I haven't reloaded but will soon. I have a whole turret press set up but it needs some tweaking and I just met a guy who's willing to come over and get it adjusted/set/working one week from tomorrow. I want to reload .38S&W and .38SPL. I have tried to get a good round out of it off and on, got fed up, let it sit, tried again, got fed up again, etc. But now, since I lucked out & got myself a Target Masterpiece for very cheap, I find myself wanting many, many rounds of .38SPL. The .38S&W is for the Webley, which doesn't get shot as often is it really should.
Do you shoot out of the box or reload?
- Thread starter Dr_2_B
- Start date
dutchgunsmoke
New member
The current out come of this poll astounds me a bit.
Due to the rise of ammo reloading is almost a must to keep the cost done in comparison with factory ammo.
Or is it that ammo is still cheap as dirt in the US?
Due to the rise of ammo reloading is almost a must to keep the cost done in comparison with factory ammo.
Or is it that ammo is still cheap as dirt in the US?
rampage841512
New member
I don't reload, but I really, really want to start. I've just got to get the funds together for the set-up.
wvshootist
New member
I home load 45 auto, 45 colt, 44 mag and 45-70
I buy my 9 mm, 40 sw, and 357 sig (I dont shoot these as often or I would reload them)
FYI my carry ammo is also home loads.
I buy my 9 mm, 40 sw, and 357 sig (I dont shoot these as often or I would reload them)
FYI my carry ammo is also home loads.
To give some idea of prices (in my area at least) I can buy 50rnds of decent 9mm for as little as $10.99, 50rnds of .38spl for as little as $12.99, and 50rnds of .45apc for as little as $18.99. By "decent" I mean Winchester White Box, or PMC bronze FMJ loads - ie. good reliable brands just not necessarily the cleanest. These are prices from stores I drive by weekly, so no shipping or additional expense. Bulk buying at gun shows can shave as much as 30-50% off those prices.
For me, those are acceptable. Between work and a life (including actually shooting my guns), I honestly would find it more stressful to have to make the time to reload versus ponying up the cash and just buying. Since I keep an eye out for sales, I tend to have 300-500+ target/range rounds of my 3 calibers on hand all the time anyway, so when the weekend comes, I can hit the range, not the loading bench.
And I have too many handguns on my "I want" list to have any spare cash for buying reloading equipment
Maybe when I retire in 15-20yrs I may take up reloading, or if the economy continues to free-fall, I may be forced to!
Rich Miranda
New member
I fully intend to reload when I have the space to get my setup going.
Right now we live in an apartment and there is just nowhere to work.
Right now we live in an apartment and there is just nowhere to work.
Same here. I did reload 12ga years ago, and it was a relaxing hobby. But I've just got wayy too many other things going on to take the time.gwnorth said:
I considered doing it for 45ACP. I was an idiot not comparing ammo prices when I picked out my first and (currently) only handgun (G21). But Wally-World's relatively cheap WWB makes the cost easier to handle. I dont care for how dirty the stuff is. I've not seen the layer of crud build-up with (much) more expensive ammo. But I've also had no FTF problems with WWB, unlike with Wolf. I'll not make that mistake again.
I agree that reloading, casting, etc. takes up a lot of valuable time. I do my reloading during the time I might waste watching television, bullets cost me nothing (bought all my wheel weights years ago) but time, cartridges cost me primers and powder and time. The downside is I don't catch oprah and the cartoon channel...well OK, I make it a point to catch family guy. Anyone who wants to shoot a lot and is not a trust fund baby should reload.
I fully intend to reload when I have the space to get my setup going.
Right now we live in an apartment and there is just nowhere to work
didnt see this one. Ya can make a closet storable (bench?) for cheap to mount a press on. I cast for years off of the kitchen stove. Don't expect the little woman, the mrs., the old ball and chain to be happy about that.
Right now we live in an apartment and there is just nowhere to work
didnt see this one. Ya can make a closet storable (bench?) for cheap to mount a press on. I cast for years off of the kitchen stove. Don't expect the little woman, the mrs., the old ball and chain to be happy about that.
There's one little quip that everyone who reloads already knows and has heard it a million times or said it a million times, but if you don't yet reload, you may as well hear it now.
You won't save money reloading... you'll just shoot a whole helluva lot more.
It's completely true, the bottom line expenditures go up. I'm not even talking about tools and equipment and building your bench. I'm simply talking about the fact that the money spent buying primers and bullets and powder will net you many more rounds of loaded ammo than it would if you simply bought factory. What happens, however, it that you now have a much larger heap of ammo to shoot up when you do get to the range.
