Does it make sense to get into reloading now...

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or is it too late?

All my life I seem to get into things at the worst possible time. It appears that the same may be true with regards to reloading. I see that prices of components keep going up with no relief in sight. Military brass is said to be no longer available for reloading. And I hear rumors of a ban on lead bullets...etc. Does it make sense to spend $$$ and get into reloading now or should I just sit tight, hoard ammo and see what happens?

I am contemplating spending a good chunk of my tax refund on a reloading setup but want to make sure it is the right thing and the right time to do.
 
I decided against it myself. I didn't want to drop a lot of $$ to set up a press only to find I couldn't get primers or the powder that I wanted.
 
getting into reloading

It's hard to say without knowing what you want to reload and how much you shoot but here's an example. If you spend $500.00 to get set up and you reload .45acp, it will take about 2500 rounds to break even. If you load rifle ammo, that could drop to about 1000 rounds. Components are hard but not impossible to find . Buy in volume and pick up brass at the gun club. Many shooters still leave it lying around. Pick up what ever you find and trade it for what you want.
 
or is it too late?

All my life I seem to get into things at the worst possible time. It appears that the same may be true with regards to reloading. I see that prices of components keep going up with no relief in sight. Military brass is said to be no longer available for reloading. And I hear rumors of a ban on lead bullets...etc. Does it make sense to spend $$$ and get into reloading now or should I just sit tight, hoard ammo and see what happens?

I am contemplating spending a good chunk of my tax refund on a reloading setup but want to make sure it is the right thing and the right time to do.

I just read today that the Govt. will no longer sell brass to companies that reprocess brass for reloading. It has to crushed or shredded and sold for scrap.
 
It was the price of .223 that got me to decide to reload. you can find brass at ranges easy. hanging around late weekends near the longer ranges and i've taken home round 50 or so .223 brass each trip. and a crapload of 9mm and .40
 
Do it. Do it yesterday. You won't regret it. Frankly if I didn't reload
I would no longer be able to afford to shoot.

There will be component shortages, but that will come and go with
time. Not going to be any different than the same thing we're seeing with
ammo, except eventually you'll be able to better insulate yourself against long term shortages while reloading.

There's also the fact that reloading enables you to work with calibers
that basically otherwise would be too expensive to shoot on a regular
basis.

-Mike
 
I 2nd everything drgrant said. I personally haven't felt any effects of the ammo shortage because I stocked up on components last year. Granted I only shoot 9mm and .45ACP, but I can make a ton of it before I need to buy more components. Well, not a ton, but a few hundred pounds or so. Additionally, reloading itself is fun. Just go for it, you will not regret it.
 
Thanks everyone. After reading your comments as well as other sources on the net I am 99.99% certain that once the state tax return comes in I will be ordering a Dillon 550B.[smile]
 
Thanks everyone. After reading your comments as well as other sources on the net I am 99.99% certain that once the state tax return comes in I will be ordering a Dillon 550B.[smile]

And you will not be disappointed :)
Enjoy the new addiction.
 
I will take any .223/5.56 cases that you might throw away.
Damn you beat me to it.[laugh] That's a hard question to answer. Prices on presses and everything else related to reloading aren't going to go down so you will probably save money by at least buying your equipment now. I think components will become more available in the near future, at least I'm crossing my fingers and toes. Even at the price components are today if you shop around and buy in bulk you should be able to reload for half of what factory ammo cost and have better quality ammo. For me it's worth reloading. I load four calibers and haven't bought factory ammo in over two years. Reloading is very relaxing for me. One of the best things about reloading is when I want to go shooting I always have at least 500 rifle rounds loaded and 1,000 pistol so there is never a shortage.
Rusty
 
Big Red you will like the 550B. It is never a bad idea to have the equipment to reload.
 
Would people recommend going for the 650 first instead of the 550?

+eleventybillion on the BrianEnos.com FAQ


for the money, unless you're adding a casefeeder, a 650 isnt going to be appreciably faster than a 550...and the 550 is cheaper for caliber conversions.

if you're gonna reload 2-3K of a particular caliber at a time, and shoot 1500-2000 rounds a month, a 650 may suit you better.

if you're like me, and reload a bunch of different calibers, and only load 500-1000 at a whack, the 550 would be a more economical choice.
 
Would people recommend going for the 650 first instead of the 550?

The BE advice is great but general. From your posts on tech stuff and seeing the shooting sports you are getting into, I'd take the jump to the 650 if you can swing it. Mechanically, it would be no big deal. In terms of quantity, considering you and your brother shoot, the greater output per time of the 650 makes sense. That is in speaking of the 650 with a case feeder.

The 650 was my first press.
 
The BE advice is great but general. From your posts on tech stuff and seeing the shooting sports you are getting into, I'd take the jump to the 650 if you can swing it. Mechanically, it would be no big deal. In terms of quantity, considering you and your brother shoot, the greater output per time of the 650 makes sense. That is in speaking of the 650 with a case feeder.

The 650 was my first press.

+1 I have red, not blue but I would want an auto indexing and the extra die slot no matter what.

Damn- I have all that and still would love the 1050 with the swager, KISS, etc. Reloading isn't as fun as I once thought... [smile]
 
Is auto indexing such a big deal?

To me it sure is... the extra slot is equally or more important. After the lever goes down and up one hand gets a bullet the other gets a case... the shell plate indexes automatically- one less thing to do. The less time spent reloading is more time shooting. You could get a caseloader that would be a huge help too.
 
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