Our trails run parallel with each other more than not. I too got into reloading for 45 Colt. Had lots of 45 Colt guns but the things were breaking the bank to shoot as much as I like to shoot. Reloading has allowed me to be able to shoot the guns in the calibers I like.
I stopped reloading for a number of years. Was sorting a storage shed and found 2 ammo cans with no label. Opened em up....bricks and bricks of primers from the early 2000s. Whoo-hoo!
My dog don’t reload but I told him if he can’t hold still, I can build a dog house. Now he seems to enjoy the cold basement floor. 😂 Can’t shoot if I don’t load. Only 2 calibers I don’t reload. One is steel cased and one is too small to see. You become a real metal scrounger expert. I call it reloader’s gold! My buddy’s house is sinking from all the gold bricks in his basement!
Here's the thing: I'm a bench shooter. And to me, reloading is not about saving money. It's about consistency. It's about making a load that my bench rifles like.
Reloading is a fun and rewarding hobby that allows individuals to create their own custom ammunition tailored to their specific needs, be it for hunting, target shooting, or just having fun at the range. While it can initially be somewhat expensive to get started, the savings can add up over time and make it a cost-effective approach for serious shooters or those who enjoy creating their own ammunition. Over the years, there have been many advancements in reloading technology, such as progressive and turret presses, along with a wide range of components such as bullets, primers, and powder, that make it possible to create ammunition that performs just as well, if not better, than commercial ammunition. So, whether you're a new or experienced shooter, if you like the idea of creating your own custom ammunition and enjoy the process of reloading, then I would say that reloading is still worth it in 2024.
You think the same way I do plowboy as in The thought process of "Is this going to be a lifetime supply of ammo?" The tactical Timmy AR-15 fan club always likes to scoff at me. Whenever I tell them that my go-to modern semi-auto rifle is going to always be an akm and they tell me that I'll never find ammunition for it and that I can no longer get ammunition for it due to the import ban. It's always funny to see the look on their faces whenever I show them a picture of the pallet's worth of 7.62x39 That I have stored up since I was 12. I'm not necessarily storing it up for the apocalypse, but I had the same exact thought that you did if something were to happen and they were to Ban the sale or transfer of 7.62x39. I want to have enough that it will last me and my childrens lifetimes
I go to the scrap yard and buy scrap lead can get it pretty reasonable. Got a bunch of lino type lead I mix with it make my own black powder so ammo just to play with I load it up with black powder it only cost me about $6.00 a pound to make black powder definitely messier but a lot of fun
I’ve been a Handloader and bullet caster for almost 57 years , for myself it’s the only way I would do it ! I’ve seen components skyrocket in price in 2008 and fly off the shelves not to be seen back in stock for several years ! I’ve seen primers go from $38.99 per 1,000 to $150.00 during the pandemic! Any handloader is ahead of the game by keeping an inventory of bullets , powder , primers on hand ! Great video ! Useful information!
I have two lee single stage classics, a turret. Lee just works. Dies, most are lee, but for my 44 spl and mags, I have some rcbs and redding mixed in. I reload every caliber I own, 380, 9, 40, 45acp, 45 colt, 44-40, 44spl, 44mag. I tend to not load up a truck load, just a few hundred at a time. I have components to reload maybe a 1000 or two of each, brass for the bigger cals, not as many, but I can reload all the components, just not at once. Maybe I should up my 45 colt and 44 mag brass from 400 each to a 1000 each so I can reload up and stash a bunch ?? 9mm, 22lr and 223, those I bought 1000s a decade ago when things were dirt cheap and never shot it. When it comes to 44mag, yup, buy trex killers off the shelf for 50 or reload what you want for 10. doesnt take forest gump smarts to figure out the benefits :-)
Have not watched it yet but worth it? What if theres no other way to get it? Unless you're very young you should have components stocked deep. It's available now. Expensive but available.
Pretty well expressed. There are some cartridges thatwill take a long or longer time to pay off the equipt with, but, you can have the bullet you want in a pretty steady supply ususally. As you build stock, the shortage periods get easier to handle, you will probably know far more about what options you can make work and use successfully. Even if your shooting slows down, acquire some supplies here and there occasionally, you'll have them when you do want to do more shooting, and everyone else doesn't. You don't have to buy it all at once, a bit here and there adds up.
Reloading has always been and still is worth it across the board... even at todays prices! Do you powder coat? It super cheap and easy. I'll never use tradional lube again and can use jacketed data with no gas check. Thanks for the video...
