So I bought my first 308 rifle. And seeing the cost of ammo retail, I am thinking hard about starting to reload my own ammo.

Though I need some help with being pointed in the right direction since I have absolutely NO idea where to start!

What I would like to know is:
1. What are the necessary tools I need

2. Where is the best place I can get them?

3. I live in an apartment, but my buddy is willing to let me use their garage to set up a proper workstation. Is that necessary? Or am I ok with using a small space at home. I understand there are safety precautions I need to be aware of.

4. Is going through all this worth it? $1.50 per round of 308. Is telling me hell yes right now

Any help would be much appreciated!

I have a question what .308 rifle did you buy?

I have a question what .308 rifle did you buy?

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Yeah, what rifle? It makes a diff in what you can get away with.
Bolt action is easy.
Semi....not so much.

Hey guys, it is a SCAR 17s

Hey guys, it is a SCAR 17s

okay cool I only asked because if it was an HK91/PTR91 or the like they are very rough on brass it gets beat up good.

Here's a good place to start learning.

http://www.exteriorballistics.com/reloadbasics/index.cfm

The adjacent thread called 556 is pretty much the same advice.
 For semiauto rifle loading, i definitely recommend a single stage press.
Especially for a newb.
You got a buddy that reloads already?  It helps.

ok thanks guys much appreciated!

So I bought my first 308 rifle. And seeing the cost of ammo retail, I am thinking hard about starting to reload my own ammo.

Though I need some help with being pointed in the right direction since I have absolutely NO idea where to start!

What I would like to know is:
1. What are the necessary tools I need

2. Where is the best place I can get them?

3. I live in an apartment, but my buddy is willing to let me use their garage to set up a proper workstation. Is that necessary? Or am I ok with using a small space at home. I understand there are safety precautions I need to be aware of.

4. Is going through all this worth it? $1.50 per round of 308. Is telling me hell yes right now

Any help would be much appreciated!

Aloha,

The first thing that I would do is figure out what method of reloading you want to do.  (I personally like the turret style press, although I don't really use it the way it was designed, I just like having all the dies I want in one place)

http://ultimatereloader.com/getting-started-reloading/types-of-presses/

Then, what type of ammo are you trying to reload?  Bulk or precision?  This may help determine what type of dies and methods you will want to use.

What is your goals with reloading?  To save money, make precision ammo, both?

In my experience, the cost of getting everything that I wanted was not cheap. 
All the components: brass, primer, powder, and bullets.  (I bought the expensive stuff, so that drove the price up to get the results I wanted)
All the equipment (this will vary): Press, dies, calipers, priming tool, trimmer, tumbler, tumbler media, trim and chamfer tool, scale, chrono, etc... (I just decided that I want an annealer)

Majority of reloaders that I have talked to come up with their own methods of brass prep and loading (taking general procedures and editing it to make it their own), speaking to other reloaders always helps.  I literally spent 3 months of reading/talking to others and watching videos prior to feeling comfortable enough to do it myself. 


I consider this one my favorite hobbies so it's worth it.

Reloading is not a cheap hobby. 308 brass not cheap. Head and powder not cheap. 1 lb goes very fast. Add up your wish list and can reach about $1000. Go Dillon. Buy once, cry once. WGS has Dillon and Lee press. Go ebay for RCBS single press. Get good dies. I like Redding. Get imperial wax for lube. Wet tumbler is the way to go if you like the bling.

Aloha,

The first thing that I would do is figure out what method of reloading you want to do.  (I personally like the turret style press, although I don't really use it the way it was designed, I just like having all the dies I want in one place)

http://ultimatereloader.com/getting-started-reloading/types-of-presses/

Then, what type of ammo are you trying to reload?  Bulk or precision?  This may help determine what type of dies and methods you will want to use.

What is your goals with reloading?  To save money, make precision ammo, both?

In my experience, the cost of getting everything that I wanted was not cheap. 
All the components: brass, primer, powder, and bullets.  (I bought the expensive stuff, so that drove the price up to get the results I wanted)
All the equipment (this will vary): Press, dies, calipers, priming tool, trimmer, tumbler, tumbler media, trim and chamfer tool, scale, chrono, etc... (I just decided that I want an annealer)

Majority of reloaders that I have talked to come up with their own methods of brass prep and loading (taking general procedures and editing it to make it their own), speaking to other reloaders always helps.  I literally spent 3 months of reading/talking to others and watching videos prior to feeling comfortable enough to do it myself. 


