check me on this:

case is 23 cents
primer is 3 cents
powder is 9 cents
bullet is 10 cents.

I get 45 cents a round

I can buy ammo for $450 a case of 1000, correct? plus my labor is free.

does that add up for you?

Sycamore

Looks good.
I'll reload.
Plus, I've got lots o' LC cases.
Picked up for free.....

yes but factor in several uses of each case.

and the fact that your loads will be worked up as accurate in your rifle.

Yep.
I do like them AR boys flinging all that ammo, though.
I love free brass.

I like the free cases too, and shooting something besides fmj. Still, I was a little surprised to do the math.

Maybe when guys were buying kegs of surplus powder the numbers came out different.

primers a 1 cents per, etc.

Sycamore

Like MJ, I usually justify my actions by amortizing brass over several reloads.
I also factor in the enjoyment factor I have for reloading. I'm not really sure why, but I just like it. TV mostly sucks and being in the gun room doesn't....for me.
Then throw in the custom ammo factor and I'm sold on reloading.
My a.i.'s make it mandatory anyway.

Buy factory, much safer.

Your life is worth more then 45 scents.

Sheer profundity.

Huh.........? Your reloads may not be safe.....

Mine have been the last 40 years......

I like the way you are thinking but it has been quite a while since I have seen components as cheaply as you are pricing them.

Looking at the price of components I find the prices to be closer to -

Cases - $26 per hundred = .26 cents each
Primers - $30 per hundred = .03 each
Powder at .09 cents each
Bullet at .21 cents each

My total comes up to .59 cents each

Of course figuring an average of 10 loads per case that drops the price to about .36 cents each

I calculated component prices from the Powder Valley web site and do not include HazMat, if you happened to order from the site, and of course did not include sales tax paid if bought from a retail store.

drover

I was thinking some cheap high volume fmj for bullets, and ignoring hazmat on the powder and primers (assuming local purchase)

your number are probably right, or right(er)

Sycamore

yeah but yours isn't...

Confirmed Prius Owner and OBama voter...

and leftist troll...

VMax: 18 cents
Primer: 3 cents

Powder: 3.5 to 5 cents ( Blue Dot, and SR 4759)

Brass: Free, and long life span taking care of it...

25 to 27 cents with a V Max...

bulk Varmint Nightmares: 10 cents, so 17 to 19 cents per round...

not having to use factory ammo, and take whatever is available.. priceless

Word. My buddy Seafire has it right.

Them Mid-South Nightmares do the job in my vanilla and they were cheap.
7.5 cents when I last bought a pile. (Them days my be gone).

My small bores can be loaded cheaper than HMR, if I paid retail for HMR.

Vinny

http://www.handloads.com/calc/loadingCosts.asp



X-VERMINATOR

Thanks.

nice calculator, I was plugging everything into Excel.

Sycamore

I was looking at bulk fmj, so varmint nightmare would be the way to go.

Also considering a medium burning powder at $25/pound, and 25 gr a shot (rounding)

Haven't used much SR4759 in a long time. might be time to invest.

Sycamore

I bought a bunch of stuff before the latest scare.
I bought WC846 at $89 for 8lbs. Wolf Small rifle primers at $17/1000 and Hornady 55gr FMJ at $75/1000 and $40/250 V-Maxs and had a Military buddy give me alot of brass.

So I'm at about $0.17 a round for plinking ammo and at about $0.26 a round for V-maxs

Not long ago, I threw out an empty primer box marked $1.79. Made me a little sad.

How cheap can you shoot? I get free LC brass. Figure $.03 each for primers. I have some AA2015 that I paid $18 for. 24.1 grains of that works out to $.062. A few years ago I picked up 1,000 Winchester FMJBT bullets for $38, or $.038 each. So my cheapest load works out to $.13 each.

What is realistic in today's market? Hornady bullets are available for $25/200, or $.125 each. If you could buy bulk TAC, it would be $.081 for 25.5 grains. As I said, LC brass is free if you know where to look. Adding $.03 per primer, those cartridges cost $.236.

For something a little more exotic, you can get Nosler Ballistic Tips at about $.19 if you buy decent quantities.

If I had to pay $.45 per cartridge, it would greatly inhibit my enthusiasm for shooting.

before the scare, I never, ever thought about surplus powder.

I thought I could pick up a pound of whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted it.

It's made me into more a long term perspective.

Sycamore

If you really want to get crazy, a mold and some free lead will get you into bullets for about 3 cents each (the cost of gas checks if you need them). These will be different types of loads of course, but fun for plinking.
Case-free range pick up
Primer-3cents
Powder-4 cents (11grs SR4759)
Bullet-8 cents (I included a $50 mold price amortized over 1k rounds and gas checks at $30/1k)
Total-15 cents a round and the more you shoot the cheaper they get.

Yours ain't.

Im worth millions there squattopee.

An internet rich guy...imagine that???

actually, there HoChiMinh, you're worth BILLIONS...

I won't say what... but it ain't good...

Probably AlGore's armorer.

Funny

This looks like somebody that had a hell of a time getting past the 3rd grade on the fourth attempt!!