Reloading, how long to break even?

[singlestacksig]

Neraph has a great example, depending on what you are loading you can get your value back in one bang... 9mm & 5.56 are two of the most produced rounds in the world.. it is going to take a long time to get the value out of them.. but what you will get is better performance out of Your gun..

if you reload rare rifle calibers you will see your money back very fast..

 

[jeremy]

So what do you value your time at?!

 

[Skip]

I value my time at whatever hobby I am doing as therapy and priceless as well.

Every second I spend in reloading/shooting/hunting/casting/hiking/family time is worth my weight in gold and that is considerable, to say the least!

Do you value your time that you waste in front of a TV set? You should because that is truly time wasted. Nonproductive and useless yet millions of folks do it every day.

The wife and I have 5 children and we raised them all without a TV. One is an engineering supervisor/father of 6/deacon in a church, one is a preacher's wife and mother of 2, one is a cop, one is a pastor's wife and mother, and the last is a student with a 4.0GPA at college.

I taught them all to shoot/hunt/enjoy the outdoors and not one second of that time was wasted either.

 

[Broom_jm]

I've relayed this before, but I shoot 30 Carbine and 44/40 Winchester cases, as well as several wildcats for which you almost CAN'T buy loaded ammo.

The 30 Carbine ammo is ~$35/50 and the 44/40, loaded for rifle, is often $60/50. One afternoon of shooting those guns and I've more than paid for all the reloading equipment I own. Plus, I get a great hobby out of it!

Folks who try to place a dollar value on their time often have little understanding of what is invaluable. Being self-sufficient, for example.

 

[kludge]

Your time is worth what someone will pay for it... I've already worked all my hours, so I'm not getting any more money.

So, it's not the value of my time that matters, rather it's the opportunity cost.

I could sit on the couch and watch TV. The opportunity cost of that decision is that I'll have to pay an extra $10 for every box of ammo that I shoot.

If I shoot two boxes of ammo, that's dinner out for me and my wife when I get back from the range. Which pays back in other ways.

 

[Skip]

Being self-sufficient, for example.

If I shoot two boxes of ammo, that's dinner out for me and my wife when I get back from the range. Which pays back in other ways.

You two are two of the greatest individuals I know! Thinkers, I like that!

Wish there was a "like" button on this forum!

Already gave out the reps for the day!

 

[Wolfe28]

As others have said, it's what you shoot that determines how fast reloading equipment pays for itself. Since some of the things on my list are 22 Hornet, 45/70 and 357 Remington Maximum, I made my money back fairly quickly.

 

[Car Ramrod]

Apparently reloading to shoot eventually pays off, but reloading to just have rounds on hand is not so cost effective.

It looks like I will just continue to buy pre-loaded ammo as I have been doing, and scrap the idea of loading my own.

 

[Skip]

Apparently reloading to shoot eventually pays off, but reloading to just have rounds on hand is not so cost effective.

It looks like I will just continue to buy pre-loaded ammo as I have been doing, and scrap the idea of loading my own.

Can I have all of your empty cases then? I will pay postage!

 

[XtremeVel]

Apparently reloading to shoot eventually pays off, but reloading to just have rounds on hand is not so cost effective.

It looks like I will just continue to buy pre-loaded ammo as I have been doing, and scrap the idea of loading my own.

Whenever someone asks about the cost savings of reloading, I usually struggle with that question.... I look at it a little differently than simply " how long before it pays off the initial equipment purchase ".

I honestly have no clue how much 1k rounds of factory 9mm ammo runs now days.... How many cases could you get if bought in bulk say for $1000 ? Maybe 4 or 5 ???

Now, lets say you take that same $1000.00 and bought components instead. Say your funds are limited and you are thinking come this fall, prices could soar or availability could become an issue again. Lets even say you will buy cast bullets rather than casting your own. For that same $1000.00, you could buy enough bullets, primers, and powder to load 8000-10,000 9mm's...

Now assuming you were to get a moderately priced kit such as a Lee Classic turret, wouldn't a $200.00 investment be worth the OPTIONS it would afford you ?

 

[Car Ramrod]

Whenever someone asks about the cost savings of reloading, I usually struggle with that question.... I look at it a little differently than simply " how long before it pays off the initial equipment purchase ".

I honestly have no clue how much 1k rounds of factory ammo runs now days.... How many case could you get if bought in bulk say for $1000 ? Maybe 4 or 5 ???

Now, lets say you take that same $1000.00 and bought components instead. Say your funds are limited and you are thinking come this fall, prices could soar or availability could become an issue again. Lets even say you will buy cast bullets rather than casting your own. For that same $1000.00, you could buy enough bullets, primers, and powder to load 8000-10,000 9mm's...

