I just saved $1,000

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Mantis, I don't think you've upset anyone, just been folks expressing differing opinions. Anyway, I get as much enjoyment out of the 'reloading' part as I do the 'unloading' part. There are times when I enjoy reloading more, a lot more - like when it's so hot and humid outside it feels like a big dog is breathing down your neck. :fire:

I'll pick reloading inside with the ac going nearly every time when it's like that. Now tonight I heard the weatherman use the phrase 'fall like' when he was telling the forecast. That sounds like unloading weather to me. :D

ST
 
Mantis I watched the time for a small batch last night on my Lee Classic turret , it was 17.5 minutes for a hundred rounds of 9mm once I was in the rhythm<sp> So 250 an hour is very do able
Sounds like your in the position that maybe the cost of ammo dosen't affect your shooting time, ie: what free time you have is better spent behind a firearm then a press.

Always looking for a good deal on 9mm brass:evil::D
 
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Mantis
I don’t know what you shoot, but I can tell you that for me, I would reload even if there was not a cost savings. Although I am not that good with a rifle, I think it would be hard (harder) to find the true accuracy potential of a round without being able to adjust the charge, powder, seating length, and so on. For me it is pretty much hand loads only.
Steve
 
I have one press that I consider to be fast, a Dillon Square Deal B. I have it set up for .45ACP. I don't go for maximum speed, just smooth rhythm, and I can do 100 rounds in about 15 minutes. I am sure that some folks out there could load faster on the SDB, I probably could if I wanted to, but 100 rounds in 15 minutes is plenty fast for my needs and it doesn't feel like work at that speed.

I do most of my other loading on a Lee Classic Turret. Its a great press, but I generally can't do more than 150 rounds an hour on it. Again, I'm not trying for warp speed though, just smooth operation and consistency.
 
I just started reloading again. I used a Rockchucker back in the '70's. Yeah, I'm saving quite a lot of $$, and I'll spend a few hours a week on my Dillon 550B.

But the main reason is, my Wal-Mart is always out of 9mm and .45.

I don't have that worry about having enough for a shoot. I can now go to the range during the week and pop off 200 rds, or more.:)

Life is Good,:D

A.T.
 
Update: Just spent $30 at the hardware store on lumber and by the end of the weekend I'll have a bona fide loading bench. No more clamping the press to my woodstove; which is actually not too bad a location, just need more room.

As far as time spent reloading, I can do (on a single stage press and measuring every charge) about 50 rounds an hour. Every round weighed, measured, and double checked for perfection. Besides, find me a box of 45 colt that costs $6 and some change per box and will shoot a 8 shot (2 flyers, my fault) ragged hole group. It's like the commercial:

Powder- $20/lb
Primers- $35/1000
Bullets- $34/500
Shooting a ragged hole group with your own ammo- Priceless.

For everything else, there's factory ammo. :)
 
I am a newb and started loading to save money. I live in Cailf in a county where wally- world can't sell ammo. Its hard to get here. I go to the local gun shop and the sporting goods store once a week to see if thev'e got federal champion 22lr (my Buckmark loves that stuff) and I look to see what else is there. I haven't seen any 9,40,45acp,357,or 44mag in months. Sometimes there's 25,32, and some 38spl. If I didn't reload I couldn't shoot. Now, I go sit in the garage, turn on some tunes and get lost for a couple of hours. I enjoy making them as much as I do shooting them. For me it's not about the time, its about knowing I've got stuff in the cupboard to keep me and the wife shooting for months.
 
Mantis:
Using a Lee Classic Turret press (single bullet four steps), I can get about 150 rounds per hour once it is setup (40 S&W). It takes about 15 mins to setup after pulling everything out of boxes in my closet... if you had a nice part of a shop setup that would take no time at all.

My entire expense on reloading equipment is $330. It paid for itself within the first 1000 rounds loaded. With the amount I shoot, even at 150 rounds per hour I'm saving money compared to spending my time at work... and I'm a pretty well paid engineer.
 
