So you're thinking about handloading for 1 caliber

[duman444]

Started with 12 gauge

I started with 12 gauge at 10 years old in Dad's garage. Were all waterfowlers and lead was Ok back then. Issue was, for waterfowl loads, no one back then was using the AA low brass shells. Not in any book for larger lead sizes. So we used the high brass shell. Those sons of guns would swell and stick in the chamber no mater how many times you sized them.

Fast forward 15 years I got a Colt series 70 Government .38 super and winced at ammo prices. That started me on metallic reloading. Now on 15+ calibers.

The weird thing is, until the most recent scare 12 gauge dove loads only saved 50 cents a box. Could pick them up at Academy for $5.99 a box and reloading was $5.50. The dust started gathering on my MEC. Still have 3 cases of Rem. Heavy dove, so set for this years season, but next year may have to resurrect the MEC.

Hi Ivan!

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

Hello my name's Ivan, and I reload.

It all started in the fall of 1978, with a cheap Enfield SMLE and the gun store ran out of Winchester ammo, but on a shelf in the back of the store (In a dark and dusty corner) was a Lee Loader in 303 British. Back then a box of 100 Hornady Bullets was $5.69 a pound of IMR 3031 was $7.59 and a tray of 100 primers was 69 Cents, the Lee Loader was less than $9. I already had a hammer and the basement floor!

The cost of 5 boxes of factory ammo (my first hundred rounds) was close to $60, My second hundred rounds was $27.97, My third hundred rounds was $19!

Honest, I thought I could keep my using to just one or two weekends a month! But by 1981 I was using 2 weeknights and every weekend! In 1984 I bought a Dillon 450, about 2 months before they went customer direct. Once it was set up the first large batch was 5000 9mm's. The government was an enabler also! I bought 21,000 55 grain FMJBT/C for 5.56 NATO at 7.99/1000! So I scrounged every 223 brass in central Ohio and loaded 20,00 of them, followed by several batches of 5000 and 10,000 9mm's for my full auto MAC-10.

In 2016 when we sold the farm, my loading room had 17 running feet of loading bench. There was the Dillon, long ago upgraded to a 550b, a Hornady L-I-L AP, 2 RCBS Rock Chucker Supremes, a Redding T-7, 2 Lubrasizers, a Starr sizing machine and a few single stage presses!

Now I live in a condo! My loading room is a 5 feet long bench in the laundry room. It has 1 Lyman 450 bullet sizer, 1 Rock Chucker Supreme, the Dillon 550b, and the T-7. My 8 shotgun presses are on boards and mount to Workmate portable benches. I just bought 2 used sets of dies I didn't need yet, but they take me to 121 cartridges reloaded. My wife has been very supportive and understanding! I do buy her good jewelry! I don't collect girl friends!

Hi I'm Ivan and I reload. (all respond Hi Ivan.)

 

[oddshooter]

Hi Ivan,

My name is Prescut, and I am able to quit anytime I want.

No really; I'm sure my hand will stop shaking and my mind will stop racing, from just having written that.

Who needs the solitude of handloading? Who needs the satisfaction of producing beautiful little pills? Who needs a rush as a recipe produces a tiny cloverleaf? Who needs the thrill of ringing steel at 200 yards from a handgun?

Well, maybe I do have a problem; but I will never say it our loud for fear the family might start an intervention.


Prescut

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

Hi, Prescut!

I'm sure I have everything under control also! As to the intervention? Where would my adult children get their ammo?, Three of them and myself used 2700 rounds at a 3 day Cowboy shoot, between a practice day and 3 of competition! I don't think you could buy 2700 rounds of 45 Colt in all of Ohio right now!

Or am I just rationalizing my habit, because it is convenient for others as well as myself?

Ivan

 

[LoboGunLeather]

Hi, Prescut!

