Is it still worth it?

C

CP93

Inactive
Bear with me, asking out of serious curiosity -- not making a statement or rhetorical argument of any kind.

Given the rise in prices, and supply shortages, in both factory ammo and in reloading equipment, is it still worth the investment to start from zero with reloading at this time? Keep in mind I'd need everything -- the only "reloading" I do now is with a MagLula. ;)
 
depends on why you reload. Decreased costs - no, increased precision - yes, or a enjoyable hobby- yes. Just my opinion
 
I guess it depends on what you shoot and how much you shoot. Reloading .38 Special at $.50 a round versus buying it at $1 per round saves you quite a bit of money. And that assumes $.25 for a primer, $.10 for powder and $.15 per bullet which is probably doable.

I started to reload .38 Special so I could save $.15 per round.
 
Echoing sako2 -- eventually (I think), it will still be less expensive to reload than to buy factory-loaded ammunition. However, this is probably not a good time to even think about getting into reloading. And I say that as a reloader and an NRA Metallic Cartridge and Shotgun Reloading instructor.

Why not? Because you can't get anything. Months ago, a close friend of mine inherited a press and a metric boatload of rifle reloading components from his father. My friend, however, wanted to load 9mm handgun. HAH! Out of all the powders his father had, we found one pound of Unique, which can be used to load 9mm. He scoured the Internet for weeks until he was able to buy 500 bullets from somebody. There were (and are) no primers on the Internet. My friend called basically every gun shop in the state. He finally found one shop that had two 1,000-round boxes of small pistol primers. By the time he got there, they only had one left -- which he bought.

Dies were unavailable. I searched forums for him and I was able to find a set of used 9mm dies from a member of this site. So he was finally able to start loading.

That was late last summer. If anything, I think today things are even worse than they were then. I was at the range yesterday, helping the owner with a computer issue. I've known him for more than 20 years, so I think he gives me the straight scoop. And the scoop from him is that there isn't any ammo. Anywhere. He knows a guy who is a field sales rep for CCI/Speer. The skinny is that during the last ammo shortage, CCI/Speer ramped up production and (to quote my friend quoting his friend -- whom I know) the warehouse had "a mountain you could ski off" of ammunition piled up in the warehouse. This time around, the friend said there is NO ammunition in the warehouse -- the warehouse is empty. The factory is running full tilt 24/7 but, as fast as the ammo comes off the line, it goes onto pallets and out the door directly into trucks.

I don't know if you can even buy a press these days, unless you find one used.
 
That's what I'm thinking: it seems like reloading supplies and equipment are even more unobtanium than factory ammo right now. And yes, 50c a round beats $1+ per round, but you also have to factor in the cost of a press, tumbler, dies, etc, etc.
 
it seems like reloading supplies and equipment are even more unobtanium than factory ammo right now.
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It is true, and what really scares me is I have never seen reloading dies, presses, etc. unavailable at all distributors. I have never seen a set of dies or a press going for double or triple the msrp on eBay before. There is something very different about this shortage.

At any rate, OP, my advice is to take up reloading AND casting when (if?) all this shakes out and there is components availability again. There are simple things to do until then. Source some lead. Save your brass. Start getting things you know you will need. That’s my advice right now. Trying to reload right now... there are people paying $300 for a brick of a thousand primers. Double msrp on reloading equipment. It’s just not the time to start. It’s the time to plan and save for starting in the future.
 
Yes. If we get out of the current crunch, another will come. Being more self sufficient with ammo is good.

I have helped a good 10 or so folks get started in the last 6 months. Lee APPs, Redding T7s are available as are small amounts of components. Better to learn now than not at all.
 
In these times. Lee equipment is a good answer.
Liability concerns are over overwhelming.
This on going ammo shortage may last 4 yrs. As a president once said. Let have all the guns they want just limit all ammo sales to citizenry.
 
CP93 said:
That's what I'm thinking: it seems like reloading supplies and equipment are even more unobtanium than factory ammo right now. And yes, 50c a round beats $1+ per round, but you also have to factor in the cost of a press, tumbler, dies, etc, etc.
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It all depends on how much you reload, and whose equipment you buy. I do my reloading on a Lee Turret Press. The press came as a kit, with a powder measure and a Lee beam balance scale. The kit was a little over $100 when I bought it fifteen (or so) years ago. A set of Lee .45 ACP dies ran another $40 (+/-). Tumbler was maybe $50. With some other accessories, I was set up for $250 or less. Since then I've loaded thousands of rounds. Call it 10,000 rounds, at a guess, and that works out to 2-1/2 cents per round. And every round I load takes that amortization cost down even lower.
 
This nonsense will pass eventually, reloading is still perfectly economical.

Think about this. Whenever a panic happens, will you choose to rely on whatever the local gun store may (or may not) have available at a severely marked up price, or have 1000 38 Specials ready to go?

As for initial cost, I’ve loaded thousands with my hand press. Never really felt the need to get something faster.
 
I also started off with a Hand press and 9mm. Later moved up to other presses. But have to say, I actually like the Hand press. I would do it in 50 rd batches. Just would keep the press by my chair and while watching TV would just do many of the steps the way a lady will do yawning. Use a Hand primer. Would load the powder separately at the bench. Just used simple scales etc. at first and just bought other accessories along the way. Just took it slow. IMO it was a great way to learn. (KISS method works for many things in life).
Also 9mm was so cheap that any mistakes would not be costly.
So IMO if you were to start reloading now, I would keep it simple. But the problem is powder and primers. Again back to reality. Hope fully you can score some. And even now when you go to the range there are shooters who will just leave brass on the floor and you might be able to score some that way. At least have some casing to work with and save a little money.

