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Sanity Check: getting OUT of reloading


rjacobs

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Probably an odd topic, but one I have been wracking my brain on the past few weeks... Usually you read "getting into" reloading types of posts, but I am contemplating the opposite.

 

I have no time to shoot, havent for the past year(got married and all that goes into that), dont see shooting much for the next year(building a house and moving).  In the past 2 years what I have shot, I can buy for almost cheaper than it costs me to reload(9mm, 45, shotguns).  I WOULD keep my Forster Co-Ax single stage along with my Forster 6.5 creed, .223 and 300blk dies.  I also have an RCBS chargemaster that I would either keep or upgrade to an Autotrickler V3.  

 

The rest of my setup is a Dillon XL650(with all the aftermarket upgrades: primer shut off, bearings, primer chute, roller handle, strong mount, bullet tray, hex wrench holder, etc...), Dillon case feeder, Mr. Bullet Feeder(9mm), 9mm loading tool head, 45 loading tool head, 223 prep/trimmer tool head(with RT1200), 223 loading tool head, 300blk prep/trimmer tool head(with RT1500), 300blk loading tool head, extra powder thrower, and some other stuff... Not a full inventory list obviously.

 

I also have a TON of powder, bullets, and primers... Also have a big dual drum wet tumbler that can tumble 50lbs of brass at a time plus the big Dillon media separator.

 

I believe I have like $5-6k or more worth of stuff thats just sitting...

 

This stuff has taken me like 6-8 years to accumulate it all.

 

My thought is to sell it all(except my precision stuff) and use the money to just buy like 5k rounds of 9mm, 2k rounds of 45, and maybe 2-3k rounds of 223... I figure I can get all that for about 2000 and have a bunch of money left over.  It would likely take me years to shoot up all of that.

 

Am I out of my mind thinking of selling all my equipment and components?  I dont know that I want to sell it, and financially its obviously not hurting me to let it sit so I dont NEED to sell it, but it also pains me to see expensive equipment and components that arent getting used just sit and collect dust.

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Seek professional help, do not sell unless you are committed to be a non shooter.  Or, load all the calibers mentioned then sell the progressive stuff.  It always costs 2x more to restock equipment than to hold on to it.

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Could always sell the components but I wouldn't sell the gear.

 

I'm probably on the crazier side as my wife and I are expecting our first and I'm just now getting into reloading. Plan is to load a ton before the kid is born to get me through summer and then sit down an hour here and there.

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Difficult decision OP,  as what you have is paid for (sunk cost) however there is a cost to transporting it from place to place as your family grows.

 

The money is already spent.  Unless you have an urgent need for additional cash flow or need to downsize, there doesn't seem to be a driving financial need to liquidate that your holdings.

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man pack that stuff away in a crate, dont let todays low ammo prices fool you. Wasnt long ago ammo and componenets were SKY high.. I am a longterm reloader havent bought factory ammo since the 80's,, but I buy 9mm now cause it aint worth my time to reload... HOWEVER I remeber when it was and am hanging onto my stash of components.

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12 minutes ago, Intheshaw1 said:

Could always sell the components but I wouldn't sell the gear.

 

I'm probably on the crazier side as my wife and I are expecting our first and I'm just now getting into reloading. Plan is to load a ton before the kid is born to get me through summer and then sit down an hour here and there.

 

Ive always found the components were the more difficult items to get... Machines and die's have usually been available.

 

 

10 minutes ago, muncie21 said:

Difficult decision OP,  as what you have is paid for (sunk cost) however there is a cost to transporting it from place to place as your family grows.

 

The money is already spent.  Unless you have an urgent need for additional cash flow or need to downsize, there doesn't seem to be a driving financial need to liquidate that your holdings.

 

I wouldnt call it a "sunk cost" as the equipment is worth close to what I paid for it.  Its not really a financial reason or a downsizing reason, just a lack of use and I hate to see expensive equipment sitting around.

 

5 minutes ago, Joe4d said:

man pack that stuff away in a crate, dont let todays low ammo prices fool you. Wasnt long ago ammo and componenets were SKY high.. I am a longterm reloader havent bought factory ammo since the 80's,, but I buy 9mm now cause it aint worth my time to reload... HOWEVER I remeber when it was and am hanging onto my stash of components.

 

Thats the part of me that says "keep it all".  I dont know that I see the political headwinds changing for a few more years so I feel like stuff will stay cheap a bit longer.  But I got into reloading in 2008 and have weathered a few storms already.

