Looking to gain a new skill in reloading ammo. Saving money? Is it a bad idea to buy fired brass?

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The first firearm I reloaded for was a sporterized Lee Enfield. I mounted a scope for it and shot 3/4"-1" groups with at a distance of 100yards. To me, reloading for it gave me at accurate load at a good price. My second rifle was for a T99 Arisaka. In both cases all my brass came from the range. 99.9% of my brass came from the range. I have 50 cal cans of just 9mm of the same headstamp and once fired. It just takes time. The only exception for me are hard to find brass like 9mm Makarov or 7.62x39. The T99 brass was resized 30-06 military brass. My suggestion for you is to find out where the local police practice and cut a deal with the range master to buy or acquire your brass from there. It will be once fired. Once acquired a 50cal can of .308 match brass that a police sniper practiced with and gave it to a friend's brother. If you can find a way to acquire brass from Europe, they have Lapua and Norma brass on their ranges.
 
Now isn't the time to start reloading unless you just want the experience. I doubt you can save any money because the break even point will be two years if you shoot a few hundred rounds a week. Components are still extremely expensive and in short supply.....the reason they're expensive. ;)

I'm starting to see more and more components available so the prices will be coming down next year. I would be holding off buying any gear or components until then.

I shoot both used brass and new brass depending on the cartridge. I gathered brass at my range for years and have a good supply of most of the cartridges I shoot. Odd ball stuff like 32 S&W Long and the once popular .357 can't be found in the range bucket so I bought new. .223, 9 mm and 45 ACP used to be abundant until the troubles started. In the real world today if you're just starting out you either buy used brass or new.

Personally, if I were just getting into the reloading game I would just buy new brass if you can find it. The prices for used is just ridiculous and you don't know if it's once fired. That's because new brass isn't available but that will change.

I've had decent luck with once fired brass and have no objections to using it but to be honest, I wouldn't buy any. It has to be free.

I've loaded on a single stage for 10 years but I only shoot a hundred rounds a week. Even if I shot twice that a single stage would be my choice. The fact is a single stage press will gently introduce you to the art of reloading. Once you've mastered the basics you can always move up to a progressive.
 
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Progressive presses can produce great ammo.
Single stage presses can produce great ammo.

There are more operations happening at the same time on a progressive press. Maybe it’s not more complex, just requires attention to more concurrent details.

Find your comfort zone and go for it!
 
Charlie98 said:
Lighten up, Francis. I was making a joke about the A1's and the '80's. You did mention Force 21... that's a phrase I haven't heard in a long time, and had nearly forgotten about.



Never said it was the 'only way,' I only suggested that it was the way I recommended, and my reasons why. I also suggested there was a small quotient of people that might successfully take a progressive, and as a novice reloader, produce reasonable and safe ammo, right out of the gate. I am in no was suggesting a single-stage press should be used forever and ever; just like the progressive, the single-stage is a useful tool in it's own right. Again, I'm thinking of my own experience... doing it on my own, with no mentor... and at the time, no internet.



Wrong, again. It's not about making better ammo, it's about learning the whole process safely and with some potential for success. By throwing in the complexity of setting up and operating a progressive on top of the task of learning to reload, you are taking a portion of the attention the novice should be pouring into the reloading process... and diverting it to the mechanics of the press. I remember when I got my ProJector (predecessor to the LNL...) It was a royal pain to get set and running where... finally... one pull of the handle spit out a serviceable cartridge. Granted, newer presses are likely better... I don't really know, I'm still on my ProJector.
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Wow. Ok, after all your insulting posts, and your my way or the highway comments, the 7 or 8 times you called people wrong...it's obvious what the problem is. You can't figure out complex machines, and struggled with progressive reloading. So I agree with you, you should keep it simple, don't tax your skills any.
 
hoardingthemanual said:
I'm a new reloader, just a few months into the hobby. I didn't know that suggesting a single stage would be such an insult. Either people need to be "mommy's special boy" or single stage presses truly are pieces of trash. One is more likely than the other.
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Nah. We’re just a bunch of bored engineers, machinists, writers and programmers arguing over first world problems. :rofl:
I’m pretty sure since the OP had made up his mind before that first post he’s getting a good chuckle over the food fight, too. We’re all still buds, just tweaking each other over differences of opinion. The important thing is not to get personal. Respect for your fellow reloaders is important.
 