So start off cheap, go slow and enjoy. If you make just one box of 50 rds, you are ahead of the game. One box of ammo in today's world is a lot of ammo. If the SHTF and it WILL, your hand press might come in handy. (no pun intended). If components never come back, you have not taken a huge loss.

I still have my trusty hand press and about 10,000 shell cases and the same amount of Primers and Powder. I might start using the hand press again, just to have something to do with being around firearms, which I no longer shoot because I do not want to go into my reserve even though I have a very good supply. I stopped reloading years ago when 9mm became so cheap. I will start back up this summer with current reloading supplies.

But starting reloading now is the same thing as starting to Buy and Store ammo when there is NONE. So the the answer is NO!
 
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If not doing so already, certainly wouldn't hurt to save all your/found brass. Buy a manual and actually read it to help decide what else you need. Sierra's is good for this, and maybe find a used one. Out of way gun stores and auctions might be good for equipment / supplies .

While reloading may likely be more expensive in the future, it may still be only way to shoot as much as you want, or can afford.
 
I like the feeling I get from building my own ammo. I've been able to keep shooting during this pandemic and gift my relatives with all the ammo they need for their shooting and hunting.
 
I don't see the 'worth it' part....

To me, reloading isn't 'all' about 'cost' . Sure cost drops out as a tangible benefit, but not the whole story. It is about being able to assemble and your own cartridges to your own specifications. To find accurate loads for your firearm of course is the goal. You can assemble from mild to wild. For example, I don't care to shoot barn burners in .44 Mag. So find an accurate load to around 1100fps. Works. Or the .44 Special, upload a bit to the Skeeter Load. It's wonderful to the have 'flexibility' at hand. Sure it takes 'time'. So what? I find it relaxing to reload when needed. Plus it is fun and rewarding to be shooting your 'own' ammo. Not for everyone as you do have to have some attention to detail and willing to read/learn as much as you can about it. it's not about slapping together a setup and 'cranking' out cartridges just because you want to save money.
 
When I first got into reloading, I promised myself that I'd collect 1000 pieces of range brass to reload with before I bought my first piece of equipment. I shoot .40 S&W so this took a bit longer than anyone firing 9mm or 5.56, to be sure.

I recommend that you start there and then see how you feel about it once you pass that goal. Then get one piece at a time as you grow your tool set. Chances are, availability will again not be an issue in the not too distant future. Hand depriming tool comes first. Then a vibrating tumbler or a FART, all the while look for an acceptable used press online. Then the die sets. Probably a hand priming tool. Then primers. Powder. Projectiles. And suddenly you're reloading and plotting which tool upgrade you want to put on your amazon wish list.

For me it isn't about cost savings. For me it's about the craft and having the means to make my own whether or not the store shelves are bare. I even swage my own .40 hollow-points out of junk 9mm brass and scrap lead.
 
Ask yourself why is components hard to find were is it going and why . What little a person buys is a drop in the bucket in this country . Once the people buy or use the components they have what then . We are not looking at just one more SHORTAGE that will change back in any time soon . We are looking at a plain and this shortage is part of it . It may take some time but if the plain works it will not be good . Some people know were the guns are and also the people that reload or have a stock of ammo . The information is rite here ever day to find . GOOD LUCK
 
No, not worth starting now, kinda like buying stock when the market is at its peak. I would start doing my research now, buy a few reloading manuals, ask questions etc... and when things calm down, then start.
 
rclark said:
To me, reloading isn't 'all' about 'cost' . Sure cost drops out as a tangible benefit, but not the whole story. It is about being able to assemble and your own cartridges to your own specifications. To find accurate loads for your firearm of course is the goal.
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Finding accurate loads for your firearm may be your goal, but don't generalize. For many shooters (myself included), reloading is primarily (if not only) about cost. I don't reload for any rifle. I shoot at an indoor range that doesn't allow any centerfire rifles, and I don't hunt. I shoot handguns and I occasionally test handguns. I reload because it's cheaper to shoot my own reloads than it is to shoot factory loaded ammunition.

When I started shooting in competitions (informal, unsanctioned USPSA-like local matches) a typical Thursday night event would go through about 100 rounds. Back then, Winchester White Box in .45 ACP was running about$30 to $35 per box of 100, plus tax. So I was burning through about $37 a week just for the competitions, and generally an equal amount or more for practice. Reloading cut the cost of my ammunition to less than half.

That was my motive. I never went through the rigors of ladder testing to find the optimum powder charge and seating depth for the pistol I shot in competition. Combat accuracy was all that was necessary. My reloads were generally as accurate as Winchester White Box -- that was (and is) good enough for my purposes.

Different strokes for different folks.
 
It is always worth it to load your own. Loading cartridges or shell
to your own needs.
I shoot lighter than standard loadings in handgun and shotgun.

Try to find 7/8ounce 12 gauge loads or 3/4 ounce 20 gauge loadings.
There is less wear and tear on me with those lighter loadings.
In handgun lighter is great for practice and firewall loads for other
work.
 
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