A little help for a new guy?

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50calshooter

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Hey Fellas,


I was looking over my shooting expenses for the last year and I'm hemorrhaging money spent on ammo.

My calibres are, .223 .308 .45acp .40sw and .357 magnum

The most popular rounds I shoot are .223 and .45

So my questions,

1. can a guy really save a lot of money reloading?

2. is it worth reloading .223, is there any room left to save?

3. is this a fairly hard process to learn?

I'm completely new to this, I have no ideas on what kind of a equipment I need or where to start, any direction you can point me to here?
 
Reloading may end up to be just another expensive hobby.

Costs less per round, but if you are like me, you'll shoot more.

This said, I recommend it highly.

Fun to learn. Best with an experienced reloader.
 
i reload for all my pistol calibers and can save alot. that being said i end up shooting so it usually costs the same, but i get more shooting done.

with the current cost that i got my 230gr jacketed 45's at (4500 for $380) and with the cost of primers and powder (brass is free) i pay 6.50 for a box of 50 rds.

9mm is the same cost.

357 is $10.00 a box of 50.

38 special is $7.25 a box of 50.

so a good bit cheaper and accurate.

as for getting started, read read read! people say get some reloading books, which will help yes. but i only used them for loads. the interwebs/youtube has far more information.

it can be fun, but also dangerous. i'm fairly lax with my reloading and as a result have experience an overcharged case that blew up in my glock (it's fine, it may have fired out of battery, but i pulled the bullets to be safe) as well undercharged that wrecked my 1911 barrel. ohwell. i'm alive and learned my lessons.
 
reloading is normally worth it , you must look @ long term , are you going to be shooting for the next 20yrs , then buy good stuff , screw your head on tight [ aka watch wtf you are doing ] , & enjoy . the savings are only a part of it , you'll build loads better than you can buy .
 
I reload 45 and 223 currently and the savings for 45 are significant. I use berrys plated and my cost per round is .21c IIRC so about half price. With 223 if you were to buy match ammo vs reloading match ammo savings are big. If just reloading cheap 55gr fmj the savings are there but not as big.

I am about 1500$ into it though with a progressive and single stage press plus all the tools and dies etc. I will have to do alot of shooting to break even. Good thing that's exactly what I plan to do:D
 
I also reload cause i shoot alot. and yes the dies, press, so n are expensive but in few months of shotting you will get the money back.
get progressive kit and you can crank out many rounds quick for handgun loads.
for rifle the RCBS rockchucker will cost you 300-400 in canada but if you find one from america to order, i bought mine @ $220 buks. it comes with press, scale, oil, powder dispenser, and all work great. you will need to purchase dies and shell holder which cost around $30-50 buks.

I mostly shoot 30-378 which per shot will cost around $10 dollars but if i reload with noslar brass, first load will cost me around $7 dollars and 2nd - so on will cost only around $3 or less.
for 223, it will only use around 22-25grains of powder. 1LB powder will cost you around $30-40 dollars and you can prob reload 200 or more with it.
bullets depends on make of the bullet. different kinds, but will still be less then a $1 per bullet. primers are very cheap.. 100 for maybe $5 dollars.
yes you save muney of reload but most people reload to save money ofcourse but mostly spend time of each of their rifle to find exact powder mesurement and bullets for individual rifle.
and you might shoot way more then you used when buying box of ammo but it does get more interesting to find what kind of pattern you can make with the rifle.

and never ever underload or over load with what the books say. "older books" like 10-15 years ago will let you put more powder then modern books but jsut follow the modern books and play around with it.
 
Could you guys help me with a shopping list of equipment I'll need? I don't mind spending the money on gear as long as I can create a smooth and dummy proof operation.

I'm looking at the Lee Pro 1000 progressive press, what else do I need?
 
50calshooter said:
Could you guys help me with a shopping list of equipment I'll need? I don't mind spending the money on gear as long as I can create a smooth and dummy proof operation.

I'm looking at the Lee Pro 1000 progressive press, what else do I need?
Click to expand...

A better press.

Think Hornady LNL AP or Dillon
 
Hotwheels81 said:
A better press.

Think Hornady LNL AP or Dillon
Click to expand...

pish posh. pro 1000 FTW!

IMG_20120118_210309.jpg




press, scale, dies, manual/interweb for loads, calipers, bullet puller. that's all i can think of at the moment.
 
50calshooter said:
Hey Fellas,


I was looking over my shooting expenses for the last year and I'm hemorrhaging money spent on ammo.

My calibres are, .223 .308 .45acp .40sw and .357 magnum

The most popular rounds I shoot are .223 and .45

So my questions,

1. can a guy really save a lot of money reloading?

2. is it worth reloading .223, is there any room left to save?

3. is this a fairly hard process to learn?

I'm completely new to this, I have no ideas on what kind of a equipment I need or where to start, any direction you can point me to here?
Click to expand...

Let's look at it like this....

This is my brass from this weekend...

1af8b281.jpg



In this mix you will find 300pcs of .223

120pcs of 10mm

200pcs of 9mm

Some random .45acp

A few dozen .308

By the box price your looking at around $300 worth of ammo... Yes I said $300 at retail prices that I shot off this afternoon...

They are alllll reloads.... I doubt it cost me $125 In components to roll it all up...

