Any reloaders here?

Lapua is worth the $$. It'll cost you more up front but the cases last a long, long time if you do not abuse them and minimally size them. The primer pockets hold up a lot better than competing brass. I have some .308 cases with probably 20-25 reloads on them, and some .223 that have 40-50 reloads on them. My 6BR and 6.5x47 cases look like they are gonna last forever. The Winchester stuff you start seeing loose pockets between 5-10 firings and Federal after 2-3! Lapua is all that I will shoot in competition, even my AR!

 

if you are looking for just cheap ammo to reload, here's some ideas:

I get locally 1k 9mm brass cases for $27.
1k 124gr JHP for $110 delivered
1lb of appropriate powder $20 (7000grains in 1lb, so divide your load to see how many rounds/lb)
1k small pistol primers local $20

so I can reload 1k rounds of 9mm 124gr JHP for about $190. takes me a couple of hours to reload them. not bad, but that's also not taking in to account the price of the tools.

 

You can get .355 JHP's a lot cheaper than $110. You can get them in the mid $80's. If you want to know, just ask.

 

I wanna know. At those prices, it's well worth me getting setup.

Refresh my memory, is the current opinion that it's best to just go progressive, or should I start with the RCBS Rock Chucker?

 

I haven't read all the responses but I can probably offer a good bit of insight. I've backed down from what I and my son used to shoot, but all the knowledge is still up here.

First, the only thing you should be considering is a single stage press. When you say "stage", you're talking about the current process you're working on. You typically have 4 stages that you'll do with a press: depriming, resizing, belling the mouth, and seating the bullet. With a single stage you'll have to swap out dies for 3 of the stages. The depriming and resizing are done at the same time. You CAN do priming with most all presses as well, but I prefer to do it manually as I like to "feel" the primer seating. A progressive is for high volume, and also with it a higher chance of mistakes being made. I prefer measuring out every charge as well. Takes longer, but you get it right and it's consistent.

With that said, there are different prices for different quality brands. Just like we argue over what's best: Yamaha, Kawi, Honda, etc... the reloaders are the same. Personally, I LOVE my Hornady press. The quick disconnect is the greatest thing since sliced bread for swapping out dies and never having to calibrate every time. What I mean is, every time you change a die you screw it into place. You have to get it "just right". Typically you'll make one dummy round and seat it based off that dummy round. Still, it'll be a "tad" off every time (if you're a perfectionist). With the Hornday quick change system... click, click... done. Literally 2 seconds to change dies.

However, you can get a Lee setup, everything you need for under 200. They make entire kits. Lee is kinda like a Chinese scooter, IMO. You might get one that's just great and always just works. Then again, you might not. I think I got my full Hornady kit under a sale for 300. It's been a few years... You'll also want a kinetic puller, and most likely a tumbler to clean your brass. There's probably a few other tiny things as well.

The next big cost will be your initial powder, primer, and bullet purchase. ALWAYS buy in bulk. If you buy primers or powder from online, then you'll pay 25 dollars hazmat fee whether you buy one brick of primers, or 500. To save money, you've gotta buy in bulk. My initial purchase of everything I needed was about 1k. The savings completely depends on what you shoot. For me, it's massive. I like big, fun, calibers. 44, 357, 460, and 308 rifle. I figured up the costs for what I shoot most often. 357 costs me about 8 cents a round, 460 about 30. Keep in mind, if you shoot 460 then you're paying about 1.25 every time you pull the trigger if you buy retail ammo... at the cheapest. If you shoot alot, the savings add up quickly.

Shotgun... that's a completely different setup. I'd listen to the other guys and avoid it. It's really only good if you're into competition shooting and want to make every kind of round for every distance and type of shot you'll take.

As for 9mm, you're not going to save a ton there. It's the cheapest ammo next to 22. You'll still save, but not like other stuff.

Feel free to PM me any questions. It's daunting at first, but easy once you've started. A GREAT resource for me is the reloading forum on thefiringline.com . Good group of guys. I'll be glad to help you with places to buy and what the best bargains are.

 

I say progressive. Dillon has the 550 and 650 which have great loading rates. A single stage will take a long time. Strick is right about you need to shoot a lot of rounds to make it work and pay for it. So a question will be how much do you shoot?. For pistol rounds a progressive is the best choice.

