mr_goodbomb
member
- Joined
- Jul 27, 2009
- Messages
- 177
I'd like to know how much startup would be to reload for .38 or .357.
Cheapest .38 special ammo.
- Thread starter Jim NE
- Start date
- Status
sixgunner455
Member
- Joined
- Aug 25, 2006
- Messages
- 3,052
Depends on what equipment you buy. There are three basic types of presses - Single stage, Turret, and Progressive. Most people start with a Single or Turret. Many just stay there, but for producing lots of pistol ammo in a hurry, nothing can beat the production rate of the good progressive presses. Single stages are generally the least expensive, and progressives tend to be the most.
You need a press. You need dies for the caliber you're going to reload for - get .38/.357 dies, a set that will load both, not just .357, no matter how good a sale the set is on. Trust me. It's annoying to have a bunch of .38 cases, and only a .357 die set. You need a shell holder - some dies come with one, others don't. You need some way of measuring powder accurately. You need a scale. You need some means of priming the cases. You need cases, powder, bullets, and primers.
You also need a reloading manual. You need to read it several times.
Lee equipment is usually the cheapest, and you can usually get a single stage press, one set of dies, and some other stuff in a package deal for a pretty good price from them. Everything they make works. Some people don't like their stuff because of price, or design preferences, but what they make does work, usually quite well.
I have a very entry-level single stage Lee press. I also have a Redding T7. No comparison between the two, the Redding is much, much nicer, but it is also quite expensive. I haven't used a Lee turret, but I understand that they work well, too.
There are lots of other brands. Redding, RCBS, Lyman, Dillon - all make good stuff.
You should be able to get into a basic Lee equipment setup for about $150 or so. Any other brand will probably be more than that. The list price for my Redding, for example, is over $400 (I got it at an estate sale for a paltry amount).
I suggest that you set a budget, shop, ask opinions. Then, buy one and try it out.
You need a press. You need dies for the caliber you're going to reload for - get .38/.357 dies, a set that will load both, not just .357, no matter how good a sale the set is on. Trust me. It's annoying to have a bunch of .38 cases, and only a .357 die set. You need a shell holder - some dies come with one, others don't. You need some way of measuring powder accurately. You need a scale. You need some means of priming the cases. You need cases, powder, bullets, and primers.
You also need a reloading manual. You need to read it several times.
Lee equipment is usually the cheapest, and you can usually get a single stage press, one set of dies, and some other stuff in a package deal for a pretty good price from them. Everything they make works. Some people don't like their stuff because of price, or design preferences, but what they make does work, usually quite well.
I have a very entry-level single stage Lee press. I also have a Redding T7. No comparison between the two, the Redding is much, much nicer, but it is also quite expensive. I haven't used a Lee turret, but I understand that they work well, too.
There are lots of other brands. Redding, RCBS, Lyman, Dillon - all make good stuff.
You should be able to get into a basic Lee equipment setup for about $150 or so. Any other brand will probably be more than that. The list price for my Redding, for example, is over $400 (I got it at an estate sale for a paltry amount).
I suggest that you set a budget, shop, ask opinions. Then, buy one and try it out.
Stainz
Member
The reloaded ZERO ammo is 148gr lead WCHB - and runs $7.99/50 at the locally owned 'Mark's Outdoors'. I have thousands of lead loads left from my older lead .38 loads and just don't care to buy more lead in 148gr LWCHB. I want some for 'lite recoil' carry ammo for my wife. At $.16/each, it isn't a bad price for 'commercial' ammo. I bought two boxes yesterday - they had plenty, too.
BTW, checking Midway for 148gr LHBWC bullets this AM:
Hornady $24.95/250 - $.10/ea
Speer $36.99/500 - $.074/ea
Remington $41.99/500 - $.084/ea
Add $.013 for powder and $.03+ for a primer, each round will run $.117-.143 vs $.16 for the ZERO loaded ammo. Of course, the rolling your own cost assumes you have a cache of your own empty cases - or range sweepings - to use - and doesn't include ancillary necessities like polishing media, case lube(I avoid this by using straight wall cases only - and carbide sizers.), containers for the reloaded ammo, etc. Then there is amortizing the cost of the equipment...
