Anyone do their own loading? (ammo)

[Kretz]

Just wondered... I know we have a few shootists on the forum, so just wondered if any of you do your own loading?

Does it save much? Or does it just allow you to shoot more (for the same cost)

A friend & I are looking at a Lee Loadmaster Progressive press & just wondering about pro's & con's of DIY loading.

Edited November 15, 2017 by Kretz

[Flyinfool]

I have been reloading for 20+ years now. I shoot mostly rifles so I do not have a progressive loader. I load for accuracy so I weigh out each and every load of powder.

 

To me the whole reloading process is a form of relaxation, I enjoy doing it. That alone makes it worthwhile to me.

 

There is a good size investment to get started but after that it depends on the caliber as to how much if any you can save. There are pros and cons to almost everything, you have to do what is right for you. I also have a lot of fun experimenting with different loads to try to achieve a specific performance. You have to price out the components that you plan to use to see if there will be any savings for what you intend to load.

 

A lot can also depend on your specific firearm, all factory ammo is loaded light enough to be safe in the crappiest gun being produced. If you have a much better stronger gun then you can load a lot hotter than the factory can, just do not share your ammo with others who might put it in a lessor gun.

[slowrollwv]

I do a fair share of reloading for my son and brother. All rifle no shotgun. Depending on the gun, I can load 5 boxes for the price of two. The one gun I have I can only load 20 rounds out of a one pound can of powder but still cheaper than buying them. I save all of my cases and buy my Primers by the brick and if they are on sale I will get two or three at a time. I get my bullets from Midway or one of the other suppliers by the hundred. I use RCBS press and dyes and a digital scale for each round.

[bill in mn]

Got 40 + years of reloading mostly shotgun for trap . The last 15 yrs. I've been reloading hand gun and rifle rounds. If you're going to shoot more than 5 boxes it pays to reload. When I'm loading match rounds I weight each throw and really concentrate on the task at hand. I would never let someone else shoot my 7mm rounds or I would never shoot someone's reloads. the only exception to this is if I'm right there watching . My friend and I have all the calibers we shoot covered , that helps with the cost to. Reloading is a hobby and the fruit of my hobby is "BULLETS!!" can't lose.

[cowpuc]

A few years ago when I was just a young Rabbit/Pheasant/Squirrel killing maniac I asked myself the same question you are proposing here Kretz. In those early days, ammo tended to be very inexpensive so other than thinking it looked like fun - there really was not much point stepping into the loading scene.. One day I was in the basement of our local gun dealers house (back in the day it was common practice for gun shops to be part of a family home - we had 4 of those operations going full time locally back then) watching a reloading operation with a full power indexable progressive shotgun shell loader in full swing.. It was impressive for my 15 year old eyes!!

Couple years later I was in another gun shop fondling a pretty little Ruger MK1 .22 pistol and I noticed a Lee Load All ( just like this: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Lee-Load-All-2-Shotshell-Press-12-Gauge-2-3-4-3-90011-NEW-IN-BOX-FREE-SHIP/171234618538?epid=6003304335&hash=item27de60ecaa:g:QGcAAOSwZ8ZW2Yoz:sc:USPSFirstClass!49445!US!-1

setting on a shelf with a price of $17.50 on it and it some how followed me home.. I ended up loading THOUSANDS of 12 gauge shotgun shells with that little loader, enough so that whenever I walked into the woods with my shotgun - any time the breeze blew - every pine cone, hanging acorn or falling leaf became an endangered species. Similar to later in my life, my early life was full of exploritory experiments and my loading techiques suffered from this tendency too.. I soon found that with a small amount of adjustment in technique I could use rocks, marbles and even corn kernels for "shot" if I had too. Talk about a BLAST!!

Loading shotgun shells was good training for what was soon to come.. By the time I reach my 20's I was a deer killing crazed maniac with my Thurdy Thurdy as well as my bow but, being that man cant live in a deer blind by himself all the time, I started hunting the other type of Dear too.. I soon found myself enjoying the company of a pretty little thing who's Pop was a WW2 Veteran. It wasnt long and I was accompanying him to the shooting range and "Dynamite Shoots"/"Turkey Shoots" at our local VFW Shooting Range. My girls Dad and his WW2 buddies (wow I used to LOVE sitting at the bar and listening to their WW2 stories) soon had me hand loading Rifle Ammo with them, which,, I soon learned and came to appreciate how much I had learned from my Shotgun loader about how valuable patience, precision and cleanliness is when reloading.. I also had an early start into reading and understanding loading manuals from those early days = not a lot but enough that I knew how important stuff can be when talking accuracy and safety..

