I dont know squat about reloading..

[Dashunde]

...But I'd like to load my own plinking ammo for 45acp, 9mm & 380.
Just standard proven loads for me and no experimenting, it would simply be a means-to-an-end method of getting ammo.

I'm looking for info on where I should start, what should I buy, and how much of it?

[Brian Pfleuger]

Read this:

http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=230171


Come back with questions.

[howlnmad]

Here is a good place to start. Read the stickies st the top. Go get a copy of the ABC's of Reloading. Read that, front to back and then again. then go pick up Lymans 49th edition and read that. The RCBS video is helpful cuz you can see the process as it's being done. Join other forums, read their stickies. Do "noobie" searches and read them. Then come back and ask questions. Think about how much you want to spend and how serious you are.
ps... welcome to the firingline.

howlnmad

[dahermit]

...But I'd like to load my own plinking ammo for 45acp, 9mm & 380.
Just standard proven loads for me and no experimenting,

No such thing. A "standard, proven load for the .45ACP is 7 grains of Unique under a 230 grain jacketed bullet. However, this "standard" may or may not be accurate in your particular .45 Auto. Yours may require 6.5 grains or 7.2 grains, or not be very accurate with Unique at all. For good accuracy, one usually has to experiment a bit.

[Dashunde]

omg... thank you guys very much for your replies.
It set me clearly on my way to discovering that there is no frickin way am I investing that much time and money into reloading.
It seems to be just as expensive too.

[BigJimP]

Most of us look at reloading as an extension of our shooting hobby.

Personally, I reload for 9mm, .40, . 45acp, .38 spl, .357 mag and .44mag and for shotshells in 12ga, 20ga, 28ga and .410 .....and yes the equipment isn't inexpensive / but its a long term investment too if you buy good equipment.

I started reloading when I was about 8 yrs old / with my grandpa ...and I've passed it on to my kids / and now to my grandkids ....and there is something about developing and shooting your own ammo that makes it more fun. And passing it on to the kids is a good thing too.

It isn't just about saving money / and in reality, I shoot more since I reload ...so I really don't save that much / I just shoot more ( maybe 6 or 8 boxes a week thru my handguns ) and probably 10 or 12 boxes of shotshells a week .....so the cost isn't just a $ 300 bill out of my wallet buying ammo all the time ....makes it easier to justify / have some fun.

But reloading is some of my nice quiet time in the shop. I'm loading about 40 boxes of 9mm right now ...in the shop / did 5 or 6 boxes this morning ...do 10 or 12 tonite ... and by the weekend, I'll be fully stocked again / then move onto the next caliber.

[oneounceload]

It seems to be just as expensive too

How do you figure that? Reloaded ammo costs 1/4 to 1/3 factory new ammo

[spacecoast]

A "standard, proven load for the .45ACP is 7 grains of Unique under a 230 grain jacketed bullet. However, this "standard" may or may not be accurate in your particular .45 Auto. Yours may require 6.5 grains or 7.2 grains, or not be very accurate with Unique at all. For good accuracy, one usually has to experiment a bit.

This doesn't sound right - if it were true, then nobody would be happy with the accuracy of factory ammo and everyone would load their own. Since that is obviously not the case...

[rwilson452]

Unless you go whole hog for something like a Dillon 1050 press, you can amortize the cost of equipment in 2000-3000 rounds. After that your ammo is much cheaper than store bought. As others have pointed out, you won't really save money but you get a lot more bangs for your buck.

I will warn you, reloading is very addictive and there is no known cure.

[Brian Pfleuger]

I don't understand this idea of not saving money.

I save somewhere like 75%.

Sure, if you're the guy who will shoot as much ammo as he can get loaded then, no, you're not going to save money. I don't do that, and a lot of other people don't either. I do 90% of my shooting at some sort of critter and the rest is load development. I save a BUCKET LOAD of money. $15 on every 20 rounds of 204Ruger, $20 or more on every 20 rounds of 7mm-08.

The only thing that I load for paper is 357sig and even then I don't shoot any more than I would if I bought it in a store. I save $15-$18 per 50 with the Sig.

