Yes. Having the supplies and capabilities to make your own ammo is an important component in achieving self sufficiency.

@BADASSROGAN

9 ай бұрын

Yeah but you’re not actually “making” the ammo, you’re just assembling the pieces together with components that are already made. Actually casting the shells, the bullets, and making the gunpowder is a different story

@dumpsterfire6351

8 ай бұрын

@@BADASSROGANmaking gunpowder and brass Godamnit now look what you’ve done 🤬

@gehtdianschasau8372

8 ай бұрын

How is that self sufficient? You have to buy the equipment, the cases, the powder, the primers and the bullet. It might be a little cheaper, but you still need to buy stuff.

@paisleyprince5280

7 ай бұрын

Are all the components available at reasonable prices on this day in 2023? Doubtful. I don't reload so I'm not on top of the trends but the last I heard primers weren't available for any price. Doesn't make sense to tool up to reload during an ammo shortage when you can't find the supplies either....

@MuzzleThump

7 ай бұрын

@@paisleyprince5280 the alternative is relying on local or department stores to always have ammunition, or spending enough to stockpile ammunition in large enough quantities to fire each round only once, but that amount spent would be pretty substantial as well.

One thing that was not mentioned is the fact that if you can find components, you can shoot when others can’t during ammo shortages.

Skills in reloading Another freedom to practice

WHEN RELOADING, I chalk up my time as relaxing hobby time, not monetarily lost time. It’s an interesting escape from the daily chaos. It’s quiet time, it’s a time to pay strict attention to interesting detail. BTW … Great video.

@wannabe4668

10 ай бұрын

Well said

Good information for those still "sitting on the fence" as to thinking about reloading. 👍 I've been casting and loading my own since a boy in the late 50's. Fact is, other than 22 rimfire, I haven't bought a factory round in over five decades. And what I load is custom ammo for my own weapons. In short, precision rounds. So yeah, loading my own saves me money. Gives me more accurate ammo. And I'm not dependent upon whatever might be available that I may find at a store.

With our family reloading is just part of life. l started reloading in the late 70's before our son was born. When he got big enough he would help me reload. This year my grandkids were helping make the ammo for deer season. They are both old enough to hunt so it extra cool because they made their own bullets. Looking like reloading is our family tradition.

I have been reloading for 54 years and in that time I have never been out of ammo for any of the 23 calibers I reload for!

I say having enough ammo that you shoot and replenish to constantly rotate it is priority #1. Reloading is more of a back up plan imo

Enjoy reloading. 556 still makes sense for me since I have access to good factory bullets at a good bulk price. Also, my rifle reloads are more consistent and accurate compared to factory ammo.

@deuce and guns: I started reloading as a hobby because I enjoyed the process and the ability to fine tune my ammunition to fit my needs. If I save money then that's a plus.

Even at today's increased primer and powder prices, it's still cheaper to reload 9 mm. I've picked up more free brass for multiple calibers at the range than I will ever use, I've cast my own bullet for all my pistol and rifle calibers for almost 40 years and have always kept a good supply of powder and primers to hedge against any shortage that have come and gone. So yes, for me, reloading makes sense. P.S. I still use a Lee charge bar on one of my hoppers, it meters Power Pistol very well.

@texpatriot8462

Жыл бұрын

If you get a batch of an obscure/expensive brass like 280AI, you should sell it.

Reloading loads for cartridges like my 280AI is a necessity. $80-100 per box if I can find it. Except for case trimming, I like reloading in my spare time.

@deuceandguns

Жыл бұрын

Case prep is the worst part of reloading.

Yes it is. If you shop smart online and buy components in bulk, and don’t limit yourself to only using primers and powders that are “name brand” (ie using pull downs, imported primers, etc), you can save money and score great ammo. If you have a chronograph you can document and load up safely and make combinations of components work. Also, the hobby and fun of making it of course.

It always makes sense to reload because it is a good skill to have and a lot of fun

When people ask me about reloading I just tell them do it if you want to. I have explained it at least 100 times to people and none of them ever started, they eventually find some nut case on a chat board that makes it sound like suicide. I really don't care if anyone does it or not.

Definitely yes. It is relaxing and enjoyable. And like most reloaders, like myself, - have stockpiled components in quantity back when they were quite affordable. Casting bullets adds another dimension to the hobby as well.

Excellent points, thank you.

