Color me stupid!!!!!

[OH-CCW]

OK so i finally decided to jump into the reloading hobby. In the past i have reloaded shotshell for trap/skeet shooting. I have decided to go with the Lee Classic Turret Press. Now here is my problem. When doing research on the net I cant seem to find cheap enough supplies to justify reloading. Iunderstand reusing brass will save $$$$ but where are you fellow shooters buying for supplies if i may ask. I have seen on here where guys reload at 15 to 17 per round, is this really possible.

Primers
Brass
Powder
Bullets

Could you responders please give me a list of suppliers for these items. Please show me why i should reload. I will be shooting 45acp mostly.

Thanks matt


I'm a former poker player going back to my roots. Im really excited about this newfound hobby.

[wpcexpert]

It all depends on what you are loading for. Plinking and just to make the gun go bang...you can do that fairly cheap. But if you are looking for accuracy, concistancy, or possibly SD loads, you might not be saving as much.

The biggest cost reducer is going to be your brass. Free brass = no cost in that dept. If you have to buy your first round of brass, the first loads will be more expensive than your next loads.

1lb of Titegroup = $23 ish---5.2gr per shot=1340 shots= 1.7 cents per shot.
Hornady 185gr FMJ SWC---$270 per 1900 = 14.2 cents per shot
Federal 150 Large pistol Primers---$26 per 1000 = 2.6 cents per shot
Remington Brass---$184 per 1000 = 18.4 cents per shot

With those components that tallies to 36.9 cents per shot.

Now take away the cost of the brass and you are now down to 18.5 cents per shot.

But the cost of Winchester White Box per 100 at Walmart is around $38 or 38 cents per shot. So It's cheaper to buy than to buy the components. What I do is buy the White box ammo, shoot it until I have saved enough brass and then reload. Then I can beat that price by almost 20 cents per shot. That's saving $1 every 5 shots.

Not quite sure what the color of stupid is though.

[DWARREN123]

Lead bullets and buying primers and powder local to keep from paying the Haz-Mat fee and using your or range brass for some plinking/range ammo should have you reloading for quite a bit less. It takes time to get the money back back from the initial purchase of press, dies and so on but it is worthwhile in my opinion.

[vranasaurus]

What calibers are you reloading?

[LHB1]

I consider the cost of brass a one time expenditure like the cost of my press and dies. I do not normally prorate their cost over the life of their usage but calculate my direct cost of reloads as being bullet, powder, and primer per round. It wouldn't do to operate a business that way but this is a hobby for me and after buying my one time purchases, I measure only my direct cost for subsequent reloads.

[Chief-7700]

For powder, primers, and once fired brass: www.grafs.com
For hard cast lead bullets= www.bulletworks.com
After years of reloading I have boiled it down to the above two suppliers, however if I see a deal somewhere will jump on it.
Chief

[dardascastbullets]

Hi Matt!

You should be able to reload for just cents on the dollar. Brass can be had for next to nothing if you find the right deal. Bullets will be your biggest expense. Cast bullets will be much less expensive but shop very wisely in this department and look for only those manufacturers that will guarantee that you will receive only the very highest quality. The primers and powder will consume the remainder of your dollar and you should be able to find great deals on these two items.

I trust that this information will help you considerably.

[CPTMurdoc30]

I buy from

Mid south shooters supply

Midwayusa

Graf and Sons

Powder Valley (Best place for powder and primers). (Watch they calculate shipping after you place the order then send you an invoice).

Natchez (Not top on my list.)

I used o buy tons of brass on ebay but since they went nuts o about guns you can't get it anymore.

I also found that if you can find a good deal at a gun show buy all you can afford. The last 5# of titegroup i bought was $19 a pound.

For my 45acp plinking rounds I will buy the cheapest primers (Magtech or Wolf now) i can find and I will buy 10,000+ of them at once.

Thanks to nosler and other expensive bullets many are now slapping fancy names and doubling the price on them. Many you can only buy in boxes of 50. That to me is stupid. I don't need $50 box of bullets (50 bullets) to shoot a darn deer. I just seen a recent survey of dead deer shot during rifle season 98.7% of all the deer killed with a centerfire rifle didn't know if it was a standard or premium bullet.

[CrustyFN]

Unless you are going to buy a large quantity it might not be worth buying on the web. I do a group buy with a couple of friends with my C&R license. I'm getting ready to call them to see if they are ready. Let me know if you want to get in on it. I will PM you some information and what kind of prices we get. We split the shipping and hazmat even between everybody. I need to go to Graf's and see what is in stock.
Rusty

[Don P]

Scroung brass. All of my reloading equipment set me back $319. After loading 1250-38spl, 250-357mag, 500-9mm, 500-40S&W, and 500-45acp I wound up $105 ahead of the game. Comparing the factory ammo price to what I paid for the equipment and the primers, powder, and lead bullets. This is how the money has worked out. So now it all comes down to saving money. My cost per round at the above figures is .08 per rd $4.00 per box of 50 and $80 per 1k. Recently I have loaded 45acp at .12 per round because of the rise in lead. 9mm, 38spl, 357mag, and 40S&W will be at .10 per round. Still a huge cost savings considering the last trip to the gun store 45acp were at $289+tx. The only way to have the big cost savings is to collect brass. I collected brass for a couple of 4 trips to the range and had over 10,000 rounds. Realy helps keep the cost down per round.
If you can try and buy your powder and primers localy at the gun shows if possible. It helps keep the hazmat fees lower.
Lead bullets are going to be the cheapest way to go. I am buying lead 45's for $78 per 1k - 7.8 cents per rd.rounded up .8 + .3 primer and .1 for powder= .12 per rd.

[Big Caliber]

Powder and primers I buy locally. I usually go to GrafandSons.com for brass and bullets but will do some comparison shopping at Midway and Midsouth for "sale" prices.

[wncchester]

"Color me stupid!!!!!"

Naw, you ain't stupid at all. Stoopid is not knowing and refusing to ask those who do!

Color me like Big Caliber. I just don't load enough volume to make paying the HazMat fee and my local dealer sells low enough. But, I do tend to purchase tools from the catalogs because none of my locals carry a lot of things I want. So, I mix and match!

Have fun!

[Ozzieman]

I can reload most pistol rounds for $3 to $4 a box of 50 using lead. Jacketed the price goes up.
If you’re looking for VERY good bullets at a good price you will find no better than Penn bullets.
I have purchased over 10,000 in the past 2 years and have NEVER seen a better product and I have been shooting and reloading for over 25 years.
Sinclair international is another good company to work with for reloading supplies.
But for me its not the savings, I can afford to buy what I shoot, and I do shoot a lot. For me its part of the hobby that I consider an addiction. And the ability to create a very good part of that hobby with my own hands makes it all work while.
To set at a bench and reload 223, work up a load that my 700 likes and take it to the range and have 5 rounds touching at 100 yards, that’s the satisfaction, for me it has little to do with money, but it is cheaper and there for I can shoot more, which makes me reload more which,,,,,

www.pennbullets.com
http://www.sinclairintl.com/