Reloading Startup Costs

[Steve Koski]

I imagine there are a lot of ways to start reloading, spending more or less.

This is what it cost me to start loading .40 S&W (adjusted more or less for today's prices):

$400 Dillon 550
$50 Beam Scale
$35 Carbide Dies
$15 Reloading Manual
$500 Total Equipment Cost

Of course over time I upgraded to a digital scale, bought calipers, bullet puller, case gages, brass tumbler/media/polish, chronograph, etc, but none of that is critical to just loading and shooting acceptable ammo.

$17 One Pound of Powder
$23 1,000 Primers
$100 1,000 Bullets
$0 Cases - They're free on the ground from non-reloaders
$140 Total Component Cost

How much did it cost you to start reloading? Are there any true CRB's here?

[sparky241]

i went thru ebay and got alot of the equipment that you have listed and it came in at about 400.00 for me

[saunderscc]

I went to the local gun shop/range and picked up an LCT with Safety Prime, Pro-Auto Disk, 500 rounds 124 gr RN (250 now THANKS Shovel66), 1000 CCI primers, Lee powder scale, 1lb WSF, and Lee 9mm 4 die set. All for $323.00.

[RustyFN]

For me it was
LCT = $200
tumbler = $31
Caliper =$19
Digital scale = $80
Dies = $28
Total = $358

[Oreo]

Hornady LNL AP = $350
Lee 4-die set = $40
Tumbler = $60
Caliper = $45
Digital Scale = $90
Manual = FREE 'cause y'all are awsome like that on the net! ;)
------------------------
~ $600 (but I get 1000 free boolits from Hornady promotional rebate)

The real nut-kick for me was the following:
11,000 FMJ boolits = $1000
11,000 primers = $275
10lb powder = $140
Shipping & hazmat = $40
---------------------------
~ $1360

For a grand total of about $2,000. But I won't have to buy ammo for about 2 years now. I wonder what WWB .40s&w will be going for in 2 years?

[Steve Koski]

I'm pretty sure they'll be down around $2.75 per box of 50.

[Oreo]

$2,750?

[Steve Koski]

Come on, someone tell us about the $20 Lee Loader and borrowed hammer.

[ISUSteve]

I swear I spend more on reloading equipment than I would if just buying ammo. Its a habit; can't kick it.

[ISUSteve]

Come on, someone tell us about the $20 Lee Loader and borrowed hammer.

How to load a 38 Special and kill a beer :smilielol5:

[saunderscc]

Come on, someone tell us about the $20 Lee Loader and borrowed hammer.

Actually Shovel66 bought a Lee Loader and I swiped it off him at work. I haven't loaded anything with it yet, I can't even get my LCT loads to function right :). We did deprime a few spent cases one night at work though with it, that is about as far as we got. It has sat on the coffee table since I brought it home a week ago.

[freakshow10mm]

Here's what I started with:

Hand press: $20
Die set $30
Scale: $30
Manual: $15
Dipper set: $8
Priming unit: $15

It all fit in a shoe box.

I got three Lee Loaders in a trade, a .270 Win, .223 Remy, and a .357 Mag. I will probably sell them at the gunshow but thought about keeping the .223 and .357 for the SHTF bag for survival reloading.

[Rangerat]

My 550B loader cost including loader, dies and quick change for two calibers, tools, spares, electronic scale, strong mount, case gauges, additional pick up tubes, case vibrator cleaner, media separator, walnut media, primer flip tray, and bullet tray, came to just under $1,200. I regularly use everything I bought. Did not get anything that was not useful. As you can see I was starting from scratch and wanted to have everything I would need for at least a year.

Current cost savings for me is about 0.15 per round loading with my own used brass (I was saving up for a few months) and Montana Gold bullets. I shoot about 1,700 rounds per month (at least 400 rounds per week) so it took me less than 5 months to break even.

[bhawkeye]

Startup costs are a bitch – for me ~$7,000.

