# reloading your own ammo!!



## mojo4 (Feb 19, 2012)

So I've decided to start reloading my own ammo. From what I've been told its much cheaper and more reliable as you know the moron who made your ammo! So what press, primer, powder and die does everyone recommend? Any tips or suggestions are greatly appreciated!!


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## FrankW (Mar 10, 2012)

subscribed!


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## Magus (Dec 1, 2008)

Speer for ALL needs Hornady for the ones they can't fill.

Hogden powders are good too.


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## partdeux (Aug 3, 2011)

This guy sells a complete package with everything you need. I'm eying the Dillon 550
http://brianenos.com/pages/dillon.html#550

Here is the EZ buy pkg
http://brianenos.com/store/dillon.ez.550.html

I've talked to several reloaders who all said, the other ones are good, but every last one of them has moved to Dillon


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## FrankW (Mar 10, 2012)

What are some of the economics involved? a few years ago one of my frinds ewas relloading and he wa sinto it big.. but he said he paid between 65-70% of the cost of the bullet in materials.?

At that point its not really worth it for me.

Might have depended on the bullet of course.. still. what kind of economics are we looking at for common calibers like 357 Mag and 5.56?


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## mosquitomountainman (Jan 25, 2010)

BlueZ said:


> What are some of the economics involved? a few years ago one of my frinds ewas relloading and he wa sinto it big.. but he said he paid between 65-70% of the cost of the bullet in materials.?
> 
> At that point its not really worth it for me.
> 
> Might have depended on the bullet of course.. still. what kind of economics are we looking at for common calibers like 357 Mag and 5.56?


Figure it up. You'll need:
1. One primer per cartridge.
2. One bullet per cartridge.
3. XX grains of powder. One pound equals 7,000 grains (the measurement used for reloading). My 30/06 for example uses 49 grains per cartridge so I get about enough powder in a one pound can to reload approx. 142 cartridges. My 338 Win Mag uses aobut 70 grains of powder per load so I get about 100 cartridges per pound of powder. So find some load data and figure up how much the powder will cost for each cartridge.
4. Add up the numbers and you'll have a per-cartridge cost estimate. From there you can find out how much you save by reloading your own.

The major savings are in magnum cartridges. The cost is about the same to reload a box of 308 Winchester as it is for a box of 338 Win. Mag. but buying the factory ammo the 338 will set you back about three times the price of 308's. You can also save by casting your own bullets. or buying in bulk.

I also had plenty of ammo the year after Odummy was elected because I could still find ammo components and reload my own.

I also customize my ammo. I know which powders perform best in each rifle so I get maximum performance every time I pull the trigger.

I reload mainly because I like to build things and building my own ammo is something I've been doing since I was 16.

Go to reloadammo.com for reloading info. Don't forget Lee Manufacturing for reloading equipment either. Their hand press actually works great. Their powder scale ... not so good. The dies are great as well as their bullet casting equipment. Reloading is one of those things you can spend as much or little as you want. Be careful though, it is addicting.


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## bacpacker (Jul 15, 2011)

I just started loading back in the winter. Wife got me a set for Christmas. I went with a RCBS rock chucker. There are several things you need to such as shell holders, primer pocket cleaners, etc. Get a good scale to. My dies are Hornadays and RCBS and I decided to go all carbide for the max live span on them.

I have kept to common calibers till I get a arsenal built that I want. Due to that , my main loads are for .308, .223, 9mm. I will add others as I go. It is a fun hobby and once you get the equipment you need, you will start saving money, but the biggest plus I have found is much more consistant between rounds.


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## hiwall (Jun 15, 2012)

You might want to start with a kit that has most of what you need. Here are a couple of examples from Lee and RCBS - http://www.midwayusa.com/find?&sortby=1&itemsperpage=20&newcategorydimensionid=11522
Bullets are your biggest expense in components. Pistol bullets often cost about 1/2 of what loaded ammo sells for. Lead bullets are cheaper than jacketed(but some semi-autos don't like lead bullets). Pistol ammo takes very little powder so a one can goes a long way(I can load 3000 rounds of 38 spl with one pound of powder in my favorite load). So not very big savings unless you cast your own bullets or buy bulk pistol bullets. Like said above the bigger the shell often the bigger the savings by reloading.


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## Oldpagan (Jun 5, 2012)

I keep a single stage press and dies for all the rifle and pistol calibers in my vault, as well as a lee hand loader for each. I reload not because of the cost savings but to insure I have ammo. Think back about a year or so ago about how hard it was to find ammo and what you would have paid for it if you could find it.


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## mojo4 (Feb 19, 2012)

Thanks for all the help. What would be a good price to pay for a used setup? I've seen several in my area at around 400 for press and some dies and a little powder and casings but not sure if that's a good deal or not.


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## retrieverman (Apr 5, 2009)

I got into reloading several years ago to "save money", but in truth, I haven't saved a nickel as I shoot so much more now. My cost per round went down, but the amount of lead I put down range went up.

I bought a used RCBS Rockchucker press for sizing my brass, but I use a RCBS hand primer for priming and Lee hand press for seating my bullets. I will probably get flamed for admitting this, but I use Lee "dippers" to measure my powder. I do own a RCBS electronic scale, but I only use it to check my "dips" every so often.

