Reloading rifle start up cost.

[muncher]

I have been considering getting a centerfire rifle for foxes etc and wondered how much set up cost would be for a basic set up for say a 223.cheers.

[Tadorna]

Don't reload to save money. You will not.

[oowee]

52 minutes ago, Tadorna said:

Don't reload to save money. You will not.

This ^^^^^^

I just set up for .223 and it cost me about £250 with a turret press. I was given a bench.

Turret press, set of dies (4), powder thrower, Spare turret (to mount thrower), set of beam scales, primer feed, sonic cleaner, reloading trays, ammo boxes, bullets, powder, lube, lots of bits, may have even cost more. Already on my second set of scales. 

If you just want to do basics you could get away with just £32.

https://www.sportsmanguncentre.co.uk/lee-loader-223-rem

[walshie]

Not sure why people say you can't save money reloading. In my experience it works out about half the price per round as shop bought stuff. I suppose it depends on how many rounds you get through.

[Dougy]

1 hour ago, Tadorna said:

Don't reload to save money. You will not.

That's correct if you shoot the odd Deer or Fox. 

2nd hand press £40

Primer seater £20

Scales £50

Dies £40 

And then it's consumables powder bullets and primers, brass will be reusable so probably work out at less than 15p each. Powder 8

£80 a kilo enough to make say 600 rounds ish. 

 

Is it cheaper ? 

Depends on your usages. 

 

Edited September 6, 2018 by Dougy

[Vince Green]

Most reloads are actually dearer than buying PPU, S&B etc. The trouble is it doesn't stop there, you start simple, then you want a tumbler, then you want a case trimmer, then you want electronic scales and so on. 

Then you start shooting off loads to test them, then you wonder if it would shoot better with a bit more or a bit less powder - or a different powder! and you are on the slippery slope to becoming a reloading geek. Then you join a club because you need range time to test all these loads under controlled conditions.

I bought a .303 Lee Enfield twenty years ago. Virtually all my shooting with it has been load testing and I have thoroughly enjoyed it. I have done sub loads and cast bullets, full loads and HV loads with 125grn bullets. Now that I can buy soft points I want to try the 220grn round nose .

But when I shoot serious competitions, which I do from time to time, I shoot PPU factory loads because I have never found anything more accurate and most of the other serious .303 shooters I see also use PPU factory.  

[Vince Green]

56 minutes ago, walshie said:

Not sure why people say you can't save money reloading. In my experience it works out about half the price per round as shop bought stuff. I suppose it depends on how many rounds you get through.

I can buy .223 for £32/100 in South Wales, it would be hard to reload for half that But most people end up reloading to produce  a superior round and price goes out of the equation, 

Edited September 6, 2018 by Vince Green

[oowee]

59 minutes ago, walshie said:

Not sure why people say you can't save money reloading. In my experience it works out about half the price per round as shop bought stuff. I suppose it depends on how many rounds you get through.

I can get ppu for £13 for 20 but I reckon I can reload vmax at about £8 for 20. These to buy would be about £23 for 20 so a good saving for a better round. I think where the saving falls apart is buying cases, making trial loads, working up new loads changing methods or powders etc. I am trying hard to stick to a single recipe 

[walshie]

7 minutes ago, Vince Green said:

I can buy .223 for £32/100 in South Wales, it would be hard to reload for half that But most people end up reloading to produce  a superior round and price goes out of the equation, 

Obviously not for that price. Is that some sort of milsurp and/or FMJ ammo? 

My preference for what I use my 223 for is Hornady v-max at approx £25 for 20. I can and do reload similar for less than half that.

[walshie]

6 minutes ago, oowee said:

I can get ppu for £13 for 20 but I reckon I can reload vmax at about £8 for 20. These to buy would be about £23 for 20 so a good saving for a better round. I think where the saving falls apart is buying cases, making trial loads, working up new loads changing methods or powders etc. I am trying hard to stick to a single recipe 

Yep, agreed. But I put the cost of testing and refining along with the initial outlay. I found a decent recipe that suits my gun a fair while ago and haven't had the need to tinker with it. I have all the materials in the house so when I run low I just knock up 50 rounds or so and it hurts a lot less than handing over a wad of cash at the RFD. 

