reloading for home business

dwd · Post by **dwd** » April 9th, 2009, 4:16 pm

I ran across this website:
http://www.certifiedreloader.com/home.html
and I was wondering if a guy could make a little extra cash reloading shells?
Any drawbacks? One of the first things that comes to my mind is liability. How would you handle that?

tmcblane · Post by **tmcblane** » April 9th, 2009, 8:54 pm

I have not kept up with the BATF rules over the years but in the early 80's when I had a FFl, if you were reloading for others you were suppose to track all the sales, have a license for reloading and if you reloaded for anyone using NEW brass you had to pay excise tax. For liability you would need to obtain an insurance policy. That may be pricey. Insurance companies are notorious for asking you "what is the worst case scenario if you make a mistake" The real problem is the components are so expensive now that a lot of the factory ammo you can not compete with unless you don't mind making $7 an hour

Here is an example, I have been reloading since 1980, todays prices are for a box of 9mm's

Primers (should you be lucky enough to find some at a reasonable price) .03 ea
Powder (Using one of the Alliant powders, Bullseye or uniuqe) .01
115 FMJ bullets bought in bulk .09
Brass new .05

Add it up that is .18 cents around or $9 a box. Using a single stage reloader I can do 3 boxes an hour. WIth a progressive loader you can easily double that. But lets say you do, and you want to make $25 an hour, that is about $4.15 a box labor plus the $9 cost of components, your now at $13.15 a box without any insurance cost or profit on your components. Also doesn't include any hazmat fees for shipping the primers or powder.

Reload for yourself and enjoy the savings, turning a hobby into a business in my experience never works out. Quick way to kill your fun.

rottenrick · Post by **rottenrick** » April 9th, 2009, 9:18 pm

I'm considering stepping into reloading, but for my own use. The component's are out there. I see the biggest problem is primers as was mentioned. But they are out there resonably priced? Who knows. Even if they are high, it's still cheaper to reload. Besides if it came to it. If a friend or family member needed resupply I wouldn't let them do without. I would not sell, give. If they decided I needed some first class whiskey, who am I to say no??

gunneyrabbit · Post by **gunneyrabbit** » April 13th, 2009, 11:05 pm

I don't know about anyone else but I have had failures during the learning process and still don't feel comfortable offering my reloads to friends. Load for yourself for a while to see if it is for you, then when you have learned the ropes if you feel it is your niche I say go for it, no one can fault you for trying to improve your lot in life.
G.R.

dolang1 · Post by **dolang1** » April 14th, 2009, 7:21 am

I still have failures. Yesterday, I weighed several finished bullets to see if I had put powder in them. I had. My biggest fear is to omit the powder or not put in enough, thereby having the primer send the bullet down the barrel about 2 inches. If this happens to me, I would know to check the weapon before proceding, but someone that you don't know could think misfire and jack anothner bullet in behind the other one. These are the things I think about while I reload for me. Later Don

dwd · Post by **dwd** » April 14th, 2009, 8:41 am

gunny and don,
Yes, it is probably premature to consider going in to business when I am really new to reloading. I wasn't thinking of making a living at it, just trying to make few extra bucks. I used to reload a lot of shotgun shells and one of the reasons I quit was because of those mistakes. It was very irritating to me and embarrassing in front of my friends. Which is why I was concerned about the liability. I think insurance would be expensive unless someone like the NRA would offer something like that.

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