Pete Zaria

I've been searching for the best deal I can find on bulk .45 ACP ammo for the last few days.

The only stuff I can find actually "cheap" is Wolf, and I'm kind of opposed to steel-cased, polymer-coated ammo for my nice new Springfield Mil Spec.

So I was looking into the cost of reloading. After having done the research and math...

Dillon Precision “Square Deal”: $340
Tumbler, powder scale, calipers: $200
1,000 .45 ACP brass cases: $80
5,000 primers: $130
5,000 bullets: $550
4lb Unique powder: $55

Total cost of materials, 5,000 rds: $815
With equipment purchase: $1,355

Now lets compare that to the cheapest prices I found on factory ammo:

5,000 rds Remington UMC 230gr .45 FMJ: $2,180
5,000 rds Wolf .45 230gr .45 FMJ: $1,345
5,000 rds MagTech 230gr .45 FMJ: $1,610

So when you're looking at 5,000+ rounds, reloading comes out cheaper than everything but Wolf ammo.

Hope some find this info useful or interesting.


Now I'm seriously considering finding a place to setup a reloading bench and getting into yet another hobby.

Can I realistically do 500 rounds in an hour on that Dillon machine (with some practice) or is that just advertising hype?

Peace,
Pete Zaria.

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halfcrazy

i think once experienced one can do the amount dillon says i have the 550 and i find it isnt about quantity for me i poke along with a consistent rythm. and every 100 rounds i take a break and reload primers and check powder charge and sample some Over All Legths "OAL". but i do 300 an hour or more easy and could easily do more if needed but for me it is almost as much fun to load as it is to shoot so i have spent more then i would have just buying ammo

alfack

Instead of the square deal, I would suggest the RL550B. Not much more expensive and you can do rifle cartridges. I think 500 rounds per hour is mostly advertising hype, especially if you pay attention and weigh charges once and a while.

I think the biggest expenditure is the brass. But once you have the brass, you can use it many times. Also, $80 for 45 brass is a good price, where did you see that?

edr9x23super

Reloading is defintely the way to travel. +1 on the poster who advocates the 500B; I bought mine back in 1986, and I stopped counting the rounds I have loaded with it back in 1996 at 100,000. That was way back during my competition days when I was single and had no children, but I can personally guarantee you that Mike Dillon will stand by his products, no exceptions. If you don't believe me, just call and ask for him, if he is there he will most certainly talk to you and answer any questions you may have. if more companies in this country of ours did business like Dillon did we would rule the world, hands down...

Now for the reality: You will not save any money by reloading. You will, however, find out that your trips to the range will increase dramatically. In other words, you will just be able to shoot a heck of a lot more....

Here's what I do: rather than buy 5000 rounds of brass, Just buy yourself enough to get started. When you go to the range, look around at other shooters and see if they pick up their brass. If they don't, wait till they leave, then slide on over and help yourself. Or you can join an IDPA or IPSC club and pick up brass there. I must have 10,000 rounds of it that I keep on hand at any one time. I basically load the cases until they crack, then I turn them into a range I go to so they can be recycled. Adopting this approach, if the ranges in your area are OK with it, is definitely the way to travel. I would estimate that less than 20% of the shooters out there bother to reload, so most of the brass you pick up is going to be once-fired, right out of the box.

Good luck to you.....

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Pete Zaria

Thanks for the info, guys.

My dad had reloading equipment (but just a single-stage press) so I know the basics, and the time commitment required. Also the painstaking quality control to maintain absolute safety and uniform loads. I'm still deciding if I want to get into it or not.

I'll seriously consider the 550b instead, but at the moment I don't shoot much (if any) rifle ammo. The only rifle I have at the moment is a lever-action Win 30-30.

Thanks for the info guys. I'll keep researching and pondering rather or not I should really do this or not.

Peace,
Pete Zaria.

__________________
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.
- Margaret Mead

"Booger Hook Off the Bang Switch" - unknown

Pitmaster

Your young. You will get more rifles.

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P95Carry

The beauty of reloading is that almost for sure over time you WILL save ... sure ammo consumption will probably rise - did for me but - amortizing the outlay over time with what is now a huge amount of reloaded ammo over near 30 years - sure it's worth it

Other huge bonus which we often mention is convenience appropos making up the loads you want - tuning to suit a gun etc. Oh and beyond that - no need to rush to the store if a bit low just before a range visit - just be sure to keep consumables stocks up to a reasonable level always if possible.

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Tubby45

Yes you can load on a Dillon 550 (I sell them for $385 shipped, BTW) at 500rds per hour and not break a sweat.

You will pay off that equipment in a few thousand rounds and it will hold its value; think of it as an investment. You can get 80-90% of the cost back if you sell it within a few years.

I have several guns that have never seen a factory round. The only factory ammo in my house is 22LR.

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FearSheeple

to the OP...I'm a total noob, so take this with a grain of salt. I've been reading up on reloading as an option to cut costs on my range visits...but I've read that Unique powder can be quite dirty. Now i always clean my guns even if i just fire a single round through them...or take them into the woods, but just something i've seen, people seem to recommend spending a few extra bucks on a little higher quality powder.

-Matt

dukalmighty

How about 8 lbs. unique 93.50,5000 primers 90.00,cast bullets 5000 home cast 50.00.so i figure at those prices 5000 45acp cost me about $182.00.
I don't have a problem with unique,anything you shoot in a gun will get it dirty,I can shoot several hundred rounds through my semi auto's and they function just fine,cleanup isn't any worse than shooting anything else.

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