I started reloading 11/02 when I realized what .45 Colt ammo, my main calber, was costing me - and that I had bagged up 2,700+ empties stored under my workbench. By the time I reloaded >2,000 of those cases, at the employee prices I paid for the 'cowboy' rounds, I had paid for the equipment and reloading supplies. Further/future reloads would cost just supplies - and dies! My first - and still only - press is a Dillon 550B progressive. Pricey, but quality - and a great warranty. I started a new hobby - and soon made ammo in calibers I didn't own!
To be blunt, rationalize the cost of reloading anyway you want... it is another hobby - one that allows you to shoot more - not shoot for 'less'. It excells at that best when it is a less popular caliber than .38 Special, 9 mm, or .45 ACP - calibers like .44 Special or .45 Colt, for example.
Stainz
BTW, checking Midway for 148gr LHBWC bullets this AM:
Hornady $24.95/250 - $.10/ea
Speer $36.99/500 - $.074/ea
Remington $41.99/500 - $.084/ea
Add $.013 for powder and $.03+ for a primer, each round will run $.117-.143 vs $.16 for the ZERO loaded ammo. Of course, the rolling your own cost assumes you have a cache of your own empty cases - or range sweepings - to use - and doesn't include ancillary necessities like polishing media, case lube(I avoid this by using straight wall cases only - and carbide sizers.), containers for the reloaded ammo, etc. Then there is amortizing the cost of the equipment...
I started reloading 11/02 when I realized what .45 Colt ammo, my main calber, was costing me - and that I had bagged up 2,700+ empties stored under my workbench. By the time I reloaded >2,000 of those cases, at the employee prices I paid for the 'cowboy' rounds, I had paid for the equipment and reloading supplies. Further/future reloads would cost just supplies - and dies! My first - and still only - press is a Dillon 550B progressive. Pricey, but quality - and a great warranty. I started a new hobby - and soon made ammo in calibers I didn't own!
To be blunt, rationalize the cost of reloading anyway you want... it is another hobby - one that allows you to shoot more - not shoot for 'less'. It excells at that best when it is a less popular caliber than .38 Special, 9 mm, or .45 ACP - calibers like .44 Special or .45 Colt, for example.
Stainz
snooperman
Member
- Joined
- May 4, 2009
- Messages
- 2,143
As a reloader I can buy into what Stainz is saying here..
Here at my farm , I have my own range and shoot about 3 days a week. At age 70 and semi-retired I shoot a great deal but have other things to do besides reload everything. Lately I have bought a lot of 38 special wadcutter ammo from Mastercast by sending them my brass and it comes to about $8.50 a box. Like he said I spend more time reloading my 45 Colt ammo and several others that are way too expensive to buy. I reload 45-70 rifle, 44 magnum, 44 special, 45 Colt, 357 magnum , 32-40, and 38-55 ---all too expensive to buy. I also buy 9mm too, in bulk.
Here at my farm , I have my own range and shoot about 3 days a week. At age 70 and semi-retired I shoot a great deal but have other things to do besides reload everything. Lately I have bought a lot of 38 special wadcutter ammo from Mastercast by sending them my brass and it comes to about $8.50 a box. Like he said I spend more time reloading my 45 Colt ammo and several others that are way too expensive to buy. I reload 45-70 rifle, 44 magnum, 44 special, 45 Colt, 357 magnum , 32-40, and 38-55 ---all too expensive to buy. I also buy 9mm too, in bulk.
Stainz
Member
Reloading allows me to do some rather hideous things to mostly new .32-20 brass - like take .010+" off the headstamp & .024+" off the rim diameter. The carnage isn't over - I then squish them into a Lee carbide M1 Carbine sizing die - and taper them. A small pistol primer - some powder - a Meister .312" -.314", depending on the revolver it will see, 100gr LDEWC crimped on the top groove, using .32 S&WL dies (... or the Lee 1895 Nagant set!), and I have some homebrew ammo for my 1895 Nagants. Of course, I don't shoot them much - and I found some $21/50 boxes of Servi Pratzi real Nagant rounds, too.
Still, it's fun making ammo for calibers you don't have, too - I first did this with .44 Russians, expecting to purchase a Uberti/Navy Arms S&W #3 copy in .44 Russian. I ended up shooting it in my .44 Specials & Magnums - fun round - I still keep 500-600 made up - just in case. I never shot a .38 or .357M when I got one of each 9/03 - but I had a bunch of ammo ready for them! My .357M & .44M alike are pretty wimpy - my .454 Casull days are behind me. I shoot lots of .38's & .357M's nowadays - the way I want them, another advantage of having your own ammo factory.
