I'm likely the newest-addition to "ReLoading" on this forum...
and have spent a few lunch-breaks with friends from the range
to discuss aspects of reloading... here are some points-to-ponder...
1. you're NOT going to save-$$$ by reloading.
anymore than you're going to save-$$$ by hunting your own dinner.
It's a hobby, plan to buy things that do not get used very much,
as you may have invisioned when you order/purchase them.
2. Brass-Handling is very time-consuming...
between firing a round and measuring the powder is a lot of handling,
to DeCap, Resize, clean, trim, prime...
3. Powder selection, measurement, dispensing can be tedious
and must be CONSISTENT !
4. cartridge and chamber measurement for consistency can be tedious.
the calipers, micrometers, OAL-gizmos, headspace... seemingly no end.
5. The FUN-PART is after the powder is dispensed and you're placing that
bullet on the neck and gently pressing it into position with your meticulously
adjusted Seating-Die... to hold the finished cartridge...
I initially wanted to work toward some precise .223(100yd) & .308(200yd)
loads specifically for my respective rifles to the point that I could determine
and notice some precise performance as a result of my "plan".
Not that my shots would be more 'accurate' than ole "So-n-So",
but that I had learned how to tweak my loads for my Stevens -vs- Tikka
and understood why they were different and how to load for each...
Then... 9mm, .380, .45, .38, .357 ... .30'06, .30-30 and .45/70 come along.
The Lee-Loader can do the basics ($15 per caliber)
but those (Forster)Bonanza Micrometer-Seating-Dies are waiting for my .223 & .308
shooting skills to grow-to-fit...
Do you want to tweak some loads for a .308 target rifle to reliably
shoot 1" 5-shot groups at 200yds ? then roll-up your sleeves and
start anywhere... there's a lot to learn and it'll take a while.
Do you want to do bulk-9mm-reloads for your handgun skills?
Then consider buying a good-basic 9mm ammo... your primer,
powder and bullet expense will likely be over half of your ReLoad
cost per bullet.
Code: Select all
do the math... 9mm Cheap Version at Cabela's prices...
(no taxes, shipping, travel, time or equipment considered )
BerrysMfg.com 115gr Plated-RN (250 for $10.00) 0.04ea
CCI Small Pistol #500 Primers (1000 for $20.00) 0.02ea
Hodgdon HP-38, 7000gr in a pound (1lb.for $20.00) ~.02ea
5gr per 9mm load
Remington new 9mm Brass (100 for $10.00) 0.10ea
-or- assume 5x-ReUse for 0.02ea -or- Free-Range-Brass
0.08ea for consumed items per round, with new Brass 0.18each
a recent GunShow reLoaded-ammo price: $24/200 or 0.12each
using once-fired-Speer-brass, loaded like Win-White-Box ammo.
Sorry to get on my soap-box, just some "food for thought"...
ReLoading is an associated-hobby with my "guns".
Much like my 30+yr Astronomy Hobby... introduced me to a lot
of Camping-Gear and 4x4 (ie. Toy FJ40)... and carrying some
trail-gun just in case some critter was a threat...
and ... it's a small world... and all ties together when you get some
photos of the bullet-holes that are in the
McDonald-Observatory
107" mirror... enjoy your hobbies...
Firearms are very common in Texas. Astronomer Brian Warner had his tongue only slightly in cheek when he remarked that "Jeff Davis County is about the size of Israel -- and slightly better armed." The prophecy inherent in the aphorism came to pass. The full precipitating causes may never be known, but one February night in 1970 a McDonald Observatory employee (not a Texan, but an Ohioan newly hired from another observatory!) suffered a breakdown and carried a pistol to the observing floor of the 107-inch telescope. He fired a shot at his supervisor, and then unloaded the rest of the clip into the primary mirror. Happily, fused silica is more resilent than ordinary glass, and the big mirror did not break. The craters have been bored out and painted black to reduce any light-scattering effect, and the end result is simply a slight reduction in the efficiency of the telescope. It is now the equivalent of a 106-inch telescope. the incident made the national television news, with Walter Cronkite describing it before a projection showing the wrong telescope upside down.
From pages 153-154 of "
Big and Bright: A History of the McDonald Observatory"
by David S. Evans and J. Derral Mulholland, (c)1986
University of Texas Press -- ISBN: 0-292-70762-2