Reloading Your Own Ammo

[eaglesfn68]

im thinking about getting into reloading my own ammo. just want to now what equipment you need, how expensive is it, and is it worth it.

[JFD]

I don't have the time to answer the questions right now, but it would surely help if you let us know how many rounds you typically shoot and if you have plans to increase or decrease that amount.

The type of equipment is going to key on how many rounds you're shooting.

[eaglesfn68]

http://www.cz-usa.com/01.detail.php?id=74

here's the gun. Ive just started shooting a little while ago. im planing on increasing my shots. ill go to some competitions. ill shoot anywere from 500-1000 rounds every week or two. i hope to shoot alot more.

[Sean Gaines]

If you shoot quite a bit, or shoot competively its definately worth reloading, you will eventually pay for whatever machine you buy and then some. You can customize your loads to your liking. I would reccomend buying a dillon machine, because they have a no BS warranty. If a part breaks call them up and tell them what happend, and they will send you a new one. They are top notch.

[Loves2Shoot]

9mm you might be off just buying it. If you are going to shoot that much, Dillon Precision 1050 and an automatic tube filler. Reloading 50K a year it will be worth it.

[DougCarden]

It all boils down to economics and how much you want to shoot. Realize that there will be a significant cost to buy QUALITY reloading equipment that will last for years. Once you take that hit realize that I am loading 9x19 with my own brass for around 4.5cents with lead bullets and around 6-7 cents wiht jacketed bullets....well I was until the prices went up again... .

Figure out how much you want to shoot for the year. Go find the thread about bulk buying 9x19 and see how much you would spend. Then figure out components and do the math. I get to shoot 5x as much ammo reloading it than I would buying it, and the number goes up even more when we are talking about .45 acp. With my brass I am currently loading 5K of .45acp 230LRN ammo right now. My cost per round is .068$ per round. Buying .45acp ammo from a major manufacturer right now as I look at the sheet is $219 for reloaded ammunition without shipping, and $288 without shipping for new brass 230JRN ammo.

Here is a break down:

45acp

New ammo .28 per round Reman ammo .21 per round My reloaded ammo .068 per round

9x19

New ammo .22 per round Reman ammo .16 per round My reloaded ammo .054 per round

My ammo in my guns is more accurate than what I could buy off the shelf, and I take great satisfaction in knowing I load all my own ammo, rather than rely on someone else.

That is why I reload. If it looks like something you would like to do, Give our Forum host Brian Enos a call and let him help you find what will work best for you. He is a Dillon dealer and has forgotten more about reloading and match ammo than most of us put together.

Edited March 2, 2006 by DougC

[al503]

L2S is right about the 9mm. You'll have some but you won't have the savings as you would with a .40 or a .45. You also have to take into account how much free time you have and whether you think you'll enjoy reloading or not.

That said, you're probably going to increase your gun collection (and calibers.) You'll definitely want to reload if you're doing anything but a 9.

[eaglesfn68]

reloading does sound fun. ill will get into higher caliber pistols and into rifles as i get money and more time as i get older.

[al503]

reloading does sound fun. ill will get into higher caliber pistols and into rifles as i get money and more time as i get older.

Yeah. I started off with a 226 9mm about a year ago. Now I have 4 guns and 2 more coming in the next few months. It's addicting.

If you're going to be doing a lot of calibers, go with something like the dillon 650. You can pump out some serious ammo with it and caliber conversions aren't terribly expensive.

[John Kane]

I recently started off with a Dillon 550 and love it. Reloading is pretty overwhelming at first so I opted with the simpler machine. There are some great conversations in the archives on what machine to get and I found that they were about 50/50 on 650 vs 550. General concensus is that the 550 is easier to learn, faster to switch calibers, and easier work up loads where the 650 is faster and safer (self indexing). I've never used a 650 but everyone I know that has one loves them and woudln't do anything else so it doesn't sound like you can go wrong. I plan to add a 1050 someday if I shoot enough volume and then keep the 550 to work up loads and "other" calibers. Whatever you do get a progressive press. I used to have a rockchucker and this is ton's better!

My other advice is to get the video and don't hesitate to call Dillon if you have a problem/question. They are GREAT and very helpful.

Good luck!

John

[ima45dv8]

Check out everything you ever wanted to know about Dillon reloading options here. When you're ready to buy, you can't do better than dealing with our host, Brian.

