$20 Haz Mat charge?

[David Bachelder]

"Not entirely true. Hazmat fees are "allowed" not dictated. What DOT does dictate is the extra record keeping and storage requirements that shippers must use when transporting "hazardous material". Shippers are allowed to offset the cost of that extra requirement by charging a fee - not that it really costs that much for extra record keeping and handling for a box of primers or powder. I too wish they would hurry up and get on with the removal of primers from the list."

You are splitting hairs. I manufacture explosives that have to be classified by DOT, I know how the system works.

[Brian Pfleuger]

Originally Posted by Swampman1

Sorry what is PV?
OK thanks for the breakdown. So buying in bulk apparently is the way to go. So can anyone recommend online stores to buy these supplies at a reasonable cost?
Also, how many times can you reuse brass casings(talking 9mm and 45acp)? Thanks guys.

You don't want to get ahead of yourself. First things first. You need to buy at least one, good reloading manual and The ABCs of Reloading is also recommended to beginners. Read them both.

Reloading is a fun and rewarding hobby but it can also, literally, be deadly. It's completely safe if you know and follow the rules and procedures but you can turn a gun into a grenade if you don't.

[BigD_in_FL]

LGS prices may be higher, but I don't think much of the difference is because of the HAZMAT fee. You can ship up to 48 pounds of HAZMAT on one fee, so that works out to about fifty-eight cents per brick of primers or pound of powder. Even adding a "profit margin" to the HAZMAT fee doesn't account for most of the cost difference at the LGS, at least not my local shops.

I just got an order in that weighed 57 pounds and contained 4 8# jugs and one sleeve of 5000 209 primers. We couldn't get the second sleeve because the weight would have been over the max of 70#

How do you get $.58/brick of primers?

[ScottRiqui]

I just got an order in that weighed 57 pounds and contained 4 8# jugs and one sleeve of 5000 209 primers. We couldn't get the second sleeve because the weight would have been over the max of 70#

How do you get $.58/brick of primers?

A brick of primers (1000 count) weighs less than a pound, so I'm not sure how you hit the weight limit with only 32 pounds of powder and 5,000 primers. That should come in around 40#, even with the packing material & box.

My calculation was dividing a HAZMAT fee of $27.50 by 48 pounds, which I believe is the maximum weight for a single HAZMAT fee. I said 70 pounds earlier, but I was confusing the HAZMAT max weight with the USPS Priority Mail max weight.

So, $27.50 divided by 48 pounds is about $.57 per pound extra cost from the HAZMAT fee. Yes, that's a little bit low, since the box and the plastic jugs will weigh something, but it's in the ballpark.

[BigD_in_FL]

My primers are 209s - for shotgun - considerably larger and heavier

[ScottRiqui]

My primers are 209s - for shotgun - considerably larger and heavier

Would you mind weighing a brick? All I have here are small pistol and large pistol, but one is 13.6 ounces per brick, and the other is a hair over 16 ounces per brick.

[rlc323]

Winchester 209 primers 1000 count weigh 2 lb 12 oz

Federal 209 Primers 1000 count weigh 3 lb 2 oz

Remington 209 Primers 1000 count weigh 2 lb 15 oz

I did not have any sleeves of 5000 in the house here to weigh. We keep full sleeves in one of our farm outbuildings.

So for a sleeve of 5000 you could multiply by 5 and add about a half pound for the cardboard box.

[ScottRiqui]

Thanks - I had no idea that shotgun primers were so much bigger!

[jimbob86]

Also, how many times can you reuse brass casings(talking 9mm and 45acp)? Thanks guys.

'Til the case mouth splits.

How long that is depends how much you work (bell and crimp) the case mouths .....

Keeping away from max loads and using a gun that has a fully supported, properly sized chamber helps as well.

I have .45 ACP cases that have been fired, cleaned and reloaded so many times that the headstamp is getting hard to read .... until the case mouth cracks, I keep on usin' 'em.

