Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters MD & All..Is factory ammo vs reloads now cheaper

My father taught me to reload back in the 1970's, and I did it religiously for 40 years except for when I was in the Army. But I'm a big fan of factory ammo these days for five reasons.

First, I stopped worrying about group size after reading an article on the Gunsite 270 rifle class, which focuses on how to use a rifle for hunting and defense. An instructor was quoted as saying that if you’re shooting groups smaller than about 3 MOA, then you need to shoot faster. I had seen similar thoughts elsewhere, but this is the one that sank in.

Second, I had to. My loading gear ended up in storage after I got divorced, so I bought a case of FMJ 308 practice ammo and I was delighted at how nice it was to grab a few boxes of ammo on my way out the door instead of constantly wondering whether I had enough components on hand to load what I needed. Hmmm.

Third, more time for practice. I had just realized the importance of offhand in those days, and I went through half of that case of ammo shooting from my hind legs in the summer before deer season. I dropped a blacktail buck with a fast 90-yard snap shot with that rifle later that year, so the practice paid off and the 3 MOA accuracy standard didn’t hurt me.

Fourth, I switched to cartridges I could find in big-box stores. I wanted to make more hunts that require air travel and I wanted to the ability to buy ammo almost anywhere in case the airlines lost my bags, so I thinned the herd to 44 Magnum, 30-06, 308, and 338 WM. I might have to pay high retail for ammo once I get on the ground, but that’s better than driving around Nowhere County, USA for days looking for 8x68 ammo instead of hunting.

Fifth was cost. Aside from the one-time cost of brass, loading for common calibers is a break-even deal once you figure in the cost of shipping and/or time, fuel and other costs of driving around to buy components. Superb factory ammo is easy to find for common cartridges, plus you can save a lot online if you’re patient and willing to buy in bulk. If I still worked with less common cartridges, then I’d definitely reload just to save money.


I learned a lot from handloading and I kind of miss the rituals of it, but if someone asked me about getting started in it today, then I'd tell them to glass bed/free float the rifle in question, get a chronograph, and bookmark https://ammoseek.com/. Test factory ammo with the chronograph, then buy the load your rifle shoots best in bulk online. Spend your time learning to actually hit things with your rifle instead of fooling with loads.


Okie John

My reloads are at least half or less than even Walmart cheapies. I've been reloading for so long that most of my tools and equipment costs were amortized many years ago. I'm retired so all of my time is FREE, and reloading is a good pastime that produces positive results.

Most of my reloading is shotshells, about 4-5,000 per year. My first shotshell press was a single stage 12 gauge Honey Bair that I bought in the early '70s. I still use it for my hunting loads. I started shooting in Trap leagues and ATA registered Trap competitions in the early '80s, and bought my first Pacific/Hornady 366 progressive 12 gauge shotshell reloader. In the late '80s I started shooting registered Skeet, so I bought 3 more 366 reloaders, in 20 ga, 28 ga, and .410. At that time I was shooting about 10,000 shotshells so I bought my first lead shot maker, and began making up to 700 pounds of my own shot each year.

I dig rifle and pistol bullets from the dirt backstop berms at our rifle range and after I smelt them down, I sell the copper jackets to our local recycle yard for enough money to easily pay for the propane gas that I use to melt the range bullets and the electricity needed to make my lead shot and for casting my lead rifle and pistol bullets. That makes my lead shot and all but my gas checked lead rifle and pistol bullets free.

From my days of competitive Trap and Skeet shooting, many of my friends would only shoot new Winchester AA shells in competition, and they didn't reload and gave me their once fired hulls. I have a lifetime supply of free old style AA hulls.

Our gun club sells members shotshell wads, primers and powder, and rifle and pistol primers and powder in bulk quantities at less than retail prices, so I get the bulk of my components there.

I started rifle reloading back in 1967 when I bought my first centerfire rifle, and for pistols in the early '70s. In the late '70s I upgraded my original Herter's "C" press to a RCBS Rockchucker and a Dillon 450 progressive that I still use today.

I've been a brass scrounger since I was a kid, and even though I now shoot several thousand rifle and pistol rounds each year, I easily have a lifetime supply of free rifle and pistol cases for all except my .300 Weatherby and .375 RUM.

So the bottom line is that I am reloading my shotgun shells (12, 20, 28 ga ands .410) for about $1.50 per box of 25; my lead bullet pistol shells (9 mm, .38 Sp., .44 mag, and .45 acp) for about $2.50 per box of 50; my gas checked lead pistol bullets (.357 and .44 mags) for about $3.00 per box of 50; my gas checked lead rifle bullets for about $2.00 per box of 20; and cup and core bullet rifle shells for about $10.00 a box of 20; and premium bullet rifle shells for about $20.00 per box of 20.

