Is reloading dying?

[BC38]

Not sure how it works for Gander, but I'm pretty sure I can order anything I want from Cablas, have it delivered to the local store for pickup, and not pay any shipping or hazmat fees.

I think it is a combination of the fact that they are already getting a truckload of stock for their shelves delivered along with my order, and the idea that if they get me into the store maybe I'll buy something else too.

BTW, that seems to be a good sales strategy on their part - 'cause it usually works. I almost always end up finding SOMETHING else to buy every time I go there to pick up an order

I sure hope it doesn't change now that those "male Goose" guys have bought out Cabelas....

 

[Harrison]

Yes. Most places will charge you $30 x 2 if you order powder & primers.

Widener's doesn't usually have the greatest selection but you can order powder & primers on one hazmat fee. Not sure about Midway.

It really pays to compare. Some places will have lower prices but get it back on shipping & handling. A group buy with friends is where you can really defray the hazmat & shipping costs. IIRC you can buy up to 48# at a time.

Powder only charges one fee. I often order both primers and powder.

 

[BC38]

Maybe it's just not as popular? Not necessarily dying.

I know my friends and I have absolutely zero interest in reloading. I can speak for myself that I don't have the patience or the time or the interest to try different loads and they go home and tweak them. All I want to do is shoot the one day I have off. Same with my friends. No one wants to spend hours at a machine making ammo when one quick order at work takes 30 seconds and I can be at the range at the end of the week

This seems to be becoming more common. Lots of people seem to have more disposable income than spare time.

 

[Arik]

This seems to be becoming more common. Lots of people seem to have more disposable income than spare time.

For me personally I can't say o have exactly more disposable income but what I know for 1000000% is that I don't have time or patience. Especially patience. If a load doesn't work or completely malfunctions I have no interest or desire to go home and try again. I just want it to work without figuring out what went wrong. At this time I can buy 9mm range ammo at just over $200 for 1k rounds. That works for me

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[BC38]

For me personally I can't say o have exactly more disposable income but what I know for 1000000% is that I don't have time or patience. Especially patience. If a load doesn't work or completely malfunctions I have no interest or desire to go home and try again. I just want it to work without figuring out what went wrong. At this time I can buy 9mm range ammo at just over $200 for 1k rounds. That works for me

LOL, well, if you can afford the price to buy it, but not the time to make it, then you have MORE money to spare than time to spare.

Not trying to say you have LOADS of disposable income - only that you have a better supply of it than you have of spare time.

And like I said, that seems to be getting more common these days. Too many of us seem to be running 90 miles an hour with our hair on fire every waking minute.

The curse of modern society....

 

[Jack71]

Reloading isn't for everybody, but I enjoy it and have plenty of local sources for powder and primers (this wasn't true a few years ago). I usually buy my bullets online - the selection is better and so are the prices.

As for saving money, maybe there isn't a lot to be gained by loading 9mm and a few other common pistol calibers. But for something like .357 SIG, 44 Special and .38 Super (all of which I shoot) I save a lot of money and am able to tailor the loads to what I like.

 

[Jboutfishn]

It's cheaper, better selection, and saves a lot of driving around to just buy on line. Places like "Powder Valley" usually have a good selection at great prices.

Good guys.

 

[carpriver]

Where I live I depend on a small gun store about 20 miles away. Gander Mtn is 90 miles away in Marquette MI. and they don't have a decent supply of powders or primers, Durhams has guns and ammo but no reloading supplies. Cabala's is 90 in Green Bay and has a fairly good supply of supplies including Lee dies and others manufactures. I call my local gun shop see what she has in stock, or if I am going to Green Bay I call the cabala's and order in store pick up of supplies, if they are in stock I can pick them up. if all that doesn't work I go on line and order from one of the firearms supply companies.

Reloading takes effort to find and get the components. But for me it's all part of the hobby

 

[hdwhit]

With so few places to buy powder and primers, reloading must be on the decline,...

