So I'm finally purchasing gear to be able to reload. It's not going to be a quick start up. I'm taking my time and going to do it right. I've been looking at reloading books and was wondering what y'all would reccomend as a good starter book and which edition. I'll mainly be shooting .223/5.56, 9mm and 44 mag/special for now. Also could anybody give me an estimate on what it would cost to produce 1000 rounds of .223 and of 9mm assuming I use the brass I already have. I've got buckets of brass so that's not in the equation for me. Thanks yall
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Which book
- Thread starter Childers
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Because of the different bullets and powders that numerous companies supply data for, you'll probably find you need several books to cover the bases.
You don't need a book anymore, everything is on line. If you can find some of the older books (70's and before) snag them up. The older books were produced before the world started suing everyone for their own stupidity. The cost per 1K totally depends on your choice of components. Make your mind up on powder, bullets and primers and figure the numbers. After you figure the numbers mark them up 20% because you'll change your mind half way through and be trying to sell the stuff you started with.
Powder - from $25 to $30 per pound. A pound has 7000 grains, and .223 takes 24 to 27 grains, 9mm takes 4.5 to 6 grains. I get around 250 rounds of .223 and 1200 9mm out of a pound of powder.
Primers - $30 per 1000 for small pistol or small rifle.
Bullets - BIG variable... 9mm $90 to $120 per 1000, .223 figure $125 to $150 per 1000.
Soo... figure $150 to load 1000 9mm, and $250 for .223, it's not not a huge savings, and if you add the cost of your press, dies, measures, scales... you gotta want to reload as a hobby.
Primers - $30 per 1000 for small pistol or small rifle.
Bullets - BIG variable... 9mm $90 to $120 per 1000, .223 figure $125 to $150 per 1000.
Soo... figure $150 to load 1000 9mm, and $250 for .223, it's not not a huge savings, and if you add the cost of your press, dies, measures, scales... you gotta want to reload as a hobby.
Buy the cheap Hornady .223 55gr rounds, they're $89 when on sale and $99 when not.
They shoot just fine out to 600 unless you're shooting a match of some kind.
That's 9 or 10 cents a round.
You can easily spend 3 times that but I'd rather throw a dime down range every time I shoot, instead of a quarter.
Though there are times when I use the more expensive Sierra or Hornady bullets.....
So figure a dime for a bullet, a dime for powder and 3 cents for a primer.
1,000 rounds for $223
Not a huge savings over cheap brass ammo on sale even with the shipping, but you're making quality ammo and $50 to $75 bucks is nothing to sneeze at.
Rich's gave you good scoop above.
I opt for a heavier 9mm 147gr round it takes just 3.2 grains of powder.
They cost me $69 per thousand, I usually pick them up because shipping kills ya.
I get about 2,100 rounds off a pound of powder.
So that's a dime for bullet and primer and less than 2 cents for powder.
So $120 a thousand for 9's.
I think I see a pretty good savings, but like most reloaders you won't save any money because you'll shoot twice as much.
But I make more accurate rounds than I can afford to buy, that's for sure!
A Lee book and a Hornady book are all I own, everything else I need I can get online.
Hope that answers you questions, if not you're welcome to PM me.
They shoot just fine out to 600 unless you're shooting a match of some kind.
That's 9 or 10 cents a round.
You can easily spend 3 times that but I'd rather throw a dime down range every time I shoot, instead of a quarter.
Though there are times when I use the more expensive Sierra or Hornady bullets.....
So figure a dime for a bullet, a dime for powder and 3 cents for a primer.
1,000 rounds for $223
Not a huge savings over cheap brass ammo on sale even with the shipping, but you're making quality ammo and $50 to $75 bucks is nothing to sneeze at.
Rich's gave you good scoop above.
I opt for a heavier 9mm 147gr round it takes just 3.2 grains of powder.
They cost me $69 per thousand, I usually pick them up because shipping kills ya.
I get about 2,100 rounds off a pound of powder.
So that's a dime for bullet and primer and less than 2 cents for powder.
So $120 a thousand for 9's.
I think I see a pretty good savings, but like most reloaders you won't save any money because you'll shoot twice as much.
But I make more accurate rounds than I can afford to buy, that's for sure!
A Lee book and a Hornady book are all I own, everything else I need I can get online.
Hope that answers you questions, if not you're welcome to PM me.
Y'all pretty covered everything. Thanks for the price points. I shoot about 1500 rounds a month. If I can decrease my costs, I can shoot more and have a higher quality load. I also want the knowledge of producing ammunition. I keep reading that I'll want multiple books for different loads. So Lee, Hornady or Lyman for a book? Is the newest version going to be the most useful or should I go back a couple versions?
Just get whatever version is being sold now.
Not counting TIME...
I have several as well. I'd recommend Lyman's 49th. LOTS of good info in the front and pretty comprehensive data on loads. It's a good place to start.
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Lyman, Lee, RCBS, ABCs of reloading. Etc. Etc. There really are no "bad" manuals out there. They all pretty much have applicable information.
