New to reloading, is it worth starting .308 in this market?

Best time to start reloading was yesterday, second best time is today.

However, that being said you won't be able to start at all if you can't find components, the most difficult will be large rifle primers. I am searching almost every day and never see them. However, I won't buy less than 1000 primers when a "dangerous goods" surcharge of is $30-40 is applied (*cough* Rangeview *cough*) YMMV.
 
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RVG_Don said:
100% agreed, unless a person is genuinely sure that they are not interested in reloading for any reason, reloading can make sense for a person for all the reasons listed above or just a couple of the reasons listed above. Don't worry about whether or not you can find all of the components and tools you'll need right away instead just chip away at it and you'll eventually get yourself setup. Unlike when buying components at least regarding your costs for your reloading tools and equipment there are some very good options available that can help you keep your overall costs down.
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Agree. You already have a good press. Start putting the rest of the tools together. Components will become available again.
 
Fieldcannon said:
I'm looking at reloading .308, i have no dies, no powder, no casings, etc. I have a RCBS Supreme, is it worth it to jump into reloading right now? I'm always seeing stuff about primer shortage and powder costs.

Can someone with a more deep knowledge give me some advice, i have a 308 rifle, no ammo. Looking for a cost effective way to get ammo and seems like an interesting hobby.


Where is the best place for me to start, should i use the RCBS press or upgrade? Where should i get supplies and which dies would work best for my press

Thanks
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OP - I don't think you got an answer to the bolded part - for many years, most makers have standardized on 7/8" diameter x 14 tpi for dies and presses - although there were some brands that used other sizes / thread configurations, and some cartridges that use bigger body dies. On my shelf now I have dies by Lee, RCBS, Hornady, Lyman, Bonanza (!) and they all fit well into my Rockchucker press - but almost each has little characteristics that you want to read up on for how to set them up to get best results. So it is entirely reasonable to mix and match dies and shell holders and presses.

Shell holders can be particularly interesting since most tooling like primer tools or case trimmer tools all use some form of shell holder - and the shell holders one to the other tool may not be the same - so you end up with a real "pile" of various shell holders, if you do not watch for that - I once had two different Lee hand priming tools and they each used different shell holders, from the other. On the other hand, I have loaded many, many cartridges with Lee, Lyman, RCBS shell holders, any of those brands of dies, in three different 7/8x14 tpi presses - if there is an issue, I have not yet found it.

But you will not get much done with a 303 British shell holder on hand, and try to load up 308 Win, .223 Rem or 22 Hornet - pretty much should be using the specific shell holder for each case, for each tool, although many cover off several cases. For example, RCBS press shell holder #3 will handle 22-250, 243 Win, 257 Roberts, 25-06, 308 Win, 270 Win, 7x57, 30-06, most 8x57 JS and so on - in your press - but Lee or Hornady will use a different number for that same size of shell holder - so you will want to verify with cross reference charts that the shell holder that you buy for your press, also fits to the cartridge that you intend to load - and the various makers do not give them the same numbers.
 
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bigplinker said:
I'm hearing best case scenario is ends of next year.
So yeah, worst time to get into reloading, ESPECIALLY the 308.
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An easy answer to this is 308 uses small primer, or large primer. Large primer is VERY hard to find right now, where as small rifle primers are rare, but they are out there and still available, and yes new at retailers in Canada. Most of those retailers do not send primers, so an in store visit, or someone you know in the area and can visit the store is the only way.

Yes components are hard to find, and yes you pay more for them, but they are still cheaper than buying factory ammo at todays prices and the factory ammo is just as hard to find as the components. And if you see any components be prepared to purchase them right away, because if you wait for an hour they are most likely gone.

Never too late to get into reloading!!!! Just be prepared to pay todays pricing, not yesterdays.
 
gristle111 said:
Reloading is very expensive!!. I stopped picking up other peoples brass at the range because I end up buying another gun to shoot said new cartridge. ;).
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I had a buddy who doesn't reload get an old box from his father-in-law of assorted rounds, bandoliers, rifle parts, and a set of reloading dies. He gave me the dies.... so I HAD to go buy a rifle/brass/projectiles in order to use them. It would have been wasteful not to
 
Fieldcannon said:
I'm looking at reloading .308, i have no dies, no powder, no casings, etc. I have a RCBS Supreme, is it worth it to jump into reloading right now? I'm always seeing stuff about primer shortage and powder costs.

Can someone with a more deep knowledge give me some advice, i have a 308 rifle, no ammo. Looking for a cost effective way to get ammo and seems like an interesting hobby.


Where is the best place for me to start, should i use the RCBS press or upgrade? Where should i get supplies and which dies would work best for my press

Thanks
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If one was going to load for a 308 (and no other) and only shoot a couple boxes a year, it's not worth the time, cost or effort.

If you are planning on adding to that list of cartridges, esp if some of those are a bit oddball it is very worth while. It's not a cheap hobby, but most aren't. It is OTOH a very rewarding hobby.

I suggest buying a factory ammo for now and saving the brass while scrounging around for loading components for when the time comes that you can load for yourself. Go slow and be sure of what you need before buying. Lots of newbie loaders buys stuff they really don't need.
 
I would add to SuperCub's Post #47 - sometimes a new reloader does not get "all" the parts that are needed - I had agreed to help a younger guy get started reloading - in my shop, using my tooling - but he wanted to reload 22 Hornet which I do not have - he showed up with suitable bullets, I found suitable powder and primers, he had dies - but no shell holder for the press - we were stopped at that point - I have alternates that would push the case into the die, but no way to pull it out again - so we needed a shell holder for the press - was not the same shell holder as he had with his Lee Case Gauge for trimming those cases to length. So, that loading session was a "bust" ... But good learning, I think - need ALL the tools to reload, not just most of them.
 
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