LR1955 Wrote:Guys:
My SWAG based on a decent reloading kit like the Hornady is that initial outlay will be about $650.00 which will include a set of Hornady Grendel dies, a pound of powder, a hundred decent bullets in the 120 grain range, a hundred primers, and a hundred pieces of Lapua brass.
The cost of factory loads ranges from just under two dollars a shot to over three. Two dollars a round is about average I think.
Anyone who doesn't get at least ten shots from a piece of Lapua Grendel brass is either hot loading it badly or is using a set of Lee reloading dies.
The cost to reload a round is about $.10 for the brass, .15 for the primer, .15 for a thirty grain charge of TAC, and $.50 for the bullet. Round it up to one dollar a shot for the handloaded round.
So, a guy ought to have paid off his press and hardware in about 650 rounds fired of decent ammo using decent brass.
For some, 650 rounds of ammo is a gigantic amount and they wouldn't shoot that much in three years.
Competitive shooters will go through 650 rounds of ammo in a week or two and that is being conservative.
Sure, items can be debated and costs of powder, etc but I figure the differences in cost between factory loads and handloads will be in the dollar a shot arena.
LR-55
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.