Is reloading worth it?

I didn't want to hijack the "should I reload" thread, but from a $ standpoint, how does cost/round compare factory ammo, specifically for .308, .300RM or 7mmRM? Is it any more cost-efficient than store-bought ammo?

I have access to all the equipment I'd need except maybe needing to by a caliber-specific set of dies. So, with most of the overhead of the equipment already out of the way, how does the cost/round compare to off the shelf hunting ammo? I can buy good hunting ammo off the shelf for around $1.25/round....can you load equal quality for less $, or better quality for equal (or less) $?

You dang sure ought to be able to beat $1.25 a round!

It depends. If you shoot one or two deer a year and like the ammo available to you, then no it's not worth it. If you don't like the ammo available to you or you shoot a wildcat round(ie. expensive ammo), then yes. Or if you like shooting your hunting rifles a lot, then yes it's worth it.

You just have to decide for yourself.

Good luck.

Yes it's worth it. I, like you, was fortunate to have the setup given to me. My only expenses are brass, bullets, powders & caps. I have several different rounds worked up for my 30:06 and 308 that shoot 1" @ 100 yards. A lot of satisfaction shooting a deer with my own reload.

I don't reload for the economy of the whole thing. I load so that I don't depend on anybody else for my ammo.

Look at the ammo law that went into effect 1/1/2018 n Kalifornistan.

I'd only do it if I wanted precision ammo

If you're doing it to save green, probably won't happen unless you shoot a lot already. My cost per trigger pull has plummeted since I started reloading but problem is I pull the trigger much more than I used to. I didn't start reloading to save money but to create higher quality ammo that is [b]tailored[/b] to my rifles. Using premium bullets I'm normally in the $.85 per round range and about $.52 range for standard bullets, give or take a little based on what I'm loading. That's using my brass. If I have to buy brass, I'll be over $1.00 with the premiums and a good bit higher if I go with premium brass such as Lapua.

Riflenut pretty much summed it up. Handloading will save you money because of economies of scale. If you shoot less than a box of ammo per year for each gun, it's not really going to save you money.

I handload for several reasons. My father handloaded, and my first gun was a 7x57 in 1985. Ammo for that cartridge was virtually non-existent then. Over the years, my gun collection expanded and I have a few other rifles for which factory ammo was poor or non-exixtent.

I also load because I enjoy the solitude and creating my own to hunt with brings an added level of accomplishment when you kill with your handloads. It's a feeling that can't be appreciated until you do it.

If you decide to dive in, please study multiple reloading manuals so you can fully understand the proper techniques and potential dangers. Having a mentor to get started is invaluable and beware of much of the information you find in online forums. A LOT of bad or dangerous advice is online.

If you only shoot a box of shells a year I'd say no, but if you enjoy shooting and customizing your ammo it's the only way you will accomplish this.

I just figured up the last 1000 .308 I loaded cost me 43 cents a piece. Just for bullet, powder and primer. I just saved shipping really because I can buy 1000 for about that price online plus shipping. Like Wiley said...If I have the stuff I can roll my own. And I like shiny brass too.

As alluded to in the posts above, unless you are shooting a whole lot it won't save you much money

I probably shoot 500 rounds or so a year for all of the caliber guns I have. I once calculated my average savings per round and it was around $0.30 so I'm saving around 500*$0.3 = $150/year

All the equipment I've got for reloading cost me probable 4X that amount so it would take me 4 years to break even

Like others said it's very satisfying to kill a deer with your own hand loads. I started loading for my 45/70 in the beginning because it was aggravating to find what the ammo i was shooting at the time. So I bought what I needed and got started. I was paying $2.26 a round. Reloading buying new brass itnwas I'm for about $0.97 a round plus the 45/70 noe has a round tailored to it's short barrel and went from shooting 3"groups with any thing off the shelf to I can almost cover 3 shots up with A quarter. Now I load for my 308,45/70, mine and my brothers 30/06 rifles. It's fun to see what each rifle likes and to how accurately it'll shoot a certain round. And you can have as much ammo as your willing to load up for your rifle.

You can buy really good factory ammo now, but you could not back when I started loading. My dad loaded shotgun shells to save money back in the 60s, and we did. But I found that I could load rifle and pistol ammo that was much better than factory, especially for oddball cartridges. That's probably not as true today as it used to be, except for certain rounds.

You can still save a lot of money today by loading your own in something like .45 Colt. Not so much for something like 9mm. Like others have said, it's still nice to not be dependent on some company for your ammunition.

Looking at the components for my target ammo, (Sierra bullets, usually Winchester brass, and CCI primers and assorted powder) I find that brass is roughly half the cost of the round.

If you can get your pals to save you their brass, or if you have been stock-piling brass from your own shooting... anytime you can cut the cost of ammo by 40-50% you are going to save $$$. Even if you buy new brass to start with, for the subsequent 4 or 5 loadings you should have 'free' brass, reducing the overall costs for the life of the brass.

Saving $ is a perk, but I find that I just shoot more, negating the savings, LOL. However, I can make my own precision rounds that are tailored to the chamber of my rifles and are more accurate than store bought stuff anytime I like. It's also nice to be able to load stuff that can't or is hard to find in stores. Shooting more is not necessarily a bad thing. I am way more accurate with my guns because I get plenty of practice!

A 110 grain 30 caliber varmint bullet is next on my list to master in my 308.