Great ammo deal ... retirement stash.

Status
Not open for further replies.
Waveski

Waveski

Member
Joined
Jan 28, 2014
Messages
3,176
Location
43 north
I'll be retiring soon , so I have been looking towards building up a good supply of ammunition in the interest of shooting more as I have more time but less $$$. (Hopefully there will be a good long time...)
I got wind of a guy who has been reloading , is also retiring , and is liquidating a lot of stuff which he does not wish to haul around in a mobile home. He had quantities of .38 special 158 gr wadcutters , and 115 grain 9mm for sale. Seemed like a trustworthy guy , retired military , organized , etc. I asked what he would take to clean out the remainder of his stash ; 1,800 rounds of .38 wadcutters , and 1,500 rounds of 9mm. We settled at --- $425. $425 , for 3,300 total rounds combined calibers. Comes to about 0.128 per round.
Tested the ammo , results were quite satisfactory. Very consistent , slightly on the mild side. Easy to put on target, no feed or eject issues.

There are those who say that you should never shoot reload other than your own , but I am very pleased. Don't know when I'll fall into a deal like that again ... probably never.

Yesterday was a good day.
 
If you trust him and have tested the loads why not.
The price is ok. Works out to just over $5 per box
 
I'd like to watch him at the reloading bench for a bit. That would tell me if I got a good deal or not.
 
Waveski said:
1,800 rounds of .38 wadcutters , and 1,500 rounds of 9mm. We settled at --- $425. $425 , for 3,300 total rounds combined calibers. Comes to about 0.128 per round.
Tested the ammo , results were quite satisfactory. Very consistent , slightly on the mild side.

Yesterday was a good day.
Click to expand...

Good price per round for .38, not much of a deal for 9mm, this compared to bulk major manufacturer. Sounds like it was a good day for both of you. As for shooting someone else's reloads, if you trust the guy, go for it. I personally wouldn't go for reloads from an unknown source, as in "I got wind of a guy who has been reloading", and I reload myself. But, your guns, your choice.

Enjoy and shoot safe.
 
I used to shoot my buddies reloads, but then I knew him pretty well and I watched him reload.

If I don't know what powder was used or how much I would have to pass, but that's just me.

Enjoy.
 
Retirement ammo and component stash is a very good idea. Been there done that, accumulated what I estimated to be about 10 years worth circa 2004. Turned out to be about my best performing retirement asset :)

Having retired a bit over four years ago, I may have been a bit low on my 10 year needs estimate, but I sure am having fun!

The suggestion to start reloading yourself is a very good one. Stock up when bullets, primers, and powder is on sale. Same with ammo. Don't forget about .22lr which is a lot of fun, more so after you've been retired and the joints can't take the pounding you used to pay no attention to :(

.22 ammo prices are just starting to return to sanity so now is about the best time to think about stocking up since before 2012
 
Waveski

I started reloading soon after I bought my first centerfire revolver, a Charter Arms Undercover. It was fun back then and it's still fun, rewarding, and a relatively inexpensive way to keep yourself in ammo for some time into the future. Definitely something to keep you busy in your retirement years.
 
Waveski wrote:
There are those who say that you should never shoot reload other than your own...
Click to expand...

I'm one of them.

I reload for myself, my wife, my two sons and my father. They have all known me long enough to have either gained confidence in my abilities (or learned to reload from me, so that they have no reason to doubt that I can produce a serviceable round).

Still, I suppose that if I came across someone who had "cradle to grave" or, maybe, "decapper to seater" records, I would probably also take the risk. Sounds like you got a pretty good deal.

In preparation for my own retirement, I laid in enough components to see me through the rest of my life. I keep everything at the component level (i.e. processed primed cases, bullets and powder) so that my wife can more readily dispose of anything I don't load and shoot.
 
I am another one that would not trust anothers reloads unless they were reaaaly close to me and I had been working with them for years. The old story of you do not know what you don't know until you learn more sure applies here.You may have lucked into a great deal OR we may hear of your untimely passing or life changing injury due to them. I know MY reloads are better than factory with no hiccups for 30+ years now but I'll still not sell them to anyone as I do not want the liability of a possible problem in the future. If you can make the decision to get into reloading for yourself you will ALWAYS be better off IMHO.
 
BSA1 said:
Did he tell you what the powder is and how much he put in the case?
Click to expand...
The 9mm powder was Winchester 231 , 4.2 gr. 115 gr fmj , chrono 1030.
.38 sp. wadcutter load was same powder , 3.4 grains , chrono 760.

I will give consideration to reloading as a retirement project.
As to .22 , I've been stocking that caliber for the later years as well , currently a bit shy of 10,000 rounds. I should beef that up while supply is plentiful. My go-to is CCI Mini Mag.
 
hdwhit said:
I'm one of them.

I reload for myself, ...........

In preparation for my own retirement, I laid in enough components to see me through the rest of my life. I keep everything at the component level (i.e. processed primed cases, bullets and powder) so that my wife can more readily dispose of anything I don't load and shoot.
Click to expand...
This is my thought. Though I should say that is my plan for retirement. I have 20 years to go.
 
I agree accumulating ammo for retirement is a great idea.