Now assuming you were to get a moderately priced kit such as a Lee Classic turret, wouldn't a $200.00 investment be worth the options it would afford you ?

I priced it out for $13.XX for 50 rounds of 9mm. You can buy 9mm for $20-25 per 100 rounds.

I don't shoot matches, competitions, or anything of that nature. I have .22lr, 9mm, and .223/5.56 firearms. I have no desire to reload anything other than these calibers. If these calibers are not cost affective to load and store, then I see no point in loading them and just buying bulk ammo.

 

[XtremeVel]

I priced it out for $13.XX for 50 rounds of 9mm. You can buy 9mm for $20-25 per 100 rounds.

I don't shoot matches, competitions, or anything of that nature. I have .22lr, 9mm, and .223/5.56 firearms. I have no desire to reload anything other than these calibers. If these calibers are not cost affective to load and store, then I see no point in loading them and just buying bulk ammo.

9mm and 5.56 are cost effective to load, just not as much as other calibers...

Instead of looking at it from cents/round to load, look at if from if you had $250.00, 500, or 1000.00 to spend prior to the next time where prices soar and availability is a major issue, wouldn't you prefer getting the most bang for your buck ? Even with the less cost effective round such as 9mm, you'd still be laying in enough components to load twice as much for your buck. Who knows what the future holds and how long the dry spell could go for... I take comfort knowing I am stretching my shooting budget as far as I can and that 2:1 ratio looks awful good...

 

[jeremy]

Folks who try to place a dollar value on their time often have little understanding of what is invaluable. Being self-sufficient, for example.

LOL!

I assign a Labor Value to almost everything I do. Time is Money, and Money is Time.

Sometimes it is cheaper for me to reload, sometimes it is cheaper for me to just buy 5,000 rounds already loaded. I have not loaded ammo for 5 years, due to the fact I have things that I think are a much higher Value to me and mine.

As far as Self-Sufficiency, there ain't a whole lot that I need that I cannot do...

 

[Car Ramrod]

9mm and 5.56 are cost effective to load, just not as much as other calibers...

Instead of looking at it from cents/round to load, look at if from if you had $250.00, 500, or 1000.00 to spend prior to the next time where prices soar and availability is a major issue, wouldn't you prefer getting the most bang for your buck ? Even with the less cost effective round such as 9mm, you'd still be laying in enough components to load twice as much for your buck. Who knows what the future holds and how long the dry spell could go for... I take comfort knowing I am stretching my shooting budget as far as I can and that 2:1 ratio looks awful good...

How would I be at a 2:1 ratio when the cost I figured was already the same, if not greater than what I can currently purchase for?

LOL!

I assign a Labor Value to almost everything I do. Time is Money, and Money is Time.

Sometimes it is cheaper for me to reload, sometimes it is cheaper for me to just buy 5,000 rounds already loaded. I have not loaded ammo for 5 years, due to the fact I have things that I think are a much higher Value to me and mine.

As far as Self-Sufficiency, there ain't a whole lot that I need that I cannot do...

This is why I said we overlook what my time might be worth. Once you start putting an actual $$ amount to your time, it skews the entire thing.

 

[jeremy]

This is why I said we overlook what my time might be worth. Once you start putting an actual $$ amount to your time, it skews the entire thing.

And it is one of the Main Reasons I assign it a Value...

I grew up around a LOT of Farmers and Ranchers that never understood that. Most of them lost their Farms and Ranches in the 80's...

 

[XtremeVel]

How would I be at a 2:1 ratio when the cost I figured was already the same, if not greater than what I can currently purchase for?


This is why I said we overlook what my time might be worth. Once you start putting an actual $$ amount to your time, it skews the entire thing.

let's use $500.00 for example.... For that, you could buy how much loaded ammo ? 2000-2500 rounds ?

For that same $500.00, you could buy enough cast bullets, primers and powder to load double that ! Now, this is assuming you get free brass which isn't hard to come by in 9mm. If you wanted to even save more, casting your own would really save MUCH more yet....

It's so much more than just savings. I just like the options it gives me. I can bring in so much more components for my dollar than I could loaded ammo. Who knows.... There might be a day where the ONLY way you could afford to shoot is not only to reload, but to reload with components you bought TODAY !

I hope you really rethink your position on this. I only see prices going up even more, or worse yet, an availability issue on the horizon again.

 

[Broom_jm]

LOL!

I assign a Labor Value to almost everything I do. Time is Money, and Money is Time.

Sometimes it is cheaper for me to reload, sometimes it is cheaper for me to just buy 5,000 rounds already loaded. I have not loaded ammo for 5 years, due to the fact I have things that I think are a much higher Value to me and mine.