Someone raises the question of what his personal time is "worth" every time the subject of reloading costs arises, and usually he tries to add his per-hour income rate into the "cost" of handloading.

Shooting and reloading is a hobby.

Work is...well....WORK.

Hobbys are what we use to relax and forget about WORK. The two are not compatible under most circumstances. To ascribe a COST to the use of our leisure time is ridiculous. I've seen many people try to do this, but it just doesn't compute.
Click to expand...

I couldn't agree more Bruce. When they bring up what their time is worth this is how I look at it. I can load 1,000 rounds of 45 auto with my cast bullets for $25 in five hours time. It would probably cost around $400 for 1,000 factory rounds. So I am saving $375 in that five hours. I am actually getting paid $75 per hour to reload. I wonder how many of those people figure their time and gas to go buy factory ammo?
 
That's awsome. I really like reloading. Sure it saves money over buying factory but it allows me more ammo for my dollar.

When i see what factory wadcutters cost in .38 special (magtech). I'm just so glad i decided to start reloading.
 
Thanks for all the replies fellas. My reloading research is ongoing and I'm seriously looking at the Dillon line. I'm in the greater Phx area,,, so they are "just down the road" from me. If I'm gonna reload, I'm gonna go all the way, therefore I want to be able to reload pistol and rifle. (so ths SDB is out) I'm looking serious at the 550,,, but for about $100 bucks more I can get auto indexing. I'm not one to "scrimp" when it comes to upfront tool costs (I've always paid dearly in the past when I did),,, so I may go with the 650,, but the more expensive conversions may steer me away from it and more to the 550. Needless to say, I'm still researching.:uhoh:

I've searched many a-hour for favorable on-line reloading supply sellers,,, but can come nowhere near y-alls listed prices. I was wondering if you kind folks had some favorite suppliers that you have good experience with. I put service pretty high in my "value" menu,,, so I'll pay a bit more if I know I'm going to be treated well.

Thanks a bunch fellas,,, you have all helped educate me a tad on this matter. (Just enough to be dangerous!:D) I read some of the posts about the different powders/primers etc.. and just can't believe how many options there are out there. Wasn't ready for quite such a learning curve.:what:

Thanks again gents.
 
For components, Graf's, Midway, Powder Valley, and Wideners are all good. I've purchased from all four and had good experiences with each.

www.grafs.com
www.midwayusa.com
www.powdervalleyinc.com
www.wideners.com

For cast bullets, www.missouribullet.com is the way to go, and you get a High Road discount.

For Dillon equipment, Brian Enos is the way to go, as stated above.

I think the 550 is a better press for multiple applications than the 650. Plenty of people that have used both say that the lack of auto indexing on the 550 is not a big deal. I've never used one, but a lot of people make the claim, so I suspect there is truth to it.
 
I use a single stage only, an old RCBS RS, with Lee dies. I enjoy handloading, and don't ever rush it. 50 rounds of 9mm will take me 30-45 minutes, sometimes, but I am relaxing, and don't worry about it. If zombies were pounding down the door, I might speed up a mite...:)
I also cast, though it has been far too hot for a while here in lower AZ to turn the lead pot on. That's when I break into the stash of JHP I have left. In November, will crank out a few thousand cast lead bullets, have about 75 pounds of wheelweight lead already in ingots sitting in the garage.
How much do I save? Not a clue, but I am shooting when others are not. ;)

I load 9mm, 38 Special, 7.62x39mm and 303 Brit.
 
Mantis,

If you can afford a 650 without flinching, may I recommend an alternate line of thinking? Buy TWO presses. Buy the Dillian SDB or the 550 and with the money you save over a 650 put it towards a quality single stage (Forester Co-Ax, Redding Big Boss, RCBS Rock Chucker, Lee Classic Cast, etc). Load the rifle on the single, load pistol on the other. You will want to check with the Dillion guys about interchanging dies though (if you ever had the desire to load pistol on a single stage). If I recall correctly, it seems as if the dies for the SDB are -not- interchangeable.

