Reloading; Prices on bullets only? help

4078 Views 24 Replies 17 Participants Last post by XDguru, Oct 28, 2013

XD 40 mike

Discussion Starter · May 8, 2005

I would like to start reloading for my 40, I went to 10 Ring, a reloading store right down the street and looked at everything I needed. My question is....

1. Where to get fairly cheap bullets for target/range. Cheapest I found so far online is 100 count of Winchesters' for $10's. That's only $5's less than buying a box of ready to fire WWB from Walmart. I had something alot cheaper in mind, everyone said reloading was rediclousely cheaper.

2. What to clean used casings with, and do I need to buy a tumbler, if so, where and how much are they for something pretty basic.

3. If casings are scratched on the sides, does this effect my weapon.

4. If casings are dented (very slightly) will the die on my press correct this, or are dented and dinged cases not suppose to be even used.

That's all I could think of right now, I forgot to ask the salesman while he was walking me through everything.

Thanks so much guys

1 - 20 of 25 Posts

SteveW1958

· #2 · May 8, 2005

1. Cabelas has Berry's plated for $13.50 per 250. Lead can be had for less.
2. A tumbler is the best way to clean your fired brass. Cabelas has some as do just about every one selling presses.
3 & 4. No dented will be fine. Crushed is another story.

Have fun you can save $ reloading but that is not only to load your own. I use mostly Dillon and have had great luck with it.

agalindo

· #3 · May 8, 2005

Berry's at Cabelas are what I use. You don't have to have a tumbler you can put the used cases in a buck with hot water, dishwashing soap, a vinegar mix them up for a while ater about 5 or ten minutes they come out nice and shiny. Scratched cases are OK as long as the scratches aren't deep. Slight dents will come out after resizing.

Snake-eater 1

· #4 · May 8, 2005

XD 40 mike said:
I would like to start reloading for my 40, I went to 10 Ring, a reloading store right down the street and looked at everything I needed. My question is....

1. Where to get fairly cheap bullets for target/range. Cheapest I found so far online is 100 count of Winchesters' for $10's. That's only $5's less than buying a box of ready to fire WWB from Walmart. I had something alot cheaper in mind, everyone said reloading was rediclousely cheaper.

2. What to clean used casings with, and do I need to buy a tumbler, if so, where and how much are they for something pretty basic.

3. If casings are scratched on the sides, does this effect my weapon.

4. If casings are dented (very slightly) will the die on my press correct this, or are dented and dinged cases not suppose to be even used.

That's all I could think of right now, I forgot to ask the salesman while he was walking me through everything.

Thanks so much guys

I get my bullets from TNT Reloading at pretty good prices. I do buy them at a gun show, so shipping is avoided, but still...
www.tntreloading.com

You might also try www.midwayusa.com as they often have a sale going on. You also can get a tumbler from Midway, $36.00 in the last sale. A tumbler cleans and shines at the same time, just plug it in for a couple of hours and you're done. Water based cleaning will work and is cheap, but not as efficient and you have to let the cases dry out.

Scratches and slight dents are fine. Cases with major dents should be avoided, as that affects internal capacity of the case and could cause excessive pressures when firing, depending on load and powder.

Oh, I used to buy a lot of bullets from National Bullet Company, but haven't for awhile. Sorry, don't have a URL handy, try Google. Their prices were good, but the shipping made them higher than TNT.

And remember, for most purposes (especially practice), plated bullets are just as good as FMJ and are a lot cheaper. Berry's and Ranier are the two more popular brands.

Good luck with your new hobby.

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tarheellefty

· #5 · May 8, 2005

Lead bullets are 3-4 cents each if you buy 1,000 at time. I pick mine up on vacation near where I grew up - a guy makes his living supplying local police depts w/ (lead) practice ammo. do a web search for mastercast bullet company in Enon valley PA. but lets be honest , a lead bullet is a lead bullet. best deals I've seen for bullets are at gun shows; the only worry(usually) is the hardness of the alloy. biggest thing is to avoid shipping charges. and buy large quantity- min 1k for primers and bullets; 5k will save even more. I ask and often get "out the door" (they cover tax) for 5k . thats 7% in NC. esp at end of show. Think "marginal cost pricing" - if the offer is above cost And they don't have to haul it out and to the next show, they are ahead. I don't beat sellers to death( I want them to stay in business and come to next show) , but the fact is I have enough of everything (usually ) to get me to the next show. I have strong memories of the Klinton years when ammo went WAY up ; thats why I reload now.
Sorry to ramble........

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XD 40 mike

Discussion Starter · #6 · May 9, 2005

Thanks for all the help guys.

The place over here (10 Ring) sell some hard cast lead bullets for $25 for 500 bullets. I knew I could get a better deal online somewhere. TNT was selling them for $36.95 for 1,000 (which is how many I want) but shipping is $20 which brings me to $50.

Which brings me back to buying them here loacaly for $25 for 500 at 2 boxes.

And Cabela's was $13.95 I think for 250 bullets.

Which again, $13.95 at 4 boxes brings me back to buying them here localy.

Oh well, guess I just have to bite the bullet on this one.

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SLCDave

· #7 · May 9, 2005

I'd also recommend looking at the next gun show.

I know a guy that uses an old ice cream maker for a tumbler. He got it at a thrift store for a couple bucks.