[bagdrag]

For economic reasons L2S is right on, but for accuracy and recoil listen to DougC. I shot factory ammo only out of my Glock 19 until recently when I decided to reload for kicks. The recoil report was much lower than factory even though on paper the power factor was actually higher with my reloaded ammo. For equipment don't be afraid to get a Square Deal B, but for sure stick with Dillon presses.

[konkapot]

It's important to be sure and buy your components (bullets, powder, primers) in as large a quantities as possible. This is where people don't save as much as possible reloading. With even a little bit of smart shopping, you can load 9mm for $62 per thousand, and 40 for about $85 per thousand.

I think...when I first started shooting.......I crunched some numbers, and figured out that as long as I was shooting over 1500 rds per month, reloading on a 550 was worth it.

FY42385

[eaglesfn68]

im thinking about the rl 550b. it doesnt say a price though. can somebody tell me.

[al503]

im thinking about the rl 550b. it doesnt say a price though. can somebody tell me.

You were looking at the caliber conversion page. Try here:

http://www.brianenos.com/store/dillon.550.html

$370 and I would recommend the $127 as it should be upgrade. It'll help you pump out more rounds with less effort. Besides that, get a 9mm case gauge and call it good.

Anything over $400 gets you free shipping also.

Besides this, you'll need a good set of calipers and a digital or conventional scale, maybe a bullet puller, primer flip tray, extra tubes, etc. After all is said and done, you might be looking at $600-$900.

[Jim Norman]

You can go to www.enos.com and buy right through our host. The Dillon catalog with list prices is @ www.bluepress.com

If you can swing itm definately go with the 650. Unless you are really going to load an unbelievable amount of ammo, you do not need a 1050 and if you are going to load different calibers, the 650 is a quicker change and and easier to set-up.

As a new reloader, I would suggest that you do not get a 1050. What you do need to do is forget the rounds per hour that the catalogs tell you that you can achieve, what you are looking for is correctly loaded ammo that is consistant.

Jim

[hmp32]

L2S is right about the 9mm. You'll have some but you won't have the savings as you would with a .40 or a .45. You also have to take into account how much free time you have and whether you think you'll enjoy reloading or not.

That said, you're probably going to increase your gun collection (and calibers.) You'll definitely want to reload if you're doing anything but a 9.

I don't know why people say buy 9mm is cheap to buy I can get my costs down to 6.5/round which is 3.25/box

of 50. I have never found 9mm that cheap for 50. This assumes you use range brass but purchase

everything else in builk. I can go lower if I shot molly lead. I currently use Rainier.

Also, 9mm is a great round to start reloading with. It was, at least with my CZ75B, easy to make

rounds using book data for various powder/bullet weights.

.45 can be a much tougher round to load for. It worth it for cost and satisfaction, but 9mm will be less fustrating to start with.

Edited March 3, 2006 by hmp32

[al503]

I don't know why people say buy 9mm is cheap to buy

Compared to a box of .40's or .45's, they're freakin' cheap.

[Gun Geek]

Also, 9mm is a great round to start reloading with. It was, at least with my CZ75B, easy to make

rounds using book data for various powder/bullet weights.

.45 can be a much tougher round to load for. It worth it for cost and satisfaction, but 9mm will be less fustrating to start with.

Don't exactly agree with this - 9mm isn't hard to make, 45 is just very easy and very forgiving. I learned to reload on 44mag - bigger is easier. 9's and 40's are high pressure rounds. It is easier to get to kaboom.

Having said that, 9mm is a good place to start, and as said above, the economics are close (though with the recent rise in prices it is getting better). I would re-emphasize that for 9's what you would get is better control over reciol and muzzle blast. This really is a big deal.

To me if you are getting into reloading just for the 9's the reasons are not clear cut. However, if you are going to load other calibers, then they will pay for the press and the 9's become a "bonus".

[JimP]

I recommend the Dillon presses as well - but look at them all the square D, the 550 and the 650 and see what best suits you. They're all good presses but personally I favor the 650 since it's progressive and it has a powder check system you can put on it. But you can save money loading 9mm or any caliber - but the real reason most of us reload is because we like it. We like to customize our loads and we like shooting our own loads. But I'm loading all jacketed bullets and for 9mm my cost is under $ 4 a box - and under $ 6 a box for .40 or .45 with current prices for bullets, primers, etc.