Any demand for brass?

[Shadowrider]

Agreed. I was actually surprised to find that .44 spl / cowboy .44 mag is way more expensive than full power .44 Mag loads are. And full power .44 mag isn't cheap! Pretty much anything that isn't a .mil surplus round can be reloaded cheaper.

This has been the case for awhile now and I really don't understand it. Usually a product's profit margin (markup after raw material, labor and overhead) is directly proportional to it's sales volume. I know darn good and well that with the popularity of SASS that the big bore calibers used in CAS outsell the standard loadings several times over. Or at least they used to. But the cost of that type ammo is just not realistic, if one is a dedicated cowboy action shooter he'd need to be a billionaire not to reload.

 

[Dumpstick]

I can reload full power 44Mag for under 20¢ per rd, if I purchase lead, or coated bullets. If I cast them, I can cut that cost in half.
I still load 9mm, with plated it's at 12¢/rd, loaded. My cast, well, 3¢ for a primer, 2¢ for powder. What's the lead worth ?
Before y'all start yammering about $5/hr time, well, it's a hobby. I do it because I like to.
I don't drink, smoke, or hang out in bowling alleys.

And, you cannot buy the rounds I can load. I can load to a specific velocity, or for a specific projectile.
I load 9mm rounds that have enough energy to cycle the slide, and the brass falls 2 feet to my right - no chasing brass in the bushes.
If you don't enjoy doing it, buy factory.

It's funny, some folks can't stand the thought of lead projectiles, but don't blink at shooting steel cased ammo.

 

[Mad Professor]

I'd even go so far as to say only if you shoot enough to justify a heavy duty progressive press with case and bullet feeders is it worth reloading 9mm/.223. I'd have to get where I could load a thousand every couple hours before I'd think it's really worth it. I will probably continue for the time being since I already have the brass and some bullets and the reloading setup (minus feeders). But I wouldn't start or recommend starting reloading 9mm/.223 at this point.

If those are the only calibers you shoot, it would take 30k plus rounds just to recoup the $1000 (easy) in reloading equipment to load those two in bulk.

I can easily sustain 1000+ rounds an hour and that includes case-gauging every round that comes off the press. But, I've got way more invested in equipment than most. I turn out a way better product than the cheap stuff I can buy. That is just part of it, I actually like reloading. I like tuning the ammo to the gun(s) and see the results.

I see people do two things when they try to justify cost. 1) The don't consider that they can sell the brass they are picking up and reusing. So for say 9mm, there is $20/K they don't usually consider in their reloading cost. 2) Most people try to look a recouping the equipment. That equipment still has value after you load 10K rounds. If you are dealing with Dillon equipment, it is easily sold used for 80-85% of "current" new cost. It is usually considered a very good bargain in the 75% range. So it you buy $1000 worth of equipment you only have to recoup $200 in the reloading. Buy used to begin with and you just may break even right off the bat. Keep it 3-4 years and that used equipment you bought may be worth more than you paid. (due to new price increases)

 

[NikatKimber]

@Mad Professor
Is 1000rds/hr running your 1050, or is that with a 650?

My comment was not that it is worth reloading, it is. But rather that small volumes of steel cased equivalent blaster 9mm/.223 alone doesn't make it worth the time or investment.

 

[dennishoddy]

I'm of the same train of thought as the mad professor. I do it as a hobby, and love tuning the load to the gun.
In the old days, and maybe now, every time you changed the lot number on a factory load you had to go out and re sight the gun for fear that the load had changed, and in a lot of cases it did.
As stated before, I'm a fan of consistency in triggers, guns, loads with everything being the same. No surprises.

 

[Mad Professor]

@Mad Professor
Is 1000rds/hr running your 1050, or is that with a 650?

With the 650, I can assemble 1000rds in about 45-50 minutes, add another 15 minutes or so to case gauge them. Trying to do that twice back-to-back is a bit tougher. The 1050 is autodriven and I did a relaxing 2000rnd. All gauged, weighed, bagged, and even loaded 30 magazines at the same time, all in less than 2 hours. I'm running the machine at 1500rds/hr, but I would guess the yield is about 15% less due to stopping to fill powder and primers. I'm not really comfortable running it at the 2100-2400 speeds yet, but have processed brass at that.

 

[NikatKimber]

Is that with a case and bullet feeder?

The best single hour I ever ran on my 550 was just over 500, but that wasn't including staging everything, loading primer tubes, bullets, cases etc. That's why I figure a sustained average would be 250-300rds/hr.

 

[Mad Professor]

Is that with a case and bullet feeder?

.

Yes, case and bullet feeder on both.

 

[NikatKimber]

Crazy to think those double the loading rate. I know the auto-index helps some, but it alone surely doesn't affect the rate that much without adding a case and bullet feeder.

Indexing the plate is the easiest of the actions vs grabbing and placing a case or bullet.

Do you have powder/primer monitors also?

 

[Mad Professor]

Crazy to think those double the loading rate. I know the auto-index helps some, but it alone surely doesn't affect the rate that much without adding a case and bullet feeder.

Indexing the plate is the easiest of the actions vs grabbing and placing a case or bullet.

Do you have powder/primer monitors also?

I agree, the auto-index has minimal speed value until BOTH a case feeder and bullet feeder are used.

I use primer monitors, but not powder monitors. (Hopper or case) I use an aftermarket powder baffle on my 1050, so it still dispenses a uniform load when filled from 1/3-3/4 filled. The primer monitor also stops the operation so I don’t just rely on the buzzer.

I also use an automatic primer tube filler which helps on the sustained rate. It took a lot of work to get it to run reliably, but now works awesome. I may get a flipped primer every 3-4K now.