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I'm running myself to the poorhouse shooting a .45, and I've been trying to figure out if reloading makes financial sense.

I can get Blazer Brass for around 22 cts/rd and S&B for about 25 cts/rd. Without thinking about the equipment cost, what would my cost/rd be if I reloaded? 230 gr FMJs, nothing fancy.

Also, what am I looking at spending on equipment? I don't expect a quote, just a ballpark figure.

Any help from folks with experience is appreciated.

Based upon current prices I see... cost can vary from 12 to 18 cnt/rd without paying for brass (use range pickup)

And on this note, how many times can you usually reuse brass?

45 ACP is a low pressure round. This helps case life. Straight-walled cases like 45 ACP can be reused many times.

A high pressure load like 357 mag or (worse) a high pressure necked case like on a 357 SIG have a shorter lifetime. But I haven't reloaded any of these so I don't know how many times you can use them.

Case life depends on how hot you reload the case.
Low power loads equal long case life. I've reloaded .45acp as many as 9-10 times.
The way to really cut cost on reloading .45acp is to use cast bullets.
If you cast them yourself it really drops the cost per round but you'll be chained to the casting bench.
Reloading does NOT really save you any money.
It does allow you to shoot more rounds for the same money.
Tooling up is expensive.
If you're blasting a lot of rounds absolutely get a progressive reloading machine. Dillon Square Deal B is a great one for .45acp.
Once you get it set up and tuned right you can churn out 200-300 rounds per HOUR.

Moonpie speaks the truth.

Not only will reloading reduce your cost per round, it's fun too! You can tune your load to your gun and make much more accurate ammo than you can get at the store.

I've never worn out a .45 ACP case. I've heard of it happening, but my "brass pool" is large enough I'll quite literally have shot tens of thousands of rounds before I start getting that kind of failure.

I use whatever brass I can find, regardless of whether I shot it myself, or cleaned bugs and sand out of it 'cause I picked it up in the desert (and yes, the desert stuff DOES go through the tumbler before I load Nuthin' stinks worse than burnt spider! ).

I'm still new at it, but I also shoot the .45 and reload for it.

GOTO THE INTERNET and buy bulk bullets (or make your own, from bulk lead)

Also, if you research a company called

http://www.atk.com/Customer_Solutions_A ... efault.asp

You'll find they own or control most of the brands of "Premium bullets". There really is not much value in the premium bullets for range or in many cases hunting, most of the claims made about bullet quality are just sales talk, and despite how they want you to infere one brnad is surpior to the other, most of them are from the same corp.

So go bulk, go cheap, and even in the more expensive quality hunting area, the 100 count box of Nosler 300gr hollow point cost me 25.00. The same bullet in the 25 count retail box was priced 20.00

I forgot the cheapest way to get brass is to pick it up.

2nd cheapest is way is to buy cheap ammo.

I forgot to repspond to one of the original questions.

Also, what am I looking at spending on equipment? I don't expect a quote, just a ballpark figure.

This is a sorta/maybe/kind of answer.

Tooling up for reloading runs all the way from a few dollars to thousands.
It all depends on how mechanized you want to go and how "big" (aka volume) you want to go.
For example:
Shooter A: Lets say he wants to do a rifle caliber. Maybe something a little off-beat like a 7x57Mauser because its difficult to find at Wally World. He is a hunter/shooter type so he is only shooting a hundred rounds or so per year.
In this scenario the guy can get by with a simple single stage press, dies, powder scale, case trimmer, assorted hand tools, and components.
If you watch the Want Ads you can ususlly pick up used reloading stuff for a song.
Bought new you're looking at about $300-$400 for everything.
He has the time to carefully assemble 20 or 30 rounds when he needs them.

Shooter B: Is a pistelero. Runs thru hundreds of rounds per month.
This guy doesn't have the time to "carefully assemble" 1200rds a month.
This guy is going to have to go progressive. AKA more expensive.
He's gonna need a brass tumbler, progressive press, motorized case trimmer, blah blah blah.
Bought new expect to cough up anywhere from $500 to $1000(or more).

Once you acquire the tools the cost drops off considerbly except for components.
Compnents(powder, bullets, brass, primers) you need to purchase in bulk quantities to further the economy.
Shooter A can get by with paying full retail for a pound of powder and a box of bullets but this route will bankrupt Shooter B.

Powder and primers: Must be purchased. No way around it. The Internet is you're best bet. Shop around. There's a trainload of places to buy in bulk.

Brass: Pick up brass is always free. You won't be the first guy to be seen snooping in the trash barrels at the gun range! Have your friends save thier brass for you. Purchasing new is always an option. Again, buy in bulk to get the best deal.

Bullets: Two ways to go. Buy new, or cast your own.
Buying new is the only reasonable option for jacketed bullets. Making your own can be done but is an expensive way to save money.
Lead bullets work fine in pistols.
Casting your own bullets isn't difficult but does require more tool up, money, and time to accomplish. Moulds, Melting furnace, Bullet Sizer, Lube, etc require even more bench space.
Purchasing bulk cast bullets is about the most cost/time effective method I found.
Sometimes, if you're reloading for something really different like a .577-450 Martini-Henry(been there-done that-got the T-shirt), casting is your only option.

I guess it comes down to how much mechanization you are willing to pay for. Motorized equipment really speeds the process up and makes it easier on you.

Oh....one more thing I just thought of: 85% of work in reloading is brass prep. Getting the cases ready to reload takes the most time and effort.
Actually loading the case is the easy part.

Here is a cost calculator. It presumes that you already own the tools.
http://www.texasshooting.com/TexasCHL_F ... hp?t=10422

As long as you don't take your time into account, it's cheaper to reload.

If you cast your own bullets, then you should get 25-30 230-grain bullets per pound of casting material. If you use wheel weights - the best choice for most stuff - they should cost you about 20 cents per pound after you clean them up and make them into ingots. This is based on paying $20 per 5-gallon bucket of used wheel weights at a tire shop, which weighs around 125 pounds, and getting about 100 pounds of clean, useful alloy from it (lots of garbage in those buckets most of the time). So... If you pay 20 cents per pound for alloy, and get 25 bullets per pound, then each bullet costs you 8/10 of one cent; i.e., you get 125 bullets for a dollar. All of these numbers are fairly pessimistic, but they make the math easy.

I'm actually loading .45 ACP right now for under seven cents per round (including amortizing brass costs). But even if it winds up costing 10 cents per round, wiith, e.g., White Box at about 30 cents per round, it doesn't take long to recover the cost of even a very complete set up of very high end equipment. If you typically shoot 500 rounds per month, and you're saving 20 cents per round, that's $100 per month saved.

I buy most of my ammo from reload dealers at gun shows. For instance, 20 rounds of .40 hydra-shok runs almost $20 at the store. I can get 50 rounds for about $12 at the gun show. Much cheaper for practice rounds. I think I paid $9 for 100 rounds of 9mm.

I'm interested in reloading just to know how to do it. One question I have...is it dangerous? I mean, obviously if you're sitting there reloading and smoking a cigar, that's probably not wise. I'm just talking about storing the powder and the actual process. Could it blow up in your face?