I know there are lots of reasons we all have to reload. Tonight I had one of the more (most?) dramatic examples of the benefits of loading - quite literally - stare me in the face. (I've shot all my life - but have been loading for just a couple of years.)

One of my LGSs sells .38 JHPs at an extremely attractive price. I've loaded a good bunch of 158gr LSWC. These JHPs are 125gr - made by Zero Bullets. I loaded up a couple handfuls to try out this evening. Load #1 (left target) is 4.4gr HP-38. Load #2 (right target) is 4.6gr HP-38. These were shot out of a S&W 14-2 with a 6" barrel.

This hobby is so fun and rewarding. And the physics totally fascinate me.

OR

P.S.: If you're wondering if I happen to have a 7-shot model 14, I don't. :-) The hole on target #2 at about 8:30 is a flier from another string I believe.

More than half of my shooting these days it to experiment with loads. It's definitely added a new dimension to the hobby for me. I also find it rather fascinating.

...is that I can load any combination on God's green earth and test it out. I find internal and external ballistics fun to dabble in. Terminal ballistics is ok, but if I were a hunter I'd care more about that.

I don't see a lot of savings reloading 9mm. But .357 mag and rifle rounds? I can load rifle rounds at a third of the cost of bought ammo.

It's fun.

It's satisfying to shoot ammo that you made yourself to reflect whatever ideas you put into them.

__________________
"He was kinda funny lookin'"

Cost, performance & self reliance are good reasons to reload. With 9mm @ $22/100, yeah, i save quite a bit reloading it & even more reloading everything else. In general, all my ammo shoots equal to or better than factory, especially cheap factory.

__________________
NRA Cert. Inst. IDPA CSO

I completely understand what you're saying. I tested a few loads one day for the .45 Colt. I watched the groups shrink from 6" to 4" and smaller and then grow again. I found the best load for that powder/bullet/gun combination in short order. You are correct, very satisfying indeed.

__________________
Freedom is never free!!
SWCA #3437

Even 9mm, I think I calculated it out to a 50% savings. But nothing like reloading .44 Magnum.

Even if it didn't save any money, the performance and ability to customize my ammo would be worth it. Saving $28 on a box of .44s is just icing on the cake.

If you cast your own lead bullets, center fire ammo is frequently cheaper than 22 LR depending on your powder and charge.

If you are reloading, you are interested in saving money not worrying about the value of your time. Doctors, lawyers, and corporation presidents have high hourly rates of income, but now really are you working for financial gain at 8:30 PM at night or relaxing with an adult beverage and TV show?

Skip TV and crank that press handle.

CLARIFICATION: If I bought groceries with the money I've saved reloading, I'd have died of starvation 6 months after I started reloading . But I've shot at least 350% more ammo than if I was shooting factory cartridges.

__________________
S&WHF 366

Based on the questions and replies I read in this reloading forum recently, many completely miss these rewarding moments in our hobby.

__________________
I'd like to agree with you BUT

I've never really understood the "value of my time" point often frequently raised by reloaders. Per the above, unless you'd REALLY be working when not reloading then I get it. But for me it often comes down to choosing between surfing the Web for fun, watching a movie on Netflix, or heading to the loading bench. I don't always choose the latter. But I'll frequently do so.

I'm comfortable I'd load even with no savings. And, based on my loading logs, I just now recouped my equipment investment. So financially "It's all downhill from here." Bwahaha. (I'm kidding. There's always that next caliber to acquire.)

Actually, that point is raised, more often than not, by anti-reloaders. You know, the guys trying their darndest to convince us we're not really saving any money.

We've seen some colorful discussions concerning that in this particular forum!

If I didn't spend the time reloading and testing loads I would just be out chasing women and drinking. Hmm maybe a little less reloading.

__________________
USN Retired/VN VET
M&P X5

Reloading is it a great hobby in and of itself. Hobbies are supposed to take time, as in time well spent, in just so happens that my hobby results tailer made ammunition I can go shoot and start all over again.

Yeah but that is a LOT of icing. :-)

__________________
NRA Cert. Inst. IDPA CSO

Just to restate this value of time thing again. IF your time is valuable, buy better gear. I easily save 50% or more over any factory ammo. So even lowly 9mm is say $22/100. I can load 600/hr loafing along on my 650. That is $66/hr NET savings. I would have to make $100/hr gross (taxes) & work one hour to buy the same amount of ammo. Since few of us make $200k a year, this is a no brainer for many of us that reload. Because my time has value, I reload. I am making $$ reloading at that rate vs working, even if I made $100/hr. If nothing else I like reloading more than work, so if it was exactly the same hourly rate, I would rather reload ammo.

__________________
NRA Cert. Inst. IDPA CSO

I reload, therefore I am.

