quote:

Originally posted by Scooby:
Savings and satisfaction go along ways in reloading. Can I strech my shooting dollars reloading? If yes then reloading is for you. Still get the willies every time I reload for a new caliber.

Ammo price and availability are always issues for me. I have guns in calibers that I wouldn't have if it wasn't for reloading - 10mm, .44Spl, and .41Mag to name a few. It's the first question that pops into my mind when I fancy a new gun in a new caliber - "Can I reload for that?"

Least expensive Factory 7.5x55 Swiss = $0.40 to $0.50 per round.(GP11 is more)

Equal GP11 accuracy reloads with new brass, a nominal $0.43 per round.

Equal GP11 accuracy reloads with once fired brass, a nominal $0.32 per round..... assuming you buy powder in keg volume and bullets in bulk.

I SAVE nothing.I end up shooting 10xs more and LEARNING tons!!!!! reloading is the way to go if your into shooting-

Kinda reminds me of the old joke:

A young man proposes to his girlfriend. Then he goes to ask his Dad "Hey Dad, what does it cost to get married?"

Dad replies "I don't know son, I'm still paying for it."

And that's when the fight started.....

That depends on what you are reloading.

I reload .30-06 for about 60c a round reusing brass. Same for .303 British (though I can only reuse that brass a couple of times).

455 Webley and 9mm Steyr can be done for about 20-25c a round. That's pretty big savings given those rounds cost nearly 90c each bought new.

However this was prior to the price of primers and powder skyrocketing.

quote:

Originally posted by swami:
That depends on what you are reloading.

I reload .30-06 for about 60c a round reusing brass. Same for .303 British (though I can only reuse that brass a couple of times).

455 Webley and 9mm Steyr can be done for about 20-25c a round. That's pretty big savings given those rounds cost nearly 90c each bought new.

However this was prior to the price of primers and powder skyrocketing.

You can reload the 06 for a lot less than that depending on bullet choice. ANyone that tells you they do not save money reloading isn't doing something right. You may or may not shoot more, but you are saving money on every single round if done correctly.

It costs a bazillion dollars — that is why no one reloads and we all use factory ammunition.
In most cases, I can buy virgin cases, premium bullets, powder and primers and still save money over factory rounds.
Re-using the cases and using less expensive bullets, including cast lead bullets, and I can save even more.
Equipment is what you want to spend and how easy you want to make reloading.
Why does the question even show up?
Can't people do their own search for the price of components and factory ammunition?
Do we WANT someone who can't even take the time to do a simple addition loose reloading and possibly shooting next to us?

Hello All.

I am new to this forum, a newbe to reloading and a fairly new to the Sig weapons in general. I own a M400 And I really like the weapon for it's intended use. Like most of you
the cost of Bulk ammo is through the roof. I love to shoot so I purchased a Lee pro 1000. I have 1000 pieces of brass and 1000 .223 55gr FMJ Standard Bullets Version 1 in route as I type.

I am looking for recommendation on power and primer types you guys and gals use.

I would like to be able to load for Target and Varmint. Average range is 100 meters.

Before I start any reloading I will read at least two book. Any recommendation here would also be greatly appreciated!



Thanks

This message has been edited. Last edited by: gent,

Not a Lee progressive fan so good luck with that. Get any small rifle mag primer & you are good to go. In most powder measures, a ball/spherical powder will meter better than a stick type, especially in the Lee. So look at powders from H322-W748 in the burn rate chart/data manual. For a combo target/varmint bullet, the various 52-53gr match bullets are great as well as the Nosler Bal Tip or Varmigedon bullets.
If yo uhave NOT read The ABCs of Reloading, get that. Then at least two reloading manuals; I like the Lyman & SPeer. Read them all, then start dipping your toe in with midrange loads & working up.

I reload for all 19 calibers I shoot other than .22LR and 12 gauge (but I have a press so I could start .12 gauge but dont shoot my shotgun enough).

Computed up today, I costs me $116 to load 1K of 9mm. It would be half that if I cast up 1000 Bullets for it but that would be alot of work so I just use Xtreme plated bullets.

5.56 it costs me about 18 cents a round

Here's what I got:

38 cowboy loads: $5.81/50
380 100gr fmj: $8.54/50
9mm plated 115gr: $7.63/50
22TCM 40gr HP: $8.73/50
357 Magnum 140gr FXP: $14.87/50
55gr varmint HP 223: $4.58/20
150gr SP 300AAC: $6.66/20 (the DEVIL!)
150gr SP 308: $8.74/20
62gr Fusion 223: $6/20

for the sake of discussion - say I'd like to maintain an average of shooting 100rds/wk from each of my primary defensive weapons: three pistols in three calibers (10mm Glock, .45 CCO 1911, pocket 1911 9mm), a 12ga, and one AR in .223... again, a scenario I made up to help me understand the reloading costs/times/etc.

so that's one person shooting a total of 2000rds/mo spread evenly across 10mm/.45/9mm/12ga/.223

and in terms of the ammo itself, my solitary goal is to reload the least expensive fun/training ammo that's not some janky bullshit. like an equivalent to Speer Lawman 230g FMJ in .45, and a 124g equivalent to WWB 9mm. basic, no frills, uncomplicated, cheap as possible, that shoots as reasonably close as possible (in feel/recoil) to my carry ammo in each.

at that rate, am I shooting enough to make it worthwhile/cheaper?

if not, where's the breaking point?

how long (effort hours) would it take to produce that much?

could I reasonably dedicate a weekend or two a few times a year to yield that amount?

what are the realities in such matters?

which equipment is best for that production rate?

and so on...

