DIY

No ammo at the local gun store?

9 July 2020
Mr Wizard

If you haven’t started thinking about reloading your own ammo, you should.

I’m not going to try to cover every facet of reloading here, just some of the basics and the pros and cons of reloading your own ammo.

The choices start with do you shoot enough to make it worthwhile?

  1. If your main calibers are 9mm, 45 ACP, 38/357 mag or .223/5.56, bulk purchasing may make more sense for you than reloading. I belong to one of the largest gun clubs in the state, current membership is about 500 members. We have relationships with a couple of wholesalers and make bulk ammo purchases a couple of times a year, currently it’s mostly 9mm and .22LR. We can generally get 10% to 15% off of most ammo, sometimes more.
  2. If you live in a place that you don’t have a lot of choices for local purchase, look to online purchases, I use a couple of outlets Target Sports USA, Natchez Shooters Supply, and Academy Outdoors all three offer free shipping with most orders over $50 or $99. Get on their email list, and watch for specials in the calibers you shoot. A word of caution, it’s my opinion only. I don’t shoot steel cased ammo in any gun no matter how cheap it is, two reasons, it’s hard on guns and it’s not practically reloadable. I save just about all the brass I shoot, even if I don’t reload a particular caliber, one of my friends probably does.
  3. When I first started competition shooting, the volume of ammo that you go through is astounding to most people. Until I had my own progressive reloading setup I did structured purchases with a couple of shooting friends and used one guy’s Dillon progressive press for loading thousands of rounds of 45 ACP and 38 Special. We all bought the same components and saved as much brass as we could. One or two nights a week would cover most of our needs, 3 or 4 guys taking turns loading and boxing up ammo makes it go a lot faster.
  4. If you live behind the Iron Curtain of gun rights (especially CA, NY, NJ etc.) , soon you may not have much choice. CA is testing the limits of the 2A and Interstate Commerce Clause with their latest bs, hopefully it will be overturned by the federal courts, but that may take years. In the meantime reloading and components haven’t been included yet.
  5. If you shoot the rare or unusual calibers, reloading is your friend. I can typically load a box of 44 Magnum for about $8 with cast lead bullets, retail is about $40 per/50 box. Reloading 45LC, 10mm, S&W 500, 45-70 etc. can realize substantial savings. Reloading also allows you to generate custom ammo for a particular application, such as hard cast bullets for hog hunting.

Basic reloading kits start at $150 for a single stage press, to about $250 for a progressive press kit.

https://www.amazon.com/LEE-PRECISION-Breech-Lock-Challenger/dp/B003ISVWC6/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=reloading+kit&qid=1568300056&s=sporting-goods&sr=1-5

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1013020237?pid=785993

Don’t be hesitant about buying used presses or dies, they are practically indestructible. If it looks to be in good shape, it probably is. I have a couple of presses that have been in use for 20 years or more, a Hornady 366 shotshell reloader and a Lee Turret press, both have loaded thousands of rounds without any trouble. I always buy carbide dies when possible especially for pistol calibers. If you hit yard or estate sales once in a while, keep an eye out for reloading tools and presses frequently you can buy it for pennies on the dollar.

See Also: How to build your own truck gun vault

Things not to skimp on.

  1. Get a digital micrometer, you can load with out one but don’t. It will save you a lot of trouble in the long run. All rifle and pistol cartridges have a minimum and maximum OAL (Over All Length), too short and you will get light primer strikes to FTF (Failure To Fire), too long and it won’t chamber or go into battery. It doesn’t have to be an expensive one, these work fine https://www.amazon.com/Frankford-Arsenal-Electronic-Caliper-Reloading/dp/B0018E9FVC/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=franklin+arsenal+micrometer&qid=1568301292&s=gateway&sr=8-2
  2. Use a digital scale, trust me on this one, it’s just faster than using a balance beam scale and is just as accurate. They don’t have to be expensive, a $35 one is fine if you are just checking charge weights. https://www.amazon.com/Hornady-050106-Battery-Operated-Electronic/dp/B017S6PPNU/ref=sr_1_9?keywords=franklin+arsenal+digital+scale&qid=1568301468&s=gateway&sr=8-9
  3. If you are reloading pistol rounds, get a case tumbler/cleaner. It’s a lot easier to reload precision rounds in clean cases. It’s not a must have and there’s plenty of kits/plans on how to make one online if you don’t want to buy a commercial one.
  4. Get a relatively recent reloading manual, all of the powder companies have them as well as bullet makers and reloading tool makers. I use the Sierra manual mostly, as I like the layout and its in a 3 ring binder that I can add pages to. These run $10+ on eBay, you don’t necessarily need a new one unless the caliber or components you want to use are not covered in an older one. For the Sierra manual the 5th Edition is the most current and runs about $30 online. You should also make use of the online guides from the powder suppliers and bullet makers.

Now for the don’t do it part.

  1. If you have ADHD, skip it, reloading requires attention to detail. Likewise drinking alcohol, smoking pot, watching tv while you are reloading is a bad idea. I generally listen to the radio while reloading.
  2. Use the manual, it’s there for a reason. Nobody wants to be known as Old Three Finger, use some common sense.
  3. Do not substitute components, yes I know people do it and survive. If you are reading this and thinking about starting reloading, you don’t have enough experience to know what you can get away with and what you can’t. This especially applies to primers, never substitute pistol primers or powder.
  4. Have a safe place to work and store your components. Again use some common sense, I don’t have kids at home anymore, but gunpowder is an explosive, store it correctly and out of reach for children, same with primers. Wear safety glasses or at least shatter proof prescription glasses, nothing gets your attention like setting off a primer two feet from your face, it doesn’t happen often, but don’t lose an eye over it.
  5. Realistically if you are mostly shooting 9 mm and .223/5.56, it’s cheaper and easier to just buy the ammo, it would take forever to make up the savings after shelling out $300-$500 for a complete progressive reloading setup. The only reason I would do it now was lack of availability. You can get a basic reloading kit going for about $100 with some judicious shopping and some eBay scrounging, if it’s just to load some ammo for the expensive calibers, jump in. Paying $1/round really shortens up the fun time shooting big pistol calibers. Do I actually save a lot reloading? Not really, but I do shoot a lot more for the same price.

Times have changed, depending on your outlook, this is the 3rd or 4th ammo shortage in the last 10 years. Don’t forget the Democrats constantly sponsor bills that would increase the sales tax on ammo from 30% to even 50%, which on the cheaper ammo wouldn’t keep anybody from shooting, but it would seriously dent big caliber shooting, 44 Mag runs almost $45 per box for hunting ammo, it would suddenly cost $60 or more.