Reloading 30-06 question?

Question

Ok so I just bought a savage 30-06. I never really thought about reloading before because all the types of ammo that I use have been pretty cheap. I never thought that it was worth the trouble. The 30-06 is beginning to get a bit expensive. Oh and i work at walmart so I do get a small discount on the ammo. So I have been spending about 92 cents a shot. So my question is: how much would i save if I were to start reloading on my own? I mean just the brass cases at gander mountain are more than half of a whole bullet that I use. So if you know what all the different prices and things that I would need I would appreciate it. So is it even worth it for me to reload?

Answer 1

I reload .30-06 with 150 gr Nosler Ballistic Tip bullets for 51.73 cents each, not counting the cost of the brass, just the other components. Brass costs about 30 cents each or so. You can reuse the brass quite a few times so I don't consider it in the cost of the ammo. Kittery Trading Post sells a Lee Breechlock Challenger Kit for $97.50 with free shipping. You will need a set of dies for less than $30. A 6" electronic caliper would be nice for about $30. After you reload a while you will want a brass tumbler for about $60. You will also need several reloading manuals at a cost of about $20 each. Before you start reloading, find a local source of primers and powder because there is a $25 or so hazmat charge to ship either. Primers have been hard to find. I haven't bought any lately so I don't know the status of the supply. You can hand load much more accurate ammo than what factories supply if you do a little load development. You would be saving about 30 cents a round so you would have to shoot over 1000 rounds to pay for the equipment.

Answer 2

Reloading is cheap when you are reusing the brass you've already shot. Your right, buying the brass as is is a little expensive, I prefer using brass from factory ammo that I shot, rather than buying brass by itself. This way as I work my loads, I can easily compare the accuracy of my reloads.



But

[powder = $30 a pound

Brass is variable

Bullets maybe $25 /100 bullets (Remington core-lokt)

primers (hard to find, but $40 / 1000)

and press, count on about $200 for a lee press (with all the NECESSARY accessories more for optional equipment), more for other and better brands

+ scale ($50 +++)

+ reloading manual $30

+ time ] / number of rounds made = cost per round



Basically the more you make, the more you save, but by my calculations done a year ago, count on 2000 rounds before you see the benefit.



But it is intimate, you create the ammo, you choose the charge, you choose the bullet, you are responsible for how good the ammo is.

Answer 3

You got some great answers from the vast experience of guys above , like John de Witt and the Long Shot. These guys are knowledgable, and have it down real well.



Unfortunately --- I think the long and short of it is -- it's never really going to ever really "pay back", unless you are going to be "normally" shooting 15 or 20 boxes of ammo a year. It's not meant in any derogatory way --- it is just "to make it pay back" --- you have to shoot a lot of ammo.



If you wouldn't "normally" shoot more than 5 boxes a year ($100/ yr+), then it would probably take you at least 10 years to get your "original investment" back. If you get into reloading, then to justify your "investment", you feel obligated to shoot several hundred rounds. It's kind of like the more shells that I reload and shoot -- then the faster my investment pays off.



But the "potential" reality is --- if you didn't have the reloading equipment -- you probably wouldn't be shooting more than 100 rounds a year ($100 or so).



There are other reasons to reload besides "cost savings":



1) I bought a just bunch of reloading equipment, but a box of my favorite cartridges -- the .300 Weatherby, and .300 Rem Ultramag -- are $60 to $80 a box. The more expensive the round (yours are $1 each, mine cost $4 each) the more rational the decision to reload becomes.



2) The cartridges you reload will likely be better and more accurate that factory ammo. But it is only an real advantage, if your groupings being 1/2" better, actually has a significant usefulness. For the annual deer hunt, and getting shots at 100 yards -- the 1/2" better group will not really be a great advantage.



3) The "real reason" I bought the reloading equipment --- Liberal Politics !! I live in California where they want to get your address and thumbprints and ID when you buy ammo. The Moron in the WhiteHouse (I will likely now get reported to Whitehouse.gov) will likely somehow try to stop ammo purchases buy putting a BIG 500% tax on ammo, or buying up all of the primers for military use, or somehow try to ban ammo sales. I am not letting him get "control" of my guns. If I have brass, bullets and powder, etc. --- he will never control my guns by controlling the ammo. Maybe my reloading investment never pays back --- it doesn't have to. What mattered to me more importantly --- the slickster in the WhiteHouse will never be able to keep ammo out of my hands now. I control my own future now.



There are more advantages to reloading than "cost savings". If you would normally shoot 1000 rounds per year -- you will likely save money. Especially if you ammo/ cartridge is an expensive one -- .300 RUM, 458 Lott, 416 Magnum, etc. If not ........ maybe it doesn't pay back for years.

Your reloaded ammo will be more accurate than factory ammo. You can pick which specific ammo to "self manufacture", and you would never be "restricted" by government intervention in your 2nd Amendment Constitutional Rights.



Sorry, Guys, for the long-winded response.

Answer 4

The other guys have it right. Start up costs can be prohibitive but every time you reload brass it gets the cost down. Buy a RCBS starter kit and use the brass from your spent factory ammo. Don't buy virgin brass if you don't have to. If anything, ask the local range if you can collect brass at their range. Winchester, Remington, and Federal are pretty good. I have reloaded the same brass 5 times without trimming on my Savage 110FP and I shoot 1/2 MOA at competition. Not everyone else's load works safely for their gun but with mine its 48.6 grains of Varget, 168 BTHP Nosler bullets, CCI primers, and winchester brass. Always consult the reloading manual to work up your load which will come with the starter kit. You need to be shooting 200 rounds a year or more to make it worth your while unless you are shooting competitively and need better accuracy. Thats how I penciled it out a few years ago.

Answer 5

Not being there, it's impossible to diagnose. I would buy a box of factory 30-06 ammo and see if it chambers. If it does, you have a sizing issue and your brass needs to be run though the full length die and then measured for length. Use a set of calipers to check your loads against the ones that chambered or against the standard specs. I was just in the basement loading .223. The prep process is always the same. -Clean brass in vibrating tumbler. -Lube brass -De-prime and full-length size -measure length and trim if needed -Clean brass again -prime -charge (measured) -set bullet (Measure length and again every 25 rounds or so.) (Be SURE there isn't anything in your chamber or any part of the action that could keep it from functioning. If you know someone who wouldn't mind, see if your ammo chambers in their 30-06 rifle.)

Answer 6

If you don't shoot much, handloading has its advantages, but saving on costs isn't really one of them. It's much more about tuning your loads to your individual rifle, and perhaps getting something that simply isn't available to you at Wally World. There is a wide range of equipment out there, but as a typical example, let's say you get the RCBS RockChucker kit, a die set, and the components (cases, bullets, propellants, primers). That's going to run you close to $500, and you'll probably spend a day at the lumber yard and in your shop or garage putting together a bench to put your press on. You'll have to shoot close to 500 rounds to begin saving money. By then, you'll have been hooked on the tinkering, trying to get better and better performance, and then you're likely to shoot up any savings.

Don't be put off, though, by the cost of brass: you're likely to use each case at least a half dozen times. The only caution I'd have there is that it's easy to develop bad habits. On more than one occasion over the 40+ years I've been handloading, I've caught myself looking for the brass after the critter hit the ground, but before I was absolutely sure he wasn't going to get up again!

Answer 7

If you shoot a lot reloading will be cheaper There is the start up costs which can be fairly cheap ie: Lee products to fairly expensive ie;Dillon, RCBS,Lyman ect..As far as brass goes each time you reload the cost goes down per round.

Oh yea it can be really fun to do