What do I need and is it worth it?

[The deerslayer]

What do I all need to start handloading and is it worth it?

[KN]

Depends on several things. How much do you shoot? How many different calibers do you shoot? Are you satisfied with you current factory ammo? Are you looking for a new hobby? If I only spent a couple hundred dollars a year on ammo I probably would not reload. I shoot an average of about 150 rounds a week so it pays for itself pretty quick. When I go shooting prairie dogs I usually go through about 2000 rounds of various ammo. That is a big chunk of money in itself but nothing compared to factory ammo prices. There are several starter kits on the market, and I would recommend the RCBS stuff personally. The only reloading stuff I discourage people from buying is the LEE products. I don't like very many of them and have thrown away more of their junk than I ever kept. Many will tell you they like their stuff just fine so it's to each his own. I do use some or their die sets and don't have any complaints about those. Hope this helps.   KN

[The Shrink]

Check other newbie posts on this sight.  There are some rather in depth discussions of the merits of various ways to start.  

Wayne

[Questor]

If you're in doubt, the answer is no, it won't be worth reloading.  The only reasons for reloading are:
1) You need to cut your shooting costs
2) You need ammo that cannot be purchased
3) You need a hobby

It doesn't sound like your under any of these pressures, so forget it. It will be a waste of time and money for you.

[skb2706]

Definitely not the only reasons to reload but opinions vary.
How about:
You want the best ammo available for your gun.
You want to shoot bullets not presently assembled in factory ammo.
You're a gun nut hobbiest who is not satisfied with what everybody else does.
You love tedious and "hands on" type hobbies.
The money you save (doubtful) you'll just pump back into it. Save the "money saving part" for others you need to convince that reloading is a good thing.

PS Coming into a forum Titled Reloading and asking if its "worth it" is kinda like being in brain surgery and looking up at the doctor and asking if his education was "worth it".

[Dusty Miller]

If I were in it to save money my wife would've dis-owned me long ago!!  Hey, this load'n and shoot'n stuff is just for fun (99% of us buy our self-defense ammo at the gun store) and if I didn't enjoy the process I'd sell all my reload'n stuff and take up another hobby.  Do it because its fun, you only live once.

[Redhawk1]

Reloaders don't save money, we just get to shoot more.  

I have well over $4000.00 tied up in reloading supplies and equipment. I do it for a lot of different reasons, but saving money is not one of them.  :eek:

[papajohn428]

Reloading is NOT about saving money, it's about shooting more, and enjoying it more.  You can invest a lot, but you don't have to.  I got by with a press, a scale and a set of scoops for years, and still can if need be.  Loaded some darned accurate ammo along the way.  
If you can follow instructions, pay attention to the details, and understand what you're accomplishing with each step, it's probably something for you.  If you are easily distracted, sloppy with the rules, or too busy to read all the instructions, PLEASE DON'T reload.  I might be next to you when you turn your gun into a grenade.   :eek:

It's not dangerous unless you make it so.  I feel safer around fifty pounds of gunpowder than I do around a gallon of gasoline.

PJ

[The Shrink]

Gentlemen, in response to PapaJohn

I feel much more safe around powder, even BP, or a gallon of gasoline, than I do around some of the people I know!  But then, consider what I do for a living.

Wayne the Shrink

[skb2706]

Wayne that made my whole day..............

[Gun Runner]

I'am like Redhawk1, I have at least that much money between 3 diffrent states in loading stuff. I do it for a hobby. My wife hates to to see the "Brown" truck pull up to the gate. Besides jacketed ammo I also cast for just about everything, again its a hobby. Any money I saved went right back into loading"STUFF", plus what ever I could sneak out of the "extra" money. If your gonna go out and shoot with the group once a month or so, buy your ammo at the store and save your brass. Latter ifin you decide to start shooting all the time you got a good supply of brass to start with. Reloading costs a few dollars to get started, just like fishing or sking, only thing is with sking you need a new outfit every year as it is "Tacky" to wear last years ski outfit the following year.  :grin: (.PS I dont ski)

Gun Runner

[azshooter]

This will get you started-Just add dies
http://www.midwayusa.com/rewriteaproduct/820810

If you shoot a 300 WSM for example then based on the last proces I saw, you will recoup your startup costs in about 6 -7 boxes of shells.

You can of course move up in quality from the Lee price to something like this http://www.midwayusa.com/rewriteaproduct/140616

My first press was a Lee and I loaded thousands of rounds on it before I splurged on a Dillon.  It all depends on what you want to spend and how fast you want it to load.  I can crank out a couple of hundred rounds an hour on the Dillon and probably 50 using a single stage like the Lee.

[BamBams]

Reload CAN save you a TON of money if you shoot a lot.  Heck, I just cast and loaded 900 rounds of .45 ACP the other day.  This would have cost me about $270.00 if I bought new ammo.  Instead, it cost me about $30.  I do this every month, and I can get about 35-50 reloads from a cartridge case.  I've invested a mere $1000.00 in equipment, and it paid/pays for itself in under 6 months.

