I'm Reloading Less Than I Had Planned

billt · 11-21-2017, 03:44 AM

The last 5 or 6 years I was working, I planned for my retirement both financially, as well as by stocking up on components for reloading. I retired 3 years ago, and figured by being on a fixed income, it would be smart to have as many components on hand as possible. So I could still shoot as much as I like.

Now that I'm 3 years into retirement, I have yet to reload a cartridge, in spite of shooting far more. (I usually average 2 trips a week to the range). I'm finding a couple of reasons for this. First, is the fact the more common calibers are really cheap since Trump and the Republicans were elected. I can find 9 MM FMJ for sale around me for as little as $ 9.00 to $ 9.50 a box. Even cheaper online. It just doesn't pay to reload at that price. Even if you buy the components in bulk. .45 ACP is $ 12.00 to $ 15.00 a box if you shop around online. I still save all the brass however.

As far as high powered rifle, I've found I have so much stockpiled it will be years before I need to reload for them. I'm also finding that I'm not shooting cartridges like .30-06, .300 Win. Mag., .300 Weatherby Magnum, and .375 H&H as much as I used to, now that I'm getting older. And when I do, I'm not shooting as much of them as I did 20 or 30 years ago. Let's face it, the older you get, the harder it is to take all that recoil without getting sore. And shooting should be fun, not painful.

Lastly was the very pleasant fact that I found that after I retired I have more money coming in than when I was working. My tax liabilities are far less, and many of my investments are paying far more than I thought they would. We have no children, and my wife is very frugal and doesn't buy much. So financially it's all working out better than I thought it would. Especially now that I'm on Medicare, and I don't have health insurance worries. (The last 2 years I was working it was costing us a fortune for good coverage).

Probably the one caliber I will eventually reload for is .223 / 5.56 MM, to keep all my AR-15's fed. I have a lot of brass and components. And I can buy ready to load brass for just $ 265.00 for 2,500 cases from here.

http://www.evergladesammo.com/popula...00-pieces.html

For that price it's worth it not to have to mess with resizing, depriming, trimming, and cleaning. It can go straight from the box, right into the press. And .223 is still expensive, going around here for $ 6.00 to $ 7.00 a box of 20. Or $ 300.00 a case of 1,000. So that is still worth my time on a Dillon progressive to reload them. I'm happy about all of this, because the older I get the more I like shooting. And the bigger chore reloading becomes. It's not that I "hate" it. It's just far more fun to pull a trigger, than it is a reloading press handle.

Terry_P · 11-21-2017, 05:40 AM

The way I look at it if I reload and have all the components then that money was spent and is zero out of pocket now, any ammo you buy now is cash out. If you spend $9.00 for a box of 50 then that's $2.70 every mag of 15 you slap in. If ammo is cheap then components S/B cheap as well so spending it on components is still out of pocket but you wind up with more to shoot.

You'll find gaps in your time when you are idle. Good time to load up a couple of boxes or in my case with a single stage a box.

moakes58 · 11-21-2017, 06:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Terry_P

The way I look at it if I reload and have all the components then that money was spent and is zero out of pocket now, any ammo you buy now is cash out. If you spend $ 9.00 for a box of 50 then that's $ 2.70 every mag of 15 you slap in. If ammo is cheap then components S/B cheap as well so spending it on components is still out of pocket but you wind up with more to shoot.

You'll find gaps in your time when you are idle. Good time to load up a couple of boxes or in my case with a single stage a box.

A big +1! That's exactly how I look at it since retiring.

I have the components & my time is free + the fact the ammo I reload is more accurate.

I have to admit I like reloading. I have a great system set up for my style & it works well for me.

You do have a different situation in the fact you don't have a few snowbound months. I shoot from March to as late in the fall as possible & then reload in winter months.

north country gal · 11-21-2017, 09:04 AM

Hi guys

We went through the same thing when we retired. Had great plans to reload, bought tons of components, had all the equipment ... then found it almost impossible to sit down at the bench to reload for an uninterrupted hour. The irony for us was that an hour at the reloading bench was often an hour of shooting we had to give up.

I, too, figured that reloading was a way to stay busy during our long winter months, but then I discovered something even better to stay busy in the winter - shooting airguns indoors (and nothing is cheaper to shoot than air guns). Given a choice between shooting and reloading, shooting wins every time for me. Then, too, winter is actually a very busy time for me, what with my skiing and, especially, my passion for riding bikes in the snow. I'm just one of those people who has more things to do than I can squeeze into a day's time. Bottom line: sold off all our components and equipment and no longer reload at all.

Also, our shooting tastes changed, especially for me, when we retired. Found myself shooting the big expensive mag stuff less and less and the affordable stuff like the 9mm, 45 auto, 223 bulk, 38/357 more and more. That, in turn, translated into some guns being shot very rarely, because they were too expensive to shoot with factory ammo. Kind of crazy to invest big bucks in a gun then not shoot it much because factory ammo cost too much. Besides, we're just paper punching, now. Kind of crazy to do that with the big nasty mags. A 45 auto leaves just as big a hole in paper and costs way less to shoot.