[Gadawg88]

I am loading 45 acp currently at a cost of 20 cents a round all in using 230 gn fmj from precision delta, VV n320, starline brass, and CCI LPP. That cost includes all shipping and hazmat fees.

[ScottRiqui]

I am loading 45 acp currently at a cost of 20 cents a round all in using 230 gn fmj from precision delta, VV n320, starline brass, and CCI LPP. That cost includes all shipping and hazmat fees.

Does that per-round cost include the full price of the Starline brass, or are you dividing that up between a certain number of loadings?

[BigD_in_FL]

Shipping weight per PV on 209s is 15# per sleeve of 5000 so we were only able to get one sleeve to go with 4 8# jugs to be shipped in one box for one hazmat; a second sleeve would have put us 3# over the weight limit

[ScottRiqui]

Makes sense - I was *completely* ignorant as to how much shotgun primers weigh.

[Gadawg88]

.Does that per-round cost include the full price of the Starline brass, or are you dividing that up between a certain number of loadings?

It assumes a certain number of reloadings per case. I don't have access to my spreadsheet where I keep track of all my expenses and data, but the following is pretty close to the per round breakdown: Precision Delta 230 gn fmj rn $.13, CCI #300 primer $.03, 5.1 gn of VV N-320 $.02, brass $.02 for a total per round cost of $.20. My last purchase of brass was from Starline. Got 1000 45 acp for $156 including shipping. So the per round cost of $.02 assumes I use each case eight times. I hope to get more than that. I figure I am saving between 50% and 60% over factory target ammo and I have noticed an improvement in the accuracy of my reloaded ammo over the factory stuff I was using. The bullet is obviously the biggest expense and you can get this cost down considerably if you go to lead bullets which I have not done yet. I have some 38 sp lswc on order from Missouri Bullet to try out in my wheel gun to get my feet wet with lead. Also you can get cheaper powder but the per round difference is maybe half a penny or less. Granted, it adds up over time and many thousands of rounds, but not a big factor.

[ScottRiqui]

I've used a bunch of Missouri Bullets' stuff - .380, .38 Spl, .40 S&W, 9mm and .45 ACP. I think you'll be happy with them once they arrive.

[Gadawg88]

I have heard nothing but good things about them and their product. They should be here any day now and I can't wait to start working up a new load.

[Swampman1]

You don't want to get ahead of yourself. First things first. You need to buy at least one, good reloading manual and The ABCs of Reloading is also recommended to beginners. Read them both.

Reloading is a fun and rewarding hobby but it can also, literally, be deadly. It's completely safe if you know and follow the rules and procedures but you can turn a gun into a grenade if you don't

Yeah Brian, I'm not about to jump into anything, just asking a few questions to get a feel for the hobby itself. I plan on purchasing a few items at a time(budget pending)...the last probably being the press itself. So I'll have plenty of time to do some reading. Thanks.

[mdmtj]

Yeah Brian, I'm not about to jump into anything, just asking a few questions to get a feel for the hobby itself. I plan on purchasing a few items at a time

Buying 8 pounds of powder will save you money but you need to get a handle on what you want to do first. Unless you can find someone to do a group on-line purchase, you need to buy your powder locally in 1 pound jugs. Once you have a load that works for your needs, you can start buying in bulk and save more money.

[Swampman1]

Buying 8 pounds of powder will save you money but you need to get a handle on what you want to do first. Unless you can find someone to do a group on-line purchase, you need to buy your powder locally in 1 pound jugs. Once you have a load that works for your needs, you can start buying in bulk and save more money.]

Thanks md, yesterday I we had a get-together with family and friends, and I found out one of those friends is about to get into reloading. One of his friends has been reloading for years. He's gonna try to get me in, that way we can learn alot from someone who's been doing this a long time.

[Skitter]

Thanks md, yesterday I we had a get-together with family and friends, and I found out one of those friends is about to get into reloading. One of his friends has been reloading for years. He's gonna try to get me in, that way we can learn alot from someone who's been doing this a long time.

I'm looking for the same myself, it's good to find a mentor. Unfortunatly my Dad is 7 hours away ><