New to reloading - what powders to look for?

[Steve M]

Shooting and reloading are a balanced act. You can't shoot till you've reloaded and you can't reload till you've been out shooting. One feeds the other and both cost money and take time. I don't get out to shoot as much as I'd like so if I had a progressive press all I'd accomplish is to quickly decimate my reloading supplies and not get to spend much time enjoying the process of reloading.

I think it is wise to start with the single stage as you have indicated as it is good for learning and you'll find out if you really do need a progressive press and for which cartridges.

 

[rutilate]

I'm sure we've all made the mistake of thinking we can ease our way into tooling only to realize the we spent more money with the interim tooling and the upgrade to the tooling that actually meets our needs.

The question of progressive vs. single stage is based primarily on the number of rounds you anticipate reloading each month. If you are in the 200-400 rounds category, a progressive press is simply costly overkill. If you intend to (and can afford) to reload 500-700 rounds / month (or if you have more money than time), then a progressive press should be high on your priority and you'd be better off purchasing the right tool for the job once.

People will protest that they can't get highly accurate ammo out of progressive presses and I can point to a large number of national match high power competitors that are using Dillon 650 presses for all of their reloads, meaning that it is process not product that makes the reloading accurate.

 

[Joe13]

I'm sure we've all made the mistake of thinking we can ease our way into tooling only to realize the we spent more money with the interim tooling and the upgrade to the tooling that actually meets our needs.

The question of progressive vs. single stage is based primarily on the number of rounds you anticipate reloading each month. If you are in the 200-400 rounds category, a progressive press is simply costly overkill. If you intend to (and can afford) to reload 500-700 rounds / month (or if you have more money than time), then a progressive press should be high on your priority and you'd be better off purchasing the right tool for the job once.

People will protest that they can't get highly accurate ammo out of progressive presses and I can point to a large number of national match high power competitors that are using Dillon 650 presses for all of their reloads, meaning that it is process not product that makes the reloading accurate.

I shoot a bunch of .22lr right now to save on costs of shooting.

It's hard to say how much I would shoot other cartridges if they were cheaper.

.308 win and .357mag are my most expensive rounds right now. I would shoot both of them more if I could afford to but at $.50-.80 a pop it burns thru my supply pretty fast.

9mm & 7.62x39 are more cost efficient but id like to reload those eventually. As well as 5.56 - the reason I don't own an AR now is because of the round costs.

On average, I shoot one day a week for 3-5 hours.

 

[rutilate]

How many rounds do you shoot each week? If the cost was halved, how many would you shoot?

 

[My 3 sons]

Check out misterarman aka John for bullets in 556 and 9mm. He has fair prices on hornady plinkers and Montana gold. You could buy from Montana gold direct but you have to buy big to get similar pricing. You can also look at seconds from pats reloading or Rocky Mountain reloaders to save a few bucks at times.

If you use gunbot.net to troll for supplies you can come across powders and primers from multiple sources and see the prices all at once.

Just keep in mind that as you reload you won't save money you will just be able to shoot more.

 

[rick benjamin]

I reload because it's a part of this hobby which I've been into for 50+ years now.
I looked up some current prices for basic supplies and here's what I've come up with.
308 Win (assuming you've been picking up brass)
Hornady 150gr FMJBT $26 per 100-----------------------------$0.26 each
CCI Large Rifle Primers $40 per 1000--------------------------$0.04 each
1 lb powder (my fave IMR4064) $29 per 7000gr - 175 loads - $0.16 each (40gr per shell)
cost per round, not counting reloading hardware or time------$0.46 each

Lee Loader 308 Win $40 (just add a hammer, not for semi-auto rifle)
Lee Single Stage O press kit $186 (just add dies)

Some opinions on <broken link removed> entry level kits

 

[Joe13]

100+ rnds .38sp/.357mag
200+ rnds 7.62x39
40 rnds .308
100+ rnds 9mm
50-100 rnds 12ga target
50-100 rnds 20ga target
50-150 rnds .22 magnum
500-1000 rnds of .22lr

Any combination of those, on any given day.

I'm guessing I'm in the $50-80 per week range, more or less.

=============

I have heard I won't save any money; I just want to shoot as much as I can afford. While I love my .22's, there are some calibers and guns I would like to own but can not justify the ammo costs to shoot them often so have never bought them.

I'm hoping that by reloading and saving up some components, that I'll be able to move into the 5.56 and .45acp to start and go from there.

 

[rick benjamin]

Reloading class had 2 cancellatons. DRRC
http://form.jotform.us/form/40296145363151

 

[Throckmorton]

don't mean to burst your bubble,but 'stocking up' on powder is REALLY hard to do these days. You might stock up thru an onine supplier,but you gotta hit their page within minutes of it being listed.Powder Valley inc,Wideners,Graf and sons to name a couple .

for books,the ABC's of reloading for sure,and I love love love my Lyman's. It's the one so wore,it's duct-taped,lol.

start with pistol,and get carbide dies..no lube required,and just easier to work with.

If you do facebook,there are some huge groups with thousands of members with info,and some groups that are geared to buying and selling of components.

 

[Joe13]

don't mean to burst your bubble,but 'stocking up' on powder is REALLY hard to do these days. You might stock up thru an onine supplier,but you gotta hit their page within minutes of it being listed.Powder Valley inc,Wideners,Graf and sons to name a couple .

for books,the ABC's of reloading for sure,and I love love love my Lyman's. It's the one so wore,it's duct-taped,lol.

start with pistol,and get carbide dies..no lube required,and just easier to work with.

