Reloading/Possible ammo Ban

[Mike357]

Hey all,

I am not an experienced reloader, and actually I have sold some of my stuff to fund other projects and want to sell the rest. My dad thinks that I should keep it so that I will still have the ability to make ammo, since he thinks that an ammo ban is in the future. I do not reload often enough to make it cost effective for my purposes in my opinion, but after what my dad said, I thought about keeping it just because, but for 38spl/357mag I have priced supplies and I would save money. Right now 9mm and 12g is cheap enough for me and others to buy, and thats why I have thought about selling all of my reloading supplies. So my question to my fellow Calgunners and Californians is: Is there a feeling out there that an ammo ban is in the future, and does anyone think that reloading supplies will be affected?

[Spetsnazos]

not even close...stop worrying

[slopoke]

As far as 12ga goes, I agree that if you don't shoot competitions and a ton of practice, ammo at either Walmart or Bass Pro is a good choice rather than reload. For 9mm however, I can reload 100 for roughly $14.00 per hundred and the Walmart 9mm Winchester White box is roughly $23.99 plus tax if I remember correctly. At a savings of $10.00 per box, it's worth it to me and the larger calibers of both handgun and rifles are a bigger cost savings, roughly 50% or more compared to match ammo in 30-06 and .308 calibers that I shoot. If you never intend to shoot larger metallic calibers than the current 9mm, then it's a matter of is $10.00 a box difference mattering. But then if poo poo hits the fan and you can't get factory ammo and you don't have stockpile, what are you going to do? If there is ever an ammo ban, then reloading will be a huge savings because the stores will raise prices because they have you over a barrel so to speak.

[sonnyt650]

To be honest I thought California would never have passed AB962, and even if the legislature did it would have died under the Governor's line-item veto. As a result of that stupidity I became convinced this government is the epitome of a nanny state, and I don't see any changes in the near future. As convoluted as the laws are for rifles and magazines (let alone stuff I have no interest in), I think some form of ammunition limitation is inevitable. Reloading is one way to reduce the impact of an overreaching local government.

[TERRYGER]

for the little bit of money you will get for resale why bother? you never can tell what may be down the road. you won't be able to buy it back for that price.

dad's have more experience in this dept.

pay attention to him

[shmeddie]

I think anybody who shoots centerfire pistols and rifles will benefit from reloading. After your initial investment of less than $200 you will at least cut your cost of reloading your ammo in half. I shoot .45acp and refuse to pay $20-$25 for a box of 50rds. I've cut my cost down to $0.18 a round vs $.50 a round of factory ammo. My match grade .308 win ammo is about $0.50 a round vs at least $0.99 around for federal gold match. With the money you currently use to buy ammo, you can shoot more.

[killshot44]

I do not reload often enough to make it cost effective for my purposes in my opinion, but after what my dad said, I thought about keeping it just because

You already know the answer. Sell the gear and buy your ammo.
Should you ever decide to get back into it, you already know what you need/don't need.

[jdg30]

I wouldn't get rid of your reloading equipment because it has many more advantages in keeping it than it does selling it. Here's a few I can think of: 1. If you sell it you will only get a fraction of what it would cost to replace it if/when you decide that you would want to. 2. Reloading ammo is a lot cheaper if you get into shooting more often. 3. You can tailor different loads that give you way more variety than standard factory ammunition ever will. 4. In an ammo shortage you won't feel the effects. 5. Reloading is a fun and rewarding hobby.

I got into reloading a while back and I would never return to only buying factory ammo. I almost cringe when I think of buying boxes of factory ammo at the store because I literally feel like I'm blowing my money away. With reloading I barely think twice about firing off 50-100 rounds of .45/.38/.357 etc. because I know I can reload it again at a fraction of the cost. If I bought it in the store it would be like going through $30+ in a matter of minutes.

[mif_slim]

There can be, who knows? a lot of shooters all of a sudden heard about the AB962 to their suprise when they decided to go buy ammo and was asked to be finger printed.

Honeslty, even though there are thousands of members on Calguns.net, theres problably tens of thousand gun owners that do not know about gun laws etc because they have other hobbies too. So after 10 yeras of not shooting they decide to and see something like the AB962, their confused.

my point is, it can happen or it can not happen...but knowing how good our cal gov is, its always a 50/50, so, save your reloading kit or sell it to me. I'll sell it back at the same price when you need it. haha.

[Whiterabbit]

for the little bit of money you will get for resale why bother? you never can tell what may be down the road. you won't be able to buy it back for that price.

dad's have more experience in this dept.

pay attention to him

Hi Mike,

Do you own a fishing pole? Ever thought about selling it so you can buy fish? They are cheap and readily available in the market, even varieties you'll never be able to get for yourself. The opportunity cost of using the pole will far outweigh the cost of buying at the local market, even if the quality is up to snuff. You might even have no plans to ever fish again.

But I'm guessing you'll never get rid of the equipment necessary to fish.


Money aside, tools belong in their own category. They get sold at estate sales because anyone with half a mind won't let them go as long as they live. These aren't your wife's christmas wreaths and holiday decorations, they are enablers and should be valued as such. Even if it's in a box in the corner of the garage collecting dust for the next half a decade.

Practicality should always take a back seat to the enabler. Not because you would. Because you could.

[Cowboy T]

Actually, they're already working on "AB 962, Reloaded" as we speak. Since I reload for not just .38/357, but also .45 Colt, reloading is not only a H-U-G-E cost savings for me, but it also ensures that I actually have ammo. Try getting even .38 Special at Wally World some days, and I've found they'll horse-laugh at you if you ask for .45 Colt.

However...if you're actually not using your tools, then yes, it makes sense to sell them to someone who will. Tools are meant to be used, not just sit around.

[bumpo628]

Hey all,

I am not an experienced reloader, and actually I have sold some of my stuff to fund other projects and want to sell the rest. My dad thinks that I should keep it so that I will still have the ability to make ammo, since he thinks that an ammo ban is in the future. I do not reload often enough to make it cost effective for my purposes in my opinion, but after what my dad said, I thought about keeping it just because, but for 38spl/357mag I have priced supplies and I would save money. Right now 9mm and 12g is cheap enough for me and others to buy, and thats why I have thought about selling all of my reloading supplies. So my question to my fellow Calgunners and Californians is: Is there a feeling out there that an ammo ban is in the future, and does anyone think that reloading supplies will be affected?

How much money do you hope to get by selling your equipment?
How much did it cost you? In other words, what is the replacement cost?

If you sell, then re-buy later:
You might have a good reason to sell if you sell one brand and then buy another.