Cheap reloads - handgun

[GF.]

If you were buying yourself a handgun and wanted to be able to shoot in pretty good volume without costing an arm and a leg....

A .38 Spcl seems like an obvious choice, but the new .327 Fed Mag handles a lot of classic, mild-mannered handgun cartridges as well - so long as they start with .32 and don't end with 'auto'. Smaller, lighter bullets ought to cost less to buy, ship and launch down-range, no? Less powder, less lead.....

But just taking a quick look at the new Mid-South catalog that thumped onto the doorstep the other day.... It looks like a guy could shoot just about as cheaply with a .38, and of course the cheap factory loads are far easier to come by in .38, plus you have the versatility of .357 mag loads if you have the sense to buy the .357 in the first place...

And - last thought - would there be enough difference in recoil that the .32s would be a significantly better choice for learning/teaching someone else - a youngster, let's say - to shoot a handgun?

What say ye?

[Bushman]

If you follow that line of thinking .410's and 28 gauge ammunition should cost less than 12 gauge. Taint so as mass production trumps smaller and lighter. Get the .357 if you want a big boomer and feed it .38 Specials for plinking. If you want to conceal it, I'd just get the .38 Special smaller frame model. I sold my S&W M66 .357 because it was one noisy medium size handgun. Not big or accurate enough with a 4" barrel for deer hunting and that K frame was too big to stuff in a pocket. M60 J frame .38 Special for pocket stuffing and a M629 .44 Magnum for hunting or targets has been a better choice for me.

I haven't priced 32-20 ammunition, but if it is anything like the 25-20 ammunition that I feed my M92, inexpensive it isn't.

[GF.]

That's where the reloading comes in; mass production and economies of scale go out the window when it's just parts that you're paying for..... But sometimes when the parts are hugely mass-produced (just the bullets in this case, I suppose, but once you own the brass, that has to be the worst of it, no?).

I suppose the slicker answer for factory loadings is a .357/.38Spcl/9mm convertible; that way, you can buy whatever's on sale cheap... For target shooting, I'd think a .44 Spcl would make for pretty expensive plinking, but the two most expensive guns you'll own are #1, the one you never actually shoot and #2, the one that you had to buy just to get into cheaper ammo.

[bill m]

You said it. Reload. Then it really doesn't matter.

[Alan R McDaniel Jr]

GF, A .357 of some persuasion shooting 38 Spl, after the initial investment in equipment and with some attention to "good deals" will produce ammo very cheaply. I have had my reloading equipment for 37 years (or thereabouts), I cast my own bullets (I've got several sources of free lead and I scrounge all I can), my son got 8#s of 800X and 700X for the price of saying "ok, I'll take it" (then he gave it to me) and I already had more Bullseye than I can shoot up, and all the guys I know save their brass for me (or did until they decided to start reloading for themselves). I produce 38 Spl and 357 Mag ammo for the price of primers and my time (which I call Therapy). At 4 cents a pop, I can shoot a lot before the cost of ammo starts to be a factor in my shooting bill.

Now I will say that by the time I'm finished casting, lubing, sizing, cleaning, resizing, depriming/flaring, priming, loading, seating, cleaning, and boxing up 500 rounds, my eagerness to burn them up has diminished somewhat. I tend to let them sit for a while until the memory of how much work was involved fades a bit. Then I shoot them all up. I have three sons that help me in this activity so it goes much quicker than the loading process.

Alan

[Badger]

GF,

I agree with Alan, cast your bullets and reload if you want to cut costs for handgun reloads. I cast all my handgun loads. I scrounge wheelweights and shoot for about 3 cents per round. Blast on!

Badger

[Alan R McDaniel Jr]

I reload all my ammunition except shotgun and 22 lr. I cast .357 144 gr WC and 158 gr RNFP, .308 150 gr FP and 165 gr RN with Gas Checks, .323 175 gr RN with Gas Checks and .452 185 gr SWC and 250 gr RNFP, 36 cal and 45 cal balls. I load the ball with a mild load after I run them through the sizer. I seat them in the case neck on the flat side and give them the barest crimp. They have zero recoil and are a lot of fun to shoot. Cheap too cause they don't use up a lot of lead. I also take 357 Maximum cases and run them far enough up into a 30 carbine size die to form a neck that will chamber in the 357 mag cylinder. I load 2 gr Bullseye and stack a double layer of cardboard box wads on top of it. I fill the case with #6 shot and tap it tight to the top. I cap it off with a .30 cal gas check and crimp the rim over the gas check. After the first shot I don't even need to resize them again. These make excellent snake or rat loads. I have tried the little shot caps but the way I do it throws a nice tight pattern. Never had one single snake or rat ask for their money back.

Reloading is a lot of fun and can save a person who shoots a moderate amount a lot of money. I've been loading on my own since I was 14 and wouldn't dream of going straight factory. Back in the Pre-Obama world when .308 Win and 30-30 ammo was $8.00 a box at Academy I would buy two or three boxes every time I went in the store because it was almost as cheap as I could reload. I haven't seen a green box of either on the shelf for any price for the last two years. Oh well. I'm glad I'm somewhat self sufficient. I looked into how primers were made once and it seems like a good way for the average guy to get some skin grafts. I'll stick with buying them for now, but someday I'm going to get a swage make jacketed bullets. Oh someday!

Alan