Here's my financial background: I'm 16, senior in HS, I am currently restoring a 69 SS Camaro... so that is draining my funds. However, I'm hoping to get my parents to aid me in my purchase of an AR-15. I've been shooting for a while, about 4 years, and that has been 9mm, .45s , .38s , etc. When I do get to shoot, it is with my uncle's guns and we always put out a tarp to catch our brass so that we can reload the shells. He has calculated that he can produce his 9mms, non-FMJs, for cheaper than buying brand new ones from say, Walmart. MY question is, if I get an AR-15, buy the dyes (SP?) for the .223 rounds, and use my uncle's reloader, can I produce rounds cheaper than buying surplus or cheap Russian stuff?

I don't know a thing. Maybe post this in the AR-15>Ammo section, it won't get burried as fast, and you're more likely to get the right kind of readers.
Though, I could be proved wrong by anyone with a clue.

I'd say, buy your lower now if Kerry is elected.  Stick to your uncle's guns until you're done with the car, and build it right when you have the money.

I'm 19 and that's what I'm doing... though, my '86 Buick Grand National needs $3000 for a tranny build and I'm pissing away my money on my AR-15.

Ive researched this and have found that you can make a superior round at home, however its not the cheapest thing to do. But since you are using someonelses equipment it may be cost effective for you.

Do the math. Figure out how much you shoot. Then figure out how much are bullets, dies, powder...etc  etc. It does get spendy- but you will have a better round and will shoot more.

How much do you shoot? Do you want to shoot more? do you want superior rounds? Are you just plinking?

For me, I dont reload- but I save all my brass for the future when if I do decide to reload. Right now buying ammo is just fine and doesnt take any precious time.

You get more ammo for your money.  Plus you can load to your own specs.


9mm and 5.56 can be bought for the same cost as what you can load it for.  9mm is cheap cheap cheap and 5.56 is everywhere in surplus markets.
Hi-powered rifle rounds are a pain to reload cause you have to trim the cases most of the time.

Quoted: MY question is, if I get an AR-15, buy the dyes (SP?) for the .223 rounds, and use my uncle's reloader, can I produce rounds cheaper than buying surplus or cheap Russian stuff?

Not really unless you buy in bulk, bulk, bulk.

The last Wolf I bought was $.10 a round delivered to my door.  You would be hard pressed to load for less.

I do load 223, but for accuracy rounds only.  For just all round blasting I shoot Wolf.

Thanks

Match ammo?  Definately worth it

Plinking ammo?  Just buy bulk

You can't save any significant money on 5.56 blasting ammo.  You can load match ammo alot cheaper than you could buy say Federal GMM or Blackhills.  Loading rifle ammo in bulk is more of a pain in the ass than its worth due to the need for case trimming and case lube.  You can't get a carbide sizing die for bottleneck cases so this necessitates lubing cases, not that bad with one shot, but still easier and not any costlier to buy bulk ammo.   I load match ammo, buy everything else.  My .02

Quoted: Quoted: MY question is, if I get an AR-15, buy the dyes (SP?) for the .223 rounds, and use my uncle's reloader, can I produce rounds cheaper than buying surplus or cheap Russian stuff? Not really unless you buy in bulk, bulk, bulk. The last Wolf I bought was $.10 a round delivered to my door.  You would be hard pressed to load for less. I do load 223, but for accuracy rounds only.  For just all round blasting I shoot Wolf.

It costs me in terms of materials, ie powder, primer, & bullet, $.12/round. That doesn't include time to load, cleaning/tumbling cases etc. $0.10/round is an excellent price delivered to your door. But if you want 62g SS109/M855 with the steel penetrator then it would be cheaper to roll your own.