Like you I love Lee products. The new drop powder measure from them is excellent, better than the old plastic models. I have used their 3 die turret press since before they came out with the 4 die model. I does take more time than a progressive, but I think it's safer. With a progressive you can have cases with no powder, no primer, etc. I like to do each step separately. I find I can do 75 pistol cartridges in an hour, 30 rifle in an hour. I use the time that others spend in front of the boob tube to reload. In the end you have something worthwhile.

Casting is addictive! LOL

Thank You for the info!!! 🙌🏼

The 9mm and .223 can be available at such a low price the difference in reloading costs or factory ammo can be really close, even 308 and 30-06 may be better bought then reloaded. However most calibers are cheaper to reload because they are not as popular. Just about everything else is much cheaper than factory as long as empty cartridge cases are available for reuse. Regardless of calibers I am going to use the same large or small primers and probably the same powder. It was suggested in some article I read long ago that some powders can be used for a variety of calibers so rather than have 10 powders I try to keep it to just a few. Even some bullets are used in more than one caliber.

@PlayingWithFireOutdoors

8 ай бұрын

At one of the local shops odd six can be 100 for 20rds. 5 $ a round, I definitely load better ammo under 1.50 a bang

Great video and great information

For me reloading is just fun to do. So I have fun, and in the end ammo as well. Cheers!

Very good, Thanks

Hey guy nice video I have been reloading and casting for 45 years it's hell when you have more tan ten gun shops and the years behind reloading as well as being a master machinist and a small shop to work in I have three Dillions and five rockchucker's on bench and 15 set ups for the Dillons .Which are over 20 years old but thank God I got this stuff back when money was money and I can say less than half from today's cost.,Just happened to view this video you did a great job of passing on the great part of reloading or rolling your own ,So any one thinking of getting your feet wet jump in and do it right.Charlie.

Good content; thanks for sharing too!

It doesn't seems to make sense financially anymore, but I think it's more important from a independence \ self sufficiency standpoint.

@PlayingWithFireOutdoors

8 ай бұрын

It's definitely cheaper and I get a match grade round. AND my friends can too, thats the good thing.

Even if I was just breaking even I’d still reload. New to it but I’m enjoying it a lot.

great vid!!

Just a quick note to someone on the fence that up front cost to get reloading. If you're young, it pays off much cheaper in the long run. Second Lee makes great presses to get started, and the longer you stick with reloading, the more you will find yourself upgrading some of your original equipment. In 2023, I have been reloading for 7mm08 and 300 Win Mag. I am reloading the 300 for $1.12 factory. Ammo is running over $ 3.00 a round, and my rounds are custom to my gun, squeaking out every bit of accuracy.

@PlayingWithFireOutdoors

8 ай бұрын

One brand to rule them all, if you want to DIY more than a few in a sitting. DILLON a 550C is a great investment

Here in Germany it really depends. You cant beat most factory range rounds, specially when you calculate in the Cost of equipment and license. For hunting rounds it really depends on caliber and projectile. Cheaper stuff no way, in my case 7x57 everything above 3 bucks per round is no problem when a certain amount of rounds is made

Great Video. Yeah, I love doing it too. I never look at the cost because you always have to have the latest tool. I mean it happens every year. It's like fishermen and lures. I think lures (tools) catch more fishermen than fish.

@mikeingeorgia1

Жыл бұрын

* laughs in Rapala

I was just getting started in reloading when the 2020 plandemic hit and now here in 2023 finally seeing maybe get into it. Thank you for sharing knowledge sir especially powder tips

As you said time is money and it is mine to spend, and I enjoy spending it on reloading than sitting on my 75 year old ass watching tv. Keep up the good work.

I have found, in the last couple years, that there are scrappers who literally sweep the ranges of brass. I but my brass from a scrapper for around $2-$2.5 per pound. I sort out what I want, then resell it back to the scrapper for what I bought it for. Lead, same way at around 15 cents a pound for tire weights. Sometimes I can get pure lead and sometimes I can even get lonotype and alloy my own leads for casting.

Good concept. I'm lucky a friend casts and coats, I get a deal in exchange for brass. A note I put on my card is the load and charge, as most of my ammo is DIY!

Good video I love reloading too

I find reloading a happy place.

How often you shoot should also be part of the equation. Figure out your up front costs and then divide it by the savings per box to find out how many boxes of ammo you would have to reload just to start breaking even. I personally don't shoot enough to justify the upfront costs of the equipment for something like 9mm. I might shoot 6 boxes of 9mm a year. At that rate, buying the equipment to reload 9mm really isn't worth it. However... for low volume shooters, there are cheaper ways to reload. Lee classic loaders and Lee Hand Press kits are significantly cheaper than a lot of other options. and for low volume work or special calibers that you don't shoot a lot, they can be just the ticket. Now, I'm not recommending the Lee classic loader for 9mm. But I have made my own version of a Lee classic loader for .38 S&W (for older top-break revolvers) that can churn out 50 rounds by hand pretty easily. And given that you can hardly find .38 S&W ammo at all (and when you do, it's $50 a box), this is a nice option for me. Not all of us go to the range every week and shoot high volumes of ammo. So for people like me, the upfront cost of the equipment becomes a much bigger factor.

