Been several years now but now that I’m back in the states I think a Dillon 550 is in order for

9mm
40
10mm
223

I’m thinking I can get 40 and 9 for 200/1k

Do those numbers seem off? I’m saving about 100$ per thousand but I’ll be able to shoot way more.

$200/1000
Seems a little tight with the the component shortages

If you can get your primers reasonable and brass for free you can get probably get close

Primers if you find them .10- .15 each

Bullets .09 - .15 each

Powder .015 to .03 per drop

Brass .00 - .05 each

It's still less then loaded ammo

Just takes some luck and dillagance on gathering the components for a reasonable price.

Go for it

quote:

Originally posted by RC:
$200/1000
Seems a little tight with the the component shortages

If you can get your primers reasonable and brass for free you can get probably get close

Primers if you find them .10- .15 each

Bullets .09 - .15 each

Powder .015 to .03 per drop

Brass .00 - .05 each

It's still less then loaded ammo

Just takes some luck and dillagance on gathering the components for a reasonable price.

Go for it

That's quite a bit more expensive than what I'm seeing around here.

Primers, 0.07 ea.

Bullets 0.09

Powder 0.015

So, $8.75/box/50

If you’re seeing primers for $70/1000, just make sure they take credit cards or cash (the latter in person, of course).

$110/1000 primers
$25/lb powder

quote:

Originally posted by tsmccull:
If you’re seeing primers for $70/1000, just make sure they take credit cards or cash (the latter in person, of course).

I did. I bought 3,000 of them for a computer illiterate friend I shoot with every week.

One small error. I was thinking 209 shotgun primers delivered cost when I made my list above. It was $85.00 per thousand delivered for the small pistol primers, so that's another 50 cents per box.

I haven't worked the numbers lately, but even with component shortages, I was happy to be reloading as it kept me shooting (albeit at a much reduced rate) through the panic when no ammo was availabke to be had anywhere. At this point, I'm starting to see ammo come back in stock, and prices are even dropping some...but components are still pretty scarce.

I do t think you'll save much money reloading, especially with the calibers you listed (10mm will probably show the most savings, especially if you can source free or cheap brass), but I'd still recommend that you get set up to do it anyway. It's easier to stockpile components than ammo, it gives you more versatility with choices of loads and allows you to direct your available resources towards whatever caliber you're wanting to shoot at the time. Heck, during the recent stupidity, I even went through my scrap bucket and reclaimed a bunch of live primers from discarded cases, and used them for range ammo. It gives you options that you wouldn't have otherwise.

A word of caution about the 550...it's a great press, but you have to be extra careful since the manual index makes it quite easy to create a double-charge if you're not paying attention and fail to advance it. There are ways to mitigate this (mainly, pay attention to what you're doing!), but an auto-indexing press makes such an occurrence far less likely.

quote:

Originally posted by 92fstech:
A word of caution about the 550...it's a great press, but you have to be extra careful since the manual index makes it quite easy to create a double-charge if you're not paying attention and fail to advance it. There are ways to mitigate this (mainly, pay attention to what you're doing!), but an auto-indexing press makes such an occurrence far less likely.

You're right about this. Everyone I know who had an overcharge was using a 550, so that's quite a coincidence.

Can you guys recommend a good auto indexing press?

I always used a single stage before.

I’ve always heard the Hornady LnL being mentioned

quote:

Originally posted by OttoSig:
Can you guys recommend a good auto indexing press?

I always used a single stage before.

I’ve always heard the Hornady LnL being mentioned

Ask different people and you'll get different answers. If anyone tells you that certain brands are junk, avoid that someone as there are no auto indexing presses that are junk on the market and anyone who says there are obviously isn't a knowledgeable reloader although they might be an experienced one. There's a huge difference between the two.

If I were you I'd find a mentor to teach you how to reload (assuming you don't now how) and use whatever he uses so there will be no steep learning curve.

The XL650 (or 750 or whatever they call it now) is a great press if your goal is to turn out volume in the shortest amount of time. It's workflow is optimized for a case feeder, though, so as long as you don't mind buying all the extras ($$$), that's the one to get.

