Can Reloading Be Dangerous?

[jcwit]

Just courious here.

To those of you who are concerned and keep track of the cost of your reloading equipment and its "investment?", do you do the same with the daily dishes you use or perhaps the daily eating utensils, the cost of the nicknacks scattered about the house.

Guys, its a hobby, its ment to be enjoyed, lax up.

[thump_rrr]

It costs me $700.00 to make 1,000 180gr Sierra Matchkings loaded with Varget and CCI BR-2 primers in Lapua brass.

It would have cost me $2,000 to purchase the same cartridges so yes I can shoot more by reloading.

At the same time my ammo is tailored to my gun so there is an increase in accuracy.

As far as danger goes don't reload when you're tired or distracted.
Don't reload just for the sake of saving money or it will become a chore and not a hobby.

I've had 2 squibs in 10,000 or so riounds I've produced on a fully progressive press with both a case feeder and a bullet feeder.
I didn't have a lockout die at the time which would have prevented the empty case from getting by the station.

[SHR970]

Dangerous???? Compared to what?

I commute to work daily on a liter class sport bike in So. Cal. traffic rain or shine. Heck....I live in So. Cal. in L.A. county where we are more populous than 42 of the states and in a much smaller area.


If you utilize due diligence there is little risk; the recall comes out pretty quickly. Occasionally (rarely) the wrong powder has been packaged causing a risk. Other changes cause a risk, but then again even the major ammo manufacturers have a recall due to a hiccup.

Once you have some experience under your belt you may wish to experiment outside of the envelope of established data. But if you do it intelligently it can be done safely. I've only got 20+ years doing it; including experiments from loading bunny fart loads to pushing the margins. Haven't grenaded a gun yet. I have squibbed some loads but I was working on the low low end to begin with working down the bunny fart loads.

[GTOne]

If it wasn't cheaper I wouldn't do it.

It is about shooting my firearms enough to get used to them and reach a degree of proficiency, or not shooting much at all. I'm not a gun collector, and I don't like reloading enough to reach some kind of Zen nonsense, it is a means to an end.

My initial outlay was steep, because I like good equipment and there are quite a few tools to do certain things with less carpal tunnel pain.(A younger man could do what I'm doing for a lot less with, less powered case prep tooling, for example.) There are also components, which require a pretty fair investment(Probably equaling the tooling cost).

If one keeps buying endless toys then yes, one will never get ahead. However, I am at the point where there is nothing I need that would do a better faster job without buying the very best most expensive tools and it would be wasted on me.
I have 3-5 years worth of powder primers and bullets for .223, 9mm, .45acp and 30-30.

I am loading .223 and 9mm right now, and at the current prices 500 rounds of .223 and 500 rounds of 9mm have paid for almost all of my tooling and my least expensive press, loading bench and a bit more. Another 1000 .223 and 9mm loads will cover my XL650 and components investment and I will have recouped almost everything I have spent, and pretty much no more investment for years, except my time, which I have plenty of.

RE: Danger. It is no more dangerous than picking up an axe or a chainsaw and heading out to the back forty to cut down a tree. The careless get weeded out no matter what the activity may be.

[Cesure]

Guys, its a hobby, its ment to be enjoyed, lax up.

Shooting is a hobby. Reloading is something I do to make shooting cheaper so I can enjoy my hobby more. I make economic decisions about a lot of things. I cut firewood to heat my house, even though I really don't enjoy repetitive tasks with a higher risk of arterial bleedout. I'll probably reshingle my roof this summer, even though I don't enjoy repetitive tasks with a higher risk of dangerous falling. I do both of those to save money and improve my quality of life. Reloading is similar, but I do it to fit more shooting into my hobby budget.

[LarryFlew]

IMO OP should be more concerned about the HUGE learning curve to do it right which is what eliminates problems.

[Clark]

I have overloaded and blown to pieces a number of guns.
Some were totalled, some repaired, and some are the walking wounded.
I have never been hurt while experimenting on overloading more than half the 65 different cartridges I reload.

