Minimal equipment required for loading 6.5 Grendel?

[LR1955]

A pound of Ramshot Tac at Powder Valley is $65 shipped right now. That's $.28 per round of powder, not $.15. Academy sells Hornady Black ELDM for $1.50 a round. They had plenty sitting on the shelf the last time I was in there. Right now, Lucky Gunner will ship 200 plus rounds of Hornady Black ELDM to you at $2.20 per round, shipping included.

The Hornady Lock and Load Classic kit is $370. Dies are $53. A pound of powder is $70 shipped, assuming TAC works well in OP's barrel with the first kind of bullets he buys. 100 ELDM bullets are $58 shipped. The smallest box of primers will be about $135 shipped. The $100 worth of brass he's buying won't "cost" $.10 per round until after he's loaded all 100 cases 10 times. Then he's going to have to buy them again at $1.00 a round and work his way back down again from there. OP will still need calipers, a case gauge, lube pads and brushes, and some way to clean his cases. And that will give him a set up that's incredibly tedious to load with that he'll wind up either abandoning altogether or replacing most of because it's so slow. I've been there and done that. It's no way to save money.

OP asked about using a minimalist set up to save money and availability of ammo versus components. At least give him accurate information about the core costs. I just don't understand why so many people fudge reloading costs, particularly when giving advice to people considering starting out in it. There are plenty of good reasons to reload without being disingenuous about the costs.

Bonas:

Do you think I went through all of that trouble from costs I pulled out of my rear end?

I went to the Midway web site and pulled the figures from them.

BTW -- a pound of TAC at Midway is $36.00.

Now to the real issue.

You are accusing me of lying, attempting to deceive, and being disingenuous because I took an hour of my life to get the info for my post?

You have no clue as to my motivation for spending that amount of time to give the best info I could give without spending another three hours on the subject.

One thing to disagree with me. Another thing to accuse me of lying or attempting to deceive.

Accuse me of these things again and you are history.

And no, I won't argue with you about it.

LR-55

[JASmith]

LR,

Thanks for nipping this in the bud! The conversation was starting to go off the rails.

Also, I am pleasantly surprised that your analysis suggests that my equipment has long since amortized!

I have not taken a close look at my own cost-benefit trade because, for me, the reloading is half of the fun of shooting! Hence the comparison to gold clubs and pool tables in one my ealrier posts.

[LR1955]

LR,

Thanks for nipping this in the bud! The conversation was starting to go off the rails.

Also, I am pleasantly surprised that your analysis suggests that my equipment has long since amortized!

I have not taken a close look at my own cost-benefit trade because, for me, the reloading is half of the fun of shooting! Hence the comparison to gold clubs and pool tables in one my ealrier posts.

JAS:

It is a very rough estimate. I took the costs of major components but did not go into a gigantic amount of detail. I was pretty surprised that generally speaking, handloading will be half that of a similar quality factory load. I would have thought it would be about three quarters the cost of a similar quality factory load. I also didn't include stuff like shipping and handling fees. Prices vary so much for the same item that it would take hours to figure out an average cost for anything.

Personally, I really dislike reloading. Find it boring and without a lot of satisfaction in the end. Comes from decades of competitive shooting where once you found your load, your job was to produce as much of that load as possible in as little time as possible.

I wish I could tell guys to buy the stuff but never in my reloading career has it been cheaper to buy quality rifle ammo as it was to handload it.

LR-55

[603 Country]

The OP never asked about the economics of reloading. All he wanted was what was decent gear to get started. That info, and more, was supplied. I’ve been reloading since the late 70’s and really got into gear around 1980. Up until I got the Grendel, I hadn’t bought a factory round for 40 years. I was shocked at the cost of Grendel ammo. I’ll keep reloading. And I shoot a lot, so don’t want to have to buy factory ammo.

My sister’s youngest boy called me the other day and said he had bought a 257 Weatherby but no ammo yet. Then he found the cost was $5 a round for factory ammo. Shoulda called me before he bought that gun. I think he was hoping I’d reload some ammo for him. If he buys all the bits and pieces he’ll need, I will show him how to reload. He can use my gear. Bullets, primers, and powder are obtainable, but what’ll the brass cost. I wonder. Still ought to beat $5 a round.

[kmon]

603, You know how to reach me if you need some 257WBY Brass

[LR1955]

The OP never asked about the economics of reloading. All he wanted was what was decent gear to get started. That info, and more, was supplied. I’ve been reloading since the late 70’s and really got into gear around 1980. Up until I got the Grendel, I hadn’t bought a factory round for 40 years. I was shocked at the cost of Grendel ammo. I’ll keep reloading. And I shoot a lot, so don’t want to have to buy factory ammo.

My sister’s youngest boy called me the other day and said he had bought a 257 Weatherby but no ammo yet. Then he found the cost was $5 a round for factory ammo. Shoulda called me before he bought that gun. I think he was hoping I’d reload some ammo for him. If he buys all the bits and pieces he’ll need, I will show him how to reload. He can use my gear. Bullets, primers, and powder are obtainable, but what’ll the brass cost. I wonder. Still ought to beat $5 a round.

603:

I never really thought about the cost of factory loads because I had been reloading for so many years. A lot of guys here buy their ammo so I started looking at the cost of factory loads and was gobsmacked. I can not fathom throwing two dollars plus down range every time I pulled the trigger. Still can't.

Not sure why someone would want a Weatherby anything but they can be guaranteed the highest priced factory loads on the market, if they can be found.

LR55

[603 Country]

Kmon, I do remember about the brass. I think I’ll just leave that young man alone on this issue, and if and when he ever really wants to reload, he can come see me. He ought to just sell that dang rifle and get something more along the lines of a 270 or a 6.5 Creedmoor, where factory ammo is not quite so expensive.

I got into Grendel use due to the grandson. He was here to pig hunt and he wanted to use my 223 AR, and he shot a big old boar hog. Shot at him 4 times and hit lungs, guts, right ear, and dirt, in that order. Said it was the most fun hunting he’d ever had, but he wished the caliber had a bit more power. He had just graduated law school at the top of his class, so I rewarded him with a Grendel (Odin Works). But I had no ammo or brass or dies, so I paid $2 a round for Hornady factory 123 gr SSTs. The price for 200 rounds almost took my breath away, but I was gonna reuse the brass (which, as I’ve related, didn’t work out). So, anyway, I’m reloading for the Grendel now, with Starline brass, so I have us covered on ammo. Already had the powder needed and the primers. First rounds of reloading are costing me, as a guess, about $1.50. By the third reloads, I’ll be down to maybe 80 cents per, and down from there as I get more use from the brass. If I use my wife’s shopping logic, I’m saving tons of money. You married guys will understand that.