As an example of cost savings, my 308 hunting load only cost me about 40 cents per round not including the brass. That is using Rem Corelokt 165 gr bullets bought in bulk, CCI 250 primers bought in bulk, and Varget powder bought on sale in 8# jug. 

Beware though, reloading and reloading equipment is extremely addictive, and you can easily out spend your per round savings.


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## Crrrock (Sep 29, 2011)

I'm in Oz (downunder) and took up reloading a few months ago. Mainly to ensure that I can have ammo ready for use at minimum cost. I came upon a good supply of once fired 5.56 cases. Over time I have built up my equipment, and because I'm on a "retirement budget" I have used cheaper end equipment, not to say lesser quality, just cheaper. I pick up second hand where I can. And I use a Lee dipper also, because I'm not looking for a cloverleaf 3 group at 1000 metres, I just wat to hit MOA (minute of animal) and drop what I hit.
It is addictive, and you will shoot more.

Just sayin'.


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## talob (Sep 16, 2009)

mojo4 said:


> So I've decided to start reloading my own ammo. From what I've been told its much cheaper and more reliable as you know the moron who made your ammo! So what press, primer, powder and die does everyone recommend? Any tips or suggestions are greatly appreciated!!


A good idea would be to go to Midway.com they sell about anything you can think of for reloading, and the best thing is you can read the revieus on the tools and components you get pretty honest revieus on the stuff and learn a lot.


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## stayingthegame (Mar 22, 2011)

keep a diary of what you load. the cartridge, primer, powder, and bullet. keep it by the brand of each that you use and the exact load you use. by doing that you will find out what works best in your guns. don't load more than a few at a time until you try your load. you may find that what you loaded doesn't work well. better to take your time and find the best set for you than to load a bunch that is not right.


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## Redtail (Oct 17, 2008)

FOr about 1,200 rounds of 9x19 loaded with lead bullets, the cost per-round for me has been about 8 cents per bullet loaded to 1,000FPS. 
Great training ammo. 

Loading inexpensive calibers isn't always this economical, though using lead bullets almost always reduces costs involved. 

I never reload my dad's .223 stuff because .223 rifles are SO fidgety with projectile weight, twist rates, and having excessively small projectile mass to generate high velocity. You can't realistically use cheap lead alloy slugs with that. 

For rounds like 7.62x54R, pressing rounds isn't much of a money-saver, as pressed rounds often cost considerably *more* than factory military ammunition, but the biggest advantage is that hand-pressed rounds can give you a projectile similar to, or even slightly superior to, the venerated 7N14 SCLBBT match-grade ammo, now impossible to find due to various scare campaigns on both sides of the proverbial table. 
Pressing big pistol bullets and magnum rifle bullets, things like .45ACP, .45 Long Colt, .45 Cassull, .44 Magnum and similar cartridges, you may end up saving as much as half the cost of factory ammo even using FMJ rounds, but you will end up using a lot more in the cost of powder. 

It is my experience that reloading ammunition CAN BE, but IS NOT GENERALLY a good way to make shooting more economical.


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

There is a nifty set of dies from Corbin that will take old fired .22 brass and form it into bullets for .223 ammo. Use them in an older worn barrel, not your nice new match grade barrel.

http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=484059

http://www.survivalistboards.com/showthread.php?t=171714

Good info here:
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/


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## TheLazyL (Jun 5, 2012)

Reloader I would highly recommend: Dillon Precision


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## zombieresponder (Aug 20, 2012)

Hard to recommend anything without a frame of reference.

What are you going to be loading for, and in what quantity? If you're looking at just loading pistol ammo, and not much of it, then a decent single stage press is all you need. If you're loading thousands of rounds, then it would be worth it to buy an auto indexing progressive like the Dillon XL650, along with the case feeder and a bullet feeder.

If you're loading precision rifle ammo(to mean the most accurate possible), a single stage is the only way to go.


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## marlas1too (Feb 28, 2010)

I use lee for all my reloading i still have the lee load all i got 30 years ago for all my 12 gage loading . my bullet moulds and all lee and all my pistol and rifle are all lee 
. never had a problem with lee


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## 101airborne (Jan 29, 2010)

To me reloading your own ammo not only allows you to have good consistently loaded ammo, as well as saving you some money to me it is also a relaxing "hobby" as well. It gives me time to gey my mind off other things. I even offer to reload for friends because I enjoy doing it.


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## Moby76065 (Jul 31, 2012)

101airborne said:


> To me reloading your own ammo not only allows you to have good consistently loaded ammo, as well as saving you some money to me it is also a relaxing "hobby" as well. It gives me time to gey my mind off other things. I even offer to reload for friends because I enjoy doing it.


I've recently gotten into reloading and so far I've spent a lot of money getting set up. That being said I agree with an earlier post, you get addicted, and shoot a lot more. So you really do not save money. But your shooting gets a lot better, you accuire a very good skill. Not to mention my wife loves when I go to the range. (out of her hair she says) Add to the reloading equipment the cost a range membership fee as you'll be there a lot more. And your shooting gets a lot better from two things. Consistancy of the load, and shooting a lot more. In the end it may cost a little more to reload. BUT...you'll ALWAYS hit what you're shooting at. Not to mention the printing industry is making paper bad guys faster then we can put holes in them!!! *THERE'S PAPER ZOMBIES OUT THERE!!!!!!*


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## Londoner (Aug 24, 2012)

The cheapest setups and very good are the lee kits. Perfect for starting out

http://leeprecision.com/


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