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Don’t sell it! It’s a sunken cost.

 

If you sell (in which case you will lose a ton of money) and buy all that ammo it sounds like you may not have time to shoot it anyway?

 

Just put it away for awhile and when you have time again you can start right back up. If cared for, nothing you own has an expiration date.

 

As started only sell if you are getting out of shooting.

 

Things are cyclical, and just because things are cheap and plentiful now doesn’t mean they always will be.

 

When the next ammo/reloading crunch hits, and it will hit, you are all set. Hell, if you insist on selling, wait till the next shortage and get top dollar.

 

 

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2 hours ago, rjacobs said:

I have no time to shoot, havent for the past year(got married and all that goes into that), dont see shooting much for the next year(building a house and moving). 

 WAIT A YEAR AND SEE HOW YOU FEEL ABOUT GETTING BACK INTO IT. IF THE URGE IS GONE, SELL IT OFF.

 

  In the past 2 years what I have shot, I can buy for almost cheaper than it costs me to reload(9mm, 45, shotguns).   ANOTHER REASON TO SELL IT OFF.

 

My thought is to sell it all(except my precision stuff) and use the money to just buy like 5k rounds of 9mm, 2k rounds of 45, and maybe 2-3k rounds of 223.  It would likely take me years to shoot up all of that.

 IF IT WOULD TAKE YEARS TO SHOOT THAT MUCH AMMO YOU DON'T NEED A BENCH FULL OF EXPENSIVE STUFF. SELL IT OFF.

 

Am I out of my mind thinking of selling all my equipment and components?

 NO, PROVIDED YOU GIVE IT A LITTLE TIME TO BE SURE.

 

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Did you see the spreadsheet I made to figure out reloading savings?

https://forums.brianenos.com/topic/282051-the-“how-much-do-you-save-reloading”-speadsheet/

There is still a ton of money to be saved by reloading. Especially is you recycle brass. And especially for rounds like 300 BO. Cost savings for those types of rounds is substantial.

It’s for sure not the boon it was a decade ago, but as stated I believe we will see that cycle again, and one of the main reasons to reload is take sure you have ammo any time you want it.

As far as the components go, prices on that stuff just keeps going up, and like I said it never expires.

Like someone else, unless you need to the cash to keep someone from breaking your legs over a debt KEEP IT!



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I just got back into shooting this year after a decade break. I got primers and powders I bought at 70lbs a pop back in 06-07. Been hanging out in my shop
Currently I got back into pin shooting and just loaded a years supply of match and practice ammo using primers that cost me 13.99 per K and powder priced at 15.99 a lb. Free brass and bullets that were around $80 per K

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How long can you let a press like a 650 with a bullet and brass feeder sit unused without developing issues? I believe to keep it in good operational condition, you need to run it regularly.

 

The good thing with Dillons is that they have good resale value. You can sell yours for now for still good money. Should you decide to do progressive reloading again, you can always get another press.

 

my .02 cents.

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How long can you let a press like a 650 with a bullet and brass feeder sit unused without developing issues? I believe to keep it in good operational condition, you need to run it regularly.
 
The good thing with Dillons is that they have good resale value. You can sell yours for now for still good money. Should you decide to do progressive reloading again, you can always get another press.
 
my .02 cents.


Just curious what your line of thinking is?

I don’t see what difference sitting used or unused would have on longevity?

They are well built. Uncoated parts are rust resistant, other parts are powder coated. I would think just wipe it down before storage, or if you are leaving it assembled,again wipe it down to get all the gunk off and it would be good to go for many many years.

Especially depending on your environment I would think it would last forever. Here in AZ we are lucky. Due to the dry salt free air, as long as you keep stuff out of the sun, things tend to last a long time. But I don’t see why with a little forethought and care that wouldn’t be true everyplace else.


To that, I’ve been in the Dillon shop when people have brought in presses that have been sitting unused for 15-20 years.

Maybe a relative had it sitting in a basement and it was found after they passed away, or it was picked up at a garage sale from someone who didn’t know what they had. Regardless, these presses weren’t even cared for or put away with thoughtful storage in mind.

All these presses typical need is a little lubricant, and maybe an updated part of two and they are off and running.

So no, I wouldn’t worry about if the press gets used or not. It will be just fine. But you should still put a little thought into how much to store/care for it’s going to be unused for some time.


