Reloading $$$ saving ideas

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fouled bore

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What do you do to save money reloading? I have heard of home made case lube and home made case cleaners. Other supplies or tools that are not sold or labeled primary as only for reloading but for other purposes.

What do you use?
 
Walnut tumbler media can be bought at pet stores for a fraction of what reloading shops sell it for. Its sold as lizard bedding.

Buy components in large quantities when cheap/on sale. When I say large quantities, I mean large. $1000 order large. Primers by the 10K, powder 24# at a time or more, etc. Bullets in quantities large enough to make the UPS guy HATE you, etc.

Trade range pick up brass of calibers you don't shoot for ones you will reload

Cast your own boolits

Make a bullet trap and sell your lead if casting doesn't interest you

Trade your friends who don't reload a box or 2 of ammo for all their brass-this has gotten me lots of brass
 
I have lots of homemade gadgets for reloading that have "saved" money. Truth be told, I could buy factory ammo for the rest of my life (and my kids life) if I sold all of my equipment.

Picking up range brass saves quite a bit, digging lead out of the berms and casting your own bullets saves even more. The only thing you have to buy then is powder and primers.

I have made case lube and tried different media and built different tumblers but it is the savings into each round that matters the most. Don't worry about spending money on equipment that lasts, almost everything I have now could be sold for more than I paid for it new.
 
There are many opinions on how to save money on reloading. Buying in bulk quantities is one of the easiest. I do make my own case lube because I reload many, many cases each year. Buying and using good equipment saves time and allow for better production results. I only use crushed walnut shells for case cleaning. Try to buy that in several bulk 50 pound bags from sand blast supply dealers. Any of these ideas work only if you reload and shoot alot.
 
My "money saving" efforts begin and end with good prices on supplies. I have no desire to cast my own bullets and buying them is barely cheaper than plated or jacketed.

Avoid Hazmat fees by picking up powder and primers in person when the opportunity arises.
 
Buy in LARGE quantities - I usually buy bullets 2-3,000 at a time. The quantity being based upon price breaks and shipping costs.

For bullets = unless you are casting - I'd recommend coated lead. Load data the same as lead with fewer issues and about the lowest cost/round that you'll find.

Use powders that get you the lowest cost/round. Unless you need to make a specific power factor or want the cleanest residue possible, load light.

Pickup your brass and as much other range brass as you can find.
 
I really believe it's the small stuff that cuts reloading costs. A bullet casting furnace is not costly but an iron pot on a camp stove will work. Look for inexpensive sources for the metal. Lee liquid alox is a great bullet lube and can be thinned out a lot. Scavenge any range brass and look for deals on once-fired cases. The pet store walnut media does the job, as mentioned above. Buy powder and primers in bulk when the price is right. You'll use it up sooner or later. Many of these 'home made' procedures may require more time and effort but they can save money.

One advantage to reloading for a long time is you know which powders you really need and can stock up as possible. In my case that means Bullseye, Unique, Red Dot/Promo, H4227 and a versatile rifle powder like 4895. I rarely load 'hot' rounds so these powders are enough. I could get by without Red Dot and the rifle powder if I had to. It's nice that isn't necessary.

Most of my tools: presses, dies and bullet molds, are from Lee. Some knock Lee gear but I think it is a great value because it does what I need, holds up to a lot of use and is relatively inexpensive. But the cost of gear that will be used for decades is immaterial.

If you shoot black powder, the possibilities for home made items is endless.

Jeff
 
You have been lead astray. There is no money saving in reloading. Once you enter you will buy and buy. Heck you will buy stuff you only think you need. You will buy dies for calibers you don't yet have and then go buy a gun to match it!!;)

The little things are just that, little and cheap. There is no big savings in making lube, how much does it cost and how much do you use?? Peanuts. Same with tumbling media. Folks think it's cheap buying at a pet store. A pet store is like buying stuff for a BOAT. It is expensive.

If you want cheap media Harbor Freight has walnut blasting media and Zoro tools has corn media in 40 lbs bags deliver free to your door. That is enough for the rest of your life,. Not the Lizard bedding.

If you do not care about shiny surgical bras, just wash it in soap and water, add some vinegar, rinse well and let dry. It will be just fine, Use 2 plastic buckets.

Case lube, buy a tube of LEE case lube for less than $2 and mix it with isopropyl alcohol. Or if you want to supply the whole neighborhood go to Lowes and buy Wire pulling lube, Enough for 10 lifetimes,:)

The best way to not spend to much is mentioned above. Buy your powder and primers in bulk online. Yes you plunk down big money but it will save you in the long run.

Buy at least 8lbs or more of powder and 10,000 primers for one haz mat fee.

