cost of factory ammo vs. reloading

[scott law]

I am new to the 6.5 world, so here goes a dumb question. I have been exploring cost of reloading vs. Cost of factory loads. I can buy hornady 123 grain for at a shade over a buck a round. I have priced New brass at about .76cents ea. , bullets at about .28cents ea. So far that's over a buck and haven't bought primers, powder, or any reloading equipment . Is my math off??? Or am I not pricing main components of reloading correctly? How much should it cost to reload per round???

[kbarnes12]

Just starting out and buying all the equipment is expensive and it will take many rounds to recoup the cost of everything. However one thing you did miss in your calculations is that you reuse the brass. I have gotten over 10 reloads on my .270 brass, not sure what to expect on the grendel case. One thing you could do to lower the cost of brass is to buy factory ammunition to shoot until you get your supply of brass built up.

Here is a link to a reloading cost calculator that should help get a better estimate of the cost of a reloaded round.

http://www.southernmarksman.com/reloading/cost-of-reloading.shtml

[terrywick4]

I did the same math when I started and that is why I'm starting with Hornady loaded bullets (I bought 800-900 @ 18 bucks a box) and saving the brass for reloading. I'd put the factory AMAX up against most people's reloads anyday. But once you have the brass and take that price out of your equation then reloading is worth it.

Terry

[leopard6.5]

Scott: I'm sure Bill W.( bwaites) will jump in at some point but I think I remember him saying he has gotten upwards of 20 reloads from the Lapua brass.

Of course this changes the calculations considerably.

Welcome to the forum and good luck whichever way you go.

Lee

[bwaites]

Here you go:

20 rounds of Amax Hornady. Best price I've found $18/Box, or 90 cents/round.

Take that brass, and reload:

Bullet .25 or $25/100

Primer .04 or 3.99/100

Powder .11 or $25/233 loads (A pound of powder makes 233 loads at 30 grains/load)

So a reload on that brass cost you .40 cents if you shoot Amax's.

Thats approximately a 56% reduction in costs over buying another box of Hornady.

Essentially that's $8/box ammo, ammortize the Hornady brass over 9 reloads, and you get 200 shots for $18 initial cost plus $8x9 or 72 dollars. Thats 200 rounds for a total of 90 dollars, or 45 cents a round.

Thats a cost reduction of 50% over buying new ammo. At that cost, you will recoup your reloading press and associated costs inside of 1000 rounds.

I have Lapua brass I have reloaded 20 plus times, as Lee points out, which means that my costs for reloading after 10 rounds is only the cost of powder, bullets, and primers.

I load approx. 60-100 rounds an hour on a single stage press, just like the two I have for sale in Buy/Sell/Trade. (Shameless plug there!)

[LRRPF52]

You can find the Hornady 123gr factory box ammo cheaper than $1/cartridge.

Cost savings haven't really been the main reason for me to load, since accuracy and performance are the driving factors for me. For my precision guns, the thought of putting factory ammo through them really doesn't cross my mind.

I also like being able to choose which bullets I am shooting, not rely on some factory load. The Grendel has so many different projectiles to choose from, you could literally spend a lifetime doing load development with it, and that is limiting yourself to the 85-130gr class bullets available in .264" diameter.

You could also just buy Wolf MPT 120gr if you are looking to save money in the meantime. AIM Surplus had it a $12.99 a box last time I checked.

Here's a list of projectiles to choose from for the Grendel:

http://www.65grendel.com/forum/showthread.php?2349-Updated-Selection-of-Projectiles-for-the-Grendel&p=24766#post24766

[Deezil]

+1 on the accuracy. My reloads shoot twice as good as factory. Plus its way more fun!

[bwaites]

My most accurate loads have been handloaded ammo, but Hornady's factory load shoots 1/2 MOA in my 28", which is probably about as good as you can make handloaded ammo consistently. It shoots well enough that I have shot several matches with it, without having time to develop a load that my rifle really likes.

I'm trying to figure out a Scenar or 123 Sierra load that will shoot really well, but so far I haven't had great success. I can get under 1 MOA, but not 1/2 MOA. I now believe that I will have to load both those bullets too long for mag length, and single load them. Both those bullets approach VLD dimensions, and VLD's seem to like being very close to or even in the lands. You can't get there with mag length bullets in that class. That's OK, because in F Class you have to single load anyway.

[ericv]

all the above plus the satisfaction and pride of creating and tuning your own.

[rkflorey]

You not mentioning the fact that now you get to load other calibers also. The savings just keep coming. Kevin

[noone]

I quit counting reloads on my lapua brass after 6-8 loadings. Now, after many more loadings, I get about 2-3 cases out of 100 that have neck splits. I plan to anneal again, and that always helps save the necks. Usually, I anneal about every 3rd loading.

I tried using Winchester 7.62x39 cases and fire forming them, but it wasn't cost effective. After adding up the cost of loading up the cheapest projectiles I could find to fire form, that raised the cost quite a bit. Then, I lost a few cases during the case forming, and with the large primer pockets, the primer pockets get loose after about 3 loadings. So, I have never done that again.

However, if I were to come by a large quantity of free 7.62x39 brass, it would be worth fire forming it.

[scott law]

Thank you very much your responce. Have learned alot. Do I also need to get a case cleaner? Any other items to make reloading process complete?? Besides dies and shell holders.!