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Reloading


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That depends. If you want soft loads, then probably not...if you want hot loads, then probably yes. You didn't specify which caliber, power factor, grain of bullet, etc.

As for time consuming, many on here have progressive presses and can load upwards of 600-800 an hour (or more with the right press). I load on an Dillon 550 and can easily load 400-500 an hour, depending on caliber.

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I don't consider time a factor, so my time doesn't figure into the cost (I actually enjoy reloading, shooting guns, cleaning guns, working on guns, etc.) so my reloads are cheaper than anything factory loaded that I can buy.

As for accuracy, I have found that those Federal 9MM 115 grain FMJ cartridges are very accurate in my CZ P09 9MM.  I use them anytime I sighting in a new gun, checking to see how a new gun shoots, adjusting sights after a sight install, etc.  Once I get it close with the Federal ammo I finish sighting in with my reloaded hollow points.

I've never found rifle ammo as accurate as what I reload myself, then again, I haven't shot much factory rifle ammo since back in the late 70's (when I started reloading).

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39 minutes ago, narleyskier said:

 

Has anyone found ammo that was comparable to reloading myself?

It's just so time consuming and I would rather shoot than reload.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

What caliber are we talking about and power factor?  I currently don't have a 9mm setup for our reloading press and Freedom Munitions 147gr rounds make around 128 PF on average.  They are $.24 per round.  Could reload for cheaper, but need to get a conversion kit for the Dillon that is currently setup for .40.

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7 hours ago, narleyskier said:

 

 reloading  is

 so time consuming 

 

How many rounds/week are you currently reloading?

On which machine?

You're either using a machine which is too slow for you, or you're

breaking the bank loading 1,000's of rounds /week.

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I agree with thread starter, reloading IS time consuming. all the stuff around is time consuming. 

It's a tradeoff, I never reload 9 minor, just buy factory shit, like 10k a a time to get a decent deal. 

open guns and such tend to like very special stuff, and the shooter is a factor... so reload that + other stuf

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I am looking for 9 minor and 40 major. And I shoot 5-7 k a year which is not much. But it still requires time. And I'm not saying it's not enjoyable but with kids, sports, long hours and various other life tasks. It's hard to find the time to shoot let alone reload.


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If you have a progressive press it shouldn't take too much time at all to reload pistol. I shoot around 1k/month and maybe spend max an 30 to 40 min a week which I can easily spread out over a couple 15 min sessions. You could look into a mark 7 autodrive if you are going through a lot of rounds. I have a couple friends that have these and they love them.

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for me the key to making reloading painless is to be able to leave my press set up and loaded all the time, so all I have to do is sit down with my cup of coffee and start pulling the handle. If you have to set it up and put it away each time, yes, it will be hard to find the time. If you have kids, you probably need to have a lockable room where you don't have to worry about them getting into things when you're not looking.

Waiting for the wife to get ready to go somewhere is another good opportunity for pulling the handle instead of pointing out how frickin' slow she is and how she doesn't need to touch up her makeup to go to the grocery store. You get domestic harmony and another 100 rounds at the same time.

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The closest you can get is to buy from the boutique commercial reloaders/remanufacturers who produce ammo more specifically for competition/uspsa type shooters.

one example is atlanta arms and ammo. they should have ammo closer to what a shooter would reload vs factory ammo which tends to be way too hot (defensive type loads) or way too soft (so called 'target' or plinking ammo).

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If you shoot 9 or 40 Cook Ammunition on facebook sells 9 minor and 40 major loads, both with plated bullets at pretty good prices.  He's got a 147 plated load, a 124 JHP load and is about to roll out a 124 plated round nose load, in 40 I think he just does 180 RNFP plated.  Price is OK, before shipping.  He's at like $26 or so in bags or maybe $30 or so in flip top boxes.  Contact him on Facebook if either of those are your fancy. 

 

His 124 JHP load chrono'd at 130 PF in my shadow at a recent match (had 2 chrono's set up, 1 hit at 1052 +/- and the other was 1042 +/-)

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  • 1 month later...

In 40s&w PMC 40D lists 165gr @1000.  Chrono for 173 in my Edge at Area 5.  Win Train and Defend 180gr @ 925 is soft shooting as well and my current choice.  In 9mm Federal makes a Suppressor load that is 124gr @1000fps.  Chrono'd 131 in my buddies Edge at Area 5.  About the same in my Eagle on my Chrono.  Extremely soft shooting load. 

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I do what Moto does & I shoot 25K+/year & I hate reloading.  I load 100/200 rds every other day or so which easily gives me what I need.

Also, just do your reloading in the winter when there's 10' of snow outside & you can't shoot anyway.  You should easily be able to produce what you need for the entire year

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99.9% of my shooting is 9 Major in open. To keep my gun happy, I have to reload.

But I'm about to dip my toe into PCC and Carry Optics.  For that I picked up some remanufactured ammo to test out. Using the same components, I would save less than $30 by rolling my own so if it works out, good deal for me.

 

Edited by Flatland Shooter
dumb typing mistakes.
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Like Grumpy, it really depends on what you're shooting and your goal for a load. I've found several factory loads that were similar in pf to what I've used in 9, 40 and 45. They were a little hotter but not terrible. Rifle is a different story, I only trust my reloads for long range. I can control consistency and I don't have to worry about small differences box to box like factory ammo.

It's definitely very time consuming but including the price of presses and components I'm coming out cheaper, if my time is considered free anyway. 

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On 9/1/2016 at 10:32 AM, rowdyb said:

No. Nothing I could buy can compete in price and quality for what I can make myself. The ammo I make would sell for 3x commercially compared to what I have in making it.

This. I always find it is about half price to reload, providing you always get the supplies online.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I can push out 100 rounds in 9 minutes (fill primer thingy and bullet feeder Jr included.)  Reloading on my 650 cost me about half as much as factory.  I payed for my 550 based off savings on reloads.  I sold it and pushed that into a 650 which has long payed for itself based off basically saving $0.10/round.    I had been shooting 3k rounds a month which meant I had a lot of time pulling the handle but the money saved was worth it.  

 

When I was working overseas full time I preferred to buy it then reload.  Now I have time so reloading is nothing.  

Edited by kells81
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