I consider this one my favorite hobbies so it's worth it.

Ok, i see. Yeah i am thinking about approaching this the same way. Want to research and talk to experienced people before i even feel confident enough to do it on my own.
Main reason for my want to reload is cost of ammo, it doesnt have to be ultra precise accuracy but at least decent.
I want to train as much as i can with my rifle.

Reloading is not a cheap hobby. 308 brass not cheap. Head and powder not cheap. 1 lb goes very fast. Add up your wish list and can reach about $1000. Go Dillon. Buy once, cry once. WGS has Dillon and Lee press. Go ebay for RCBS single press. Get good dies. I like Redding. Get imperial wax for lube. Wet tumbler is the way to go if you like the bling.

Cool, thanks for the reccomendations! I look at things the same way. Buy once, cry once!

Buy once, cry once!

===========
what does that mean?

----
Reminder that I do have a standing invitation to newb reloaders to drop by my house to see how I do my reloading.
I'm more geared to handgun loading but the basic principles are the same.
A number of fellas have taken advantage of the offer.

===========
what does that mean?

Buy the PROVEN product first & once. Rather than buying the cheap stuff, & upgrading a few times after, therefore saving the tears from multiple transactions lol. If I learned anything over the years, it's you really do get what you pay for when it comes to firearms

Buy the PROVEN product first & once. Rather than buying the cheap stuff, & upgrading a few times after, therefore saving the tears from multiple transactions lol. If I learned anything over the years, it's you really do get what you pay for when it comes to firearms

...
Ok, I get it.
In this case, i recommend a single stage press but others say get a progressive.
A lot of guys I know end up getting both because sometimes you just need a single.
In the case of rifle loading, you can't really take full advantage of a progressive anyway.
A single is a GREAT learning tool where you can focus and comprehend each step.
It's also much less expensive to start up.

...
Ok, I get it.
In this case, i recommend a single stage press but others say get a progressive.
A lot of guys I know end up getting both because sometimes you just need a single.
In the case of rifle loading, you can't really take full advantage of a progressive anyway.
A single is a GREAT learning tool where you can focus and comprehend each step.
It's also much less expensive to start up.

I agree 100%

A progressive press is fast and if you are not on top of everything all of the time, it can get you into trouble fast. Also, its not so great for working up loads.

Reminder that I do have a standing invitation to newb reloaders to drop by my house to see how I do my reloading.
I'm more geared to handgun loading but the basic principles are the same.
A number of fellas have taken advantage of the offer.

And we thank you for that.   

...
Ok, I get it.
In this case, i recommend a single stage press but others say get a progressive.
A lot of guys I know end up getting both because sometimes you just need a single.
In the case of rifle loading, you can't really take full advantage of a progressive anyway.
A single is a GREAT learning tool where you can focus and comprehend each step.
It's also much less expensive to start up.

My opinion is this is the best recommendation here. Don't get me wrong, progressive presses are nice. And if you shoot a lot of pistol it is perfect for that. You really need the right tools to learn reloading with. I believe the single stage press is the right tool to learn on.

As long as I have been reloading I still learn new things. And if you want to work up loads, make changes to rounds you have already made., fix mistakes, etc. There is noting better than a single stage press to do these things with. JMHO

And we thank you for that.   

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You are welcomed bro.

I sometimes get myself into trouble when picking up a new hobby because I get all excited about it and then spend a lot of money in gear only to find out that it's not as exciting as I thought it would be. I am then faced with the problem of unloading the gear and salvaging what I can to recoup my expenditures. If you're like me, I would recommend that you consider this approach to reloading:

If .308 is all you're going to shoot and you don't know how serious you will be with shooting 6 months to a year+ out, you may wish to consider just buying the ammo and collecting the brass for now. You can still decide to reload if you're still in love with the round and shoot enough of it to justify expending the money. If you plan to only shoot a few hundred rounds, it may not be worth the cost and effort.  You can compute the anticipated cost to buy a press, the dies, brass, powder, bullets, primers and, therefore, the cost of making your first to the last bullet. You can also compute the number of bullets you need to load/reload just to break even from a financial standpoint. If cost is your only concern, base your decision to proceed with your reloading plans on your computation  If the cost to reload is significantly less than purchasing factory ammo, go for it. If not, just purchase your ammo. Of course, there are other non-quantifiable factors involved in considering whether to reload as well such as time, space, accuracy, fun, etc.  Let these non-quantifiable factors be the deciding factor if the cost to reload/load exceeds the cost to purchase.   Good luck