Seems like a lot of folks are now dipping a toe into the reloading world…
You can flat drive yourself nuts if you haven’t done it before, or have a good guide…
This is an example of the difference in burn rates. Which is for rifles, and which is for pistols???
If you said pistol on the left and rifle on the right, you’d be correct…
Wideners provided the video above, and has a good primer of the various smokeless powders HERE.
And the next step is reloading manuals… Lots of choices out there, but THIS blog link to AmmoLand gives their opinion of the top five manuals.
You can go any number of places for brass, primers, your choice of bullets or cast your own (YMMV, and it CAN be dangerous playing with molten lead).
And then there is the cost of a good reloading bench… Dillon, Lyman and the list goes on. According to folks I know that reload (a lot), the ‘break even’ on paying for everything, plus brass, bullets, primers and powder is around 5000 rounds. This is regardless of the caliber one reloads.
Two side notes- Yes, you can reload shotgun shells and no, you can’t reload .22 (or any other rimfire shells. Apparently you CAN now reload .22s. Didn’t know that. Thanks to Jeremy for pointing out the capability, HERE.
When in doubt, ask someone who is experienced. Cast Boolits is one online reference for people who cast bullets and reload.
YMMV, I got nothin’ from nobody for this post… So there! 😛
It takes more than 5K rounds to break even…..having ammo easily available makes you shoot a LOT more….
Sorry! I’m just not that adapt at things like this. The only reloading I do in when the brew in the frig runs real low. I guess if I shot more it might be worth it, but to go through 5,000 rounds would take me a year or more.
Actually you can reload 22 rimfire now. Found this a while ago, but have not purchased one yet.
http://22lrreloader.com/design-details/
Interesting. I love it
This reminded me of a product from ancient times. A shotgun shell re-loader that came in a cigar sized box. Hit the fields with a box or two of new 12 gauge and after banging all of ’em, reload on the tail gate. Of course the thing would not work with rifle loads where precision is necessary. I wonder if it’s still made.
B- As you’re supposed to… 🙂
CP- LOL, you’re obviously NOT into serious shooting… For some folks, that is a weeks worth of ammo.
Jeremy- Damn, I’d never even heard of being able to do that! The primer issue was/is the biggest holdback. I wonder how they get the case to pop back out?
Bob- I’ve seen something like that once at our range. An oldtimer was reloading his spent cases between flights.
It was fun for a while and much cheaper but then the cost of caps spiked for some reason and the “cheap” went away.
I found it was easier to load for the Garand than the .223 because of case size – and I guess that’s why I bought another one. The Sierra manual has the most “intelligence” to it from my experience, but it’s good to have as cross-check with other manuals.
I found Reloader magazine to be richly informative and educational in ways that expanded my outlook, since it’s not always about the greatest velocity or the dozen-plus anal-retentive brass-handling actions that make the “perfect” bullet – only to shoot it out the end of a barrel!
I’ve got the Hornady, Lyman, and Lee reloading books, and a complete RCBS “Rock Chucker” kit along with a case trimmer, a few other accessories, and all the dies and shell holders I need to reload all of the calibers I have, and a few more like 308 and 45-70.
All I’ve done besides reading the reloading books cover-to-cover (several times!) has been to take the hardware out of the boxes, look at it, see how it works, get familiar with it, and then repack it…..
It’s one of those projects that’s always getting back-burnered. Hopefully when we’re in Colorado, and it’s easier to go rifle shooting, I’ll set everything up and start reloading 30-30, 5.56, 30-06, and 357 for my little Marlin 1894C.
Bob- Good point…
NC- THanks for the input!
drjim- Sounds like a nice setup!
Not for the patience challenged.
Yep. Takes patience, care, learning, and TIME.
OldNFO-You know, I’m not sure that you CAN get the case rim to pop back out. Which upon further study may cause infrequent indexing issues when used in auto-loaders, but as always YMMV.
WSF- Or those who can’t concentrate… Especially with the powder.
drjim- Yep! But time well spent once you get into the rhythm of it!
Jeremy- Good point, I don’t think you can…
If you’re going to load 100 rounds or less an month, Lee makes it easy to get into reloading, and the initial cost is minimal. Once the bug bites, you’ll want to load more, faster. Pretty soon, you’re pricing a Dillon 550, or similar.
Loves me some Dillon, I do! I’ve got a 550 that has probably done 30K rounds over it’s lifetime, and it will still give me MOA .30-06 loads with disgusting regularity. And Dillon’s customer service is the best in the world, bar none. For example, here’s a recent phone call I had with a Customer Service Rep:
Me: I broke part #XXXXX, and need a replacement.
CSR: Yes sir, we’ll get two of them out today.
Me: How much?
CSR: No charge, sir.
Me: You don’t understand, it wasn’t defective, I broke it because I’m stupid.
CSR: Yes sir, the warranty covers stupid.
