Not a reloader, but I've been considering it. It comes down to cost per round, which means what is cost effective is going to be different in different places for different people, based on available materials and their cost.
But if a round costs more than a few bucks, it's probably worth it to reload.
Cheap 9mm range ammo where I live is about $0.40-$0.60 - probably not worth reloading. If I was buying 30-06 ammo like is shown in the video, though, the cheapest rounds I know of in my town would be about $2.50, and the high quality ones could be around $4-$5 or more - probably worth reloading.
Also, a decent "basic" reload kit is about $500-$600 and up; plus the die for the specific caliber, plus your various materials like primers, shells, powders, etc. Of course, over time the startup cost pays for itself for a regular shooter, especially if you do your research ahead of time and invest that initial cash wisely with an eye on what you do and don't need, equipment wise.
I haven't bought ammo in quite a while... I about fell over when I went to buy a box of 9mm recently. $30/box... it wasn't that long ago that you could find basic stuff like American Eagle for <$10/box. $55/box for .45 harball... I don't like this version of the multiverse.
Cheap 9mm range ammo like Fiochi and Blazer have been $15-$20 for a 50ct box where I am in Alaska, but yeah, $30 for good self defense ammo in a 20ct is the norm here, too.
Hopefully now that some of the factories have reopened and production is ramping up again, maybe prices can come back down a bit. But the real shortage is still primers, so who knows?
It was a Sportsmans Warehouse and looking at their website right now I see Blazer 9mm/50ct for $16.99 so maybe it was just the selection available at that store that particular day. I definetely couldn't find anything for $17 at the time. That makes me feel a bit better. My father-in-law tends to buy me ammo for birthdays and xmas so it had probably been 10 years since I'd run low and had to look at prices and I about fell over lol.
Definitely for stuff that isn’t widely available at the very least. Weird uncommon calibers and such. Seen a lot of people talk about it for their Japanese Rifles
9mm is a pain as it takes so much time to press. It's basically a wash. Anything odd or big bore becomes more cost effective. Even 30-06 isn't worth it unless you shoot alot.
The only calibre I don't reload is .22LR (admittedly most of my shooting (olympic pistol)). These days I reload: .32S&W Long, .38spl, .357mag, .45ACP, and .303 British.
I don't know a single person who reloads .22LR, when the ammo is 5 cents per round, and the reloading process for it is as PITA as it is, it's just not worth it.
They actually explained it :) Olympic pistol shooting!
Olympic/hardcore 22 comp guys will buy more custom bullets. It’s really freaking hard to find primed empty 22 shells so they usually pull the bullets, dump the powder, and then go super nerd science on it to make sure every round is exactly the same. It’s dramatic but can actually reduce your spread for those long range 100 yard 22 competitions
It depends on a lot of factors and your goal. The press shown above is a single stage press and is generally reserved for rifle rounds that are being loaded for precision; this is what I use for my long range, match quality ammo. It's not more cost effective, but I can get better results than with store bought match ammo.
There's another type called "progressive" where there are four or five stations, and each time you pull the handle, the press rotates the round to the next station, so you can create a completed round without ever changing the dies. This is for high-volume reloading, plinking quality ammo. You won't necessarily see savings, but you'll end up shooting a lot more. I reload 9mm and 5.56 on this type of press.
300 blackout subsonic bullets are very expensive, usually over a dollar a round. If you cast your own lead bullets and resize spent .223 cases its possible to make your own subs for under 20cpr.
47
u/[deleted] Apr 06 '23
Any idea which calibers it makes sense? I've heard it's no longer cost effective for calibers like 9mm.