HELENA — Montana is serious about hunting and serious hunters and shooters eventually need to decide if they buy their ammo in a box or reload their own.
Historically, reloading your own rounds could provide much better precision on targets, but according to Ed Beall, a partner at Capital Sports in Helena, that gap is closing.
"The line is blurred a little more now," says Beall. "All the manufacturers have made premium loads that shoot extremely well. And a lot of the new rifles will give you a one-minute of angle guarantee, so that’s a one-inch group at a hundred yards with premium loads."
Reloading can also save money, once you get past the initial investment of buying the gear. Things like dyes, shell holders, cleaners, presses, lubricants, priming, powder, and scales to load your own ammo—which can cost hundreds, or even thousands of dollars.
There’s also the time investment of putting in hours to learn how to make your own loads. The upside is potentially more accurate shots for a fraction of the price per bullet.
According to the Colorado School of Trades, a standard box of 50 .44 magnum rounds costs around $40, but reloading yourself can drop that cost to around $13 a box.
For full-time hunting and fishing guide Colter Day, it makes a lot of sense.
"I can beat any factory ammo out of any rifle, with you know, give me a few days and i can beat it," says Day.
Day says he can customize specific bullets with different primers and powder combinations for different needs, even in the same gun.
The brass tax, so to speak, lies in how many rounds you shoot and what your personal goals are.
"It’s a matter of degrees, though, you know, how much better do you need?" says Beall.