Back in the early nineties, I did a six month run on ammo, mostly for 9MM. Used castings from pickup wheel weights salvage brass bulk primers and Bullseye powder. Not counting the cost of cleaning the brass, lube for the bullets and heating the lead, three pennies per round. Ammo not sealed, accuracy was adequate but certainly not match. Good enough to pop a zombie skull, but may have to shoot twice. I've burned up the last of it, and lately been getting misfires. One or two a box, probably due to unsealed storage. Did a run of .223 as well from scrounged components. Mediocre accuracy, but used that up sooner so no way to determine longevity.
On a pure cost basis, you could make ammo more cheaply than factory. You would still have to plan and make compromises, plus this is time consuming. This would be only suitable for practice, for the above reasons.  

Very accurate match grade tuned to your gun you definitely can make cheaper than you can buy.

Blasting ammo compared to the really cheap imports your savings is marginal especially if you add in amortization of the cost of press, dies, scale, manuals, etc.  And buying is cheaper if you add in your time.


If you are involved in  some kind of competive or shooting sport where you run a couple of hundred rounds a month or week, then reloading is definitely cheaper.

At your age where your time is relatively available and cheap, a single pumper press is the best way to go.  You probably don't shoot enough to justify a full bore progressive.

In any case a few manuals and a decent scale are your best investments as safety is paramount.    You can easily double or triple charge many pistol cases, this leads to catastrophic weapon disassembly in your hand.  aka a ka-boom.  Rifle cases are usually BUT NOT ALWAYS dificult to double charge.

Pay attention.

This depends.


sometimes you can buy surplus ammo cheaper than you can relaod. I remember the days of decent surplus .308 @ $.99.95/K


If you are a match-grade sorta guy, you want to reload. Good components are not cheap.

OTOH, if you are happy with 55 grain pulls and surplus powder, you can get by cheaply.


Basically, my answer is this: Do the research and do the math.

It depends on what caliber you're reloading. As others have said .223, 9mm and 7,62x39 are real cheap in bulk surplus. But years ago I found I could reload .223 with a 55gr softpoint bullet for about the same price as surplus. Since I was hunting prairie dogs I wanted the expansion of the soft point.

Now my .45 Long Colt is a different story. 20yrs ago I was reloading it for around $3-$4 a box. I think I have it towards the low end now. Factory ammo is now around $25 a box.

You'll shoot cheaper ammo, but you'll shoot more of it. That kind of negates your savings. But you're shooting more for your money. That's the real plus.

It's definately the way to go for some calibers, like 10mm, or .41 mag, or others that are expensive to buy in the first place.  With those, you can probably save half to three-quarters of the cost per round.

When you start getting into ammo that's cheap, like the Wolf stuff, it's probably too close to be worth it.  I reloaded in college, as I was broke and it was cheaper for me shooting .45ACP.

There's alot to be said about reloading for the fun of it.  I reload certain rounds, but .223 I just buy.  It's cheaper and faster.  If you haven't done it, you should try reloading anyway just to have the skill and knowledge base.  It's like being able to work on your car yourself.  It may not make you a better driver, but it makes you a more "complete" driver IMO.

Good choice on the car BTW

Ross

I reload the S&W .500 Magnum for about $.35 a round, which is $2.15 cheaper per round than buying factory ammo.  Sooo, yep, its alot cheaper to reload most of the time.  9mm and .223 aren't really worth it, though.

.223, 55gr SP, 6.9 cents ea.  
.45, 180 gr Excell, 7.6 cents ea.
.38, 140 gr SWC cast, 3.5 cents ea.
12 ga, 1 1/8 oz, 3 dram eq. 8.6 cents ea.

   Actual cost involved in the last run I made. Myself and 4 others buy in bulk, Powder @ 32lb/type
primers @ 25K / type, Bullets @ 10K / type, shot by the ton. etc. I do not reload to save money, I reload to shoot more.  

 


 

Because it is a 69 SS Camaro......Buy in bulk.  Save your money for the car.

9mm, 7.62x39 and .223/5.56 can all be had as cheap in bulk as relaoding AND you do not have to buy the materials or tools to do it.  Just watch the site here for specials and coupons etc.  Reloadin these rounds for general plinking etc is really just a hobby (IMO)


I had a 69 - not as nice as the one in the last pic.  Some day when the kids are off to college - I will have one again!