Equipment wa s~3,100 (I included my chrono as reloading equip’t). This included:
2 LnL AP’s w/casefeeders, KISS bullet feeder, LnL Classic, Redding Ultramag, custom strong mounts (designed myself & had eMachineshop.com make ‘em), Lyman Turbo 2500 Auto-Flo Pro Magnum Case Tumbler, 6 litre ultrasonic cleaner, Forster Co-Ax Case and Cartridge Inspector with Dial, Forster Original Case Trimmer Kit, CED Millennium 2 Chronograph, CED Infrared Skyscreen Set, CED Rechargeable Battery Pack, lots of LnL bushings & lock rings, Hornady/Redding/Lee dies for more than I’ll probably load for, & lots of small stuff.

Components accounted for the rest. 44 lbs of assorted powders, 5,000 assorted Starline (handgun) & Nosler (rifle) brass, 25,000 primers, 14,000 bullets (all jacketed JHP’s & ballistic tips). Should last 7-9 months & by then the equipment will have saved more than it cost (I think - & if I’m wrong – don’t tell me). :seeya:

[MONTEGOD7SS]

bhawkeye, how does your ultrasonic cleaner work? I have one that is sink sized and will hold probably 10gal or so. What do you use for solution and how long does it last?

[bhawkeye]

I use about 2 1/2 tbsp of citric acid with 4-5 drops of dishwashing soap per litre of water.

I run about 75 45 ACP cases per litre for about 12 minutes, followed by a soak in baking soda & hot water (~1 tbsp/litre), till the next load is done, then rinse & transfer to a RO(reverse osmosis - or distilled) water soak for a couple minutes.

I do 4-6 loads in the same citric acid solution - then dump & replenish. Citric acid is a white powder, which is used in cooking & soap making - so it's very cheap & works very well (just be careful not to spill on anything that's susceptible to acids). The cases are squeaky & sparkling clean after this.

I then tumble them in corncob with NuFinish & mineral spirits for ~1 hour. The mineral spirits thin the NuFinish, so it mixes better into the media. I also add a paper towel, cut into 1.5"-2" squares. The paper towels keep the media cleaner & remove excess NuFinish from the cases.

This tumbler action is not so much for cleaning or polishing as it is to make the cases easier to size & seat. :seeya:

[bhawkeye]

p.s. - I tried Jason Baney's (http://www.6mmbr.com/ultrasonic.html) "clean and shiny" solution & it took basically 3 times as long, but didn't do any better cleaning job. It also cost a lot more (I've still got a lot of Birchwood Casey case cleaner). Also, the vinegar smells up everything. I like vinegar in the right circumstances (like balsamic vinegar & garlic olive oil for dipping fresh bread) but I hate the smell as a cleaning solution. The cirtric acid has no smell.

If you have some range brass that is really bad, increase to 3 1/2 tbsp/litre of water - but don't go over 12 minutes with this mixture. :seeya:

[HCRoadie]

it seems I can not upload zip files, sorry

[zdogk9]

RCBS Jr.3 with .357 dies, 30-30 dies and 300WTBY. dies $35.00 at a garage sale. had the on the press priming system. Won a RCBS scale at a turkey shoot. Traded the 30-30 and Weatherby dies for .45 colt carbide and 6.5X55 dies and I was in business. Free would have been better, but this worked.:sifone:

[Tailgunner]

RCBS Jr3, Uniflow powder measure, 3 RCBS die sets, couple hundred .357 bullets, 100 30cal slugs, assorted go/no type case measuring tools, Pacific scale, a few different powders, maybe 5 pounds of brass, 4-500 each sm pistol and large rifle primers, and a couple of older manuals IIRC I paid the princely sum of $25 (and back than that was a LOT of money).