If you do facebook,there are some huge groups with thousands of members with info,and some groups that are geared to buying and selling of components.

Stocked up may have been a bit of a broad term, but I do want to get ahold of a few lbs so that I can at least play with my new toys when I have the money to buy them .

And thanks for the heads up Rick but I missed the spots.

I've got an offer to check out some hands on stuff so I think will be plenty with all of the reading and videos I've watched.

 

[rick benjamin]

You wasted too much time taking that breath! Seats go almost as fast as the women's only defensive handgun class.

 

[Lilhigbee]

Lots of good info here. glad you got the Lyman book. It is a great place to start.
You might check out Dillon's BL550. It can be set up as your basic single stage loader to start with, but as you gain confidence you can uprade it to a full RL550B, and can do that piece at a time. It is a little more expensive than buying the RL550B at the start, but you don't wind up with a bunch of presses lying in the corner. The RL450 (discontinued but available used) is also upgradeable, but the cost of the frame makes it impractical IMHO. Also, I have a BL550 that I will be selling soon.

 

[Joe13]

Lots of good info here. glad you got the Lyman book. It is a great place to start.
You might check out Dillon's BL550. It can be set up as your basic single stage loader to start with, but as you gain confidence you can uprade it to a full RL550B, and can do that piece at a time. It is a little more expensive than buying the RL550B at the start, but you don't wind up with a bunch of presses lying in the corner. The RL450 (discontinued but available used) is also upgradeable, but the cost of the frame makes it impractical IMHO. Also, I have a BL550 that I will be selling soon.

Do you take payments

I'm flat broke with hunting season going but depending on how soon "soon" is, I might be able to swing it.

Convo me if nothing else when your ready.

 

[FA9]

I learned alot off youtube.

 

[RVTECH]

I have heard I won't save any money;

Technically you will not except on paper. However I have said it many times (and variations) but still the same - DON'T get into reloading thinking you will save money - get into reloading as an extension of your interest in firearms and the desire to get the best performance out of them or variations of performance and specialized loadings you can NOT get unless by reloading. An example of this would be reduced velocity loads that are simply not available for some calibers. Eventually as you build up supplies by finding deals or components you know you will use you will always be ready to 'knock out' however many rounds you think you will need instead of driving around looking for what you want and unsure of the prices. With reloading you will always know what your per round cost is and depending on the caliber can be a significant savings over store bought. And while I never thought it would happen the recent shortages of certain calibers during the 'panic' phases kept some people I know from shooting while I was able to supply myself.

 

[MarkAd]

Brass pro shop has 2400 in the tacoma store.
27 and change + 9.8% tax

 

[spectra]

Brass pro shop has 2400 in the tacoma store.
27 and change + 9.8% tax

way to far north

 

[MarkAd]

Not if you live here. It is just too much money and their Mil. discount is only good part of the month.

 

[spectra]

Not if you live here. It is just too much money and their Mil. discount is only good part of the month.

some day I will come back up there and will look you up!

 

[Sam Kinard]

There seems to be a lot of good info already here, but I would like to add my experiences. I firmly believe that 45acp is the absolute best caliber to start loading with because it has been my experience that you must try very hard to screw it up. I also believe that learning should be done on a single stage press. Successful handloaders seem to be the ones that truly enjoy it. The few handloaders that I know that have double charged a case and blown their gun up or skipped the powder and got a bullet lodged in the barrel have been those that find it tedious and boring. I think that those finding handloading boring are more likely to be distracted.

As far as powders go I have found some that will always be on my shelf.
For handguns:
Titegroup: This is the one pistol powder to have if you can only have one, especially for autoloaders. My go-to powder for 45acp, 40s&w, 10mm and 9mm.
Hodgdon H110/Winchester 296(the exact same powder in different cans): The best powder in my opinion for high velocity magnum revolver loads. I can push 110 grain .357 JHP's out of a 4&5/8" Ruger BH at just shy of 1,900 fps!
Alliant 2400: My favorite powder for cast bullets in magnum revolvers. My very favorite .38spl.+P, .357mag, .44mag and .41mag loads are with 2400.
IMR 4227: If I were denied 2400, this powder could replace it. I like it with cast bullets in revolvers.
HP-38/Winchester 231(same powder): This would be my powder for 45acp and .38spl. if I were shooting competition. Titegroup can render HP-38 obsolete for me, but it's worth a mention.
Alliant Unique: I consider this powder the "Titegroup for revolvers". It works well for 45acp, also. Great in .44spl.

For rifles:
Hodgdon BL-C(2): Great for most .308 and .30-'06-based cartridges.
Hodgdon Varget: It's reputation is valid and is my favorite .243 powder.
CFE223: This stuff sounds like a gimmick but is the real deal. Great velocities and will clean existing copper fouling and prevent future fouling. Incredible stuff that lives up to the hype.
IMR 4895: Very versatile.

Trail Boss, IMR 4064, H380 and many other are ones that I have had success with. Todays bullet construction is so amazing that just stocking a few powders can have you covered. I like the Speer reloading guide, Hodgdon's annual reloading magazine, Lyman's Cast Bullet Handbook, Nosler Reloading Guide #7 and Handloader magazine.

I cast my own bullets and handload all that I can not only for the sake of money, but because I personally find it very interesting, rewarding, entertaining and even therapeutic. I know other shooters and hunter that attempted handloading and went back to commercial ammo. I hope your experience is enjoyable and if not, I look forward to you selling your reloading supplies to us at a discounted price!