[Robert357]

As to what should you get.  I would recommend starting with a good single stage reloading kit from Lee, RCBS, or Lyman.  They can be purchased over the internet for a resonable price of $80 to $150.

You will want to add a bunch of stuff to the kit depending on the kit you purchase like some dies (Lee or RCBS with shell holder), case trimmer (Lee), hand deburing tool (Lee), impact bullet puller (Frankfort arsenal), calipers (any metalic one can even get at Sears).  This will get you started.

Soon you will want more reloading blocks, a hand primer (Lee with shell holders), a powder measure, spray resizing case lube, and a never ending list of other things to play with.

As to is it worth it.  That is hard to answer.  I didn't start reloading to save any money.  What I found was that I did a lot more shooting as I was wanting to work up loads and try different bullets in my firearms.  I liked it as a hobby, since it was something I wanted to do as a teenager, but never had the time or opportunity to until a few years back when I became my youngest son left for college.

Most ammo I can purchase at a lower cost.  I have reloaded 7.62x39, 30-30, 30-06, 7.62x54R, 32 ACP, 9mm Luger, 38 Special, 357 Mag.

The only reason to reload 7.62x39, 7.62x54R, 32 ACP, 9mm Luger, 38 Special or 357 Mag is to have a really special bullets or specialty loads of some form.  Otherwise at gun shows I can get them as cheap or cheaper than I can reload, if you include my time.  Between what Wolff, S&B and others price their ammo at, it is hard to beat some of these.  I can also buy in bulk reloaded 9mm, 38 Special and 357 Mag at the local gun shows at very cheap prices for decent ammo.

My best reason for handloading is that I like to do some cast bullet reduced rifle loads and some handgun high powered hunting loads.  Another reason is that you can improve accuracy of rifles and some handguns by handloading special rounds.   While most factory ammo is "hunting" accurate at 100 yards, handloaded ammo can be huntng accurate to 200 yards in most cases.  

In summary what do you need?  A good kit and a few extras for around $150.  

Is it worth it?  If you are looking for a hobby or want to push yourself to shoot a lot more.

[Yukon Jack]

I've found that reloading doesn't save me any money, but I get to shoot a whole lot more for the same amount of money.

In other words, unless you take advantage of the cost savings of handcrafting your own ammo and shoot a whole lot, you probably won't recover the cost of the press, dies, measures, etc...

If you reload and only shoot a box or two a year, it's probably more expensive to reload than to buy factory loads.  If you shoot 500 or more rounds a year, you will save money by reloading.

The earlier you begin reloading, the more savings (or shooting) are realized.

I have to admit, I don't reload to just save money.  I don't reload just for a little improved accuracy.  I reload because I enjoy it, I shoot more, and get personal satisfaction from handcrafting something that performs well.

[Robert357]

When I reload, I don't use free wheel weights or cast my own bullets and compare shooting them to shooting namebrand ammo with jacketed bullets.

When I reload, I don't use pulled military surplus powders or bullets.

When I reoload, I don't use range sweepings for brass

When I reload I DO buy name brand bullets.

When I reload I DO use name brand powders and primers

When I reload I DO try to use name brand brass (although I will not buy Norma brass as it is too expensive)

If I just want to shoot cheap, I can get cheap Russian or eastern european ammo that has lots of steel and can't be reloaded.

If I just want to shoot cheap, I can buy bulk reloaded ammo in GI surplus ammo cans at gunshows and save on packaging cost, freight costs, and other costs.  The cheaper handgum ammo uses cast bullets and the less cheaper ammo uses jacketed bullets.

I can't understand how one could load 7.62x39, 7.62x54R, .223 or 9mm luger ammo for what surplus military cases of ammo are going for at gun shows and on certain websites.

I know people who buy surplus 7.62x54R ammo so they can pull bullets and powder and reload  for 7.7 Japanese rifles or .303 British Enfields to "shoot cheap" as the entire surplus round of the wrong caliber is less than the cost of a single commercially available bullet of the right diameter and weight.

[Darrell Davis]

Morn'in reloaders,

Well on this "to each his own" subject I may as well say again what I've said before, which is basicly - beware of Lee.

They do have SOME good ideas, but I have found many of their products to not last and/or not work up to the level of most other suppliers. I found that when it worked well, it didn't last. I don't like pot metal or aluminum where it should be steel and I don't like locking rings which don't lock and hold their position and I really don't like decapper pins which are not solid!

Some of their products might be real "cutting edge" if you were sitting around a camp fire a 100 years ago, loading for the next days buffalo hunt. But in this day they don't and won't find any room at my loading bench. I just have far to many quality tools to take that step back, no matter what their ads say.

When you factor in the price of replacement as you gain more experience and/or wear out the cheap stuff, it suddenly isn't cheap any more. May as well buy good the first time around and save some money and have something to pass on to the kids.

I do however, have a set of their powder dippers which I use when loading ammo where I am weighing each charge. They are handy to throw a charge into the power pan which is usually close enough to then use a powder dribbler or one of the tiny dippers to bring up the charge to the required level.

Anyway, this is just IMHO brought about from years of experience.

Keep em coming! :wink: