Looking to start reloading

[Elliott]

With all the desireable ammo getting bought up as soon as it hits the shelves practically I am looking to start reloading. What are the start up costs, and in the end what is the per bullet costs not including the start up costs.

I have: 9mm
           .40 S&W
           30-06
           Will soon have a 5.56

also, are the presses different for pistol and rifle?

[SGTDuffman]

Can't find reloading components right now either. That said, the type of rounds will dictate what you save. Hunting or target stuff, 50-75% less than buying it. 20 rds of Federal Gold Medal for .308 would cost about $36, it costs me about $9 to make 20. The higher quantity, the cheaper per rd. cheapo handgun, you won't save much over buying for the first batch, but when you reuse the brass you'll save more.

[300rum]

Start up cost is all over the board, it depends on if you go with a progressive or a single stage press.

Price per round is all over the board but there are quite a few reloading calculators our there, google one and you will get a general idea.

The pistol ammo is where you will save most of your money but unless you shoot a lot, it will take a long time to recoup your cost.  Then, you will be shooting more so you won't save anything, you will just spend more! 

Before things got crazy you could buy cheaper bulk .223 ammo for less then you could reload premium stuff.  So, if you want premium (high cost) ammo for the .223 for varmints or something like that, go ahead and reload.  If you want plinker stuff, just wait until things catch up as you can't hardly find (reasonably priced) dies/bullets/powder/primers anyway.

For the '06 unless you shoot more then a box or two a year, just save your money on dies/powder and buy factory.  You will be hard pressed to beat some of the premium factory ammo out there.  Spend a bunch of money and buy different brands until you find which one shoots best in your rifle, then buy a enough boxes to keep you shooting for long, long time.   

It may not be what you want to hear but if you go out and buy a progressive and load a thousand Hornady XTP's/year with a pound of $25/pound powder and $33/thousand primers, you will be deep in the whole for a long time.  The way to save money is to buy in bulk, 20k primers at a time, 16 pounds of powder on the same primer order, $400 worth of bullets on an order (to save shipping), that's how you save money reloading. 

[Maligator]

I hate to say it but right now you are going to have a helluva time finding components for reasonable prices, not saying it can't be done but it'll be a heck of a time.
That being said its always better to roll your own than pay the crazy retail prices. I'm not going to tell you get brand X or brand Y, single stage or progressive. I will tell you that you will save HUGE on your rifle ammo & more than enough on pistol ammo.
LOTS of videos on youtube for review & some other good websites like TFL for reloading info. I went progressive for pistols but also got Forster Coax for rifle: I want my hunting ammo to be spot on perfect!
But...be warned...its quite an addictive habit in & of itself. You will most like?y not save any money but you sure will shoot more often! 

[Heredoggydoggy]

Yard sales are a good place to start accumulating reloading stuff.  Right now is a bad time to get started in reloading because even the components are hard to get.  I get flyers from Natchez Shooter's Supply, Midsouth Shooter's Supply, Midway, etc. and when you go to their online site, where I order all the time, it's "Out Of Stock, No Backorder".
I have dies from RCBS, Redding, Hornady--All good.  Hornady dies are most impressive, and I use quite a few Hornady Neck Sizing Dies and Seating Dies to make my wildcat cases and loads.

[Elliott]

Thanks a lot guys, yall rock!

I am definitely looking forward to when the prices go back down, probably not to the level that they were at pre-panic, but definitely wanna do a bunch of shooting. I'm not all that accurate with my '06 yet and have just been shooting the $24/box ammo. I have a bunch of co-workers that reload and they seem to like it.

Do you guys have a brand preference?

[Maligator]

Do you guys have a brand preference?

Man o man that question opens up a whole giant can of worms...I will say this: it seems to me that the two most reputable progressive brands are Dillon (blue) & Hornady (red) each has its pros & cons. For single stage presses there are numerous options depending on your budget & likes.

I went with Dillon for my progessive & Forster CoAx for the single stage...but like I said there are more than 31 flavors @ the ice cream shop. Go to a few stores & see if they have any in stock that you might be able to "get a feel for" or get with your buddies & see how they roll.

Good luck to you & keep us posted 

[carpsniperg2]

Blue Green Red they all can turn out the shells. Redding/Rcbs/Hornaday/Dillon all sit on my bench. A few odd balls sit on the floor lyman/lee 

[Heredoggydoggy]

I have an RCBS single stage press I've used for 40 years.  A while back I acquired a Lyman single stage press, and it looked like it was made by the same manufacturer that made my RCBS.  However, it was just different enough to make it neccessary to readjust the dies a little when I switched over, so I sold it.  A powder measure and stand I bought at a Gun Club swap meet now sits where the Lyman press was.

The reloading equipment manufacturer argument is the same as the Ford/Chevy/Dodge argument.  They all work, but there's no consensus as to what is better... 

[JohnVH]

get a lee classic turret press kit, it will reload about anything, and is great bang for the buck, love mine.

[Hilltop123]

While your waiting to buy and assemble, your reloading bench. Here's a good way to start.
Pick up range brass and I don't mean stuff at a club range, like Kenmore, some clubs have rules about that, check with the clubs first.
What I'm refering to is local spots guys and gals, go to plink. Rural areas were folks go to shoot, not sure what you would have availible to you in the Evverett area. But I'm pretty lucky were I live I have 4-5 hot spots, alot of people go to shoot, I salvage alot of brass out of these places.  Leave the Blaser aluminum cases and the steel cases, you can't do much if anything with it. if It's brass or nickle,  pick it up, even if it's not your caliber, you can trade later with other brass scroungers, for the caliber you need.
Some will balk at mix matched brass, as far as manufacurers of casings, but one thing I have learned in the last few months. Mix matched brass is better than no brass!