Later in life I found myself with a full blown loading operation in the corner of my man cave and, once I began seriously handgun shooting I was in really really deep!! I found holding tight groups from a hand gun at 50 yards with my own load to be just as thrilling as tight groups at 200 yards with a 7 mag which I found just as thrilling as killing a swinging pine cone with my own load..

Not to long ago I lost a lot of the use of and feeling in my hands due to Dupendrens. I knew time was catching up to me and I had long since stopped rolling my own and moved on to other interests.. Having pretty much given up on hard core shooting and already sold out a number of my guns I stopped into a gun shop to pick up a brick of .22 shells to go shooting with my son-in-law when I noticed that the 5 dollar a brick .22 shells had now arrived at 70 dollars a brick AND they were as extinct as a Dino Sore. I also went looking for those 2.50 boxes of shotgun shells and noticed they were now over 15 bucks a box and those 6 dollar boxes of Thurdy Thurdy shells were close to 30 bucks a box!! The 44 mag shells that I had loaded THOUSANDS of too were now non existent!! I told my son-in-law I was gonna go home, take some pics of my old loader and stick it all on Craigs for 6 times what I paid for it all years ago and see what would happen... Sold it all after 2 days = here's some memory pics of my history in loading..

Personally,, if I were gonna do it all over again I would do just what I did in the first place by accident.. I would start with shot gun shell loading to get familiar with the practice and make sure it was something I wanted to get involved with before I spent the big bucks on rifle reloading.. Then I would proceed to straight wall center fire and on to dealing with all there is to sizing em and neckin em and trimmin em and countin powder pieces and weighing bullets and on and on... Of course,, thats just me.... It is a REALLY REALLY fun hobby!!

GOOD FUN THREAD!! Here's some pics!!

Edited November 16, 2017 by cowpuc

[Freebird]

I reloaded for several years. Pistol and rifle only, no shot shells. Used a Rock Chucker press. Really enjoyed it at the time. There was just something about fine tuning your own ammo for best accuracy and punch. I loaded mostly .357 and 44 mag pistol and .308, 30-06, and 270 rifle.

[Kretz]

I reloaded for several years. Pistol and rifle only, no shot shells. Used a Rock Chucker press. Really enjoyed it at the time. There was just something about fine tuning your own ammo for best accuracy and punch. I loaded mostly .357 and 44 mag pistol and .308, 30-06, and 270 rifle.

 

You know I'm just blown away by the number of things guys on this forum have done, have knowledge of & can offer help & advice on.

At the moment we're just kinda weighing up the pro's & con's.

We're thinking it could be a relaxing & rewarding past time (especially when unable to ride in the winter) Sizes we're thinking are .357, 30-06, 9mm (maybe others too) but that would do for starters.

[RandyR]

I've been reloading since the early 1980's, both pistol and rifle. I shoot a lot of .38special, .45acp, and 9mm pistol. And a lot of .308 rifle. As well as a mix of other common and antique calibers. I have a collection of dies for about 20 calibers. I started loading with an RCBS Reloader Special kit that had just about everything I needed to start reloading. A couple years down the road I was shooting more pistol and wanted to try a progressive, so bought a relatively inexpensive Lee 1000. Sometimes the Lee 1000 was fine and sometimes it took more fiddling with than it was worth. When I started shooting highpower rifle competition, where I was shooting 100+ rounds of .308 every week, I decided to upgrade to a Dillon 650 progressive press and I sold the Lee 1000. Later on I switched to shooting .223 for position shooting (accross the course) competition and use the .308 for prone long range competition (I shoot mainly service rifle, AR 15 or M1A).

 

I shoot pistol for practice, not competition.

 

The Dillon 650 is great when loading 100 or more rounds of the same load.

 

For loading smaller quantities, or when I want the absolute best control and accuracy I still use that RCBS single stage that I've had for 40 years, and weigh each individual powder charge.

 

I also have a Lee Hand Press that takes standard dies, which I use once in a while for depriming or sizing cases while watching tv or something like that. Or to take to the range for emergency cartridge construction.

 

I'd recommend a single stage press for quantities up to 100 rounds per batch. There's always more setup work needed for a progressive which negates its speed advantage when ever small quantities are loaded.

[MikeWa]

I reload shotgun shells for trap. I don't think it saves much money. But it does allow me to be consistent.

I think every shooter who reloads his/her shells has their own secret formula. Whether they are looking for reduced recoil, improved consistency, lower cost or something else most get into it with some goal in mind.

 

Mike

[Barrycuda]

I was about to dive into reloading, and even have the press and die set etc. I just have too many damn hobbies and this is something that you need to focus on and take your time with. In the grand scheme of things,my out weighing your time to make and reload, capture brass, get the primers, and the whole shebang, and what that time and energy is worth VS. buying factory ammo. I shoot competitive and for tactical training for 3 gun and for ME, I would rather use that time at the gym, practicing knife and stick fighting, drumming, riding and shooting drills. If you have the time and desire, then go for it!! Just continue to ask questions and learn. Good luck!