One could always justify or rationalize reloading to save money. But the fact is for most of us, reloaders shoot more so that soaks up pretty much all cost savings.

My reason for reloading is simple, I enjoy it. I enjoy seeing how different styles of bullets perform on game, I enjoy seeing how switching bullets or powder may effect accuracy, etc. I may have started reloading to save money, but really I think I rationalized it. My favorite writers were Finn Aagaard, Bob Milek, John Wooters, JOC, Ed Matunas, Bob Hagel, Ken Waters and others. I poured over their reloading data before I even had the equipment. Then I would use their favorite loads and often varied them to make my own favorite.

That's it, the bottom line. I enjoy it.

Aa
I do, too. Just wish it pencilled out better.


Okie John

Enjoyed the responses here.
Shotgun reloading doesn't pencil out for me anywhere close, so I look for sales and specials to stock up. If it made a difference in patterns, I might reload shotgun, but I've never honestly noticed a difference either on clay or feathers. I do feel a little guilty not reloading, tho.

Rifle and pistol? For stuff like 7.62x39, it's kind of a wash because most guns there are semi auto and the brass gets pounded, plus the basic accuracy isn't there. Same thing for 9mm, but not 45 ACP. The latter pays to reload, the former "breaks even."

But for just about everything else, including 223, reloading pays off in very little time, especially if you put some effort into your time and motion efficiency, which John B. has written about. I can swat out a nice batch of 250 rounds of good stuff in maybe 90 focused minutes from start to stop. Yep, I have a Dillon SEQUENTIAL press (not "progressive" any more). Maybe my figuring would be different using a single stage, but for now, handloading wins for me.

As pointed out in my post, it depends. While retired guys can spend plenty of time not only on the process itself, but scrounging, or making, various components. Their time is basically free, and if they want to shoot a lot, why not?

But for anybody whose time still means money, today's factory ammo can be a very good deal. Aside from my example in the article involving the 7mm-08 (where I got the brass from very cheap factory ammo "free"), quite a few shooters buy .17 Hornady Hornet factory ammo for prairie dog shooting, then sell the once-fired brass afterward to those who prefer to handload.

One amazing fact is that unless you're determined to shoot deer at 500+ yards, today's factory ammo is more than accurate enough, evenin many of the today's "affordable" factory rifles. But if you get recreational pleasure out of reloading "half-inch" ammo, why not?

As for shotgun reloading, I still do some specialized loading for hunting, but for claybird practice, considering the time invested, buying today's bulk ammo is far cheaper. The specialized loading is usually just as expensive as factory ammo, but better.

While many people believe gun writers only shoot "free" ammo, that's often not the case--and especially wasn't during the Obama years when even factories didn't have ammo a lot of the time. Even today I often find it more time-efficient to buy factory. Last I spent close to $100 on factory shotgun and rifle ammo, because it saved money compared to me handloading comparable loads.

I reload because I enjoy it and take satisfaction from bagging an animal from ammo I spent time contemplating and developing. I can’t get get that out of factory ammo.

I've gotten to the point I generally buy factory for my "basic" cartridges such as 30/30, 308, 30/06, etc as price during sales, counting rebates, puts roughly in the same range as I can load it. I do load some of these rounds but in versions I don't find on store shelves. I do a fair bit of rifle reloading but it is for either those rounds which are no longer made, not commonly found, and/or are pretty expensive such as 25 Rem, 358 Win, or 416 Rigby as examples.

I load the majority of my handgun ammo, except for 9mm I can beat factory prices by a significant amount. 38 Spl used to be pretty cheap but it is pretty expensive these days so it gets reloaded regularly.

12 ga target loads are not worth reloading in 1 1/8 oz as it is less than 50 cents difference from factory and even the cheapest factory will be more than sufficient for the majority of uses. I still load 12 ga target loads but in 7/8 oz as they aren't readily available in the store and, still using lead I bought for less than $20/bag or reclaimed shot, can be under $3/box. For local registered or league sporting clays, skeet, and trap back to 22-23 yard handicap these loads work just fine. Hunting loads of 1 1/8 and 1 1/4 oz are reloaded as I can handily beat factory prices using magnum shot.

20 ga is much like 12 though one can realize greater savings as factory pricing is similar to 12 ga but the 20 uses less shot which is the major cost. I load 3/4 oz for targets to save a little more.

One sees significant savings if they shoot 28 or 410 much. Saving $6/box is not difficult and that can add up quickly. 16 ga can save a bit more than with the 12 ga but the greater value is having a greater load selection than factory. Same for 10 ga but even more so.

It really depends on the particular situation if reloading makes sense. Starting from scratch to load 12 ga target loads, 9mm, or some of the common rifle rounds may not be cost effective but for other choices it may be the best if not only option.

