Reloading Economics

[tedster]

I could see myself hand loading nice custom loads in 45-70 Gov't or .45LC where the round would cost me $1 or $2.
Those are straight wall cartridges. I can see .308 or .30-06, but there is the neck-shaping which requires more detail.

I met match shooters who load their own ammo. 600 yards with an AR, I hear them talk about the specs. Or the other guy shooting F-Class with his Palma rifle. Every round of .308 is literally "hand crafted".

 

[AR15barrels]

It's a fundamental question I had to answer for myself: Can I afford to shoot firearms? Which includes buying ammo.
The answer is yes, within proper means. I am not the kind of guy who shoots a few thousand rounds of 9mm or .45 ACP in a single day.
Re-loading to meet large volume cost efficiency will never be my thing.

Reloading over long periods of time is also a method to beat the cost swings of ammo due to supply/demand swings around election cycles.
You buy the components in large volumes when they are at their lowest costs and you load ammo with those components to get you past the times when component prices are high.
I bought into components HEAVILY 20ish years ago because I was shooting 3-4 matches a month.
My shooting volume has gone way down since then, but I am still using the components I stockpiled in the early 2000's.

So today, I am shooting 9mm for about $48/1000 rounds as long as I pick up my brass.
I have enough comonents on hand to likely last me the rest of my life.
I have also been given components at times and I am sitting on 5000 primed 38 special cases and 3000 free 38 caliber bullets.
The 38 special rounds I will load up with those components will cost me $4 per 1000 rounds.