How do you Buy Ammo?

[studman5578]

The only factory ammo my rifles see is the ammo friends and family buy (when my stockpile of loads is low) to shoot in my guns.

Pistol, i've never bought a round of factory 357 or 38s, but i'm about 50-50 for 9mm, on my way to being 100% reloads, now that I cast.

As for buying OTHER's reloads, I wouldn't ever. I barely trust myself to make ammo safe for my gun, let alone somebody else. There's the insurance issue also. Not to scare you (but really it is), your ammo gets fired in somebody else's gun that blows up and screws up the face of the shooter. Boom lawsuit, etc etc. Your rear end had better be insured otherwise they can sue you for all you have (unless you have some form of business so if a lawsuit were to come and clean you out, they could have only what is possessed by the business).

At least that's my understanding of it. Please correct me, whoever is more educated on this than I.

Oh and I buy factory for the 'ol scatter guns. But I think you were talking about metallic.

[Diamond LawDawg]

Factory ammo 45acp (5k-8k on hand at all times) reload the brass as I shoot the new...45lc,started buying new when 1st involved with SASS cowboy action shooting..now reloading the 3500-5000 cartridges that I purchased and buying StarLine brass as needed to replace the lost and worn out ones.

[Sid]

I reload most of my ammo. However, when I buy ammo I use AmmoEngine to find the best price available. Shipping charges are negligible and there is no haz mat fee for ammo; only for powders & primers.

[BigJimP]

I reload everything I shoot / on a Dillon 650 with a case feeder - its good equipment.

Selling reloads - opens a whole new can of worms .../ not the least of which is Liability Insurance ( if you do it for profit / then the Liability insurance that most of us get from our Homeowners Insurance - will not cover you ! ). That makes it a bad plan ....

Selling ammo - you need all the licenses / and commercial general liability insurance - that is very, very expensive ...

Would I buy reloads from someone else ...No ! I know dozens of guys that reload ....and if I ran out of either shotshells or handgun ammo ...there are only a handful of buddies, I would even consider borrowing ammo from !! It doesn't mean they're bad guys....they just aren't as careful as I want in my reloads.

If you go with the Dillon 1050 machine ...it does not have the " No BS warranty" that Dillon is famous for ...it has a limited warranty ...since its designed for a commercial operation ....

My suggestion - reload for your own needs / forget trying to sell reloads to offset any of your cost ... First of all / it'll take the fun out of it ....and second of all ...what are you going to do is someone gets hurt - and alledges it was your ammo that caused the issue ...( and you find out you have no insurance ) and you weren't operating with the right licenses...or paying taxes on the revenue earned, etc ....its a mess !!

[FrankenMauser]

As others have pointed out, based on your original statement:

I have thought about the commercial grade machine but was wondering if shooters that did not know me would buy ammo from the Internet?

You need a Class 6 FFL to manufacture ammunition and components for sale. The license is cheap ($30 for 3 years), but it's the easiest part of the process. Your local municipalities probably won't like the idea of having a "Small Arms Ammunition Manufacturer" operating in a residential area. So, you would probably have to rent or buy some shop space in an area zoned "Industrial" or "Manufacturing", in some way. Liability insurance also cuts into any potential profit. Ask for a quote. You'll be surprised.

Bottom line:
Unless you plan to make ammunition manufacturing a substantial part of your income, it isn't worth it.


As for what I shoot...
It's generally 95% or greater, my own reloads.
I'll shoot factory ammo, if I have to. (To get brass for an oddball cartridge, or to test SD ammo. Shotguns. Or, I find some clearance factory ammo, cheaper than I can buy the same components.)
I don't have a problem with commercial reloads, but there's no point in paying what they want, when I can load it cheaper.

I will shoot reloads from people I trust, but that list is very short (it's two names long). I don't even trust my own father's reloads, and he's the one that got me started. I'll never pay for reloads, except from some one with an 06 FFL.