PM me and I'll give you my background in shooting and some ideas. I'd rather not post everything on the beeb and start a firestorm. But you can post or share the info. if you want. I promise it will be helpful.

 

Yep nothing beats finding the load your gun likes and then trying to find a better one

 

Reloading can be quite rewarding both in cost of finished product and self satisfaction of doing a good job. It is not an exercise for anyone that will not do it correctly. (that means safely) Never take shortcuts. In other words, even with an auto re-loader that has all the stations that does the complete job. The most important is the powder drop. Even with my unit, I still weigh each case load. Accidentally doing a double charge can be rather hard on your pistol, and your hand possibility.

I haven't bought any lead bullets in several years so I don't know what the current cost is. It's certainly a lot easier and cleaner than casting your own. A friend and I bought out a guy (Hustler Bullet Co. Stephenville Tx) when he was retiring. I guess I've got about 1500 rounds of Elmer Keith cast bullets in .380, .38/.357, .44, and .45 which will last me the rest of my life. They're a good semi-wadcutter and work very well.

Be careful when reloading .40 S&W. Most of the factory loads are just about as hot as most pistols can handle with breaking something.

Get started slowly so the cost won't kill your wallet all at once and for God's sake, get a couple of different reloading manuals and follow their load recommendations religiously. KEEP RECORDS of each load. It's important for future reference. Start with a soft load and slowly built it up.

By the way, have fun. (and it is)

 

Scott,
The question I haven't seen asked yet is how much and how often you want to shoot. If you need 500 rounds of each caliber per week, then I would agree that going with a Dillon would make sense. If you plan on only shooting a couple of hundred rounds a week total then a manual progressive like from Lee, Hornady or RCBS will be the right choice. If you are planning on shooting a couple of hundred rounds a month and stockpiling your excess then a single stage is fine. What are you going to need?

As far as the Chevy/Ford reloading debate, I say buy local and get Lee. They are made in WI as is MEC if you get into shotgun.

Ken
Buy your shotgun shells

 

Unless you require really specific loads, it isn't worth it to bother reloading 12 gauge. As someone else mentioned the forums at brianenos.com are a great place to start. I highly recommend Dillon Precision reloaders. If you only do centerfire pistol, I'd look into a Dillon Square Deal B. If you want to do rifle calibers too, I'd get a Dillon 550. If you shoot a few hundred rounds a year, it's probably not worth it to reload. However, if you shoot a couple hundred a month or if you want to tailor your loads for a specific purpose...reduced recoil, making a particular power factor for competition, etc, it is worth it.

 

So, you get 1k rounds of 9mm for 220 bucks, your 190 in materials and 15 bucks an hour to do the work. I can buy 1k rounds for 240 bucks and that isn't bulk pricing. If all I'm doing is 9mm rounds, it isn't cost effective to do your on reloads.

Just my two cents worth.

 

not so correct. You can reuse brass. Powder is about $8. for 1,000 rounds on average. could be $10. Primers are $26 a 1,000. And you can get 9mm 124's for about $85.
8+26+85 = $115.

$115 is a lot different than $190. Even if you bought some once fired cases, you'd only be at $145.

 

plus that price ($180) is for JHP. big difference in price at retail (not reloaded ammo) for JHP vs FMJ. And as others said, that's a worst case scenario. I buy brass every so often of if I pick up a new caliber, but you can scrounge a lot of the brass at the ranges, just ask if the people shooting around you are reloading, and pick up theirs. I can't remember the last time I actually bought 9mm or 40.

but overall if you are just going to shoot 9mm and 223, it's hard to justify the cost of reloading. when you get into things like 44mag, 6.8spc, 218 bee, 300 whisper, 348 win, 338lm, that it's a whole different game. it's way less $$ to reload vs factory ammo once you have the brass.

and as mongo said, for me it's just something I do to kill some time and relax.

 

I was thinking about getting set up for reloading but I can get Hornady near match quality 6.5 creedmoor ammo for less than 25/box. Doesn't seem worth the effort.

 

Cost of .22 hornet is high. That's why I started. I haven't calculated.cost. I know I enjoy it and know I can tailor my load to what I need