If You Built a Reloading Press...

I am retired now and use range pickup brass to load and some are really dirty and require a good cleaning and I like to clean primer pockets good. I only use the Lee Loadmaster for plinking rounds and not for progressive rounds. The 223 rounds I pick up have primer crimps and have to fix them so primers load right, so no progressive rounds. I have never used the Loadmaster in full progressive mode and it works for me. Any long range rounds have to be done on single stage to be accurate, since rifle bullets seems to have different lengths and shells of different brands make a difference. The loadmaster can be used as a single stage just by pulling the rod out. The Dillon presses look nice, but I prefer spending my money on powder and primers. I do cast some bullets for my plinking rounds and powder coat them to save even more money. I do buy in bulk to save even more. I use one press for bulge busting and one for case trimming and one for loading at the range for testing loads. I did buy my turret and single stages about 40 years ago used and still works fine and could sell now and make a profit. I am a shooting and reloading instructor and this is how I roll and to each is own.
Paul
 
re: Progressive press - treat it like a single stage with a rotary shell plate. When you're comfortable with each station and what to look for(like powder in station 2), then go for the full Monte.
 
I wouldn't waste time and money on reloading at this point. Powder, primers and bullets are non existent.
 
bretthl said:
I wouldn't waste time and money on reloading at this point. Powder, primers and bullets are non existent.
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You mean these? True, but I found some last month. Powder has been easier to find, too. The shortage has been going on for 8 years or so if you consider primers and rimfire as the scarcity/price gouging index. The problem is the price per round for components is very close to CCI Blazer today. The benefit to loading, if not savings anymore, is custom ammo, which provides a huge edge over boxed ammo in competition.

In the last month, loaded bulk 9mm has gone from 0.30/round to 0.35/round. My reload cost is primers (0.10/ea), projectiles (0.12/ea), brass (0.05/ea), powder (0.06/ea), which is 0.33/ea plus time. So not much savings these days. The value of a smooth, barely-recoiling pistol, however, is priceless.

(BTW, I'm not a hoarder, I shared these with two other shooters).

IMAG1325.jpg
 
pontiac428 said:
You mean these? True, but I found some last month. Powder has been easier to find, too. The shortage has been going on for 8 years or so if you consider primers and rimfire as the scarcity/price gouging index. The problem is the price per round for components is very close to CCI Blazer today. The benefit to loading, if not savings anymore, is custom ammo, which provides a huge edge over boxed ammo in competition.

In the last month, loaded bulk 9mm has gone from 0.30/round to 0.35/round. My reload cost is primers (0.10/ea), projectiles (0.12/ea), brass (0.05/ea), powder (0.06/ea), which is 0.33/ea plus time. So not much savings these days. The value of a smooth, barely-recoiling pistol, however, is priceless.

(BTW, I'm not a hoarder, I shared these with two other shooters).
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I had no problem getting CCI 450 and H4350 and Varget before the pandemic. Now I have not been able to find either product online or local retailers. Local retailers (Bass Pro and independents) tell me they have not been able to get these items and have no idea when they will be in stock. I do not reload pistol so am not up to speed there. The sad fact is that suppliers are killing the reloading industry and the reloading community. That is a fact.
 
Varget was hard to get for a while. I picked up a pound recently at Sportsman's Warehouse. Smaller shops seem to have better supplies, probably due to traffic. Haven't had any luck at all with catalog stores. Certain places have powder: Graf's, Midsouth, Powder Valley, Natchez, and to a lesser extent, Sinclair. As a rifle shooter first and a pistol guy second, there is no substitute for loading your own. On a rifle, developing an accurate load is the difference between a 3" group and a 1/2" group. Nothing sold in a box is able to let you shoot like a handload.
 
bretthl said:
I had no problem getting CCI 450 and H4350 and Varget before the pandemic. Now I have not been able to find either product online or local retailers. Local retailers (Bass Pro and independents) tell me they have not been able to get these items and have no idea when they will be in stock. I do not reload pistol so am not up to speed there. The sad fact is that suppliers are killing the reloading industry and the reloading community. That is a fact.
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The suppliers are doing all they can to meet demand. Look at the number of new gun owners in the last 2 years, there was a huge spike as people got scared about covid. A percentage of them became reloaders, combine that with others hoarding everything they could get their hands on and it leaves us where we are today with shortages. Browse a few of the forums with reloading content and you will find people bragging about their hoards of components they have amassed at the expense of every other reloader.

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I am loading for about half of what it would cost me to buy similar ammo in 9mm. and I don't have a huge stash of pre-pandemic primers or components - I just started reloading about 8 months ago.
 
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