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I'm fairly new to the hobby having started only months ago. I currently load 9mm, .45 ACP and will soon start .38 SPL. As soon as I rustle up some funds, I plan to start loading 7.62x39 for hunting deer.
I'm fairly new to the hobby having started only months ago. I currently load 9mm, .45 ACP and will soon start .38 SPL. As soon as I rustle up some funds, I plan to start loading 7.62x39 for hunting deer.
there are a few that reload here, including me. although I got out of the 1 at a time reloading and went with an automatic reloading machine. much faster and I do not spend as much time loading 1 round at a time, now I do 2k-3k in an hour, as long as I have the mats needed.
I used to reload back when I was still living at home and in college. Don't have the time for it now but it was fun. That was before Obama when I could buy supplies online for dirt cheap. My buddy tried it last year and said it wasn't economical. I also casted my own 45 bullets. lol one time I ordered 50 pounds of lead on ebay and was waiting for the USPS guy to show up. I finally heard him squeak up and looked out the window and died laughing. Mind you 50 pounds of lead will fit into a 7" by 7" box. The poor guy was waddling with this little 7 inch box dangling at his groin, swinging back and forth. I met him at the door and he yelled "What is this!?!" to which I chuckled, "50 pounds of lead." He stared at me for a good ten seconds and just yelled back "WHY!!!???"
It can still be economical, you just have to be very careful about where you're finding your supplies. For me, much of my brass in one caliber comes from work, so that saves me a ton of money. If I'm buying hazmat materials online, I'll only order in large quantities to alleviate the extra fee. I just recently joined a range that is very close to two stores that sell supplies, so that will really help considering no where in NYC can I purchase any of the necessary components.
I used to big time. Now it sits in boxes but I've still got it. With ammo about to skyrocket in price again here in CA I better start loading. No lead ban on ALL hunting kicks in, in the future.
I reload for a .257 Ackley Improved mauser. I find factory rounds for my JC Higgins (98 Mauser) .270 and .30-06 are fairly reasonable and they group exceptionally well with them.
I have been reloading for decades. My two presses are a Dillon 550B and RCBS Rock Chucker Supreme. I reload about 20 calibers and need to add a few more to meet the needs of a friend who has some wildcats and can't afford factory ammo for them.
I just burned through 500 124 grain FMJ ball reloads this last weekend on Friday night and Saturday shooting in a match. Yeah, hell ya I reload....lol Have to, you don't have a choice!! I usually shoot around 200 rounds a week out of something. More if I am shooting comp or in a match.
I trim my cases with a 120v RCBS Trim Pro. My tumbler is the big boy, a Dillon CV-2001. My case prep tool is a 120v RCBS Trim Mate case prep center. It makes quick work out of doing tedious tasks such as primer pocket cleaning, case deburring and chamfering etc. My digital powder scale for precision rifle loads and match handgun loads is a Lyman 1200 DPS 3. Just program the thing for the powder type and brand, the load you want, and just push the dispense button and a perfect load is dispensed and weighed on the digital scale and screen. There is no margin for error when using that powder measure.
My dies are mostly Dillon carbides, but I also own some RCBS match carbides and Redding carbides. I don't own any tool steel dies. All mine are carbide and have/will last a lifetime. I use case gauges to check my loads and for out of spec brass. Those are mostly Dillon except my 357 SIG as they don't make it. That's a LE Wilson and works perfectly on that wildcat cartridge. Everyone seems to screw up the shoulder and headspacing on a 357 SIG when trying to load one. That's why, it removes all guess work and errors.
All my 10mm, .40 S&W and 357 SIG cases go through an additional sizing die to remove the lower bulge your regular sizing die cannot remove. That is a carbide Redding G-RX die. You screw a 2 liter plastic pop bottle on top to catch your finished cases. It works great and makes old wives tales of dangerous .40 S&W reload ka-boom stories obsolete. You also can reload other shooters junked "Glocked" .40 S&W brass they dumped because they are not smart enough to know that and there is a tool to fix it. Good thing, they probably aren't smart enough to not push a bulged case to it's upper Cup limit either. You need a light starting to medium load if you do not remove the case bulge. Otherwise it's what started the myth that .40 S&W cannot be reloaded safely.
I'm fairly new to the hobby having started only months ago. I currently load 9mm, .45 ACP and will soon start .38 SPL. As soon as I rustle up some funds, I plan to start loading 7.62x39 for hunting deer.
I'm not sure about the 7.62x39 for deer, although it's a good caliber for short range under 100 yards, most states do not allow semi-automatic rifles with that caliber, like the AK-47 with 30-round clips for deer hunting.
If you want a good 7.62/.30 caliber for deer hunting, I'd get something with the .308 Winchester caliber in a semi-auto rifle with a 5-round magazine.
I've been loading/reloading my own ammo since 1986 and I enjoy it.
It can still be economical, you just have to be very careful about where you're finding your supplies. For me, much of my brass in one caliber comes from work, so that saves me a ton of money. If I'm buying hazmat materials online, I'll only order in large quantities to alleviate the extra fee. I just recently joined a range that is very close to two stores that sell supplies, so that will really help considering no where in NYC can I purchase any of the necessary components.
LOL
I can tell you where to by 200 grain MATCH GRADE lead SWC .45 ACP bullets for $90 a thou. Now the primers.......$29 a thou for Winchester WLP. Powder is Alliant Bullseye, which is $107.20 per 8 pound keg. You only need 4.8 grains per round to meet Wilson Combat's preferred pet target load. There is 7000 grains of powder per pound.
You do the math on that one. That crappy Winchester white box 230 FMJ that is damn near $30 a box of 50 at Wally World prints like a pizza box at 25+ yards to boot.
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