noob to reload or not

Recon7 · December 16, 2005, 01:27 AM

right now I am shooting only 40 S&W and hate paying $16 per 100 (wwb @ wally world) is reloading a good way to get cheap loads for the range, or does the initial investment and time spent make it impractical. how cheaply could I make em for and much $$ in equipment to get started. I know reloading is an art and way of life etc but right now i just want cheap ammo

T. O'Heir · December 16, 2005, 01:53 AM

Reloading isn't about saving money. It's about using the best possible ammo in your firearm. The initial outlay can sound expensive, but the hunt for the best price goes away and you shoot better ammo.
Buy a copy of The ABC's of Reloading first. Then have a look at the RCBS Beginner's Kits. Gives you everything you need less dies and a shellholder. The same press can be used for every cartridge by just buying a different set of dies and a shellholder. Mind you, some rifle calibres use the same shellholder. Any case based on the .30-06 or .308 will use the same one.
The price of the kit will vary from place to place, but figure on a few hundred. Pop into your local gun shop and ask about the kit.
If you intend using jacketed bullets, you're cost per round will go up significantly. Cast bullets are far cheaper. Buy bullets and primers by the thousand. Powder comes in 8 lb kegs, but hold off on that until you've developed a load.

mtnboomer · December 16, 2005, 05:26 AM

Try e-Bay, Gunbroker.com and MidwayUSA for equipment and components. Look at the Lee Anniversary Reloading Kit it usually runs under $100 and has most everything except dies (check out Lee dies), brass, bullets, primers and powder.

JoeHatley · December 16, 2005, 11:21 AM

Here is an excellent set of articles from Real Guns that will answer many of your questions, even the ones you haven't thought of yet:

www.realguns.com/archives/reload.htm
www.realguns.com/archives/reload2.htm
www.realguns.com/archives/reload3.htm

Quote:

I know reloading is an art

Not really. It's a pretty straight forward process, especially for handgun ammo.

Good Luck...

Joe

AlaskaMike · December 16, 2005, 11:54 AM

Recon7, I don't know what garage sales are like in your area, but here in Anchorage it's not uncommon to find someone wanting to get rid of their entire reloading setup, and you can sometimes get some incredible deals. You just need to avoid the ones where you see their powder and primers stored in glass jars.

Mike

rwilson452 · December 16, 2005, 11:55 PM

I can't say for sure about reloading .40 but when i got started with the used outfit I got for .38 and 45ACP, I figured it would take about 2000 rounds to break even. Mostly I was loading LSWC bullets. In reality it took me a lot longer as I kept adding this and that to my colletion of reloading stuff. I confess I'm a gadget nut. Then I got into molding my own bullets. THen I went and got a new whiz-bang progressive press with all the trimmings. Then I got into varmint rifle stuff ( more toys). If you don't watch yourself it becomes a hobby unto itself. When You start going to the range to shoot so you can have brass to try a different formulation you know your doomed to a life of reloading. If you use premium bullets it will take you longer to amortize the costs as the cost of components goes up. There is no real way to tell what your savings might be. it varies all over the place depending what you buy. Generally you can make ammo for about half the cost of store purchased ammo of the same quality asssuming you have saved and continue to save your brass. Straight wall pistol brass will last for many reloading. I have .45ACP brass I have reloaded so many times the head stamp is getting hard to read. Most of my old .45 brass is Military Spec. If you buy a new dillion 550B and dies I would think it would take twice as long to amortize your investment. In the long run generally we don't save buy reloading we shoot a lot more. Think of it as getting more bangs for your buck

6mm4me · December 22, 2005, 09:48 PM

Would you buy a custom built, high performance auto and then have Walmart but a common set of mud and snow tires on it? There is no comparison between good reloads and off the shelf "one size fits all" ammo. Reloads will out shoot any factory ammo if done right. And if you just want to make noise you can reload them as cheap as you can buy and still be accurate.