My 223 hates PPU. My hornet loves it.

 

[Vince Green]

15 minutes ago, walshie said:

Obviously not for that price. Is that some sort of milsurp and/or FMJ ammo? 

My preference for what I use my 223 for is Hornady v-max at approx £25 for 20. I can and do reload similar for less than half that.

Its not milsurp but it is FMJ. My friends in mid Wales, very close to you actually,  were using FMJ bullets on foxes for years because they could buy them mail order and at a reasonable price thereby eliminating the need for a 5 hour round trip drive to get ripped off . That's all changed now of course. Their experience with fmj bullets was no different to HP or SP. The bullets fragmented whatever.

Edited September 6, 2018 by Vince Green

[muncher]

Cheers everyone for the feedback, i have electronice scales, beam scales and electronic powder dispenser so thats all ok. But if i can use FMJ and get them at that sort of price i wouldnt need to bother.

[Vince Green]

Its not illegal to use FMJ on foxes but you have to be a whole lot more careful about what is behind the fox. Most FMJ bullets from a 223 break up on impact anyway but that's not guaranteed.

It may be OK in hilly very rural Wales with very experienced fox shooters. I would not be so sure about flat old Norfolk with a less experienced shooter. Certainly not to begin with.

Anyway, the reason for them having to use FMJs has gone now because the restriction on buying expanding bullets by post has been lifted.

[muncher]

1 hour ago, Vince Green said:

Its not illegal to use FMJ on foxes but you have to be a whole lot more careful about what is behind the fox. Most FMJ bullets from a 223 break up on impact anyway but that's not guaranteed.

It may be OK in hilly very rural Wales with very experienced fox shooters. I would not be so sure about flat old Norfolk with a less experienced shooter. Certainly not to begin with.

Anyway, the reason for them having to use FMJs has gone now because the restriction on buying expanding bullets by post has been lifted.

That would have been my worry as I live in the feels so it seems I would be better having ballistic tips, if I apply for a 223.

[Guest stevo]

Jules

I would crack on with your HMR for a bit. You’ve not had it long  and There’s no rush mucker. Learn how your rifle works. Trajectory’s. reading the wind. And how to call fox’s in. Learn your craft mate.

Don’t become an all the gear ect ect shooter ?

be old school. Be hard core ??

Edited September 7, 2018 by stevo

[muncher]

28 minutes ago, stevo said:

Jules

I would crack on with your HMR for a bit. You’ve not had it long  and There’s no rush mucker. Learn how your rifle works. Trajectory’s. reading the wind. And how to call fox’s in. Learn your craft mate.

Don’t become an all the gear ect ect shooter ?

be old school. Be hard core ??

You are right,just thoughts at the moment,called a fox in the other night put the bullet between her eyes,that certainly works!

[Guest stevo]

21 minutes ago, muncher said:

You are right,just thoughts at the moment,called a fox in the other night put the bullet between her eyes,that certainly works!

There you go.  Get a few kills under your belt over winter when it’s hard going. This time of year you can call the younguns into the back of truck ?

last year I had a cub come running out of the crop straight to where I was sitting in the truck. It stood at the foot of my door for about 10 secs. You could see it trying to work out what to do for the best.  Then she just strolled off in front of me ?

35 minutes ago, muncher said:

You are right,just thoughts at the moment,called a fox in the other night put the bullet between her eyes,that certainly works!

There you go.  Get a few kills under your belt over winter when it’s hard going. This time of year you can call the younguns into the back of truck ?

last year I had a cub come running out of the crop straight to where I was sitting in the truck. It stood at the foot of my door for about 10 secs. You could see it trying to work out what to do for the best.  Then she just strolled off in front of me ?

[cooter]

Reloading is just another part of shooting, something you can do on a rainy day, but it is a very slippery slope and don't go there unless you have to.

I just started re-decorating and I was shocked at the amount of expensive reloading related stuff I found in cupboards, wardrobes etc, that never gets used.

