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

...
That makes a lot of sense too.
In my case, I wanted to be really proficient with a pistol. I was already competent with a rifle as I competed in high school.
Pistol shooting was much more difficult to master so I needed a lot of cheap practice ammo.

Here's some toilet reading material that addresses your 4th question about whether its worth it.

http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2012/07/jim-barrett/reloading-a-costbenefit-analysis-part-one/

http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2012/07/jim-barrett/reloading-a-costbenefit-analysis-part-two-2/

Part 2 talks about reloading .308 which is right up your alley.

The author states, "If my reloading setup cost about $728, my break-even point is roughly 1,086 rounds, again not counting my reloading time. Now, let’s assume that I’m going to reuse my brass – the cost per round now drops to about .57 per round, increasing my savings to $1.18 each. Amortize my $728 reloading equipment investment against that and I hit break-even at only 617 rounds."

Keep in mind that the author calculates the break even point based on the anticipated number of rounds the author intends to shoot; not the actual number of rounds actually shot. At the end of the day, however, it is the actual number of rounds shot that dictates your break even point, not your anticipated number of rounds shot. If you base the cost/ammunition on the number of bullets you anticipate shooting using brass loaded twice or more but in the end use it only once because you lost interest, moved on to another firearm, etc., your anticipated bullet costs will not be realized.

Here's a calculator you can play around with:

http://ultimatereloader.com/tools/reloading-costs-calculator/

Well put Mr. Farknocker

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!

To give you an idea of cost per round. This is what I'm paying.

.223- 26.7 cents /Nosler 69 gr CC Hpbt

.308- 40.8 cents / Nosler 168 gr. CC Hpbt

To give you an idea of cost per round. This is what I'm paying.

.223- 26.7 cents /Nosler 69 gr CC Hpbt

.308- 40.8 cents / Nosler 168 gr. CC Hpbt

Dumass,

correct me if I'm wrong but your costs do not include the cost of the brass nor the reloading equipment and are strictly based on powder, primer and bullet, right?

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

I never thought about it that way.  I never even considered the cost of the equipment, nor factored that in. In my case, I believe I have negated the savings, as I keep getting deeper into the hobby, therefore keep buying more and more cool stuff to play with.  It's a vicious cycle! haha                     I have some calibers that I have never purchased factory ammo.  Reloads are so much more accurate when loaded right. 

Been there; done that. Sometimes the desire to tinker is so compelling it defies reason.

Been there; done that. Sometimes the desire to tinker is so compelling it defies reason.

Exactly why I decided to try reloading these...

Dumass,

correct me if I'm wrong but your costs do not include the cost of the brass nor the reloading equipment and is strictly based on powder, primer and bullet, right?

Mr. Fark,
Yup, powder, primers and bullets only.
I can lower the price by using a cheaper bullet.   

Exactly why I decided to try reloading these...

===========
ok I'll bite...
What the heck is that??

===========
ok I'll bite...
What the heck is that??

The cartridge for this, http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nagant_M1895

The cartridge for this, http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nagant_M1895

...
Coincidentally, I was just talking to a gent last monday at the pistol range.
He was telling me that he bought one of these and described that unique action.
He did not have the pistol with him though.

Give the man a Reduced Fat Cookie!!! It is the Nagant M1895 Revolver. It is the only revolver I know of that you can truly utilize a silencer on due to the cylinder moving forward creating the gas seal. The biggest problem is trying to find good and legitimate loading information for this cartridge. RCBS wants $150 for a special order set of dies. Lee dies are available but are for converting the 32-20 case to a shortened version of this cartridge. The problem is that it creates a typical cartridge with the bullet outside the case which means the gas seal won't be created. So I have researched this and I think I can modify the Lee dies to do what I want them to do to create the gas seal cartridge. I ordered what I know I need not knowing what pitfalls I am going to run into. I expect everything to come in this week. The only thing I am anticipating might be having to modify the bullet seating die. I have already ordered the part to modify the sizing die. It's going to interesting if I can make this happen.