Target Sports Delivering Again - Megathread

Part of the calculus on this depends on when/where you bought your primers/powder/projectiles. If you buy during shortages you likely pay substantially more.

Give or take I figure a 9mm is around 10-12 cents to reload. That's a spitball estimate.

A good progressive reloading rig with all the many accessories will run you $1000 or so. Every time you think you have everything you need, well, there's something else. The first time you break a decapping pin you'll run out and buy a pack of five or ten. Then you'll want to get go/no go gauges for each caliber. Then you'll want the gizmo that gets all the primers facing the same direction to make loading the primer tube easier. And don't forget an accurate scale and digital caliper. It truly never ends...

That's just for the equipment. Then you need powder, primers and projectiles. You need equipment to clean the brass. If you're doing rifle reloads the case prep process is even longer and more detailed. Clean'em, lube'em, resize'em and then clean'em agin.

But... it's cathartic. I find it relaxing. You can experiment and ladder loads to see what works best for a given firearm. You can make ammo on demand when there's none available, like now. You can customize loads for different shooters. I like my 9mm loads hot but my daughter likes wimpy loads. Actually I like all my loads hot... you should see my .44 mags! :)

It's a hobby. It's a bit of a science experiment too.

You'll either love it or hate it.

:)
Rich nailed it with this post. Really depends when and where you bought components.

Also what headednorth said. I enjoy reloading and don’t do it for saving money (well maybe for magnum calibers I do). It’s times like these that make me grateful for reloading. I also do it to be a gamer in IDPA/USPSA 😂. Whether my reloads really gives me a huge edge in competition is debatable especially at my skill level 😂
 
What RichC said... but here's what I had on the brain.

Figure about a grand to get started, although you can probably do it for half that if you skinflint. I haven't re-run the numbers lately but basically even with the premium components it was pretty much "buy two 1000rd cases of ammo get the third free" but you can do better than that depending on your component selection and so on. The best part is you can tailor the loads to your needs and desires. The next best part is that it's much easier to stockpile shitloads of materials than it is the stockpile shitloads of ammo because of the cost of the commercial ammo versus reloading materials. For example if I had still been reloading I probably would have had like 12+ thousand rounds worth of materials around at the start of Rona BS instead of only having like about 7000 rounds of 9mm around. It makes weathering shortages easier.

The other fun thing is it completely changes the dynamic of how you shoot and practice. When I reloaded 9 mm there was nearly zero consideration to how much I was expending. I would bring a tub of like 400+ rounds for the range and probably still leave with some, not even thinking about long-term impact because I knew I had like 4-8000 rds worth of materials on tap. I basically made batches of like four to six hundred rounds at a time. Best part was i developed a 124gn load that ran all my guns well, median was 1100ish fps out of a P228. It even worked well in PCCs and MassMark's UZI. Not to mention, probably cleaner than 50% of the factory stuff out there, too.. my stuff wasn't +p but not the fluffernutter loads everyone else likes to make... but that's the thing- if you need / want them, they are there. And stuff like 124 and 147s aren't much of an upcharge like they are often on the commercial side.....
Definitely something to consider. I don't think I'm quite ready yet (mainly just lack of time and volume) but it does have some attractive benefits.
 
Definitely something to consider. I don't think I'm quite ready yet (mainly just lack of time and volume) but it does have some attractive benefits.
At a bare minimum something that doesn't cost anything now is collecting your brass... start building up a stockpile of brass then you'll have one of the steps already done before you get started... even if it's four years from now you'll have four years worth of brass.... just throw a few Ziploc bags in your range bag and you're good to go.
 
At a bare minimum something that doesn't cost anything now is collecting your brass... start building up a stockpile of brass then you'll have one of the steps already done before you get started... even if it's four years from now you'll have four years worth of brass.... just throw a few Ziploc bags in your range bag and you're good to go.
So much brass in my basement piled in buckets right now.
 
Yeah saving money does have something to do with it but not as far as the typical bulk calibers go. (9mm, 223, etc) Ive been casting for 45 Colt from lead I dug out of the berm so the bullet is free, fraction of a penny for the coating, 3 cents for the primer and maybe a couple pennies for the powder. Brass is probably at the third reload at this point so the cost of the case is X/3. Im probably shooting 45 Colt for the price of pre-covid 9mm. (cheapest 45 Colt on ammoseek right now is $0.52/rd) Same for 357 mag. I dont cast for 30.06 but I was loading for the Garand at probably half the cost of HXP. (iirc)

Some calibers its definitely worth the effort. The less common they are, the more youll save by loading them. Others like 9mm and 223, Id rather buy as long as the price is right. I was buying rather than loading up til March of this year.
 
