Kentucky Armory Club

Just to get this category going, lets hear about what you reload. Maybe some pics of your benches/ setup as well.

My friend and I are shooting a lot of 9 lately thinking about reloading tips? Advice? Opinions? Is it really cheaper?

TroyBuilt wrote:My friend and I are shooting a lot of 9 lately thinking about reloading tips? Advice? Opinions? Is it really cheaper?

It is cheaper, but only after your initial investment.
I reload 9 myself and have about 200ish pieces of brass to be reloaded and have been buying all of the federal bulk pack at wally world. Hard to beat 100 rounds for a 20

I've been reloading 38 SPL and 357 Mag since 1985, 6.5x55 Swede since 1990 or so. I also load 9x18, .308, 7.5x55 Swiss, 7.62x54R, 30-40 Krag, 8x56R, getting ready to load 45 ACP.

I reload 380acp, 9mm, 38spl, 357mag, 45acp, 223rem & 7.5swiss

I use a dillon square deal B. great rig for handgun rounds, i load 9, .45, .357, and .38. I probably don't save much money but a good hobby.

Forgive my ignorance as I suspect I know the answer to this one...

I'm assuming it's illegal for someone to make reloads for someone else?

If you reload ammo and give or sell it to another person you need a FFL for manufacturing ammo. You also need to have liability insurance in case something goes wrong. However, if you reload a person's brass and return it to them, you are ok. That is my understanding. I could be wrong. I don't shoot ammo reloaded by anyone but me unless it is commercially reloaded. I have invited people to come to my house and I will let them use my equipment and teach them what I know about reloading.

9mm 357/38spl 223 7mm-08 243


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I dabble in in loading myself, but don't do a whole lot yet. I'm set up for: .44 russian, .45 acp, .45 Colt, .455 (webley and auto), .38 spl, .270 win, 45-70, 30-30, 7x57. Now I need to start .357 mag and .308. Like to upgrade my setup, I've got and older single stage rcbs press with assorted other equpment, trying to buy as I need to. I would like to get a dillon rig to dedicate to pistol loading, just need to get around to it. My goal is to be as self sufficient as possible, obviously still need to buy the consumable stuff like powder and primers.

ThatKyGuy wrote:

TroyBuilt wrote:My friend and I are shooting a lot of 9 lately thinking about reloading tips? Advice? Opinions? Is it really cheaper?

It is cheaper, but only after your initial investment...

...and only if you don't place high value on your time. As you say, it's tough to justify reloading ammo that only costs .20/round if cost savings is your only reason for doing it.

You're left with the choice of buying a higher-end progressive setup that will take years to recoup or buying an inexpensive single-stage setup and paying yourself a buck or two an hour.

Frailer wrote:

ThatKyGuy wrote:

TroyBuilt wrote:My friend and I are shooting a lot of 9 lately thinking about reloading tips? Advice? Opinions? Is it really cheaper?

It is cheaper, but only after your initial investment...

...and only if you don't place high value on your time. As you say, it's tough to justify reloading ammo that only costs .20/round if cost savings is your only reason for doing it.

You're left with the choice of buying a higher-end progressive setup that will take years to recoup or buying an inexpensive single-stage setup and paying yourself a buck or two an hour.

Which is why I think I will buy the dies and other stuff I need to reload for a few calibers that I don't shoot much that are expensive (like 450 Marlin, 300 Savage, and 45 Colt) and go hang out at my friends house with the reloading setup.

I want to learn how to do it, but not really practical to reload for the stuff I shoot a lot of that is cheap (right now) from the factory.

I reload 9mm, .40 S&W, 10mm, .223, .308, .50 BMG, and a bit of 7.5X55 Swiss and 7.62X54R. I have dies for .357/38, .44, .30-30 but never used them. I just tooled up to load .300 BLK and have 500 pieces of brass I converted from .223 ready to be loaded. The 9, 40, 10, .223, .308 and .300 BLK are (or will be) loaded in enough volume that I have quick change turrets with powder measures for the progressive press. For the .308 and .223 I also have a set of precision dies including a neck sizing die, for use on the single stage press to make accurate ammo for bolt action rifle shooting.

Here's an old picture of my vertical reloading bench. I've rebuilt it a bit wider and deeper since then, but the same exact concept. It bolts to the wall and is VERY solid, with a lot of storage in a very small footprint. I have an RCBS Charge Master 1500 electronic powder dispenser on a table to the right of the reloading bench (not shown) for precise dispensing of powder for accurate rifle loads.



That was soon after building the last bench. The new bench is not only about twice as big, it's completely full of stuff! The progressive and the single stage presses are both mounted side-by-side. I should tidy up the bench I'm using now and take an updated picture.

As for saving money.... The rule of thumb is reloaded ammo costs about half what it costs to buy fancy store bought ammo. The savings per round can be a lot more for the less popular calibers. 10mm is what got me into reloading in 1994. High quality rifle ammo can also be a quarter the cost to reload. But don't plan on spending half as much. That seldom happens. Most people shoot twice as much.

There are other reasons to reload. I was surprised to find reloading is an enjoyable hobby in and of itself. You can also make ammo you'd never be able to buy. Look on YouTube for "9mmSUB" to find some 9mm+P loads I optimized for Mach 2 out of a SUB-2000 folding carbine. Serious pistol shooters practice so much that they need to reload to be able to afford to be competitive. Serious rifle competitors reload because that's the only way to fine tune an optimal load to their own rifle for best accuracy.

One of the hazards of reloading: You may go to the range and spend all of your time picking up spent brass!