Starting Reloading from the Pros

[edevans]

Wondering about getting into reloading from people who have been doing it for awhile.

With the state of factory ammo (my understanding for popular cartridges is pretty good now), would you still start reloading today?

I am interested in reloading for precision long range hunting. I currently only have two calibers, 300 win mag and 6.5 creedmoor. I don’t really have any current plans for getting into other calibers.

Wife is trying to talk me out of picking up a new hobby.

 

[Matt5266]

How much do you shoot a year? 300 mag and 6.5 are very readily available.

 

[wapitibob]

Depends; 7STW factory ammo is close to $100/box. Reloading made sense.
7PRC is half that and I had everything but brass. I bought 200 pcs of ADG 7PRC once fired for $100, so again, it made sense.

 

[edevans]

How much do you shoot a year? 300 mag and 6.5 are very readily available.

Was pretty casual years prior. But starting to shoot more since getting into competitions and want to focus on accuracy for hunting

 

[teflonhunter]

I would buy the Lyman reloading Manuel and read it. I don't think I save a ton on reloading but I get to shoot more for the money spent.

 

[Luked]

The thing I like about reloading is being able to choose what bullet I want to shoot.
Not all calibers I have use the bullet in a factory offering that I want.
I dont think you really "Save" money, but it gives me options. And I am able to shoot more and also have ammo when I want or need it for whatever rifle I might want to shoot.

 

[TaperPin]

At no time since I started reloading in the late 1970s has reloading not been worth it. As a long term hobby, the cost of a good basic tools spread over decades amounts to a couple bucks a month and if you like all the latest gizmos a couple bucks more.

There is no way to reload and not learn more about the shooting sport. It also allows a lot more options for bullets and velocities. The component shortages we’ve had were real, and what components were available weren’t always our first choice, but we always had something that would work. Relying on factory ammo is even worse - guys stopped shooting rifles because of a lack of factory ammo, and some lots have been over 100 fps different.

Reloading is cheaper, even if acceptable practice ammo is inexpensive. For those of us that enjoy it as a hobby, not just to save a buck, we stop thinking about how much we are saving since it almost doesn’t matter. So many extra components are sitting on shelves some of us may not spend less overall, but we’re also shooting and hoarding more.

We all have our addictions.

 

[bnewt3]

Im in a similar boat. Still havent pulled the trigger yet.

I personally think, based on many, many videos, articles, etc that reloading for rifles is a way to build ammo that does exactly what you want it to do and shoots better for you, not as a money-saving venture. You *may* save money at some point(after your reloads pay for the initial investment), but unless you are a competitive pistol or AR shooter, it can take quite a bit of time to see the savings.

 

[arrow179]

 

[id_jon]

Definitely worth it for precision rifle type stuff. I'm reloading 6.5cm for roughly 1.15/round assuming I get 10 or so firings on the brass and that my time is free. I shot around 4000 rounds of 6.5cm this year, so saving almost 4k on ammo if I compare it to factory Berger ammo. You can load Hornady bullets for way cheaper and the factory Hornady ammo is still like $2 a round. 223 barely makes sense to reload, but I do it anyway because I shot a lot of it and I have the time. With 9mm.... I'm loading the rest of my components and then selling all pistol loading stuff. I can load it for .16/ea or buy for .19/ea

 

[slm9s]

"I don’t really have any current plans for getting into other calibers."
HaHa! We all said that at one time.
If you don't care about small groups & are a "close enough" to the bullseye type of shooter maybe don't get into it. If you really try to get small groups and shooting is a part of your life that you don't see stopping, give it a try. You won't save money as you'll shoot way more, but itll cost less per round - especially if you have a Wby/STW/etc...

 

[TaperPin]

If someone likes to buy and sell used stuff, as long as your reloading tools are bought at or below normal market rate you could use the snot out of them for a year or more and sell them for what was paid. Free.

For a kid, or big kid, who likes weekend science projects the Lee classic loader will make a basic round. It’s impossible to not smile the first time you make cartridges with your bare hands. These take all the mystery out of the process and I think are a great way to dip a toe in the water. The generic powder scoop will give a fairly mild load and the dies only neck size, but it’s good to learn that neck sizing works and basic practice loads don’t always need to be weighed.

 

[Mule3006Elk]

For me it's definitely a hobby. I would reload again, yes. The current bullet I shoot cost about $3 per round.
The brass I use is the original brass I bought 9 years prior. I'm still on the original 8 lb jug of H4831SC with about 2.5 pounds left. Primers when I bought them were 4 cents per primer. Cost of powder, bullet, primer, well less than $2 per round. When their was an ammo shortage I happily reloaded. The shortage did not affect me.

 

[mtnbound]

Wondering about getting into reloading from people who have been doing it for awhile.

With the state of factory ammo (my understanding for popular cartridges is pretty good now), would you still start reloading today?

