Ammo...huh?

[Chuck Haggard]

Each piece of brass is a dime left on the ground....

I cashed in a 55gal drum of brass a few years ago. We made $3800 off of that in just bulk recycle pricing.

[BLR]

I cashed in a 55gal drum of brass a few years ago. We made $3800 off of that in just bulk recycle pricing.

Yup.

I figure reloading buys me a custom 1911 per year in savings....for 2 days worth of work (ultra conservative estimate).

[rob_s]

I couldn't care less what everyone else does for their ammo needs.

Obviously you and the OP differ on this.

But people shouldn't make it sound like reloading is such a time consuming activity, it doesn't need to be.

I would also offer that if reloaders would stop acting like it's free ammo that magically makes itself with zero hidden or up-front costs, the non-loaders would likely stop with the "too time consuming" argument.

there is also a basic economy lesson here that gets lost on most folks. Everyone's time is worth something different, both to them and to the greater market as a whole. If an activity is worth someone's time and it's an activity they find benefit to, then they will participate in that activity.

Personally, I tried reloading and I hated range-chickening (am I there to shoot or to collect dimes?), hated running the press (whether for 15 minutes of for an hour, I'd rather eat glass), and ultimately found someone that I could pay to make the exact same load I was making myself. Yes, at a premium, but that was worth it in a major way to me to NOT have to continue to mess with loading. My time, no matter how little loaders claim it to be, is worth more than that to me. If others value their time at a lower rate, rock on with the reloading.

At matches I have actually paid people in my squad to STOP picking up brass. While not all reloaders do it, many are so busy chasing their damn dimes that they are getting in the way.

[LittleLebowski]

Meh. I'm learning the hard way to care less about what other folks say online. I do appreciate the time argument and the past year or so of my life, I've not had much time for myself but as my kids get older, I plan to invest in reloading.

[Tamara]

You are obviously unfamiliar with long range rifle shooting.

Ah, the equations. The modeling. The details. The numbers. The preparation.

...The reloading. See what I mean?

(But yes, I have previously described long-range precision shooting as "full-contact math". )

[ST911]

For those selling their brass, are you finding more value selling it as brass for weight to a recycler, repackaged to a reloader, or returned to a commercial reloader?

[Morbidbattlecry]

I'm incredibly cheap. I'm also fairly lazy. The former often wins, though it's an epic battle at times. I may have to spend a few hours in the shed cranking out ammo, but at least it means I'll actually shoot my .44 and 9.3x62.

Plus, in all honesty, I find the precision of measuring, metering, and making every round just so to be rather soothing. I should probably get into long-range rifle shooting.

I'm gonna be honest as i get a little older(i'm 30 now) my cheapness is really starting to come out. I think in a few more years i'll pick it up. I am often tempted to start sooner though.

[Morbidbattlecry]

For those selling their brass, are you finding more value selling it as brass for weight to a recycler, repackaged to a reloader, or returned to a commercial reloader?

I have found selling it to another reloader as the best way to get the most money. The casing is worth more then the metal its made out of. Commercial realoaders tend to get you on shipping. I recently sold 30 lbs of mixed pistol brass to someone on the internet for something like 65 dollars. But i was able to tac on shipping to that. So i didn't take a loss on shipping.

[Rich]

Reloading allowed me enough ammo to practice daily .

After learning how to reload . it became fun for me.

I was lucky enough to live most my life out in the country in IN.

My reloading bench was just a few steps away from my range.

Then later in life I got a bright idea to move to SWF , near my favorite vacation spot captiva island .

Now I must drive 10miles to a public range. The first trip there scared me and yes a few days later a man was shot.

Lets just say I don't practice as much now. and haven't been reloading in awhile. And miss IN badly.

[ares338]

I am utterly confounded as to why more people don't reload.

The cost argument used to be "I can buy 9mm as cheap as making it." That isn't true....assuming you can actually buy it. 9mm costs roughly $100/thou, 45 about $150.

Especially with all the QC issues abound.

I'm also perplexed as to why more commercial reloaders haven't sprung up.

And what I really don't get is why there are no competitors for primers and brass beyond what we have. Those aren't difficult to make, to be honest. ATK doesn't have a lock on engineers willing to work with explosives, and there must be a dozen local shops that could make cartridge cases around Dayton...well, used to be

Seems like a wonderful business/investment opportunity to me....

Actually, I reload because they are more accurate than factory rounds. Even when I first started reloading my loads were more accurate. At first I did a cost comparison between the two and my reloads were a little cheaper but I really don't care about that. Another plus is that in times of ammo shortages such as recently I can at least have ammo for protection. Basically reloading is my only hobby and I'm too lazy to garden!