Help finding .45 ACP

[sracatback]

How many rounds are you looking for ?

as many as i can get. i would like to start shooting at least once a week and it would be nice to have a back up supply just in case.

 

[blackknight22]

I have some 45 ammo that I can make you a good deal on. If your interested send me your contact info in a pm.

as many as i can get. i would like to start shooting at least once a week and it would be nice to have a back up supply just in case.

 

[NikatKimber]

Unless you are SERIOUSLY mechanically challenged, reloading should not be an issue.

If budget is an issue, you can get into the Lee Turret Kit like this, for $110 that includes everything but dies (caliber specific), shell plates (also caliber specific), and the reloading components (cases, bullets, powder and primers). All of which are far more available than large quantities of .45 acp ammo.

To buy a thousand rounds of .45 acp loaded, you're looking at $350+ (best I can tell in a few moments of searching).
For the reloading setup,
$110 - Lee Press
$37 - Lee Carbide Die set w/ shell plate
$144 - 1000ct Montana Gold 185gr JHP bullets
$65 - 1000ct fired brass from Grafs
$16 - 1 lb Bullseye powder (you wouldn't have to use this one, just a possibility)
$30 - 1000ct CCI Large Pistol Primers

~$400, and then you've got the press, dies, and 1000 pieces of .45 brass that can be reused ~2-3 more times. So the next 1k rounds should cost you less than $200. Try beating THAT for loaded ammunition!

 

[NikatKimber]

Oh, and forgot to mention, if you don't mind shooting lead bullets as opposed to jacketed, then you can buy 1000 lead 230 gr round nose bullets from J&K bullets there in OKC for $70, which would save you ~$75 per K.

 

[Perplexed]

So the next 1k rounds should cost you less than $200. Try beating THAT for loaded ammunition!

What price do you put on your time spent reloading, though? Some people may not want to invest even an hour in the reloading process

 

[NikatKimber]

Well, considering I usually reload in the time I would otherwise spend on here (OSA) or watching TV, nothing.

But it's a good question. On that press, with a little practice, 100 rounds an hour would be easy, maybe 200. So looking at 5-10 hours to reload 1k. So, at 10 hours, that makes your time worth $10-15 / hr, depending on whether you want Jacketed or Lead bullets.

 

[Perplexed]

Well, considering I usually reload in the time I would otherwise spend on here (OSA) or watching TV, nothing.

But it's a good question. On that press, with a little practice, 100 rounds an hour would be easy, maybe 200. So looking at 5-10 hours to reload 1k. So, at 10 hours, that makes your time worth $10-15 / hr, depending on whether you want Jacketed or Lead bullets.

I'm guessing that experienced reloaders can run the risk of watching TV or browsing the Net while they reload, but for newbies (like me), focusing solely on the reloading process would be wise. If it takes 5-10 hours to reload 1K rounds of ammo, I'd probably be willing to fork out an extra $150 bucks to get factory ammo.

IMHO, reloading is the way to go when dealing with oddball calibers that aren't easy to find - like 6.5 Swedish and 7.5 Swiss, or pricey rounds like 6.8 SPC or buckshot shells. Otherwise, I and probably a good number of others would rather save our time, especially if we're not competitive shooters.

Good breakdown of the costs, though. I'd wondered what sort of savings I could realize by reloading, excluding the time invested.

 

[NikatKimber]

oh no, i don't watch tv or anything, i was saying that if i WASN'T reloading, I still wouldn't be earning money.

 

[338Shooter]

I can reload 9mm and save about 90 dollars per 1000 over the walmart federal. Plus my rounds are subsonic so they work better with my silencer. Factory subsonic I save a large amount of money. Plus number 2, my rounds are of higher quality than the federal red box.

Also, if I wasn't reloading I wouldn't be doing anything else either so my time is free.

 

[NikatKimber]

Ok, now I'm back on a computer and not my phone.

Well, it's up to each person, but for me, aside from quality, $100-150 per week for an hour or two a weeknight is well worth it. Besides, I enjoy reloading in the first place. To me it's like getting paid to do what I want to do anyways.

And, that's figuring on a manual index, turret set up (which is how I would recommend running while learning pistol). With the auto indexing on the Lee, if you have the components ready and waiting, you could load ~250 an hour. If you decide reloading is what you want to do long term, set the savings aside for a year, and buy a Dillon or Hornady auto indexing progressive, and load that 1k in two, two and a half hours. Then you'd be comparing your time to $50 / hr. Not bad.