Some shooters, shooting three maybe four matches a month will amortize much faster than the folks only shooting one match per month.  The actual cost needs weighed right along with the acquisition of loading equipment.  In my case, when at one time I was shooting about a thousand rounds a WEEK, I amortized in a rather short period of time.  It's one of those "It Depends" (not the ones in the plastic packages) sort of things.  Once amortized, the savings for our ammo can be spectacular.  It just may not be immediately obvious. 

[Horace Patootie, SASS #35798]

3 minutes ago, Colorado Coffinmaker said:

 

I'm not even saying you won't save a bundle by loading/reloading.  The actual savings will depend on the volume reloaded.  Some shooters, shooting three maybe four matches a month will amortize much faster than the folks only shooting one match per month.  The actual cost needs weighed right along with the acquisition of loading equipment.  In my case, when at one time I was shooting about a thousand rounds a WEEK, I amortized in a rather short period of time.  It's one of those "It Depends" (not the ones in the plastic packages) sort of things.  Once amortized, the savings for our ammo can be spectacular.  It just may not be immediately obvious. 

I have 6 presses currently, 2 MECs, 2 LEE 4 hole turrets, a Dillon 550 and 750.  The only new one in years is the 750 with a case feeder.  I generally don't figure in the cost of the presses, not to argue that it's a real cost because it is.  I just figure if it's something I want or need, I will buy it.

Horace

[Cheyenne Ranger, 48747L]

2 hours ago, Horace Patootie, SASS #35798 said:

I never did get into casting, even though it's almost hot enough in Texas summers to melt lead.  Most of my lead is what I'm sitting on  

Horace

I live in Cypress (think northwest of Houston), and I count reloading and CASTING as standalone hobbies.  I really love taking all the parts and lead ingots and turning them into cartridges and bullets.  

And powder coating--that's magic when you see the colors after mixing a few basic ones.

 

'Course I did get up at 4:45 yesterday so I could be mowing our range at daybreak for tomorrow's match. As Gen Phil Sheridan said, "If I owned Texas and Hell, I’d rent Texas and live in Hell."

 

Texas summers are not for the faint of heart

 

[Griff]

I have several firearms that have never seen a factory cartridge.  I started reloading in order to have better quality bullets for coyote hunting than typically found in factory ammo.  From my very first 100 rounds of .30-30 ammo I saved money over factory ammo with better selection and quality bullets.  That didn't change when I began cowboy action.  Although... I am a little astounded at the current cost of dies, etc.  

[The Original Lumpy Gritz]

46 minutes ago, Griff said:

I have several firearms that have never seen a factory cartridge.  I started reloading in order to have better quality bullets for coyote hunting than typically found in factory ammo.  From my very first 100 rounds of .30-30 ammo I saved money over factory ammo with better selection and quality bullets.  That didn't change when I began cowboy action.  Although... I am a little astounded at the current cost of dies, etc.  

Very few of mine have seen a factory round either.

Started reloading in 1967 on a RCBS Rockchucker press(still have it).

Bought my 12ga,  Mec 600jr press in 1978 and still use it.

Then in 1987 bought my Dillon 550 and it's still run'n great. Load 14 calibers from .32 S&W to .45-90 for my Sharps rifles. 

Yes, I have loaded lots of BP(real)on that 550.

 

[Diamond Jake]

If you only shoot one or two matches a month, you can easily get by with the "less initial investment" Lee Turret press, or even a single stage press.  As I write this I just finished loading 100 rounds of 45 Schofield on my Lee Turret.

[Horace Patootie, SASS #35798]

4 hours ago, The Original Lumpy Gritz said:

Very few of mine have seen a factory round either.

Started reloading in 1967 on a RCBS Rockchucker press(still have it).

Bought my 12ga,  Mec 600jr press in 1978 and still use it.

Then in 1987 bought my Dillon 550 and it's still run'n great. Load 14 calibers from .32 S&W to .45-90 for my Sharps rifles. 

Yes, I have loaded lots of BP(real)on that 550.

 

I'm currently set up to load 12 ga, 10 ga, 45 Colt, 45 ACP, 45-70, .43 Spanish and 50-140.  The last 4 on LEE turret presses.  The tallest turret press is barely tall enough for this one.

 

[The Original Lumpy Gritz]

13 minutes ago, Horace Patootie, SASS #35798 said:

I'm currently set up to load 12 ga, 10 ga, 45 Colt, 45 ACP, 45-70, .43 Spanish and 50-140.  The last 4 on LEE turret presses.  The tallest turret press is barely tall enough for this one.