An example of why you should never trust reloads from a person that has questionable reloading practices, or you simply haven't ever seen their process or methods (And why your friends should never trust your reloads):
My family was out shooting centerfire rifles last year. All day long, my father was banging away with a .30-06 load he had worked up: 150 gr Winchester Power Points, on a near-max powder charge. When we were done, he gave the remaining boxes of that load to one of my brothers (he loaded about 300 rounds). Some time later, my brother decided he couldn't trust the load, and pulled all the bullets.

There were three very distinct powders in the cases, but all the labels read H4350. I've never seen spherical H4350...

There were seven different bullet types mixed together!

There were 6 different bullet weights: 147 gr, 150 gr, 165 gr, 168 gr, and 180 gr.

There were 2 different bullet diameters: .310" and .308".

The powder charges were all the same on the labels, but varied by up to 6 grains!

After determining that the 180 gr bullets were Sierra Pro-Hunters, we calculated the load density and amount over-max, based on the powder being H4350 (who knows what it really was...). The result: 28% over a max load. Even the 150s were 12% over a max load.

When we told our father what we had found, he didn't get alarmed, or try to apologize. He simply blamed the problem on a friend: "Oh, those bullets were given to me by XXX, I guess he labeled them wrong. It's a safe load with 150s." Seriously? That's all you have to say? How about addressing the different powders, unsafe charges, and improper labeling?

Never trust a reloader, until you know how they work. Never expect a shooter to trust your reloads, until they know how you work (if ever).

Some people don't take reloading as seriously as they should. They're the reason you get so many stories of "I never had problems with this load before it took half my face off"....

[reloader28]

The only factory ammo I've bought is last winter when I bought 200 rounds for our new 380's because we didnt have brass and it was just as cheap to buy loaded ammo as brass. I didnt like it one bit and have since reloaded them several times, plus my neighbor gives me his brass. Now I got about 500.

As long as I've been shooting I've shot reloads made from family members or friends.

Started reloading my own 10 or 11 years ago and the last 2 years I have'nt even bought any bullets for rifles. I aint bought pistol bullets in 6 years.
Casting my own pistol and rifle bullets is way to much fun and economical.

Now the people that used to reload for me get their bullets from me.

[bikerbill]

I voted for factory new ammo, tho I do occasionally buy commercial reloads for range use ... I don't have room in my house for reloading equipment, so I figure factory stuff gives me the best chance of having each round go bang ...

[45Gunner]

I want to thank everyone that took the time to post to this poll. I have pretty much decided that I am going to buy the Dillon Precision 650 and begin to reload my own ammo.

The poll came about as I have a couple of shooting buddies that have volunteered to split expenses with me and we will share the ammo. It just so happened that we were at a recent gun show and found lots of people selling reloads. I have only shot reloads once from a batch that came from what was presented as a reliable source. I was disappointed as I found the rounds were under powered.

One of the guys in my group suggested that perhaps we get a commercial grade machine and crank out ammo to sell which would offset the money laid out to purchase the equipment. For the record, I was opposed to the idea for reasons brought out in the responses. Another one of my buddies was concerned about the necessary licenses and taxes, with good reason.

I have always stated there are a slew of knowledgeable people that frequent this Forum and I am appreciative of those that took the time to share their knowledge. I will probably order my reloading equipment near the end of the year and will post my progress with my learning curve. Meanwhile, I am going on a much needed vacation and have purchased Lyman's most recent reloading manual as reading material during a long plane ride.

[medalguy]

I see those same guys or others selling reloads at gun shows, and there's NO WAY I would buy reloads at a gun show. I don't even take reloads from my best shooting buddies, and they don't take loads from me either. It's just too risky. I shoot all my own reloads and no one else's.

[m&p45acp10+1]

I have a couple of rifles that I do not reload for. Two of them I do not shoot enough to worry about reloading for. They shoot factory Remington CoreLokt at minute of deer so I am happy with that. One is 7.62x54 R. I have over 1400 rounds of corrosive surplus ammo at the rate I shoot it at that is a lifetime supply. I have a P-64 in 9mm Mak that I carry. I shoot about 30 rounds a month out of it. Reloading for it is not practical.