My uniflow measure I've had forever has been fantastic. I'm lucky, best friend is a sales representative for a major tire company, he gives me buckets of weights. Another friend owns a professional powder coating company, get powder free. Personally, I think you need to load for more than one caliber to make it repay equipment costs. I cast 5.56, powder coat and load to 2500 fps

well when I live in ny and bulk ammo is a pain to get and has to go throuh an ffl, yes, i also reload odd/obsolete ammo too

$100/1000 for primers locally ( if you can find them) you gotta shoot a lot of 9mm to justify the cost of equipment

@murphy4yt

Жыл бұрын

Back when I started reloading, early 70s, primers were $7.00/1000, and powder was dirt cheap. It made more k sense back then.

@Holledel

Жыл бұрын

@@murphy4yt primers $25-30 and powder was about $20/lbs when I started 10 years ago. Went looking the other day and titegroup was $47/lbs and h4350 was $53

@murphy4yt

Жыл бұрын

@@HolledelOuch! Looks pretty good, nowadays.

I don't cast yet so for 9mm its probably cheaper to shoot factory. May get a pot, but lead is not easy to get anymore and the cost for a good pot is costly. Even with crazy prices and buying the bullets it costs about .25 for 38/357, .45 acp, 44 spec and 44 mag. plus its relaxing for me.

Right now with current prices it's cheaper to buy especially if you include your time to load.

I would say yes certain calibers and for certain purposes.

Went to the range bought a box of $11 dollar 9mm factory ammo, 6 inch groups switched to my reloads 1 inch. That’s why I reload.

I feel bad for new reloaders. I got into the hobby around 2012 so had plenty of years of decent prices with a few shortages mixed in, but now prices and availability are nuts. It's still worth it if you shoot enough especially if you shoot weird milsurp calibers that have few ammo options, you'll definitely save on that. If you cast your own bullets, even better. I can load up good milsurp ammo people are paying small companies nearly 50 bucks for a box of 20 for under ten bucks if I go by the price I paid when I stocked up on powder and primers years ago. And with today's component prices you're still saving a lot on that type of ammo if you use cast bullets. I also scrounged a ton of wheel weights for free or really cheap. Ask around at tire shops, sometimes they will gladly send you away with a 5 gallon bucket full if you can lift it. With today's prices and since most people don't cast their own bullets, it's a lot harder to save much on something like 9mm, but depending on your needs it's still a good idea to learn how. I'd suggest everyone start with a single stage press no matter what, learn all the little issues and how to correct them before trying to keep track of multiple processes at once on a progressive. Lots of people buy reloading stuff and then decide they hate doing it. My first press was a Lee single stage I got on facebook trader for 15 bucks. Then I got a progressive Loadmaster for free from a guy who just didn't need it anymore. So don't spend a ton right off the bat, make sure you are cut out for reloading and enjoy doing it before you invest in expensive stuff.

The cost savings really comes down to casting your own bullets but then you have to factor in the time it takes to make 1000 rounds and if the $50 to $100 saved is worth the time. One day when I retire i'll reload but until then i'll just use factory ammo.

II shoot every weekend, I don't reload 9mm anymore, but I do reload subsonic 300 black out

Q tips works for me, cleaning for $0.005 / two head tips

you absolutely can run cast projectiles in a 556, theyre going to be limited to around 2k fps (needs to be powder coated) though, great for training, not phenomenal for much else

Shooting is a sport and Reloading is a hobby ! Just when you think you are saving money reloading you will begin to buy more equipment then start shooting more and there goes your cost savings.

@deuceandguns

4 ай бұрын

Very true.

Its probably worth reloading .45 acp but 9mm i can find it for as cheap at $10 a box on laxammo, but its never bad having the capability to reload you own ammo.

If you have Lee does he careful heating you can ruin the jam nut orings.

The goal of reloading as I see it is not necessarily to save money: it's to shoot more from the same investment. Ideally, 50 bucks on commercial ammo won't yield as much ammo as 50 bucks in handloads. Technically, you still spent the same either way, but you shot more with the handload.