[Blacktail Sniper]

Thanks a lot guys, yall rock!

I am definitely looking forward to when the prices go back down, probably not to the level that they were at pre-panic, but definitely wanna do a bunch of shooting. I'm not all that accurate with my '06 yet and have just been shooting the $24/box ammo. I have a bunch of co-workers that reload and they seem to like it.

Do you guys have a brand preference?

Have you spoken with one or more of them to see about maybe some type of a shared setup while you assemble yours?  Kinda like a mentoring deal, since it sounds like you are very new to reloading?  Would give you a chance at some "hands-on" time with the reloading tools they have (I am sure there is some variety in brands between them), then you could make your purchases based on personal experience. 

Sounds like you have a good selection of pretty common/popular calibers.  Someone mentioned to really see a savings, to buy in LARGE amounts.  Maybe get together and place a large, group order and split the costs and componets up to gain the benefit of big buy savings without having the costs....

[Ridgeratt]

Craig's list is also a place to look for reloading stuff!!
Sad part is most are looking and not selling but it still can be had on there.
I bought RCBS presses and dies off of it.
It is yard sale season also starting and you can find componet's there as well. It is pretty tuff to hurt a "O" press from any manufacturer. "C" presses I would be leary of.   

[Don Fischer]

I started reloading to save money, got one of the old Lee Loaders. Wasn't long before I got the whole set of dipper's. Then along came a shotguy. press, Texan FW, great press it was. And then the final assault, an RCBS Jr and a set of dies. From there things just seemed to spiral out of control. Never ever start reloading just to save money, you won't. If you only do a couple boxes a year, it'll be years recovering the cost of tools. Probably won't make as good of ammo as you can buy either. And the part you don't tell the storm and strife, you'll probably shoot more, a lot more. So while the ammo might be somewhat cheaper to a lot cheaper, your going to shoot so much more it get's expensive. The up side to that is you can tell the storm and strife that the ammo is cheaper loading your own. But if you only go through a hundred rounds a month, the cost of your shooting hobby goes way up. I would encourage you to do it though.

[BOWHUNTER45]

I would recommend everyone to reload their own ammo now days ... The way this country is headed with our government wanting to regulate everything we do now is as good as a time to load as much ammo as you can afford to load ...every American should have a minimal supply of at least 1000 rounds and have enough guns to cover every window in your house - garage - shop and bunker  Seriously !!!!!!!!!

[Jekemi]

I've attached a reloading calculator in Excel. I've also included  information on a basic reloading kit and setup. Your price varies depending on the reloading press you start with. I have great success with the Lee Classic Turret press. It is inexpensive, solid, faster than a single stage reloading press, and accepts all kinds of accessories, dies, etc. I don't like Lee dies but love the Lee Factory crimp die. I usually use Hornady or RCBS dies.

I now use a Hornady LNL Auto Progressive press. It is very fast but your payback is much longer.

If you decide to go the cast bullet route you need to buy a pot, molds, flux, and some other accessories. However, if you can find free lead or nearly free lead your price per bullet goes down to just a few pennies. Then you can really start to save some money on reloading over factory loads. However, as it has already been said, reloading consumables are hard to find these days.

[smdave]

One of the easiest ways to start is hang out with your co-workers that already reload.

When I started 3 of us went in on a reloading set out of the paper classifieds.

[thinkingman]

get a lee classic turret press kit, it will reload about anything, and is great bang for the buck, love mine.

Don't let anyone tell you Lee equipment won't turn out thousands of quality reloads.

[Taco280AI]

I would like to get into reloading, but the factory Nosler ammo I shoot is so accurate I just stick with it (and buy five boxes at a time). Have loaded a little at a friends, seems addicting to find that one perfect load

[300rum]

Factory ammo has come a long, long, ways in the last 20 years or so.  It is very hard to beat (once you find the right combo) unless you go to benchrest type loading methods. 

I would like to get into reloading, but the factory Nosler ammo I shoot is so accurate I just stick with it (and buy five boxes at a time). Have loaded a little at a friends, seems addicting to find that one perfect load

[JohnVH]

I have never seen factory be as good as a reload, not in any of my guns, plus I can do it much cheaper. 

[Bone_Collector]

I started reloading this year after I got my first AR-15 mainly because I couldnt find ammo after the big scare and like some of the other posts on here I would also recommend trying to get one of your buddies who already has all the stuff to show you the ropes and use their stuff until you can get all the goodies that go alone with reloading!

I have found that my reloaded rounds group tighter than the factory loads with most groups touching each other. I was shooting the Hornady Superformance 53g Vmax and getting great results with very tight groups but with the hand loads I get even tighter groups!

Its great fun developing new loads and testing them out so have fun and be safe!

B_C

[NRA4LIFE]

Buy an RCBS Rockchucker kit and 3 or 4 manuals and be done with it.  I have accumulated brass from multiple sources over the years, mostly for free, i.e gun ranges, friends family, classifieds, spent brass from factory ammo etc.  Of course, when I started reloading, brass was dirt cheap so I also bought up pretty much a lifetime's supply.

[high country]

On a single stage.....hands down go green your first time. Wilson is the king of accuracy, lee is the cheapest and rcbs is the gold standard of tough and value. For a progressive, the new hornady made me interested enough to buy one over a dillon.....time will tell if that was smart.