Posted: 8/31/2013 4:12:28 AM EDT
|
So I've got a dilemma. First of all what does the ammo situation look like at cabelas?
Should I continue buying ammo or should I finally get into reloading.... I would probably start off with a cheaper reloading kit from cabelas... A manual 1 rnd at a time kit. As if right now I probably have about a 1000 .223 casings and about 500 9mm. Opinions please :) |
|
Quoted:
So I've got a dilemma. First of all what does the ammo situation look like at cabelas? Should I continue buying ammo or should I finally get into reloading.... I would probably start off with a cheaper reloading kit from cabelas... A manual 1 rnd at a time kit. As if right now I probably have about a 1000 .223 casings and about 500 9mm. Opinions please :) As of this past Cabela's had a good selection of ammo. No .380 or 30-30 but otherwise pretty much everything. Prices on the other hand are still high but are coming down. If you are going to reload to save money. You will not save much. Bullets, powder and primers are still at a premium. Good luck finding powder locally. Bullets are slim to none in CT too. I got lucky finding some powder locally but only once. I have had to mail order additional powder which adds to the cost. Most places limit the amount of powder so shipping charges will add up real fast. Primers seem to be coming back in stock. Bullets are getting easier to find at the online vendors or the EE here. My current reloads cost me 27 cents not including brass. I am only loading 55gr FMJ and 62 gr FMJ. It will cost more if you use match grade or specialty bullets.Not much of a savings considering you can find ammo for 50 cents locally and under 40 cents online if you hunt. If you shoot a lot then the savings will pay for the gear. If you are only going to shoot a few hundred rounds a month then it does not make sense from a financial stand point. I do it because I find it relaxing and kind of fun developing the loads. I use an RCBS turret press. I am glad I bought the turret press vs. a standard press. I do not have to keep setting it up. I have all the dies set and just select the one I want and go to town. Someday I may buy a progressive if I find a deal on one. |
|
Quoted:
So I've got a dilemma. First of all what does the ammo situation look like at cabelas? Should I continue buying ammo or should I finally get into reloading.... I would probably start off with a cheaper reloading kit from cabelas... A manual 1 rnd at a time kit. As if right now I probably have about a 1000 .223 casings and about 500 9mm. Opinions please :) The selection on the shelves is a hit or miss, but you can pretty much buy anything you want from their web site and they will ship it to the East Hartford store at no extra charge. Their web site is the one place I know where I can reliably get Winchester 7.62 NATO and PMC 45 ACP in one sitting. It gives me a reason to go up and get those apple cider donuts that trailer outside their entrance sells. They're superb when they're still warm. |
|
I am very happy that I got started (actually re-started) reloading two years ago. Fortunately I was pretty actively building up my stock of components well before the "crisis", and I have been able to maintain enough of everything to be able reload and shoot as much as I want throughout. Locally, components are all becoming much more available, primers and powder are readily available, bullets are showing up more as well, and you already have brass.
I'm probably not saving a lot of $$$ over the cost to buy ammo from a year ago, and it's an investment in time to reload, but I'm pretty much always able to load at least 2000 each in the calibers I shoot (.223/.357/9mm/.45 ACP). |
|
Guess it all depends on the OP situation?
Do you shoot often, and/or high round counts per month? If not, reloading won't do much for you. It can be a fairly substantial investment to get started (a Dillon 550b, plus accessories will run $1K+). Ammo is a little easier to find, but not back to pre-Dec pricing.... but it can be found, try other places if you haven't. I've been reloading for several months, having purchased most of my consumables in the last six month.... that said I'm still reloading 9mm for 50-60% saving, even better for .45... about 30% the cost of factory ammo. If you shoot 1K+ rnds per month, then reloading will easily pay for the press in a year or less. In my first two months I've reloaded 3K-9mm/1K-.45! Don't always think about the cost saving tho, my 9mm ammo is way cleaner.... more accurate... I'd assume this would probably be more important for rifle ammo. Does require a commitment in time, but even this can be improved.... as you become more efficient with your workflow. Powder and primers I've been getting locally, bullets from powdervalley.... and hording brass like a squirrel with his nutz! 
~g |
|
Thanks a lot for all the info guys!
Yea I didnt care about cost(with regards to reloading) I was thinking about getting into it for the fun of it. I used to enjoy building AR's but CT took that away from me...and I would have liked getting into building other rifles...FAL, AK....but CT never even gave me a chance.... 
So I figured reloading is more hands on, so I might as well get into it. But if the consumables are still difficult to get...whats the point. I guess I'll just keep waiting. I havent been shooting a lot because ammo was scarce, and now that I'm coming up on the 2 year mark on the wait list for metacon, once I'm in I'll be shooting A LOT since I live about 2 mins away. Figured I might want to start increasing my ammo supply; either by reloading or buying factory rounds. Does anyone have experience with the cheap kits cabelas sells...like 300 for everything except for dies. Are these OK or should they be avoided at all costs? lol |