New 45 owner and Wow!!

[hopdevil]

2 things I have noticed this week since I bought my first 45 acp. I have 40 SW and can get ammo pretty easily.

1. I have been to all of my Walmart's and each one has told me that they are not to order ammo!!! THIS IS DISTURBING BECAUSE I BUY ALL OF MY AMMO FROM THERE. They have 40 value packs left and I may buy the rest out.

2. I may think of getting into reloading. I have 2 small kids and time is really short. What effort is required and how much would it take to invest into reloading equipment for several pistol rounds? .223 is still available for reasonable prices, so I will not worry now about rifle rounds. Who reloads and what is recommended?

[ar15jules]

The sky is the limit when it comes to reloading these days. You could use a single stage press that would cost less money, or set up a manufacturing plant in your basement with a modern progressive press complete with electronic case feeder etc... It comes down to how much you will need to reload and how much money you are willing to spend.
Jules

[tdyoung58]

2 things I have noticed this week since I bought my first 45 acp. I have 40 SW and can get ammo pretty easily.

1. I have been to all of my Walmart's and each one has told me that they are not to order ammo!!! THIS IS DISTURBING BECAUSE I BUY ALL OF MY AMMO FROM THERE. They have 40 value packs left and I may buy the rest out.

2. I may think of getting into reloading. I have 2 small kids and time is really short. What effort is required and how much would it take to invest into reloading equipment for several pistol rounds? .223 is still available for reasonable prices, so I will not worry now about rifle rounds. Who reloads and what is recommended?

After the initial reloading investment you can reload 45acp ammo for less than $.13 cents a round with better quality stuff than factory ammo. Yeah it takes some time to do it unless you get a turrent presss where you basically put the case in one side and pull the handle a few times inserting a new case each time and out pops a loaded case from the other side. case is deprimed, sized, reprimed, powder fed, you then put a bullet on it, then it's seated and crimped if desired. Can load 100 rounds in less than a hour easily that way.

The initial expense with tumbler, scale press, dies and everything is gonna hurt. I have the Lee 4 hole turrent. Best to get extra die holders then you can change dies in about 10 seconds

[fingers80002]

Have you tried looking at other sources for ammo, other than Mao-Mart?????

[rkrcpa]

As others have said, the initial investment can be large or small. I started with a Lee turret back in the early '80's and it served me well for many years. Buying cast bullets locally saves on shipping and keeps costs down.

As far as having the time, once you get the hang of it you can produce a good amount of ammo in an hour or two after the kids go to bed.

You can always upgrade to a bigger/better press later on if you feel the need.

[hopdevil]

Yes, I have bought from local shops etc. I am intrueged by online, but it is always out of stock for good buys, and shipping eats into your savings.

[brian]

it you plan on shooting any amount of 45acp, reloading needs to be looked at in a serious light.
the initial output of money will be high no matter how you go about it:
press
measure
scale
dies
primers
powder
brass, either new empty, or store bought ammo.
bullets
this is far from a complete list...it's hardly even a partial list.
the tools can be bought singularly or as a press kit.
the kits will get you started, but sure enough you will emd up looking for better/different scales and measures and the like.
there are endless ways to get set up.
from a row of single stages to gas powered dillion xyz's.
the sky is hardly the limit.....shoot for the moon on this one.

it's much easier than you might think.
most people, myself included come to find the reloading part as much fun as the actual shooting part.
this is also a game were the ol'saying "you get what you pay for" rings true....when dealing with new stuff....good stuff can be had used as well though.
i have not bought factory pistol ammo in over two years now.
and buring through a hundred or two rounds a weekend is not uncommon.

[rkrcpa]

Unfortunately there are damn few places in the Pottstown area to buy ammo/supplies. That's why I reload, not that you can get reloading supplies consistently here either.

[Normlizer]

i'm pretty new to guns and reloading i made the jump earlier this year into reloading and its well worth the invesntment. Almost all my reloading supplies i buy online. Besides Powder which i can get local.

[IronButt]

I reload for 6 different rifle calibers & 4 pistol cals. The cost of setting up a single stage press for just one caliber will probably pay for itself in less than a year if you do any amount of shooting. I reload .45 for well under $200/1000 using quality components. If you're a high volume shooter a progressive press may be worth the extra $.

I've been using the same RCBS Rock Chucker press for well over 30 years, so if you buy quality equipment to begin with, it'll last a long time.