Now for .221 Fireball, .223 Rem, .45 ACP, 9 mm Lugger, .41 Mag, .357 Wildey Mag, 475 Wildey Mag, .45 Wildey Mag, and .357 mag/.38 Spcl I load my own. All of the Wildy rounds I shoot rarely, and have not seen factory ammo for them around here in years. (If it were available it would be incredibly expensive) so I will continue to reload for those. Brass is not easy to come by for them either. .221 Fireball would cost a lot to shoot a lot with factory so I load my own. For the rest I enjoy loading for them, and shoot them a lot.

[Jim243]

shooters that did not know me would buy ammo from the Internet?

Like mentioned before, you will need a ton of insurance and a class 6 FFL lic..

You sure asked a funny question if you think about it, I would say 90% of us here are reloaders and we only shoot what we make ourselves. You would probable get a more positive answer on the THR forum, I think fewer reloaders. But if you can produce reliable ammo with premium components and advertise that you only use premium components you would have a chance. Since Remington and Winchester can produce at a lower cost per round, the market you will want to target is the match shooters since they will pay more for MATCH rounds. But it will require more work on your part to produce MATCH AMMO (annealing, neck turning, quality bullets, and I mean the really good stuff, expensive.)

If you can make a name for yourself by turning out SUPER QUALITY ammo for this group of shooters, you then should not have any problems selling your stuff, but it will take you time and lots of work, including attending matches and giving away free samples.

Good luck and I hope it works out for you.
Jim

[Hoggrydr11]

Kinda like what wogpotter says, I wouldn't buy your reloads especially since you have never reloaded before, but that is a good warning, thanks. I shoot my own reloads and would never even consider selling my reloads. Just because of the liabilitys involved. Consider that please!

[Rifleman1776]

Except for .22lr I only shoot what I reload. Can't afford the store bought stuff. Besides, I like the customizations of reloads.

[mo84]

I load only bullets and shells that are worth reloading. the 12 gage is not worth it anymore for me to reload because im only saving about a dollar a box or so with the lead prices around here.

on the other hand the 10 gage and 410 are worth my time reloading for how much factory loads cost. I also reload for my 500 magnum, which is the first thing I ever reloaded other then shot gun shells and I recently just loaded some 44 magnum shells.

I do shoot factory reloaded shells for the 45 thompson because it eats bullets like crazy. ill be reloading these very soon also.

had some reloaded 44 magnums from a friend before I had reloading equipment and they wouldn't cycle in the desert eagle. I took all the bullets apart so I can reload them again and found that the powder charge in alot of them were different from shell to shell.

[P5 Guy]

Most are "Some Assembly Required"
I do shoot factory fresh and handloads. I can't remember the last time I shot factory reloads.

[Ozzieman]

I shoot commercially produced reloaded ammo.
I buy reloaded ammo from the Internet.
I’m not sure what you mean by the second one. Commercially produced VS someone’s home built reloads sold on the net.
There are a couple of good companies that sell reloads that I have heard about, but never bought any and since I reload I never will. Basically it’s still too expensive.
I hope you’re not considering buying some reloads from someone working out of their house trying to make a buck. Not the safest thing to do.
I have had people ask me to reload for them. I won’t do it since I can’t afford the insurance and wouldn’t want to cause someone to get hurt from a mistake that I made.
Learn to reload, it’s one of the fun aspects of firearms.

[mrawesome22]

Don't sell your reloads. You make one mistake and it blows someones gun up and hurts them... you are responsible.

[luis7]

Except for .22lr I only shoot what I reload. Reload is a good hobby. I like it very much.
Greetings.

[MGMorden]

There are too many "only"s in the poll options.

I MOSTLY shoot ammo that I reload myself, but I doubt there are too many reloaders out there who don't occasionally buy and shoot SOME factory ammo. Typically its when I just haven't had time to reload for a certain round, or I haven't got setup for it yet (ie, in handguns I mostly shoot 9mm and .38 Special which I load for, but I also shoot .32ACP which I do rarely enough that I just use factory ammo).

Besides - factory ammo is basically a source for more brass to reload .

I do only ever shoot major-brand factory new ammo or my own reloads though. No commercial reloads or "remanufactured" ammo or whatever other euphemism they come up with.