Cheaper to buy Factory Ammo??

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Mark_Mark said:
What are we going tondo with the mountain of brass we have collected over the years. I would hate to see them go scrap yard
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The scrapper gets all the stretched out primer pocket, cracked neck, stuff that is no longer reloadable. The rest is used or gifted or traded to fellow reloaders. When you cant find brass anywhere you can really help out a fellow loader.
 
AJC1 said:
The scrapper gets all the stretched out primer pocket, cracked neck, stuff that is no longer reloadable. The rest is used or gifted or traded to fellow reloaders. When you cant find brass anywhere you can really help out a fellow loader.
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My brass will not be going to the scrappers. I’m just worried my kids will dumb it there, when I’m gone！ then I’ll haunt them for life
 
Archie said:
Sounds almost right. I am familiar with the Petersen Device. Designed by John Petersen (not 'Peterson') the same man who designed the (original) Model 51 .32 ACP Remington pistol of long ago.
There are three serious problems with the idea.
One, the device was destroyed en masse by the Army except for a few kept for the Ordnance department (Museum, probably). According to all the literature, there are very few left and and are rather spendy collector's items. No one makes replicas devices to my knowledge. Advertised on one auction website, expecting $25 to $30 THOUSAND for the winning price.
Two, presuming one obtains a Petersen Device, it only works on M1903 Springfield rifles that have been modified to fit the device. Among possibly other things, an ejection slot in the left side of the receiver. I do not have such a rifle, and they are collector's items and cost more than a pristine M1903 Springfield and that's more than I want to spend.
Three, the Petersen Device was NOT chambered for .32 ACP. It was chambered referred to by the U. S. Army as "Cal .30 Auto, Pistol Ball Cartridges, Model of 1918". Labelling them as 'Pistol' cartridges was primarily to conceal the true of the ammunition from the enemy to my knowledge. The design and shape of the cartridge looked like a pistol round, much like the later .30 M1 Carbine round. It was not the same as the .30 M1 Carbine round, either.
The round was designed specially for this use only. According to some stories, it was later used by the French as the prototype for the French .32 long pistol round for the French pistol 1935A and a submachinegun and so on.
The ammo used to be available as surplus. I found some ads on the internet, about $30.00 plus shipping for 50 rounds.

So the idea is not cheaper than reloading for a rifle. Not a bad thought except for that.
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I did not mean to suggest buying an original was economically viable. There are many such sub cal devices available for a great multitude of firearms. The concept is sound & dose have a precedent.
 
Yeah, fair enough. Still not going to work for me. Happily I have components and dies. And established data for most of it. I just do see any sense in loading standard factory fare in normal times for ammo I can buy cheaper.
 
On tools and targets the guy got excited about buying some 44 mag hornaday critical defense for 2 bucks a round. I was appreciating my dies the rest of the day after seeing that. He was excited because none had been available at all in over a year. I shoot way to much for those kinds of problems.
 
AJC1 said:
On tools and targets the guy got excited about buying some 44 mag hornaday critical defense for 2 bucks a round. I was appreciating my dies the rest of the day after seeing that. He was excited because none had been available at all in over a year. I shoot way to much for those kinds of problems.
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I way on Gods Green Earth am I ever paying $2 for ammo
 
gifbohane said:
Do you have any idea what they will pay you for say 223? They are not bashful about the price they are selling it to you... 15 cents a case.
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todays value, I have no clue. I have not used them in a while now, and metals recycle value is alwasy fluctuating. Im also not sure if they recycle it (melt) or if they use it for reloads. but they do pay by the weight. so if you dont have that much weight then the return will be small as well.

You might want to try to contact them and ask those exact questions, sorry I could not be of more help.
 
I always thought it would be cool to just melt down brass and make a bronze age reproduction sword. And to me more daring, make a helmet, spearpoint, and arrow points.
 
AJC1 said:
On tools and targets the guy got excited about buying some 44 mag hornaday critical defense for 2 bucks a round. I was appreciating my dies the rest of the day after seeing that. He was excited because none had been available at all in over a year. I shoot way to much for those kinds of problems.
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You should tell your friend to take up casting. A hollow point bullet with 2% tin and cast from a Lyman or NOE bullet mold for example will expand about as good as those bullets and after buying the tools, it can make a lot more! If he's one who appreciates tools - he'll realize that casting is a good option.
 
Sometimes its worth saving your brass and trading it. I did this recently with 9mm brass with a headstamp I didn't want and got WW lead in exchange. Here in CA, WW is like gold. It's hard to get. Decades ago when the .40 was becoming popular I collected a lot of it. I boxed it up and shipped it to Europe and traded for brass I had a hard time finding. I now have to large 50cal cans of 6.5x55 and was working on 7.5 Swiss when I stopped.
 
Mark_Mark said:
What are we going tondo with the mountain of brass we have collected over the years. I would hate to see them go scrap yard
Click to expand...
As a reloader, I collected all the brass I could. Then I felt bad having orphaned brass lying there and bought a gun for them. Now I feel bad for the brass and the gun. I just can't find all the bullets or afford them. So, I've taken up bullet casting to make the cartridge Whole again. I test load so much for all those calibers I now have, I can't shoot too much. Even then, I think I have enough bullets to pair up with the brass. Primers and powder are my concern now.
 
BJung said:
You should tell your friend to take up casting. A hollow point bullet with 2% tin and cast from a Lyman or NOE bullet mold for example will expand about as good as those bullets and after buying the tools, it can make a lot more! If he's one who appreciates tools - he'll realize that casting is a good option.
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The channel is on YouTube and I dont know the guy. I personally do exactly as you state with an noe mold. I was aghast with that price.
 
CQB45ACP said:
Click bait!!! You sir are a greater provocateur than Vladimir Putin!

First I challenge a couple of your assumptions which go directly to costs.

1. Why FMJ and not plated? I doubt many if any can tell the difference when shooting. Everglades has plated at about 3/4 the cost as I write this. Coated are even less.

2. Why new brass? Range brass from Everglades (for instance) is half the cost of new and is available as I write this. (Pickup is next to nothing provided it’s available)

But your biggest assumption is we’re in this for cost savings. That is the greatest affront of all! I demand the satisfaction!
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1. I load 147 grain subsonic 9mm. RMR 147 grain FMJ bullets are pretty much the same price as Berry's plated bullets... around $0.10 each, or $100-ish/1000. If you do decide to push the velocity of the Berry's bullets, accuracy will suffer.

2. Agreed. I had a bucket of around 1500 9mm range brass. Probably 15-20 different head stamps. lol But it works just fine.

Loaded ammo averages $0.40 per round with shipping/tax, etc. Using range brass, $0.10 bullets, $0.10 primers and 3.8 grains of HP38/Win 231 ($0.02 at $40/lb)... Grand total is $0.22/rd. Plus, you can load the ammo however you want. I like subsonic out of a Pistol Caliber Carbine, and even shelf 147 grain is supersonic out of my 10.5" barrel... so there ya' go.

To make a decision... You either have the money for factory ammo, the time to reload... or you just need a specific flavor in your desired cartridge.
 
AJC1 said:
The channel is on YouTube and I dont know the guy. I personally do exactly as you state with an noe mold. I was aghast with that price.
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I figure some shooters have deep pockets or don't care about how they spend their money.
 
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