It depends on the cartridge.

For high-volume, low-price cartridges like 9mm and .40 S&W, it's a lot easier to justify a progressive.

High-price, low-volume cartridges like .44 Magnum, a turret makes more sense.

The key thing is to match the press to your own level of production. One cartridge, one load, 500 rounds at a sitting? Progressive all the way. Four cartridges, 50-150 at a go, lots of tinkering? Turrets rule the day.

If a progressive makes sense for thin savings margin ammo like nine and forty, it makes even more sense with wide margin ammo like 44 Mag....

A friend has an Arisaka and a Garand. 7.7 ammo for the Arisaka and lowered pressure for the Garand (he does have the expansion plug so it can shoot regular 30-06) and order both costs like $28 for a 20 round box. Besides, we haven't found any in town, so then you have shipping (by ground). I reloaded 3 boxes of ammo for $8/each. THAT is real savings.

__________________
"He was kinda funny lookin'"

SLT beat me too it, time value is time value, the caliber you load isn't really that relevant. Take the 44mag. Cheap full power only ammo is $56/100! I can reload it for right at 18c per. So what is that, almost 70% less. So now my hourly rate is a whopping $228/hr!! If you shoot a lot of 44mag, as I used to, reloading on a good progressive makes even more sense. Even if I only shot a few 100 a year instead of a week, it still makes sense to spend less time reloading it. Then you can spend more time doing things like casting & coating your own bullets.
There is no downside to a progressive press but cost. For guys that shoot even a modest amount, like 200 a month, the progressive allows you to spend less time reloading & more time doing whatever else you want. Plus you are doing 3/4 of the work load with one handle pull for every round. I started on a ss press but I recommend a Dillon 550B as the min for anyone shooting any handgun enough to reload for it. The cost diff is miniscule compared to the time you will save.

__________________
NRA Cert. Inst. IDPA CSO

The key term is "volume". Any cartridge, once you reach a certain volume, is deserving of a progressive.

But small, low-margin cartridges like 9mm cry out for a progressive and volume production (if only to offset setup times). The point isn't so much what your maximum dollars-per-hour savings could be, it's about what's worth doing at the bottom end of the scale.

Think of it this way--if you're loading 9mm on a single-stage and make 50/hr, then it takes you 10 hours to make 500 rounds. If you shoot 100 a month, that's still 2 hours of time in the basement, every month, to save $20.

I'd much rather just pay the $20.

If you get a progressive, you can crank out 500 in an hour. One hour makes enough ammo for 5 months. It makes a ton of sense on any $/hr scale.

But if you make 100 .44s a month, that's more like $53. Sure, you'd do even better on a strict $/hr scale with a progressive, but the top end of the scale sort've doesn't matter. You could happily spend 2 hours a month saving $53.

Although really, what you should do is just get a turret.

If you really want to feel all warm and fuzzy cast your own bullets! One of the big rewards at least for me is beating the winter doldrums. I have plenty of clean case's waiting to be turned into cartridges this winter up in the "man cave/gun room". Also good when my better half has a chick flick on the tube!

__________________
Stay safe people!

A turret press made sense back when progressives were iffy & expensive. Today, a turret press offers litte over a ss press. You still have to pull the handle 3-4x for each round. Its a one trick pony.
Something like the Dillon 550B allows you options. Run it as an inv turret, pull the handle 4x for each round. Run it as a progressive, one pull one round, upto 500rds per hour. I like options , go fast, go slow, happy to pay $200-$300 more for those options. Over 20yrs of reloading, what, a $1.25 a month!
I started on a ss press 41yrs ago. Today, i have no problem recommemding a quality progressive as a starter. Go slow, run it as an inv turret, then when you feel comfortable, crank it up.

__________________
NRA Cert. Inst. IDPA CSO

It may not totally be fun to run 1500 9mm or 45ACP, but they shoot better and are still half the price of reasonable cheap ammo.

At the other end of the spectrum is 338 Lapua Magnum where Lapua 250gr is $5.59 per round in 10 packs which is all that may be available . . . and you can make the preferable 300gr using Bergers and Lapua brass for $1.48 per round. That's $4 per round savings lol, plus it shoots better and you can actually get some to shoot.

But the many comments made about enjoying the physics, the learning, shooting ammo made from your own ideas and hands . . . those are things that make it a HOBBY.

And for me, all that load development gives real purpose to my shooting as well.