hoardingthemanual said:
I'm a new reloader, just a few months into the hobby. I didn't know that suggesting a single stage would be such an insult. Either people need to be "mommy's special boy" or single stage presses truly are pieces of trash. One is more likely than the other.
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Welcome aboard, How you liking reloding so far? and if you do not mind me asking, what did you find was the most difficult part?
 
hoardingthemanual said:
I'm a new reloader, just a few months into the hobby. I didn't know that suggesting a single stage would be such an insult. Either people need to be "mommy's special boy" or single stage presses truly are pieces of trash. One is more likely than the other.
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It's not that, single stages are fine. But with that being said the single stage crew cannot admit that that progressives are fine too so it's a lopsided situation here.
 
hoardingthemanual said:
I'm a new reloader, just a few months into the hobby. I didn't know that suggesting a single stage would be such an insult. Either people need to be "mommy's special boy" or single stage presses truly are pieces of trash. One is more likely than the other.
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Oh it's not at all. Perfectly legit recommendation. Some people just get butt hurt when their tightly held beliefs are challenged. :rofl:

Nothing you did, lol. It's like telling a new soldier with his first paycheck he should learn to ride on a honda rebel. He might listen...but odds are when he finds out Suzuki will finance him on that 'busa...well, he'll probably ride home on that 170 HP organ donation facilitation platform. That doesn't mean he won't become an excellent rider some day, or that he's gonna ride the red bus. <shrug>
 
50of4064 said:
Welcome aboard, How you liking reloding so far? and if you do not mind me asking, what did you find was the most difficult part?
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Primer seating has been the most difficult part. The "feel" takes practice. No one I know IRL reloads so I'm kind of in my own with problems. This forum has helped me a lot in the short time I've been a member. Without it, technique problems would have taken longer to solve as well as here they can be answered more safely.

edit: I'm enjoying reloading for a number of reasons. I like to assemble things and the craft aspect here is really fun. I also like that this skill rewards patience and doing things the right way. Finally I like the peace of mind that comes with making ammo during shortages.
 
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Nature Boy said:
Used brass for the .308, specifically NATO head stamps, means it was fired through a machine gun.
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Not all 308 NATO brass is fired through a machine guns & not all machine guns are so worn to the point to cause the brass to stretch past the point of being usable. I pick up brass at the range behind guys shooting machine guns & most of them are easily reloadable.

Plenty of brass is good to reload like the 223/5.56 with crimped primers. Because it has crimped primers means it only once fired. The crimp needs to be removed before loading a new primer & no one puts a crimp back on the brass.
 
EricBu said:
Oh it's not at all. Perfectly legit recommendation. Some people just get butt hurt when their tightly held beliefs are challenged. :rofl:

Nothing you did, lol. It's like telling a new soldier with his first paycheck he should learn to ride on a honda rebel. He might listen...but odds are when he finds out Suzuki will finance him on that 'busa...well, he'll probably ride home on that 170 HP organ donation facilitation platform. That doesn't mean he won't become an excellent rider some day, or that he's gonna ride the red bus. <shrug>
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It was a Katana, actually. :scrutiny:
 
EricBu said:
Wow. Ok, after all your insulting posts, and your my way or the highway comments, the 7 or 8 times you called people wrong...it's obvious what the problem is. You can't figure out complex machines, and struggled with progressive reloading. So I agree with you, you should keep it simple, don't tax your skills any.
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Again... no 'my way or the highway' from me, I simply stated my opinion and my reasons why I felt that way. I also said there were exceptions. Further, I did not struggle with progressive reloading, I struggled a bit getting my ProJector set up... it was certainly more challenging to set up than my RCBS single-stage. My opinion of starting a new reloader off on a progressive is based on my direct experience, that's all, and my experience teaching people how to do other things... everyone learns differently.
 
When I started reloading, single stage presses were recommended for new reloaders so they wouldn't too anxious with the progressive and make a mistake such as making a squib load. Progressive presses are great for assembling large quantities of rounds but I tend to make small quantities of testloads most often.
 
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