Hey, if they cover stupid, they’re gonna get all my business!
Right now, I’m reloading for .38/.357, .41 Mag, .45 ACP, and .45 Colt in handguns, and .223, .243, 7mm-08, .308, .30-06, and .45-70. Without a progressive press, I’d never have time to shoot!!!!
RS- LOL, I’ve heard that before about Dillon, and looks like you can’t make up your mind either… 🙂
I started reloading back in ’77. Ordered my first RCBS stuff from this guy—
http://www.shootingtimes.com/historical/remembering-a-legend-gil-hebard-1918-2012/
—because he offered a 10% discount if you were in uniform. At the time, I was on station in (the former) West Germany. I called my dad and told him there was a big box on the way and to just toss it in the basement, and that I would open it when I got home next year.
A few years back, I worked the sales floor at Huntington’s in Oroville, CA. Lordy, the history in that place! Got to know Fred Jr. and Buzz Huntington. When talking to customers about reloading, I would toss out a figure of $500. I would tell them that amount would get them a decent set up with a single stage press for one caliber. “Now ask yourself, for $500, how much ammo can you buy, and how long will it last?”. The conversation would proceed from there. There is vastly more reloading info available now than when I started, which is good. But it can be daunting for someone just starting out.
I started casting my own boolits in ’78. Used to be with a little snooping, you could get a five gallon bucket full of used tire weights for the asking. Then Kalif. banned the use of lead tire weights. Just one more reason I’m now in Texas. Brought my tire weights with me too. Yeah, I know. Who in their right mind moves with a couple hundred pounds of lead. I was still pissed off.
BTW, RCBS covers stupid as well. I walked in their front door (one door down from Huntington’s) to get a priming arm for my RCBS Jr. press. I made it quite clear that it was not warranty issue, that I had put 2.5 million miles on it since 1977 and worn it out. They handed me a new replacement in the wrap, no charge, “Have a nice day”.
I started reloading back in ’77. Ordered my first RCBS stuff from this guy—
http://www.shootingtimes.com/historical/remembering-a-legend-gil-hebard-1918-2012/
—because he offered a 10% discount if you were in uniform. At the time, I was on station in (the former) West Germany. I called my dad and told him there was a big box on the way and to just toss it in the basement, and that I would open it when I got home next year.
A few years back, I worked the sales floor at Huntington’s in Oroville, CA. Lordy, the history in that place! Got to know Fred Jr. and Buzz Huntington. When talking to customers about reloading, I would toss out a figure of $500. I would tell them that amount would get them a decent set up with a single stage press for one caliber. “Now ask yourself, for $500, how much ammo can you buy, and how long will it last?”. The conversation would proceed from there. There is vastly more reloading info available now than when I started, which is good. But it can be daunting for someone just starting out.
I started casting my own boolits in ’78. Used to be with a little snooping, you could get a five gallon bucket full of used tire weights for the asking. Then Kalif. banned the use of lead tire weights. Just one more reason I’m now in Texas. Brought my tire weights with me too. Yeah, I know. Who in their right mind moves with a couple hundred pounds of lead. I was still pissed off.
BTW, RCBS covers stupid as well. I walked in their front door (one door down from Huntington’s) to get a priming arm for my RCBS Jr. press. I made it quite clear that it was not warranty issue, that I had put 2.5 million miles on it since 1977 and worn it out. They handed me a new replacement in the wrap, no charge,”Have a nice day”.
I’ve been reloading for over 40 years for every caliber firearm we have in the family–except for 22LR. It just isn’t worth the hassle and “iffy” (reliability) factor for me. I’m set up to not just reloading for every caliber, but also have multiple bullet molds for each caliber along with Hi-Tek coating supplies to give my (cast) bullets near jacketed performance.
My attitude is multi-pronged. First and foremost, I want to be self-reliant when it comes to ammunition. I once wrote many years ago when I was working for the NRA’s ad agency that the most dangerous push for gun control would not be for guns themselves, but for ammunition. A gun without ammo is an expensive, unwieldy paperweight or doorstop.
Secondly, I can tailor my loads for my specific guns and purposes. I have several hundred rounds of 30-30 that are loaded with 9.0 grains of Unique pushing a 170 grain FN bullet. It’s like shooting a twenty-two almost and my girls love it. I have 30-06 handloads that do MOA at 200 meters through my (Savage) 110B and .270 loads that are MOA at 100 meters through the Remington 700.
I can’t get that kind of consistent accuracy through off-the-shelf factory ammo. Not the ammo-makers’ fault–too many different guns/combinations/conditions.
And the final bonus/benefit is that I enjoy the hell out of it (reloading).
JD
RHT- Thanks for the excellent advice!
JD- Thanks and good point on the Hi-Tek, I forgot to even mention that!
I read about reliading .22 and said nope absolutely not. The rest is a hobby.