Good balanced view of the reality. Dad, brother, and i shot 357 mag. We all wanted it zippy. Finally arrived at a bullet and powder and primer that did it. For the money, we could shoot two and a half boxes for what one box something sorta equivalent in factory went for. And they were good about returning the empties and the boxes to do it all again.😸
Been doing it since the mid 70's.. short answer is no.. you will end up spending the same amount but you will be able to shoot 2 -3 times as many rounds for the same amount of money. Cast slugs are your friend. HT coated cast slugs are really the only kind you should make/buy. no lead particles in the air... no handling of lead while loading. No barrel leading.... simple and easy cleaning of bores. Components have gone way up from say 10 years ago. then I could typically load 50 rounds of .44 mag or 45 acp for around $4 a box. since then components have more than doubled in cost so say $8 a box now I have not bought any components for a while since I had a decent stash of powder/primers... both are going down in price again now... my guess is that soon it will cost around $6 a box to load most handgun rounds when things settle down. Not talking hoarding now but it pays to have a stash large enough to get through the droughts and the high prices during and right after a drought.
The best thing about reloading is even with no availability of commercial propellants, you can always load any case with BP ant it will go bang with authority!
I loaded shotgun shells for years but didn’t get into hand loading until the ammo crisis of 2009-2113… best move I ever made for my hobby. Rule of thumb I’ve observed, the more expensive and specialized the round the grater the economics work in my favor. Never got in to casting though
With the cost of primers, it’s not worth reloading. I’ve been reloading for 30+ years and I have a good stash of components. But, for 9mm and 223, I’ll buy bulk ammo. I will reload for my hunting cartridges; 44 Magnum and 7-30 Waters.
I started reloading in 2008 when the idiots of this country put the Muslim in the White House. I've been reloading for all my calibers since then. Like yourself, I'm a big fan of the 45 Colt cartridge and reloading helps me tap into the potential of that cartridge without breaking the bank having to purchase boutique ammo. And I agree, reloading is not as economical as it once was but is still a lot better and cheaper than purchasing store bought ammo. Plus, I can tailor my loads for the task at hand. Here in Middle Tn, my everyday working load in the 45 Colt is a 250 grain hardcast Keith style bullet at 950 fps. I carry this in my Perfect Packing Pistol, a Ruger Redhawk 4.2 inch revolver. This combo won't beat up you or the gun and will do everything that needs doing in my neck of the woods. All the best to you.
Not even close in experience compared to you ,but I agree it’s well worth the time to reload I am retiring in 7 months then I will ramp up in .44 Magnum .45 Colt and probably even some .38 Specials which I used to, load all the time on yes …..my Lee Challenger Reloader. I appreciate all the great info on your channel.⚓️
For someone like myself on a tight budget and doesn't shoot that often cannot afford to get into reloading today for the price has gone up exponentially over say the past 10 years !!! It's just not cost effective in my opinion and when I read all these comments every one of them do reload so that proves my point to a large degree for all these guys have been into reloading for years and years ago again proves my point !!! Yes I love my .45Colt SAA revolvers but do I get out and shoot them every week NO I don't but I can only afford to buy a box or two of that factory ammo maybe twice a year and a stash of that caliber adds up over time especially when I don't shoot it often is my point !!! So it's much cheaper for me to only buy in bulk say 12ga. .22LR 9mm ammo for the guns I have the most and will use in a SHTF scenario !!! And if I'm going to hunt then .22LR to 12ga. will do it all !!! And in a pinch all 3 calibers will defend the homefront if need be !!! These are the 3 calibers I collect the most of anyway !!!
It's worth it if you've been in it for enough years and have enough components on hand and especially for some of the calibers that aren't real common @@plowboysghost
Brass is in the neighborhood of under $40 per hundred, and it's reusable dozens of times.. typically . I just bought more H110 for $40 per pound (7000 gr. per lb). The primers I just bought were $105 per 1000. I cast my own bullets, for relatively cheap. I couldn't afford 1000 rds of .44 Magnum commercially loaded, but I had 1000 rds on hand... handloaded.
I can guarantee you it is worth it with any big bore caliber or any less than mainstream round. Foregoing the monetary savings you can tune to your gun. Not to mention if you cast the design and weights are virtually unlimited. You might be surprised at how the 500 JRH will grow on you but I will also say handling a round that robust requires constant attention. I have not been able to cast, load or shoot for quite some time now and I know I have a lot of work to get back to where I need to be with them especially the big kickers.
Hey Mr.Plowboy, you should absolutely make a video on your style of gear and gun load out you would use in an "apocalypse" situation and your philosophy on how you would use it. Love your videos, theirs nothing like them on internet anywhere else. Edit: If I get lucky and you actually make the video you got to put the Pale Rider hat on.