The down side to it is I'm into my reloading equipment for a couple grand... And I tend to over indulge when I hit the range on a warm spring day... So can you save money by reloading? Maybe you can but I can't... I can sure churn out cheap .223 and pistol ammo tho!


get yourself a cheap single stage kit such as the Lee 50th, start building your understanding and confidence with single stage reloading of .223 or .308 as both are easy to make productive and accurate ammo for.... When you tire of spending an afternoon to load a half hours worth of fun then buy a progressive machine like a Lee.... When you get fed up with tinkering and replacing parts sell the Lee and buy something better....

Reloading is not to be taken lightly, if you want to make cheap and accurate ammo it's going to cost you as much as buying a new rifle every time you want to buy a single component...

Rite now I'm sitting on $350 worth of starline 10mm brass waiting on a bullet deal, I have $400 worth of .308 Berger VLD's waiting on a primer deal, I have enough .223 and 9mm brass to cast a darn nice church bell and trying to decide on who to buy 10,000 projectiles from for each caliber....

There is a lot to consider when you start talking about reloading for semi auto calibers.

How much do you really shoot?

Do you have time and space to devote to cleaning and prepping cases?

Can you lay out a few hundred bucks a month in components or are you on a tight budget?


If your really serious about your gun hobby, you shoot several hundred rounds a week/month, your income allows for the odd $300/500 order of brass/primers/bullets, and last but not least you can devote 4-5hrs per week of uninterrupted time to playing in your loading room then hellz yeah your going to save some coin.... Some where.... Some time... On some deal....

Buy bulk, clip coupons, stay outta the EE (unless you like paying more then retail), and buy a QUALITY press... If you decide you want out its still going to be worth what you paid or more (on the EE of course).
 
It's hard to evaluate your eguipment needs without knowing how many rounds a month you are shooting in each caliber. That being said if you are going to be reloading quite a bit you will want a case feeder and if that's the case your better to go with a dillon 650 over the hornady it's a better press with much faster customer service in my opinion. Also once you include the case feeder price they are almost the same cost. No matter what press you buy other things you will need consist of.
*A good set of calipers
*Dies for calibers you intend to reload
*Either lnl bushings or dillon caliber change kit depending on press
*For bottleneck cases a case trimmer
*a good scale I recommend digital
*shell plate for caliber
*i recommend a rcbs lockout die
*if and of your brass has crimped primers you will need a way to remove that
*i recommend a way to clean brass my preference is stainless steel
*kinetic bullet puller
* And a few small items that I may have forgot

If I forgot anything I'm sure someone will remind me
 
*a good scale I recommend digital
Click to expand...

But a manual one is more reliable... I reccomend both actually.

*if and of your brass has crimped primers you will need a way to remove that
Click to expand...

90% of the .223 brass out there is crimped... A swager is a nessesity.

*i recommend a rcbs lockout die
Click to expand...

The Powder cop by Hornady works on both pistol/rifle calibers with the perk of not throwing off your rhythm by locking the press up... The RCBS Makes it harder to get the problem case to an easy location to be corrected.
 
Finding time to reload is the biggest issue I have lately. It takes a fair bit of time to reload properly. Especially with rifle cartridges. IMHO if you don't do it right don't do it at all.
 
trebor2880 said:
Reloading may end up to be just another expensive hobby.

Costs less per round, but if you are like me, you'll shoot more.

This said, I recommend it highly.

Fun to learn. Best with an experienced reloader.
Click to expand...


So it becomes a way to shoot more for the same cost. Or, time spent reloading is time not spent shooting, so you don't shoot more.

Time spent reloading is also time you then don't have to use to earn more money to spend on ammo. Of course one has to work to earn money for other things , but once the necessities like housing, food, etc. are covered, if I'm going to spend time not shooting, I'd rather spend it reloading than working for someone else.
 
Update

Thanks for the comments fellas.

So this afternoon I talked with Henry over at Budget Shooters Supply, he helped me gain an understanding of how the process works and what tools I need. So far my shopping list includes,

-Hornady LNL AP Press
-Frankford Arsenal Tumbler Kit
-Lee 45ACP Die Set
-Lee 40SW Die Set
-Lee 357MAG Die Set
-Lee 223 Die Set w/Factory Crimp Die
-Lee 308 Die Set w/Factory Crimp Die
-Hornady 45 Base Plate
-Hornady 40 Base Plate
-Hornady 357 Base Plate
-Hornady 223 Base Plate
-Hornady 308 Base Plate
-Lee 223 Case Length Gauge & Shellholder
-Lee 308 Case Length Gauge & Shelholder
-Lee Case Trimmer, Cutter & Lock Stud
-Graf Deburring Tool, Inside/Outside 17-45 Cal
-Lee Primer Pocket Cleaning Tool Large/Small
-Hornady Powder Check Die
-Calipers
-Digital Scale
-Hornady Case Lube
-Hornady Reloading Handbook


Well that's my whole list, what do you guys think? Ready to Rock?


The only question I have, should I get the deluxe pistol die sets? They come with the crimping die, is it necessary to crimp pistol rounds like it is rifle rounds?
 
i did buy a crimping die for my 38/357's and compared it to the seating die's built in crimp, they are the same. so i don't use it anymore.

i don't factory crimp my 9mm or 45's.

list looks nice, similar to what i wanted to get, but ended up with lee until i get enough cash and my own place to set one up.
 
Some advice from someone who hasn't blown up any guns or wrecked any barrels over the last 20+ years: Buy at least 1 reloading manual and read it. At least you will have some reference to the accuracy of the youtube/interwebs videos.;)
 
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