To buy or reload?

[sgt23preston]

My Dillon 550 cranks out a few hundred rounds an hour. It does NOT use up all my spare time.

Sgt Preston here...

I load on a Dillon 550 also...

It's a great machine and while I can crank out 350+ per hour...

I spend lots of other time sorting my brass, cleaning my brass, & inspecting my brass before I can start loading...

And then after loading I do final inspections & stack them in the blue boxes etc..

And then cleaning the Dillon after your done...

And then it's time to do a change over to another calibers & start over fine tuning until it's 100% ready to go...

It's a good hobby & I do most all of my loading between Thanksgiving & Easter...

BUT for younger guys with a wife & children it truly does eat up a lot of your time & take you away from your family...

And then if you have a boss & a demanding job & guns to clean & grass to cut, etc, well you can see what I'm saying...

And then there's the $1000 bucks for all the Dillon Stuff...

 

[azuluza]

Sgt Preston here...

We all go thru this & here is what I have learned...

Question #1. How many rounds did you shoot in the last 12 months..?

Question #2. How many different Calibers do you shoot..?

Question #3. Can you buy a years worth of ammo right now..?

Question #4. How much would it cost to buy a years worth of ammo today including shipping..?

Question #5. How much would it cost to buy 1 years worth of reloading components today (Primers, Powder & Bullet Heads) include Hazmat Fees..?

Question #6. How much spare time to you have each week..?

Question #7. Estimate the total cost of the reloader, a set of dies for each caliber that you want to reload, a brass tumbler, a brass separator, plastic bullet boxes, a dial caiber & a suitable work bench...

OK so now you know approximately what it will cost to get started...

Compare that to what it would cost for a years worth of ammo..?

Plan on your new hobby being fun, but using all your spare time...

BTW you'll spend a LOT more time making ammo than you will shooting...

Now you can make your decision...

Great questions to answer man.

 

[azuluza]

OK OK so im getting alot of feedback, this is great. So now the question... I am interested in the loadmaster style as in you crank the handle and the machine shifts everything to each stage and spits it out, what I want to know is brand? LEE? RCBS? DILLON, ETC? My co-worker is telling me RCBS

 

[azuluza]

[
Question #1. How many rounds did you shoot in the last 12 months..?
Well I've been shooting my FN Five Seven more often but I doub't I can reload that little ammo. I have a shotgun which I do target shooting and um... yea those are cheap enough. Now I just purchased my Rem 700 308, and my AR15 Stag Mod 3 , so im planning on shooting those often. Especially my 556 . We have a monthly shooting date with the co-workers and we shoot all types of guns, last meet up alone we had about 40-50 guns, with everyone. From world war 1 to newest guns. BUT no one reloads and we literally just collected all the casings and threw it away so I figure I can pack that up next time and start selling them back to my friends for a fraction of what they would buy new for. Ofcourse covering my cost for powder and etc.

Question #2. How many different Calibers do you shoot..?

Myself, 5.7x28 , 12gauge, 556, 308


Question #3. Can you buy a years worth of ammo right now..?
Yes actually looking to get a box of 1k at the moment just trying to see which one.


Question #4. How much would it cost to buy a years worth of ammo today including shipping..?

Still looking but right now around 600 for 556 1k


Question #5. How much would it cost to buy 1 years worth of reloading components today (Primers, Powder & Bullet Heads) include Hazmat Fees..?

Guess I would have to find out a good poswer and head combo

Question #6. How much spare time to you have each week..?

Each week? not sure but I figure I would only need 1 day prior to our shoot meetup to get my ammo together


Question #7. Estimate the total cost of the reloader, a set of dies for each caliber that you want to reload, a brass tumbler, a brass separator, plastic bullet boxes, a dial caiber & a suitable work bench...

Will do



OK so now you know approximately what it will cost to get started...

Compare that to what it would cost for a years worth of ammo..?

Plan on your new hobby being fun, but using all your spare time...

BTW you'll spend a LOT more time making ammo than you will shooting...

Now you can make your decision... [/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/QUOTE]

 

[byf43]

OK OK so im getting alot of feedback, this is great. So now the question... I am interested in the loadmaster style as in you crank the handle and the machine shifts everything to each stage and spits it out, what I want to know is brand? LEE? RCBS? DILLON, ETC? My co-worker is telling me RCBS

For a progressive...... DILLON. Period.