We now have a self-imposed limit of 50 cents a round for factory ammo in any cartridge we shoot. Most of the time, though, we shoot ammo that costs half of that or less. Since we are recreational target shooters, only, not competition shooters or hunters, we have no need to go to the most expensive premium factory ammo, either. A lot of the mid-priced and even bulk ammo shoot very well for us.

Won't argue one bit about all the advantages of reloading, but for some of us, it's just not workable, even for folks like us that do a ton of shooting. Thanks for letting me explain our situation.

gunjunkie · 11-21-2017, 09:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by north country gal

Hi guys

We went through the same thing when we retired. Had great plans to reload, bought tons of components, had all the equipment ... then found it almost impossible to sit down at the bench to reload for an uninterrupted hour. The irony for us was that an hour at the reloading bench was often an hour of shooting we had to give up.

I, too, figured that reloading was a way to stay busy during our long winter months, but then I discovered something even better to stay busy in the winter - shooting airguns indoors (and nothing is cheaper to shoot than air guns). Given a choice between shooting and reloading, shooting wins every time for me. Then, too, winter is actually a very busy time for me, what with my skiing and, especially, my passion for riding bikes in the snow. I'm just one of those people who has more things to do than I can squeeze into a day's time. Bottom line: sold off all our components and equipment and no longer reload at all.

Also, our shooting tastes changed, especially for me, when we retired. Found myself shooting the big expensive mag stuff less and less and the affordable stuff like the 9mm, 45 auto, 223 bulk, 38/357 more and more. That, in turn, translated into some guns being shot very rarely, because they were too expensive to shoot with factory ammo. Kind of crazy to invest big bucks in a gun then not shoot it much because factory ammo cost too much. Besides, we're just paper punching, now. Kind of crazy to do that with the big nasty mags. A 45 auto leaves just as big a hole in paper and costs way less to shoot.

We now have a self-imposed limit of 50 cents a round for factory ammo in any cartridge we shoot. Most of the time, though, we shoot ammo that costs half of that or less. Since we are recreational target shooters, only, not competition shooters or hunters, we have no need to go to the most expensive premium factory ammo, either. A lot of the mid-priced and even bulk ammo shoot very well for us.

Won't argue one bit about all the advantages of reloading, but for some of us, it's just not workable, even for folks like us that do a ton of shooting. Thanks for letting me explain our situation.

Hey stranger, good to see you back!

bearcatter · 11-21-2017, 10:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gunjunkie

Hey stranger, good to see you back!

Plus one. We missed you two!

north country gal · 11-21-2017, 02:18 PM

Aw, shucks.

Nice to be back. Been very busy

Honcho · 11-29-2017, 07:39 AM

BillT, I know where you're coming from! Do you know what it's like to trip over boxes of reloads, when you go into your bedroom?!!! With me it's even worse, as we're "Snowbirds" (live in Florida during the Winters, and in PA in the summers), and I have even more reloading tools and components up there, than here! I have boxes of stuff I never even opened, when they were delivered!
I have managed to cast up a bunch of lead bullets, in various calibers, (am STILL trying to find some good, accurate lead bullet loads for my 9MM handguns, so far NADA!), and my component shelves are groaning with the weight!
It never ceases to amaze me, when a fellow retiree tells me, "I'm so bored, don't know what to do with myself"! WHAT? For crying out loud I'm busier now, than when I was working full time, and I'm now 80 years old! My biggest problem is finding time to go to the great shooting range, only 12 miles away, and shoot up some of my reloads!
Please Lord, don't let me croak till all this ammo is gone!
Cheers,
Fred (Honcho)

11-21-2017, 03:44 AM	#1
billt Senior Member Joined: Jul 2016 From: Lake Havasu City, Arizona Posts: 195	I'm Reloading Less Than I Had Planned The last 5 or 6 years I was working, I planned for my retirement both financially, as well as by stocking up on components for reloading. I retired 3 years ago, and figured by being on a fixed income, it would be smart to have as many components on hand as possible. So I could still shoot as much as I like. Now that I'm 3 years into retirement, I have yet to reload a cartridge, in spite of shooting far more. (I usually average 2 trips a week to the range). I'm finding a couple of reasons for this. First, is the fact the more common calibers are really cheap since Trump and the Republicans were elected. I can find 9 MM FMJ for sale around me for as little as $ 9.00 to $ 9.50 a box. Even cheaper online. It just doesn't pay to reload at that price. Even if you buy the components in bulk. .45 ACP is $ 12.00 to $ 15.00 a box if you shop around online. I still save all the brass however. As far as high powered rifle, I've found I have so much stockpiled it will be years before I need to reload for them. I'm also finding that I'm not shooting cartridges like .30-06, .300 Win. Mag., .300 Weatherby Magnum, and .375 H&H as much as I used to, now that I'm getting older. And when I do, I'm not shooting as much of them as I did 20 or 30 years ago. Let's face it, the older you get, the harder it is to take all that recoil without getting sore. And shooting should be fun, not painful. Lastly was the very pleasant fact that I found that after I retired I have more money coming in than when I was working. My tax liabilities are far less, and many of my investments are paying far more than I thought they would. We have no children, and my wife is very frugal and doesn't buy much. So financially it's all working out better than I thought it would. Especially now that I'm on Medicare, and I don't have health insurance worries. (The last 2 years I was working it was costing us a fortune for good coverage). Probably the one caliber I will eventually reload for is .223 / 5.56 MM, to keep all my AR-15's fed. I have a lot of brass and components. And I can buy ready to load brass for just $ 265.00 for 2,500 cases from here. http://www.evergladesammo.com/popula...00-pieces.html For that price it's worth it not to have to mess with resizing, depriming, trimming, and cleaning. It can go straight from the box, right into the press. And .223 is still expensive, going around here for $ 6.00 to $ 7.00 a box of 20. Or $ 300.00 a case of 1,000. So that is still worth my time on a Dillon progressive to reload them. I'm happy about all of this, because the older I get the more I like shooting. And the bigger chore reloading becomes. It's not that I "hate" it. It's just far more fun to pull a trigger, than it is a reloading press handle.