Meanwhile, I have wound up in the emergency room for; 1) racing motorcycles, 2) pole vaulting, 3) swinging a machete to clear land, 4) roofing, 5) riding in a car, 6) bar tending, 7) gunsmithing with a grinder, 8) gunsmithing with a lathe, and 9) topping a tree.

The way to think of it is "the calculated risk vs the perceived risk".

I have been warned 100 times or more that my reloading is dangerous.
I was not warned about the stuff that hurt me.

That is because human being are not very good at thinking, and they confuse the two types of risk.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Risk_perception

[TimSr]

More people die falling in bathtubs than reloading, so it should be relatively safe unless you choose to bath first.

Save money? Hell yaaaaa! That was my motivation to start back in the 80's making cheap .38 target loads. Along the way, I not only discovered I could save a fortune, but that I could produce much clean shooting better quality more accurate ammo than I could buy. In the never ending quest to reduce costs, I discovered quality cast pistol bullets, and bulk buying.

Today .44 mag costs me about $11 to load. If I purchase, its costs about $35. Doesn't take long to cover your investment.

My original beginnings was an RCBS beginner reloading kit. Sold for about $90 at the time. I've added gismos to it over time, including a larger Hornady 007 press but still have under $400 in equipment. Most dies were added as bargain prices, used, from gun shows. Best to start with cheap basics, and add the fancier stuff later once you decide reloading is right for you.

If you buy name brand jacketed bullets in boxes of 100, and buy new brass, there is a good chance you will spend a lot more to load than buying cheap ammo, but I only use those bullets for premium hunting loads, and I won't buy new brass which usually costs more than cheap ammo with reloadable brass.

I started with a Speer #10 reloading but most will give you all the step by step info you need. I later added a Lyman 46th edition just because it had cast info.

Straight wall pistol cartridges are the easiest to start, and rimmed revolver cartridges are the easiest among them.

[Clark]

Come for the 44 mag savings.
Stay for the optimized for accuracy OAL of bottlenecked rifle cartridges.

[Unclenick]

Now those are words to live…err…shoot by.

The accuracy of tuned loads is worth is all by itself. Get into casting bullets and you'll survive the government induce shortages.

I've had one double-charge blow up in a pistol that probably would have cost me sight in one eye if I hadn't had my shooting glasses on (gases and particles coming back through the gaps in slide and frame). The double-charge turned out to be the result of a mechanical problem, resulting from the unobserved falling out of a part in an automatic powder measure while I was reassembling it. But no other real damage done.

[biganimal]

Been reloading for four decades give or take a month or two. Was taught the correct way and have never deviated from that training. No squibs or blown up guns except with factory loads.
My equipment has been paid for at least thirty-five years ago with my savings over factory ammo. I cast or swage every bullet I load with the exception of the 22 & 243's. On occaision I swap stuff for componants or equipment. So my bullets are mostly free.
I buy powder & primers in bulk and sometimes buy in a co-op to reduce hazmat and shipping costs. My average cost per round for my 44mag is 7.5 cents , 380, 9mm, 38, 357mag are about 4 cents per round. My rifle loads average between 6&9 cents per rd. If thats not a savings over factory ammo, please tell me where you can buy it cheaper.
My hobby is shooting and reloading. Always looking for the perfect load and smallest group.

[GWS]

Entertaining thread!

The "dangerous" answers were great. All true too. Would like to add a thought:

Your car is more dangerous by far. A little inattention and very bad things can happen while driving.....and I still see people texting or talking on the phone while they drive, smoke a cigarette while they gas up, and heaven help them and others if they go to sleep at the wheel.

Taking in account of how many people are slaughtered on the highways every year, they ought to ban cars and trucks....make it illegal to drive one....definitely have a ban on car sales without a background check...especially to family or friends.

It's nice to know that smokeless powder is way less flammable that gasoline. That equipment that breaks during reloading is not only super rare, if it were to happen 90% of the time it wouldn't hurt a fly. That going to sleep while reloading will only hurt your production, and nobody can text while they reload.

