Re: Price
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: jasonk</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Just do the math, depends on your brand of brass and bullets. Figure $300-$500 for all the gear to get started right though it can be done for cheaper.
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Or much, much more expensive.
I have a spreadsheet that I use. I figured you can reload the first round for about a buck:
Primer___0.06
Brass____0.54
Powder___0.12
Bullet___0.28
But assuming you get 15 reloads out of the brass, you are looking more like $.50 a load:
Primer___0.06
Brass____0.04
Powder___0.12
Bullet___0.28
This is with Lapua brass and 175 gr SMK's. You can get deals on some of these components to get the cost down. What this shows is that while people fret about the cost of brass, it is actually the cheapest component by the time you have reloaded it a number of times. Yes, WW brass is cheaper, but to get the cheaper brass you are saving yourself about $.02 a shot after the brass is all used up and the consistency is a lot better for Lapua. For gas guns that chew up brass after several shots, obviously, the math changes to the cheaper brass.
I have heard of people "holding out" to get the primers cheaper. Again, that is one of the cheapest components. The place to look to save costs are the bullets and the powder. Because hazmat fees are so expensive, my buying strategy has been to find the place with the cheapest powder and buy the primers from that establishment to spread the hazmat fees over one shipment (if they allow it). Just a thought.