I'm sure I have everything under control also! As to the intervention? Where would my adult children get their ammo?, Three of them and myself used 2700 rounds at a 3 day Cowboy shoot, between a practice day and 3 of competition! I don't think you could buy 2700 rounds of 45 Colt in all of Ohio right now!

Or am I just rationalizing my habit, because it is convenient for others as well as myself?

Ivan

Yes, the family thing seems to be pretty common. I'm not sure that my sons or my grandchildren actually know that ammunition can be purchased in stores. They just pack up their fired brass and send it to Grampa's house. Couple of months prior to deer season every year I find myself doing a marathon reloading session, usually 30-plus boxes of rifle ammo. One son really likes .45ACP, the other son shoots .357, 9mm and .40S&W. One grandson prefers 9mm and seems to shoot about as much as I do.

At least they have all learned to save their brass!

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

I added to bmcgilvray's list, but I have about a half dozen more than this list.

I can assemble ammunition to feed guns chambered in:

.22 Hornet, also 22 K hornet, 2R Lovel, and 218 Bee
.223, also 222 Rem, 222Rem R, 222Rem mag, and 221 fireball
.22-250, also 22 BR
.220 Swift, 22 Savage HP
6mmPPC, 6x 284Win, 243 Win and 244 Rem
6.5x54 MS, 6.5 Carcano, 6.5 Jap., 6.5 x 267 Roberts and 264 Win Mag
.270 Winchester x also 280 Rem
7X57, also 7x57 improved, 7x57R and 7mm Rem Mag
.30 Carbine, 30-30, 30 Remington, 300 Savage, and 30-40 US
.308 Winchester, 260 Win, 7-08 and 358 win
.30-06, 300 Win Mag, 300 H&H Mag, 300 Weath Mag
7.62X39, 7.62x45 Rumanian, 7.62X54R & 8mmx 56 Hungarian
.303 British, 7,7 Jap., and 7.63 Argentine
.32 ACP, 32 S&W Long, 32 S&W and 32 H&R mag
.32-20 WCF, 32-20 Marlin, 338 Win Mag and 338 Lapua Mag
.32 Winchester Special, 8x57 Mauser, 8x57R and 8mm x 56 MS
.351 Winchester Self Loading and 357 Legend
.380 ACP also 9mm Mak and 9x18 Ultra
9mm Luger, 9mm Glenseti
9mm Steyr also 9mm Largo .38 Super 9X23 and 9mm Win Mag
.38 Long Colt also Short Colt
.38 S&W, 38 Special, 357 Magnum also 357 Maximum
.375 H&H Magnum x also 375 Win & 38-55
.38-40 WCF also 44-40
.40 S&W, 10mm, and 10mm Mag
.41 Magnum, 41 Special and 401 Power Mag
348 Win, 43 Reformado, and 43 Spanish
.44 Special, 44 Evans, 44 Evans Extra long and 44 Russian
.44 Magnum, 445 Mag and 444Marlin
.45 ACP and Auto Rim
.45 Colt, 45 S&W Scofield, 45 US, 45 Colt shotshell, and 45 Win Mag
.455 Webley and 476 Enfield
.455 Self Loading and .455 Colt Auto
.45-60, 45-70, 45-90 also 45-100, 45-110, & 45-120, 450- 3 1/4 N.E., 458
Win Mag, and 458 Lott
50-50 Carbine and 50-70 Govt.
12 gauge x also 20 gauge, 28 gauge, & 410 bore 2.5 & 3"

Ivan

 

[Peak53]

I'm sorry to inform bmcgilvray and Ivan the Butcher that you have a terminal disease. Might I say, over the top? I suggest a booster shot

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

I'm sorry to inform bmcgilvray and Ivan the Butcher that you have a terminal disease. Might I say, over the top? I suggest a booster shot

What caliber is the booster shot in? And is it reloadable?

Ivan

 

[marinevet]

Thank guys.........I just loaded my first 50 rounds of .308 today.......I started buying reloading gear and supplies around the first of the year. I am a believer of buy once, cry once, so I've got a few bucks tied up in this project. I am retired, so it will give me something to do.