Thanks.

Reloading shotshell requires a different press, and your volume is too low to really save any money. Shot is very expensive right now, over $40 for a 25# bag.

So if we say ~1500 rounds a month of brass calibers, that's plenty enough to make reloading worthwhile.

If you want to do it all in a couple weekends a year you absolutely can, but you'll need to have enough brass on hand (start saving it now if you haven't already), and everything else is a consumable that you'll need to buy. You'll need to use a progressive press in order to meet your stated time goals.

For 4 calibers, expect to spend $1500 on equipment to do everything RIGHT. Cost savings is largely dependent on the quality of components you choose, and more importantly, the quantities which you buy them in. I buy pistol bullets 5 or 10k at a time, and rifle bullets at least 500 at a time. Primers, my last order was 20k.

Powder,dont ever buy less than 8# jugs, and order multiples at once to save on hazmat.

147gr 9mm costs me about $11.50/100, 230gr 45acp costs me about $14/100, match-grade 223 costs me about $29/100, and competition-grade 308 costs me about $80/100. I also reload a few other calibers, but the volume is either so small that I don't track cost, or there are too many types of bullets for me to bother typing it all out (like 300BLK).

By the way - now is a Shitty time to get into it since powder is very scarce. Between the hoarders, import/export problems at foreign ports, and fires at manufacturing plants, it's the perfect storm for screwing availability.

fantastic. thanks a million for that head-start and those walking around numbers. quick, too.

got it re: 12ga and powder/shitty timing... I'll skip the 12ga and deal with the timing, I'm not in a hurry but in general feel prices will only rise so I'll be patient and shop carefully.

and those 9mm/.45/.223 costs per 100rds are definitely something I can live with. and given your comments about time/effort, a big batch once a quarter seems reasonable and doable too.

if the total costs in such a scenario can be driven down to an average of ~$250/mo for practice ammo, say - on a five year average - then I'd be delighted, and that seems possible so far.

again, thanks much. I'll come back with more questions later.

If you expect to keep costs down over that length of time, you'll need to buy QUANTITY at the best prices you can find. Everything is getting more expensive with each passing day.

As for production rates, it's mostly dependent on the equipment you buy, and then your level of proficiency with it. The presses I have (Dillon 550) can be had for about $400 (just bare press - still need dies and tools and whatnot), and I can do 400 rounds per hour of straightwalled pistol at a comfortable pace. So yeah, you could easily spend a weekend and crank out 5k rounds, which would last you about 3 months at the consumption rates you list.

As far as choosing your equipment - it's a holy war. Literally. I'm a huge Dillon fan, but honestly, my best advice to you is to find someone you know that reloads, or someone close by that is willing to teach you, and buy whatever brand of press they use to teach you. Helps cut the learning curve, and at the end of the day, holy wars (and my own predelictions) aside, they all do the same thing, and they are all within a few bucks of one another if you compare apples to apples models.

very good to know.

I'm in the middle of making other changes, perhaps swapping my .45 CCO for one in 10mm to have one less caliber to monkey with. I'm stuck (by choice) with 10mm given how often I'm in the woods/mountains, so after many years of .45 it may have to go.

overall, nowadays, I'm trying to simplify things, shoot more and more frequently, and spend less.

as a second phase I'd like reload .308 for hunting/distance, and fancy .223 and fancy 10mm too, but as a first phase just the basics for cheaper than retail trigger-time will be great.

where, for example, do you source your 9mm consumables? I'd like an idea of what an order looks like (small but not stupidly small, typical, and big/cheap).

Check out ebay occasionally...seems that people are dumping their Dillon 550's pretty regularly. You can get a whole bunch of equipment for a decent price.

A good friend of mine just got into reloading and I've been helping him out as I can. He's really really frustrated with the absolute lack of bulk powder nowadays. If you're starting now, start looking for a few pounds of powder just to have them on hand to get you started.

Order everything you can in bulk. Primers and bullets are easy to find....for now. I used to buy locally but my favorite haunts have been limiting amounts per customer. I've resorted in sucking up the hazmat fee and ordering online. I try to get at least 10k if not more to equal the price I pay locally plus tax.

For 9mm consumables, the cheapest/easiest to obtain bulk bullets are from XTreme. Get on their email list and they'll send you emails for discounts which they have frequently.

Get a good book to read before you buy anything. A lot of folks recommend the "ABCs of Reloading."

As for me personally, I shoot approx 2k rounds per month. I usually spread out case prep over a few days so I don't get tired of doing everything and wasting a weekend. Case tumbling one day. Sorting the next. Then I spend 4 hours every other weekend loading my pistol loads on the 550. For 223 it takes a lot more time. So I'll spend a half hour a night prepping: Case cleaning one night, sizing on another night, trimming 3-400 pieces on another if necessary, swaging another night if needed, pocket cleaning when I feel like it, final cleaning to remove case sizing lube on yet another night. Then I'll spend a couple hours on a weekend doing the fun stuff; loading them...priming/charging/seating/crimping on the 550.

Well, when you onloy buy powder in 8 pound jugs and a minumum of 5000 primers at a time, yeah I save bunches. But even better, I never run into shortages of my rarer calibers.(Thank you Obozo for that)

http://www.handloads.com/calc/loadingCosts.asp

Calculate cost of reloading

I'm at 10.oo per 50. Not counting my time.