11-21-2017, 09:04 AM	#4
north country gal Senior Member Joined: Jan 2013 From: northern wisconsin Posts: 6,001	Hi guys We went through the same thing when we retired. Had great plans to reload, bought tons of components, had all the equipment ... then found it almost impossible to sit down at the bench to reload for an uninterrupted hour. The irony for us was that an hour at the reloading bench was often an hour of shooting we had to give up. I, too, figured that reloading was a way to stay busy during our long winter months, but then I discovered something even better to stay busy in the winter - shooting airguns indoors (and nothing is cheaper to shoot than air guns). Given a choice between shooting and reloading, shooting wins every time for me. Then, too, winter is actually a very busy time for me, what with my skiing and, especially, my passion for riding bikes in the snow. I'm just one of those people who has more things to do than I can squeeze into a day's time. Bottom line: sold off all our components and equipment and no longer reload at all. Also, our shooting tastes changed, especially for me, when we retired. Found myself shooting the big expensive mag stuff less and less and the affordable stuff like the 9mm, 45 auto, 223 bulk, 38/357 more and more. That, in turn, translated into some guns being shot very rarely, because they were too expensive to shoot with factory ammo. Kind of crazy to invest big bucks in a gun then not shoot it much because factory ammo cost too much. Besides, we're just paper punching, now. Kind of crazy to do that with the big nasty mags. A 45 auto leaves just as big a hole in paper and costs way less to shoot. We now have a self-imposed limit of 50 cents a round for factory ammo in any cartridge we shoot. Most of the time, though, we shoot ammo that costs half of that or less. Since we are recreational target shooters, only, not competition shooters or hunters, we have no need to go to the most expensive premium factory ammo, either. A lot of the mid-priced and even bulk ammo shoot very well for us. Won't argue one bit about all the advantages of reloading, but for some of us, it's just not workable, even for folks like us that do a ton of shooting. Thanks for letting me explain our situation. Last edited by north country gal; 11-21-2017 at 09:11 AM.

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11-21-2017, 05:40 AM	#2
Terry_P Super Moderator Joined: Apr 2008 From: Where it's warm Posts: 10,629	The way I look at it if I reload and have all the components then that money was spent and is zero out of pocket now, any ammo you buy now is cash out. If you spend $9.00 for a box of 50 then that's $2.70 every mag of 15 you slap in. If ammo is cheap then components S/B cheap as well so spending it on components is still out of pocket but you wind up with more to shoot. You'll find gaps in your time when you are idle. Good time to load up a couple of boxes or in my case with a single stage a box.

11-21-2017, 02:18 PM	#7
north country gal Senior Member Joined: Jan 2013 From: northern wisconsin Posts: 6,001	Aw, shucks. Nice to be back. Been very busy

11-29-2017, 07:39 AM	#8
Honcho Member Joined: Nov 2017 From: Kissimmee, Fl, (Winter), Lakeville, PA, (Summer) Posts: 40	BillT, I know where you're coming from! Do you know what it's like to trip over boxes of reloads, when you go into your bedroom?!!! With me it's even worse, as we're "Snowbirds" (live in Florida during the Winters, and in PA in the summers), and I have even more reloading tools and components up there, than here! I have boxes of stuff I never even opened, when they were delivered! I have managed to cast up a bunch of lead bullets, in various calibers, (am STILL trying to find some good, accurate lead bullet loads for my 9MM handguns, so far NADA!), and my component shelves are groaning with the weight! It never ceases to amaze me, when a fellow retiree tells me, "I'm so bored, don't know what to do with myself"! WHAT? For crying out loud I'm busier now, than when I was working full time, and I'm now 80 years old! My biggest problem is finding time to go to the great shooting range, only 12 miles away, and shoot up some of my reloads! Please Lord, don't let me croak till all this ammo is gone! Cheers, Fred (Honcho)