Quick & Easy reloading?

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valnar

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I am not a reloader and only buy factory ammo. This is my first time posting on the Reloading subforum.

I would love to save some money on shooting my guns, but I don't have much time for another hobby - of which reloading seems to be. How much do you need to know to reload? Can I just buy X,Y,Z, follow some basic instructions and go to town? Do I need to buy several books just to get started?

I am not interested in reinventing the wheel or making some custom loads. I'd be happy with the recipe that duplicates any given factory ammo. My problem is I live in the city and ANY shooting I do involves driving to a range and spending money for the privilege of shooting at some paper targets. For that reason alone, I don't think I would have the time or money to "test" each of my reloads and see if they were accurate, then make more, test more, rinse & repeat. By then, as you can see, it's just cheaper to buy a known good product - factory ammo.

However, I am not adverse to learning a little and spending some money. You could say I have less time than money. I'm willing to spend a bit if I can make the process easy and foolproof.

I would be interested in reloading 9mm, 38sp, 45ACP and maybe a couple undetermined rifle calibers. It's those rifle calibers which is making me look into reloading for the first time as factory loads seem to be very expensive. (Because of those prices, I would normally only buy a .223 or .308 rifle, but I am really interested in something in the middle).

How much time and practice must one invest into reloading? Thoughts?
 
You can spend as much time and money on handloading as you want to. It's absolutely possible to keep it simple though. Your cartridges are very well known and the loads well documented. The .38 special is the most forgiving on that list since you would be shooting a revolver and not having the feed issues that sometimes arise with handloads in a semi. You can also load with just about any kind of .358 projectile and be fine.

There's a sticky thread about reloading equipment on top of the forum I believe.

Personally I'd suggest this:

Lee press--either a hand press or bench.
Lee carbide .38/357 dies
Hand primer
Liquid case cleaner (all you need is gloves and sink)
Pocket cleaner
A good scale
Good calipers
Loadbook for .38/.357 (about $8)
A few basic powders

Over time your brass will stretch and need to be trimmed, but once again the .38 gives you considerably more slack in this regard than the .45 ACP or 9x19. The round headspaces on the rim, so the rest of the shell is just there to hold the powder and bullet. On the semis the shell needs to mate pretty closely with the dimensions of the chamber because they headspace on the mouth. That also means you can't crimp the rounds in as you would with a .38.

I like the case trimmers that just attach to a hand drill.
 
A Lee Anniversary kit with the manual, set of dies, and maybe 50 other bucks worth of doo-dads are all you need to load quality ammo. Basically about 200 bucks will get you into the ballpark. Any of the handguns you listed are fairly easy to reload. There will be no need for trial and error shooting with them if you use standard recipes out of a good manual.
 
valnar said:
I am not interested in reinventing the wheel or making some custom loads. I'd be happy with the recipe that duplicates any given factory ammo. My problem is I live in the city and ANY shooting I do involves driving to a range and spending money for the privilege of shooting at some paper targets. For that reason alone, I don't think I would have the time or money to "test" each of my reloads and see if they were accurate, then make more, test more, rinse & repeat. By then, as you can see, it's just cheaper to buy a known good product - factory ammo.
Click to expand...

Duplicating factory loads is not difficult for the most part for most cartridges, particularly the most popular ones like you are planning to load.

A little testing is necessary to make sure a load is safe in your firearm but these can be loaded in small batches and checked when you go to the range. Do this as a part of your normal range time. Use the rest of the time with your normal practice routine.

A big advantage to reloading, you can adjust you load to obtain accuracy that is better than achieved by factory ammunition. You don't have to get crazy about your testing, but can make up a different batch or two of ammunition for each trip to the range. Keep some records on the performance and make adjustments before the next trip. Bring some ammunition with you that is known to work in case your new test batch is not acceptable and you can continue shooting for that session.

You have to determine how valuable your time is to determine whether reloading will save you money. On components, the reloaded ammunition will save you money on a cost per round basis. If you add in the "value" of your time, reloading may not save you anything.

Some say you won't save anything by reloading. You will just consume your savings by shooting more.

I enjoy reloading and consider it part of the pastime of shooting. So, my reloading time has no value as it is consumed doing a recreational activity.
 
