In our current situation: Should I invest in reloading equipment?

[HDR]

I've been shooting 8-10k rounds of handgun ammo for the last five years and yes, I'm one of the guys who took cheap ammo for granted. In my own defense, before the current crisis, numerous reloaders told me it wasn't worth it based on my overall consumption.
Now here we are.. I'm still stocked with 2k each of my favorite calibers but.. Range trips will be much more rationed until things change. If they change..
During the last couple years I'm shooting more revolvers than 9mm and that's mainly why I'm looking into reloading. A buck fifty for one round of .357 just ain't gonna work.
I've been eying the Hornady Lock n Load AP press. Gotta be quick as they sell out instantly but I'm pretty sure I can still grab one. I'm aware of all the extras I'll have to buy and the fact that it may be some time before I can find components to put the thing to work. Not to mention the learning curve but that now excites me where it didn't a few years ago. Basically an investment in the future with no immediate returns.. So what say all of you who have been through this before? Start putting my kit together now, albeit at slightly inflated prices, or ride it out with my current ammo stash and depend on an occasional two box score at Bi-Mart? I'm ten years from retirement, kids are grown, and the appeal of the time spent reloading now appeals to me. (And my wife) Just not sure if I've waited to a point where I'd be throwing my money away.

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[drstrangelove]

It's a bad time to get into reloading. I have a reliable source for bullets but primers and powder are pretty hard to come by these days. If Biden does get elected and the senate is lost, we are in for 4-8 years of lean times.

 

[ma96782]

IF you got the time. Why not save some money?

Equipment.....
IMHO, get an idea of what you want and how much production you want to begin with. Learn to walk before you run. Hint: That single stage press can still be useful on your bench for many years. So then, should a reloading item come along and at the right price. Jump on it. Caution.....prices are crazy right now.

I too, first started reloading because I couldn't afford the price of factory ammo. Rrrright....and I started with a single stage press. Home progressive presses weren't as affordable as they are today. And, back then and even today.....learning to become a "better" double action revolver shooter takes practice and lots of ammo.

Aloha, Mark

PS....get a mentor and/or books (such as: "ABCs of Reloading" and some reloading data manuals). Also, I've found that used equipment can be found a lot of times at various gun shows at bargain prices. Inspect for excessive wear before your purchase.

The paint colors of your equipment don't have to always match. LOL.

 

[Member 34319]

Any time is a good time to get into reloading. It's become a back up for these types of times.

 

[RVTECH]

numerous reloaders told me it wasn't worth it based on my overall consumption.

Those 'numerous reloaders' who told you this were pretty narrow minded. If it were all about consumption there would be far fewer reloaders than there are now.

Reloading for me has always been a hobby that is an extension of my interest in shooting, gives me the ability to create far better ammo than I can buy and the convenience of always having components on hand so I can reload at my leisure and very importantly- to create loads that are unavailable such as reduced rifle loads for plinking and target shooting.

It has never been about cost or 'consumption' - and times like this when the 'consumers' are hungry I'll bet a lot more wish they had gotten into reloading.

Go for it. Get set up slowly, study up and keep on the lookout for any components that may become available and when they do on a more regular basis you'll be ready to go!

 

[P7M13]

8 - 10K rounds per year?
Dude, you should have been into reloading long, long ago.
IIRC, the 13¢ per round didn't show up until mid 2019. Almost all the time I saw it at 19¢ - 25¢ / round.
Granted, the jacketed bullets I shoot, I bought long ago for ~$70/K, but when O'bummer was in office, I was still shooting and affording it too.

 

[GWS]

Powder and primers pop up at Sportsman's and BiMart all the time
It is a matter of luck being there at the right time but I have gotten BLC2 at BiMart and primers at Sportsman's
So don't let the shortages discourage you. The initial investment can be steep because you'll need a press, dies, a manual (I like Lyman) a powder measure and very important, a good powder scale. If you're reloading for pistol a pound of powder can last quite a while.
BiMart has RCBS reloading gear at excellent prices
I might add if you are only reloading one pistol caliber, look at a Dillon Square Deal B. It comes ready to go from the factory with the exception of your needing to set your powder charge. And Dillon has the best warranty and customer service in the business
Anyway. You can find reloading components at reasonable prices, it just takes time.
Its never too late to start reloading
Its a great hobby. Good luck

 

[HDR]

8 - 10K rounds per year?
Dude, you should have been into reloading long, long ago.
IIRC, the 13¢ per round didn't show up until mid 2019. Almost all the time I saw it at 19¢ - 25¢ / round.
Granted, the jacketed bullets I shoot, I bought long ago for ~$70/K, but when O'bummer was in office, I was still shooting and affording it too.

True enough. But here I am..

 

[Member 34319]

gives me the ability to create far better ammo than I can buy

This is worth repeating a few times.

 

[Member 34319]

I usually get two to three of these in order each Black Friday per year.

3900 round case 9mm caliber .355 diameter polymer coated 115 Gr RN – FREE SHIPPING – The Blue Bullets

thebluebullets.com

This year may suck for that purchase, but I end up with almost 8000-12000 bullets at $0.05 a round with the Black Friday deal. Hopefully they run it, though it may be a back order...

$0.05 for the bullet.

