Reloads

[tmart0311]

Hello, can anyone tell me any pros/cons about reloading their own ammo. I've been thinking about doing this for a few months now. Also can anyone tell me what do I need to, start reloading my own ammo.

[aaronraby1]

save money. greater accuracy. the satisfaction of a job well done.

(i love midway)

look up some RCBS or lee press kits. its going to be a bit of money in the beginning but you will make that back shortly. for example... i spent about 65 bucks a couple weeks ago on powder, bullets and primers for my 300 win mag and loaded 100 rounds.

take about 50 dollars for twenty factory rounds and do the math on how much i saved! plus, my loads give me better groups!

[stphnman20]

Pros - Cheaper (depending on how much you shoot), Reliable and fun to reload..

Cons - Time Consuming and hard to find components.

Well that for me anyways..

[Boots]

I'm with aaronraby1, you save money (after the initial investment) and after my first time shooting my reloads I already noticed an improvement in accuracy.

It can be time consuming... but I look at it as a means to an end. End result... satisfaction, accomplishment and increased knowledge into the hobby I enjoy.

To start... start reading what you can about it. I found watching videos on YouTube to be very helpful and got me over that mental limitation that it's an intimidating process.
It's really all about following processes, follow proven recipes... some experimentation within those limits (is so desired) and having fun at the range knowing it's not costing you as much as the other guy.
Then, equipment! There are quite a few posts here about what to get. This is one of many threads: http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/s...d.php?t=108907
Myself, I went with a Lyman T-Mag II turret press kit. Had most what I needed to get started. (minus primers, bullets, powder & dies)

I started out creating a "shopping" list with the items I thought I would need to get started (but you may find that initial list grow substantially) and then did some online comparisons.
Being that I "online" shopped with Cabela's, I started with them. I then hit up Bass Pros shop and then MidwayUSA.com. In the end, Midway was overall the cheapest. Some things were lower on Cabela's, but overall... you'll save with Midway. And their customer support and shipping is excellent in my opinion.

[tmart0311]

ah, ok.. how hard is it to find things lie powder, primer and that sort?

[sniper5]

I reload for 3 reasons-

To tune the load to the gun for the best accuracy (main reason) or develop custom loads that don't exist commercially (wife uses very light springs in her revolver so Federal primers only, and hates recoil so I have no recoil loads for 6.5x55 Swede and 7.5 MAS and 7.62x51 NATO and light magnums and .38 loads for her revolver.

Save money and thus shoot more (cancels out the savings, tho).

Duplicate obscure military loads that are no longer made, corrosive (I HATE CORROSIVE AMMO), or difficult to find (try finding .32ACP full wad cutters for a Nagant conversion, or no recoil loads for a 6.5x55 Mauser, or 7.5x54 MAS ammo, or 8x56R Hungarian).

Components are readily available in any well equipped gun store, or available from MANY online merchants-I use mainly: grafs.com (flat rate shipping regardless of weight, that's HUGE when you're talking about bulk bullet buys) , midwayusa.com, natchezshooterssupply.com, cabelas.com, and I have a Bass Pro within 5 minutes of my house. There is a hazmat fee of about $20 on primers and powder, but it's a flat rate regardless of amount, so try to either find what you need locally or buy enough to justify the fee. I'll usually wait until things get desperate and buy a couple of 8# kegs and a case or 2 of primers at a time.

In fact for my birthday my wife just bought me a new Lee Classic Turret press with all the bells and whistles for 3 different fully set up turrets including powder measures for each because she felt so bad about me having to spend so much time loading our pistol ammo.

Now there's a keeper!

[XDRoX]

ah, ok.. how hard is it to find things lie powder, primer and that sort?

If you buy online it's easy. When times got bad primers and certain powders were difficult to find, but today things are pretty good again. Certain primers may be a little hard to find, but if you look around you'll find them.

Just buy 10K primers and an 8lb jug of powder. That should load around 10 thousand pistol rounds. You'll be set for a while.

[Killawhale415]

Pros - Cheaper (depending on how much you shoot), Reliable and fun to reload..

Cons - Time Consuming and hard to find components.

Well that for me anyways..

+1
Also the initial cost can put you off depending on what setup you want to go with, id suggest getting a lee handloading kit or a lee hand press to start out.
When you reload your own ammo you get the satisfaction of a job well done too.

[tmart0311]

alright, a little bit off the question. How long does it take to do say, 10 rounds of .223 or .40s&w?

[Killawhale415]

That absolutely depends on you set up.
With a multi stage turret press you can produce ammo farly quick but with a single stage process ie:single stage press, handloading or a hand press it can be pretty time consuming.

[tmart0311]

oh, alright. does any one here recommend a certain type of press kit for a beginner?

[chickenfried]

pros:
Able to shoot a whole lot more. Now I stop shooting when I'm tired of shooting, not because I ran out or can't afford ammo.
fun and relaxing
better quality than the cheap factory ammo (wwb, wolf, american eagle, etc,)

Cons:
Initial start up costs
Higher possiblitlity of squbs or double charge compared with factory ammo. That's within your control but we're only human.

Check out the stickies by ar15barrels on starting up.

[zfields]

For me, its spending more time then just on the firing line in the sport.

I love my lee 1000, that said, i think its a ***** to start with.

I know im getting togather with a guy I shoot with up your way coming up in the next month or so and bringing my lee progressive and my lee single stage up to show him some basics. I could check and see if hes willing to have another person join in.

[Killawhale415]

I think a great beginner press would be the lee single stage press or even the challenger kit(Lee press with scale, case trimmer etc.) solely based on the price.
Its so cheap that if reloading isnt your thing your only in it for a couple hundred bucks

[XDRoX]

oh, alright. does any one here recommend a certain type of press kit for a beginner?

Really depends on how much you want to spend.
The Lee Classic Turret is a great press for a low price.

A single stage press will load 50 rounds an hour.
A turret press will load 250 an hour.
A progressive will load 500 an hour.