Warning for new reloaders

[Uncle Buck]

Reloading is so enjoyable for me, it is like the zen classes some people take.

When we bought a new home, it was actually the wife's idea to find one with a Man Cave in it for me. Guns and gun stuff go there.

My goal in life was to find a woman who was too proud to let her husband work. ... and let me indulge in a hobby.

[FWest]

I'm hooked on reloading. Is it bad to buy dies and then decide what gun you want to buy and reload for ?
I will say my shot is 100% better now than before I started reloading. I tend to shoot more than most of my friends do in a day as they do in a couple of months.

[Edward429451]

The way I figure it, you have to be fair when recouping equipment costs. At first my ammo was comparable to cheap ammo, so I'd deduct 10 or 12 bucks for 50 rounds loaded. It wasn't long before my loads seriously outclassed the WWB & Blazer stuff so I started comparing cost to match ammo and specialty ammo to be fair.

[m&p45acp10+1]

I have made very few upgrades in equipment. I have purchased in the past year 1 Lyman Universal Case Trimmer, 1 digital scale, 2 bullet moulds, 1 casting laddle, 4 sets of dies, 6 guns .

Ok so money leaves my hands af fast as I make it. I get to load inside though. When My girlfriend moved in I put my foot down as to th fact that I keep my reloading stuff in the house. Now we will eventualy find me a cheap used turkey or fish fryer, and I will be good to go for casting again. I casted a lot all winter. Still have over 85% of the bullets ready to load.

[Jim243]

Money? You guys save money? Now that's a neat trick. I started out loading just for 45 ACP when I bought one on sale. Have to have ammo you know. My best friend gave me a RCBS JR press, have never used it, deceided a Lee Classic Turret press would do better for me, and equipment to reload and equipment to reload and more equipment to reload and tools and trimmers and tumblers and scales amd gauges and more powder and of course more bullets so I could use all that equipment and cases, primers and more bullets. (they get used up too fast) And then it hit me, I have all this stuff and why am I loading for only one caliber.

So 22 guns, 13 calibers, two presses, enough bullets and primers and cases to arm Poncho Viva and his army as well as three cabinets full (need more cabinets) of loaded ammo later, I am still reloading. No I am not addicted, maybe OCD would better explain it, there is always a better load out there, just have to find it.(LOL)

Let me know how you guys save money, I need the advice short of stop reloading, that will never happen. (LOL)

Jim

[m&p45acp10+1]

Jim the weather here is saving me tons of money on reloading supplies alone. My range visits have gone from 3 or more times a week to a couple of hours on saturday. I show up at the range when it is just hot. I leave when the devil says it is too hot for his liking and he is going back to the cool pits of hadees. (Lately about 2 hours)

Here it is almost 9 at night. 102 with a humidity of 40%. It was 101 at noon, and the high was 108.

[Jim243]

m&p45

Same issue here but alternated every 4 or 5 days with 70 mph winds and tons of rain. I know you are having a drought there, but our range is either hotter than hades or under water. One heck of a summer. That doesn't stop Midway from having sales, just purchased another 300 blem 243s ($14.00 per 100) and a 100 blem 270s ($12.00 per 100) at a good price. These sales will make me broke, I have to stay off their website, that would help.(LOL)

Jim

[farmerboy]

Where you at i central texas m&p? here in Buffalo! (Central Texas)

[Civil War Life]

I started out reloading in the garage. The air conditioned basement was too full of her, my and the kids junk. One time I asked my wife to help me with something while I was reloading in the garage. I was prepping cases so she was doing the trimming and deburing after I sized them. After a little while she said "Boy is it hot out here, Lets clean out part of the basement so you can set up your bench down there". Woo Hoo. I don't need here to help any more and she is happy to leave me to my reloading all by my self.

The lesson here is to get her to make the suggestion to move out of the garage.

[praetorian97]

I wish that would work for me. I have tried to get her to just even come out to sit and BS with me. After about 5 min she always goes its hot out here Im going inside.........I dont think she gets the hint "Um Ya (dirty word) its hot out here."

[Hardcase]

I've got a portable bench that I wheel into the dining room. The compromise is that I reload my wife's .357s for her. Seems fair to me. I just have to clean up whatever mess I leave behind. The easy way is that I have a raggedy old sheet that I drop on the floor first. Piece o' cake! When I'm done, everything rolls into the closet.

I cast .45ACP bullets from wheel weights. I don't see any leading as long as I don't go all crazy with the powder charge. Same deal with the .357s.

It's entirely possible that I have the best wife in the world.

[Robk]

Relaoding is if anything a addicting past time. I can never reload enough and always want more, more, more ....... Good thing I cannot afford it all of the time. So smal batches are made and are enough for the times I do get out to the range. I have come up with a good way of saving rounds at the range though. Even if my magazines can hold 18 rds, I load only five and do five round strings with several guns in different calibers. Than reload the magazines. Reloading this often takes time away from shooting, but you never really miss it. I can stretch my shooting time to hours this way. Still at the range, still shooting, still having fun. But, just shot 150 rds today as opposed to several hundered if I loaded the mags to full. Of course, I do somethimes reload mags to full to ensure operation. And also more or less depending on what type of practice I want to do. Oh, plated bullets for me, clean and $70 per 500 shipped.

[m&p45acp10+1]

Farmerboy I live in the Temple/Belton area. It is one heck of a hot day already. Gonna go put some rounds down range before it gets too hot. They open at 10. By noon it is gonna be 100 or close to it.

I was at work then the devil himself walked by and said "screw this I am going home to cool off. It realy is hotter than hell here."

[farmerboy]

Yes when its this hot I do shoot about every three days but not alot. Sometimes I go outside and sometimes I shoot out my livingroom window.(no screen on that one, and its alot cooler in here). I shoot #1 because I love it and #2 to keep me tuned up when and if I ever have to use my sidearm (Police officer). But cant wait for fall!!!!! Now I concentrate so much on reloading.