New to Reloading

[turnerdye1]

I ended up building a range building just so I could find all my brass. I have a frame that I set up when I am shooting out of the building, it has a sheet that funnels most of the brass to one point. Made it out of PVC and it breaks down for easy transport. Doesn't like wind though

do you happen to have a picture of your transportable brass catcher? Id like to see that

You can clean the brass with water and a detergent but DO NOT use anything with ammonia, ammonia breaks down brass and you could have some nasty failures. Use something without it and you'd be OK. Midway USA has some good tumblers for cheap; I have the RCBS tumber and I like it.

ill lookin into getting one of those when i get back from school. does the brass have to just sit in the water or do i have to scrub them all lol?
As for the brass wizard, I don't know if it works good or not; I'd love to try one!

You'll do good. Getting started is the first step, before long you will be off and running. Equipment and benches will evolve over time. In the mean time welcome to the world of reloading, enjoy your new adventure.

thanks ive been looking forward to it for awhile now

 

[hbarn]

I bought my LEE on EBAY. Ebay has alot of good prices on Lee. I did alot research on prices, reloading equipment. Lee is a great way to start for the money. Lees take alittle time (progressive) to get to work correctly but when you do they work great. Good luck and have fun!!

 

[turnerdye1]

i plan on staying away from the progressives for now. they arent my thing quite yet. single stage will do me just fine

 

[Big Mac 1911]

Lee is great to start off with... I have the single stage press and the 4 hole turret press and I love them both. You might check around on pricing. If I recall, I think I bought one of my presses or die sets from Kemfs if N. Indiana. They have pretty good prices on some stuff. Welcome to the club... The more you load the more you shoot!!!!

 

[walker]

INDY 1500 this weekend.(14,15,16) Would be a good place to look and buy.

 

[turnerdye1]

im really wanting to go!! but im broke now after going to the ft wayne show. idk whether to buy in bulk and wait to reload til summer or start now. i have a few hundred of each 9mm and .223. maybe i should wait till i have more to start, idk

 

[Big Mac 1911]

im really wanting to go!! but im broke now after going to the ft wayne show. idk whether to buy in bulk and wait to reload til summer or start now. i have a few hundred of each 9mm and .223. maybe i should wait till i have more to start, idk

Now a days you can get once fired ammo pretty cheep online. I think Kbar has 1000 9mm for about $35 plus $14 shipping. If you have all the equipment you just need a GOOD MANUAL, primers, powder and boolits. I think lead is still higher than crap, but I think it is still cheaper in the end and it is fun to do. I tend to reload a lot in the winter, because the summer is when I want to get out and shoot. I'd go for it... Shoot it up and reload it again!!!

 

[turnerdye1]

i cant shoot lead because i have a glock

im gonna go ahead and start saving up to buy my reloading equipment and when i have it ill get my componets. little by little ill finally have what i need to get started

 

[DustyDawg48]

i cant shoot lead because i have a glock

im gonna go ahead and start saving up to buy my reloading equipment and when i have it ill get my componets. little by little ill finally have what i need to get started

An aftermarket barrel from a place like KKM Precision, Lone Wolf or Storm Lake will get you around the 'no lead in the Glock' thing. There are plenty of people that shoot lead and have never had an issue but I'd rather spend the $150-ish for a good barrel and be safe; I personally shoot jacketed and that's all I have plans to shoot for now.

As far as washing the brass, I'd just let them set in some hot water for a bit, slosh it around and call it good! Unless they are terrible-dirty I just clean out any grass clipping and rocks that may have found their way into the mix and tumble them without washing.

 

[turnerdye1]

alright thanks alot. ill start cleaning what i have

i would buy a barrel but shooting lead isnt that much of a concern so ill just stay away from it. jacketed works just fine for me

 

[DustyDawg48]

I'm fine without shooting lead, either. We have kids and animals in the house and I don't really want to take the risk of exposing any little guy to lead or anything like that so, no matter if the danger is real or imagined, I shoot jacketed. Besides, it sure looks prettier than lead!

 

[turnerdye1]

just curious but how many 9mm rounds would it take to reload until i actually started saving from buying factory ammo

this includes the equipment+compenents

 

[Aszerigan]

Figure you can load a box of 9mm for $6-7. Then figure out how much your spending. Divide.

 

[Skeetboy]

Reloading

Single stage is great as long as you have lots of time to invest in it. All of the reloading equipment I have used was bought used and it worked fine. Parts, dies etc. are very easy to get if you stick with MEC, Hornady etc.

 

[DustyDawg48]

just curious but how many 9mm rounds would it take to reload until i actually started saving from buying factory ammo

this includes the equipment+compenents

My figures for my 9mm round:

9mm 124 grain FMJ from Montana Gold Bullet .09 ea
Small Pistol Primer .03 ea
Powder .01 per round

$13.00 per hundred reloaded vs $18.00 per hundred factory. The bigger bulk buys like 10,000 primers, 8# powder or 3,000 bullets gets you even cheaper! So for every 100 rounds I'm banking $5. Not a massive savings but I've reloaded over 4,000 rounds so far and at $5/hundred I've saved $200 over factory at that's paid for my RCBS press, scale, calipers and 1 hopper.

The other thing about reloading that cannot be stressed enough is that it is fun and a skill that cannot be taken away no matter what. The ability to produce something that you can use, and produce it cheaper and at your own leisure is something intangible but worth figuring in when it comes to deciding whether or not to start reloading.

 

[turnerdye1]

okay so lets say that i have 200 dollars invested in my setup and components. and ill round up and say 15.00 for a box of 100. id have to shoot a little over 1300 rounds until i start saving on them. thats a lot of ammo lol. why is shooting so damn expensive

 

[shibumiseeker]

okay so lets say that i have 200 dollars invested in my setup and components. and ill round up and say 15.00 for a box of 100. id have to shoot a little over 1300 rounds until i start saving on them. thats a lot of ammo lol. why is shooting so damn expensive

We reload in part because shooting is so expensive.

1300 rounds really isn't a lot of shooting, it just seems like it when you are used to buying factory ammo.

Go to a carbine class and you'll shoot 2000 rounds in a weekend. It takes a lot of trigger time to develop the skills that allow you to become proficient with a weapon.

 

[turnerdye1]

you have to look at it from my stand point too

im a broke college student who has a girlfriend. she likes to spend my money for me

im gonna stock pile what i can now and when i get my summer job ill get into reloading and get whatever i can before fall semester starts again

 

[shibumiseeker]

you have to look at it from my stand point too

im a broke college student who has a girlfriend. she likes to spend my money for me

im gonna stock pile what i can now and when i get my summer job ill get into reloading and get whatever i can before fall semester starts again

Heh. Throw in a .22lr into the mix somewhere (pistol or rifle) and you'll shoot a lot more. It's not as exciting as the bigger bangs, but it can allow you to develop the trigger time. A bolt action .22 rifle can be had for a hundred bucks.

You may find your GF enjoys it as well and an afternoon shooting is a great way to pass the time together.

As far as reloading goes, the equipment lasts practically forever, so once it's paid for it costs nothing. Hang out here and keep an eye out and you can find a lot of stuff for sale used a lot cheaper.

 

[turnerdye1]

im definetly gonna be looking in the classifieds.

she does like to shoot...alot so it costs me alot for that too lol
but im happy shes into it as much as me. im lucky in that aspect

as for the bolt action .22. i have an old Remington 510 Targetmaster. i love this little gun. it gets a lot of ammo put through it too lol. it eats bulk packs pretty quick. i also have a 6 shot relvolver in .22 i shoot a lot too