Sharp as a Marble - Reloading cost calculator

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Reloading cost calculator

Geekdom , Reloading

I'm working on a little app that's going to be part of Hoplocate when I'm done, but I figured I'd put it out for the world to see, if anyone needs it. It's a reloading cost calculator, and I've found it to come in real handy. I have it in an Excel spreadsheet but figured it might help others out.

It's VERY alpha and not pretty at all, but it gets the job done.

The only rules is if you find a bug, you gotta let me know.

(the screen shot above is my cost using Starline brass, TiteGroup powder, Federal large pistol primers, and Remington 155gr hollow points).

Update

Prettyfied the UI and added Recovery Costs.

posted @ 7/24/2010 8:28:31 PM

Incoming Links

SayUncle » Reloading Cost Calculator on 7/26/2010 9:12:33 AM

Reloading Calculator :: Guns Holsters and Gear on 10/1/2011 10:51:04 AM

Comments

Justin Buist says:

on 7/24/2010 9:42:05 PM

Would be nice if it had a toggle to go into shotgun reloading mode. Remove the entry for bullet pricing, add number of pounds of shot, purchase price, number of wads, purchase price, and weight of shot per load.

Jim W says:

on 7/24/2010 9:57:36 PM

Does it figure in hazmat charges? To me that has always been the hardest part of figuring out how to structure my purchases.

Tom says:

on 7/24/2010 10:33:31 PM

Very cool Robb, your off to a great start. I just finished up a reloading app very similar to yours for the IPhone. It started out pretty much the same way, then I had it show the cost savings based on the number of times you reuse the brass/hulls, and how much powder and/or shot you'll need on hand to reload large quantities (25,50,100,500,1000,5000 etc).

Hypnagogue says:

on 7/24/2010 10:42:48 PM

So it will take you over 1000 rounds to break even on a G20 Lone Wolf barrel. Almost 2000 if we assume you can use brass twice with the Glock barrel.

Tom says:

on 7/24/2010 10:43:10 PM

Oops, I missed that you show #times brass is reused

Stanger says:

on 7/25/2010 12:44:12 AM

You are missing the factor of time cost. While I do enjoy loading ammo, there is a cost involved with the time to do so. I load using a single stage press and that takes more time than a "progressive" press will take, per round. The time factor is significant, and needs to be factored in.

emdfl says:

on 7/25/2010 1:11:41 AM

I can buy commercial reloaded .45ACP for ~$225.00/1000. That's with a 230gr FMJ projectile. That works out to about $11.00/box of 50. Best price I've seen on new .45 down here is around $24.00/box.
9mm is around $170/1000 which is still better then any 9mm I've seen in a while.

Richard says:

on 7/25/2010 10:27:42 AM

Nice tool, thanks!

Robb Allen says:

on 7/25/2010 10:38:44 AM

Hypnogogue, the savings would be seen after 200 rounds, not 2000.

The best price I can find 10mm ammo is $41 per 50. I can reload them for $14, a $27 difference. After 200 rounds, I've saved $108. The price drops if I'm able to use lead bullets too (by 2 cents per round).

Stanger, I can't factor time costs because it's not a knowable figure. If you're a brain surgeon on call, then your time is more valuable if you're just a computer programmer like me who has a few spare hours here and there.

I will work in a shotgun reloading screen as well. I may need a little assistance in that respect since I don't reload hulls ;)

Spammy Hernandez says:

on 7/25/2010 3:22:26 PM

Not sure what's wrong, but I put all the info in, and it didn't calculate for me. I didn't see a "calculate" button - did I miss something?

Also, I wasn't sure what to put in for the "recovery cost" fields.

But it is a great tool, once I get it to work for me!

Thanks!

Robb Allen says:

on 7/25/2010 3:31:48 PM

Spammy, what browser are you using? It's all automated and only requires all fields to be put in correctly, so it uses JavaScript. If you have that turned off, it won't work.

Recovery isn't required. What that does is calculate how many rounds it would take before you 'break even' with a purchase. For example, a $105 barrel would require me to shoot 180 rounds of lead bullets to recuperate the costs.

However, try it again. I was getting an odd error so I rebuilt and published the app again and it seemed to go away.

