Reloading or 22

[kitsapcharly]

I'd like to take up reloading for centerfire in 45 and 380 BUT the cost of components is holding me off. I figured out exactly what was to buy for eqiupmen and set out to decide on bullets, primers and powder. The bullets stopped me in my tracks. Seemed like they were made of gold. I can't afford the damned bullets.
The only remedy likely to come from experienced reloaders is casting my own bullets...buy more stuff. My shooting is often at an indoor range where lead fumes from plain lead bullets are very unhealthy...many places are starting to ban anything that isn't jacketed or plated. Maybe there's equipment for plating or even jacketing at home...just buy more stuff.
Wish I could reload for my beloved 45 but it will probably only little direct practice. A 22 is on its way. Won't be as good as practice with the carry gun and ammo but a lot of practice with something and a few shots with the real thing is better than just a few shots with the real thing alone.
Only remedy that comes to mind would be something like bullets made of a plastic binder that can stand the heat and something like a fine sand or some such as a filler. This could be cast or swaged and plated over with copper.
At any rate lead is too expensive to buy and too expensive to keep messing with. Something new is overdue.

[Bullet Boy]

Let me know when you find a new solution. We might even should get a patten on it. We could be rich and afford to shoot what ever we want.

I found reloading to be cheaper. But messing with casting lead is dangerous.

[John4538]

Shooting lead bullets does not generate lead fumes from bullets. I suspect your local range wants you to buy their rounds. Lead fumes come from the primers when they detonate. Now i guess one could say that the explosive powder against the base of the lead bullet will cause the lead to vaporize. Maybe, but that lead compound in the primer is by far producing more lead vapors than that bullet by a long shot. A poorly ventilated range will cause hell with your lead levels in your blood. I only shoot at outdoor ranges for that reason.

All that residue you see on the benches and floors of that range with poor ventilation is powder and primer residue, highly contaminated with lead compounds.

[mhillsing23]

Reloading .45 won't get you anywhere near as cheap as plinking with .22, but it can and will save you money on your .45 ammo. I have been shopping for reloading gear for months, and it is easy to get caught up in the gear race and determine that you can't get started for under $1K. That isn't reality. You can get started on the cheap. Search hard and read a lot. Do the math, and consider buying components in bulk. Reloading will save money, if you shoot a fair amount.

[Edubya]

If you're not gonna shoot your .45 more than 50 rounds a week, it'll take a long time to recover the costs, but ultimately your press will pay for itself then you can sell it for a good price.
I enjoy building loads and learning more about it everyday. I shoot a hundred or so .22 every week to practice trigger control, enjoy that also. I'll shoot twice as many center fire and I load 'em all. If you get into it, you'll be wanting a chronograph and a lot more time to shoot. Then you'll see that you can save big bucks by buying larger amounts. I buy a case at a time (3,000 + bullets) and usually have someone to split the case with. I buy powder by the bulk (8 lbs) and pistol primers by the case (10,000). Every 3,000 to 5,000 bullets I save enough to buy the Dillon 500. It's a never ending cycle, so don't do it if you're not serious about it.

[Edubya]

Oh, BTW, look to see how many "used presses' are available... not many that get into it want to turn them lose. They will usually be in estate sales or somebody that has over-extended their financial means. That speaks volumes of the hobby.

[fredj338]

The biggest savings in reloading is your brass case. Bullets prices vary quite a bit but best savings in all your components comes from buying in bulk. That's at least 1K bullets, 5K primers & 4# jug of powder. Yes the initial outlay seems a lot, but what would 1K 45 cost, or worse, 1K 380.
If you are only shooting 50rds each a month, buy factory ammo in bulk & be happy, but I would buy a single stage press kit & roll my own for 1/2 of factory ammo cost. You can do 50rds in a leisurely 75min. So 1.5hrs loading each week keeps you shooting & for half the cost after your equip. is paid for.

[kitsapcharly]

Originally Posted by John4538

Shooting lead bullets does not generate lead fumes from bullets. I suspect your local range wants you to buy their rounds. Lead fumes come from the primers when they detonate. Now i guess one could say that the explosive powder against the base of the lead bullet will cause the lead to vaporize. Maybe, but that lead compound in the primer is by far producing more lead vapors than that bullet by a long shot. A poorly ventilated range will cause hell with your lead levels in your blood. I only shoot at outdoor ranges for that reason.

All that residue you see on the benches and floors of that range with poor ventilation is powder and primer residue, highly contaminated with lead compounds.

No, the range I've been to doesn't care what you shoot and isn't pushing reloads as far as I know. Apparently lead worries are growing and some other places are requiring jackets or plating. Required jacketing may be the coming thing. Asto lead from primer and powder residue I never even heard of that before but there are likely to be alternative chemistries and I'd like to see the manufacturers fix that. Maybe some small company could get innovative on us and make something healthier.

[atmiller]

I've taken up both this last year. I reload 9mm, 40, 45, and 50 AE, and I've been shooting .22 more. I shoot several hundred rounds of these reloads a week, and 500+ .22 a week. My Ruger 22/45 bull barrel seems to match the feel of my XDs closest.

[kitsapcharly]

Originally Posted by Edubya

Oh, BTW, look to see how many "used presses' are available... not many that get into it want to turn them lose. They will usually be in estate sales or somebody that has over-extended their financial means. That speaks volumes of the hobby.

You can probably guess from my looking into it that I'm interested and would probably like to reload. Okay, I know this is something interesting and pretty well worked out what gear would be nice to have and use. Looked at presses and dies and so on firstbut when it came to components the bullets slowed me down to pretty much stopping point.
Talk about stopping power! Maybe I should try reloading 25 instead of 45...no, I haven't even priced that but due to low sales they probably sell that for too much too.
Presses and things will last forever more or less it's the disposables that are making me waver. One day I'm about to order up and the next I'm thinking that my economic condition isn't very good and this makes no sense. I've gotten carried away spending before. Enough books to open a book store and bamboo fly rods enough to open a store selling those too...then there are the cameras when I thought Ansel Adams would want me to gear up with big cameras...but I digress. Trying to spend three apples when you only have two never worked out very well before.
I'm not really sure whether I'll take the plunge or not. I hate to tote around guns that I rarely shoot and only shoot guns that I would hate to have to tote. Dark thoughts! That's entirely the wrong way to go about CCW...about like watching races on television and deciding that now you're ready to take over the wheel. There's so much wrong with doing things that way.
I still may go ahead and do it or not or maybe. What I said though up above still seems like a good idea that should be explored by those with the necessary expertise. A core of something cheap surrounded by a layer of lead or something soft enough to take the rifling and copper plating over the outside. Perhaps the core could be suspended from a thin copper wire through the hind end into a pot of lead then swaged into good shape and copper plated to prevent leading bores. Chances are something like this has already been done somewhere. Wish somebody from a bullet company would be reading this or someone here would tell them to try something like this...I assume some of you may know somebody. Maybe some version of the MIM process could make cores in quantity?
I've rambled on enough. Happy shooting and thanks to all who have read this and responded with suggestions.