Oh, and I have a good friend that lives in Mesa. He loves to visit the Dillion shop and has always raved about their great customer service and (I believe) they even let you play with the "toys". I'd stop by there for sure as part of your "research". ;)

Good luck.
 
I've searched many a-hour for favorable on-line reloading supply sellers,,, but can come nowhere near y-alls listed prices.
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I buy mostly from Graf's. I have a C&R license and get a 15% discount. I max out every order to make the hazmat and shipping worth it. A max order is 50,000 primers, 48 pounds of powder or 48 pounds of powder and primers mixed. Nobody has much in stock right now but here is an example of Graf's prices if you could get it today.

CCI PRIMER 500 SMALL PISTOL 5000/cs
Item Number: CCI500 · Availability: Out of stock
Add to Cart Price: $94.99

CCI PRIMER 300 LARGE PISTOL 5000/cs
Item Number: CCI300 · Availability: Out of stock
Add to Cart Price: $94.99

HODGDON TITEGROUP 8LB POWDER 2/CS
Item Number: HDHTG8 · Availability: Out of stock
Add to Cart Price: $98.99
 
If you don't enjoy reloading, and consider it "work", and have an hourly job on which you could easily get those additional hours, then no you will not save money unless you are loading only the super exotic calibers for which factory ammo costs a tremendous amount.

I'm salaried, so additional hours at work are not going to give me more "ammo money", even if I didn't like reloading. But, like most, I do enjoy reloading, and would probably still do it even if I didn't save money. I like the Zen and the control over every parameter of the ammo that loading gives you. Saving 50-80%, depending on caliber in my case, over similar factory ammo is just a bonus.

A note on time. When people say they can load XXX number of rounds an hour, they are talking about loading only. There is far more time involved than that. Namely collecting and prepping brass, which can add up to a lot of time. Actual loading itself is one of the fastest steps and is almost trivial compared to the rest, even if you don't have a progressive. No one can really predict the true time involved until they get into their own routine. Just don't expect to invest one total hour and have 300-500 rounds (depending on who you talk to)... it simply doesn't work like that.

You've got to enjoy it for loading to be worth it.
 
Thanks for the continued info all. After more research chasing suggestions of some of you,,, I've decided that the 650 is out... It's looking more like the 550 for me if I go that route. Once you start adding all this stuff up,,, it starts gettin a tad overwhelming. (for a "turn key top notch" set up that is)

Brian Enos' site was great for the information provided,,, however,,,, it gave me a clue of how little knowledge I had as far as "needed" equipment,, thus end cost was WAY more than anticipated. I do "flinch" when paying that kind of $$ for tools,,, but I usually do it since I've learned that I end up paying more in the long run when I eventually get frustrated with the inferior equipment and then end up dropping the $$ on the good stuff later anyway.

I then turned to supply costs in an effort to determing "payoff" time of the equipment. I was ready to pull my hair out trying to find how the heck some of you are loading pistol rounds for less than $.10 round, (let alone .03 to .05!!),, then realized you must be shooting lead only and that must be MUCH cheaper to reload. I will need to run FMJ with EVERYTHING I shoot,,, so my reloading prices were coming out to WWB factory prices when buying supplies for 1000 to 2000 round quantities. I ran 9mm pricing from Midway and Wideners and was coming up with $.20/round when purchasing available supplies. (available being the key word, but DAMN!) I buy WWB at Wally (granted when they are in stock) for 18.97/100. I didn't even run .40/.45 pricing after that.