Reloading DOES take time, if you are williing to invest it into this enjoyable hobby, it can be a very rewarding passtime. If you have more money than time? Watch for sales and buy factory made or remanufactured and just go shooting.

High volume reloading requires more complicated and expensive progressive presses, but the trade off for the $$$$ invested is several hundred rounds per hour output.

A Lee single stage will get you 50-75 rounds per hour, I get 150-175 RPH on my Lee CLASSIC turret (a great value product IMHO) but it is a great value ONLY because it fits MY needs and budget perfectly.

Only YOU can determine if it's worth your time and money to start reloading. It is surely NOT rocket surgery and making basic range plinking ammo could not be simpler, IMHO it is super easy and uncomplicated. If you can follow simple printed instructions and have some attention to detail there is nothing to prevent you from making affordable, accurate, safe and reliable ammo. IF you are interested. It is NOT for everyone and there are plenty of sales on ammo on the internet.

If you choose not to reload and just buy factory ammo? Please only buy brass cased so the rest of us can scrounge what you leave at the range - LOL otherwise aluminmum or steel cased stuff works fine in most pistols and rifles too.
 
Is there a better press available that is quicker and/or easier to use? The few hundreds of dollars does not bother me as the upfront money spent will just replace a single gun purchase. Unless these things cost more than a Sig or 1911!

What about the Dillon product line?
 
Is there a better press available that is quicker and/or easier to use? The few hundreds of dollars does not bother me as the upfront money spent will just replace a single gun purchase. Unless these things cost more than a Sig or 1911!

What about the Dillon product line?
Click to expand...

Take your pick: quicker (a progressive press like the Dillon), or easier (any single stage press). For the novice, you are much better starting off with a single stage press until you have the basics down. Once you feel the need for speed, you can always sell the single stage press and buy a progressive press. Just MHO.

Don
 
How much time and practice must one invest into reloading? Thoughts? I don't have much time for another hobby -
Click to expand...
This is gonna be blunt, be so warned!
You should not get into reloading..

If you don't enjoy the hobby "fiddle diddle" end of it, as well as continuing to read & learn all aspects of it, it will simply become another uninteresting "job".

Before long, you won't reload, and your investment in reloading equipment will never pay for itself in ammo savings.
Instead, it will be gathering dust & spider webs in a box of other junk setting on that old treadmill you bought and didn't use either!

You can get another uninteresting 2nd. job and spend less time at it, if you need more money to buy factory ammo.

You will come out ahead rather then buying reloading equipment you don't enjoy using and have little if any interest in.

rc
 
If you are primarily interested in reloading for rifle, and cost of the press is not a big issue, get a Forster Co-Ax press (about $200) and start with that and some Lee dies. If you decide it's not fast enough for you with pistol ctgs, get something like a Dillon SDB to keep it company. You can still use the Co-Ax for small runs of pistol when the Dillon is set up already for something else, or for cartridges where you don't reload in high enough quantity to invest in a toolhead.

RC makes a good point
 
Quick and easy reloading sure.... oooh just saw a unicorn in the driveway....
Seriously yes it can be pretty simple stay within the lines. The problem is that it is fun to create things and tinker with new toys. It is a sport in itself and draws you in. Soon you are spending as much time playing with loads as you are shooting. Nothing bad about that but it does alter your life a little and challenges you to shoot better in order to justify the time and expence to yourself.
Welcome to the club you'll be glad you started.
T
 
9mm & 45acp may not be worth your time if your only loading to save money but 38spl & most rifle rounds will add up fast. A cheap scale & a powder drop will save you the most time.

A progressive is faster & I see no problem learning on one if you do it 1 round at a time. I don't know all of the presses out there but not every press is built for every cartridge. Most ss presses will fill every nitch except for speed.
 
This is gonna be blunt, be so warned!
You should not get into reloading..
Click to expand...
He he. No offense taken. I need reality checks once in awhile (just ask the wife).

That's why I started this thread. To get ideas of what is involved, or how involved I need to be to pull it off successfully. The cost of a $100 press vs $300 press is irrelevant at this point. If I do it enough, any press will pay for itself. The other unrealized benefit is I can get into some non-common calibers, something I've avoided my whole shooting life.