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I just got back into shooting this year after a decade break. I got primers and powders I bought at 70lbs a pop back in 06-07. Been hanging out in my shop
Currently I got back into pin shooting and just loaded a years supply of match and practice ammo using primers that cost me 13.99 per K and powder priced at 15.99 a lb. Free brass and bullets that were around $80 per K


How was your press after a decade of non use?


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My SDB sat unused for about a decade - no problem.

 

It escalated in value - think I bought it for about $250 and now its worth almost $500.

 

I still have a couple pounds of WW231 that is at least 20 years old (probably more).

 

You can't lose either way:  sell it or keep it.  It's just the aggravation of selling it all.

 

Sounds like you'll be back "in the game" one day - everything will be fine and

waiting for you.

 

Nice problem to have :  Sell it for $ 5,000 or hang onto it.    :) 

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I sold my 650 a few years ago for some of the same reasons. I wasn't shooting as much and thought I could buy what I needed. I did but found that reloading helped me to shoot more for the same price. Fast forward to last year. I purchased a LnL and had to rebuy a lot of "stuff" I had forgotten about and it was a lot. Keep it if you think you will ever have the itch to start reloading again.

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I'd say box it all up into a type of throne or whatnot, then sit on it and mope until the wife asks what's wrong.

Dillons get 80% resale. The new 750 is out and some people are looking for 650s because they don't like the new priming system.

Honestly I'd run a bunch of ammo if you can, then sell it off and upgrade to M7 later on if you jump back into it.

Or sell it to a friend with the stipulation you can use it when needed and buy it back. Like having a friend with a boat.

Keeping the SS is a no brainer, as good quality rifle rounds are money and the SS takes up much less space than the Dillon.

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needed cleaning and a bit of lube, primer feeder allen bolts were siezed and stripped getting it off, DIllon sent me a new piece. I also ordered most of the plastic consumable parts and replaced all those. Other than that was fine

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needed cleaning and a bit of lube, primer feeder allen bolts were siezed and stripped getting it off, DIllon sent me a new piece. I also ordered most of the plastic consumable parts and replaced all those. Other than that was fine

[emoji1362]


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10 hours ago, iflyskyhigh said:

 


Just curious what your line of thinking is?

I don’t see what difference sitting used or unused would have on longevity?

They are well built. Uncoated parts are rust resistant, other parts are powder coated. I would think just wipe it down before storage, or if you are leaving it assembled,again wipe it down to get all the gunk off and it would be good to go for many many years.

Especially depending on your environment I would think it would last forever. Here in AZ we are lucky. Due to the dry salt free air, as long as you keep stuff out of the sun, things tend to last a long time. But I don’t see why with a little forethought and care that wouldn’t be true everyplace else.


To that, I’ve been in the Dillon shop when people have brought in presses that have been sitting unused for 15-20 years.

Maybe a relative had it sitting in a basement and it was found after they passed away, or it was picked up at a garage sale from someone who didn’t know what they had. Regardless, these presses weren’t even cared for or put away with thoughtful storage in mind.

All these presses typical need is a little lubricant, and maybe an updated part of two and they are off and running.

So no, I wouldn’t worry about if the press gets used or not. It will be just fine. But you should still put a little thought into how much to store/care for it’s going to be unused for some time.


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Unfortunately, I live in a state where we are not blessed with a dry climate. Heat and humidity is an issue during the summer and temps in my basement  reloading area can be a little cold during the winter. These conditions require extra diligence in maintaining my press and guns.

 

A buddy of mine had a 550 that sat unused in a reloading area similar to mine for a little over two years. It took some serious cleaning to get it back to tip top shape.

 

I just find it sad to have good piece of machinery sit idle. It's like having a very nice blaster and just letting it sit inside a safe ;)

 

 

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1 hour ago, hiker88 said:

Unfortunately, I live in a state where we are not blessed with a dry climate. Heat and humidity is an issue during the summer and temps in my basement  reloading area can be a little cold during the winter. These conditions require extra diligence in maintaining my press and guns.

 

A buddy of mine had a 550 that sat unused in a reloading area similar to mine for a little over two years. It took some serious cleaning to get it back to tip top shape.

 

I just find it sad to have good piece of machinery sit idle. It's like having a very nice blaster and just letting it sit inside a safe ;)

 

 

I get it.

