Quote:
Originally Posted by hypercarfanatic
Thats pretty awesome - always wanted to reload, but afraid of turning by barrel into a banana peel
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It's not difficult, but it is important to pay attention, and do your homework. It
also helps to have someone around with experience, but not necessary.
I live in the country, so going to the range consists of walking out behind the house, so I shoot quite a lot. If you shoot a lot it's economical, if you just shoot occasionally, it's harder to justify the cost.
I'm reloading .308 for about half the cost of premium cartridges. The 175 gr SMK bthp I just purchased was $300 per 1000, once fired Norma brass is ~ $500 per 1000, primers, ~$30 per 1000, powder, ~ $150 for 6lbs.
Since brass is reused, first 1,000 cartridges costs right at $1.00 each. The next 5,000 (assuming 6x brass use) costs only .50 cents each.
M118LR ammo is ~$1.50 each,
if you can find it; the loads above are comparable to the M118LR, for about .60 cents each with the Lake City brass, rather than the Norma brass. The second to fifth reloads of this brass will cost about .45 cents each.
A loading press with die sets will last two lifetimes, but most folks end up with multiple presses and die sets to reload just about anything. Press, die sets, scales, tumblers etc. can be a one time purchase, but most reloaders can't leave well enough alone.