I’m glad that I can send you my .45 Colt brass. This message is from my new channel with a similar name which I reposted my video on. I’m no longer using my old channel
i first started reloading 12ga shells for bird and rabbit hunting then around 2006 i decided to get the dies and a lee challanger single stage press kit andstarted picking up bricks of primers at a time i have dies for everything center fire that my wife and i own but my newer ar15 just havent had the extra money for the dies yet but i am saving up all the 223 brass i can and that old single stage press id still getting the job done at a speed that i can enjoy and can keep it simple and load up 100 rounds a batch
Ya know, I've been reloading since 1958 as a boy under the watchful eye of my great uncle. We cast and loaded 45 Colt with 40gr of BP, as he thought smokeless was just a fad.😅 By age ten, in 1960 I bought my first press. And in 1962 I bought a turret press. Both the Lyman Spartan press and Spar-T presses are still used often. There's also over 75 different bullet moulds in use as well. Some dating back to 1904. I haven't bought a factory round, with the exception of rimfire, in nearly 50 years. I don't need factory ammo. From loading with a Lyman 310 tool 66 years ago to the presses I've had forever, almost, I've got everything covered. My 45 Colt rounds cost me 15 cents a round to load. Used to be a nickel, but as you said some stuff has gone up...
If there is anything worthwhile that I can add to the commentary it would be two things. First, consider buying quality used basic gear like press, powder measure, trimmer and scale. Having the benefit of a mentor who can assist will pay off here. Second, commit to using your gear! You may be surprised how many people buy reloading gear and eventually pack it away for lack of “you fill in the blank”. Be certain that you will shoot enough to get your investment back. Not all of your components need to be name brand; commercial fast bullets are the easiest way to save money loading handgun ammunition for practice. Good luck aspiring reloaders and thanks for sharing PBG!
Have been wanted to start reloading but it’s difficult to figure out what press etc to start with. Everybody has an opinion and it gets very confusing. Go with a kit? Buy items separately? Buy new? Buy used?
I still use a single stage press or in some cases two single stage presses. I load a bit different than most. What I do is do one stage of loading..... say sizing... I would size like 300 cases at a time .. then next session I would change dies and expand and prime... I prime on a Lee bench prime. Now I have bucket(s) of primed brass ready for charging and bullets. Not only does this make a single stage press plenty good but.... if a new load catches my fancy I can just grab the bucket of primed brass and try the new load for 10-50 rounds. Lead.... once people know you are looking for lead it just shows up. fishing weights.. flashing etc. just the other day 100 lbs of lead that I have no idea what it was originally for... showed up. I melt lead down and put it in muffin tins so I have a lot of 'muffins' ready to drop in my Lee pot. I save my flashing and other 'pure' lead for a separate pot that I cast my black powder bullets from.
@@plowboysghost I do it for my bp revolvers mostly. My Hawkins with a patched ball does not seem to care what the alloy is My only other bp gun is a side by side 12
I started reloading when a thousand primers were 12 .00 to 13.00 and powder was around 4.50 to 5.50. If you go to auctions or garage sales are check local junk yards, and find some old newspaper lettering they are Lana type, Fantastic For projectiles, no need for pistol cartridges having gas checks, rifle cartridge is a different story.
Yes and no, depends on caliber. Looked up some reloading components for my 358 win a few weeks back and its cheaper to buy hornady ammo. Even if i cast my own bullets, and im no stranger to casting.
smokum7... I disagree... Hornady 358 Win box of 20 cost is approximately $2.12 a shot. Reloading... it costs approximately $1.72 the 1st time if you buy everything, and that includes buying brand new Starline brass. The price per round only goes down as the brass is now paid for and reloaded many times. The savings increases drastically casting bullets & powder coating.
@@shadowcastre i completely agree, it depends on where you get your supplies from tho. But my time is worth something to. Just like i charge my 150 lb rottweiler for playing with him for 3 hours every night. He normally just pays me back with hugs and kisses though 🐻
You people never factor in the fact that you can use those brass cases almost indefinitely. Or the fact that you don’t need every shot to be a JHP. Just quick estimates: Primer- 10c Boolit- 15c Powder -10c Brass- 10c or less depending on how many times you reload it
mrrifleman1695... You need to do your math over the long term. I reload 45 Colt for as little as .14 cents a round. To buy factory loaded 45 Colt it averages 1$ a round. 44 Mag is in the same ball park!
@@shadowcastrei don’t think it’s helpful telling people the cost of your components you bought 10+ years ago. The average person can not load for that cheap today. LP primers alone are 9-10 cents. An 8gr powder charge of unique is about 5.5 cents. Brass, while cheap over long term, is certainly not free and will probably work out to a few cents a shot. I suppose if you cast from free range lead you can get projectiles for “free” and get close to the 14 cent ballpark but that’s not something most new reloaders will ever get into. I just don’t want to give people who might be on the fence about reloading any unrealistic expectations. It will take a long time to amortize the cost of a casting setup until you’re getting “free” projectiles. Same with brass. It takes a long time and a lot of loadings to be able to fully discount the cost of brass.