You cannot draw that conclusion from the limited experience you point to.

The on-line sellers can generally offer better prices and greater selection than a local gun shop, so reloading appears to have largely migrated on-line.

And, yes, on-line sellers either have to charge a hazardous materials fee for the hazardous material they sell or else build it into the price of what they're selling. This is a fee charged by the shipper. If you order a large quantity of primer and/or powder you will probably find that even with the hazardous materials fee, the unit price is lower than if you bought it locally.

 

[Deadctr]

Cabelas

Not sure how it works for Gander, but I'm pretty sure I can order anything I want from Cablas, have it delivered to the local store for pickup, and not pay any shipping or hazmat fees.

Couple months back, Cabelas ran an online special on primers. I went to order a few thousand, and since I drive by the store in Hamburg, PA regularly, I thought having them shipped to the store would save me the HAZMAT fee.

....When I went to complete the the order, a message came up saying they the couldn't ship primers to the store..........

Yeah, ....I thought the same thing.

 

[shocker]

Sounds like I am lucky, the LGS has a plentiful supply of powders and primers. Not especially cheap, but nice that it's a 1 mile drive to get there.

Thanks to the events of this week, I can relax for a while when it comes to the future of my shooting hobby.

 

[Goblin]

Arik, if all you shoot is 9mm, I can see why the math doesn't work for you. Many of us began reloading because we were shooting 38 super IPSC loads, or 9mm loads for steel challenge type competition that are lighter than factory loads. Or, 41 magnum or 44 special, and today even 38 Special, which are very pricey and hard to find on the shelves. FWIW, I can buy 9mm ammo cheaper than I can load them with new brass, it's only after I fire the brass that I save money loading 9mm. We don't load to save money, but to shoot more for the same money, so disposable income isn't usually a factor. That said, I enjoy reloading almost as much as I enjoy shooting. Cheers.

 

[Rule3]

Why is there a hazardous shipping fee on powder and primers, but not on ammo? Guess what two components of loaded ammo are.

Because primers by themselves all lined up in little boxes can theoretically "chain fire"

Note that Federal Primers are in bigger boxes with more space between the individual primers, (they are such sensitive little buggers!)

Powder in bulk can spill and ignite causing a fire

All sealed up in a brass or metal case, it is pretty hard to ignite the two.

That said Haz Mat is mostly paper work and a little more cardboard in the box.

Even ammo exposed to say a house fire, if it cooks off, the case goes flying not the bullet.

If one buys powder and primers online together there is only one haz mat fee (except Midway) which ships from two different location due to zoning.

 

[fredj338]

If anything, there are more people reloading today than 8yrs ago, thank you Obummer. Likely why components are still scarce. I haven't seen Fed primers in about 3yrs, but for the on & off moment here & there. My fav powder for handgun, WST, just recently started showing up with regularity. Throw in things like Kalif ammo ban/regulations, reloading will just continue to increase.
I have covered this many times but it is worth reloading for even the 9mm. I can load it for 50% of cheap factory. Say 6000rds a year, saves me $675. That pays for a 550B or LNL all ready to go. That gets you 400rds/hr easy. So 15hrs to reload 6k rds or $45/hr time value. That means I have to gross $90/hr to buy the same amount of ammo or work 30hrs more to buy it. No brainer, i'ld rather teload a motha work.

 

[fredj338]

Yes. Most places will charge you $30 x 2 if you order powder & primers.

Widener's doesn't usually have the greatest selection but you can order powder & primers on one hazmat fee. Not sure about Midway.

It really pays to compare. Some places will have lower prices but get it back on shipping & handling. A group buy with friends is where you can really defray the hazmat & shipping costs. IIRC you can buy up to 48# at a time.

Actually not true. The only place I know that does this is Midway. Every other place combines.

