Reloading for Dummies

[asleepatthereel]

Ok, I have about had it with the price of ammo lately, and I am considering setting up a reloading area in the spare room. Thing is, I know very little about the subject. In my younger days, I would reload 12 guage during dove and turkey season, but its been many moons ago, and Im sure there are alot of differences in shotgun and handgun reloading. If anyone with any experience had to start over today, What books on the subject would you first get?

Also, is it worth the cost after buying the Supplies and equiptment for someone like me who shoots about 2-300 rounds a month? Long term I mean.

I have been picking up my brass at the range in anticipation of this, and if I could find someone to reload them for me I would. Seems noone wants the liability. Guess I cant blame them there.

[mdek]

I'd like to suggest taking a look at these videos on youtube: http://youtube.com/user/PorterhouseV
He shows step-by-step how to set up dies on a dillon 550b progressive press. I'd imagine it'd be useful information for any sort of press, if you happen to choose something different.

As for whether it's worth the cost, take a look at this calculator: http://www.handloads.com/calc/loadingCosts.asp. I think its worthwhile for anyone who shoots with any regularity to at least start planning on reloading, since ammo prices have been going no where but up lately.

[JoshL]

Buy and read "The ABC's of Reloading." It shows you all the basics and will help you figure out what equipment you will need.

http://www.amazon.com/ABCs-Reloading/dp ... 353&sr=8-2

[mactex]

You don't say where you are located. I bet that someone would volunteer to help you get started if you were willing to share that information.

[asleepatthereel]

Your right Mactex, I thought I had put that in my profile to show up on the screen. Ill try to figure it out. Im in Pearland. Just south of Houston.

Thanks everyone for the info. Now Im torn between the reloading stuff and the new Kimber Ive been drooling over. Oh the agony. why cant life be simpler?

Ideally, I would like to find someone that I could pay to reload my brass for me.

[Venus Pax]

Also, is it worth the cost after buying the Supplies and equiptment for someone like me who shoots about 2-300 rounds a month? Long term I mean.

If you buy a Lee set-up, you'll find that you recoup your money very quickly. A Dillon would get you a lot more ammo in a shorter period of time, but would cost you substantially more.

I spent about $90 on my Lee Anniversary kit. It did not come with the dies or the brass tumbler; I bought those items separately. I also bought a pair of calipers separately, as well as reloading blocks.

I agree that the ABCs of Reloading is an excellent book. I read it before purchasing anything to decide if it was for me.

Here are some prices for a set-up:
Lee Anniversary Kit:
http://www.midwayusa.com/rewriteaproduct/149097
You will notice that this kit comes with the powder measure, scale, auto prime & shell holders for auto prime, & a funnel.
It does not come with the manual, which mine did. You'll need to get one. Many people here like Lyman's manual.

Reloading trays:
http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.e ... t=11082005
At the time I purchased mine, these hornady reloading trays were the cheapest. Depending on what side you use, they can hold rifle or handgun cases in different calibers. I like mine.

Tumbler:
http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.e ... t=11082005
This is Lyman's tumbler. It would wake the dead, so use it outside. It works fine, although I paid a bit less for mine.

Calipers:
I bought these. They work fine. (Some people say these aren't necessary.)
http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.e ... t=11082005

Dies:
I'm not sure what caliber you're reloading, but here's what I bought. I like the carbide dies so that you don't have to use lubricant.
http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.e ... t=11082005
The crimp die was worth the purchase price, plus some:
http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.e ... t=11082005

[jpierce30]

I have had the Lee single press for a long time for my rifle. I just bought the Load Master for my handgun stuff. By the time I got all I needed it cost me between 250 and 300 dollars. With ammo prices like they are, I will re-coup this quickly. I am also in the process of starting to cast bullets. Trying to lower the cost anyway possible. Also, the book ABC's of Reloading is a great source of information as is the Lee Reloading manual.
There is not much to reloading, but you must pay attention and not be disturbed while working. Check everything and then check again.

[smokindragon]

Ok, the video and all of the links are great, but how much on average are the savings? I shoot .40 cal about 200-300 rounds a week .. would it be worth it? http://www.texasshooting.com/TexasCHL_F ... 28&t=14357#

[SRVA]

Smokindragon,
It can save you up to 50% by reloading your own ammunition.

[CWOOD]

The 50% savings may be the case in some circumstances...but not all. Especially if you are including the cost of the equipment.

I shoot a Glock 30, which of course is .45 ACP. I have to (yeah, I know some may argue) use jacketed ammo in the Glock. That is where the rub is. By using once fired brass to start and picking up brass, I can get components down to about $18-19 per hundred. I just got 1000 rounds of Blazer delivered for $237, or $23.70 per hundred. That is a savings of of about 20%. Not bad, but if you only shoot 300/400 rounds a month max, it takes a while to pay of the equipment and to begin to realize actual savings. For me it would take about two years to break even if I spent about $350 on equipment.

For me, I am not trying to find a new hobby. I am just trying to make my current one (IDPA) a bit less expensive. My time is worth something. If you WANT another hobby, that solves part of the problem.

Right now, I am just picking up brass, to get in the habit of it and see if I will continue with it. If I build up a nice stash, that will help with the start up expense. I am not ready to jump into it yet.

[mactex]

Ok, the video and all of the links are great, but how much on average are the savings? I shoot .40 cal about 200-300 rounds a week .. would it be worth it? http://www.texasshooting.com/TexasCHL_F ... 28&t=14357#

If you plan on shooting that much per week you should consider either a turret or progressive press. These cost more, but you will be able to turn out more rounds per hour with them. As a frame of reference, I use a single stage Lee press and can do about 100 rounds of pistol ammo in 2 hours if there are not any problems or too many cases that need to be resized. That includes taking my time, checking each case's length, and other anal type items that I'm prone to. If I skipped the step of measuring each case, I could probably knock half an hour off my time. But, in almost every batch, I usually find one or two cases that need to be sized so I keep an eye on all of them.

That said, a progressive press is not the way to go for a learner. In my opinion there are so many things happening in each step that it is very easy to make a mistake. My recommendation is to start off with a single stage or turret press to learn the basics. Once you have those down you will be comfortable moving up to a progressive press. The money for the single stage or progressive won't be wasted because you will be able to use them for simple tasks like decaping. Just my thoughts.

Now for you original question: Is it worth it? Absolutely! I save about 50% off the cost of quality mid-priced ammo for the 9mm and about 50% off the cost of cheap .380 ACP ammo. And I get better quality rounds and consistancy to boot.

[dukalmighty]

If you plan on shooting that much per week you should consider either a turret or progressive press. These cost more, but you will be able to turn out more rounds per hour with them. As a frame of reference, I use a single stage Lee press and can do about 100 rounds of pistol ammo in 2 hours if there are not any problems or too many cases that need to be resized. That includes taking my time, checking each case's length, and other anal type items that I'm prone to. If I skipped the step of measuring each case, I could probably knock half an hour off my time. But, in almost every batch, I usually find one or two cases that need to be sized so I keep an eye on all of them.

I never trim pistol brass it wears out before it ever stretches that far,now i will trim rifle brass,I have a Dillon 550 progressive and can crank out 4-500 rounds an hour if i get motivated,I also started with a lee pro 1000 and it can chunk out arond 300 per hour,i also have a single stage lee press for those times i need it.
I cast my own bullets for everything from 9mm to 44magnum and i can reload 44 mnum for $3.00 a box of 50,actually i can reload 50 rounds of pistol between 2.50 to 3.00 a box believe me i save money,I just lied LOL I ain't saved that much but i shoot at least 10 times as much as i use to.