This is just the consumables, not talking press and dies and all that.
 
Buy powders only in 8# jugs and in multiples of 2 or 4 and add several sleeves of 5000 primers for one hazmat/shipping costs. Many bullet makers have several price breaks - usually the best is at 50K or 100K, but even 2, 5, or 10K will be cheaper than buying 500 at a time.
 
Shoot and cast lead. Buy in bulk. Wash my brass in water before tumbling to preserve the corn cob. Then rinse the corn cob when it finally gets too dusty.
 
Unless you are shooting thousands of round per month I don't see the value of buying powder and primers in massive quantities. I might shoot a thousand rounds a year and buying in such quantities would be a waste in my opinion.

It would be akin to a single person buying enough shopping carts of ketchup, paper towels, sugar, coffee, at Sam's to last for several years. If that works for you, then great. The little it would save would drive me crazy housing all the supplies.
 
You have been lead astray. There is no money saving in reloading. Once you enter you will buy and buy. Heck you will buy stuff you only think you need. You will buy dies for calibers you don't yet have and then go buy a gun to match it!!;)

Have you been talking to my wife?
 
Unless you are shooting thousands of round per month I don't see the value of buying powder and primers in massive quantities.

Until you can't get any for a long time, or, in the case of Hodgdon powders, your favorite might be discontinued.
 
Another vote for buying in bulk. Combining a "large" order among friends makes short work of the hazmat and shipping. Recently we ordered 40 #s of HP38 and 8 #s of Universal. Spread out over 48#s is "cheap".
Some months ago we ordered 40K primers for the group.

On bullets, find the price break point as mentioned above. I.e. Missouri Bullet fits around 2K in a FRB and charges around $14 for shipping. So, order in those multiples to keep shipping reasonable.
 
I'm a full time college student who also works a full time job and has a family. So what I'm trying to say is, I'm freaking broke.
So I have to pinch pennies every chance I get.

When I began casting is when I really became able to shoot handguns as much and as often as I please. The cost of ammo doesn't factor in to whether I go shooting.
I can load 1k .38 Spcl for about $50-$60. And .45 Colts aren't much more.

That's what saves me the big bucks.
 
bullets are the biggest cost. The most of the bullets I have been using are plated, I also have used FMJ. I will be looking into lead and maybe someday casting. Where is everyone getting lead?
 
Buy in quantity; standardize your loads. I've been casting and rolling my own since 1970 and I haven't saved a penny. I did indeed get my cost per round way down but overall, all things considered, I shoot a lot more than if I were shooting strictly factory.

The only way I could truly save any money would be buy selling all my equipment, supplies and components and put my guns on a restrictive factory diet.
 
With pistol rounds, the easiest savings is to go to cast bullets in any application where a specialty bullet is not required, shipped USPS Flat Rate in quantities that fill the box.

You can often buy rifle bullets in bulk, and less desired bullets can be a bargain for plinking such as 147gr FMJ in .308 in my case, except where a specialty bullet is desired.

While buying in bulk is cheaper, don't over buy. If you've got 30 year old bullets, you bought too many!

I buy primers and powders locally, to avoid excessive shipping costs.
 
Unless you are shooting thousands of round per month I don't see the value of buying powder and primers in massive quantities. I might shoot a thousand rounds a year and buying in such quantities would be a waste in my opinion.

It would be akin to a single person buying enough shopping carts of ketchup, paper towels, sugar, coffee, at Sam's to last for several years. If that works for you, then great. The little it would save would drive me crazy housing all the supplies.

Same could be said for buying a more expensive press than you really need.;)

Powder and primers do not go bad if stored correctly. I have powder from before the first "election" while lots of folks are searching and begging for supplies.

If you get into reloading a lot of calibers then yes buy in bulk, If you shoot 100 rounds a year than no.

We buy lots of none perishables at Costco. No TP shortage here!:D
 
The biggest money saving things that I have found is going to the "ranges" and picking up brass. The places that people shoot that are not membership ranges and they leave all their trash there. Can usually find 9mm and 223 rounds by the hundreds every time. Go out every few weeks and clean up the places. Can clean up the brass or leave as is and sell them to people. Pays for more supplies. Then I monitor the sites and try and find supplies that are close out or on clearance. Ex. Got brand new RCBS 505 scale for $45 (normally $120) but they came out with the M500 so they are getting rid of all the old models.
Do couponing at the stores. Take advantage of the sales and not be brand specific. My table is all colors of equipment. Something that doesnt look very nice but works, is using old plastic ice cream containers or sour cream containers to help sort and put brass in. Makes it easy to move and sort. These things help a cheapskate like me be able to reload on a low budget.
 
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