I've been asked this question a lot over the years by a lot of guys who wanted to be able to shoot more for less, but aren't sure reloading was, "right for them". The main issue with reloading cost is where you obtain your components. Too many people pick up a Cabela's catalog, and using their component prices as a baseline, dismiss reloading as "not worth it". Like anything else you buy in quantity, you must shop around for the best price if you expect to save. In over 40 years of shooting and reloading, I've picked up enough empty shotgun hulls and brass off the ground to fill a 2 car garage solid. Today, as more people are getting into reloading it is becoming more difficult, but there is still a lot of brass available for the picking. Especially in the cheaper, more common calibers like 9 MM and .223.
It was the same 25 years ago when .308 and .30-06 was then considered to be common and cheap at the time. I would collect boxes of the stuff because most shooters couldn't be bothered with it. I would even have guys come over and ask me if I wanted their brass, after they saw me scrounging for it. I always said yes, even if it was for a caliber I didn't reload for at the time. Sooner or later I did, and that brass was put into good use.
Many leave 9 MM and .223 on the ground at my local club because they feel it is simply too cheap to bother with. While that may or may not be true today, you can bet the cheap prices won't last much longer. I'm surprised they've lasted this long. The days of factory, brass cased, reloadable 9 MM for under $10.00 a box aren't going to be with us much longer, as the prices of the raw materials used in ammunition keep rising, (Brass, Copper, and Lead). It is one of the main reasons so many manufacturers are going to steel cased ammunition. Especially the Russian manufacturers. Brass is a premium commodity in that country. Even American companies like Hornady are now producing steel cased 7.62 X 39 MM ammo at premium prices.
Another area shooters better start paying attention to is lead. You are already seeing places like Cabela's touting an entire section devoted to "Lead Free Ammo". I have well over 2 tons of lead based bullet casting material stockpiled. Most of it I got for nothing where I worked over the years. I also have purchased many multi cavity bullet molds in various configurations over the years. My wife and I purchased a ton of lead shot, (80, 25 pound bags), direct from Scott Shot up in St. George Utah some years back for $12.00 a bag. We still have a large portion of it. Today it sells anywhere from $30.00 to $45.00 a bag.
Some indoor ranges already do not allow lead based ammunition to be shot, and California has mandated lead free ammo for hunting in several counties. A "lead ban" can only be exercised so far. You'll always be able to shoot lead somewhere. But with that said you have to have it to be able to shoot it. When I'm bored in the cooler weather, I'll cast up a few thousand bullets. It didn't cost me anything for the metal to do it, and that translates into even more savings and shooting.
As I said, I've been doing this sort of thing since I got out of high school in 1970, 40 years ago. Over the decades it has paid off well, and continues to do so. For someone starting out in reloading it still can, you just have to shop carefully for your components. Paying too much for anything negates any savings you might experience from it down the road. Reloading components are like anything else, the cheaper they can be obtained, the "better" they are. Bill T.
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