I've loaded less than 200 rounds so far and my equipment has about half paid for itself.

[Jim243]

Peetza

No one's saying they don't save on reloading, just spending more than if we just went out and bought a box of ammo.

Let's see I have over 20,000 rounds loaded, it's not as much as it seems, it's in 12 different calibers and 5,000 are 22LR. I keep wondering why I still keep reloading, but then I come up with a different caliber (357 Sig) or load I want to try out. About 3 years ago, I got into buying more pistols and have neglegeted my rifles. Last year I got into IDPA matches and that uses 150 rounds in less than 3 or 4 hours each match (once a month). And I pratice one or two times more a month to get better or find a better load.

Have to cut this short, my 357 Sig dies just came in today from Midway, want to clean them up, my barrel should be in Fri. Thanks again for the Power Pistol suggestion, that's what I will try.

Best of Wishes
Jim

[chris in va]

No no no...you don't have to spend that much money on reloading. I use a Lee Hand Press for 45 and 9mm, works great. Everything else I have is either used or bought off Ebay for cheap. My entire setup cost me $120. Everything.

But I like to say, "don't reload to save money, reload to shoot more for the same cost".

[Lost Sheep]

http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=408372
or, if the linkd does not work, paste this into your browser
http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=408372
or just do a search for phrases like "newbie" "New to reloading", "beginner" and such.

It is recent, exactly on point with your post.

Welcome to your new obsession. Many people find reloading to be an edifying hobby in and of itself, in addition to being a means to an end. The repetitive actions can be very calming and zen-like increases your concentration and appreciation for the shooting.

One thing. Your three chamberings are typically autoloaders (which means they are also auto-UN-loaders). I typically lose 5% of my brass on a good day. 10% is not unusual. Some days I come home with more 45 ACP empty brass than I brought loaded rounds to the range (basically I am trading my lost cases for some other shooter's previously lost cases).

If you get fanatical about your brass, you will probably think longingly of the revolver cartridges. You don't have to go crawling around in the gravel for your brass, it is right where you dropped it, in the bucket at your feet. It is clean, unbent and YOURS.

Happy shooting. Happy reloading.

Lost Sheep

[jimbob86]

I typically lose 5% of my brass on a good day. 10% is not unusual.

20'x20' blue tarps are cheap ....... just sayin' ...... an ounce of prevention being worth a whole pound of searchin' through the grass.......

[Xfire68]

Dashunde, I am not sure what part of the link you read but reloading does not cost that much to start out and the time is not all that much either!

The time spent in making better the factory rounds IMHO is well worth it to begin with and it is also fun and a learning experience.

Loading what you mentioned (I am doing the same thing) only cost $200 for a kit from Lee which included a press, Scale, Primer, Powder Measure and Shell Holders. Included in that cost I also bought a set of Dies, digital calipers and a Cass Tumbler.

Brass, powder and bullets "if" you shop around can be had on the cheap and again your getting better then factory out of it once you get the motions down pack!

Reload you will thank us later!

[Dave R]

It seems to be just as expensive too.

I had spent less than $100 when I turned out my first rounds. Bought used equipment.

I recently upgraded to a Turret press, which is like 3X faster than a single stage press, and spent $200 on the complete kit.

I load primo quality rifle rounds for half the cost of cheap FMJ blasting ammo.

And its fun.

What's not to love?

[Dashunde]

Thanks again, loads of insight here.

Heres my noob math on reloading 380:
- Using Midway's cheapest 380acp brass is $18 per 100 (ok, yea its reusable, but..)
- Using Midway's cheapest 380apc 95gr bullets is $18 per 100
- Neither the brass nor the bullets are in stock.
- Powder and primers not accounted for yet.
- Equipment not bought yet. Not going to be a wife-friendly expenditure.
- After shooting brass will still need to be rounded up every trip - very unfun.
- Huge amounts of time for reading/studying/buying.
- I gave $17 per 50 round ready-to-fire box at Cabela's on Saturday. They also had steel case for $14.

