With the discouraging prices of store bought ammo leaving me to only afford going shooting once, maybe twice a year, I have embraced the idea of reloading/hand loading.. I've been heavy on researching it in my free time at work the past few night and found, IMO, the saving are well worth the up front investment and free time spent reloading.

I plan on starting off reloading just .45 ACP since my household has 2 weapons that shoot it now. Probably will buy dies for 9mm as I get used to the process. I know we have some shooters here on i-club, wondering if any of you reload as well.

I'm on calguns as well reading up on what I can find as well. Have the same username there as here. Thanks.

Kyle

 

I don't personally reload, because well, I don't own any guns, but my roommate and a lot of friends and family do. They all swear by it, and enjoy the time the spent doing it. Seems pretty easy and the obvious benefits are definitely worth the investment. They reload everything from 9mm to various AR rounds.

 

Right on. Yeah just doing the math with initial investment costs and supplies to what you save compared to store bought with how fast you can "pay yourself back" by saving money seems like a no brainer!

 

Agreed, if I owned anything, I'd do it in a heartbeat, especially with what prices and availability have turned into.

 

.308 here. Handloading is a definite money saver. Components, especially powder and primers, are virtually non-existant at the moment. The first few batches I made always made me wonder if I was going to walk out of the range with a face full of metal. Nerve-racking but very satisfying (if they work) at the same time.

 

I have been reloading for the past year, and yes it is worth the investment and time especially with todays prices. But at the same time, I must say, do the research and make sure you know every aspect of what your planning to do. It IS dangerous! And I also feel doing it with other people around is a bad idea as you can be distracted, and thats when accidents can happen. Its no joke and should be taken seriously. Its a time consuming hobby that can save you alot of money.

I just have to throw that out there. Also depending on the rig you buy, single stage or progressive, it can be the difference in the amount of time you spend in one sitting. I went with a turret style single stage. Its makes changing between different calibers simple. 1 turret for 1 caliber, changing to reload a different caliber, just swap turrets in less than 5 seconds. I also run the primer loader and powder measure hopper which makes things alot safer when loading by removing part of the human error factor.

With all that said its a great hobby to have in my opinion. Especially if Cali starts registering for ammo purchases.

 

Yeah components are as hard to find as ammo it seems haha.. Makes it depressing still! But I figure once stock comes around, just buy as much as I can to stock up, which I'm sure everyone else is doing the same thing, and assemble as needed. The rat race for ammo/supplies is crazy :/

 

Agree 100%.. It will be a hobby for when the wife is at work and the cars don't need attention. My work schedule has somewhat made my social life fade away, so I'd be by my lonesome doing this pretty much 95% of the time. And safety is always at the top of my priorities with my hobbies.

I'm looking into a Dillon progressive press. I read a lot of people suggesting getting a single stage press for beginners, but I feel as long as I do my research and not be stupid about it, it'll be worth going for. Plus I'm looking for a decent production volume once I get into the swing of things. And since my main concern is pistol ammo ATM, I think a dillon system will pay off nicely.

 

I don't yet but I plan on it now that I have a garage. I have been saving my brass and other peoples brass for years so I have a decent stock pile to work from along with all the factory ammo I have yet to shoot. I am going to start specifically with 308 to get the most out of my bolt gun, and its even more appropriate now that I will be building an ar10. Then I will move to large quantity 556/9mm.

From everything that I have read/heard investing in a good scale is key and well worth the money, and depending on what you were planning on doing single stage might be better.

 

Reloading ain't brain surgery... but unfortunately components, specifically primers, are all but unobtainable right now.

 

San Francisco Gun Show | 2013 San Francisco CA Crossroads of the West Gun Shows

Next weekend starts the California Gun Show season, I'm sure you'll be able to land components there, provided your not showing up late afternoon on Sunday, haha.

 

9mm, .40 Cal, .45 ACP, 7MM Rem Mag and as soon as I get dies, 300 BLK here.

Don't waste time and money on a single stage. Especially if you are loading pistol calibers. The Dillon 550b is a fantastic progressive press. Dillon is only a month or less behind on orders (except rifle dies) at this time iirc. If you are careful, and a little bit OCD you will be fine with the Dillon. Skip the square deal and just go to the 550b.

Tips :

Buy the best scale you can. The Dillon xterminator is great. Get a good set of calipers and a ammo gauge.
Double check your charges. Mounting a light over the press is a great idea.
Go slow in the beginning. Speed will come soon enough.
Start with the .45ACP first. It is a more forgiving round due to its much lower pressure than 9mm, 40, etc.
Get reloading manuals and study them. Especially the sections on pressure signs, what to look for in your brass.
Use new brass or 1x brass fired from your gun if at all possible. Especially if you move to 9mm. And especially if you do not know yet how to "read "your brass.

Feel free to pm me. :-) I've set up a few Dillon's.

Check out Brian Enos forums and store. Great form and great person to do business with.

 

Really kicking myself for not picking up a Dillon 550b setup with 5 dies a year back

 

Right on thanks. I'll probably hit you up when I get a press soon. I've been looking at the 650XL.. Cause when priced out with accessories its only $200 or so more than the 550.. I've been doing a lot of reading this week on the subject and trying to soak in as much info as I can.

I'm not looking to produce match grade rounds at this point. Just want to be able to produce high volume of decent plinking ammo so I can shoot more often.

Still trying to get the wife on board with the idea. Slowly but surely she's coming along.

 

I'm gonna tell you now... you aren't getting out of a reloading setup for less than $800

There's a lot of little stuff you are going to need.
I'll post the Randall list later when I get away from my company's net nanny