Just read Muledeer's post and saw he bought Hornady American Whitetail 139 gr 7-08 ammo for $22 a box. Good deal...BUT.... Out of curiosity, I checked Midway and they are listing it on sale for $17.19 per box of 20.(Not including shipping.) That's super cheap. You pretty much get cases for that.

Midway does not ship ammo to my fair state of Massachusetts, otherwise I'd buy 5 or 10 boxes. So have at it guys.

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I’d agree that 3 M O A is adequate for 90 yd shooting. If you’re satisfied...
whatever floats your boat.


Jerry

I recall several years ago I found 3 rounds of 308 at the range in the brass bucket..loaded....they were hornady sst...had a light primer strike...since I use hornady brass I took them home to pull the bullets...I thought it would be fun to weigh the charges and shoot them for group...so I pulled the bullets and the powder charges were almost a full grain different...I re primed them and reset the bullets...then shot them for group and over a coronagraph....to my amazement there was only 10 fps spread and went into about 3/4 group...
Not bad I was surprised...can't explain it but I know they have thousands of blends of powder that we don't have access to..
I handload everything but do believe the factory makes some good stuff now days..

The premise of this thread is retarded.

I ask a corolarry question: why bother going hunting when it's cheaper to buy meat at the store?

Right! I never want to pencil out the price of a pound of elk! Yikes!

I hand load because I enjoy it, not saving money when you factor in time spent. Also, I have several rifles that ammo is either hard to find with the right bullet or plain expensive. Weatherby magnums, .35 Whelen, 250-3000 Savage, .358 Winchester, & .257 Roberts come to mind. The .30-06 and .308 Win not so much.

Simple. This thread points out that if your time is money you may be saving both by just buying Store ammo. And the thread was well worth that realization. Now I don't have to feel so guilty that my reloading stuff is collecting dust for the last 2 years.

I got into reloading in 97 while I was stationed in Kodiak. I got into it because winters there are long and I needed something to pass my time and because 35 Whelen, 45-70 and 257 Roberts were not readily available and weren't available at all with the bullets I wanted. Now it's just a way to kill time on a rainy day. And still, most of what I load isn't available commercially.

The savings depend a lot on what you need to buy. Yesterday I loaded some 45-70 with 300 gr. Sierra bullets. The cost worked out to $15 plus labor per box of 20. For that cartridge it made sense. Loading for .30-30, 308, 270 or .30-'06 makes less financial sense, but I do it anyway.

It depends on the components in your handloads, in some instances factory ammo featuring the same components may be cheaper. After 45 yrs. I still handload because I enjoy it.

A few years ago I shot a 5x5 bull on my hill behind my house. I cut him in half and was able to drag him home by myself. I do all of my butchering myself, and when I grind the burger I add 10% beef fat. The cost of the fat at a local grocery store was $1 per pound for a total of $14. My Montana geezer elk tag was $12 and one of my .300 Weatherby 168 grain Barnes TSX reloads cost $1. So that elk cost me $27.

Now if I were to factor in my property taxes on the hill behind my house... beef at the grocery store is way cheaper.

I enjoy it too, and in addition, the factory ammo I've tried has seldom given the accuracy my handoads do, even back when I was much less sophisticated and well-equipped. The Hornady ELD-X loads I bought as a benchmark load for my 6 Creed are a recent example. All my handloads grouped better, which surprised me. Barrett uses the ELD-M load for testing, so I may try those at some point if I find them on sale. The best factory load I've used lately has been the Fiocchi .223 40gr VMax. Good stuff!

For me, it started out as a necessity, that is, if I was going to shoot. At $8.95/box, those Upland game loads in 16ga were expensive back in my college days. For Christmas, my boss gave me a $30 gift certificate and an older Mec 600 16 gauge reloader and I was off and running.
I started loading for centerfire cartridges my senior year in college when a friend had to move and left me all of his gear. I mainly wanted to shoot more than I could by buying a box of shells at a time.

I learned as I went along and started loading some pretty good rifle rounds. Then I started loading for my Dad's 30-06 so he could shoot more often with me. As I picked up new rifles and different cartridges I kept it up. Same with shotguns.

Now, I don't look at how much it costs/round or any of that. I enjoy it. The challenge of making rounds that meet or exceed my goal is just one part of the enjoyment. Though for shotguns and some of my cartridges, cost per round still plays a factor. When I knew I would be leaving the rep business, I made it a point that any time one of my dealers had a sale on lead shot below $20 a bag, I'd pick up a bag or two. Add in the reclaimed shot a friend pulled out of his range and when I moved back to Texas I had about a ton of lead shot. I'd picked up enough Rem hulls in 12 and 20 and one of my last purchases was 15,000 209 primers. Last time I figured out my costs I was loading 12 and 20 gauge for $1.97 per box.

And, if I want to shoot at least one of my rifles, it's purely a reloading expedition. I haven't seen a box of 256 Newton on the shelf at a store in my life.