Even if I wasn't a "reloader kind of guy", I would get into with with both feet if I could walk out on my property and fire off a few rounds at time. It's the fact that any time I shoot it becomes something I do a lot to make it worth my time. When I go to the range, firing off 200 rounds is not uncommon. That may not be a lot to some of you, but it sure adds up.

My question was more of.... If I need to press 5 rounds and test them out, then come back and press 5 more - yah, I don't have that kind of luxury. I wish I did. I want to know that if I follow a formula to the letter, that I will be successful. If the risk is low and reward is high, I will do it.
 
start off by reading the stickies
then search this forum for any questions you may still have
then ask questions.

Right now I only reload the .45C and only a couple hundred rounds a month, if that.
As soon as I get some dies (and more brass), I'll reload for 7.62x54R
because I reload low volume, and I lack good space for a press, I use the Lee Breech Hand Loader. For what it is, I like it and it serves me well.
'course, if I get to reload larger volumes, I'll switch to a press.
 
My testing of loads isn't the norm.
I load 10rds of a grain weight. Get about 40-50 reloads, then I head to the range.

Run thru 5rds of each grain weight first, then another run of 5rds and compare the results.

I also take more firearms to make good use of my range time.
 
What scares me is the multitude of posts on this subforum about primer seating, case trimming, etc. It sounds like a lot can go wrong.

I'll watch some of the videos on YouTube to get a flavor for the process. If I decide at that point its something I want to tackle, I'll be back.

Thanks!
 
Oh yea!

YouTube will set you on the right path for sure.

There is one on there of a 10-year old kid dipping powder out of a soup bowl with a big spoon and pouring it in 30-06 cases you might want to avoid though!!

rc
 
Any of the beginner kits should work. You probably won't like the little Lee hand press. I prepped (wash,de-prime, size and wash) 250 .243 and 100 308ME in 4 hours on a single stage press. Will take about the same time to load them (powder and bullets). That should give you a time est. Unless you shoot a lot of 9mm, I'd just buy it, for now the price point isn't good unless you cast. Your actual cost without equipment is probably 1/2 the store cost, even for rifle.
 
You aren't handling nitroglycerin, but you cannot put your brain in neutral.
 
I'd suggest the next few times you go out to the range, try to pay attention to the guys who are collecting brass. It's likely they're reloaders.


Use your social skills to make a friend, and ask if your new friend would be willing to show you how the process works.


The internet is a great resource, but it really sucks trying to convey knowledge that you need to gain through a mentorship process. I learned how to reload before the internet. A friend showed me how to get started. That friendship, some phone calls, plus a few well-illustrated loading manuals got me along the path.
 
If you are inclined to fiddle with mechanical stuff and like to work with your hands, you could enjoy re-loading. It is pretty easy to load 200 rounds with a single stage press in your spare time weekly if you only shoot once a week.

I would be interested in reloading 9mm, 38sp, 45ACP and maybe a couple undetermined rifle calibers. It's those rifle calibers which is making me look into reloading for the first time as factory loads seem to be very expensive. (Because of those prices, I would normally only buy a .223 or .308 rifle, but I am really interested in something in the middle).
Click to expand...

A single stage press is good for rifle ammo. I don't think many load rifle on a progressive press. Maybe 223, but not the longer ones much. A progressive can put out a lot of handgun ammo in short order.

Just as a quick rule of thumb, it is possible to re-load for about half what factory ammo costs.

How much time and practice must one invest into reloading? Thoughts?
Click to expand...

Once you have set up and read the instructions and made your first 50 rounds, you will see it is really pretty easy. It is important to pay attention though. Mistakes can be disastrous. You would have no problem loading up a recipe at the starting end of the data sheet and go shoot the whole bunch for a revolver or rifle. Sometimes for an auto it takes a bit of experimenting to get them to cycle right.

I am going to go with those who suggested a single stage press for starters. Even if you decide to go with a progressive later, there will always be jobs for the single stage, or you can sell it.

rcmodel brings up a good point though. You need to be willing to make a commitment of time to the re-loading or it won't go anywhere.
 
In my personal opinion and experience reloading is quite easy to get a good handle on. And even with the increased cost of components reloading is still a good way to save a few $'s and provides a quality contol factor that isn't possible with factory.