That's not to say that you'll burn through a thousand rounds with each trip. But the reality is that you will make something new or different and you have to "test" it and try it out, and you'll build up a large stock of loaded ammo between range sessions and you'll just get in to the habit of shooting a lot more for the same (or more) money.
It's okay to convince yourself (or the wife) that you reload because of the financial advantage. And it is an advantage-- you shoot more, enjoy it more and you get better at shooting. But don't kid yourself in to thinking that you'll save money in this venture. You won't be able to reorganize all your personal finances because you finally started reloading!
You won't save money reloading... you'll just shoot a whole helluva lot more.
It's completely true, the bottom line expenditures go up. I'm not even talking about tools and equipment and building your bench. I'm simply talking about the fact that the money spent buying primers and bullets and powder will net you many more rounds of loaded ammo than it would if you simply bought factory. What happens, however, it that you now have a much larger heap of ammo to shoot up when you do get to the range.
That's not to say that you'll burn through a thousand rounds with each trip. But the reality is that you will make something new or different and you have to "test" it and try it out, and you'll build up a large stock of loaded ammo between range sessions and you'll just get in to the habit of shooting a lot more for the same (or more) money.
It's okay to convince yourself (or the wife) that you reload because of the financial advantage. And it is an advantage-- you shoot more, enjoy it more and you get better at shooting. But don't kid yourself in to thinking that you'll save money in this venture. You won't be able to reorganize all your personal finances because you finally started reloading!
I started when I was 16 or 17 and had a whole room in my Mom's house. A year and a half later when I moved to college I had to find a way to make it work in a very small space for a short period of time. I simply mounted the press to a plank of wood and then used "C" clamps to temporarily keep the wood in place when I was actually using the press.
You can keep all the stuff you need in a Rubbermaid tote box and set it up in a very, very small space if you really want. There doesn't need to be any excuses. It's not ideal and I very much prefer my man cave, but it works and it's how I would be reloading if I didn't have the space.
freakshow10mm
Moderator
I reload every single round I fire (except 22LR). I simply don't shoot factory ammo. It isn't good enough.
Sturmgewehre
New member
tokarev762
New member
I voted other.
I reload all of my .38 spec., .357 & .44 mag. 30-30, .308, 30/06, 45/70 and as of last month, 5.56x45 for my AR.
I haven't started on the 9mm, .45 acp yet, but will soon (prices of WWB is too much now days). I also don't reload for my 7.62x39, 8mm, 7.62x54R, .303 British yet due to the thousands of rounds of surplus I've got in storage. I'll be getting to those within the next year or so though, as there's a couple of them that I want to use for hunting.
I also load for my M-95 in 8x56R, but still have a few hundred rounds of 1938 Nazi ammo that I practice with.
In the future is also 7.62x52, .38-200 (for the Webley), 7.62x38R ('95 Nagant), 6.5 x55 Swede, 7.5 Swiss. Maybe at some point the Mas 36 and 1909 Argie will get fed homemade ammo.
It's like any other hobby, you can really get into it.
I reload all of my .38 spec., .357 & .44 mag. 30-30, .308, 30/06, 45/70 and as of last month, 5.56x45 for my AR.
I haven't started on the 9mm, .45 acp yet, but will soon (prices of WWB is too much now days). I also don't reload for my 7.62x39, 8mm, 7.62x54R, .303 British yet due to the thousands of rounds of surplus I've got in storage. I'll be getting to those within the next year or so though, as there's a couple of them that I want to use for hunting.
I also load for my M-95 in 8x56R, but still have a few hundred rounds of 1938 Nazi ammo that I practice with.
In the future is also 7.62x52, .38-200 (for the Webley), 7.62x38R ('95 Nagant), 6.5 x55 Swede, 7.5 Swiss. Maybe at some point the Mas 36 and 1909 Argie will get fed homemade ammo.
It's like any other hobby, you can really get into it.
nobody_special
New member
We don't load .22LR and 7.62x54R (surplus was cheaper than the components would be), and we keep commercial defense ammo, but everything else is hand-loaded. I load for .45 ACP, 9mm, and .308. My wife is going to load .380 and .38/.357 for her guns... I'm a lucky guy. 
Loading even 9mm is very economical if you can scrounge the brass... I can load it for about half the cost of WWB.
Loading even 9mm is very economical if you can scrounge the brass... I can load it for about half the cost of WWB.