An 8 pound keg of titegroup pre Covid runs $170, that's 56,000 grains of powder. I use 3.5 grains per charge.

About $0.01 a charge.

Primers before this stupidity, run $20-30 a thousand. Not much is ever done for deals for primers, but buying a case of 5000 at a time isn't that bad.

$0.03 a primer

If you didn't keep your brasfrom shooting all the way factory ammo, START!!!

$0 for brass.

 

[P7M13]

True enough. But here I am..

Yeah. Never a better time than now.
Keep an eye out - reloading gear lasts decades. Lots of older shooters getting out of it.
Consumables are the hard part to come by.

 

[Lesliet]

Primers are the big pinch, right now. I expect it will get better, in time, even with an anti gun president. I bought the LocknLoad progressive as my first press, as well; I would say that for someone who is already mechanically inclined, and able to keep track of a lot of functions at once, I'm glad I didn't start with a single stage. In the first six months I had it, I loaded somewhere around 15k rounds. Being able to roll my own has made it possible to be competitive in shooting games in a way I never could have afforded, had I been buying commercial ammo. If you end up getting one, feel free to pm me about upgrading the thing, there are a lot of cool things you can do to make them run better, smoother, and with fewer issues. At the rate you are using ammo, I would suggest getting the casefeeder, as well.

 

[RVTECH]

The paint colors of your equipment don't have to always match. LOL.

Man ain't this the truth!

While like many I started out with 'green' but discovered later 'red' has some distinct advantages over 'green' - and now I have a combination of both colors!

 

[v8engin]

I just started myself. Hardly ever shoot (hoping to change that). But with current ammo prices I realized that if I could reload only 500-1000 rounds I would actually break even compared to some of the elevated prices. After buying my (cheap) press, I joined NW Firearms and started to see okay prices on some ammo, but I can probably still reload cheaper.
Everyone is right, the hard part right now is consumables. You have to find primers. I didn't realize it when I bought my press, but that was a HUGE piece of bad news. Even here, if you want primers you might have to trade something dear to you for them. Or like people say: Be lucky.
But I was at Cabellas today and while they were out of 9mm dies, they had .38/357 dies in stock. If you have brass and can find bullets (you probably can) the only thing in your way is primers. If you shoot that much, you probably have a friend with some in a cabinet.
The press I got was a Lee Loadmaster. Cheap. Once the learning curve was cured, I was super happy with how it worked. Now I'm already assembling everything I need for a second caliber. I'm happy. Good luck!

 

[HDR]

Thanks for all the replies. Lots of good info here. Keep it coming! I've got a fairly good idea of what I want to purchase. Eventually, assuming I pull the trigger, I'll be loading for 38sp, 357 mag, 10mm, then eventually 9mm, .45 ACP, and maybe even .380 for my wife to practice with. I shoot long range rifle some so eventually 6.5 Creedmoor and 6.5 Grendel could be added. Luckily I stocked up on those but factory ammo definitely has its limitations there.
After reading what I just typed I'm pretty sure I'm way late to the reloading game here. It's not like I don't shoot. Lol. I appreciate the support here!

 

[Member 34319]

Thanks for all the replies. Lots of good info here. Keep it coming! I've got a fairly good idea of what I want to purchase. Eventually, assuming I pull the trigger, I'll be loading for 38sp, 357 mag, 10mm, then eventually 9mm, .45 ACP, and maybe even .380 for my wife to practice with. I shoot long range rifle some so eventually 6.5 Creedmoor and 6.5 Grendel could be added. Luckily I stocked up on those but factory ammo definitely has its limitations there.
After reading what I just typed I'm pretty sure I'm way late to the reloading game here. It's not like I don't shoot. Lol. I appreciate the support here!

I load some wacky 357 loads for use with suppressor. It's highly enjoyable creating ammo that essentially is not made by any an manufacturer.

I took 220grain 35 caliber, IE 35 Whalen (.358) bullets, swaged them to .357 via a Lee bullet sizer, then loaded them to just under 1000 FPS in a slightly less than standard length 357 case. Talk about thumpers. The noise hitting dirt is WAY louder than the gun firing.

For plinking loads, I buy 158 grain lead semi wad cutters. They are cheap and work great for 38/357. Using titegroup or Unique. Low powder charges.

Currently I've been playing with a batch of bullets I bought from @Mikej a while back. 125 grain Montana gold hollow points. Been experimenting with H110 to get them going bonkers fast in 357 loads.

 

[RVTECH]

On the flip side I load .30-30 with 110 Grain .30 cal RN jacketed with 10 grains of Unique.

1500 FPS approx. , zero recoil and literally scary accuracy.

 

[HighlandLofts]

Look on the different forums for everything you need and E Bay. We all.have extra stuff you will need at resonable prices.

 

[HDR]

Well you guys were a good omen. Just scored a press at as good a price as I've seen since I began looking. They literally sell out in hours. Even minutes on GB. It's been exhausting. Plenty of time to get the other necessities coming. This was from Scheel's if anyone else is looking for one. I'll admit I had several added to my cart over the last two weeks. Then I'd sleep on it and they would be gone.

 

[TTSX]

Jeez prices on presses really have gone up. That's about what I paid for my Dillon xl650 a couple years back