[speedracer211]

Lee turret kit with carbide dies from cabelas for $110 shipped, bullet puller $8 had a coupon, calipers and tumbler from harborfreight that I used my 20% off coupon on so that came to $40. $8 bag of walnut shells, nufinish $6. No safety prime or anything so I load primers one by one by hand, brass is free from the range and I only buy primers and bullets in 500 quantities right now. So my first 500 rounds with a lb of win 231 cost about $70 so my total is around $240

[chewy]

I started with a RCBS reloadin' kit, don't know the name of the press, but it wren't the Rock Chucker. The whole kit with Scale, funnel, #12 Speer manual, and other stuff I don't remember, was like
$150.00
then..
$60.00 or so for a Lyman Tumbler (wich is kind of loud these days)
$75.00 for Digital scale
$25.00 or so for Carbide 9mm dies at the time.
$20.00 for a used powder thrower. Cost of 9mm FMJs at the time was about $30-40.00 for 1000 or so.
So around $300.00 + bucks to get a good start. I included the back then price cuz in ten years, new reloaders will want to see how much they can save compared to future prices.
I used that same exact set up for about 9 years or more, just barley got a Lee Turret last year. Can't afford a Progressive, but am still quite content with what I got. After ten years or so of reloadin' I'm usually sittin' on top of anywhere from 12,000 thru 20,000 rounds of the usual pistol and revolver cartridges and Rifle cartridges as well.
So one don't have to donate that spleen to medical science to get started. If ya' can afford a progressive, hell, get it on! I wish I could, but not for a while as I see it.

[Murphy's Law]

Cheap after going through Freak for everything I needed plus some !

:yesnod:

[zdogk9]

RCBS Jr3, Uniflow powder measure, 3 RCBS die sets, couple hundred .357 bullets, 100 30cal slugs, assorted go/no type case measuring tools, Pacific scale, a few different powders, maybe 5 pounds of brass, 4-500 each sm pistol and large rifle primers, and a couple of older manuals IIRC I paid the princely sum of $25 (and back than that was a LOT of money).
CRBat its very finest, I'm in awe.

[yammerschooner]

Lee Anniversary Kit for @$70 here, with another $20 or so for dies.

powder, primers, and bullets were another 50-60 bucks.

The dies are the only thing I still use, and I am damn glad I got rid of that stinking scale.

[gjk5]

LCT
9MM/.45ACP/.223 dies and turrets
chg bar
safety prime lg and sm
pro auto disk
frankford tumbler kit

around $290.

[cole]

Used Dillon SD, Dillon scale, brass flip tray, toolhead with 9mm dies, toolhead with .357mag dies, Lyman book = $250
Sell .357mag toolhead and dies = -$50
Used Lyman 1200 Tumbler w/ media (full) = $50
RCBS Bullet puller = $18
Caliper = $0 (aready had one from my .45acp reloading days)
Total equipment = $268

9mm components
Primers average = $18/1000
FMJ bullet average = $55/1000
Powder average = $16/lb
Brass = Free

So, considering 1lb powder loads >1k, approximately: $85/1000

Saving at least $100/1000 means equipment paid off in about 3,000 rounds.

[lord1234]

RCBS RockChucker - 40
RCBS Uniflow Powder Measure - 40
RCBS 9mm dies - 35
Tumbling media - 10
Dillon 9mm Case Gauge - 13
Digital Micrometer - 15
Hornady Reloading manual - 23
(The following was a package deal) - 40
1)RCBS Tumbler
2)Beam Scale
3) 2 Impact Hammers
Total Cost - 216$

Components:
1000 LRN bullets - 90
Primers - 30
Powder - 23
Brass - Free is great

Total Cost - 143

[BillR]

Wow, prices have gone up a little...:yikes:
I just ordered mine tonight:
LCT kit from Kempfs, 9mm with powder/primer upgrades and spare turret... $220.00
Extra set of .40/10mm Lee dies...$51 (shipped)

[John]

for me it cost 110.

press
carbide dies
shell holders
scale
powder trickler
funnel
lube pad
lee auto prime
lee auto prime shell holders
http://i1209.photobucket.com/albums/cc391/johnmiron2/Guns/Picture033.jpg

a friend gave me 400 cast bullets and 100 primers to get me going.

$12 for 300 more primers
$20 for powder
made some loading blocks for free

[chewy]

Wow that's a fine deal! The costs seem waay out of sight if one is buying everything they need for 3 or 4 calibers all at once. But bein' frugal, and patient always pays.