Edited November 17, 2017 by Barrycuda
Crappy spell check

[luvmy40]

I load nearly everything I shoot. 12ga trap loads, .223, .308, 30-40 Krag, .243, 30-30, .30-06, .303 British and 5 or 6 pistol calibers. I do it all on 3 presses. A Lee Precision Load Master, a Lee Precision Breach Lock Challenger, Anniversary edition single stage press, and a MEC 762 Grabber.

 

There are kits available that get you everything you need to get started. You'll want to upgrade your powder scale and add a couple items eventually.

 

Lee equipment is far from the best available, but it is the best bang for the buck out there, bar none. I have less invested in my two presses and all the tool heads and dies for the dozen or so calibers I load than I would have into one Dillon 650 for one caliber. The Load Master can be run as a single stage/turret style press, a manually indexed progressive or an auto indexing progressive. Changing calibers is quick and easy. It does require a little TLC out of the box to tweak a couple things but nothing major and once it's up and running, if you follow some very easy rules on set up, it runs very well.

 

I'd say, if you are going to load a couple hundred rounds/week or less, go Lee. If you are going to load into the thousands/week go Dillon.

 

BTW, you'll just shoot more so the savings is kind of mythical. You do get a much higher quality ammo with your best QC for your money, and you can tune each load for any particular shootin' iron.

 

I also cast most of my own bullets. There is a significant savings there but it is also a rabbit hole that you may want to avoid, depending on how obsessive compulsive you are!

Edited November 17, 2017 by luvmy40

[gmarshall]

Sure are a lot of reloaders among us. I got serious about reloading when a box of 50 45 colt was $50. When cowboy action shooting I would go thru 4 or 5 boxes in a day. That's an expensive hobby.

I reload .380 38 special, 9mm, 45ACP 45colt in handgun; .30 carbine, .223, .308 winchester in rifle. Don't reload shot shells yet.

 

These are all calibers of what i own.

 

I like the LEE precision items. Inexpensive, and spare parts are inexpensive and readily available.

 

Give it a try. It can be relaxing to make a few hundred rounds in an afternoon.

[WildBill1]

I reload now mostly 9mm jacked hollow points for protection and urban deer hunting. Deer drop like a rock when shot in the head. Use 147 gn. Hornady XPT bullets over 3.6 gn. Clays powder works for me. For me it's the satisfaction I get knowing the bullet I loaded is going to impact where I'm aiming it. Use this load in a Colt AR-15 and a couple pistols that are always available in a pinch.

[luvmy40]

Here's one for the shot shell loaders out there.

 

I found this at a local gun show last year for $10.00. A Lee Precision, progressive 12ga shot shell loader. I didn't know Lee ever made a progressive shot press! It turns out, they didn't make it for long.

 

I spent about $15.00 on parts and powder/shot bushings and rebuilt it. I loaded enough to know it's reliable and sold it at another gun show for $50.00

 

 

And here's a jig I made for cutting .223 brass down to neck down to .300 blk

 

[Condor]

I used to load shot shell on a MEC 600 JR. back when I started shooting a lot of trap in the early 60's. Then I went to work for a major firearms manufacture and got spoiled. When ever I ran out of 12 ga trap loads they sent me another 10 cases of Federal papers. Federal didn't make guns and we didn't make ammo so it was a hand shake deal. That went on for over 7 years.... When I moved on that came to a halt, and so did the trap OCD... In later years I started collecting guns, and not only collecting them, but making sure I had ammo and reloading dies for each caliber. I try to keep the calibers to a minimum but it ain't working. So I have a stack of dies and ammo piling up. I've also picked up 3 RCBS Rock Chucker presses. The last one cost me 10 bucks and I had to rebuild it. Used is the only way to go. I've picked up a lot of stuff off Craigslist. I'll run an ad for what I'm in need of, and surprisingly it works. I even had one party send me a bunch of equipment...Free!! I sent them a check for what it was worth... :-) They said I didn't have to do that, and I said yes I did... I haven't started reloading centerfire ammo yet, but I know if the poop hits the paddle I'm ready...

[leroy]

yep almost 50 years, 12 ga shotgun, pistol and rifle both in several calibers from 380 ACP to 458 Win Mag.

 

Started w Lee loader for pistol to save $ when in school. But i enjoy it now. Haven't been shooting much lately so have a few rounds ready to go therefore been a while since reloaded.

