Cheesemaker
Member
I fully agree with your current day numbers - my math:
7000 grains in 1 lb @ $50 = 1.4 grains per penny - 3 cents = 4.2grains. What powders and weight bullets do you use for your 45ACP and 357Mag at 4.2 grains?
Should I consider reloading?
- Thread starter Gus_McCrae
- Start date
I fully agree with your current day numbers - my math:
7000 grains in 1 lb @ $50 = 1.4 grains per penny - 3 cents = 4.2grains. What powders and weight bullets do you use for your 45ACP and 357Mag at 4.2 grains?
GeoDudeFlorida
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.45ACP 200gr LSWC, 4.3gr WST or 4.0gr Ramshot Competition.
It depends on the projectile. Competition comes in 14oz bottles but is also less expensive than WST. Per ounce.
No one can predict what prices might be in 3, 5, or 10 years. Buying now might save money in the long run or cost more in the long haul. We don’t know. Which is why it’s stupid to argue about cost when it comes to handloading. If you’re really such a penny pinching miser, give up shooting altogether and get a hobby that doesn’t cost anything. I hear sleeping under bridges is pretty cheap.
Highland Lofts
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Must be a lot of people in the Seattle and Portland area gave up shooting all together because there are hundreds and hundreds of people living under bridges there.
GeoDudeFlorida
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No comment. We have plenty of them here in Florida, too.
I find the aggressive tone of the posts objectionable. We aren’t here to see who can shoot the longest stream of urine, and the OP has been informed previously that costs are relative and savings is subjective. Arguing over tenths of pennies is just stupid.
Highland Lofts
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My thoughts exactly.
If you want to play,
You have to pay.
Reloading cost cash and depending upon what you load and how much you shoot depends upon the savings.
If you want to play,
You have to pay.
Reloading cost cash and depending upon what you load and how much you shoot depends upon the savings.
Bottom Gun
Member
What I like is being able to make exactly what I want rather than having to settle for a limited variety of factory ammo that can vary from lot to lot.
I also enjoy being able to tune a load for specific rifles and pistols. I’m still amazed by how much you can vary your group size and point of impact by changing the load.
There are certain cartridges that are much more fun for reloaders. The .357 Sig is a good example. Variety of factory .357 Sig ammo is limited and it’s a bit on the expensive side. For reloaders though, the .357 Sig is no more expensive than loading a 9MM.
Reloading usually benefits precision shooters more than casual plinkers. I doubt that anyone who starts reloading solely for economy will stay with it very long. In order to save any money by reloading, you have to watch for sales and promotionals such as free shipping/hazmat and buy components in quantity. For example, if you regularly use a certain powder, buy it in 8 lb jugs rather than one pound jars.
I’ve been reloading for 48 yr and I still enjoy experimenting with different loads. If I didn’t reload, I might not enjoy shooting as much.
I also enjoy being able to tune a load for specific rifles and pistols. I’m still amazed by how much you can vary your group size and point of impact by changing the load.
There are certain cartridges that are much more fun for reloaders. The .357 Sig is a good example. Variety of factory .357 Sig ammo is limited and it’s a bit on the expensive side. For reloaders though, the .357 Sig is no more expensive than loading a 9MM.
Reloading usually benefits precision shooters more than casual plinkers. I doubt that anyone who starts reloading solely for economy will stay with it very long. In order to save any money by reloading, you have to watch for sales and promotionals such as free shipping/hazmat and buy components in quantity. For example, if you regularly use a certain powder, buy it in 8 lb jugs rather than one pound jars.
I’ve been reloading for 48 yr and I still enjoy experimenting with different loads. If I didn’t reload, I might not enjoy shooting as much.
CQB45ACP
Member
and I’ll hazard a guess that whatever is said on this thread won’t sway decision one wit. Hope not anyway.
AJC1
Member
50 dollar pounds are a brand new thing and only extruded so far. I shoot 8.4 grains of Silhouette and the pound is at a new high of 38 dollars.
Ethan Verity
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I started reloading in the last month or so, with 44Mag, 44Spl, and 30-30Win. It's a big initial investment, but I am saving ~50% per shot so it will be good in the long run. I started reloading to save money, but it turns out I'm still spending the same amount as before, I'm just shooting twice as much now! 
ballman6711
Member
I started reloading in the last month or so, with 44Mag, 44Spl, and 30-30Win. It's a big initial investment, but I am saving ~50% per shot so it will be good in the long run. I started reloading to save money, but it turns out I'm still spending the same amount as before, I'm just shooting twice as much now!
This is what a lot of people see. You save money per shot, not necessarily overall.
OP, try it and see. You've been given a lot of very good advice/opinions.
chris
CQB45ACP
Member
That’s the ticket. Spend $1000 on equipment, supplies, and components for a trial run. Don’t like it? Just sell it all for $250.
Bottom Gun
Member
Although you will save $$$ in the long run by reloading if you buy components at good prices, I would not suggest getting into it to save money.
If you don’t have an interest in ballistics or precision shooting, reloading may soon become drudgery for you and you may lose what little interest you started with. If that happens, you will likely end up selling your equipment for far less than you paid.
If you don’t have an interest in ballistics or precision shooting, reloading may soon become drudgery for you and you may lose what little interest you started with. If that happens, you will likely end up selling your equipment for far less than you paid.
ballman6711
Member
That’s the ticket. Spend $1000 on equipment, supplies, and components for a trial run. Don’t like it? Just sell it all for $250.
I got into it for $200 (Hornady single stage kit) almost five years ago. I still have all my original equipment, and use most of the original stuff that came in the kit. I did have to buy dies and a shell holder.
