G&A Editorial

[mmc45414]

Trying to justify reloading based on saving money isn't going to work for most people yet reloaders still try to push that concept as the primary reason for reloading.

Back when I started doing it in 1973 ammo was available as cheap (adjusted) as it is now, and it was a huge cost savings. So now I have the equipment and am in the habit. And there is still a cost savings, as long as you can save your brass. If the only facilities that were available to me were public indoor ranges where there is no practical way to retain your brass it would be hard to save.

The main reason is to obtain something you want or need that you just can't buy.

I have been experimenting with some 75g match bullets that are sorta SMK knockoffs and I am pretty sure I can load those for less than you could buy bulk 55g FMJ.
ETA: I am also starting to experiment with 147g 9mm, that would take the savings back up there.

I reload because I like to shoot and I can do a lot more shooting on the same dollar. However, I don't like to reload, I find it a pain in the ass. It is a cost savings, no matter what round you're reloading. I don't care how cheap 9mm has been, my costs have always been reduced at least by half so it is worthwhile.

I agree, I have never saved any money, but the more I shoot the more I save!!!
I have been using some of the equipment I have since 1973, and the stuff I have upgraded I will continue to use the rest of my life. And you sure can buy 9mm cheap when you can, but it is still significantly more.

[Trooper224]

Are you finding primers?

On a local level I haven't had trouble yet. Although, I stocked up right before the panic buying went into full swing, so it might be different now. Last week, I was at a local supplier picking up an 8 pound jug of powder and noticed primers were a bit thin on the shelf, but not totally gone. On the other hand, go to the big chain stores, or gun shops and it's no bueno on anything unless you're looking for ammo for your .41 mag or .257 Roberts. My main local component supplier is a hobby shop. Most of the inventory caters to RC aircraft and the like. The shop owner is also in the local USPSA group and he stocks reloading supplies. The fact that he's a smaller store in an older section of town has probably helped him keep things in inventory. The one thing I have noticed a shortage of is brass. Fortunately I have buckets of that on hand. Rather, I *had* buckets. I've been spending far more time reloading than I ever have. Usually, I load it as I need it. Now, I have ammo cans full of thousands of loaded rounds on hand.

[OlongJohnson]

I'm still working, and have at-will overtime available basically as much as I want. So I have to consider that I could always just work a little more at my job, which advances me in ways beyond just the pay I get on that check, instead of cleaning and inspecting brass and pulling the handle. That's generally true in all areas - the only reason to do something is that I can't find a way to pay someone else to do it to the standards I would do it it at something like a reasonable price - or often, for any price at all. Which, sadly enough, leaves me with a lot of work I need to do.

It basically only makes sense for me to reload if I want to shoot ammo that can't readily be bought for anything like a reasonable price, or at all. Like a particular bullet dialed in for a particular rifle, or a particular bullet for a pistol that is likely to deliver best accuracy or other shooting characteristics and simply isn't available except in component form. But generic range fodder doesn't make the cut for my personal situation.

[BehindBlueI's]

There is no amount of financial ciphering that is going to make it cost effective if you factor in your time.

Do you figure how cost effective it is to watch television? No? Right.

Your time only matters in a financial sense if you're taking time away from doing something what would make you money. When I'm reloading, it's not like I'd be working an hour of overtime instead. I'd be engaged in some other hobby. Or browsing Amazon. Which is another way it saves me money...

[mtnbkr]

I reload because I like to experiment, to see what the gun or cartridge can do at the fringes of its design envelope, or to just see what happens. I don't think reloading as a cost-savings mechanism ever entered my mind, though it certainly does save money in some of my loadings (35Whelen and 32-20 being two prime examples with each running about $1-$2 a shot or more for factory ammo). If cost was the main factor I would just shoot 22lr, 9mm, and 308win and not worry about reloading at all.

I suppose I could get a 2nd job or a "gig" and earn money instead of reloading, but until then that time is time I'd be doing other non-revenue-generating tasks, so it's no more a waste of my time than shooting.

Chris

[Zincwarrior]

On a local level I haven't had trouble yet. Although, I stocked up right before the panic buying went into full swing, so it might be different now. Last week, I was at a local supplier picking up an 8 pound jug of powder and noticed primers were a bit thin on the shelf, but not totally gone. On the other hand, go to the big chain stores, or gun shops and it's no bueno on anything unless you're looking for ammo for your .41 mag or .257 Roberts. My main local component supplier is a hobby shop. Most of the inventory caters to RC aircraft and the like. The shop owner is also in the local USPSA group and he stocks reloading supplies. The fact that he's a smaller store in an older section of town has probably helped him keep things in inventory. The one thing I have noticed a shortage of is brass. Fortunately I have buckets of that on hand. Rather, I *had* buckets. I've been spending far more time reloading than I ever have. Usually, I load it as I need it. Now, I have ammo cans full of thousands of loaded rounds on hand.

Very cool young man. 👍

[Borderland]

Back when I started doing it in 1973 ammo was available as cheap (adjusted) as it is now, and it was a huge cost savings. So now I have the equipment and am in the habit. And there is still a cost savings, as long as you can save your brass. If the only facilities that were available to me were public indoor ranges where there is no practical way to retain your brass it would be hard to save.

That's about when I started messing around with it. I didn't always reload but the older I got the more time I spent with it. I shoot at a private range and the common cartridge brass is plentiful. I try to stay with the common cartridges to keep the cost down.

[CCT125US]

Reloading is a hobby just like building your own furniture or rat rod. Why do people not get that? Trying to justify reloading based on saving money isn't going to work for most people yet reloaders still try to push that concept as the primary reason for reloading.

That would be the last reason I would tell someone who was thinking about reloading. Primarily it's something I do because I enjoy it.

Agreed. Most won't run the numbers, or be able to show the savings in an account. Heck, I can't even show the savings, as I just shoot more. Except lately, I have been reloading more, and shooting less. Before this Corona crazy, I was shooting about 600 a week, now I'm reloading and shooting maybe 100 on average.

[Hambo]

What I’ve never understood about reloaders is the fragile egos wherein they seem to feel a need to convince everyone else that it makes financial sense, or that it’s the thing to do, or that everyone else should be doing it too.

Some people have an inner need to be right about everything, Rob.

[mmc45414]

Your time only matters in a financial sense if you're taking time away from doing something what would make you money. When I'm reloading, it's not like I'd be working an hour of overtime instead.

Another one that seems to be a frequent comment from folks that do not do it and do not want to do it, and want to assert all the reasons is "I would rather be at the range", and the number of times I have ever decided to stay home from shooting to reload is just about never.

I just like to have something in progress. Yesterday morning I setup and started forming some 300BO, now when the urge hits I can walk up to the press and few minutes later I have an accomplishment.

ETA: We always say "we don't run the numbers" and that got me thinking...



Six figures, Baby!! I better get my ass back down there!!!!