curious about reloaders

[bwsmith]

I have my equipment and I am about to start as soon as I get my supplies. I decided to do it because every time I go to buy good hunting ammo it costs me $40 a box and for less money I can make some ammo dialed in for my rifle. Three boxes of ammo at that price is as much as the equipment you need to start. Plus going to the range to practice is fun, but going to test different loads sounds like more fun than just tapping a hundred rounds of silver box. Once your ammo and rifle agree with each other, then you can really start practicing your part. Before that, you have to wonder how many fliers are you or the ammo.

Basically, I want 100 yard 5 shot cloverleafs with hunting rounds from my Remington 700 SPS Tactical.

 

[wdawg249]

WTH

I reload because I can.

There is a proud heritage associated with loading your own. Whether it be The Stoenwall Brigade dropping powder and shot down the muzzle, The Cowboy of the West or Inkdaddy and drtybykr loading their own pistol rounds, reloading is part of being a free man.

I reload because I can.

 

[flyingfrog509]

Only reload for myself/family. Always shoot the reloads myself in the gun they will be shot in until they are proven rounds that are trustworthy.

Do it for fun and to teach the children as much as possible (never know what is going to spur interest in science / math / etc). Anything
to do with the children that doesn't include a video game works for me. Also do it for the satisfaction of accuracy that is hard to obtain from factory ammo.

Haven't timed exactly how long case prep takes yet. Loading pistol rounds after polishing and checking case length we can get about 100
in 30-40 minutes assuming inital setup is done. (powder charge & dies are set) This is just using a single stage press. Sometimes it takes
longer, but speed isn't the main focus...safety and accuracy are.

 

[Petro_58]

Had a co-worker give me a box of .38 spl HP reloads many years ago. He was one of those guys you felt you could trust. The cases were mixed brass and nickel plated. He said he loaded them "a little hot to use for PD". Went to the range and shot a cylinder full. Tried to eject the cases and one was stuck. Got it out, and it was split down the side. Checked the rest out, and found 3 more split at the neck (all of them were nickel plated). Found several brass rds. with the bullets seated crooked. I've never used anyone else's reloads since.

There are several potential explanations, old brass, reloaded to many times, Nickel Plated cases don't normally last as long, and to me are always srutinized more closely before reloading, and Yes possibly "hot loads" etc. But we went to the Range 2 weeks ago with my neighbors brand new Rossi .357 lever action. Brand new Factory ammo and had 2 cases that were split also. So point being, it doesn't matter reloads or new you can always have a Failure of brass or even a double charged round etc. That's one reason why I wear SAFETY GLASSES. " A little HOT" for one weapon may be A SERIOUS FAILURE FOR ANOTHER.

I also trust Nobody's reloads over my own. I know how careful I am. And I've seen others on here and other Forums that like to brag on how quick they can pump out their reloads, and frankly you'd never see me shooting them. Speed over caution = Disaster eventually. I also read on another forum the other day a guy posting how he "Blew another one up" (his 4th in 5years). His luck is eventually going to run out. He swears he's careful with his loading proceedures, I like others have our doubts. It only takes one mistake, or one distraction to equal a Failure, how serious depends.

 

[JHV2]

To answer your first question. It is dishonest. I am a firm believer that if you are ashamed to tell someone what you are doing; you probably should not be doing it. (Well, you asked )

My suggestion is to get your friend(s) involved. In the past I have "shared" reloading equipment and supplies with others. As long as you maintain a safe process, working together can make it less tedious.

As to saving money, when I started I purchased lee equipment for .38 special. Powder and cast bullets (I had been saving brass for a while). It took me less than 1000 rounds before my average cost/box was less than range-purchased ammo.

$270 in supplies / 1000 rounds = $.27 / round = $13.50 per box -- And it just keeps getting better from there.

if your doing reloading , why not sell it don't tell anyone is there that much liability in it . if it was a friend and he did good work and you trusted him would that not be a good idea i also looked at supplies online just to see the cost of it and i dont see how it is cheaper , and if you cant sell it then WTH

 

[rbstern]

I also read on another forum the other day a guy posting how he "Blew another one up" (his 4th in 5years). His luck is eventually going to run out. He swears he's careful with his loading proceedures, I like others have our doubts. It only takes one mistake, or one distraction to equal a Failure, how serious depends.

Does he use a Dillon 550? Anecdotally, seems like the press that results in the most double charges.

 

[EMC45]

I reload because the cost savings is there. At first it took a little while to recoup the cost. I have had a bunch of stuff given to me so a lot of what I do/spend balances out. I also look for deals on used equipment (still very good with many years left in it if taken care of) and have a few folks that know I reload/cast to look out for me for deals or giveaways. I get a box of .38s down to about 2.50 a box of 50. They are more consistent and more accurate than any factory ammo I have used and they are tailored to my gun. Sell my ammo? No way! I have loaded for others though. Like my brother and father (just gave my Dad a revolver and I wanted him to have some ammo to shoot). I have gotten about 8 people into reloading and they enjoy it. Some have gone all out and gotten some pretty expensive and that's fine, but other have bided their time and gotten used gear (some from me) and had just as much fun! I find it funny how when a person just gets into reloading the eagerness they have to get others to try their ammo...Kinda scary....

 

[bearpugh]

i really didn't know you couldn't sell it .so the people that reload only do it for themselves.

illegal. you can buy a license pretty cheap. but liability insurance might be high. not worth the risk. even if your ammo is perfect, a defective firearm could end up getting blamed on you. then comes the lawsuit. as an unlicensed ammo manufacturer you're toast.

 

[wildmantaz]

I load so I can shoot more on the same money. Also I can tune my load with different powders and weights to get the best accuracy.
I never load over max load and never sell.

 

[Wheeler]

Does he use a Dillon 550? Anecdotally, seems like the press that results in the most double charges.

The disadvantage to the Dillon 550 is the manual indexing. It's not a failure of the equipment but rather a failure of the operator to rotate to the next station. The Dillon 650 has an auto indexing feature that helps prevent double charges from occuring.

Wheeler