@@Almost_Made_It Aaah... but it is helpful to let people know the possibilities. FYI... The "as little as" cost I stated is what's available to me at Todays prices... Not a 10 year old stash. Anyone on the fence about reloading should be doing their homework and talking with multiple people that reload so they can understand all the aspects of the journey. Nothing unrealistic about that!
Yup I been realoading 44 mag for 46 years now, plus got into all the other calibers i shoot,45 colt 40 S&W 357 38 spl. blah blah blah.....but any way i 3 manuals i use ...just picked up a 45-70 and dies.. so i'll be doing that one too.only problem is brass is next to impossible to come by so i'll be buying a few factory boxes at around 60 bucks a box........O well got to have them. Thanks for sharing and yup reloading is the way to go!
Now this is the most common sense video I've seen today on YT. 🍻 The 480 ruger is probably pricier (driven by scalpers) than the 500 JRH. Add my 450 marlin in the mix and a workin man go broke trying to feed these calibers and practice regularly. Hope all is well with you my friend and take care!
Thank you If I could have talked my local dealer into selling me back the 4-5/8" SBH Bisley.480 I had for even double what he gave me for it a few years ago, I would have bought it However...after getting this .500 JRH BFR...Im kind of glad he didn't.
@@plowboysghost- As someone just waking up, realize that we value folks educated in the ways of common sense. You could do a video on gas checks and I would watch it twice. Not because I am stupid but because I recognize where I am ignorant. Thank you for your content.
I would love to get into Reloading. here in California there's a lot of stuff we just can't Get 41 Magnum for example there might be one or two Boxes of super expensive Hunting Rounds but nothing you'd want to use on a Paper Target. it's not even important if I save money doing it just having access to certain Rounds would be worth it for us. My Brother won a Lever Gun in a Raffle but 45 Colt is about 4 Bucks a Round around here but the Taxes go up all the time so we're going to Miss when it was only 4 Bucks a Round pretty soon.
I personally just enjoy rolling my own. Because of it I can kind of afford to shoot my 500 S&W. I feel your pain on the 50 cal stuff. I was also able to snag a Mauser chambered in 6mm Remington down here in Birmingham for super cheap and the guy even tossed in the dies for free when I told him I hand loaded. Try to find that ammo......There is a satisfaction to finding a load that performs and I feel it involves me more in my shooting. Hell, I bought the ol lady a 223 a few years back for Christmas and she asked if she could shoot some of my stockpile. I told her to open her next present. 1 pound of powder...100 bullets and 100 primers with her own set of dies. She is very connected with that gun now. To each their own but I will handload for as long as I shoot
Revolver reloading saves a lot it seems. Other calibers are hardly any savings. Rifle is hardly any savings because of the outrageous price of powder and the large charge that rifles require
Great video when i started out i was like you banging them out in the house 1 at a time. I still use my lee single stage fast enough for me also have a couple of MEC 12ga. And 20ga. Press once you get started your hooked lol
I started with an RCBS jr back in '71', for 30/30, then in '76' began reloading .45 Colt for my new Ruger Blackhawk. Do a few more now with a progressive press, still have that old jr press though.
I reload because I have specialty loads for my 357 handi rifle and TC pistol and my 1910 production Rock Island M1903. I also carry a couple pistols in 32H&R, there $60-$70 a box when I see them.
I've been reloading rifle/handgun cartridges for the last 40 years and have acquired a lot of high quality hand loading equipment, bullets, primers and cases. I started initially because I wanted ammo that was more precise than factory ammo at the time. Then it became really handy for specialty or hard to find ammo. For .41 magnum, .45 Colt, .44 spcl, .22 hornet, etc., I never worry about having ammo for whatever purpose I choose. Also, it can be a lot less expensive. The specialty rounds are endless. For example, I have a favorite 22-250 load that uses a 45 gr Hornady bullet and small charge of 700X powder that mimics 22 magnum performance for small game hunting. Good luck finding that load on any store shelves!
Good presentation! With my 458 Win Mag, 416R and other big bores being $7-15 per round. It really makes sense to reload at $1-3 per round. Not to mention being able to taylor the load to my guns and the prey I'm after. Big bore rifle ammo is scarce as well compared to small bore offerings.
Although reloading is much more expensive than it used to be, it's still better than paying through the nose for oddball calibers. I really want to get into 44/40 but I'm already heavily invested in .45 Colt and yes I also cast my own bullets. Do I really want to add yet another caliber into the mix? Yes, yes I do!
I started reloading because it was hard to get 4570 and 45 Colt then I realized I like doing it and now thanks to @everythingblackpowder i make my own BP. Thanks Jake
