If anyone has any IMR 4451 they'd be willing to sell, I'd like to find some.
.300 Blackout brass is all trimmed and ready for primers.
how much of a rabbit hole is reloading? looking to start once i get some time under my new bolt gun chambered in 6.5 creedmoor.
There is no bottom. At least not that I have found.
A decent press, standard FL dies, once fired brass, a good bullet and some time, you will be able to out perform most factory ammo just by finding something your specific rifle likes.
Your initial cost of everything is going to make you stroke out, but if you look at it like a hobby and not a means to just produce ammo, it's not as bad. One of my work shooting buddies started up right before rona hit. He's a prepper and wanted a means to produce ammo should factory just dry up. We went cheap on everything, spent weeks searching for used stuff to just be able to produce a round that went bang and would hit a 10" target at 100 yards. He got started for around 150 bucks as he used his own brass, but he's not loading ammo that will shoot any better or worse than factory stuff. Just loading as a means to have it if needed. I don't recommend this route. You will just chase your tail and frustrate yourself trying to make your rifle shoot.
I found 100 rounds of .300 PRC Match ammo for 2.38 a round. My initial investment of tools to load it was about 350-400 dollars. My first loads were 3.30 a round and the second go around will be 2.30 a round. That didn't include the stuff I already had to handload, that was just dies and tools for that round.
With 6.5 Creedmoor, you can be prepared to spend around 400 dollars on the initial startup to load 100 rounds of ammo. That is a ton of factory ammo you could have bought and not spent all the hours. Not trying to discourage you at all with that. Most people handload to do what factory ammo wont in their weapons.
Last edited:
If you're doing it to save money, don't bother. If it's for accuracy and you stick to just one or two different chamberings, then it's not too bad if you have the time. Tough time to start since everything is going for top dollar, but is coming back down. I'd suggest getting a lee classic single stage package so all you need are the dies (including trim), powder, bullets and primers. Lee gets a bad rap around these parts, but comes with everything needed to start out. The deburr and primer pocket tools were the only thing that I thought sucked so purchased the Lyman vld trimmer and primer tool.
I used to tell my friends that they'd make their money back after reloading about 1K rounds of rifle ammo in a basic setup.
The problem is that you start to look for ways to shoot and reload more...thereby making reloading hugely more expensive than just buying ammo off the shelves.
I got into it because I wanted more accuracy. I'm into it with both feet now because I know that no factory rounds will ever be put together with more care and precision than what I can create.
The end result is that I have developed an obsession with testing everything. Even my pistol rounds are tailored to each gun.
It is a slippery slope.
The guys who are actually into the "fun" of reloading get way more enjoyment out of it than the guys just doing it to save money.
^ There's a support group for the former.
The problem is that you start to look for ways to shoot and reload more...thereby making reloading hugely more expensive than just buying ammo off the shelves.
I got into it because I wanted more accuracy. I'm into it with both feet now because I know that no factory rounds will ever be put together with more care and precision than what I can create.
The end result is that I have developed an obsession with testing everything. Even my pistol rounds are tailored to each gun.
It is a slippery slope.
The guys who are actually into the "fun" of reloading get way more enjoyment out of it than the guys just doing it to save money.
^ There's a support group for the former.
This is exactly why I load everything other than 9mm carry ammo and shotgun. Just your basic 9mm 124 FMJ, I can load it with care and more consistency than match factory ammo. I'm also not shooting 1000's of rounds and have the time to load it.
There is a yuge since of pride knowing you made it yourself too.
My Berger 205 Elite Hunters arrived today. Seller threw in 7 dummy rounds he used for setting up dies. Virgin Lapua brass and 7 of the 205's.
Stored the Lapua and used my Hornady x1 fired brass and made some foulers with 80 grains of LTR.
Stored the Lapua and used my Hornady x1 fired brass and made some foulers with 80 grains of LTR.
Just finished loading up 50 rounds of 38spl wadcutters for plinking.