Stainz
Still, it's fun making ammo for calibers you don't have, too - I first did this with .44 Russians, expecting to purchase a Uberti/Navy Arms S&W #3 copy in .44 Russian. I ended up shooting it in my .44 Specials & Magnums - fun round - I still keep 500-600 made up - just in case. I never shot a .38 or .357M when I got one of each 9/03 - but I had a bunch of ammo ready for them! My .357M & .44M alike are pretty wimpy - my .454 Casull days are behind me. I shoot lots of .38's & .357M's nowadays - the way I want them, another advantage of having your own ammo factory.
Stainz
Zeke/PA
Member
I am reloading .38's for right around $6.00/box using Missouri Bullets,Bullseye and whatever primers happen to be available.
There's enough brass laying around at our club after a shoot that I'm able to sort per brand with mostly once fired stuff.
There's enough brass laying around at our club after a shoot that I'm able to sort per brand with mostly once fired stuff.
Someone earlier in this thread made a claim that barrel leading happened because of a mismatch between the bullet and the pressure.....
I would argue that you are going to get leading because you either have an out of spec barrel, or you are not loading the correct diameter bullet.
I have seen wheel weight cast bullets shot from rifles with no leading. If your bullet is too small for your barrel you will get leading.
I would argue that you are going to get leading because you either have an out of spec barrel, or you are not loading the correct diameter bullet.
I have seen wheel weight cast bullets shot from rifles with no leading. If your bullet is too small for your barrel you will get leading.
sixgunner455
Member
- Joined
- Aug 25, 2006
- Messages
- 3,052
Stainz, if I could get .38 target ammo for $8/box around here, I probably wouldn't load many of them, either, but I haven't found it that cheap in a long, long time. It's about $18/50. If I could still get 9mm loaded ammo for $10-$11/100, I would still buy that rather than load it, but it's all $23-$30/100 now. They're what I shoot most in center fire, and I can load them all I want at under $6/50, so that's what I do.
evan price
Member
Reloading 38 special is about the easiest reloading job there ever possibly could be. It's a very forgiving caliber, info is commonly available, your cases last almost forever, and the expense of new factory ammo easily makes an inexpensive reloading setup affordable.
Using purchased components at current prices- primers are three cents each. Powder is a penny. A fired case purchased here in the Marketplace will cost maybe five cents. You should be able to have your choice of bullets for a dime a piece. That's ninteen cents per round, or a box of 50 rounds for $9.50.
At first that seems high because you are buying the cases upfront; bear in mind the DO literally last darn near forever so once you buy them you'll have them to reload over and over and over and over again.
I'm fortunate (Hah!) to be able to cast my own bullets. I do so with free lead so bullets cost me nothing. I use a fairly energetic powder so I can use a small charge and get 2000 rounds loaded from a pound of powder. I buy primers in bulk and save on volume pricing. I get brass from the gun range I shoot at from people who do not reload.
My price to load 38 special right now is right around 3 cents a round. That's $1.50 a box of 50 loaded rounds. That's about the same price as shooting .22's!
Using purchased components at current prices- primers are three cents each. Powder is a penny. A fired case purchased here in the Marketplace will cost maybe five cents. You should be able to have your choice of bullets for a dime a piece. That's ninteen cents per round, or a box of 50 rounds for $9.50.
At first that seems high because you are buying the cases upfront; bear in mind the DO literally last darn near forever so once you buy them you'll have them to reload over and over and over and over again.
I'm fortunate (Hah!) to be able to cast my own bullets. I do so with free lead so bullets cost me nothing. I use a fairly energetic powder so I can use a small charge and get 2000 rounds loaded from a pound of powder. I buy primers in bulk and save on volume pricing. I get brass from the gun range I shoot at from people who do not reload.
My price to load 38 special right now is right around 3 cents a round. That's $1.50 a box of 50 loaded rounds. That's about the same price as shooting .22's!
sixgunner455
Member
- Joined
- Aug 25, 2006
- Messages
- 3,052
Wow, evan. maybe i should start casting!
I have bought cast lead and swaged bullets from GA Arms and was well satisfied with the product and the people I dealt with. I haven't tried their loaded ammo because I reload practically every round I shoot, but based on my experience with GA Arms bullets I'm reasonably sure that it would be good ammo for casual shooting.