 

Lee was crap at best but got me interested. RCBS single stage great improvement and still like 4 rifle. started with lowest priced 12 ga then went to progressive MEC and Hornady progressive 4 brass. bought stuff to load 12 ga steel but never have loaded.

 

The Hornady is good but a little trouble adjusting when changing calibers. many serious reloaders use Dillon, $$$.

 

a buddy does a lot of shooting/hunting... reloads steel & lead 12 ga along with pistol/rifle. He prefers single stage for rifle and does it for accuracy. He enjoys reloading but says for just blasting with pistol, the aluminum Blazer is good enough, almost as cheap, and don't have to chase the empty brass. I have been told by a very knowledgeable shooter/instructor not to use the Russian Berdan primed ammo as the primer is harder thus rough on firing pin. Don't know if fact.

 

You'll have to do a lot of shooting to pay for progressive. Start with single stage press as you may not like it. Use good dies and when available use dies that do not need lubricated. Also research b4 getting into it. It is serious business and can be dangerous.

[cowpuc]

Speaking about reloading , I was really shocked to find some 45/70 Gov Buffalo Gun brass laying on the ground at the shooting range we camped at out on the back of the Flaming Gorge in Utah/Wyoming last summer.. I made up some sovenier packages for my kids out of the treasures laying around and it was an HONOR to find such treasures!!

 

Not all of the camping spots that cha find when out CTFW offer instant souvenier opportunities like this one did:

Edited November 18, 2017 by cowpuc

[Yammer Dan]

I may have to try reloading with a few more days like this!! I now own a Mossburg 12 Defender, a Ruger Mini 14 and a Panther AR15!! All fully decked out and dressed for the dance!!! And a pile of Ammo thrown in!! May have to add a room!!!

[Carbon_One]

Another longtime reloader here. Been at it since early 70's. All handgun and rifle. Never shot enough shotguns to warrant the expense of reloading for them. All responses here hold true.

Haven't been very active loading stuff last couple of years thou.

My son just today was talking to me about teaching him about all this stuff. So I'll be dusting off the equipment now.

Larry

[Condor]

Speaking about reloading , I was really shocked to find some 45/70 Gov Buffalo Gun brass laying on the ground at the shooting range we camped at out on the back of the Flaming Gorge in Utah/Wyoming last summer.. I made up some sovenier packages for my kids out of the treasures laying around and it was an HONOR to find such treasures!!

 

Not all of the camping spots that cha find when out CTFW offer instant souvenier opportunities like this one did:

Truth be known those 45-70's are real collectibles and came from Custer. Just north of you a couple hunder'd miles is where he bit his bullet.... Wish we had something like that range near here, but in California we're lucky to even own guns... Thank God for the Second amendment... Think about it this way. When the founding fathers were adding amendments to the Constitution the first one was freedom of speech, and immediately after that they added the second. The right to bear arms. Not down the road a way like number #13 or #14, but the 2nd. It was that important. If these anti-gun nuts get their way and take away the 2nd. the 1st will meet it's demise shortly after... Then we'll be like all the other countries that are unarmed and a person can get arrested for even thinking something anti government... Let's hope we never see it happen....

 

Here's some 'big 50' (50-90) brass that were used by buffalo hunters. The big brother to the 45-70 govt. I don't own one..... yet!! but it's on my bucket list, and I'm ready when I do.

 

[leroy]

Speaking about reloading , I was really shocked to find some 45/70 Gov Buffalo Gun brass laying on the ground at the shooting range we camped at out on the back of the Flaming Gorge in Utah/Wyoming last summer.. I made up some sovenier packages for my kids out of the treasures laying around and it was an HONOR to find such treasures!!

 

Not all of the camping spots that cha find when out CTFW offer instant souvenier opportunities like this one did:

 

Awesome

[leroy]

Truth be known those 45-70's are real collectibles and came from Custer. Just north of you a couple hunder'd miles is where he bit his bullet.... Wish we had something like that range near here, but in California we're lucky to even own guns... Thank God for the Second amendment... Think about it this way. When the founding fathers were adding amendments to the Constitution the first one was freedom of speech, and immediately after that they added the second. The right to bear arms. Not down the road a way like number #13 or #14, but the 2nd. It was that important. If these anti-gun nuts get their way and take away the 2nd. the 1st will meet it's demise shortly after... Then we'll be like all the other countries that are unarmed and a person can get arrested for even thinking something anti government... Let's hope we never see it happen....

 

Here's some 'big 50' (50-90) brass that were used by buffalo hunters. The big brother to the 45-70 govt. I don't own one..... yet!! but it's on my bucket list, and I'm ready when I do.

 

http://www.venturerider.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=110932http://www.venturerider.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=110933

 

That is a gun that would be fun to shoot.