I have a Hornady LNL, because I have more time than money, not a lot of vertical space to accommodate a case feeder, and I prefer the workflow of the LNL for loading cases and bullets by hand (components get loaded with the left hand, allowing the right to always remain on the handle). It's also easier to switch calibers on, but that's not been a factor for me since I only use it for 9mm. The LNL has it's quirks, but I am very happy with it and it has produced thousands of quality rounds for me.

That’s kind of where I’m at 92FS.

If I can save 20$ per thousand but have piece of mind with components and better learn a skill I’ll be happy with that.

I also enjoy the hunt, so finding components is part of the enjoyment for me.

It’ll mostly be 9, 40, 10mm, 223, and 308, with a little 45-70 here and there. All the common ones huh?!?!

But it’ll be fun. I really enjoy hands on activities to pass the time so this will be fun. I haven’t been able to reload anything in 8 years so it’ll be nice to slowly get back into it.

I’ll read up on some different presses and start collecting my reloading manuals again, I think I only got two left at this point.

I use a Hornady LNL, no complaints.
Very easy and cost effective to change calibers.

quote:

I really enjoy hands on activities to pass the time so this will be fun

Yeah, I'm right there with you. It's kinda turned into a hobby all its own for me. I enjoy the loading process, shooting and working up loads, and the satisfaction and confidence of knowing exactly what I'm putting through my guns. I actually have range trips now that are more about shooting to further my reloading (chronographing or testing loads, or even freeing up brass to try a new load) rather than the other way around.

If you're loading .45-70, that'll pay for itself REALLY fast. It'll also open up a whole new world for that cartridge...it can be very versatile, but it's way easier (and cheaper!) to leverage that versatility by cooking up your own than it is to try to source a wide variety of factory loadings to try.

Another avenue that reloading has opened to me is the whole milsurp thing. In the past, I kind of shied away from buying stuff chambered in expensive and obscure cartridges, but now so long as I can find brass, it's really no big deal to feed most of these older guns.

I will suggest that it might be handy to have a simple turret press or a single-stage for low volume stuff. Progressives are kind of a pain to set up and switching them back and forth can be time consuming. If I'm going to run 50 rounds of .45-70 or 6.5 Swede, it's much easier to just do it on my single-stage. I also have my dies set up to use the Hornady LNL quick-change bushings so I don't have to adjust them every time I swap them out.

Flash-LB

Where are you getting your primers from?

That's a great price

quote:

Originally posted by RC:
Flash-LB

Where are you getting your primers from?

That's a great price

That was Powder Valley

Thanks

I have not been fast enough to catch up with any of the below .10 each prices these days.

Hopefully .10 each and more is not the new norm


Buying 100,000 primers in a group buy seems like it was a long time ago, just wish I had gotten a few 100,000 more at that time.

I was buying Federal Primers and was concerned about the amount of storage space I needed to have if I had bought a whole bunch of them at one time for myself.

At the time we were hooked up and they were readily available,

Oh well...

Cool thread. I started reloading .44 mag last week after gathering difficult to find components (primers, shells, Vhitavuori N-105) and it's very rewarding to shoot some quality ammo at about 1/3 the cost. Worth it, and it's kind of relaxing to reload...althought it's difficult when my daughter is running around wanting to jump on my back and i'm needing to weight out exactly 17.9 grains of powder !

GM

I have been running two 550 for about forty years
problems described have been non existent for me.
I am at that age and have sold off most of my supplies
I still get the blue press and about crapped my pants
when I finally opened one up saw new price,one cost me $200 and the next one
$230.

quote:

Originally posted by 45 Cal:
I have been running two 550 for about forty years
problems described have been non existent for me.
I am at that age and have sold off most of my supplies
I still get the blue press and about crapped my pants
when I finally opened one up saw new price,one cost me $200 and the next one
$230.

It's mind boggling for sure. I just upgraded to a Hornady progressive press - it's a really nice product but they've got the same issue as Big Blue in a lot of ways. The accessories cost almost as much as the press - I lost the case feeder when I left the Lee, and the price of the Hornady feeder system is damn near the $600 I paid for the press. The community stepped in with simpler 3D printed case feeders, but I feel that's an issue that could have been resolved by the manufacturer.

(I will likely end up owning the case feeder, but not right away - my wallet's still stinging from the press purchase.)