Cheaper to reload or ont?

[gr1975]

I only shoot once a month at a local match. I guess I am only using about 2,000 rounds a year. I guess I will just buy ammo from this point or untill I start shhoting more. Thanks guys!

Might I suggest to find a friend that has a press and shots what you shot, Talk to them and ask them to help you load some up, you can load a 100-250 plus an hr. with a Dillon 550, a couple hours and and a good lesson from a friend and you can then decide if it is worth doing or if it is too much for you. Happy Shooting!

[iLuv2Shoot]

In the long run its definitely much cheaper.

In .40 I could reload a box of 50 for about $6.25 (but I don't reload 40 yet, so don't use my load data - its speculative.)

https://spreadsheets...UWc&output=html

I've spend about $1500 on reloading (press, components, accessories, caliber conversions, etc.) and I've loaded about 3700 rounds so far. Had I bought 3700 rounds at retail pricing as I needed them, it would have cost me about $1000. So far I'm in the hole.

However at about the 8000 round mark I'll have paid off the capital equipment with the savings over retail and I'll be shooting at half price. So its a question of how much you shoot, and how much cash you can give up in the beginning.

A word of warning though: you don't save money, you just get to shoot more.

edit: You don't have to decide now if you want to jump in, but at least start saving your brass. You'll be able to sell/use it later.

Belus...very interesting spreadsheet you have. I noticed that in your notes, you seemed to have a lot of problems with 'sticky primer bar'. Eventually, you sanded, cleaned and polished it to get it to work 'perfectly'. Would you recommend doing that to a press set out of the box as a preventitive measure? Just curious. I have one coming (Dillon 550B) next week.

Great and meticulous info...THANKS!

*---> X

[Rugster]

Sometimes I think I enjoy reloading just as much as shooting. I find it very relaxing

[benos]

Re-loading can become addictive also! Kinda like a hobby on a hobby. LOL

+1 to that! Pulling the blue handle in the man cave is a great get-away sometimes!

I started reloading rifle rounds to save money and get better accuracy. Really made a difference for .308 - 50 cents a round vs $1.00 or more per & 1/2 MOA if I am having a good day.

I recently (last 6 weeks) started reloading handgun rounds - 9mm and 38 special. Probably will purchase another 38/357 die set from Brian instead of fiddling with the 38 special set up.

Until you do that... Say you are set up to load 357. Before you readjust the seat and crimp dies for 38 Special, mark the dies body's with a blue Sharpie marker, and make a corresponding mark on the Toolhead (with the same color marker). Then before you readjust the dies back for 357, mark the dies body's and the Toolhead in the same way, with a different color marker.

be

[Vincerama]

Reloading takes time to recoup costs. This means that the SOONER you start, the sooner you pay off the equipment. At the very least, save your brass after you shoot. The cheapest way to reload without going mad using a single stage for medium volume pistol rounds is a Lee Classic Turret. You can do it on a single stage, but it's very tedious. Reloading on a single stage is a batch process, a turret is nicer because if you only have a bit of time, you will still end up with finished rounds (with single stage, you end up with batches of half finished rounds until you do the last procedure). A progressive is similar, but you reduce the number of handle pulls per round (not counting the first and last round) to one pull per round instead of 4. Doesn't sound like much, but loading 100 rounds means pulling the handle 100 (+4 or so) times versus 400 times.

Start now.