Yeah saving money does have something to do with it but not as far as the typical bulk calibers go. (9mm, 223, etc) Ive been casting for 45 Colt from lead I dug out of the berm so the bullet is free, fraction of a penny for the coating, 3 cents for the primer and maybe a couple pennies for the powder. Brass is probably at the third reload at this point so the cost of the case is X/3. Im probably shooting 45 Colt for the price of pre-covid 9mm. (cheapest 45 Colt on ammoseek right now is $0.52/rd) Same for 357 mag. I dont cast for 30.06 but I was loading for the Garand at probably half the cost of HXP. (iirc)

Some calibers its definitely worth the effort. The less common they are, the more youll save by loading them. Others like 9mm and 223, Id rather buy as long as the price is right. I was buying rather than loading up til March of this year.
223/556 is a huge a pain in the ass unless we're talking serious volume, or match grade stuff, 9mm you can easily save probably several bucks a box right now if you have mats, or even more. That's pretty significant. Obviously the exotic handgun cartridges end up being a huge win, especially 357, 44 mag, 45 LC, or larger. Things like 454 Casull, 500 SW, 460... the ROI is so great it will pay itself off fast.
 
223/556 is a huge a pain in the ass unless we're talking serious volume, or match grade stuff, 9mm you can easily save probably several bucks a box right now if you have mats, or even more. That's pretty significant. Obviously the exotic handgun cartridges end up being a huge win, especially 357, 44 mag, 45 LC, or larger. Things like 454 Casull, 500 SW, 460... the ROI is so great it will pay itself off fast.
Now, definitely. 45 cent 223 and 28 cent steel 9mm? At those prices, I have no problem being down in the basement pulling a handle for an hour after work...[laugh]
 
i do reload 5.56 in volume. easy have 7k loaded. i save/hoard the factory stuff and don't know why really. i stockpiled 12 ibs of the powder i use for it and bulk buy the bullets from glens. and reload pretty much everything i shoot. 10mm, 357, 45 colt, 45acp, 44 sp, 44 mag, 357 sig. i just like reloading, working up loads and it's basically a winter thing. i'll load all winter.

i won't break my factory round cost down to the penny. ordering online is worth it to me. my time to chase it down, my truck sucks down gas...it all adds to the cost of retrieving it somewhere and that's usually new hampshire. i don't care if it goes up in price, convenience is king. let it come to my door.

i'm just afraid if it goes to my blm church lady neighbor and she impulsively opens it, she will red flag me. i doubt she could actually pick up the box anyway. lol
 
Definitely something to consider. I don't think I'm quite ready yet (mainly just lack of time and volume) but it does have some attractive benefits.
Right now I honestly wouldn't recommend reloading as you'll be able to buy a press and other tools but you will not be able to find pistol primers so you'd be SOL. As Drgrant said, just start saving your brass. I started acquring brass, powder, and primers before I even had a press and other tools. I wanted to make sure I actually had the components on hand before I spend the money on a press. So if you really think you'd like to reload at some point, try to grab primers when they show up.
 
So what's the going rate (non-prime member) for 7.62x39 now? Another vendor has brown bear x39 in stock for about $275 per 1k shipped. Limit is 2 cases. PM if interested.
 


 


5.56!!! TSUSA Take my money!!!!!!
 
Man...can't sleep on offerings these days. Target had Fiochi 9mm 115 grain today for $0.24 cents. Said they had fifty 1,000 round cases in stock. While I still have the good part of a case left in my safe, I was kind of storing that for long term. Thought about buying some "now" ammo to have some fun the next couple weekends. Mulled the idea about for an hour and when I decided to buy, all 50 cases were gone. I'm an idiot for waiting.
0.24 cents per round of 9mm. That is insane.

Is that a good price in todays market?
 
0.24 cents per round of 9mm. That is insane.

Is that a good price in todays market?
I saw steel cased listed on ammoseek last night for $0.28/round

eta-they have 115 grain Tula listed as the cheapest 9mm on their site rn. $0.29/round.

 
0.24 cents per round of 9mm. That is insane.

Is that a good price in todays market?

It's a seller's market. Target is actually the least evil when it comes to Coof price hikes. Everyone's favorite price hike company, Cheaper Than Dirt, has Tul Steel 115 grain 9mm at 50 cents per.

Steel. 50. Cents. Per.

Basically double Target's already wacky prices. So yeah, brass ball at $0.24 cents is actually a score right now. Screw the coof. Ruining everything I enjoy.
 
Damn, I should get a license to sell 9mm reloads. I could do it part time, 4 months before the election every 4 years and probably 3 or 4 months after the election.
Only thing that sucks about that is the liability...

"YOUR ammo blew up my original new-in-box Royal Blue, 6-inch Colt Python that was handed down from my Great Grand-Pappy [angry2]"
"You'll be hearing from my lawyer/Mass State Police/ Dept. of Revenue/Atty Gen. Maura Healey and anyone else I can find on a GOOGLE search"... [rofl2]
 
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