To load a high quality round for say a 7mm RM is costing me $8.80 per 20 round box. To purchase that same bullet quality factory loaded round is in the neighborhood of $30-$35. If I choose to load a more expensive speciality round for the 7 mag. such as a Barnes or Nosler Partition, my cost will be around $16-$18 per 20 round box. And a simular speciality factory load is running around $50-$60 and difficult to find.

Set up will cost you a few bucks, but when your finished you'll quickly recover your start up expense. A decent single stage press can be had for $80-$100, each die set depnding on brand is around $25 for bottle neck and $45 for pistol carbide dies. Trimming accessories are not expensive if you go with the Lee case length guage type. Once you have the threaded shell holder base ($8-$10) each case guage and shell holder is around $6-$8 per caliber. Many of the single stage presses come with a priming arm, so you won't have to spend anything more to perform step. And Harbor F has tumblers, media, dial calipers, and scales at a very good price. You''ll need a loading tray, but that is something you could easily make from a chunk of wood drilled to fit a varieity of cartridges, I did just that when I first started reloading many years ago and it worked just fine.

Other than that, buying a couple of good books, powder, primers, and bullets and you'll be loading your own in no time. One book I strongly recomend is Speer's reloading book. It is very well layed out in terms most can easily understand and illustrates how the process is correctly and safely approached.

Good luck, and welcome to THR!!
 
I only recently started reloading. What I found hardest was to put together a shopping list in which I would have everything I needed and nothing I didn't need.

This was my shopping list based on extensive help I received from a THR member and it has worked out very well:

  • RCBS Model 1010 Magnetic Powder Scale
  • Lee Classic 4 Hole Turret Press
  • Lee Reloading Stand (needed only because I didn't have a workbench)
  • Lee Pro Auto-Disk Powder Measure
  • Redding Profile Crimp Die 500 S&W
  • Lee Carbide 3-Die Set 500 S&W Magnum
  • Lee Safety Prime Small and Large
  • Lee Auto-Disk Powder Measure Doubler (needed for larger powder charges)
  • Lee Auto-Disk Powder Measure Riser (x2)
  • The Ultimate Loading Block Xtra Large (x2)
The above was for the .500 S&W cartridge. Total cost was $515.

I went with 4 dies so that the crimping could be done separately from the bullet seating for greater precision. Lee didn't sell a suitable 4-die set so I bought their 3-die set and added the Redding profile crimp die (NB profile crimping is for revolver cartridges, you would need a different type of crimper for pistol cartridges).

Apart from the above, I bought the following consumables: Imperial Case Sizing Wax, bullets, powder, and primers. I have not as yet bought cases, scavenging them from factory ammunition.

I have not found the need for a case cleaning system. I just wipe any dust off the cases.

Hope the above helps.
 
Quick & Easy reloading?

I am not a reloader and only buy factory ammo. This is my first time posting on the Reloading subforum.

(1)I would love to save some money on shooting my guns, (2)but I don't have much time for another hobby - of which reloading seems to be. How much do you need to know to reload? Can I just buy X,Y,Z, follow some basic instructions and go to town? Do I need to buy several books just to get started?

I am not interested in reinventing the wheel or making some custom loads. I'd be happy with the recipe that duplicates any given factory ammo. My problem is I live in the city and ANY shooting I do involves driving to a range and spending money for the privilege of shooting at some paper targets. (3)For that reason alone, I don't think I would have the time or money to "test" each of my reloads and see if they were accurate, then make more, test more, rinse & repeat. By then, as you can see, it's just cheaper to buy a known good product - factory ammo.
Click to expand...

(1) Yes, you can save approximately 1/2 or more of the $cost of factory ammo.
(2) Yes, you do have to read, learn and understand the basics of what you are doing. Without a moderate knowledge of what your doing and charateristics of all the the reloading supplies you will use, you can't safely load ammunition. You put yourself, your guns and others around you at risk.
(3) IMHO you have clearly answered your own question.

This is not meant meant as a criticism. This is a truthful statement meant to save you time, money, and possible injury.

Watch for bulk sales. You can save quite a lot of money and time buying in larger lots.
 
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