Remember when powder was around $20 a pound? Yeah, so do I. Four pounds of powder set me back a little over $116 including tax.
Ouch.
In 2007 I did a post on the basics of reloading with a list of recommended materials. After my 2014 bulk purchase, I revisited my list and checked the price increases. I ran across that post looking for something else, and thought this would be a good time to do it again.
Originally I recommended the Lee Anniversary Kit, which consisted of their Challenger "O"-press, powder measure, powder scale, reloading manual, priming tool and (most) shell holders. It was $89.99. That particular kit is no longer available, but the current one is the Challenger Breech Lock Anniversary Kit, which at
- Lee Breech Lock Challenger Single Stage Press
- 1-Breech Lock Die Bushing
- Lee Large and Small Safety Prime
- Lee Cutter and Lock Stud
- Lee Perfect Powder Measure
- Lee Chamfer Tool
- Lee Primer Pocket Cleaner
- Lee Safety Powder Scale
- Lee Powder funnel
- 2 oz Tube Lee Resizing Case Lube
Next up came dies, and I again recommended an all-Lee lineup:
Carbide .38/357 4-die set:
Carbide .45ACP 4-die set:
Steel .30 Luger 3-die set:
.22-250 3-die set:
.243 Winchester 3-die set:
.308 Winchester 3-die set:
.30-06 3-die set:
.30 Carbine carbide 3-die set:
Next up was lube. The Lee kit above has their lube, but I recommended a can of Hornady's One Shot spray lube. For the sake of economy, I'll leave it off this list again.
I recommended a steel dial caliper micrometer:
I recommended a Hornady universal reloading tray:
In the article I stated that a minimum of TWO reloading manuals should be on hand. The Lee Anniversary kit had one in it originally, but not now. The Speer manual at that time cost $26.99. Last time it was $29.99. Now it's dropped to $27.99, and the Lee manual has dropped from $21.99 to $19.99.
Then there was powder and primers for all the calibers we were buying dies for. Powder is per pound, primer pricing is per thousand.
IMR 4064:
Winchester 296:
Winchester 231:
CCI Small Pistol:
CCI Large Pistol:
CCI Small Rifle:
CCI Large Rifle:
And then there was case prep, cleaning and miscellaneous:
Iosso Case Cleaning Kit:
I originally suggested a primer pocket cleaner and chamfer and deburring tool, but those are included in the Lee Anniversary kit.
Safety Glasses:
So in 2007 all the materials you'd need to start reloading for eight different calibers, with the exception of projectiles, was $542.76. In 2014, $702.12, an increase of 29.4%. In 2020, $787.78. Powder has gone up 45% over 2014's prices, but at least you can find it. Primers have gone up about 8.5% on average - and THOSE are readily available, too. Dies have increased by about 10%. Overall, a 12.2% increase, but according to this inflation calculator, $702.12 in 2014 is equivalent to $758.57 in 2019, or only a 1.3% increase. Since 2007, $670.82 in adjusted dollars, or 17.4% since then.
I'm STILL glad I didn't record bullet pricing. I don't think I want to know how much THAT'S gone up.
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