Here's a quick cost analysis of either buying .303 British PPU factory ammunition, or handloading your own.

.303 calibre is one of our most popular rounds, and one of the most popular rifle rounds in the country. Despite this, .303 British is not particularly popular outside our shores, and therefore factory options can be somewhat limited.

Rifle Cartridges

There are many reasons to reload your own ammunition, variety, and experimentation being a major one. Cost is often the main consideration for people, and hopefully this short blog will dispel some myths about cost differences in reloading.

Equipment

If you're thinking of getting into reloading, there's some basic equipment you'll need, and you should expect to pay around £400 for a comprehensive reloading set up excluding components.

The majority of this gear can be used for many calibres, as many people may already own some reloading gear, and as I have covered the cost of equipment in a separate blog (click here to view), I will leave the cost of equipment entirely absent from this comparison.

Cost of loading 100 rounds of 303 ammunition

This chart breaks down everything listed previously to show the cost of loading 100 rounds of .303 ammunition. Cases, bullets, and primers are in packs of 100, prices accurate as of January 2021.

Components - 100 Rounds of 303 Cost
.303 British PPU Brass Cases (100) £46.00
.303 174gr FMJ PPU Bullets (100) £26.00
Ramshot TAC Powder (1lb) £42.50
CCI No.200 Large Rifle Primers (100) £5.40
Total Cost of 100 reloaded rounds of 303 £119.90
Total Cost to purchase 100 rounds PPU .303 174gr ammunition £92.00

All prices are accurate at the time of writing. To see our latest prices, click on each product in the table above.

After only 100 rounds loaded, there's no cost saving, though bear in mind you can use the brass multiple times (I'll budget for 5 uses), this is where the majority of the savings will come from, as the brass case is the single most expensive component.

Cost of loading 500 rounds of 303 ammunition

 

Brass cases, Ramshot TAC, and CCI Rifle Primers

This is how much 500 rounds will cost, on top of what you've already spent, with a comparison against factory ammunition.

Components - 500 Rounds of 303 Cost
.303 British PPU Brass Cases (100) £46.00
.303 174gr FMJ PPU Bullets (500) £130.00
Ramshot TAC Powder (3lb) £127.50
CCI No.200 Large Rifle Primers (100) £27.00
Total Cost of 500 reloaded rounds of 303 £330.50
Total Cost to purchase 500 rounds PPU .303 174gr ammunition £475.00

All prices are accurate at the time of writing. To see our latest prices, click on each product in the table above.

So after shooting 500 rounds, you're in reloading profit, and every round loaded from here out will save you money over buying factory ammunition. Bear in mind the average shooter will expend in excess of 1200 rounds a year, so after a few mornings shooting, the fruits of reloading will show.

Here's how much you'll save over factory .303 ammunition with increasing quantities of rounds.

Number of rounds Cost to buy PPU 303 ammunition Cost to reload 303 ammunition
100 £92 £119.90
500 £460 £330.50
1000 £920 £660.50
2000 £1840 £1321
5000 £4600 £3302

All prices are accurate at the time of writing. All our up to date prices can be found on our website.

As I've mentioned, cost isn't the only thing to consider. Loading your own ammunition has many benefits, particularly for a calibre with limited available factory options, such as .303 calibre. As we've seen, reloading will also save you money, so if you're looking to get the best out of your .303 rifle, consider loading your own ammunition.

PPU 303 British Ammunition

We'd love to hear more from our readers on this, if you have any queries, requests or suggestions write a comment below. Click below to view all of our PPU ammunition, brass and bullets, if you have any queries please let us know on 0113 256 9163 or email us at [email protected].

 

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