Reload or build your own ammo
This is not as crazy as it sounds. Reloading ammunition is something people have done safely for decades. Almost any caliber cartridge can be safely reloaded at home. All that is needed is the right equipment, the right supplies, and a set of detailed instructions. After that, all that is needed is time. That is what we are going to see now.
Steps to reload or build ammunition
Let’s take a detailed look at how long it takes to reload or build ammo. First, let’s walk through the steps of the recharge process.
- Depress and resize the box.
- Remove the crimp around the primer pocket. (Only required the first time you reload military brass.)
- Cleanliness and uniformity of the primer bag.
- Insertion of a new primer.
- Loading the case with powder.
- Seating the bullet.
- Crimping the bullet.
There are several different types and manufacturers of recharging equipment. Some of these combine some of the steps listed above and shorten the process. To answer the question of how long it takes to reload or build ammunition, we set up an experiment and reloaded 20 boxes of military brass once fired. Here are the results.
Timed steps to reload 308 Winchester Brass
I set my reload press, camera and timer. I counted 20 clean Winchester 308 cases and timed each step of the reloading process. Also, I didn’t run or slow down for the camera. Here are the results.
- Depress and resize boxes = 9:30
- Trim boxes to proper length = 7:30
- Remove primer crimp and smooth primer cavity = 9:45
- Build the cartridge = 9:30
- Crimp the bullet in the box = 2:00
The total time to build 20 308 Winchester cartridges was 38:15 seconds. That’s less than 2 minutes per cartridge. Using this data here are the build times for larger quantities.
- 20 cartridges = 38 minutes
- 100 cartridges = 3 hours. 10 minutes
- 500 Cartridges = 15 hours. 50 minutes
- 1000 cartridges = 31 hours. 40 minutes
Understand each step of the construction process
Reloading ammo is fun, easy and safe. When you’re done, you’ll have quality ammo to shoot for fun, hunting, or defense. The cost of reloading ammunition is less than buying the same quality already manufactured.
The equipment used varies in cost, but is affordable. There are also books to read, videos to watch, and even social media groups to help you get started.