R/T Performance

· #8 · May 9, 2005

You will probally find you won't save any money!
Because you have 300-1000 rounds laying around so you shoot more.lol :lol:
Note buy small quanty to start to be sure feeding and shooting is good

Krackels

· #9 · Sep 30, 2013

You can go cheap on the cleaning cases by cleaning with hot water with a drop of liquid soap and some lemishine. Put used cases in a cleaned out plastic jar (a peanut butter jar works good) add hot liquid and shake vigorously for 45 seconds dump into a dollar store collander and rinse under hot water.

Dump the cases on an old (no longer used for food) cookie sheet and let dry in the oven set at 220 for 20 or so minutes depending in quantity.

Also, look for sales. I bought 2 calipers (frankford arsenal) for $10 each and picked up a tumbler for $20. I buy crushed walnut at the pet store for

Krackels

· #10 · Sep 30, 2013

:wtf:

Spammy_H

· #11 · Sep 30, 2013

One of the best places to buy reloading supplies is Powder Valley. Their prices are great.

Krackels

· #12 · Sep 30, 2013

R/T Performance said:
You will probally find you won't save any money!
Because you have 300-1000 rounds laying around so you shoot more.lol :lol:
Note buy small quanty to start to be sure feeding and shooting is good

+1
You only save money reloading if you shoot the same amount. Most of us shoot more at a cheaper cost.

fredj338

· #13 · Oct 1, 2013

XD 40 mike said:
I would like to start reloading for my 40, I went to 10 Ring, a reloading store right down the street and looked at everything I needed. My question is....

1. Where to get fairly cheap bullets for target/range. Cheapest I found so far online is 100 count of Winchesters' for $10's. That's only $5's less than buying a box of ready to fire WWB from Walmart. I had something alot cheaper in mind, everyone said reloading was rediclousely cheaper.

2. What to clean used casings with, and do I need to buy a tumbler, if so, where and how much are they for something pretty basic. A tumbler is nice, but cases only have to be clean not shiny.

3. If casings are scratched on the sides, does this effect my weapon. Nope

4. If casings are dented (very slightly) will the die on my press correct this, or are dented and dinged cases not suppose to be even used. Small dents will iron out on reloading or firing, no issue.

That's all I could think of right now, I forgot to ask the salesman while he was walking me through everything.

Thanks so much guys

Well you can't buy 100rds of loaded 40 for $15, so your math skills are lacking. Reloading i sridiculously less expensive, at least 50% of cheap factory. What many noobs miss is the case is the most expensive part & is reused a min of 10X, effectively making the case cost less than 1/2c if bought once fired in bulk.
You save very little buying components in small quantities like 100 bullets or 100 primers. Most of us buy on line, unless you have a good LGS. Buying in some bulk; 1K min bullets, 4# min powder & 5K min prmers, gets you 50% of factory ammo cost.

JustSomeGuy

· #14 · Oct 1, 2013

If you could still buy 1000rnds of 40cal for $150, I would love to know your source. I have been reloading for 50 years and certainly I can reload for about half of factory "practice" ammo, but 40cal will still cost me about 8-10 cents a round even buying components in bulk.

If you want inexpensive bullets then you are looking for lead. There are a lot of sources online for lead bullets, and if you buy enough of them... like 3000 or more at a time, then they usually pay shipping too. Try SNS Casting or any others you might like, but lead is still the least expensive way to shoot. Some powders smoke a lot with lead, and others hardly at all. The cooler burners are best, like True Blue, Silhouette, WSF, and a few others, with hot ones like TiteGroup being very smoky with lead.

willworkforammo

· #15 · Oct 1, 2013

May favorite lead bullets are from The Missouri Bullet co. Missouri Bullet Company

I shoot the IDP #4-XD (200gr RNFP) in my XD45c and they are awesome. The have some FP bullets in 40 S&W, but I've not heard which ones are best in an XD.

sundevil827

· #16 · Oct 1, 2013

fredj338 said:
Well you can't buy 100rds of loaded 40 for $15, so your math skills are lacking. Reloading i sridiculously less expensive, at least 50% of cheap factory. What many noobs miss is the case is the most expensive part & is reused a min of 10X, effectively making the case cost less than 1/2c if bought once fired in bulk.
You save very little buying components in small quantities like 100 bullets or 100 primers. Most of us buy on line, unless you have a good LGS. Buying in some bulk; 1K min bullets, 4# min powder & 5K min prmers, gets you 50% of factory ammo cost.

Just a question, but could buy that many in May of 2005 which is the date on the post you are quoting?

Krackels

· #17 · Oct 1, 2013

Heck I still have 2,000+ bullets to load and I think I should buy more.

71Chevrolet

· #18 · Oct 2, 2013

If you order from Berrys spend over $75 and shipping is free. Just a thought.

fredj338

· #19 · Oct 2, 2013

sundevil827 said:
Just a question, but could buy that many in May of 2005 which is the date on the post you are quoting?

I am not sure you could even buy 100rds of 40 for $15 back then & bullets were cheaper. Thx for being the watchdog, someone has to be anal enough to do it.
Point, unless you buy poorly, you can reload equiv factory ammo for 50% of any dated cheap factory ammo. There, does that make sense?

Mercmar

· #20 · Oct 2, 2013

I'm not going to read through all the posts, but I'd assume that somebody suggested that the OP get a couple of reloading manuals.

I'd also suggest that the OP post a link to any Wal-Mart 100-rd box of .45ACP for $15.

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