 

The .45-90 is the tallest my 550 will clear.

[Frontier Lone Rider]

I used to cast my own, re-size in a Lubrasizer,  and have fun.  Now at 78, I buy my bullets from Slippery Bullets and load away.  I had accumulated over two tons of lead which was just in the way in the garage.  I had been given the lead as two different former students were managers of two different tire stores.

 

I gave the lead away to a younger shooter who was willing to drive from Ohio to West Virginia to pick it up.  I knew he cast his own, and the lead would not go to waste.  He is also a multiple times National Champion.

[Dantankerous]

7 hours ago, Diamond Jake said:

If you only shoot one or two matches a month, you can easily get by with the "less initial investment" Lee Turret press, or even a single stage press.  As I write this I just finished loading 100 rounds of 45 Schofield on my Lee Turret.

 

The Lee Classic Turret press I purchased back in 2009 has paid countless dividends to reloading and hand loading. 45 Colt has always been my cowboy caliber of choice. When I first started cowboy action shooting I was buying factory ammo in bulk at gun shows for about $22/50. Even at that good price, I knew I was gonna have to step up and begin reloading. Fast forward from when I began to today and I handload 15 different handgun and rifle calibers as well as 12 ga BP. I enjoy reloading and handloading just as much as everything else in cowboy action. I find it rather relaxing and quite satisfying  

[Stump Water]

I'll get the log out later.  But when I started reloading in the 80's it didn't take long to pay back the start-up costs.  Of course the press was a Lee single stage... which I still have.

[watab kid]

reloading has become more expensive than factory ammo but if you load for cowboy in any venue its pretty much the only way to have your pet loads , ive got a good supply of my rounds but as long as i have components ill continue to reload with what i have - i canno but on the commercial market what i load , might get close but it would not be mine 

[Leroy Luck]

18 minutes ago, watab kid said:

reloading has become more expensive than factory ammo

In what universe? 

[watab kid]

5 minutes ago, Leroy Luck said:

In what universe? 

mostly what ive seen here = if you are having better luck , good on you 

[Griff]

51 minutes ago, watab kid said:

mostly what ive seen here = if you are having better luck , good on you 

Not even close.  Back in March I made up an amortization spreadsheet to determine how long it would take someone to recoup the cost of a new Dillon 550C with savings between reloading their own ammo vs buying new.  I based it on my cowboy cartridge, the 45 Colt.  The best price for new ammo was found at a thousand rounds, so purchase of components were predicated on a thousand reloaded rounds.  Starting off a thousand new cases, 1,000 bullets, uut since powder & primers are more economical in 8lb jugs and a 5K case of primers, I used those numbers in the calculation.  All costs were what I c=found advertised in March.  Because I expensed the total cost of all the components over the 1st thousand reloads, there's no savings there,  Howver the next thousand is about 1/3 the cost of new.  Anyway, long story short, the cost savings of reloading your own pays for that Dillon somewhere between 8 ( thousand rounds.  For rounds where I cast my bullets (BP ammo), the savings are even more profound.

 

The only ammo where it's remotely close is shotshell ammo, and only if you're buying new shot.

[Nostrum Damus SASS #110702]

watab kid must be using that "new 'rithmatic" -- there is simply no way in this decade of this century on this planet that reloading costs more per round than commercial ammo -- including the amortized cost of the machinery and associated doodads, gadgets and gizmos -- with one exception only: 9mm FMJ.  I load standard velocity 9mm FMJ for only a few pennies -- wait, there are no more pennies -- for only a few hundredths of a dollar less than I can find on sale somewhere on the interweb.  But that's it.  For no other caliber do the maths work out even close. 

[Edward R S Canby, SASS#59971]

I shot a PCC match yesterday with 9 mm factory ammo.  A young shooter asked me about reloading 9 mm and I said I don't bother because I would only save a few cents a round.  I have better uses for my time.

[Rye Miles #13621]

13 hours ago, watab kid said:

reloading has become more expensive than factory ammo but if you load for cowboy in any venue its pretty much the only way to have your pet loads , ive got a good supply of my rounds but as long as i have components ill continue to reload with what i have - i canno but on the commercial market what i load , might get close but it would not be mine 

How? I load .38’s for $8-9 a box of 50. Factory is twice that or more! 

[El Chapo]

Cast your own bullets and you will be shooting for practically no cost at all