Since we are getting tied into all of the holy grails of Internet gun arguments this month, I thought to myself, “Why not complete the circle and get people riled up about another one?”

Yep, reloading. I periodically hear from people who proclaim that reloading is the answer to whatever ammo discussion we are having, and I have even thought about doing it myself, but I just don’t see a reason to do it. I have blogged about reloading at least 4 or 5 times, but it’s been awhile, so let’s rehash it

There are a number of reasons given for getting into reloading ammo.

Cost Savings

I examined that back in 2020. To begin reloading, I would need to get the equipment, so right there you are looking at $400 for a progressive press set, and another $300 or so for tools and accoutrements. Then there is the ongoing cost of supplies:

ItemAverage Cost, $
Small Primers70/1000
Large Primers140/1000
Gunpowder50/lb
Brass60/1000
9mm Bullets200/1000
.45 Bullets400/1000
  • all supplies sourced from Midway Shooters’ Supply
  • Brass sourced from US reloading supply
  • Also note that 10mm & 308 brass are out of stock

9mm were the cheapest bullets I looked at, .45 were the most expensive (even more than rifle), so I used those two calibers to give us a good range of costs. So even assuming that we can get the supplies, it costs an average of $620 for 1000 rounds of ammo to be reloaded, plus the cost of the press and equipment, which would be amortized across the ammo you reload with it. It also takes about 2 hours to load 1000 rounds of pistol ammo. More for rifle.

Buying quality stuff, I can buy ammo right now for:

Calibercost $/1000 rounds
62gr, .223 Green Tip570
150gr, .308880
9mm FMJ200
9mm JHP330
.45ACP320
10mm1250

Except for 10mm and .308, it costs more to reload the calibers I have than it does to simply buy it, and that doesn’t even include what my time is worth.

Shortages of Supplies

Yeah, I get that you can load ammo when it is unavailable commercially, but it’s also true that there can be shortages of primers, bullets, and other reloading supplies. I think this is a wash.

Risk

Reloading carries a risk. A person loading in their garage is more likely to make an error than commercial reloading. While it is a small risk, it can’t be ignored. If you are running a 4 Sigma reloading operation, then there is a .006% chance that a round will be improperly loaded. That seems pretty good until you realize that one round in every 17,000 will cause a problem. This doesn’t happen in commercially loaded ammunition because they use lasers and precision scales to make sure that defects are rejected before they are sent out.

Conclusion

That leads us to the end. The first thing we see from this post is that there are not many things that we haven’t already looked at in the nearly 7,000 posts and 18 years that this blog has been around.

With that being said, reloading remains a poor choice, at least for me. You may feel differently with regards to your own situation. If you like to sit at the reloading bench, then this may be a good way to spend a Saturday. Some people like to tie flies, some like to load ammo. To each their own.

Categories: Arts and Crafts

5 Comments

TRX · March 13, 2025 at 7:13 am

> Except for 10mm and .308, it costs more to reload the calibers I have than it does to simply buy it, and that doesn’t even include what my time is worth.

I went through the same figures a couple of years ago. Except for a couple of oddball calibers, it was cheaper to buy factory ammo than to reload.

Years ago when I started reloading things were much different. But after the engineered post-2001 component shortages and ridiculous price increases, that’s no longer true.

Tom235 · March 13, 2025 at 7:34 am

Reloading is a hobby. As a hobby, it represents a cash/time neutral or loss to the hobbyist. It’s not my hobby, my ammo is intended for a serious use. I buy from professionals that produce a product with equipment hobbyists can’t afford from a manufacturing environment hobbyists don’t have. Doesn’t mean hobbyists shouldn’t enjoy their hobby.

There. That should stir the pot up a bit.

Earl Harding · March 13, 2025 at 7:47 am

This analysis is spot on for the most part.

If all you are doing is loading plinking ammo, then what you say makes sense. I do reload plinking ammo, but only because I got a huge haul of components years ago at a bargain basement price. Oh, and I tie flies too!

Where the equation really changes is with match ammo which is currently running at around $2.00 a round for what I shoot. And the various odd ball C&R rifles I have where even plinking ammo runs close to $2.00 a round. I’m loading those for around $0.85 a round. Saving $100 every time I go to the range is significant and over a year single year covers the cost of equipment.

Denis · March 13, 2025 at 8:32 am

Your assessment is correct, for your needs. If, like me, you have firearms that require obscure or hard to find ammunition, reloading becomes necessary. It is also necessary if you need or want to wring the greatest possible precision out of a particular rifle (handguns much less so).

    Divemedic · March 13, 2025 at 8:33 am

    That’s why I say that it depends on you and what you want.

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