caz223 · December 23, 2005, 03:56 PM

Well, I guess the first thing is, what are your plans down the road?
Do you plan to expand into other calibers?
Which ones?
If you were just going to shoot .40, 9mm, and other popular and fairly inexpensive ammo, you need to shoot a lot of it to make it worthwile.
Keep buying good WWB until you have 1000 pieces of brass.
If you plan on shooting 200 rounds a week+, a progressive will pay for itself much faster than you think.
Also, it will enable you to try ammo that would be too costly to consider.
Remember, the true cost of owning a gun is not the initial purchase of the gun, but the cost to FEED it.
Also, when you start reloading, you may find that you prefer handloaded ammo, as it is usually more accurate, more suited to your application than one size fits all, guaranteed to work in all applications, factory ammo.
You want to shoot a bullet weight besides the one or two they offer in WWB?
Another reason to handload.
If you have a $500 gun, and shoot $500 of ammo in a year ($10 a week.) in a cheap to load caliber then you prolly would be better off buying cheap ammo and savng your brass until your needs are more.
If you shoot $1000 or more in ammo in a year, a single stage setup would be your best bet, and if you had the space, you could easily make up the cost of the press and components in the first 6 months to year, depending on the cost of your reloads.
If you bought bullets in bulk, and powders and primers locally, you could load better quality .40 than what you're shooting now for $10 per hundred.
A little shopping around, a few compromises like plated bullets, etc, and you can easily cut your ammo costs in half, paying for that press in no time flat.

People who need a progressive press usually know it after a few months of using a single stage press......
Personally, I'd never go back to a single stage press, no way, no how.....

Tim R · December 26, 2005, 09:05 AM

I think it would depend on where you see yourself going. I started reloading with the wifes prodding because a box of 20 of '06 was $12 and some change. A couple of years later I got a .357 Mag, then a 45 ACP, then a 9mm. A few years ago a 308 and a 40. Most recently a 223, 30-30 and a 300 H&H. (Pre 64 baby)

I use the 308 and 223 for High Power. I simply could not afford to shoot matches if I didn't reload.

Save your brass and see where it takes you. I must admit I don't use store bought ammo with few exceptions. Reloading does save you money but in your case it might be like going out and buying a new motorcycle to save on gas money....If you ride enough it will pay for it's self.

December 16, 2005, 01:27 AM	#1
Recon7 Senior Member Join Date: December 10, 2005 Posts: 707	noob to reload or not right now I am shooting only 40 S&W and hate paying $16 per 100 (wwb @ wally world) is reloading a good way to get cheap loads for the range, or does the initial investment and time spent make it impractical. how cheaply could I make em for and much $$ in equipment to get started. I know reloading is an art and way of life etc but right now i just want cheap ammo

December 16, 2005, 05:26 AM	#3
mtnboomer Senior Member Join Date: July 9, 2004 Location: Oklahoma by birth. America by the grace of God. Posts: 635	Try e-Bay, Gunbroker.com and MidwayUSA for equipment and components. Look at the Lee Anniversary Reloading Kit it usually runs under $100 and has most everything except dies (check out Lee dies), brass, bullets, primers and powder. __________________ Quando Omni Flunkus Moritati (If all else fails - play dead!) Support the Second Amendment. Join the NRA > http://www.nra.org < Oklahoma State & Big 12 - #1 GO POKES!!!!!

December 16, 2005, 11:55 PM	#6
rwilson452 Senior Member Join Date: June 10, 2004 Location: Tioga co. PA Posts: 2,647	reloading and savings I can't say for sure about reloading .40 but when i got started with the used outfit I got for .38 and 45ACP, I figured it would take about 2000 rounds to break even. Mostly I was loading LSWC bullets. In reality it took me a lot longer as I kept adding this and that to my colletion of reloading stuff. I confess I'm a gadget nut. Then I got into molding my own bullets. THen I went and got a new whiz-bang progressive press with all the trimmings. Then I got into varmint rifle stuff ( more toys). If you don't watch yourself it becomes a hobby unto itself. When You start going to the range to shoot so you can have brass to try a different formulation you know your doomed to a life of reloading. If you use premium bullets it will take you longer to amortize the costs as the cost of components goes up. There is no real way to tell what your savings might be. it varies all over the place depending what you buy. Generally you can make ammo for about half the cost of store purchased ammo of the same quality asssuming you have saved and continue to save your brass. Straight wall pistol brass will last for many reloading. I have .45ACP brass I have reloaded so many times the head stamp is getting hard to read. Most of my old .45 brass is Military Spec. If you buy a new dillion 550B and dies I would think it would take twice as long to amortize your investment. In the long run generally we don't save buy reloading we shoot a lot more. Think of it as getting more bangs for your buck

December 22, 2005, 09:48 PM	#7
6mm4me Member Join Date: November 30, 2004 Location: kansas city area at the present, but Colorado and Wyoming have been home. Lived 2 years in the middle east. Posts: 33	Look at it this way Would you buy a custom built, high performance auto and then have Walmart but a common set of mud and snow tires on it? There is no comparison between good reloads and off the shelf "one size fits all" ammo. Reloads will out shoot any factory ammo if done right. And if you just want to make noise you can reload them as cheap as you can buy and still be accurate.

