reloading-about how much

[wtnhunt]

About how much on average per round does it cost to reload if you already have brass? Figure using non premium bullets, like core lokts or power points?

I have about 300-400 pcs of once fired brass in most of the calibers we shoot, and quite a bit of stocked never fired ammo that would yield yet more once fired brass. Really thinking hard on a rock chucker entry level kit, think with what I have in brass the kit could easily pay for itself.

Only drawback to jumping in and buying the equipment is that I do not have anywhere to setup a permanent reloading bench.

[johnf]

Figure about $.03 per primer. 7000gr. of powder per lb divided by the amount of powder per shell. Then take the cost of powder per pound and divide that by your # of shots per pound. Then add the price per bullet. BTW cheep bulk bullets are hard to come by right now, so plan on buying the good stuff.

My 223 shoots best with 25 gr. of powder at $22 a pound that's 280 shots or $.08 per shot. Bullets are $.14 and primers are $.03. That's about $.30 per shot after you figure electricity for tumbling and prep and lube, or $6 for a box of 20. Buying the loaded stuff with the bullets I use would cost me about $21 a box.

[doubleA]

To tell you the truth ,I have never put a pencil to it. I shoot more than the average guy and really dont want to know what it cost because it would scare me:eek:.

[Strut10]

Component-wise.......it'd be fairly easy to figure out. Calculate your price-per-unit of your components and plug them in to a typical load recipe.

[hungry hunter]

Lee turrent press. I think it was built for the economy minded. once you get the turrent set up for a caliber just change the turrent. die kits around 30.00.

[wtnhunt]

Thanks for the answers/replies. Figured for non premium bullets and primers I would be in for about $4-5 per 20. What I really was not sure about was the powder and John answered that. Shame I gave away all the .270 brass I had a couple years back to a neighbor.

I had not thought about the tumbler and media, so I am glad I asked the question. Looks like using the existing brass I would be saving around $11-$12 per box of shells I can reload. So roughly 30 boxes of shells reloaded would cover the expense of the reloading kits I am looking at.

Now another question, is the lyman T-mag press kit a pretty decent kit for a starter?

[johnf]

Thanks for the answers/replies. Figured for non premium bullets and primers I would be in for about $4-5 per 20. What I really was not sure about was the powder and John answered that. Shame I gave away all the .270 brass I had a couple years back to a neighbor.

I had not thought about the tumbler and media, so I am glad I asked the question. Looks like using the existing brass I would be saving around $11-$12 per box of shells I can reload. So roughly 30 boxes of shells reloaded would cover the expense of the reloading kits I am looking at.

Now another question, is the lyman T-mag press kit a pretty decent kit for a starter?

The kit your talking about is better than mine and I'm happy with it. BTW your 270 will probably be using @50gr-60gr of powder, so you'll have to double my powder price. But the powders you would use are a little cheaper than what I use for my 223. I would go with a IMR4350, 7828SSC or H1000. You may think that getting a powder that uses less will save you money, but it's been my experience that those loads aren't very accurate. Powders with higher load densities (filling the brass more) seem to be more consistent and accurate. My best loads have been compacted, but make sure that you don't go beyond the recommended load.

[Doc]

Using the Midway catalog, I priced out the two main cartridges that I regularly reload (.22 Hornet and .223 Rem).

.22 Hornet-

Bullet: 40 grain Hornaday v-max $16.29 / 100

Brass (new): Winchester $21.49/100

Powder: Winchester 296 $19.79/pound

Primers: Federal (small rifle) $29.49/1000

per cartridge:

Bullet $.1629

*Brass $.2149

Powder (10 gr) $.0283

primer $.0295

$.4356 total ($8.71 for a box of 20)

Purchased ammo:

$16.79/25 Hornaday reloads=$10.89/25 65%

$37.99/50 Remington =$21.78/50 57%

$39.99/50 Winchester =$21.78/50 54%

.223

Bullet: 40 grain Hornaday v-max $16.29 / 100

Brass (new): Winchester $20.99/100

Powder: IMR 4198 $21.99/pound

Primers: Federal (small rifle) $29.49/1000

per cartridge:

Bullet $.1629

*Brass $.2099

Powder (20 gr) $.0628

primer $.0295

$.4651 total ($9.30 for a box of 20)

Purchased ammo/reload comparison:

$17.49/20 Hornaday reloads=$9.30/20 53%

$12.99/20 Remington =$9.30/20 71%

$25.99/40 Winchester =$18.60/40 71%

Disclaimer: The final cost comparisons were only approximations because Midway (or anybody else) doesn't sell bullets made of the same components as my reloads. But it is all close enough to get a ballpark feel for the cost benefits of reloading.

*Also- figuring up the costs and including the cost of new brass each time is a bit bogus because the brass gets to be re-used.

So anyway, it all looks pretty good, and I guess it is if your time is worth nothing, or you look at reloading as recreation. I do believe that I am about the world's slowest re-loader since I check and double check each step and measurement in the process, and go to some extraordinary efforts to get everything as uniform as possible. So if I didn't value my time pretty cheaply, there would be no way I could justify the effort. Plus, on these cold, miserable, snowy days, what else is there to do?

By the way, almost all my reloading equipment was inherited from my father. It is all top shelf quality, so it has all held up well. If I had to amortize the expense of all that stuff through each cartridge, I suspect that it would drive the costs way up. I have reloaded quite a bit of ammo, but have only been in it for a few years. Most likely I have notmade enough to cover the costs of that equipment. However, I have been able to customize and examine a whole lot of different loads and have arrived at accuracy results that far surpass purchased ammo. Plus there is a certain amount of satisfaction derived from just having done it for myself. It's pretty cool to be shooting some tight groups with ammunition you have made yourself. Not only that, but I feel a little at ease going out for target sessions where I don't have to hear the cash register ring everytime I touch off the trigger. I shoot a whole lot more now than I used to.

Doc

Edited February 25, 2009 by Doc