Now you're talking about commercial reloaders, which is an ENTIRELY different kettle of fish.Originally Posted by RevolverRob
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Now you're talking about commercial reloaders, which is an ENTIRELY different kettle of fish.
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Now that shipping has actually gotten, in my opinion, reasonable for online ammo, I think that's what really made the difference. It used to be you'd price a case of 9mm locally and online and once you added shipping it was a wash. These days ammo prices online are lower and in the store higher, balancing out the shipping costs in your favor. Free shipping from Freedom is a limited time offer (through the 6th if anyone needs ammo), but even still their normal shipping costs are fairly reasonable and of course they run sales regularly helping that too.
And dude if you were shooting .41 Magnum reloading makes complete sense. I have a buddy running 10mm right now and I am not sure how he is affording it without reloading. If you are regularly running something oddball, or going for broke in the one-hole accuracy department, reloading is absolutely the way to go. I have a Lee Loader and a few components floating around for dialing up high-accuracy loads for .38 special for that precise reason, well that and every once in awhile you want to load your own ammo. It's nice to have some stuff in reserve and the knowledge to do it. For that reason, I'd tell everyone they should have a press/Lee Loader/reloading tools of some sort, just for the sake of options. But if we're talking burning through range ammo for most I think it makes sense to just rock on with the plethora of cheap ammo around (except, obviously in .22 right now).
-Rob
That's crazy talk. I've spent many years rationalizing my decision to (handload/not handload) in order to convince myself it was the right one, and if I admit that someone else's decision might be right for them, then it would mean I could have been wrong for myself. Therefore orthodoxy must be enforced.
I will note that "rounds-per-hour" calculations always only include time actually spent pulling the lever, and never press setup, case prep, sorting, et cetera.
Note that I am not at all anti-handloading; I'd reckon I own as many Lee Loaders as anybody on this board, for example; but let's not go making kittens up to defend our preferred position.
I bought a 550 over ten years ago. I've reloaded approximately 15000 rounds of .38/.357 in that time. I tailor my loads to my tastes, and I tinker a little here and there. I can reload 400 rounds in an hour if I have everything prepped and ready to go.
I don't recommend reloading to anyone but will share advice if they ask. I don't justify it to anyone, I haven't done a cost analysis but feel rather confident that I can reload cheaper than I can buy .38 and certainly cheaper than I can buy .357. I like being able to tailor loads for .357 between my rifle and pistols.
I also like to shoot .32's and the factory ammo quite frankly, sucks. So I bought a hand press and already had a set of dies. The hand press cost me $10 more than a box of 50 98 grain Remington RNL's. As mentioned above, it's a boutique caliber these days like .41 mag.
I've collected a bunch of range brass and have a small stash of .355. bullets for tinkering with 9mm. That's just to tinker though.
Men freely believe that which they desire.
Julius Caesar
True enough. I'm not all anti not handloading. My brother is able to find ammo for cheaper than I can load it and one day he just flat out gave me a case of .38 special because I said I was running low. Glossing over how he's the mostest awesomist brother in the world, if I were super cereal about reloading, I'd have a big blue machine already. How I do it isn't even economical by my kinda hinky calculations. I just did some loading today just because I wasn't scheduled at work, gym was closed for the holiday, I was free of school and didn't feel like studying EKG strips for the umpteenth hour in a row.I will note that "rounds-per-hour" calculations always only include time actually spent pulling the lever, and never press setup, case prep, sorting, et cetera.
Note that I am not at all anti-handloading; I'd reckon I own as many Lee Loaders as anybody on this board, for example; but let's not go making kittens up to defend our preferred position.
In addition to the turret press, I have a single-stage, a hand press, and an amazing collection of Lee Loaders.
One thing I didn't see discussed is deciding where else you can save money. For instance, instead of buying a $50,000 nice car, one could buy a $25,000 good enough car. That extra $25,000 will buy a bunch of ammo. Or cut your cable TV bill. Or don't eat out as much.
In other words, if you want to spend more money on shooting, then spend more money on shooting and less money on other things. Where there is a will, there is a way.
^^You guys driving around in yer luxury $25,000 cars! I paid $6k for my last one and we get hosed for car prices in the great frozen north.
Let's break that down even more...
$5 Starbucks every day - $150 per month.
$10 lunch every day - $300 per month.
That's a lot of ammo.
Let's not add up the smokin', boozin' and carousin'.
Balance - Balance is the key. You have to identify your priorities and keep them in mind. Budget them all and then keep it under control. I for one won't be trading my car budget to buy more ammo, just like I won't be trading part of my food budget or entertain budget. I try to keep it balanced according to my desires and priorities. Of course if you guys saw my car budget for the next five years, you'd probably freak out.
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