For rifle ammo, if you already have brass, reloading is about half the cost. Don't count reloading equipment in the cost, after 30 years of reloading I'd probably triple the investment cost of I sold up. Don't reload if you don't like methodical repetition, get bored easily or lack patience. The only time i buy factory ammo is if I want brass, even then I'm inclined to disassemble and reload it.

Reloading may not be right for every shooter but it is right for me. I don't even buy factory ammo other than to get the brass.

I can shoot and hunt with my firearms even when there is no ammo on the shelves of stores. If you don't buy the latest trend firearm you can't find ammo anywhere if you don't live at the manufacturing factory.

I don't have time to reload, I gotta exercise instead.

Do you cast your own bullets for handgun and rifle, or just handgun ie. 9mm?

@deuceandguns

8 ай бұрын

I cast for rifle as well but due to the speed limitation on cast lead bullets it's pretty limited except for my 300 blackout rounds. Here's a link where I use a cast lead bullet in a subsonic 300 Win Mag cartridge. kzread.info/dash/bejne/enhmvKakebTMobg.html

are you cleaning your brass after sizing? I hate the thought of having one shot on my cases post sizing. Also for the projectile cost of casting them it seems a little bit high, post powder coating and everything i'm running about 1cent/115 grains

@deuceandguns

8 ай бұрын

I clean brass before I size and having one shot on my cases throughout the reloading process has never impacted function. As far as the cost of lead cast bullets I used the average current price of $1.5 per lb shipped for used wheel weight lead found on ebay. A pound is 7000 grains so If you've got a source for 50 cents per lb for hard casting lead I'd appreciate the hook up.

I reload .308 win for .73 cents a round and factory loaded is 3.00 a round

Unless you live in a state like WA state with a 11 percent extra ammo tax on top of sales tax …

YES! IT MEANS I CAN SHOOT WHATEVER I WANT WITHOUT PAYING $60 FOR A BOX OF TRAINING AMMO!

where are you finding your lead? I am running out and am having a hard time finding it there in Middle Tennessee

@deuceandguns

Жыл бұрын

I buy used wheel weights from Ebay.

I use enough ammo to justify reloading many calibers. I bought powder and primers during the Trump administration when things were cheap and plentiful. At current consumption rates I have a supply for close to a decade so I don’t care what ammo prices or availability issues. I run a Dillon a 650 that is dedicated to 9mm. The Dillon 550 does everything else (45,38,357,300 blkout, 223, and a few others)

I want to get into it just to learn how, and maybe to be able to reuse my brass if need be.

@deuceandguns

Жыл бұрын

Brass can be reused many times over.

@TUKByV

Жыл бұрын

@@deuceandguns I've been trying to save mine, just in case. It's...a slow process, for me. :-)

@EverNight76

11 ай бұрын

@@deuceandguns how many times can you reuse brass? i was thinking of reusing 5.56 ammo. Wasnt sure how many times I can reuse it

I like lee but i see only/ a lot of lee..

A hundred rounds of reloads is 68 bucks a hundred of factory is 125 bucks. Twice as much. Which would you choose??

Tne first year of the first Trump term brought the lowest ammunition and component prices imaginable. I bought cases of CMP 30-06 military ammunition… thousands of rounds of CCI .22 Minimag… hundreds of thousands of primers and a couple hundred pounds of powder.

Not really a month ago bout now yes lol

@deuceandguns

8 ай бұрын

It's crazy how quickly prices change. Yesterday was the first time I've ever seen a box of 300 blkout cheaper than 5.56.

@US2A

8 ай бұрын

@@deuceandguns I bought a dillion 550c Saturday lol. I figured it's time, psa has .300 blackout pretty cheap.

Regarding your comments at about 45 second point, is that only to maintain monetization so you keep making money from the videos? I know Facebook will ban you if you try to sell archery experiment on marketplace even though the policy says firearms but nothing about archery, and FB, yt, is all Google now. Maybe they consider it a weapon so that's the loophole. Like a knife, or a car for that matter.

@deuceandguns

11 ай бұрын

KZread will delete my videos when go into too much detail on how to reload ammo. They already deleted over 100 of my reloading videos a few years back and I almost lost the channel at that time. As a teacher I just feel I owe my viewers an explanation as to why I'm not going into more detailed instructions.

@madman432000

11 ай бұрын

@@deuceandguns Well that stinks. More so since it was created to allow freely sharing videos with friends. I prefer to load my own ammo too, I believe it gives me more variety/choices than what may be on the shelf. Have been for many years.

Absodamluty