Project Appleseed

It has been a year since the last reloading post. So I would like to ask to the reloaders out there: what's your favorite KD recipe?  Mine is for a .308 Winchester:  168 gr Hornady hp, RP case, CCI 200 cap, and 39.0 gr of Varget.  Velocity from my Bergara bolt action is just over 2400 fps. Groups at 100 yds cut clover leaves. It isn't a maximum load, but it's a very consistent and accurate load.

In Liberty,

Gus

What I have noticed over the past few months (years?) is that it is not as large a savings to reload versus buying new.  I always figured it was less than half of new, if you don't figure the brass, but not so much any more.  Besides that, it is very "hit and miss" (must get my NPOA) to even find components, especially small pistol primers and powders.  Is the government behind this?

PRP

You really do not get a value out of reloading common ammunition anymore unless you are set-up casting your own bullets, got your brass collected and buying in the largest bulk quantities. Where you do save is loading for the not as common calibers. The greatest remaining benefits to reloading are being able to tailor specific loads to your rifle/handgun and saving a bit of money when loading premium loads vs. buying premium loads.

The economy of reloading wasn't really the question I posed. But where economy is concerned I feel there is what I consider significant cost savings if you reload. For example when I peruse Midway's prices for their least expensive.223 fmj ammo I see it is about $15 for a box of 20. If I reload a box of 20 I can do so for about $8 a box of 20. I used the term reload to imply I already have the brass cases.

If you buy the cases new and handload them for the initial firing then the cost goes up to about $15.20 a box of 20. After that, with medium loads, I get four reloads per case and then I discard them.

If someone was inclined to use match ammo in a KD (which I know isn't necessary but some shooters may choose to) then the cost savings is considerable for reloads vs factory: about $15 / $30 for a box of 20.

For a .308, 150 gr fmj is about $14 for reloads and $27 for factory ammo, boxes of 20.
Where .308 168 gr match ammo is concerned I see reloads for about $15 a box and $40 a box for factory (boxes of 20).

Lastly, for Garand suitable .30-06: 150 gr fmj reloads I can do for about $13.20. Factory ammo goes for about $31 (boxes of 20). 168 gr Garand suitable reloads I can do for about $15 and factory 168s go for about $41. These for boxes of 20.

I didn't research prices for reloading 7.62x39.

Puma, I don't know if the govt is behind this. By 2018 ammo and reloading components were plentiful and relatively inexpensive.

Then came 2020 and covid. By mid-2020 we had the buying/hoarding craze. Prices went way up for everything. Three years later we're finally seeing things on the shelves like ammo and reloading components but there is still a problem with primer availability. When you do see them they're 3x the price from what we paid in 2018.

There are a lot of ways to look at the economy of handloading and reloading: initial outlay of $ for a press, dies, scale, brass trimmer, etc. Then there is the time involved in actually sitting down to crank out the ammo. Personally I enjoy the time sitting and creating at the loading bench. Certainly it isn't for everyone. But even now I believe it is worth it to reload.

In Liberty,

Gus

I've always looked to hand loading for two things, ammunition tailored to my gun, and generally being cheaper than buying the equivalent factory loaded.  I think that in the last few years it was much more profitable for the manufacturers of components to sell loaded ammo rather than just selling the components individually.  Even with the scarcity and price increase of certain components, primers being the most difficult to acquire in bulk (in my experience anyhow), I can still load match bullets for 5.56 (69 grain) for about the same cost per round as M193 purchased by the case.