[TriBsa]

On 06/09/2018 at 21:41, Vince Green said:

Most reloads are actually dearer than buying PPU, S&B etc. The trouble is it doesn't stop there, you start simple, then you want a tumbler, then you want a case trimmer, then you want electronic scales and so on. 

Then you start shooting off loads to test them, then you wonder if it would shoot better with a bit more or a bit less powder - or a different powder! and you are on the slippery slope to becoming a reloading geek. Then you join a club because you need range time to test all these loads under controlled conditions.

I bought a .303 Lee Enfield twenty years ago. Virtually all my shooting with it has been load testing and I have thoroughly enjoyed it. I have done sub loads and cast bullets, full loads and HV loads with 125grn bullets. Now that I can buy soft points I want to try the 220grn round nose .

But when I shoot serious competitions, which I do from time to time, I shoot PPU factory loads because I have never found anything more accurate and most of the other serious .303 shooters I see also use PPU factory.  

I can reload 303 for £0.42 using PPU bullets. The last factory PPU I bought about 2 years ago were £0.60. I have found greater accuracy reloading with PPU bullets than the factory rounds, particularly when substituting the 170gn for the 174gn (they have a greater bearing surface). Perhaps some of the shooters you see are re-using the PPU boxes with homeloads in PPU brass?

Reloading can save you money or let you shoot more. It can become a hobby in itself and a time thief.

[Benthejockey]

I reload for my 243, I can make rounds for around 50p a bang sometimes less sometimes more depending on what components cost on the day. It’s a big saving on a box from the shops! But it is one of those things you get into and then buy more and more bits because you NEED them. Just keep playing with the HMR for now and learn how to out fox a fox. Once you get into the depths of winter and every Tom **** and harry has been taking pot shots at them on the lamp making them lamp shy then that’s when field craft comes into play. It’s one thing poking away at a fox with nv or thermal at 200yds but another to get the foxes within 100yds to knock them over with the HMR. My HMR has accounted for the vast majority of foxes I’ve ever shot. 

[Harnser]

If you go down the reloading road then do take advice from experienced reloaders on the the loads that they have used. The most money you will spend will be on powder and bullits trying out different loads and bullits . An experienced re loader will be able to give you a good load that should work in your gun .  If you go for a .308 than you should try the 150 grain bullit with 45 grains of vit 140 . A fabulous load for the venerable .308 . Used it for many years on deer and it never ounce let me down .

harnser

[mowdy]

Reloading unpopular or exotic  types of ammo definitely  does work out cheaper

my .last 444 marlin factory ammo was £50 for 20 and my old

9.3x74 was around the same or even more.to buy

cost to reload worked out at about 50 -70 p per round excluding brass and about a £1 a case for the brass still way cheaper than factory ammo even buying the dies and components 

mowdy

 

 

[Walker570]

I relaod for all of my calibres and have done for 40yrs so my initial outlay on the basic equipment has been absorbed. I don't waste bullets on paper but for making sure the rifle is accurate and on. I shoot two calibres you cannot buy factory for and they are my workhorses ...22BR and my 257 RRI Wildcat.  Also not easy buying 375JDJ or 7-30 Waters in the UK or anywhere else these days.

Once you have worked up an accurate efficient round then stick with it.  Just one shot to check zero and away you go.  For me shooting with my own cartridges is also made more enjoyable.

It is all down to where you want to go.

[steve_b_wales]

IF you shoot regularly and get through many rounds, eventually, you will start saving money by reloading. My equipment cost me many £100s of pounds in total, but after many, many years of reloading, it's paid for itself. I reload for 22 Hornet, .204 Ruger and .243, ( + 22-250 & .308 in the past) and each reloaded round is less than half the price of factory produced ones. I reload though, because I enjoy it.

[Kev1gun]

You don't save money you just shoot more, i like reloading because it's a hobby in it self and it's very satisfying when you make a ragged one hold group in a target knowing that you've developed that load. i never count the cost of all the kit i have, if i did i wouldn't do it 😃