what do i need to reload my own ammo?

Question

i own a 30-06 and i cant afford buying ammo at retail stores and i realy dont want to buy ammo off the internet so i need to know what would i need to buy to reload my old brass casings

Answer 1

I started not to answer this one, but, with some of the other TERMINALLY ASININE remarks elsewhere, I just HAD to.....
As to basic equipment, there are several basic starter combo kits by RCBS, Lee, Lyman, and others, that have all the gear to get you started.
Whether or not you are getting manuals in a kit along with equipment, before you resize your first case, go to a shop that deals in reloading supplies, or you can order them over the net, but buy AT LEAST one (MORE IS BETTER) reloading manual that describes the procedure of reloading in detail and READ IT!
I have been reloading for over 35+ years, and have manuals from RCBS, Speer, Sierra, Hodgdon, and Hornady, among others, most of which are older than posters on this forum, and I NEVER rely on memory when reloading even my most favorite loads. This is after WELL over half a million reloads! (I quit trying to guesstimate the number YEARS ago!)
Take it from an ol' timer, BUY the books & USE 'em! They will tell you EVERYTHING you need to know!

P.S: One of the Ten Commandments of Reloading:

"Alcohol and Powder DO NOT MIX!"

When you reload, be STONE COLD SOBER!

http://www.midwayusa.com/
http://www.gunbroker.com/
http://www.loaddata.com/

Answer 2

Minimum equipment list for reloading .30-06:
Single stage press
Reloading dies
Powder
Primers
Bullets
Empty cases.
Good reloading manual

When you price all these items, you will see that the investment is not cheap. After the equipment is used awhile, you will begin to make money reloading. The more you reload, the more you save.
In other words until the equipment is paid for, the boxes of ammo will be expensive, but after that the cost of components brings down the cost of a box to about 1/3 retail.
If you experiment with various loads, you can find one that works perfect in you rifle.
The guy who said it is not worth it has probably never reloaded a round in his life.
Shotgun shells are a different story though because you can buy them for $3-$4 box at Wal-Mart. The only advantage to reloading shotgun shells is you can tailor them to your gun.

Answer 3

That is the first time I ever heard of a crimping machine? my guess is he was talking about a reloading press. And Primers come in boxes of 100 not 50. And bullets for over a dollar apiece? Not in my budget. Perhaps the custom ones but Sierra makes excellent bullets. Many other good bullet companies too. Lee dies are the way to go. And their press's are about $15 for a C press. If you go to gun shows you can pick up used reloading equipment for half price. Heck Lee will give you a press if you buy their reloading manual. You can even cast your own bullets and shoot for just the powder and primer. Stick to moderate loads and you can load those cases a half a dozen times. And like the fellow said just neck size them. Except when I am making serious hunting loads I full length size them just to make sure and then only use them for plinking loads after that.
I have been loading for 40 yrs and love it.

Answer 4

Ive been loading for 20+ years. This is what I use (just for rifle cartridges) 1. one single stage press, mine is rcbs and its the jr. model 2. one digital scale, mine is a pact 3. one caliper 4. one Stoney point over all length gage and shell for 308 winchester 5. some type of case lube 6. one tumbler, mine is dillon and 2nd is a off brand. You will only need one though. 7. last you will need dies. I have used and own all different brands, dillon, rcbs, hornady,lyman, redding and lee.
out of all of these I like the lees the best just because they are cheeper with out sacrificing quaility, and get the job done, at half the price of most.
Now on your dies, if you are shooting from from just one bolt action 30-06 rifle, you can use a neck sizer that will extend the life of your brass and the shell will be fire formed for that rifles chamber giving you custom chamber results.

You should also buy two or more load manuals, I have Lee, and Lyman as well as one (free of charge but you may have to ask for them when you buy your powder) from every powder company I use. You should read these before beginning to reload as it will give you greater understanding of what you are doing and the precision involved.

Its a fun hobby and very additive. I have guns that have never fired a factory round. and have bought guns just because the cartridge looked fun to experment with.

Its not difficult to do but just play it safe and stick to the data in the manual.

Answer 5

Okay, the truth is that you can use your old brass. Don't listen to that other guy, he hasn't a clue. The only time you cannot re-use the brass is when it is cracked or when the brass has been reloaded too many times...usually two reloadings is max...sometimes 3.

If you cant afford a $14.99 box of rounds from Wal-Mart you aren't going to be able to afford this reloading idea for a while. RCBS dies are $30-50, bullets can be anywhere from $10-50 per 50 bullets. You already have your brass...but you need some way to clean that brass. So you need a tumbler as well as the polishing grits. You also need the crimping machine that is the base of the operation. These can be as cheap as $120 for a cheap one...but thats dirt cheap. Then you have the primers, they're pretty cheap though...less than $20 for 50. When you add this up, you are talking at least $160!! After the money is all said and done, then you have to think about the time that will go into these rounds. You have to tweak the headspace and seating depth for your particular chamber and barrel. This all takes a tremendous amount of time. No one ever gets it right the first time. I know that this is NOT what you want to hear, but this is the truth. I tried reloading a few years back and it was not worth it for me...not to mention, I wasn't getting smaller groups at the range. I hope this helps.

Answer 6

Load Your Own Ammo

Answer 7

all you need is a lee classic loader $15.95 from midway usa or $7 to $10 used from a gun show or shop. its a 3 1/2 x 5 1/2 inch box with every thing you need to reload 1 caliber except for powder, bullets & primers it will come with instructions for which powders you can use so get the loader before you buy your other supplys. use the cheapest 150 gr. hunting bullets from sierra, speer, or hornady. any of them will work fine in 30-06. I started reloading with 1 more than 40 yrs ago & wish I had stayed with them instead of the whole room full of dies & presses I have now. with a lee loader & a plastic hammer you can load ammo as good as anybody after you try a few experiments to see which load your gun likes best. have fun!

Answer 8

Well, I do a lot of reloading. Both rim fire and shotgun shells. Depending on how you go about buying your equipment-you can expect to invest at least several hundred just for the minimum equipment. Does not include basic supplies. Bullets, powder, etc.

I enjoy doing it—takes time of course. However I do a lot of shooting. Depending on how much you shoot-or intend to shoot-just price out what you need-.run the numbers see if it saves you enough. Factoring in the time it takes.

Bass Pro and Cabelas both have really good shooting supply catalogues with reloading kits you can reference.

Answer 9

Hope this helps!

Answer 10

Powder, primers, powder scales and bullets. Might look in ebay for a press and a 30.06 die for it.