So... You Want To Reload? Questions to answer before taking the plunge.

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  • Alphabrew

    Binary male Lesbian
    MDS Supporter
    Jan 27, 2013
    40,749
    Woodbine
    For the type of shooting I do, I don't need match ammo. I need cheap ammo that I can shoot a ton of.
     

    DaemonAssassin

    Why should we Free BSD?
    Jun 14, 2012
    23,970
    Political refugee in WV
    For the type of shooting I do, I don't need match ammo. I need cheap ammo that I can shoot a ton of.

    I think there is a miscommunication somewhere.

    I am saying to compare your reloads to top tier/match ammo for the prices, because you are controlling every single step along the way. You are creating ammo that is to your specs and you verify measurements every 5, 10, 20, 50, or 100 rounds (depending on your choice and your comfort level with your equipment). Your ammo will be more precise and accurate than anything you can buy off the shelf at a gun store or Wal-Mart. That is the reason why I am saying to compare the cost of your reloads to top tier/match ammo. To compare your reloads to anything less than top tier/match ammo is selling your abilities short.

    I can mass produce a ton of 223 plinking ammo using non-match components that is equal to or better than FGMM. I took the time to do the load dev and I got what I wanted out of my reloading abilities. Even with pistol, I see more consistency with my reloads, than I see with mass manufactured ammo.

    I am all for a lot of cheap ammo, but when you look at how you control every variable from cradle to finished ammo, you have a much more stringent QC effort than mas manufacturers and that equates to a higher quality of ammo produced.
     

    Pinecone

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 4, 2013
    28,175
    1) If you only get 5 loadings out of new pistol cases, you are doing something wrong. I get 5 out of bottle necked rifle cases.

    2) If you only get 1000 rounds of 9mm out of a pound of Unique, see #1. :D

    There are 7000 grains in a pound. So 1000 rounds from 1 pound would be 7 grains per round. A BIT stiff of a load. :)
     

    DaemonAssassin

    Why should we Free BSD?
    Jun 14, 2012
    23,970
    Political refugee in WV
    1) If you only get 5 loadings out of new pistol cases, you are doing something wrong. I get 5 out of bottle necked rifle cases.

    2) If you only get 1000 rounds of 9mm out of a pound of Unique, see #1. :D

    There are 7000 grains in a pound. So 1000 rounds from 1 pound would be 7 grains per round. A BIT stiff of a load. :)

    1) Even though I see more than 5 loadings per case, 5 loadings makes the math easy as you figure cost per piece.

    2) Shush, you. :lol2:
     

    Alphabrew

    Binary male Lesbian
    MDS Supporter
    Jan 27, 2013
    40,749
    Woodbine
    I think there is a miscommunication somewhere.

    I am saying to compare your reloads to top tier/match ammo for the prices, because you are controlling every single step along the way. You are creating ammo that is to your specs and you verify measurements every 5, 10, 20, 50, or 100 rounds (depending on your choice and your comfort level with your equipment). Your ammo will be more precise and accurate than anything you can buy off the shelf at a gun store or Wal-Mart. That is the reason why I am saying to compare the cost of your reloads to top tier/match ammo. To compare your reloads to anything less than top tier/match ammo is selling your abilities short.

    I can mass produce a ton of 223 plinking ammo using non-match components that is equal to or better than FGMM. I took the time to do the load dev and I got what I wanted out of my reloading abilities. Even with pistol, I see more consistency with my reloads, than I see with mass manufactured ammo.

    I am all for a lot of cheap ammo, but when you look at how you control every variable from cradle to finished ammo, you have a much more stringent QC effort than mas manufacturers and that equates to a higher quality of ammo produced.

    10-4, thanks
     

    StickShaker

    Active Member
    Mar 3, 2016
    888
    Montgomery
    I guess the true comparison is figuring the cases are free when pricing out raw materials for reloads, but deducting the value of the cases when comparing the price of factory ammo. For example, I can buy factory 9mm from SG for $200/1000 and get $30 worth of brass that I could sell so my real cost is $170/1000 for factory ammo. So I compare $170 to the $122 cost to reload and I save almost $50/1000. This is helpful in knowing how long it takes reloading equipment to pay for itself.

    Forget your calculations, it's all a big money pit. Once you finish buying everything you need you'll start scouring the net for nice but unnecessary items so you can have a big brown Christmas at least once a month. :lol2:
     

    Alphabrew

    Binary male Lesbian
    MDS Supporter
    Jan 27, 2013
    40,749
    Woodbine
    I know the Lee Challenger press is bottom of the barrel but I have to say I'm pretty happy with how it primes. I had an issue with the powder measure so I called it a day. Will pick back up tomorrow!
     

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    DaemonAssassin

    Why should we Free BSD?
    Jun 14, 2012
    23,970
    Political refugee in WV
    I know the Lee Challenger press is bottom of the barrel but I have to say I'm pretty happy with how it primes. I had an issue with the powder measure so I called it a day. Will pick back up tomorrow!
    As much as I recommend Dillon, a press is a press, and it is better to have any press than not have a press. One day you may decide that the Lee isn't doing it for you anymore and you want to upgrade to something different, that does happen from time to time.