BUT! You can't fix stupid....and yes with that in mind you can hurt yourself and others...................just not as easy as you can in a car.

[KBP75]

I have been reloading since 1967. The important things you need to do is READ a couple of reloading manuals and UNDERSTAND the process. Next, you need to learn about all the different types and brands of equipment available. After you have reached this point(and not until) you have to buy the best equipment you can afford. Now, you have to take your time and follow all the steps involved in the process of reloading. This cannot be a fast or rushed job. I take at least one hour or more to reload 20 rifle shells. If you don't have the time and money to invest, don't reload. Rushing or lack of understanding can get your rifle or pistol blown up and you could hurt yourself. Reloading is VERY technical and takes TIME!

[Lost Sheep]

Originally Posted by jcwit

Just courious here.

To those of you who are concerned and keep track of the cost of your reloading equipment and its "investment?", do you do the same with the daily dishes you use or perhaps the daily eating utensils, the cost of the nicknacks scattered about the house.

Guys, its a hobby, its ment to be enjoyed, lax up.

Some of us do. You enjoy your hobby the way you want, and I will enjoy my (the same) hobby the way I want. I enjoy knowing how much I am saving when I shoot. So, I enjoy the shooting. I enjoy the saving. I enjoy the reloading. I've tripled my fun.

I don't count the cost of my eating utensils, but I do count the cost of my groceries.

I don't fault anyone for ignoring the cost of components, equipment or time value, but I delight in it. I created a spreadsheet that will run the numbers for me and show the breakeven point and even takes into account the time it takes to learn to load. JUst my quirk. ANd I enjoyed creating the spreadsheet, too. Quite an exercise. (Winter in Alaska, you know. Lots of down time.)

Lost Sheep

[Boomer58cal]

The one thing I'd add is about double charges. I try to use powders that mostly fill the cases so it's difficult to over load by much. Be safe.

Boomer

[DarthNul]

Cheaper? The more expensive the caliber, and the higher the volume, the more likely it is that it could be cheaper. This of course assumes that your labor is worth nothing.

Alternatively, if you find reloading as fun/entertaining or sufficiently distracting from your major sources of stress as things that you would pay money (per hour or whatever) to do, it's super cheap and the ammo is a fringe benefit.

Dangerous? Reloading isn't dangerous. Mistakes could be.

In short, if you're just doing it to save money and you consider it to be "work", don't bother.

[Shootest]

Crossing the street can be dangerous if you don’t pay attention to what you are doing.

[dmazur]

Crossing the street can be dangerous if you don’t pay attention to what you are doing.

Absolutely.

When the Navy sent me to the West Coast, I was truly amazed to find out that pedestrians had the right of way. Cars slammed to a stop if you stepped off the curb.

This was a far cry from the behavior of traffic in New York State, where I grew up. In that time, parents taught their children that crossing the street was dangerous as the cars weren't necessarily going to stop for you.

How does this relate to reloading? Without any real evidence, I'm afraid that the various YouTube videos may make reloading appear to be easier than it really is. Sort of like watching a video of a kid crossing a street with almost no traffic. Easy as pie, right?

The "look both ways" experience may be missing, and IMO that is what is necessary to make reloading a safe hobby.

[m&p45acp10+1]

I thought it would get dangerous when my wife came home to see a new Lee Classic Turret press on my bench. I told her I saved my beer money, and bought a press instead. She smiled, and pulled a sixer out of a shopping bag and smiled.

Now to save up for the powder measure, and auto prime system.

[dickttx]

Have you ever driven down a freeway in a major city?
Reloading is nowhere near that dangerous.

[Nathan]

More people die falling in bathtubs than reloading, so it should be relatively safe unless you choose to bath first.

....and this is why we need a BOID and mandatory nationalized in home bath tub safety checks. Can you believe I have an arsenal of 2 bath tubs in my house? I've been looking for safety locks of some kind because my kids keep getting past the current system of knobs.

Oh yea, I reload for 7 calibers, use published data, use known good processes and check my results, so that is safe.