as long as you don't mind expending in minutes what it takes hours to load... yer good.It is not bad, but you may be behind the curve.
I talked to a man today who had just gone from store to store looking for primers, for reloading handgun cartridges, and there are none left. Cabellas and all the others are just flat sold out. As are all the common calibers.
It isn’t hard to do, get the parts early if you are going to, because primers or powder or bullets will be constrained in the future by new legislation.
Its a little late. Suggestion (ill let the REAL reloading experts chime in), I would visit as many garage sales/estate sales as possible. You can find alot of reloading gear that has been stashed away for years. Gotta be first though;)
There’s plenty of reading material and videos that cover the subject, but my advice would be to find somebody who handloads and have them give you an overview of the process, and equipment used. I cast bullets and have handloaded metallic and shotshells for decades, and I’ve found it very gratifying.
Another thing to consider is the present political environment also. I expect that in the future they will come after handloaders and purchasing of components.
You won’t save any money, but you will shoot a lot more for the same money.
I was heavy into handloading for many years tho I quit around 15 years ago. Unless you do a tremendous amount of shooting I doubt you really save money.
One of the advantages is tailoring a load to your particular needs.
Reloading is not difficult but requires just a bit of common sense.
Answer: yes.
Buy bulk ammo. shoot it. Reuse the brass repeatedly. buy projectiles which are still available and fairly inexpensive compared to live ammo. Primers can be found too if you look (especially at big gun shows). Depending on what you’re shooting, you can easily cut your cost per bullet down by over 50%. If you like .45 for example, you can easily cast your own lead bullets too if you are so inclined and get the price down even more. I recommend getting afew books from Lee reloading supplies. Lee is where it’s at for beginners especially.
Now having said all that. I shoot a lot. My wife does too. A single stage reloader would never keep up. Single stage loader can load maybe 20 rounds every 30 minutes. My wife blows through 20 rnds every 30 sec. at the range. So I bought big, a Dillon 650. It is a progressive reloader and on a good night I can turn 200 - 300 rnds an hour. Has a quick change feature to switch calibers. (Also shoot 9mm and .308) Full setup ran about $3000 but I knew what I was getting into. Start small. Or better yet get some books on reloading and study some before deciding. Good Luck
Like anything else reloading requires practice, experience and it costs to develop the skill. Your mistakes arent free. There is a lot to learn unles you are already head first into it.
Factory ammunition is the way to go IMO. If you can get it.
My husband shoots trap and pheasants and loads his own ammo in the basement. He finds it relaxing. His shells are loading in such a way that there is little recoil (save the shoulder) and he gets better results (more kills). Don’t ask me how he does it, because I just hear him talk. I don’t shoot, myself.
He says he saves money — especially for trap where they chew threw a lot of shells. I don’t think that he does rifle ammo — but who knows what he does down there? I stay out of it.
You’ll shoot your eye out!
as long as you don't mind expending in minutes what it takes hours to load... yer good.Since everything is sold out, my plan is to use the weapons/ammo I have and drop the enemy/assailants and take THEIR guns and ammo when the day of reckoning comes. Voila!
Handloading isn’t difficult if you are a patient, detail oriented person. However, if you do things wrong, you can damage your firearm or hurt yourself.
I would recommend buying a book on reloading with techniques and “recipes.”
Once you have read the book, find someone with experience to work with you so you can get the hang of it with someone who has made the mistakes.
Then, if it seems like it’s something you want to do, go ahead and buy a press, dies in the caliber you shoot and the other tools needed. I would strongly suggest purchasing a high quality scale and a quality caliper so you can make sure your powder charge is exactly correct and your cartridges are the proper dimension. You’ll never regret purchasing high quality tools.
Don’t ever reload when you are rushed or impaired in any way. You need to be very detail oriented because one double charge will ruin you whole day. ...and you gun ...and possibly your face
I used the little boxed sets that were all hand operated (punched out the primers using a mallet) and saved my cash up and bought a RCBS Rock Chucker and all the good stuff including a good powder thrower.
I now use a Dillon progressive reloader.
The only supply problem I have had since Barry was elected was getting a large supply of primers for my 45 ACP. It took forever to get a couple thousand in my hands and the price was not pleasant. For some reason I got a burr up my butt way before Barry even started running for President and bought a ton of brass on EBay for most of my weapons. Liberal EBay now refuses to allow sales of ammo components or magazines and most of the sellers went to AuctionArms.com
Reloading used to make shooting really inexpensive but now you just save a little bit of money but you can tailor your rounds to get the best accuracy possible.
I also cast my own 45 and 38 bullets for punching paper and these rounds do save me ALOT of cash, even with the gas checks.
The thing I like about reloading is the satisfaction I get making my own ammo and that I know I can trust them.
I cannot even hazard a guess as to how many rounds I have made over the years (I know that it is in the six digits) but I can say with a straight face that I have never had a single one of my reloads hang or misfire. I have had a few, but not many, factory rounds do just that.
Better late than never.
Dillon 550. Seriously.
Check my profile page.
I started with the LEE LOADER, and the LYMAN 310 tong tool. I now use a LEE bench loader.
You will not save money if you buy the cases new, primers, powder and bullets. You will save if you use once fired cases or save your cases after you shoot factory loaded ammo. The case is the most expensive part.
You can cast your own bullets out of wheel weights for low velocity rounds but will need jacketed bullets for high velocity rounds.
Get several good books on reloading. I use the Lyman reloading book and Lee reloading book. Some gun stores will carry powder manufacturer’s reloading books. The IMR powder booklet is free.
Get a writing tablet and keep records on what you load, powder and bullet weight. It saves me from having to look up the loads in reloading books. I still have the magazine pages on reloading by Elmer Keith and Skeeter Skelton from years ago along with what their “pet” loads.