So I just dont get it - outside of it being its own sub-hobby where you go for ballistics and/or oustanding accuracy - what is the point?
I do realize that the brass will be reused, and that the more I shoot and load the cheaper it becomes, but I still cant justify it.

It kinda sux though, they got us by the beans... with all of the work and up-front expense involved, reloading really should be much cheaper compared to factory loads.

Lastly, that low smoke, good feeding, good shooting $17 box of 380 came from overseas (Hungary I think).
Seems to me that Remington, Winchester and the rest better quit fooling around and screwing with us on price and availability.

[zippy13]

Dashunde,

There are some on-line re-loading cost calculators that will give you the number of boxes of ammo you need to reload to cover the costs of your reloading equipment. I think you'll be surprised how quickly the equipment investment is recovered.

Costs aside, there is something quite satisfying about shooting re-load groups that are half the size of the ones you shot with factory loads.

[dahermit]

A "standard, proven load for the .45ACP is 7 grains of Unique under a 230 grain jacketed bullet. However, this "standard" may or may not be accurate in your particular .45 Auto. Yours may require 6.5 grains or 7.2 grains, or not be very accurate with Unique at all. For good accuracy, one usually has to experiment a bit.

This doesn't sound right - if it were true, then nobody would be happy with the accuracy of factory ammo and everyone would load their own. Since that is obviously not the case...

Try it and find out. It is more obvious for rifle (bench rest competitors always handload), than it is for handguns, but each firearm is unique in what it will shoot best nevertheless. If you have not found this to be the case, you have not have had sufficient experience in hand loading. For instance, my Browning HP 9MM has a penchant (accuracy wise) for S&B cases over Remington, Federal, or Winchester.

In regard to your statement, observe what the first post in this thread is suggesting about having to find the "right" load (bullet), for his gun:

http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=408735

[ZeSpectre]

Lesson #1: The value of recovered Brass.

Back in my early days of reloading I came home from the range with a (rough count) of 960 pieces of brass for the various calibers I reload and another 150 that will go into the scrap bucket.

I was sitting in the "man cave" chuckling to myself and inspecting the cases before I tumbled them and my wife wandered in to see what I was doing. "GOLD!" I said, "I struck GOLD".

She just looked at me

"So what's the big deal" she said, "Yeah you don't have to buy brass for a while but it's nothing to get THAT excited about".

"Well," says I "if I bought this brass new (say from Starline) it would run me between $0.11 and $0.13 for each piece. So if we just average let's say $0.12 for each piece. that means you are looking at roughly $115.00 in brass that I just picked up for FREE"!

So she thought that was nice, but then something struck me. I've only been reloading for a short period so I guess this particular thought had never bubbled to the surface before.

Grinning I said to her "and there's more! Each piece is reusable, probably several times with my light loads and assuming I don't loose any of them".

"In fact, I can probably get 5 or 6 (or more) reloads out of each of these cases! That means I'm saving that $0.12 EVERY TIME until the brass is unusable! Since I'm not buying new brass that means that, to me, this pile of brass has a total "use value" of about $575.00-$690.00 vs buying new ammo!"

Suddenly my wife sees that little pile of dirty brass in a whole different light

[Dashunde]

Humm.. since ammo is regularly available here and priced ok for now, maybe I should shoot that up for a couple of years and just make a point to pick up my own brass. (+ whatever else I find laying).

In the meantime I can be ferreting away bullets and picking up used gear & whatnot along the way. The wife isnt likely to give a hoot if its one bit at a time.
Going that route I dont suppose I could lose.

I was fooling around with one of those calculators mentioned by Zippy, it really does appear that brass is half the battle.

The thing is for me guys, reloading is only a means to an end, my eyes are ok but not great enough that I care a whole lot about top-notch accuracy. I have no rifles and only want plinkin worthy 45, 380 and 9mm, I'll always buy my defensive HP's at the store, same stuff as local PD
So I'd just be loading to save a few bucks - but it also needs to save enough that the time trade off is worth it, and brass appears to be key to that.

