The timing of this is, for me, is ironic. I fall into the category of diehard reloader. I've been collecting equipment for 15 years and I'm afraid to estimate how much I've spent on a 550, a 650, a turret press, about 20 toolheads setup with dies across them, hundreds of pounds of powder, primers, and direct to manufacturer/ group buys of bullets, RF Primer filler, Henderson motorized trimmer, Amp MKII will Amp Mate and casefeeder, on and on... And I would definitely do it all over again.
As I was reading these 5 long pages last night, I was absolutely not buying the argument of factoring in your time. I think at some point somebody said they couldn't load 6.5 Creedmoor with Lapua/ Berger components for less than $2 a round. I was shaking my head at these arguments. Not counting time, tooling investments, component overstock, and pro-rating brass cost over it's lifespan I can load pretty much all of my comp ammo for under 50¢ a rd. Stay with me though...
Right now I'm helping a buddy out by reloading 6.5 Creedmoor for him. I bought new Hornady brass for $35 a hundred, 140 ELDMs for $26 a hundred, and primers for $28 a hundred. I'll probably use RL23 or H4831SC at $14 a hundred. I bought him Hornady dies for $36. That's the only tooling cost to him. His first 500rds will cost $440 and his second 500 cost will cost $215. Over 1000rds it will cost him $67 a hundred. Every subsequent 500 thereafter his overall price will drop by reusing the brass and pro-rating the initial dies and shipping costs.
But this group buy truly is amazing. On Prime's website they have the Swedish 130gr for $1.06 a round when paid with a check. That comes out to $.60 to $.70 a round after you sell the brass. That's, no shit, only $.14 to $.24 more than reloading for me or the same price over 1000rds for my buddy with my free labor. With Peterson brass instead of Hornady.
With the exception of the diehards like myself, I just don't know why you wouldn't get in on this. I hope Prime comes out with a similar offering for a current 6mm cartridge like 6GT or 6BR. I would adopt one match barrel that I wouldn't reload for and just buy 2000rds for about a years worth of shooting, with that particular rifle.