If you're relatively new to guns and ammo in general it might be a good idea to start out buying ammo such as GA Arms reloads, but if you shoot much you will probably get into reloading before very long. You can buy enough Lee basic reloading tools for under $100-$125 to get started handloading good quality ammo, and as you get farther into the game you can add more advanced tools to make it easier and faster to reload. I started reloading in 1962 with a very basic set of Pioneer tools for reloading shotgun shells, then soon started reloading for my rifles and handguns after seeing how much money I could save on shotgun shells that killed quail and dove just as dead as the factory made shells. Although I have a home made shooting range on my property I don't shoot nearly as much these days since I have had serious problems with my eyes, and not being able to hit what I want to hit is discouraging. But even so, over the last 50 years I have probably saved enough money on ammo to pay for a new car, (well, maybe a stripped Kia) and doubt I have spent much more than $300-$400 on tools in all those years. Of course due to inflation those '60's and '70's dollars bought a lot more tools than they would today, but even so the savings I got by reloading were still very significant. If you get into reloading you will find that carefully reloaded ammo made with quality components performs as well as most of what the big ammo companies sell for 3 or 4 times more, and as a bonus you may find that you enjoy handloading your own ammo almost as much as shooting it.
If you're relatively new to guns and ammo in general it might be a good idea to start out buying ammo such as GA Arms reloads, but if you shoot much you will probably get into reloading before very long. You can buy enough Lee basic reloading tools for under $100-$125 to get started handloading good quality ammo, and as you get farther into the game you can add more advanced tools to make it easier and faster to reload. I started reloading in 1962 with a very basic set of Pioneer tools for reloading shotgun shells, then soon started reloading for my rifles and handguns after seeing how much money I could save on shotgun shells that killed quail and dove just as dead as the factory made shells. Although I have a home made shooting range on my property I don't shoot nearly as much these days since I have had serious problems with my eyes, and not being able to hit what I want to hit is discouraging. But even so, over the last 50 years I have probably saved enough money on ammo to pay for a new car, (well, maybe a stripped Kia) and doubt I have spent much more than $300-$400 on tools in all those years. Of course due to inflation those '60's and '70's dollars bought a lot more tools than they would today, but even so the savings I got by reloading were still very significant. If you get into reloading you will find that carefully reloaded ammo made with quality components performs as well as most of what the big ammo companies sell for 3 or 4 times more, and as a bonus you may find that you enjoy handloading your own ammo almost as much as shooting it.
"That's $1.50 a box of 50 loaded rounds. That's about the same price as shooting .22's!"
That's actually a wee bit less than the cost of .22s in my area. I recently saw Federal or Winchester, (don't remember which) .22 HP in 555 round boxes at Walmart for $18.97. That works out to about 3-1/2 cents per round or $1.75 for a 50 round box, and I doubt anybody sells it for much less than WM. I've reloaded for many years, but never got into casting bullets. I have watched it being done, and it seemed like a rather dangerous job to me. But for that kind of savings I may have to look into it again. After factoring in shipping cost I'm paying almost 9 cents each for 200 grain .45 LSWC bullets. I have almost 80 lbs of salvaged lead bullets that I dug out of my backstop logs, and my shirt pocket calculator says that would make about 2800 of those .45 bullets. That means I could save about $250 at the price I'm now paying, and even in today's inflated $$ that aint chicken feed.
Does anyone reading this have any experience with Lee aluminum bullet molds? If so I would like to know your good or bad opinion of them.
That's actually a wee bit less than the cost of .22s in my area. I recently saw Federal or Winchester, (don't remember which) .22 HP in 555 round boxes at Walmart for $18.97. That works out to about 3-1/2 cents per round or $1.75 for a 50 round box, and I doubt anybody sells it for much less than WM. I've reloaded for many years, but never got into casting bullets. I have watched it being done, and it seemed like a rather dangerous job to me. But for that kind of savings I may have to look into it again. After factoring in shipping cost I'm paying almost 9 cents each for 200 grain .45 LSWC bullets. I have almost 80 lbs of salvaged lead bullets that I dug out of my backstop logs, and my shirt pocket calculator says that would make about 2800 of those .45 bullets. That means I could save about $250 at the price I'm now paying, and even in today's inflated $$ that aint chicken feed.
