For those that reload .45ACP, 308 Winchester and .223.....

Diode · Post by **Diode** » Wed Dec 06, 2006 1:25 pm

dws1117 wrote:
Diode wrote: I will say this though, I shoot much better with my loads than the Wally World pratice ammo.
Thank you very much!

Your very welcome.. .and the coated lead bullets from Precission mentioned above includes shipping.

The Marshal · Post by **The Marshal** » Wed Dec 06, 2006 2:04 pm

DustinB wrote: You would need to load 3158 .45 bullets to break even from a $600 equipment purchase.

txinvestigator wrote: how long would it take to load 3158 bullets?

SRVA wrote: "About 5 hours"

cloudcroft wrote:"...I don't shoot that often for $$ to be an issue. "

HA!

Cyphur & I will go thru about 3158 rounds of .45 in roughly 2.41 hours, provided we stop for a (Diet) Coke!
I believe we went thru almost $120 of ammo last time we went out, and that was for a "gun test."

THAT is why we want to get into reloading....

Appreciate the numbers.....

Besides, we would rather put that money to something of value, like more guns.

~Bill

Jeremae · Post by **Jeremae** » Wed Dec 06, 2006 3:12 pm

I have found, and this has been confirmed by others, that when you reload you don't save any money, you just shoot MORE.

Diode · Post by **Diode** » Wed Dec 06, 2006 3:24 pm

Jeremae wrote:I have found, and this has been confirmed by others, that when you reload you don't save any money, you just shoot MORE.

Maybe for some but I am shooting the same amount as I did before, just better.

dws1117 · Post by **dws1117** » Wed Dec 06, 2006 5:29 pm

The Marshal wrote:
DustinB wrote: You would need to load 3158 .45 bullets to break even from a $600 equipment purchase.

txinvestigator wrote: how long would it take to load 3158 bullets?

SRVA wrote: "About 5 hours"

cloudcroft wrote:"...I don't shoot that often for $$ to be an issue. "
HA!

Cyphur & I will go thru about 3158 rounds of .45 in roughly 2.41 hours, provided we stop for a (Diet) Coke!
I believe we went thru almost $120 of ammo last time we went out, and that was for a "gun test."

THAT is why we want to get into reloading....

Appreciate the numbers.....

Besides, we would rather put that money to something of value, like more guns.

~Bill

If you're shooting that much you would be the target market for the Dillon 650 or even the 1050.

cyphur · Post by **cyphur** » Thu Dec 14, 2006 11:11 am

I will be going with the 550B only because I will be reloading multiple calibers and from what I understand the case-feeder doesn't work for rifle rounds yet anyhow. The 650 looks real nice but I don't think I need it.

I go through 300+ rounds of .45ACP an outing, on average. I'd go through more if I had more, but .45 is not cheap. If I hit the rifle range, its usually 20-40 rounds of .308. I don't think I'd go through more than 800 rounds of 45 a month at the most, which at 10k a year, a 550B would do just fine. Also add in time for the rifle range(where I shoot far less quantity) I think I'd come out to about 12k rounds a year, again, that being the very top end.

For me, the reloading gig would pay off rather quickly.

Jacob Staff · Post by **Jacob Staff** » Wed Dec 20, 2006 9:42 am

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

Diode · Post by **Diode** » Wed Dec 20, 2006 9:54 am

Jacob Staff wrote:http://www.handloads.com/calc/loadingCosts.asp

Very cool, thanks! I am reloading .45acp's for $5.70 per 50

longtooth · Post by **longtooth** » Wed Dec 20, 2006 10:14 am

About my cost too. I think I have that beat just a few cents.

Diode · Post by **Diode** » Wed Dec 20, 2006 10:20 am

Well I am assuming I will like the bullets from Precission Bullets and recover brass when I shoot. I have my first order with them due to shipp next week sometime. What bullets are you using?

longtooth wrote:About my cost too. I think I have that beat just a few cents.

jwp · Post by **jwp** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 3:03 am

cyphur wrote:I don't think I'd go through more than 800 rounds of 45 a month at the most, which at 10k a year, a 550B would do just fine.

At 10K rounds per year of .45 ACP, it's worth thinking about casting your own bullets. If you use wheel weights as raw material, then material cost for 200gr bullets is less than 1.5 cents. To be pessimistic (lots of wastage, etc), even if you assume they cost 2 cents, that's only $20 per thousand, which is $200/year instead of the $700/year that another poster estimated for store bought bullets ($70/thousand).

That's not a lot of money saved, really, but $500 per year is an extra case of good wine and an extra case of reasonably decent scotch per year, with a few six packs of Sierra Pale Ale thrown in for good measure. Now that I'm retired I find that little things like that add up :)

cyphur · Post by **cyphur** » Sun Jan 14, 2007 2:08 am

Unfortunately my shooting habits have slowed to a halt over the past few months, so casting my own bullets is not only outside the scope of my willingness but also impractical for the gain. They say time is money, and in this case I am willing to buy bullets :)

Even down the road when my shooting habits hopefully pick back up, I will buy the bullets.

At this rate I'll be lucky to shoot 5k rounds this year - but we'll see how things go.