I hope someone can help me with a simple answer. I have done some research and even purchased industry magazines. I must say WOW! you can spend more on shooting and reloading toys than you ever could on a firearm.

Can anyone answer this for me?

1) What is the difference between $85 and $25 boxes of rifle ammunition?

2) Assuming there is a difference between $85 and $25 ammo can I improve in the quality of the $85 box of ammo by reloading myself?

Thanks

Cameron

2.

It depends on the use you need the ammo for and your firearm.

My first rifle that I handloaded for, reduced group size of
3" for 3 shots at 100 yards using Winchester Factory Ammo
to 3/4". And this was from my first attempt. Other rifles
are not so dramatic in the difference and a rare one will like
a certain factory ammo best.

With handloading you can tailer the load to the use.

Take a 308.

Load up 180 grain partition bullets and hunt elk.
Use 115 grain cast lead bullets and hunt grouse (if your state
allows). Carry both at the same time if the seasons overlap.


When I lived in Washington State I harvested a lot of grouse while
deer hunting using a slow velocity cast lead bullet in my 7x57 mauser.
I had to hand load for the cast bullets as no factory
options were available. Also the hand loads
for the deer were more accurate and higher velocity
than the factory loadings that were available (they tend to
underload the 7x57 in this country due to the number of 100
year old guns in this caliber still in use.)

It's likely that the more expensive ammo is more consistent.

Handloading can let you find what your particular rifle shoots best. To find the load you have to invest in the equipment (modest cost) and the time to learn how to load and then the time to experiment with the variables involved. (there are potentially lots of variables.)

I've loaded thousands of rounds of pistol ammo and saved $$ but I found learning rifle ammo loading and the necessary experiments to be tedious and so I really haven't completed them. Milsurp ammo is "good enough" for my rifle shooting. (I'm not a hunter though)

Reloading is interesting though so as a skill or knowlege item it could be another thing to add to your list of capabilities.

Not knowing what loads the $85 and $25 rounds are, that is a hard question to answer. My gut feeling is that the high priced stuff has an expanding bullet, Nosler or similar, while the cheaper stuff might be ball.

The best thing about reloading is that you can tailor the rounds to your rifle. Every gun that I have ever owned had one particular load (that I loaded myself) that was more accurate than a similar, but different in some way (probably powder charge) round. I would take my reloading gear to the range, make up some loads, fire them, look at the target, whip up another load with different powder, or different amount, fire that, etc etc etc...

Thou shalt remember to follow directions and proceed slowly.
I have been working with reloads from a automated progressive machine, and received on heck of a surprise in the form of half the cylinder and all of the top strap of a S&W 686 into my shooting glasses. This was a professional reloading company that supplied to OHP and many other agencies, not just some schmoe at the gun show. That said, when I had the time, I really prefer custom loads tailored to the firearm in question. Just be careful.

If your time is free, handloading is cheaper. It takes me about
1 hour to do a nice job of reloading for accuracy for a box of
20 rifle cartridges. Cost of materials is between 1/3 and 1/2
of factory loaded and I can use the best bullets etc.

I've been looking into reloading too... I'd like to be able to do a decent amount. I`m looking at the Dillon 650XL and the 1050. The 550 may be a more economical choice but can do a good # per-hour.

My thoughts are I can spend 1hr a week re-loading so I want to be able to do a good amount in that 1 hour, and then each week reload a different caliber that I shoot often.

The $85 box likely uses the most recent component design, some of which may be hype, and usually involves a higher QC claim for release. Performance variance is not proportional to cost variance, so you may be paying over 3 times as much to get maybe a 15% improvement at best in terminal performance and/or durability.

You can always surpass factory ammo by reloading, if you are willing to make the investment and exercise the level of QC and analysis necessary. The basic "O" press, such as an RCBS Rockchucker is adequate for the task. A good set of dies will also be more than enough to improve on factory quality. From there, it is all about consistency; using case gauges, keeping the materials clean and undamaged, accurate metering of charges, concentricity of the bullets, etc. Then there's things like headspace and freebore, which you can take advantage of reloading that is impossible for factory ammo. Then it is range time, working up different combinations of loads, testing them, measuring them (muzzle velocity tells you part of the story), and basically proofing your loads to the firearm you intend to use it in. Semi-automatic firearms especially are sensitive to variations in things like chamber pressure, rise time, barrel dwell, all of which can be greatly influenced by reloading techniques.

All told, I have maybe $1,000 invested in my reloading setup, including half a dozen die sets for various cartridges I use. The offset is that after shooting 10,000 rounds of reloaded ammunition, I've probably amortized the cost of the equipment already. By and large, the best results I get with all my firearms except those chambered for 22 lr (which I don't reload for) are with ammunition I have reloaded based on a fair amount of experimentation and testing. Also, the range of loads I can shoot reliably in my firearms is far more extensive than what is offered by the manufacturers.