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On 1/21/2020 at 6:10 PM, rjacobs said:

My thought is to sell it all(except my precision stuff) and use the money to just buy like 5k rounds of 9mm, 2k rounds of 45, and maybe 2-3k rounds of 223... I figure I can get all that for about 2000 and have a bunch of money left over.  It would likely take me years to shoot up all of that.


With the ammo that I like (quality JHP in 115 gr for fun/competition or 147 gr HST for suppresed/self-defense), 5k of 9mm would be $2000 all by itself.

$2000 sounds like a very low estimate for the amounts & calibers you listed. It would have to be really cheap stuff.

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On 1/21/2020 at 6:10 PM, rjacobs said:

Probably an odd topic, but one I have been wracking my brain on the past few weeks... Usually you read "getting into" reloading types of posts, but I am contemplating the opposite.

 

I have no time to shoot, havent for the past year(got married and all that goes into that), dont see shooting much for the next year(building a house and moving).  In the past 2 years what I have shot, I can buy for almost cheaper than it costs me to reload(9mm, 45, shotguns).  I WOULD keep my Forster Co-Ax single stage along with my Forster 6.5 creed, .223 and 300blk dies.  I also have an RCBS chargemaster that I would either keep or upgrade to an Autotrickler V3.  

 

The rest of my setup is a Dillon XL650(with all the aftermarket upgrades: primer shut off, bearings, primer chute, roller handle, strong mount, bullet tray, hex wrench holder, etc...), Dillon case feeder, Mr. Bullet Feeder(9mm), 9mm loading tool head, 45 loading tool head, 223 prep/trimmer tool head(with RT1200), 223 loading tool head, 300blk prep/trimmer tool head(with RT1500), 300blk loading tool head, extra powder thrower, and some other stuff... Not a full inventory list obviously.

 

I also have a TON of powder, bullets, and primers... Also have a big dual drum wet tumbler that can tumble 50lbs of brass at a time plus the big Dillon media separator.

 

I believe I have like $5-6k or more worth of stuff thats just sitting...

 

This stuff has taken me like 6-8 years to accumulate it all.

 

My thought is to sell it all(except my precision stuff) and use the money to just buy like 5k rounds of 9mm, 2k rounds of 45, and maybe 2-3k rounds of 223... I figure I can get all that for about 2000 and have a bunch of money left over.  It would likely take me years to shoot up all of that.

 

Am I out of my mind thinking of selling all my equipment and components?  I dont know that I want to sell it, and financially its obviously not hurting me to let it sit so I dont NEED to sell it, but it also pains me to see expensive equipment and components that arent getting used just sit and collect dust.

It sounds like your mind is already made up but you really should not sell any of it. Oil it up, throw it in a box and forget about it. I guarantee you will regret it one day if you sell it. 

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  • 3 weeks later...

I take breaks from shooting and reloading. No way would i ever sell what i have. When i got into it MANY decades ago, i couldn`t replace half of what i have for what i paid for it. With all the high cost of buying it again, (and you KNOW, the price to replace it again is gonna be outrageous) its just ridiculous to sell it all. Ammo crunch`s happen alot more often now, too. Every election cycle proves that. When they thought the dems were going to win in 2016, you couldnt find a box of ammo to save your but, BUT, because people all around me stopped shooting, because they couldn`t buy ammo, i was the guy still out there shoottin every day (almost) because i had reloading gear and components stored for bad times. And i dont see our future as gun owners that this future is going to get any better, its going to get alot worse. 

 

And whats going to happen when components and gear will not be able to be found, and when you do, you`re gonna pay some awful big money for it. My first progressive press cost me $179 dollars back in the 80`s. That same press today is $500 dollars. Granted it has had some updates thru the years, but still, its going to cost you dearly when you sell, only to get back into it later, and you WILL, because its what we do. I predict the communists are going to tax ammo out of existence. Any of us that reload, will still be able to shoot for awhile, until they ban components, or license and register you to buy the stuff.  

 

OP, i get what your saying... but do yourself the biggest favor you can, just clean everything, lube it up good, and pack it away. You`ll regret selling everything. Right now you dont see the time, but i guarantee, you WILL, later on. (been there done that, and glad i never sold anything) Now, if you are really hell bent on getting rid of it all, i`ll PM you my address with where to send it all. Then i`ll send you a storage invoice once a month for it just to keep it all dialed in and running fresh for you. ;)

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