Reloading?> is it worth it?

[swamprooter]

Thinking about getting inot reload from scratch . Going to be reloading one caliber for next 10 years for my 2 young sons. Has anyone ever crunched the math at break even round with buying simple quality reloading equip versus store bought..if my math is correct..i'm looking at 600 rounds break even..does this sound right/ my reload cartiridge i'm saying cost .74 cents ( ot counting buying equipment)..i guess i'll budget $400 on equipment..is that too high? any thoughts or advice

[cwink]

I just started reloading this year.. I have loaded about 200-300 rounds.. Depending on what caliber your shooting and how much you shoot determines if your going to save any money.. I got into it to load "what I want to shoot" instead of what the factory thinks I might want to shoot. So to me it is worth it..

[swamprooter]

stayed up till 1 oclock last night watching you tubes etc. on reloading..since it's for my young sons, i'm interested in reloading some reduced recoil loads while they are young. i figure they will want to shoot it more..we'll see.....further i guess the most important thing is maybe they will think it is cool to reload their own bullet and kill a deer..i know i would have when i was 8 12 or whatever....but what has shocked me is reading where shooters have taken group sizes from 150 yards from 3inches down to less than 1 inch by reloading their own ammo......we bought a 7mm -08

[cwink]

stayed up till 1 oclock last night watching you tubes etc. on reloading..since it's for my young sons, i'm interested in reloading some reduced recoil loads while they are young. i figure they will want to shoot it more..we'll see.....further i guess the most important thing is maybe they will think it is cool to reload their own bullet and kill a deer..i know i would have when i was 8 12 or whatever....but what has shocked me is reading where shooters have taken group sizes from 150 yards from 3inches down to less than 1 inch by reloading their own ammo......we bought a 7mm -08

The 7mm-08 begs to be reloaded.. Just not a lot of factory choices out there.. The 7mm-08 and the 243 are the same case just one is a 24 caliber and one is a 28 caliber... The increase in recoil from the 243 to the 7mm-08 is going to come from bullet weight, so you might want to load some 100-120 grain bullets in it.. That is plenty for any deer on 4 legs..

[swamprooter]

Cwink...that is exactly what Sierra bullet guy told me to do. I'm looking at also some inertia recoil stock inserts....try to kick that recoil down to 6#......our gun will weigh right at 7# with scope...we will be shooting out of box houses......this stuff is kind of fun..

[RobertM]

Make sure you stay within the specs of a reloading manual or published data. Dont try to create reduced recoil loads by skimping on powder. Too little powder in a case is as dangerous as too much. That didn't make sense to me until the other day when I was reading that if too little powder is used it may not ignite properly or all in the part of the case where the powder is settled and causes blowups.

Not trying to insult your intelligence, just wanted to make sure you were aware of that when you mentioned reduced recoil loads.

When I started reloading, I had a 270 wsm, a 300 wsm, 280 rem. The oddball ammo like that is where you really save money vs factory loads. it doesn't cost more to reload them, but it definately costs more money to buy ammo off the shelf. by the time you have bought a few boxes of factory ammo for an oddball caliber, you have bought the basics to get started reloading.

Reloading is addictive though. I've spent a ton more money than i will ever recoop in ammo savings. however, its my newest hobby and latest addiction.

[RobertM]

http://www.kitterytradingpost.com/produ ... odid/23172


This website is where I buy the majority of my reloading stuff. Their prices are hard to beat because of free shipipng and coupons.
Here's a coupon code for 10 percent off. code JAN2010

That kit I posted the link to has about everything you need to get started. Some people praise Lee and some people say bad things. I think most of the people who say bad things about Lee dont know any better. Its definately a cheaper way to get started to see if you are going to like reloading or not. And if you get out of it, or upgrade its always easy to get most of your money back out of the products.
I started with that kit, and have bought different and upgraded items from there. From buying products from the other manufacturers, in my opinion there is a lot of things Lee really has figured out better like the breech lock bushings and the lee priming tools.

[swamprooter]

Thanks Robert M for advice and help. When i figured i wanted to go with a caliber that also sold "manage/reduce recoil loads." I called Remington and asked for info. Then i called Sierra and they were extremely helpful and gave me a recipe to match Remington's Manage recoil exactly for powder type and grain to bullet to primer.........I have really looked at Lee hard and RCBS..not that money grows on trees here in Oxford but right now i'm looking at the RCBS Rock Chucker kit at Cabelas for 319. Midway suggested the Lee Kit. There a $200 difference...Why is Lee 200 cheaper?..I plan on reloading for next 10-20 yeras

[RobertM]

Great! Glad you got the info on the reduced recoil loads.

I really can't tell you why there is such a difference in price in the kits. I think Lee just wants to get their stuff out there and not be as greedy with the money they want to make. The RCBS press is a little smoother, but the LEE is fine. I think I prefer the Lee hand priming tool. IF you feel pretty sure you are going to like reloading and stay with it. Go ahead and get the RCBS Rock Chucker kit. I say this because I did upgrade to a Rock Chucker. (I was able to recoop my money back out of the Lee stuff when I sold it though). and some of the RCBS stuff like the powder dispenser is probably better from RCBS.

From Kittery Trading, you can get the RCBS kit for 287.95 shipped.
It is going to come with a 30 dollar reloading manual. I THINK the RCBS beam scale is better than the Lee. However I would probably sell it and buy a digital scale. I dont like the beam scales myself. I prefer something a lot easier. The Chargemaster scale/dispenser is the best purchase I've made reloading.

The Lyman kit would also be one to consider. I have a Lyman Turret Press and I love it. I have debated selling my rock chucker since I bought it but haven't done it yet. It isn't being used as much but doesn't hurt anything to sit there.

[RobertM]

Allow me to give you 2 more websites with a lot of information
http://www.thehighroad.org/forumdisplay ... b665e&f=15

and www.msgunowners.com

Both have a reloading forum. THR has a TON of posts already

[swamprooter]

Thanks a ton Robert. I always appreciate advice when someone says what they think...Even though i'll never kill another deer with a rifle probably, it's going to be fun watching my boys go through this stage and hopefully get hooked!!...thanks again

[RobertM]

You're quite welcome. Hope I was able to help some

[GordonGekko]

I used to reload...I don't have time to do it anymore. Sold my equipment a while back...the RCBS will last longer than the Lee in my experience and is better made. But both will get the job done. Buy a digital scale too, in case you hadn't already planned in it.

Also, give me a shout, I think I have some 120 gr. 7mm bullets floating around if you want 'em? Used to load them for my Encore handgun, but kept them after selling the press.

[Bonecollecter1111]

i have seen 100 yrd groups out of a model 7 in 7mm-08 go from 2 in to the exact same hole when hand loaded, i used to hand load my 30-06 and reduced the group to 1/2 in, my old 25-06 would put 3 through the same hole, and rag the last two, its definatly a lot of fun especially if your OCD, and if you shoot alot it'll definatly save some money and it gives you alot of load choices, i loaded my lil brother some 90 grain hollow points for his .270 when he first got it and they had way more knock down than the 130 grain core locs he shoots now they just fell out quicker at range

have fun with it, get a routine established, +1 on the digital scale, always check brass for cracks and wear, always check the primer to make sure it is clear after seating it, never stop in the middle of loading a shell, and have fun just my $.02

[swamprooter]

Thanks guys for all the great advice.......BC..i do have a tad touch of OCD..this will be interesting for me to see how far i go with it......