I have a 550. Excellent equipment.Have a friend with a 650. There's more stuff on it to set up and it isn't much faster. Simpler is better as far as I'm concerned.
Dillon makes good equipment though so they'll all work.

If we want to move into a survival mode reloading, one could look for an old Lyman 310 "tong tool," or an old Lee Loader. Small sized, lots more work to crank out a loaded round than a fancy progressive tool, but they work, and work well. Over the years I loaded a jillion rounds of .30-06 and .30-30 with a Lyman. As long as you are using the same rifle you don't have to worry about full length resizing. The loader, a pound of powder, box or two of primers, and a handfull of bullets could keep you in business a lot longer than a similar sized bunch of loaded rounds...

Sometimes it is $60 in additional profit for the retailer.

What are you shooting that a box of ammo costs $85? I assume we are talking about a 20 round box. At $85 I am envisioning a .50 BMG.

Thank you everyone for all of the excellent information thus far. It is very helpful in forming my opinion about reloading.

Desperado.........The ammo I am referring to is 300 Winchester Magnum. At Cabelas it appeared that 2 identical types of ammunition 20 rounds one was Hornady the other was Federal. Hornady was about $85 and Federal was about $25. What gives?

I tried to check this out at Cabela's website, but it was too big a deal to undertake on slo-mo internet. But again, I have to bet that the bullet type has a lot to do with the difference in price. Plus, one might be "match" grade, the other "field" grade, which usually just means that one batch of ammo is put together with more care (for lack of a better term) than the other...

Ouch. Maybe reloading will be a good idea. Or a good Ruger 10/22 for practice. And I complain when purchasing 7.62 NATO Match rounds for about $30.00.

.300 Win Mag really isn't "standard" like .30-06, .308, etc. May also be economy of scale issue also.

Bulk ammo for .300 win mag at Cabela's is $119/100
Hornady custom handloads for $37 per 20
Hornady light magnum $39 per 20

Didn't see anything for .300 win mag for $85.

Maybe you saw some Weatherby ammo. It can be a couple of dollars
each just for the Brass. Different calibers tho. Specialty high
velocity chamberings.

.300 win Mag- a common elk etc. round and used by long range
snipers.

Sorry, we went from 7.62 nato straight to .50 BMG for long range. I have seen somewhere that the .300 Win Mag was being picked up now that you mention it. Glad I don't hunt any of the critters you mentioned. Weatherby is like Harley Davidson. Everything I buy with that name costs more due to the name. HD=Hundered Dollars

Agreed the prices on-line don't jive with my question. A few weeks ago I spend half a day at Cabelas in Lacey WA. It had just opened this year and I was excited about taking it all in.

I went to the ammo section and carefully priced a few things for my new Remington 300 win mag. (I make this point because I was paying particularly close attention)

It was not 300 weatherby and I don't recall the type of bullet but I am 98% sure they were identical. To further the point I have noticed brands such as Buffalo Bore, Hornady and a few others are remarkably more expensive.

I think the question has been answered insofar as it is probably just more "carefully" loaded than maybe some other mainstream brands.

However the question although already answered is still open to additional input if you have the time.

Do you think reloading will give me a significant advantage over $85 for a box of 20 300 win mag?

Thanks

"...Do you think reloading will give me a significant advantage over $85 for a box of 20 300 win mag?..."

I think that depends on how much you shoot. If you only touch off 15-20 rounds a year, then no, you would be better off buying factory ammo.

But if you shoot a lot (and keep in mind that you can reload reduced rounds that won't beat your shoulder to death), then reloading will pay for itself in a reasonably short time. After that you will be in the green all the way...

Advantage in what? Price? Accuracy?

Accuracy, absolutely. It's not hard for a reloader who keeps accurate records to beat factory rounds on accuracy.

Price, it depends how much you shoot.

I strongly agree with shooting .22 for practice more than centerfire. When you can report on the accuracy differences between brands of .22 you're starting to gain skill.

I was Range Officer for a pistol club's weekly shooting night for a long time. From that experience my thumbrule for pistol is that one should shoot 100 rds .22 for each 10 rds of centerfire. And shoot them all with maximum concentration.
I saw .22 shooters who were starting to show real skill develop terrible flinch with their first magazine of 9mm. A box of .22 would be required to cure the flinch.

Similar principles for rifle.

BTW, I've found you never ever save money reloading - you just shoot more to make up for it

kc2ixe

That is the conclusion I am drawing.

Thanks

CO

And don't forget that there's just one more tool, one more set of dies, a better powder scale, different powder, a different bullet..... just an endless series of "one more thing and it'll be perfect."

Kinda like all survival stuff :-) Er, kinda like all stuff.

Aren't we humans funny?