 

[fredj338]

Arik, if all you shoot is 9mm, I can see why the math doesn't work for you. Many of us began reloading because we were shooting 38 super IPSC loads, or 9mm loads for steel challenge type competition that are lighter than factory loads. Or, 41 magnum or 44 special, and today even 38 Special, which are very pricey and hard to find on the shelves. FWIW, I can buy 9mm ammo cheaper than I can load them with new brass, it's only after I fire the brass that I save money loading 9mm. We don't load to save money, but to shoot more for the same money, so disposable income isn't usually a factor. That said, I enjoy reloading almost as much as I enjoy shooting. Cheers.

Well this is true with all reloading, the brass is the most expensive part, but then you reload it 10-15x, it amortizes to almost zero. Buy 1000 once fired 45acp for $90, reload it 15X = 1/2c per round. If you save your factory ammo brass, it is free. If you scrounge the brass, it is free. I haven't bought 9mm or 40 brass in more than 15yrs, even 223 can be had as range pickups, once fired. Even 45acp follows me home from the range on good days.

 

[Wee Hooker]

It's hard for a brick and mortar shop to stock everything a reloader might need in components and reloading gear/parts. That's why they invented the internet.

 

[kbm6893]

Is reloading dying?

Not yet IMHO, however, the never ending increase in pricing of Primers, Powders, Bullets and so on, along with outrageous Haz Fees will eventually kill it and it's coming! Greed from the suppliers, will eventually kill the art of reloading.

The savings we once experienced back in the day (20+ years ago) is no longer a reality, and when ammo is readily available, as it is from time to time, and at fair prices, you may as well buy new commercial ammo.

Even in 9MM, which is currently pretty cheap, you save money reloading. I reload 100 rounds of 9MM for about $13. 100 rounds of target ammo will still run you nearly $20 near me. 38 Special is more than half the cost to reload over factory. So any way you slice it, reloading is cheaper. Yeah, you
Have to buy the equipment, but the savings will pay for it over time. Mine is paid for by now.

But I remember after Newtown, when ammo was absurdly high. 50 rounds of 9MM at Walmart was $18. So $36 for 100 rounds over $13 for my hand loads is a no-brainer. And even when powder was also
Going up in price, I bought 1 pound of powder for $25 and loaded 2200 rounds of ammo with it.

So now, I buy a pound here and there. 1000 bullets every few months, same with primers. Spread it out so I don't even notice he cost. And I am set for the next few years if need be.

 

[kbm6893]

For me personally I can't say o have exactly more disposable income but what I know for 1000000% is that I don't have time or patience. Especially patience. If a load doesn't work or completely malfunctions I have no interest or desire to go home and try again. I just want it to work without figuring out what went wrong. At this time I can buy 9mm range ammo at just over $200 for 1k rounds. That works for me

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Tweaking is only for people who are looking to optimize their performance. For range ammo, nothing I have ever made has "not worked". I follow the data I am using, load middle of the road, and I'm done. Never had a fail to load, fire, or eject.

As for time and patience, It takes very little time. I batch load. Came back from the range yesterday with 100 fired cases. Deprimed and resized them all in about 10 minutes and dumped them in a bucket. When I have about 400, I'll throw them in my tumbler and hit the button and let it do it's
Thing for 3 hours. That takes up about 30 seconds of my time. When they're tumbled I expand them all, which takes about 30 minutes. I prime them all while I'm watching TV, so no time spent there.

Once primed, i load as I feel like it. Sometimes only 5 rounds at a time. I don't shoot everyday.

Bottom line, reloading saves you money. The time you "waste" is minimal. Is typing on a gun forum a wise use of time?

 

[Neumann]

I believe that DOT regulations limit the amount of smokeless powder in a truck load to 50 pounds. That's on top of HAZMAT designations. For obvious reasons, you can't ship powder and primers in the same container.

My local Cabelas have a lot of powder, but usually not the kind I'm look for. Alliant pistol powders like Unique and 2400 are very popular, and tend to be in short supply. Anticipating "dry" spells, many reloaders will buy as much as they can afford, rather than the pound or two they need (Mea culpa).