 

[mikld]

I reload because I like to. Period. I don't count pennies for my components and I buy what I need/want with price being secondary. (I can't remember anyone asking a fisherman "How much did that salmon cost you to catch it?"). I don't buy exotic bullets, and 90% of the calibers I reload are fairly common (I was gonna try casting some silver bullets for my SAA clone but Tonto wasn't around to help me find silver). I spend a lot of time, and enjoy researching load data, searching/deciding on components, and all the steps, the shooting and reviewing/recording results. It's my hobby and I enjoy it. (I could be spending my time/money on wine, women and song but I'm getting a bit too old for the song...).

 

[jtcarm]

Oddshooter:

What happened to .25 ACP? I restarted reloading this little guy when ammo hit $1/round to unobtainable. I started with .38/.357 in 1964 and I'm currently loading 14 different handgun cartridges - not much compared to some of you guys! Time to head to the basement and load up a box of .38 S&W.

That’s one round I would just buy.

I’m so un-dexterous, I’d spend all my time looking for brass & bullets I’d dropped (with magnifying glass) and load maybe 3 per hr.

 

[dsf]

I started about 1972 with the 222 Remington and 6.5 Carcano. Mainly the Carcano because IIRC 20 rounds of Norma ammo cost twice as much as Dad paid for the gun - yes, from Kleins and with a scope. Considering its November 1963 notoriety it was relegated to the closet for several years.

I'm around 100 cartridges now. A while back someone gave me a bunch of 416 Rigby brass, so I went out and bought a 416 rifle. Recently bought a Colt Police Positive in 38 S&W, reload for that now. And reloading allows me to shoot my TZ90 in 41AE - bought that pistol new for $199.00 because I could reload for it. I suspect others have similar stories of how reloading creatively cost $$$ beyond the usual buying bullets and brass.

One of the reasons I'm looking forward to moving into my OR place is that it has a two car attached garage with lots of space. No more cramming stuff into 6x8 ft in an apartment.

 

[mikld]

Oddshooter:

What happened to .25 ACP? I restarted reloading this little guy when ammo hit $1/round to unobtainable.

I have trouble reloading 32 ACP 'cause of the small components and my old, fat fingers so I'm sure 25 ACP would be much worse. Plus I have only one 25 auto, a IJ Walther PP clone, made by Erma, which I have a box and a half of factory Winchester ammo and I can't remember the last time I shot any...

 

[oddshooter]

32 acp is not the easiest to load.
I have trouble getting the bell right. If I get enough bell to hold a bullet upright while seating, I consider myself lucky.

If I get a large bell, I have trouble getting the crimp die to get over the bell without crunching a case or two.

It takes a little adjusting and tuning to get it right.

 

[Drm50]

I won’t bother to one up with a total list. I will add the #1 rule of loading.
Never, I repeat Never sell a set of dies unless you have multiple sets of same. The #2 rule of loading is that if you sell your dies when you sell the gun, the following day you will get anther gun for same cartridge and you will have to buy dies again. #3 rule of loading, don’t loan you tools. If people want to dance let them pay the band. I’m selling out a lot of guns and dies. Those dies that I didn’t sell were used many times. I would hate to have to replace the dies I have sold recently. Many are now in premium priced categories. The bulk of my dies I bought used through the years.
When you have a large collection of dies lots of times you can use parts or dies from different sets to form and load for Wildcats or obsolete cartridges. I have made up dies from modifying others.
No point in having all those dies if you don’t have a couple hundred bullet molds, sizing presses and sizing dies to go with them.

 

[Goblin]

I have a feeling most of us would reload even if we didn’t save money per round because we enjoy it, and we like the variety of loads we can create. Especially when we want something between a special and a magnum, and only we know exactly where we want it to fall between the two. I also prefer lead bullets when shooting steel, so hello reloads!