They advertise (and stand behind) these words: Lifetime No B.S. Warranty.

Dillon Precision is a fantastic machine!!!!!!!! I have only timed myself once, on how many rounds I could produce, per hour.
I had just come back from vacation, and needed some ammo for a match.
I was doing laundry and loading.

348 rounds per hour, not even 'rushing' things.
These were .45 acp rounds that I was loading.

I do highly recommend that you start with a single-stage press, to truly learn the basics. (I still use mine, when working up loads, no matter which caliber!)

For that, I recommend the RCBS RockChucker.

Both the RCBS and the Dillon will serve you for many, many decades.

 

[A. Wayne]

Why do you think you won't be able to load the 5seven?

 

[azuluza]

Why do you think you won't be able to load the 5seven?

Saw some info online stating that its so small that getting the right mix,etc will be a hassle, I wouldnt mind reloading though that ammo is expensive

 

[Kelson1066]

My Dillon 550 cranks out a few hundred rounds an hour. It does NOT use up all my spare time.

The same applies to the lee turret press. If you need to do low volume and don't want to spend too much money I recommend this. I kick out about 100+ rounds of 223 per hour after I get everything dialed in and I do powder and case checks every 10th round.

The lee turret press kit is currently available for $219.95 from Kempf and contains most of what you need to get started with your 308. You will need a good scale and a pair of calipers.

Just remember a lot of your time may be taken up by case prep and since you will have the components on hand you may just end up shooting a lot more.

This post is a sticky on the reloading forum. It may answer a lot of your questions.

http://www.mdshooters.com/showthread.php?t=95290

 

[stu929]

I have some 308 dies listed in the classifieds

 

[stu929]

My Dillon 550 cranks out a few hundred rounds an hour. It does NOT use up all my spare time.

Are you advocating a dillon 550 for a brand new rifle reloader?

I have a single stage and I am a little dissapointed with how long somw batches take. Then again I like my fingers and eyes right where they are!

 

[stu929]

[
Question #1. How many rounds did you shoot in the last 12 months..?
Well I've been shooting my FN Five Seven more often but I doub't I can reload that little ammo. I have a shotgun which I do target shooting and um... yea those are cheap enough. Now I just purchased my Rem 700 308, and my AR15 Stag Mod 3 , so im planning on shooting those often. Especially my 556 . We have a monthly shooting date with the co-workers and we shoot all types of guns, last meet up alone we had about 40-50 guns, with everyone. From world war 1 to newest guns. BUT no one reloads and we literally just collected all the casings and threw it away so I figure I can pack that up next time and start selling them back to my friends for a fraction of what they would buy new for. Ofcourse covering my cost for powder and etc.
[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

[/QUOTE]

You cannot legally sell reloded ammo unless you have a license to produce it. Secondly before you plan on manufacturing all this ammo you need go and learn how to do it safely. Not trying to come across as rude but lets assume you sell some ammo to a friend which is illegal in the first place and it blows up in thier face. If you don't think they won't take you to the cleaners you are wrong. Be very careful how you proceed with this.

 

[trickg]

I'm not sure I'd ever want to do rifle rounds (maybe with the exception of .223 to be used in an AR) on anything other than single stage. Then again, a progressive press removes much of the human element where a lot of brain-fart kinds of errors can occur.

 

[Traveler]

Are you advocating a dillon 550 for a brand new rifle reloader?

I have a single stage and I am a little dissapointed with how long somw batches take. Then again I like my fingers and eyes right where they are!

You can run the 550 as a single stage. There really is not as much drama as some make it out to be. You manually index. Just don't do more than one at a time until you get the hang of it. I don't use the powder station for my 30-06 since I am using Varget right now, which doesn't tend to meter well. Once you get your process in place, rock and roll. I love how quickly and safely I can crank out hundreds of 223, 9mm, and 45 Auto rounds.

 

[Biggfoot44]

Ah , the single vs progressive debate.

Old School handloaders will always like to start people on single stages so as for them to understand all the processes and theory inside out. Some people happily stay with singles for some or all of their loading.