As far as Self-Sufficiency, there ain't a whole lot that I need that I cannot do...

You're missing the point I was trying to make.

My 10 year-old daughter helps me reload 9mm and then we go shoot 'em.
My son and I create precision loads for the 308 I bought him for Christmas.
My 15 year-old daughter has taken both of her deer with my 44/40 handloads that she lends a hand with. Place a $$ value on those things.

If you're self-sufficient, why have you been buying ammo for the last 5 years? I understand that sometimes it is just easier to pay someone else to do something we could do ourselves. Maybe if I had a lot of extra money and was really pressed for time I would buy ammo. Since I enjoy the process and have enough time to kill doing it, I think I'll actually continue DOING things that make me self-sufficient.

When is it EVER less expensive to buy ammo? When you think your time is better spent watching TV or goofing off on the Internet?

I bet you pay someone else to process your venison, too.

 

[jeremy]

You're missing the point I was trying to make.

Huh...
I was thinking the same thing...

My 10 year-old daughter helps me reload 9mm and then we go shoot 'em.
My son and I create precision loads for the 308 I bought him for Christmas.
My 15 year-old daughter has taken both of her deer with my 44/40 handloads that she lends a hand with. Place a $$ value on those things.

Good for you and yours. It is good to do things as a Family.
You work for someone else don't ya...

If you're self-sufficient, why have you been buying ammo for the last 5 years?

Cause my time is worth $50 an Hour to me...
Makes loading ammo more expensive than buying bulk ammo in the quantities I purchase...

I understand that sometimes it is just easier to pay someone else to do something we could do ourselves. Maybe if I had a lot of extra money and was really pressed for time I would buy ammo. Since I enjoy the process and have enough time to kill doing it, I think I'll actually continue DOING things that make me self-sufficient.

Somethings are easier and cheaper to have someone else do them. Maybe you would have more money if you put a value to your time...
There is already not enough Hours in a Day for me let alone trying to decide do I reload Ammo, or do I Prep the Tractor, or the Planter, or the Combine, or the Auger, or the Grain Bins. Plus the Barn needs worked on, and the Bins, and the tractor, and the house, and the ditches, and the etc etc...

When is it EVER less expensive to buy ammo?

When I have something else I could be doing to male money...

When you think your time is better spent watching TV or goofing off on the Internet?

I don't do TV very much outside of trying to catch the local weather. And as far as my post count, Yeah I had a LOT of time on my hands when I was in Iraq and Afghanistan...

I bet you pay someone else to process your venison, too.

Sometimes, I do pay someone to butcher my product. Time and Mother Nature can be fickle...

 

[Skip]

Jeremy,
Thanks for your service. It is really appreciated.

Now, unless you are a degreed lawyer or doctor, I think you value your time too high friend. Although, if you have someone actually pay you $50 p/hr, I suppose I have to bow to that thought.

It will work very well for you until there is another shortage, like the one that we saw here in the states when you were over there. Folks were crying for any scrap of ammo they could get. 380 rounds were going for a fortune and the cheap stuff dried up like crazy.

I can remember a local indoor range that was selling reloads in 9mm because they couldn't get any factory 9mm, period. They also rationed what they sold! No more than 50 rounds at a time and they were for internal use only!

I just smiled as I went home, drug out some spent cases, pulled some of my homecast bullets off of the shelf, pulled out some of the primers I had stocked up on the previous year, powder too, and had 50 rounds of quality 9mm ammo in about 5 minutes.

The ability to have what I want, when I want, in the quantities I want, in the calibers I want, with the loads that I developed for my firearms is, well, priceless. $50 p/hr for that ability doesn't even begin to touch what it is worth to me....................



If you spent a bit of time thinking about it, it would be the same to you...........

If Obama gets elected again, you will experience it from this side of the pond too.

As far as blue collar jobs go, I have a pretty high paying one as a tradesman. I get paid well above what most other folks do per hour. I still cannot fathom not having the ability to roll my own ammo.

FWIW

Again, thanks for your service, and, yes, I process my own deer too!

 

[Broom_jm]

To most people that get into reloading, you "break even" the very instant your first piece of reloaded ammunition comes off the press. The gratification and feeling of self-reliance, alone, is compensation enough for folks who know the true value of such things. This is magnified later on by tight groups, greater proficiency, successful hunts, and the peace of mind Skip writes about so eloquently; knowing YOU decide when you will make the ammo that works so well in your guns. The fact that you eventually recoup your investment and start saving money with each round you load truly is secondary.

My time is worthless, and it is priceless, but it is MY TIME. Nothing will ever be more valuable to me than doing what I want with it. For folks who don't "get" that...well, I just have to wonder if they do anything at all that they consider invaluable?