I then turned to .223 and things improved a bit,,,,. Again, availability was the key,, and the only way I could save close to %50 was by using Mil Spec bullets. (fine by me) Anything non Mil spec was twice the price,, but like I said Mil Spec is fine with me. That brought the price of the round to about 0.20/round. I currently purchase in lots of 1000 for .389/round. (new brass mil spec.) I didn't run .308 pricing,,, but since it was available in Mil Spec as well I will assume (for now) that the .308 pricing will follow suit and be a substantial savings.

Researching the gear I would need (want) to run I'm coming up with pricing of right around a grand to get turn key set up. (FOR ONE CALIBER) Some of the Dillon conversions will use some of the same parts for my calibers,,, but it still adds up DAMN quick.

Seeing this changed my thought process to looking for a MUCH more simplistic view,,, and now I will start researching for a more "simple" way to simply reload my rifle calibers. and stick to WWB for my pistol stuff,,, while hoping/praying that it becomes more available in days to come.

So,,, in that light,,, I'm off to research some of the single stage presses that AZAR suggested, and see if it would benefit me more at this time to concentrate on the rifle cal. reload only.

Again,,, thanks to all,,, and please keep the advise coming,, you just can't get enough help when it comes to "changing one's ignorance".:D
 
Might I recommend Lee's 50th anniversary kit. It's a "turn-key" minus dies single stage setup. I got my whole reloading setup for right around $300. Churns out around 100 rounds an hour, give or take.

Question: Why do you HAVE to run FMJ in your handguns? They make lead bullets for autoloaders too. Of course then you have to figure in the cost of time spent cleaning the lead fouling too, right guys? :neener: LOL!

BTW, I've heard talk around here that some people don't reload autoloader rounds because of the cost factor. They just hang onto and load revolver calibers.

Those autoloaders throw the cases on the ground for a reason...get a wheelgun man!!
 
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I load 9mm FMJ, very, very similar to WWB, for 11.4 cents/pop in components. WWB was my preferred ammo before I started loading 9mm (just started this caliber not long ago). That is including shipped, in-my-hands costs for everything. It breaks down like this:

Bullet: Precision Delta 115gr FMJ RN: .068
Primer: Magtech SPP from Grafs: .0277
Powder: ~7gr HS-6 from Grafs: .0184
Brass: 9mm is "free" at most ranges. .000

Total .114 per pop. Those prices from Grafs are from components that were just delivered to my door yesterday afternoon. The bullets, I've probably had for a couple months.

You may have to wait a little to get components at optimal prices, but the wait is worth it in the long run. Primers are popping up here and there again, and powder... I don't know what is going on with powder. Some types are out there and some aren't, but chances are you can find something that will work with the bullet/cartridge you want to load.

When people are advertizing .03-.05 cents a pop for 9mm, they are also getting free lead to cast their own lead bullets. If I were doing that in my example above, my total cost would be .0461 per pop. I could also probably go to a faster powder that required less than 7gr per load, and get the powder cost reduced just a little.
 
Bullet: Precision Delta 115gr FMJ RN: .068
Primer: Magtech SPP from Grafs: .0277
Powder: ~7gr HS-6 from Grafs: .0184
Brass: 9mm is "free" at most ranges. .000
Click to expand...

Those numbers look right , it's all in how and where you shop
 
Mantis I don't have any experience with the Dillon 650 but have loaded on a friends 550 and thought it was a very nice press. I don't think you can go wrong with it. I don't know if he is around here or not but if you are going to go to Dillon I would try to get ahold of Mogollon. He hangs out at Glocktalk.com and Glockpost.com. I think he used to be here under the name of Dillonhelp. He's a good guy and knows the Dillon products very well. I'm sure he would set you up right and not try to over sell you. Not sure how involved he can get at the factory, I think he is in upper management.

Rusty

Edit: don't worry you didn't make us mad ( at least not me ) I just never understood somebody having to figure in their time. The way I look at it I'm getting paid to reload it's not costing me an hourly wage. Thats what I tried to explain in post 36.
 
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