[Waldog]

Dashunde,
I have been reloading for about 45 years. I can honestly say I don't save much reloading. I DO HOWEVER, SHOOT 3 TO 4 TIMES MORE FOR THE SAME MONEY you spend on factory ammo.

[bumnote]

Beyond doing it to save money, there are a couple of things to think about.
Do you have a good attention to detail? If not, reloading isn't a good idea. It's not really hard, but you can't (or shouldn't) take shortcuts and need to watch eveything you do.
What is your time worth? It can take 90 minutes to a couple of hours to load up a box of 50 rounds when you're starting out.
I've only been doing it for only about 6 months now and I love it. So far I've done over 1K rounds with no problems, saved a little cash on ammo...and have much better quality ammo. But if you're just doing it as a means to an end to get ammo, it might not be for you....although for 380 it might be you only option.
In addition to the other's advice, I'd suggest poking around Youtube, some folks have posted some pretty good videos that can guide a newbie thru it, watching some of them helped me quite a bit.
If it is something you want to do, the members here were a HUGE help when I started out.

[Dave R]

Here are MY economics of reloading. This is based on buying small quantities at full retail price, from a local shop.

Yeah, your internet sources may be out of stock, but everything is in stock at local shops here (Idaho)

Buy a couple boxes of the BRASS factory ammo, and keep the cases, and you've got your initial stash of reloadable .380 brass.

Brass: 0
Bullets: 11.2 cents (Berry's plated, $28 per 250
Primer: 4 cents (high right now)
Powder: 1.4 cents (.380 don't use much...)

TOTAL: 16.6 cents a round, or $8.30 per box of 50. Half what you paid for factory ammo. Saving $8.70 a box, you'd break even on a $200 setup in 23 boxes.

The savings on rifle ammo are more dramatic.

[dcody40]

You said several things important to the whole process, you said maybe I'll just shoot store ammo for awhile and collect it, excellent idea, I did this for over 25 years and finally bit the bullet, now you old pro's don't laugh too loud, but I figured out that I could deprime my brass with a simple little Lee single stage, I found it on ebay, for abour 30$, got a set of Lee dies 26$ over at Bass Pro, then found an RCBS powder dropper, in new condition also on Ebay, had to have an RCBS 40/80 round ammo block, got a lyman primer pocket cleaner, a small 30$ electronic scale, and a few other bits, now then I ran around with a list of powder types and primers to all the gun shops and finally built up some 308 and 45 acp with the components I could find, I had a ball learning this stuf, and so far everything shoots real nice, and not a single factory box in my shooting bag. I have loaded with the one little Lee press over 500 rounds of 308, 500+ of 38/357, and I was hooked, bit the big bullet and got a big blue machine for my 45acp habit, I have about 10 1911's that eat allot so just had to do it.
Now I build 300-500 45acp's at a time, (30 Minutes) with big blue, then with the ton's of time saved here, jump over on the little itty bitty C type Lee press and build up another 100 or so 308's or another couple of boxes of revolver fodder. To date, I haven't even dented my pile of 45 brass, the 38/357 brass is into it's 3-4th loadings now, and still looks almost new, the 308's are the monsters that take me time with the case trimming being done manually with a lyman case trimmer 30$ off ebay.
Now for the BIG plus that nobody mentioned yet !
All of the reloading equipment you purchase will be easy to resell if you don't want it, there is a ton out on Ebay, at least give it a shot, it's very much addictive, I so enjoyed the first day I took a bunch of my own boxes to the local gallery and shot it all up. Got most of the brass back and then some.
(exercise)
Start small and simple, load for one caliber and figure out the process, it's a whole new world and you also get to meet all of us oldersters who already been there and done that !
OH and Don't worry about all the different colored equipment, they all do the job, some better than others, some cheaper than others, and EVERYONE WILL TELL YOU TO GO This one or that one. This is fne and dandy, your the one spending the money, so do what makes you feel good. You will find out you can make good ammo for plinking with any one of the machines, or do what I did, get a little bit from every company depending on what you find on EBay. And have fun.

Ok done with this book !

Do what you got to do, you know you want to try it !.

Good luck and be safe.

USN/Ret