December 23, 2005, 03:56 PM	#8
caz223 Senior Member Join Date: May 15, 2002 Location: Michigan Posts: 1,429	Well, I guess the first thing is, what are your plans down the road? Do you plan to expand into other calibers? Which ones? If you were just going to shoot .40, 9mm, and other popular and fairly inexpensive ammo, you need to shoot a lot of it to make it worthwile. Keep buying good WWB until you have 1000 pieces of brass. If you plan on shooting 200 rounds a week+, a progressive will pay for itself much faster than you think. Also, it will enable you to try ammo that would be too costly to consider. Remember, the true cost of owning a gun is not the initial purchase of the gun, but the cost to FEED it. Also, when you start reloading, you may find that you prefer handloaded ammo, as it is usually more accurate, more suited to your application than one size fits all, guaranteed to work in all applications, factory ammo. You want to shoot a bullet weight besides the one or two they offer in WWB? Another reason to handload. If you have a $500 gun, and shoot $500 of ammo in a year ($10 a week.) in a cheap to load caliber then you prolly would be better off buying cheap ammo and savng your brass until your needs are more. If you shoot $1000 or more in ammo in a year, a single stage setup would be your best bet, and if you had the space, you could easily make up the cost of the press and components in the first 6 months to year, depending on the cost of your reloads. If you bought bullets in bulk, and powders and primers locally, you could load better quality .40 than what you're shooting now for $10 per hundred. A little shopping around, a few compromises like plated bullets, etc, and you can easily cut your ammo costs in half, paying for that press in no time flat. People who need a progressive press usually know it after a few months of using a single stage press...... Personally, I'd never go back to a single stage press, no way, no how..... __________________ I'm not just a gun. I'm YOUR gun. (Hold me.)

December 16, 2005, 01:53 AM	#2
T. O'Heir Senior Member Join Date: February 13, 2002 Location: Canada Posts: 12,453	Reloading isn't about saving money. It's about using the best possible ammo in your firearm. The initial outlay can sound expensive, but the hunt for the best price goes away and you shoot better ammo. Buy a copy of The ABC's of Reloading first. Then have a look at the RCBS Beginner's Kits. Gives you everything you need less dies and a shellholder. The same press can be used for every cartridge by just buying a different set of dies and a shellholder. Mind you, some rifle calibres use the same shellholder. Any case based on the .30-06 or .308 will use the same one. The price of the kit will vary from place to place, but figure on a few hundred. Pop into your local gun shop and ask about the kit. If you intend using jacketed bullets, you're cost per round will go up significantly. Cast bullets are far cheaper. Buy bullets and primers by the thousand. Powder comes in 8 lb kegs, but hold off on that until you've developed a load.

December 16, 2005, 11:54 AM	#5
AlaskaMike Senior Member Join Date: September 26, 2005 Posts: 941	Recon7, I don't know what garage sales are like in your area, but here in Anchorage it's not uncommon to find someone wanting to get rid of their entire reloading setup, and you can sometimes get some incredible deals. You just need to avoid the ones where you see their powder and primers stored in glass jars. Mike

December 26, 2005, 09:05 AM	#9
Tim R Senior Member Join Date: November 30, 2004 Location: God's side of Washington State Posts: 1,601	I think it would depend on where you see yourself going. I started reloading with the wifes prodding because a box of 20 of '06 was $12 and some change. A couple of years later I got a .357 Mag, then a 45 ACP, then a 9mm. A few years ago a 308 and a 40. Most recently a 223, 30-30 and a 300 H&H. (Pre 64 baby) I use the 308 and 223 for High Power. I simply could not afford to shoot matches if I didn't reload. Save your brass and see where it takes you. I must admit I don't use store bought ammo with few exceptions. Reloading does save you money but in your case it might be like going out and buying a new motorcycle to save on gas money....If you ride enough it will pay for it's self. __________________ God Bless our Troops especially our Snipers.