Price of reloading...?

[send it_hit]

Hey all,

I'm thinking of starting to do my own handloading. I've done some research, and the prices of equipment/hardgoods is all over the place. I plan on reloading .40S&W and .308. Probably more as my gun collection grows...

Can anyone give me a price range? Anyone who loads similar ammo? And what kind of equipment would I need? Like I said info on this varies by several hundreds of dollars, and several pieces of expensive equipment...

Thanks!

[SixPointEight]

That's because you can start for less than $200 like me, and run a lee hand press, or you could spend all the way up to several thousand and get a couple matching dillions, one for each caliber.

What's your budget, then we can tell you what equipment you should be looking into

[joelogic]

Dont bother unless you shoot alot (several 1000 a year) or want really good ammo. Prices have come down on ammo. .308 going for $350 a case. I load .308 for $285 a case not including brass. Not much savings when you factor in the time it takes to load 1k of .308.

Plus if everyone starts reloading then component prices will go up.

[SixPointEight]

Dont bother unless you shoot alot (several 1000 a year) or want really good ammo. Prices have come down on ammo. .308 going for $350 a case. I load .308 for $285 a case not including brass. Not much savings when you factor in the time it takes to load 1k of .308.

Plus if everyone starts reloading then component prices will go up.

Yeah that. Reloading sucks

[send it_hit]

lol interesting point joe. and JT, i was thinking like in the $500 range.

[joelogic]

IMHO, reloading equipment really only comes in cheap, expensive, and really expensive.

Cheap:1 box kit, rock chucker and the like
Expensive: Progressive, sure a progressive starts at $500 but wait until you see the fully loaded price.
Really Expensive: Wait until you see the toys the long distance shooters use. That is just the gauge.

http://www.sinclairintl.com/.aspx/sid=71074/pid=37479/sku/Sinclair_Conc__Gauge_w__Digital_Indicator

[send it_hit]

...wow

so anyone seen any good deals on .308 lately?

[CSACANNONEER]

Have you tried doing a little research here yet? There is a search function and this exact topic is covered at least two or three times a week.

[send it_hit]

yeah, I did start delving into it. I just saw numbers and items all over the place, so wanted a little more specifics to what I'd be reloading.

[Oceanbob]

Specifics are good

yeah, I did start delving into it. I just saw numbers and items all over the place, so wanted a little more specifics to what I'd be reloading.

You probably need to decide three things:

1. Your budget.
2. How much you shoot
3. What's your time worth.?

If you're a professional making a decent living perhaps your time is worth getting a Progressive Machine. Something that pumps out 500 to 1200 rounds per hour. A good review (you probably already saw this)

http://www.brianenos.com/pages/dillon.html

[CSACANNONEER]

You can buy everything (except components) you need to reload a single caliber for about $25 if you want to use a Lee Loader. Or, you can spend upwards of $20K on a decent comercial unit.

I would suggest getting a single stage press for .308 and a progressive for .40S&W (if you want to load more than 200 or so rounds a week). It really depends on your budget and the time you want to devote to your new hobby. Why don't you find a class or a local calgunner to get some hands on experience first? If you were closer, I'd offer. Hell, I'll offer anyway but, I'm down by Magic Mountain so, I doubt you'll take me up on the offer.

Another thought would be, after you have a little hands on experience, run up to Sportsman's Whorehouse in Rocklin and fondle a few of their presses, trimmers, scales, etc.

BTW, if cost is important, I suggest starting with something like this:

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/default.aspx?productNumber=140616

You'll also need a trimmer. Since you're just going to trim one caliber, a Possum Hollow trimmer is your best deal! But, don't forget to buy a deburring tool too.

If you are going to use once fired surplus .308 brass, you'll need a way of removing primer crimps too.

After you get a bit of experience, you can get into precision reloading and get all kinds of stuff for brass prep.

I know a guy who has dual +$500 Denver Instruments electronic balances to weigh and re weigh each load. That's a bit too AR for me but not for him.

Lastly, I really like my Dillions but, since you want to load .308, I suggest using a single stage press to start. Also IMHO, some of the "upgrades" listed above are not really "upgrades". I much prefer the stock handle over a roller handle.

[send it_hit]

yep I've got a lot to learn haha. thanks for the info. I need to figure out how much time I actually want to devote to it... very true. I think I'm going to try and put in a lot more trigger time before being worried about re-loading. I'll get there though. Thanks all

[bumpo628]

Here's my two cents:
1. Forget about reloading the .308 at first. Rifle is much more complicated than pistol. Keep buying your ammo and saving the brass until you are ready.

2. Buy a Lee classic turret setup and start reloading the .40 S&W.
Here's how I would get started for about $250 (aside from components):

$110 - Lee 4 Hole Turret Press with Auto Index Deluxe Kit

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/default.aspx?productNumber=622290

$35 - Lee Deluxe Carbide 4-Die Set 40 S&W, 10mm Auto

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/default.aspx?productNumber=622255

You'll also need:
$15 impact puller
$20 dial calipers
$5 reloading tray
$40 to $65 case tumbler
$5 tumbler media from Petco or Walmart

I would take the auto index off this press and learn how to load in single stage first. Later you can put it back on for a little faster production rate. The nice thing about this is that you can start it up for a relatively low cost. Later if you decide to upgrade to a progressive press, this one can always be used either for the .308 or other operations like swaging or bullet sizing. It won't be a waste either way. I like these presses since you can just pull out the turret and change the shellholder to convert to a new caliber. It takes seconds and you don't have to setup your dies again.

[Markus]

This is a good deal too.... it works out to 225 shipped with the upgrades for 40..... No case tumbler though....

[Fiveohmike]

I think all in to pump my first round out was 1200 or so.

I bought a:

Dillon 650xl progressive
3 different calibers (dies and conversion kits)
3 toolheads
calipers
tumbler
case separator
case guages
deburring tools
primer pocker cleaning tools
reloading manuals
case trimmer
some add-ons for the dillon
reloading bench