Does anyone reading this have any experience with Lee aluminum bullet molds? If so I would like to know your good or bad opinion of them.
CraigC
Sixgun Nut
I used to have to deal with an indoor range that didn't allow handloads. I just put them into factory boxes. 
You'd be surprised. I buy lots of bulk .22LR ammo from a locally owned sporting goods shop just over the border in Mississippi for about $2 less than Walmart per 500rds. If you buy a case.
Which ain't cheap anymore either!
MCgunner
Member
Yeah, my garage, under 2.50 dollars a box of 50 for quality, hand crafted cast loads.
My lead is free, but there's powder and primers. Last time I bought 1000, I got primers at 35 bucks, that's 3.50 a hundred, that's 1.75 a box just for primers. So, I just figure I'm paying under 2.50 a box and that even accounts for an occasional cracked case.
I'm loading 2.7 grains B'eye and a Lee 148 WC, so powder lasts a long time."Which ain't cheap anymore either!"
You got that right. When I moved out here in the woods 14 years ago I thought I might try raising my own chickens, both for eggs and broilers, but the price of scratch feed and laying mash put the kybosh on that experiment. The fact that this place is running over with sneaky little critters who think God created chickens as appetizers to be eaten before the main course out of my garbage cans also played a part in that decision. I have shot a few coons and possums in daylight out here, but they mostly come around at night and are experts at scooting off into the thick brush as soon as I flip the flood lights on, making it almost impossible to shoot them at night. My wife thinks traps and poisons are cruel, and I don't want a dog barking at his shadow all night, so I guess I'll just put up with the critters and continue trying to find a way to fasten down the lids on my garbage cans in some ingenious way the coons can't figure out how to get around. So far in the IQ contest it's coons 150 and me 0, and that's just on my good days.
You got that right. When I moved out here in the woods 14 years ago I thought I might try raising my own chickens, both for eggs and broilers, but the price of scratch feed and laying mash put the kybosh on that experiment. The fact that this place is running over with sneaky little critters who think God created chickens as appetizers to be eaten before the main course out of my garbage cans also played a part in that decision. I have shot a few coons and possums in daylight out here, but they mostly come around at night and are experts at scooting off into the thick brush as soon as I flip the flood lights on, making it almost impossible to shoot them at night. My wife thinks traps and poisons are cruel, and I don't want a dog barking at his shadow all night, so I guess I'll just put up with the critters and continue trying to find a way to fasten down the lids on my garbage cans in some ingenious way the coons can't figure out how to get around. So far in the IQ contest it's coons 150 and me 0, and that's just on my good days.
Stormin.40
Member
- Joined
- Feb 17, 2011
- Messages
- 477
I have heard good things about Georgia Arms ammo. I havn't purchased any but think that 11.50/50 is a pretty good deal.
I thought that this was reloaded, is it?
I thought that this was reloaded, is it?
evan price
Member
I'm3rd said:
I use Lee molds exclusively. I have used cast iron molds and they work well but they are heavy.
I use the Lee six-cavity molds for all my bullet casting. The only problems I have with them is that aluminum heats up quicker than iron or steel and you might need to cool the molds after every 5-6 casts to keep the bullet cooling time faster. Also they do not take well to abuse and banging around since they are softer than steel. That said, as long as you keep them lubricated properly and clean they will drop thousands of bullets in very little time.
The 2-cavity Lee molds are under $20 and include handles; very inexpensive to get into casting and see if you like it. The six cavity molds are about $40 but you need to buy a set of handles for $15 more. The handles can be switched among your six cav molds so you don't need to buy as many sets.
The problems I've had with Lee molds are:
1. Cavities are not mirror smooth- bullets sometimes don't want to drop out. This can be fixed by casting a bullet in the mold with a screw stuck into the cavity. Then open the mold, sprinkle a tiny bit of Comet cleaner on the bullet, close the mold tight and spin the bullet with a cordless drill back and forth. A couple seconds in each cavity, the mold polishes up shiny.
2. Sprue plate drags on the top of the mold- galls. Lube the sprue plate- I use paraffin candles, but anti seize lube or bullplate lube works good too.
3. Screws come loose- use some blue locktite. Some guys drill and put in a setscrew to lock the screws.
4. Sprue cutter handle shatters- mold wasn't warm enough before you tried to cut the sprue- cast the outside cavities only ,then add more cavities slowly to let the mold heat up.
Last edited:
- Status
