Reloading 6.5 Grendel cost

[challenger]

Does it make economical sense to reload 6.5 Grendel? I have everything press wise other than the dies but it seems that factory rounds are somewhat on par cost wise.

 

[john.k]

You have discovered one of the great truths...........you cant save any money reloading CF ammo with factory made bullets .....To save substantially ,you need to make your own bullets.

 

[gtermini]

It depends what you want to do and what you can get primers for. 6.5/264 projectiles are premium priced as well with all the creedmoor guys out there. I use starline brass with good results in the caliber, but it seems out of stock everywhere currently. My friend formed a couple hundred cases from 7.62 with two anneals. His headache in the process was fighting berdan primed cases in mixed range brass.

I had great success with 90 gr hp speers over h335 and a cci 450 primer for varmints. 129gr hornady ballistic tips over 8208 or 4895 for longer range also worked well.

 

[CalG]

LR primers are sometimes hard to get. I've not seen them here in the north east in three years, and when I ask, there is laughter in response.

But

Sometimes a particular rifle will shoot exceptionally well with some pet reload.
It doesn't take many "one hole groups" to put a smile on your face.

 

[CalG]

the subject of reloading

I've got an assortment of powders, brass, and projectiles, but limited primers. (<1000)
should I "load 'em", or leave the components as they are?
I've actually started to worry that on-line load data will be scrubbed, and I have no hard copy at hand. sad....

 

[???]

Sometimes its not about the money. You may be able to get the same accuracy out of factory at a cheaper or equivalent price but can you get the same satisfaction as when you roll your own.

 

[???]

the subject of reloading

I've got an assortment of powders, brass, and projectiles, but limited primers. (<1000)
should I "load 'em", or leave the components as they are?
I've actually started to worry that on-line load data will be scrubbed, and I have no hard copy at hand. sad....

I'm starting to wonder if long range air rifle is a thing

 

[triumph406]

I'm starting to wonder if long range air rifle is a thing

I shoot 22LR in NRL22 competitions every month, there is a guy who sometimes turns up with an air rifle, I'm about mid way in the results ussually and so is he. As far as I could tell he was hitting targets out to 100 yards (max on the range we use) as easily as people shooting 22LR.

The downside to 22LR is ammo variability, and getting good consistent lots of ammo. Don't know if air rifle pellets have that same issue

I have a friend who shoots off hand. He practices at home with an air rifle, standing with his back against the front door, back door open, and target on the fence he expects to get a consistent one hole group at 25 yards if he's on his game. I assume his air rifle is probably somewhat expensive.

 

[john.k]

AS a kid I had a 22 BSA air rifle ........it could hit a tin can out to 100 yards,and maybe a little bit further ......then it ran out of puff.

 

[challenger]

One of the main reasons I decided on the gren, beside getting a crazy good deal, is the accuracy and dynamics of this round.
If the G men come to take my "stuff" they won't know where the warning shots came from

 

[akajun]

You have discovered one of the great truths...........you cant save any money reloading CF ammo with factory made bullets .....To save substantially ,you need to make your own bullets.

I have the receipts to prove you wrong, I would never have made High master or distinguished if i had to pay for factory ammo, even buying bullets. Quality match and hunting ammo is easily twice the cost of reloads if not more depending on caliber.

 

[FredC]

I have the receipts to prove you wrong, I would never have made High master or distinguished if i had to pay for factory ammo, even buying bullets. Quality match and hunting ammo is easily twice the cost of reloads if not more depending on caliber.

His statement may be true in the land down under. I only buy reloading supplies occasionally so when it is more readily available the prices are lower. Been a long while since I bought new centerfire ammo.

 

[kenton]

From a purely economic perspective once you factor in the cost of your time you would probably be better off working overtime or finding side work that pays more than $20-30 an hour and buying ammo.

If you want to consider reloading as part of your shooting hobby then it is probably worth reloading. Depending on what you want to do you might be able to find pulled 6.5mm bullets just to load up plinking/practice rounds. Most places I have seen that deal in pulled components have rapidly changing stock so it pays to check regularly

If you only figure on shooting 20-40 rounds per year then factory ammo probably makes the most sense.

 

[challenger]

Personally I don't consider reloading "fun".
I will be looking for a price on 1k Grendel rounds.

 

[john.k]

You also need to add in the cost of a press and dies ,powder measures, scales etc etc .

 

[???]

I have to reload for the .223. Factory cannot be loaded to the specs required to shoot out to 1000 yards due to insurance concerns, we are over the pressure when shooting the heavy bullets at long range.

 

[gtermini]

Personally I don't consider reloading "fun".
I will be looking for a price on 1k Grendel rounds.

You can't reload to save money. I will never recover my equipment costs in ammo savings. EVER. I see handloading as a hobby in itself, so I don't expect it to justify financially. It's easy to get into loading equipment many thousand$, but it is nice to be able to load precision rifle ammo at 50-100 cpr vs $3-5 factory.

 

[CalG]

The way I heard it, and have discovered by experience.
What ever "savings" might be obtained in reloading, results in INCREASED usage.

You just shoot more.....

But then, Isn't that the idea?........

 

[eaglemike]

There's a number of good things about reloading. The satisfaction of making your own stuff, independence of schedule (do it when you need/want), you can get closer to exactly what you want if factory doesn't suit your needs. Match ammunition is far more expensive than cheap blasting stuff, so reloading match stuff is often cheaper than buying. After the first time brass is pretty much free, or one could figure the brass cost over 10 loadings or whatever. Brass usually lasts longer in a bolt gun, and Grendel is mostly shot in a gas gun. IIRC you can make the brass from 7.62X39, but most of that cheap brass is Berdan primed, larger pain to reload. I don't know anyone that is currently doing that. Lapua brass is usually considered the best, but out of production last time I checked.
Targetsportsusa.com is usually a good place to shop. They are completely out of all 6.5 Grendel loads right now - another reason to reload!
Good luck.
(all you guys that reload know all this, plus it gives heartburn to the baddies every time you pull the handle)

 

[Trboatworks]

Lots of great things about reloading.
For me the reloading equipment itself is of interest and I enjoy working with it as I do with any other machine.
I also enjoy coming up with solutions to problems such as making this micrometer powder slide for the old Star which drops consistent to sub 1/10 grain loads.
For me I enjoy some casual gunsmith work as well for the same reasons.
I could have sent out the little FN 1903 for blueing but home brew rust blue was fun to mess with.
Same way I could have bought it but a couple of hours in the shop to make a sear jig was time enjoyed.

I have more saved brass than I will ever need so cost per round is much less than commercial.
Otherwise my investment is not high- a few old NIB Pacific Durachrome die sets, an old M5 scale and the old Star is the heart of it.
Looking about the sky is literally the limit on how tricked out the reloading bench can be but for my tastes it was not required.
I bought everything I have for well less than $500 and it seems to do the trick.
For me I save money by reloading.





Now to just get out to the range- that is free time it seems tough to come up with...