The biggest single difference is that a progressive is best for when you have an established load for a particular cal , and intend to crank out large quanities of that loading. Single stage is much better for working up loads , experementing with different powders , charges , bullets , and seating depths.

As Bfy43 pointed out this isn't an either/ or . Plenty of people with progressives also have at least one single set up on the bench , and activly use both.

A turret press splits the catagories. It can be used as a pure single stage , or as a quasi-progressive. In q-p mode it can opperate at 2-3 times the rate of a single. For some people this is a good trade off of speed of production and speed of adjustments and cal changes. Heck , if you engage in benchrest type brass preperation , you can spend endless hours on just that..

To sell or give away ammunition requires Federal liscensing as an Ammunition Manufacturer. Letting other people fire your ammo in your presence for free should sidestep the liscensing issues , but in the modern litigous society , could bite you in the butt even if it wasn't your fault.

And a classic trueism is that you will never spend less money on ammunition. You will shoot at lot more for about the same.

 

[Glock30Eric]

Be prepared to spend $2k at least to get everything set up for reloading, if you want to reload for multi-calibers.

 

[byf43]

You cannot legally sell reloded ammo unless you have a license to produce it. Secondly before you plan on manufacturing all this ammo you need go and learn how to do it safely. Not trying to come across as rude but lets assume you sell some ammo to a friend which is illegal in the first place and it blows up in thier face. If you don't think they won't take you to the cleaners you are wrong. Be very careful how you proceed with this.[/QUOTE]

^^^This..... x 10,000.

 

[byf43]

Here's a video done by a man named "GioaJack".
He recently passed away.
He was very well known on a bunch of forums, and is one funny guy!!!!
(Notice how much equipment he has!!)


[YT]YcT6Tyv4Unw[/YT]

Note: This is pure SATIRE!!!!!!!

And just in case you didn't get enough satire, here's Part II!!
[YT]0Esf-fUo9Qk[/YT]

 

[FlatsFlite]

I'll differ from the rest and plug the Lee Loadmaster as a great first press.

1) Great leverage; as good as a Rockchucker which I owned for 15 years.
2) Pull the indexing bar and it becomes a single stage press
3) Loosen the set screw and it is now a turret press.

For a $150, you can have a solid and very adaptable press.



And to set the record straight:

A Lee Loadmaster doesn't require any more tweaks than any other press if you leave the case feeder off. The Lee case feeder is a royal pain in the arse. I use one for cranking out massive quantities of pistol ammo, but I make damn sure I load every empty case on the shelf and run out of bullets before switching to a larger or smaller feeder. I hate adjusting the case feeder.

Lee's primer system is also the fastest and easiest to change, but you have to keep it clean. A powder spill will stop your process in a hurry.

Caliber changes (minus case feeder) are quicker than any other press. A turn of a set screw; remove the turret, drop in new turret; tighten set screw. One nut to change both the shell plate and primer system. (In fairness, I have complete turrets with all dies ready to go.)

 

[sgt23preston]

Are you advocating a dillon 550 for a brand new rifle reloader?

I have a single stage and I am a little dissapointed with how long somw batches take. Then again I like my fingers and eyes right where they are!

Sgt Preston here...

I started reloading on day 1 with a Dillon 550...

I'm an older guy, a retired mechanical engineer & I'm very mechanically inclined...

The Dillon 550 is pretty straight forward & I took to it like a duck to water...

However I would NOT recommend it as a first machine to someone who:

#1. Has not read up on & does NOT fully understand the Reloading Process...

OR

#2. Is NOT good with mechanical stuff & tools...

Remember also that you will be building bombs that will explode 6" from your eyes...

So you also need to be very safety conscious...

 

[mike_in_md]

Sgt Preston here...

The Dillon 550 is pretty straight forward & I took to it like a duck to water...

However I would NOT recommend it as a first machine to someone who:

#1. Has not read up on & does NOT fully understand the Reloading Process...

OR

#2. Is NOT good with mechanical stuff & tools...

Remember also that you will be building bombs that will explode 6" from your eyes...

So you also need to be very safety conscious...

I'll take it one step further and say that I would suggest that a person that can not meet 1 or 2 should not reload at all. So... unless you are loading no more than around 2K a year, you should get a progressive reloading press as your 1st reloading press.