The OP could find a Lee "O" press as part of a kit, or buy everything else separate and spend a bit more. Here's an example:
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1013011111?pid=423081
Add a set of dies and shell holder, and get your components and get started.
Of course, you're correct in stating that he could spend $1000 (or more) getting started, and find out it's not for him.
One never knows until they try.
chris
Buzznrose
Member
I’m kinda in this situation, but still evolving. I don’t shoot precision but it is a possibility down the road, so not ruling it out. I use reloading as a fun hobby but mainly something I do when I have some free time. I wouldn’t call it drudgery but it’s certainly a chore if you consider sorting, depriming, and cleaning brass in addition to the actual loading.
Bottom Gun
Member
Perhaps accurate shooting might have been a better term to use than precision shooting. I wasn’t referring to any competition shooting. I meant just plain old accurate shooting for both target and hunting.
In any case, you have to have some interest besides saving $$$ to make it worthwhile. Then, processing brass doesn’t seem like so much of a chore and it becomes a labor of love.
AJC1
Member
Isn't it near a requirement to be a brass chicken to even attempt to try and save money, or is that the Lie I tell myself to justify it.
Bottom Gun
Member
Isn't it near a requirement to be a brass chicken to even attempt to try and save money, or is that the Lie I tell myself to justify it.
If you don’t mind sorting pick up brass, it can be a considerable savings. You can’t beat free.
Lately, I’ve been pampering myself by periodically buying new brass because I don’t have to sort or trim it, I can estimate the useful life of the brass should I choose to and it’s almost a pleasure working with new brass from the same lot.
FYI, I have been buying from Starline and have been very pleased with the quality and the brass life.
AJC1
Member
The only new brass I have ever used was 500 pieces of 357 starline and 100 pieces of lapua 308 for precision. I was very pleased with both....
GeoDudeFlorida
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The only new brass I’ve bought in the last several years has been odd-ball stuff you won’t find for pickup: 38S&W, 32H&R, 32L & 32S, .45AR, and such like. I bought 44Spl once from *—* and two weeks or so later a buddy gave me a couple hundred 44Spl he found at the range so I decided to stop buying less common stuff unless I really needed it. Same thing almost happened with 45Colt - I was putting together an order for one of the online houses that had a big sale going - MidWest I think??? - and 45Colt was in my basket. Right before I ordered I got a text from one of my neighbors, he had a BUCKET of 45 brass from the range and wanted to know if I wanted it. Saved me a lot of $$$$!!
In this hobby, it’s good to know people and good to have friends.
Bottom Gun
Member
It pays to buy good brass like that. These days, QC appears to be poor with the lower priced brass. The last batch of Winchester brass I bought was substandard. I discarded 8 out of 100 pieces as unusable. Some of the case mouths looked like saw blades and by the time I trimmed the “teeth” out, the brass was too short.
AJC1
Member
The best part of free pickup brass is it has survived its first load and can be filtered off as a reject at no cost.... good inspection techniques and what to look for is a earned/learned skill. Great thing for a brandy new loader.
Bottom Gun
Member
Free pickup brass is how I learned what a show stopper small primer .45 ACP brass can be in a progressive loader.
tactikel
Member
powder for .45 acp and .357 loads at or under 4.2 grains; both very accurate target loads.
Two great loads:
.45 acp 230 gr lead WW231 4.0 grains
.357 mag. 170 gr lead cast Bullseye 4.2 gr
I reload economically because I work at it.
I volunteer for range cleanup days, rake up brass, and can take anything i want for free.
I have friends and family visit gun shops and the internet for sale items.
I traded a set of .32-40 molds I got at an estate sale for $1 for a set of .452 230 gr molds even up.
I traded with a local tire shop: a 5 gallon bucket of wheel weights for a bottle of bourbon.
I traded a pound of H-335 for a pound of WW 231 with a neighbor.
I made my own bullet lube from household items.
A friend who works for an electrical utility gets scrap pieces of 6” cable, he gives me the pure lead sheathing, he keeps the copper.
A friend who was a IPSA pistol champion belonged to a gun club that made bulk ammo and component purchases quarterly, I gave him cash for my order.
Make an effort, enlist friends and family, barter, work guns shops and gun shows. Read reloading manuals for the most economical loads. I’ve been reloading for over 55 years, it’s a hobby, a passion, a lifestyle.
Two great loads:
.45 acp 230 gr lead WW231 4.0 grains
.357 mag. 170 gr lead cast Bullseye 4.2 gr
I reload economically because I work at it.
I volunteer for range cleanup days, rake up brass, and can take anything i want for free.
I have friends and family visit gun shops and the internet for sale items.
I traded a set of .32-40 molds I got at an estate sale for $1 for a set of .452 230 gr molds even up.
I traded with a local tire shop: a 5 gallon bucket of wheel weights for a bottle of bourbon.
I traded a pound of H-335 for a pound of WW 231 with a neighbor.
I made my own bullet lube from household items.
A friend who works for an electrical utility gets scrap pieces of 6” cable, he gives me the pure lead sheathing, he keeps the copper.
A friend who was a IPSA pistol champion belonged to a gun club that made bulk ammo and component purchases quarterly, I gave him cash for my order.
Make an effort, enlist friends and family, barter, work guns shops and gun shows. Read reloading manuals for the most economical loads. I’ve been reloading for over 55 years, it’s a hobby, a passion, a lifestyle.
2ndtimer
Member
And while crimped primers in 5.56 brass are a pain in the (rhymes with brass), you know they are once fired! Uncrimped there is a possibility they were left because they were on the verge of failure, but close examination can usually catch those (hint primer pocket go/no go gauge).
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