Post by: Elliott on March 30, 2013, 07:06:20 PM
I have: 9mm
.40 S&W
30-06
Will soon have a 5.56
also, are the presses different for pistol and rifle?
Post by: SGTDuffman on March 30, 2013, 07:30:17 PM
Post by: 300rum on March 30, 2013, 08:10:07 PM
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.
Post by: Maligator on March 30, 2013, 08:34:59 PM
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! :tup:
Post by: Heredoggydoggy on March 30, 2013, 08:42:29 PM
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.
Post by: Elliott on March 30, 2013, 09:50:49 PM
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?
Post by: Maligator on March 30, 2013, 10:40:04 PM
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 :tup:
Post by: carpsniperg2 on March 30, 2013, 10:50:39 PM
Post by: Heredoggydoggy on March 31, 2013, 07:57:22 AM
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... :chuckle:
Post by: JohnVH on March 31, 2013, 08:14:50 AM
Post by: Hilltop123 on March 31, 2013, 08:47:51 AM
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! :twocents:
Post by: Blacktail Sniper on March 31, 2013, 09:12:59 AM
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....
Post by: Ridgeratt on March 31, 2013, 09:17:46 AM
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. :twocents:
Post by: Don Fischer on March 31, 2013, 12:38:29 PM
Post by: BOWHUNTER45 on March 31, 2013, 12:46:11 PM
Post by: Jekemi on April 09, 2013, 02:47:23 PM
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.
Post by: smdave on April 09, 2013, 02:50:31 PM
When I started 3 of us went in on a reloading set out of the paper classifieds.
Post by: thinkingman on April 10, 2013, 09:27:14 AM
get a lee classic turret press kit, it will reload about anything, and is great bang for the buck, love mine.:yeah:
Don't let anyone tell you Lee equipment won't turn out thousands of quality reloads.
Post by: Taco280AI on April 10, 2013, 10:21:39 AM
Post by: 300rum on April 10, 2013, 12:23:29 PM
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
Post by: JohnVH on April 10, 2013, 01:42:01 PM
Post by: Bone_Collector on April 10, 2013, 02:12:02 PM
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
Post by: NRA4LIFE on April 10, 2013, 02:19:40 PM
Post by: high country on April 10, 2013, 07:00:14 PM