Ammo Reloading Cheap Skate

Front turret press, Tall press with read handle 12 gauge  shot gun press, back left tan powder scale. Rack on back wall different calibers of replaceable turrets with different calibers

  Low budget reloading--- Gun shops are wonderful places as the average gun owner is a patriotic law abiding individual with a fierce loyalty of God and country. Gun shop owners are an interesting breed who also feels for the future of the country but yet they also are obligated to pay for the bottom line rent, lights etc. to keep the shop open so we can enjoy it. My favorite Gun shop is not open any more Starkey’s gun shop in El Paso Texas. Mr. Starkey had a very successful shop but it was nothing fancy. He closed because he wanted to retire not because he went broke. The two employees behind the counter were John and Travis and were friendly and honest. The gun shop could have used a new coat of paint but it was well stocked and you always got good information and I must say they always told me what the least expensive reloading stuff I could buy and as a family man on a low budget it made a difference. Mr. Starkey would take in used reloading equipment in trade form people who wanted to upgrade and for someone on my budget at the time it was a treasure trove of things that I could add to my reloading supplies at a cut price. They also pointed out the old dogs (useless or unreliable equipment) that were not reliable or as good and suggest I do not buy them. The amount of money I spent at Starkey’s was not as much as others might have spent but they always gave me a good value for a good price and they treated their customers like an old friend. I do not drink coffee but, Mr. Starkey always had on a fresh pot, and a folding table and chairs and on any given day you could fall into a good conversation on reloading and shooting or political problems of the time or gun repair problems they had solved. I made it a point to stop by once a week to see what he had taken in in trade. People would stop by and visit and on an occasion or two when the wife needed me she would call the shop as she knew if I was late coming home after work she could probably find me there. The entrance to Mr. Starkey’s office was behind the end counter and had no door and here again you could walk back and see him any time, and here too it was a gathering place for friendly people.    

   Some other Guns shops did not want to sell reloading equipment as the markup on ammo had such a profit margin that they did not want to louse the money. I had a chance to watch a video today which I will not name but it involved reloading and the man was a gun shop owner and he was pricing high dollar items and expensive brass and said that each shell casing cost about .32 cents to .50 cents a reload. You do not have to spend the kind of money that some loading companies charge for reloading supplies, and you do not need all the fancy stuff they advertise. All you need is this short list 1)a hand held case trimmer for rifle from initially $15 and the parts are reusable and other cases will use some of the same parts so that would be an additional $5 for each different caliber case (From Lee). 2) You generally do not have to trim pistol cases and you will need 3) powder dippers (or for a little more a machine to throw powder for $32 and a 4) loading press as little as $40, 5) powder $35 and 6)loading dyes $40 and 7) loading information a loading book about $30. Save your brass each time you shoot and when you are ready to reload there is no investment, reload it. So for new stuff about $120 or for a little more you can get a kit with extra stuff in it to make loading easier. 

  Reloading costs and procedures--If you decide to reload with copper jacketed bullets you can generally do it for a savings of 50% of store costs for new ammo. By casting my own bullets I can reload rifle or pistol for pennies. My own cast bullets is $20 for a 5 gal bucket of wheel weights making it a fraction of a cent a bullet for cost. I show how to harden wheel weights on a post on this blog posted 7/13/12 titled Hardening Cast Bullets. This is performed by heating the cast bullet and quenching it in water. I also show a 9 part bullet casting seminar that I put on U-Tube a few years ago but now is on this blog in its entirety beginning on 8/8/12 and ending 8/18/12. Primer 3 cents, gas checks cost 1.5 cents each (but are optional depending on whether the bullet mold has a place for a gas check or not, or whether you want to push the bullet a little slower and not use one), powder cost 2 cents. A 30/06 or 308 loaded cartridge is only 7 to 10 cents. I bought pulled military powder a while  back cheep. On the high end rifle $2 for 20  bullets and 5 ½ cents for non-gas checked pistol or $2.25 for a box of 50 pistol bullets.
If they pass laws against guns then you will either make your supplies at home, salvage or do without. American Handbook on Guns Ammo and Freedom