    It is your press and you will make good, cheap, and accurate ammo on it if you do your part. Isn't that all that matters? :D
     

    Alphabrew

    Binary male Lesbian
    MDS Supporter
    Jan 27, 2013
    40,749
    Woodbine
    Loaded my first 17 rounds of 9mm! Used 5.3 gr of unique and 115 gr X-treme bullets with CCI primers, all in some Speer nickel brass. Gonna try these at TMGN tomorrow and hopefully not blow my face off!
     

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    Biggfoot44

    Ultimate Member
    Aug 2, 2009
    32,881
    LEE is fine for single stage and Turret, it's their progressives where the major issues come in.

    The disconnect in the exchange between DA and Alpha is regards the qualities of the ammo, be it accuraccy per se, unusual bullets, specific velocity levels etc.

    With rolling your own , if you had an hankering for140gr SWC at 987 fps, that would group into the left eyeball of a rat , you could do that for essentially the same $$ as generic. Meanwhile , if you are primarily doing holster drills, and da/sa transitions at 7-10yds , anything that goes bang, and lands nose first 10yds away will meet your needs, and anything "better" is irrelevant and pointless.
     

    Norton

    NRA Endowment Member, Rifleman
    Staff member
    Admin
    Moderator
    May 22, 2005
    122,856
    I need someone to help me with my .500 loads.

    I have a recipe that I like and has been excellent in my gun.

    I did a few batches that were fine and suddenly I'm screwing something up with the crimp or something that won't allow the cartridges to chamber.
     

    Alphabrew

    Binary male Lesbian
    MDS Supporter
    Jan 27, 2013
    40,749
    Woodbine
    The disconnect in the exchange between DA and Alpha is regards the qualities of the ammo, be it accuraccy per se, unusual bullets, specific velocity levels etc.

    With rolling your own , if you had an hankering for140gr SWC at 987 fps, that would group into the left eyeball of a rat , you could do that for essentially the same $$ as generic. Meanwhile , if you are primarily doing holster drills, and da/sa transitions at 7-10yds , anything that goes bang, and lands nose first 10yds away will meet your needs, and anything "better" is irrelevant and pointless.

    Exactly
     

    Alphabrew

    Binary male Lesbian
    MDS Supporter
    Jan 27, 2013
    40,749
    Woodbine
    Loaded my first 17 rounds of 9mm! Used 5.3 gr of unique and 115 gr X-treme bullets with CCI primers, all in some Speer nickel brass. Gonna try these at TMGN tomorrow and hopefully not blow my face off!

    I finally test fired these (range was freaking MOBBED over the holidays) and I am very happy with the results! The only thing is that they sure do have a lot of flash. Is that normal for Unique powder?
     

    240 towles

    master of puppets
    Mar 31, 2009
    4,251
    ?
    How it cost effective for the guy who shoots mostly Russian, surplus,and economy ammo? I pay 50 cents or less per .308 round already.
     

    Doug S

    Trufflehunter
    Jan 21, 2013
    338
    How it cost effective for the guy who shoots mostly Russian, surplus,and economy ammo? I pay 50 cents or less per .308 round already.
    If you have that much, you have brass, which is the priciest part of reloading.

    You could look up which bullets you want to use, then backtrack that to the powder and load that works w/it (google Hodgdon load data), then it's simple math.

    Making up numbers:
    Nosler 150gr 308 looks like about $28 per 100, or $0.28 each
    Hodgdon 4895 looks like it'll work with that, at $30 per lb, or roughly $0.17
    CCI primers are about $32 per 1k, or $0.03 each

    With those numbers, without really trying (or publishing load info, which we don't do here) or looking for deals/sales, it looks like about $0.48 per round.

    Two things:
    1) That doesn't include startup costs, which won't be cheap
    2) Don't forget that you're going to be upgrading from "economy" ammo to pretty much match grade stuff for less money.
     

    Doug S

    Trufflehunter
    Jan 21, 2013
    338
    I need someone to help me with my .500 loads.

    I have a recipe that I like and has been excellent in my gun.

    I did a few batches that were fine and suddenly I'm screwing something up with the crimp or something that won't allow the cartridges to chamber.

    Sorry, just now seeing this. The first thing I always check if something won't load is if the OAL is wrong.
     

    Pinecone

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 4, 2013
    28,175
    How it cost effective for the guy who shoots mostly Russian, surplus,and economy ammo? I pay 50 cents or less per .308 round already.

    As has been said, if you are only looking at price per round, it may not be that much of a savings to reload. But you have to do the numbers.

    Things to factor, can you use cast bullets? That can cut your costs, even more so if you cast your own.

    And then figure on how long to amortize the equipment. But you can get the equipment needed for less than $300, and it will last for several lifetimes.

    However, if you want better ammo for cheaper than economy ammo, reloading is the way to go. Or things like lighter recoiling loads if you only shoot 100 yards.
     

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