Yes, I would start again. While some factory loads are good, I have experienced undesirable velocity swings, and some are inaccurate; realoading lets me control the outcome. I reload to shoot, not to spend hours tinkering. IMO, it's really easy to get sucked into chasing things that don't really make much difference in the big picture unless you are competing at a high level.

 

[Finaddictions]

I enjoy loading and would always start again, but I also do it from necessity. I shoot a lot. Over 10K rounds a year and sometimes quite a bit more, so I couldn't afford to shoot this much if relying on factory ammo. With that said, I do really enjoy loading until I'm at the point when I have to load 400-500 hundred a week for several weeks running. Then it can become a bit of a chore.

One of the things I love most about reloading is the fact I can create extremely accurate ammo . I shoot PRS almost every weekend, and I need low standard deviations so I don't end up with vertical dispersion. That alone is worth the price of entry.

I also enjoy how much more accurate ammo I can make than factory offerings while using the exact projectile I want. That's a fantastic plus. I decide which bullet I want for what task, and then craft ammo that just works.

The downside is there's a learning curve. With the internet you can cut the curve substantially. The hard part is weeding out the fluff. I would say if you embark on this path, read Formidi
losus’s post on Painelss Load Dev. That's a great starting point for not getting bogged down in so much of the crap people try to convince you is necessary to craft fantastic ammo.

For cost savings, I generally find I can load new brass with the bullet I want for a little less than what factory ammo costs using high end brass. After that loading the brass is free, so the ammo gets way cheaper. Usually ends up being 1/2 the price of factory or even lower.

All told, I can't imagine a world where I don't spend time at the loading bench. It makes the times I'm shooting that much more gratifying!

 

[bnewt3]

I enjoy loading and would always start again, but I also do it from necessity. I shoot a lot. Over 10K rounds a year and sometimes quite a bit more, so I couldn't afford to shoot this much if relying on factory ammo. With that said, I do really enjoy loading until I'm at the point when I have to load 400-500 hundred a week for several weeks running. Then it can become a bit of a chore.

One of the things I love most about reloading is the fact I can create extremely accurate ammo . I shoot PRS almost every weekend, and I need low standard deviations so I don't end up with vertical dispersion. That alone is worth the price of entry.

I also enjoy how much more accurate ammo I can make than factory offerings while using the exact projectile I want. That's a fantastic plus. I decide which bullet I want for what task, and then craft ammo that just works.

The downside is there's a learning curve. With the internet you can cut the curve substantially. The hard part is weeding out the fluff. I would say if you embark on this path, read Formidulosus’s post on Painelss Load Dev. That's a great starting point for not getting bogged down in so much of the crap people try to convince you is necessary to craft fantastic ammo.

For cost savings, I generally find I can load new brass with the bullet I want for a little less than what factory ammo costs using high end brass. After that loading the brass is free, so the ammo gets way cheaper. Usually ends up being 1/2 the price of factory or even lower.

All told, I can't imagine a world where I don't spend time at the loading bench. It makes the times I'm shooting that much more gratifying!

Do you use a progressive press for that volume?

 

[SloppyJ]

I got into it a few years back and dove DEEP down the rabbit hole. Was it worth it? 100% yes.

It started with a 30-06 model 70 that wouldn't group for shit. Well a few grand and a ton of hours later, I realized it was the leupold scope that wouldn't hold zero.

I'm glad I went down that path because it led me to so many more things. You will shoot more if you reload, that's a promise. There's something liberating to being self sufficent when it comes to ammo though. Plus the possibilities it opens for you are super cool. If you're any bit of a "tinkerer" then I think you would enjoy it.

I'm still running the same Lee classic turret press that came in the kit I initially bought. That's about the only thing I have left from that kit that I use. The process of figuring out your own process is fun too. Just do it man.

 

[Nine Banger]

300 win mag is gonna be a bear to do load dev for. 40-60 shoots in an afternoon?

The easy way out is to buy a couple thousand factory loaded 140 or 147 ELDm and shoot. You'll come out ahead financially when you factor in your time.

The guys saying they can't afford to shoot as much as they do otherwise could get a part time job or take on more work and come out better off.

I agree with the guy above that said reloading is about having access to bullets that aren't factory loaded or pet projects like subsonic loads.

Reloading does make me shoot more but it's not training time it's tinkering type shooting.

You'll enjoy it but get into it with accurate payoffs in mind.

 

[Finaddictions]

Do you use a progressive press for that volume?

I don't. I have friends who load pretty good ammo on progressive presses, but I just haven't made that leap. With that said, I'm still fairly quick even with a single stage. I have my process down where I'm cycling ammo in 100 round groups and it takes 72 minutes from start to finish with 100, but I always have several hundred behind them in process, so its like a revolving process.

 

[Fireflyfishing]

Just do it. If you don’t like like it, sell the equipment and go back to being a slave to factory ammo.