Spammy Hernandez says:

on 7/25/2010 4:20:34 PM

Robb,

It's Firefox 3.6.7, and I haven't turned anything off. I tried also in IE8, and get the same result. Do you have an email address I could send screen shots to?

Spammy Hernandez says:

on 7/25/2010 5:47:06 PM

Rob - that did it. It works!!

Thanks!

TJP says:

on 7/25/2010 6:32:06 PM

I would think that reloading for a stock Glock would take a long time to pay off. Glock-ized brass should be discarded due to the compromised case web. My biggest cost savings is from the reuse of brass, or from getting "once fired" brass at a discounted price. ("Free" being the best discount; admittedly, though, that I have a better chance of seeing God than getting used 10mm brass for free.) However, that is based on the fact that I paid significantly less than 18 cents per unit for condom bullets several years back--though by today's standards, 18 cents is a bargain.

My personal spreadsheet includes an amortization of my reloading equipment. At this point, it still accounts for 43% of the "cost" of each round. This is an important item to include, because at the outset I discovered that with most "progressive" press outfits, I would pay more than off-the-shelf ammo price for more years than I was comfortable, with a comparable number of caliber kits and tool heads, and at the level of consumption that I typically maintain. (I was looking to break even in no more than three years.)

These costs do not include my casting equipment, though that is comparatively much less expensive, especially considering most of my lead is scavenged. That stuff has already paid for itself.

I generally do not discuss the specifics of my loading operation, because naysayers who lack practical experience tend to jump out of the woodwork and misunderstand themselves an argument from the numbers. Should anyone think I have made a non-endorsement of hand loading, allow me to translate the numbers:

Though it makes up 43% of the ammo cost, the equipment in question is a complete set up for measuring, loading or unloading every caliber I shoot, save one wildcat. The standard I'm currently using is 45 ACP, and is compared against the cheapest price I could find for that Brazilian ammo. The actual box price works out to only $1.31 over the 50-count commercial item. I am exactly 774 rounds away from matching that price. That would be the break even point.

I put together my supplies between three and four years ago. I stopped buying reloading and casting equipment two years ago. I was unaffected by the ammo shortages. Right now, I don't need anything else. After I reach the break-even point, I will be shooting any gun I want, whenever I want, using any loading I want, for as I long as I can manage in a day of shooting. I can do this for *years* before worrying about stepping foot into a store and shelling out cash. If at any time between now and restock day it looks like components will get spotty or expensive, I can keep shooting but fall back on low pressure rounds and the keg of powder I got for free--essentially shooting for the cost of a primer, or about 3.5 cents a round.

Admittedly, it hurt financially to get my whole operation up and running--since the cost is all front-loaded--but I only had to do it once, and it's all gravy from here.

Be like Robb. Reload, people.

John Richardson says:

on 7/26/2010 9:32:00 AM

I'm still trying to figure out the recovery costs calculator portion of this. In terms of "item cost", would this be a reloading press or is it comparing commercial vs. reloaded ammo?

Thanks

Robb Allen says:

on 7/26/2010 9:44:33 AM

John, I need to explain that a bit better I guess.

The Recovery Costs section indicates how many rounds you would need to load in order to justify a cost. For example, I want to purchase a new barrel for the Glock that lets me shoot lead. Running the numbers for JHP's, I get 50 rnds for $14. Lead bullets run $11.50 for 50.

I set the reloading items up for lead, then put $105 for the Item Cost in Recovery Costs, $14 per 50 in Ammo Cost, and see that I would need to shoot 2100 rounds before the cost savings paid for the new barrel.

That make more sense?

aeronathan says:

on 7/26/2010 11:50:22 AM

This gets a thumbs up. I've been doing this in excel forever but its always a clunky operation.

Billll says:

on 7/26/2010 11:24:08 PM

I reload found and donated brass, and for the amount I shoot, it works. The calculator will not produce an answer unless there is a value in every box greater than $.01. If I fudge in a price of $10/1000 for brass, it tells me that brass costs $.01/ea, and calculates a total. You just can't use free brass.

Robb Allen says:

on 7/27/2010 7:23:17 AM

Billl, I'll file that as a bug. I check for values > 0. That, and the math requires dividing the price by the quantity, so division by 0 happens if I don't.

I can get around that.

Comments have been closed on this topic.