I started accumulating about 10 years ago. My retirement is now only a short twenty years from now. ;-)
 
Waveski said:
I will give consideration to reloading as a retirement project.
Click to expand...
I regret two things in my years of enjoying the shooting sports. The first is not getting into the sport earlier. The second is not getting into reloading earlier.

I really enjoy it now that I've started loading my own. I haven't saved a dime, because you need to buy in bulk when sales are going on, but I have a lot more ammo on hand now, which means more shooting, and there is something fun about developing your own loads.

The folks in the Hand Loading and Reloading section on THR are a very welcoming and helpful lot.
 
While many may poo-poo the idea, a lot of those same folks will buy "remanufactured" ammo, which nothing more than reloaded ammo from a "company". I have before and it has all gone bang exactly the way it was supposed to. Sounds like you got a decent deal; probably should have bought his reloading gear as well.
 
George P said:
While many may poo-poo the idea, a lot of those same folks will buy "remanufactured" ammo, which nothing more than reloaded ammo from a "company". I have before and it has all gone bang exactly the way it was supposed to. Sounds like you got a decent deal; probably should have bought his reloading gear as well.
Click to expand...
And some of us won’t touch that stuff with a ten foot poll. But we will encourage others to do as they feel best.

Personally, I am at a point that most of my ammo is what I’ve loaded. (I still have some factory that I bought, but I’m not buying more just components)
 
I would probably not have even investigated an ammo sale from another reloader. BUT, it sounds like the gentleman was organized and I think it bodes well he was not pushing the pressure limits. Those are very reasonable loads that reflects someone who loaded for his own shooting enjoyment long term, and not looking to have the hottest, baddest load.

If you want an extra measure of safety you might use an electronic scale to weigh each cartridge (cheap Frankford Armory is good enough for this, $20?). After 50 or so cartridges, determine a max-min weight and mean average. Just from bullet and case variance I would not expect more than +/- 2.0 grains variance, if that much. Weigh 100-200 more and see how many fall outside of that range from the mean and set them aside. Pull the bullet on a few of each over and under weight to see if the powder charge is the same as an average one.

If you have very few outliers and the charge is consistent (meaning the variance is from the bullet and/or case) then you are probably good to go. You could weigh all of them just to see if you get any other more dramatic outliers. But, if you find some outliers with under/over charges of powder then you definitely want to weigh them all and set aside all outliers for disassembly.
 
Been retired for a few years (it is wonderful!!) I reload because I enjoy it and to keep costs down. I make a game of finding components and tools at bargain prices or free, like scrounging discarded range brass. Also, most of my shooting is with cast bullets which saves a lot. I've bought other people's reloads if I know them well and have had no problems. This approach lets me stock up on the stuff I can't make or reuse, like powder and primers.

An increasing part of my shooting is with black powder guns. Save by buying the powder in bulk, make your own felt wads for revolvers and BP cartridges, cut and lube patches, etc. Making your own accessories can be part of the hobby.The pace is slow so even a full day of shooting is inexpensive but very satisfying.

Jeff
 
Waveski said:
The 9mm powder was Winchester 231 , 4.2 gr. 115 gr fmj , chrono 1030.
.38 sp. wadcutter load was same powder , 3.4 grains , chrono 760.
Click to expand...

We shot 1,000 rounds of 9mm last year that I reloaded using 4.2 gr. of 231 and 115 gr. FMJ bullet. The load functioned fine in my Beretta 92 and The Lady's S&W M&P. However my general impression is it is to low powered for the 9mm and lacking in accuracy. I was also concerned about it's performance in cold weather.

Reviewing my reloading manuals the following data is listed;

Hodgdon - 4.7gr. - 1071 fps.
Hornady - 4.5 gr. - 1100 fps.
Speer - 4.5 gr. - 1025 fps.
Win. - 4.4 gr. - 1045 fps.

As you can see their starting data is higher.

But Lyman lists starting load as 3.5 gr. for 959 fps.

And M.D. Smith Reloading Pages gives starting load of 4.2 gr. at 1135 fps. (but notice how much higher the velocity is listed).

While the reloads you brought functioned fine in your pistol I have noticed that the 9mm gives better accuracy when loaded at mid-range. Even though that load functioned fine in two of our 9mm pistols I am going to reload another 1,000 rounds as soon as my bullet order arrives probably starting with 4.4 grs. of 231. Then for each batch of 1,000 increase the charge by .1 until I find what I consider to be a sweet load for both of our guns. (We will probably shoot at least 3,000 rounds this year so I reload in batches of 1,000 at a time).

As other folks have commented I don't trust other people reloads which is one of the reasons I reload my own (along with saving money). A double charge of 231 might make things pretty exciting for you and hard on your pistol.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

ilbob
  • Locked
Retired Green Beret shoots intruder, gets court martial
2
Replies
35
Views
6K
Brenainn
B
M
  • Locked
So this guy I know calls me...
Replies
6
Views
1K
Mr White
M
S
  • Locked
How Old Is This Ammo?
Replies
8
Views
4K
Dr.Rob
Dr.Rob
tark
  • Locked
Lets see your ammo stash!!
2 3
Replies
67
Views
2K
hso
hso
A
  • Locked
Retired Green Beret court-martialed (funny, really)
Replies
1
Views
490
Larry Ashcraft
Larry Ashcraft
Back
Top