toyhunt":u3n1gne7 said:
After reading all this noone has mentioned the total cost of reloading from supplies & equipment vs commercial ammo.Plus how much do you have to shoot up before you're ahead of the game?What cal. is really worth the effort over doing it yourself--cost wise only, not the fun part.
Having just bought in to the reloading scene, maybe I can offer a little number-crunching that will satisfy your question.
1. Lee Anniversary Kit via Midway = $100
2. Lee .38 special carbide die set = $40
3. Lee .380 carbide die set = $44
4. Rainier .380 bullets x 1000 = $76
5. Rainier .38 special bullets x 500 = $41
6. Hodgdon TiteGroup powder, 1lb = $18
7. Remington small pistol primers x 300 = $11
8. Winchester Brass .38 special x 100 = $18
9. MagTech Brass .380 x 100 = $17
TOTAL = $365
I just reloaded about 100 .38 special cases this week, using *maybe* 1/4 pound of the TiteGroup powder.
From what I can figure out...my cost per round is *roughly* $.15 per.
I have two boxes of American Eagle .38 special ammo that cost me $19.95 per (or $.40 per round).
Pretty good savings, right there. In the order of 66% or so. Naturally, the longer I reload (and re-use the cases), the lower my cost-per-round becomes over the long haul.
And...it is absolutely a wonderful way to spend your time. YMMV and all that jazz.