Reloading?

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Depends on caliber and how fancy you want to be with components, it can be a lot higher than factory ammo or a lot cheaper
 
What I have noticed is you can load for half to 1/3 of the price you can buy. But I've also noticed it becomes an addiction. You shoot more. You'll be confused at times and wonder why something did what it did. If you only shoot a box a year it's not worth the initial cost. If you shoot 500 rounds you'll have it paid for a lot quicker and probably have more satisfaction. It can be time consuming so if you factor in your time the price of your reloads can get very expensive. As with anything you can get very elaborate systems or you can get the economical stuff. I've started out on the economical side but have slowly upgraded most of my equipment. I'm glad I found some extremely good deals to help cut the costs.
 
to me handloading ammo has nothing to do with money,,some people like to fish or play golf or whatever,,I like to shoot and tinker with guns and ammo,,
 
I use to load several thousand rounds of 12 gauge a year.. I enjoy reloading as much as my daughter does shooting them!
 
With the cost of components since 2008, it ain't as cheap as it used to be. But, I can still load a box of .444 Marlin for around ten bucks or less. Much better than 40 bucks for factory.

If a person is a casual shooter it's gonna be cheaper to just stock up on ammo I think, unless its for a hard to find cartridge. Reloading gives a person a good education and that's hard to put a price tag on.

Go for it....
 
As said, it depends upon how much shooting you do andhow many caliber guns you shoot. If youhave a pistol it will pay back quick, same if you have a 223.

A better reason is planning for the future. Last time I did a count If we were careful with how he shoot my present stash would last 5 years. When you go through 900 centerfire rounds a year you have to reload.
 
I haven't done the calculations in years, but when I started about 15 years ago, the initial cost of equipment paid for itself in about ten boxes of shells. After that, whenever I bought a new caliber gun all I needed was a new set of dies, so it only took about two boxes to pay for the dies.

You have to decide how long it takes you to shoot ten boxes of shells.

The two main points, as mentioned above, is that you will shoot a lot more and therefor become a much better shot. It also gives you the flexibility to use more rare (and therefor more expensive factory load) calibers. For example, I think the 260 REM is the perfect cartridge for Tennessee whitetails, but the shells cost about $40 a box in the store, if you can find them. But I can reload them for the same cost as a 243 WIN or a 308 WIN.
 
I agree I like to tinker with the ammo, and it does pay for itself, especially when you load several calibers, you can reload as a money saving venture if you shoot alot. I reload for several calibers and can be time consuming buti do most of my loading on rainy days when there is nothing else to do
 
Let's add it up (just for giggles) for the 270 Win. for a cost per shot.

Bag of new Remington brass = $35/50 pieces => $.7
Nosler AccuBonds = $30/50 => $.6
Powder = $28/lb at 53 gr => $.21
Primers = $4.00/100 => $.04

So the total per shot using new brass is $1.55. Knowing that you can use the brass more than once (I've got a batch now that's on it's 5th load) we'll divide the brass cost by 5 so the new total is $.99 per shot. That's cheaper than most "bargain" hunting rounds and it's tailored for you gun and needs.

You can buy a loading set up (like on of the Lee kits) for very reasonable prices and dies can be bought off ebay and forum classifieds which will cut the cost even more.
 
If you use bulk bullets or even new standard cup n core bullets instead of the Accubond, thr cost is only about $0.70 per shot, or $14 per box of 20.
 
I try not to buy new brass if I can find once fired. Sometimes reloading stores will have common calibers that have been shot before. The only problem I've had doing this is some 308 brass. I sized and loaded up a bunch but they wouldn't fit in the gun. Ended up having to get a small base die. Also. If you change a component all the info you have may be useless. I knew it could happen but learned my lesson today when I shot some in hornady brass and it didn't group very well. Went back to my loads with Winchester brass and my group went back under an inch. Don't mix headstamps and don't assume that the same load with one brass will work in another. And don't assume one load will work in two seperate guns. The more you load and the more you play with different loads and guns the more you learn, but can get confused at times too
 
I can't buy .40-65 "match" grade black powder cartridges for my Shiloh Sharps.

so 4 years ago I purchased all the needed items, I had nothing to start with.

I now load imo cartridges that can not be bought.

if any of you want to shoot this rifle, just contact me

its all for fun and so I can shoot more just as mr. bigs stated
 
I taught my Twins to reload and they are now in their 3rd year. When Anthony drilled a doe with an Accubond and laid an unshot bullet on the deer and took a picture I asked what you doing? He said "I want to show the guys a school. I made that bullet and I killed that deer". I sad OK and smiled for quite awhile.
 
DaveB said:
I taught my Twins to reload and they are now in their 3rd year. When Anthony drilled a doe with an Accubond and laid an unshot bullet on the deer and took a picture I asked what you doing? He said "I want to show the guys a school. I made that bullet and I killed that deer". I sad OK and smiled for quite awhile.
Click to expand...

put the story with the picture, Anthony will appreciate it when he is my or your age or has a son of his own
 
DaveB said:
I taught my Twins to reload and they are now in their 3rd year. When Anthony drilled a doe with an Accubond and laid an unshot bullet on the deer and took a picture I asked what you doing? He said "I want to show the guys a school. I made that bullet and I killed that deer". I sad OK and smiled for quite awhile.
Click to expand...

Cool! I did the same thing, but with a coyote.

 

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