I loaded a huge batch of 223 in 1984 (20,000 rounds). At the time I had a Mini-14 and got about 4" at 100, the same or better than any factory ammo shot in that gun. About 10 years later I had bought my first AR-15 and was at the range trying out various ammos in that gun when a friend walked over and saw the gallon bag of FMJ 223 and ask if he could try some in his bolt gun. When you measure a rifle group, you take the largest diameter and subtract the bullet diameter. In his Cooper 21 he had THREE consecutive 5 shot groups that measures: .14", .15" & .09"! This ammo in my Cooper 21 shoots those kind of groups except for the one time I had a .05" group. My AR shoot them in the .25" area on very slow fire and more like .5" as the barrel heats up. I have never found any factory ammo that will shoot close to this good!

Ivan

PS I gave one of my sons about 3000 rounds for his M-4 clone and kept the last 3500 rounds for me. That 32 year old reloaded ammo still shoots those little groups!

By being a diligent brass rat at the range, I have acquired about 2,000 cases in 44 mag. when I accumulate about 200 pieces, trim them all to my standard length, tumble, and put in the "Ready to Reload" bucket.

Twice I've fired all my 44 mag ammo, and then reloaded everything in the brass inventory. After a major casting and sizing session, the Dillon 550 is ready to reload all the polished brass in about 4 hours. Sometimes I reload 44 mag when I only have 300 cases so it takes only an hour with caliber change.

My Rock Chucker is used for rifle ammo. A Dillon powder measure spills about 2 granules of AA 2230 powder with each loaded round, after 500 rounds that is a powder mess. This doesn't happen with pistol ammo because the neck expander die is inside the case mouth.

__________________
S&WHF 366

It always fascinates me how a couple thousandths here or a couple tenths of grains there or changing a primer can change results. Furthermore, having the ability to load for my 1907 Winchester and my step dad's 1910 is priceless. It would cost at least 1.50 per trigger pull for those obsolete calibers and I would have to ration my shots. As it is I can shoot those two rifles for about 15 cents a round.

I almost never watch TV anymore. This hobby is engaging and just plain funner.

__________________
Trucks and guns.

This is a few years old, my 100 yd OCW test target when I was working up loads for a .308 with 175 SMK's for LR steel. The OCW test allows you to see accuracy nodes at different velocities. Once you have identified a node, one can tweek OCL, primers, powder charge, etc. 44.5 of VARGET was MY sweet spot.

This is MY example of "Why I reload". To wring the utmost accuracy out of a rifle or certain handguns.

Well, it's not much more expensive, until you go to add new cartridges to your lineup. On my Lee turret, a new caliber means buying a new $11 turret. On a Dillon, that's a $45 kit. Add just a few cartridges (say, start with .45 ACP, add .38, .40, .44, 9mm, and .45 Colt) and you're looking at another $150, plus dies.

It's also substantially easier to load primers on my Lee. All I do is dump the primers onto the tray, shake 'em up, and slap the cover on it. Then hang it off the press. It takes just a few seconds to load 50 primers, and I've never touched a primer pickup in my life (or had one wear out).

And truth is--I just don't make enough ammo for a progressive to be worth it. I'm always tinkering, so I rarely want to just convert all of my components into completed ammunition. I wouldn't want 500 rounds in an hour even if somebody else was doing it for me.

Hence, why I suggest people take a look at how much they shoot, and what really interests them, and then make a decision for themselves. Because I can totally see why all the things I like to do might not matter at all to somebody.

Don't be a zealot for your press. The hobby's too big for that.

I'm getting nostalgic now. Here's my first batch of rounds, and my first results:
Ammo: .357 brass, winchester primers, xtreme 158 swc, 4.0gr Clays
Range: ten yards off hand double action
Press: Dillon 650 XL (my first and only press)
Gun: 686 no dash 4"....my first handgun and first S&W (bought right after I turned 21)

Reloading is a great hobby. In 12 years, I've only had one squib, and that I blame on "Judge Judy". Seriously, lesson learned to keep my attention on the 550B and do away with distractions.

Yeah watching tv is a no-no. I can & do listen to music, but even serious conversation can be distracting enough to cause an error & it only takes one to ruin your day.

__________________
NRA Cert. Inst. IDPA CSO

My reason for reloading is putting ammo together and shooting it. First I can tailor my loads to my firearms and I don't shoot jacketed. I can down load or shoot near or at max. As I love shooting as much as reloading so they go hand in hand. As for saving hell I just so more. The more you shoot the tighter the groups keep up the work and practice.

We're "do it yourself" kind of folks. We raise a big garden, I am our mechanic, and both my sons killed their first deer with a rifle their grandfather made for them, ammo they handloaded themselves, then gutted and skinned them with knives I made.

Reloading fits right in to our way of living.

I reload so I can shoot more, I can adjust the load to suit how my hands and wrist are feeling and I enjoy making my own stuff. and it keeps me out of the bars and out of my wife's hair.

__________________
Carpriver.