Reloading or Building Your Own Ammunition
This is not as crazy as it sounds. Reloading ammunition is something that has been safely done by individuals for decades. Almost any caliber cartridge can be safely reloaded at home. All it takes is the right equipment, the right supplies and a set of detailed instructions. After that all it takes is time. That is what we are going to look at now.
Steps Of Reloading or Building Ammunition
Let's take a detailed look at how long it takes to reload or build ammunition. First, let's look at the steps of the reloading process.
- De-prime and resize the case.
- Remove the crimp around the primer pocket. (Only needed the first time you reload military brass.)
- Cleaning and uniforming the primer pocket.
- Inserting a new primer.
- Charging the case with powder.
- Seating the bullet.
- Crimping the bullet.
There are several different types and manufacturers of reloading equipment. Some of these combine some of the steps listed above and shorten the process. In order to answer the question about how long it takes to reload or build ammunition we set up an experiment and reloaded 20 cases of once fired military brass. Here are the results.
Timed Steps to Reload 308 Winchester Brass
I set up my reloading press, camera and timer. I counted out 20 cleaned 308 Winchester cases and timed each step of the reloading process. Also, I did not rush nor did I slow down for the camera. Here are the results.
- De-prime and resize the cases = 9:30
- Trim the cases to proper length = 7:30
- Remove primer crimp and uniform the primer pocket = 9:45
- Build the cartridge = 9:30
- Crimp the bullet into the case = 2:00
Total time to build 20 308 Winchester cartridges was 38:15 seconds. That is less than 2 minutes per cartridge. Using this data here are the build times for larger quantities.
- 20 Cartridges = 38 Minutes
- 100 Cartridges = 3 hrs. 10 minutes
- 500 Cartridges = 15 hrs. 50 minutes
- 1,000 Cartridges = 31 hrs. 40 minutes
Understanding Each Step Of The Build Process
Reloading ammunition is fun, easy and safe. When you are done you will have quality ammunition to shoot for fun, hunting or defense. The cost to reload ammunition is less than purchasing the same quality already manufactured.
The equipment that is used varies in cost but is affordable. There are also books to read, videos to watch and even social media groups that will help you get started.
