Reloading- break even point?

[Bigshooter]

I think it all depends on what your are reloading.  I know guys that have paid over a $100 for 20 rounds of 30-378.  A buddy has a .358 and it took us two months to find ammo for it.  We found 3 boxes of 20 at a gun show for $75 a box.  He bought all three boxes and then went out and bought some dies.  If you want to reload 9mm and .223 to save money.  You better shoot a ton. 

[JackOfAllTrades]

I have a 30-338

No one makes ammo for it.  I neck down 338 winmag brass, fireform, then load to the hilt for the accuracy and velocity I want.

Anyone that owns or is thinking about owning a wildcat chambered rifle/pistol is going to be a reloader or go broke getting ammo for it.

-Steve

[CAMPMEAT]

Thanx guys. I'm thinking just for something to do while my wife is at work so I can't get into trouble...ha ha !! I'm not a fisherman but I'm going to start doing that too, another subject of course. Used to be, but can't understand the rules so I quit.

[Bofire]

 :)There is no break even point, you'll just shoot more and buy more componets!! I have been reloading from at my Dads knee to now for about 55 years. I aint hit the "break even" point yet! It is fun, you can learn and shoot alot, you WILL shoot more. Do not show your wife this email!!LOL
Carl

[Special T]

jack There is a guy that comes to the coyote roundup at Warden that shoots his 30-338 for yotes he says its real flat shooting! 

[Wanttohuntmore]

To find the break even point, one of the variables in the equation is "what is your time worth".  Some make enough that they cannot possibly break even.  That said, I reload 

You'll get better groups if you reload.  But, there is factory fodder that shoots darn good as well.

[bobcat]

You'll get better groups if you reload.  But, there is factory fodder that shoots darn good as well.

Not necessarily. For a while I had some factory loaded 270 Winchester shells, just the cheap ones, Powerpoints which were $12 at Wal Mart at the time. My Browning A bolt was shooting three shot groups at 100 yards with all three holes touching. The handloades shells I had at the time shot good, but not that good. I ended up using the factory loads for hunting season that year.

[JimmyHoffa]

The break even point can depend on cartridge selection.  Some rifle ammo is more...eh, much more....than others.  A box of 20 rounds for some guns can be $120.00 (not super specialty stuff).  Some even more than that.  As for the comment about the value of time.....think about what the hours spent reloading have prevented you from spending--so reloading is saving you money in ways you may not even know.

[Huntbear]

Sitting at the reloading bench is like fishing for me..  It is therapy.  A place to forget problems, and enjoy what I am doing.  That said, I own a wild cat, and normal guns as well.  I break even on all of em.  But then, I have owned my reloading equipment a long long time.

Do I shoot more, heck yea.. but when I can reload for pennies on the dollar, I still am ahead of the game, financially.

[JackOfAllTrades]

jack There is a guy that comes to the coyote roundup at Warden that shoots his 30-338 for yotes he says its real flat shooting! 

66.5gns of 4350 pushing a 190gn Hornady Boattail at 3150fps out the muzzle. Actually I loose a little accuracy pushing them that hard, so my accurate load that still shoots pretty flat is right around 3080fps.  I can get Speer 180Spitzers accurate at that speed too, but the Sierra 180BT is a tack driver at 2800fps.

It is not a Coyote rifle!

-Steve

[Bean Counter]

I'm not much one for reloading. I don't shoot enough nor does it interest me. I can group my el cheapo Federal Power Shoks out of my .30-06 in sub 2" groups at 200 yards.

wife: good golly, don't you have enough hunting crap as it is? 

[GWP]

As stated, you may not save any money, but you will shoot more, and be able to build loads for what you want. I loaded for a guy that shot 30-378 and 375 H&H, and it saved him a bunch of money. I have a 38 sp load I do for practice in my 357 that poops out at 650 FPS. On nice days you can see the bullet fly! I will often shoot 500-600 rounds in one sitting with it. I am sure I have saved cash on that one. I also did wildcats, but don't have any at this time.
If you want you can probably make the rounds you load more accurate then you are, but it takes a fair amount of time to produce that kind of accuracy. I have found now that I am getting older that pretty much standard reloading procedures are plenty accurate enough for the shooting I do.
It can get crazy though. At last count I was loading 19 different calibers. When I first got into it many years ago the guy that started me out begin laughing when I said I figured I would only load one caliber.
You will always end up using a single stage press for something, so that is a good place to start. It will also help you to learn the seperate procedures. Most dies interchange. LUBE YOUR BOTTLENECK CASES. Never throw away a loading manual. Have fun!

[sticky]

Thanks for all the great suggestions. I have priced a few kits and think I am going to buy an RCBS single stage press. My gunsmith says you can't go wrong with the rock chucker kit. It's a bit more than Lee or Hornady, but I don't mind paying a little more for better gear. I've also been checking around to see if I can find a used kit or one that was bought but never used. 

I'm sure I'll have more questions once I get set up. I appreciate the willingness of everyone here to share their knowledge and experiences.

[Huntbear]

Thanks for all the great suggestions. I have priced a few kits and think I am going to buy an RCBS single stage press. My gunsmith says you can't go wrong with the rock chucker kit. It's a bit more than Lee or Hornady, but I don't mind paying a little more for better gear. I've also been checking around to see if I can find a used kit or one that was bought but never used. 

I'm sure I'll have more questions once I get set up. I appreciate the willingness of everyone here to share their knowledge and experiences.

I believe there is a whole kit in the classifieds that has never been used.

[Jamieb]

I sure don't save any money by reloading, I'd never shoot half as much as I do if I shot factory ammo, especially with the price of RUM ammo or some of the Wby. cartridges.