Handload Cost Calculator

1459 Views 14 Replies 11 Participants Last post by olfarhors, May 17, 2013

mingaa

Discussion Starter · May 15, 2013

Handloading Cost Calculator << a handy tool to see how you stack up against the retail market.

I'd recommend the above site AND Montana Gold bullets for the reloads 'sticky' page.
Welcome << though the site appears tapped out currently - like many thay have been shipping to many of their distributors. They make excellent FMJ competition grade bullets at a reasonable cost.

1 - 15 of 15 Posts

20361

· #2 · May 15, 2013

Cool. Says my cast lead 9mm LRN rounds are 14.3 cents each.
$7.16/50
Which is a bargain compared to factory ammo nowadays.

Reactions: 1

HD-Mike

· #3 · May 15, 2013

Very nice cost calculator! Saves several steps in trying to determine your cost per round. I bookmarked it. Thanks for sharing it and I too think it should be a sticky in the reloads forum.

Reactions: 1

olfarhors

· #4 · May 15, 2013

well these are handy if comparing apples to apples!
by that i mean do you order online or buy locally??
what amounts do you purchase at one time?
for instance if you order online and buy powder /primers and only order 1 box of 100 ct projectiles, 1 pound of powder and 1000 primers the cost is through the roof due to Haz mat and shipping.
and of course the larger the amount of projectiles that you buy the cheaper the price, especially with powders, if you buy 4-6-8 pound cans its a lot cheaper than 1 pound cans.
if you buy locally then they are generally higher on everything and you pay sales tax /gas and normally reduced variety is available.
I just figure my cost in my head for each caliber.

Rickenbacher39

· #5 · May 15, 2013 (Edited)

I used that calculator before I started reloading to help me decide whether I should give it a try or not.
It turns out I now make 100 rds. of .45 for $19.98. My .40's cost $17.68/100 and my 9's are $13.68/100.
Not a bad deal in my book and I have found reloading to be relaxing and very interesting too.

I figure I should be able to offset the cost of the reloading equipment I bought by the year 2135.
I will be dead at least 110 years by then so I don't really care.

gyro_cfi

· #6 · May 15, 2013

I've been doing this on my calculator, a lot faster using this site. Thanks.

Lone

· #7 · May 16, 2013

There's also an app out for smartphone users. I have it. Very handy. I'm running around 11.20 per hundred for 9mm

olfarhors

· #8 · May 17, 2013

gasbag said:
I used that calculator before I started reloading to help me decide whether I should give it a try or not.
It turns out I now make 100 rds. of .45 for $19.98. My .40's cost $17.68/100 and my 9's are $13.68/100.
Not a bad deal in my book and I have found reloading to be relaxing and very interesting too.
I figure I should be able to offset the cost of the reloading equipment I bought by the year 2135.
I will be dead at least 110 years by then so I don't really care.

Well of course IF you shoot a lot more then you will get the equipment paid off a lot sooner!
OR do like i did and pick up a couple hungry 38 Supers and 10 MM and the payoff is lot faster than shooting 9MM and 45acp.!-GriiiN.

Czechbikr

· #9 · May 17, 2013

gasbag said:
I used that calculator before I started reloading to help me decide whether I should give it a try or not.
It turns out I now make 100 rds. of .45 for $19.98. My .40's cost $17.68/100 and my 9's are $13.68/100.
Not a bad deal in my book and I have found reloading to be relaxing and very interesting too.

I figure I should be able to offset the cost of the reloading equipment I bought by the year 2135.
I will be dead at least 110 years by then so I don't really care.

Wow...are you buying your brass? I'm loading 45 ACP at about 11.00/50.

mingaa

Discussion Starter · #10 · May 17, 2013

I'm shooting my own or picked up brass. Been lucky that St. Louis has had powder and primers ( got tight there for a while). ALL supplies are more work than before AWB was mentioned!

I've ordered a few bullets on line but not many. I leave my (Lee) equipment out of the equation and try not to think of MY professional hourly wage that I would get. What would 'bullet reloader' get? Minimum wage?! Yikers...

jr612

· #11 · May 17, 2013

Now I can see how much more my 7.62X54R handloads cost than surplus rounds.

jimb1972

· #12 · May 17, 2013

I have been casting my own bullets, and my cost is under $3 per 50 for .45acp. (my dad had saved lead for years and I finally found a use for it)

atomiccat2002

· #13 · May 17, 2013

my hard cast lead 45acp ammo is costing me about 13 cents a round or 6.61$ per 50 - Minus brass cost, I find what I can at the range or buy a box of factory ammo if I get low

atomiccat2002

· #14 · May 17, 2013

jr612 said:
Now I can see how much more my 7.62X54R handloads cost than surplus rounds.

not sure how much you can get the componets for my rough estimate is .50 cents a round for reloaded 7.62x54r , I think it costs like 20 cents a round for surplus, makes me think I should buy another 880 round crate

olfarhors

· #15 · May 17, 2013 (Edited)

well just ordered some components (projectiles)and the figures came up at about:
this is per box of 50, and using a plated projectile, it includes shipping/haz mat where applicable!
of course it uses my own brass and not new brass!

10MM -8.50 per box.
38 super- 6.75 per box.
9 MM -6.75 per box.
45 acp- 9.00 per box.
380 -6.30 per box.
Biggest cost difference in in shipping weight of projectiles and the amount of powder used.
These prices should go up as I am still working on powder and primers that i bought many months ago and in volume!
IF i have to order smaller lots then the cost will go up as the Haz mat fee is standard regarldless of amount that you buy.
But if you compare these prices and add a buck to each its still a lot cheaper when you get to the 10 MM, the 38 super and even the 45 acp.

See less See more

1 - 15 of 15 Posts

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.