Tex good to hear from you!!!
Ive been reloading long enough now that i get so crabby looking at component pricing.
5k #41 primers about to cost me 400 bucks!!!
I think i paid like 150 last time i bought a case.
C’mon, MAN!
1 Like
Jack - YES, EXACTLY !!
It’s infuriating
1 Like
It’s still fun for me. I enjoy reloading as much as shooting. Maybe even a bit more.
1 Like
I started reloading in the early 80’s while i was in the army. Started with a tong tool i got at the western washington arms collector show in Puyallup wa. Did .38 special with the powder scoop.
Every reloader should have a set of dippers. These folks that prep for the zombie apocalypse with mountains of components wont be able to reload squat without their digital scales and auto powder measures.
I have not had occasion to use t just yet but I bought the Lee IPM set with the handy dandy slide chart. I did do a weight test and scooped some Hi Skor 700x and it was accurate enough, within .2gr +/-
Ha Haaa, You fell in my trap. I was waiting for someone to bring up mechanical scales. They are actually pretty awesome, the magnetic ones are especially accurate.
However, dippers are superior in a sense because scales contradict a very important tenet of reliability; The most reliable machine is the one with the least number of moving parts. Dippers have zero moving parts.
If the scale breaks down, the powder measure is practically useless if you cannot confirm the throw weight.
I use nothing digital but a set of calipers. Still using the same Rock Chucker I bought used from Friend back in 1984. Beam scale has never let me know. Prime on the old style Lee Auto- Prime and same powder drop as shown above. I have to say I’m probably past the 100k mark now all done on the same single stage press. I see no reason to change anything as I’m in no rush to crank them out on a progressive press.
I have the old 80s Rock Crusher as well as a Lee progressive. I hardly use the Lee since lots of moving parts = finicky and untrustworthy, plus, it’s takes the fun out of the hobby! I trust my reloads over the best factory ammo any day!
Reloaded on and off for years… now that ammo is cheap and primers are expensive, I’m running factory ammo and stocking up the brass buckets 
1 Like
Not 12ga target loads, not at 90-125 per case of 250 rds.
Fair enough. Haven’t been shooting much trap lately otherwise I’d have to dig out my old MEC from my parents’ basement. But mostly shooting 9mm these days and can’t argue with $0.24 a round. At that price it’s not worth me running a batch that would cost me closer to $0.18 a round. I’ll save those small pistol primers for when I need something oddball like .38 SPC or .45 GAP.
I hate .45 GAP! 
1 Like
Primer prices have been insane since the plandemic.
9mm is still cheaper to hand load by a few cents, id still rather the consistence of my hand loads at the range.
I also really enjoy reloading and the satisfaction of shooting it.
I shoot a lot of .223, and its about 40% cheaper to load even with the primer prices.
Keep in mind what youre comparing to, if your loading capabilities are accurate, your producing ammo that often costs MUCH more than “range pack” practice target ammo.
I put the micrometers on both my rifle and pistol drops…
Probably as accurate and repeatable as those scoops.
How much are SPPs today? I started buying them at the start of the plandemic. They were high and going up with SPPs very scarce. When I could get a chance at 5,000 CCI SPPS for under $300. I jumped!
It all depends on the powder in my experience. For Win 231, I use the Pro Auto Disc for nearly perfect repeatable drops. When using Win Autocomp, I find that the Auto Drum drops perfect loads also. If I switch them I get very mixed results.
SMALL PISTOL PRIMERS can be found at $75.00 per thousand now.
Is that the full price? Including shipping, tax and Hazmat?