
Inside the World of D.I.Y. Ammunition - HBlix
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/05/us/3d-printed-guns-homemade-ammunition.html
======
jandrewrogers
DIY cartridge manufacturing is relatively common in many parts of the US. The
two big drivers of this activity are reducing ammunition costs and
research/experimentation with new cartridge designs or loadings.

The cost driver is the most straightforward, and has two different angles. The
first angle is that recycling spent ammunition can be significantly cheaper
than buying newly manufactured ammunition -- treating brass as a waste
material is expensive. The second angle is that there are hundreds of exotic
or less common cartridge types that have a market volume much too low for
economies of scale to kick in on an industrial manufacturing line, which makes
them relatively expensive when produced in a munitions plant. Individuals and
small shops can often manufacture this ammunition much cheaper than the
equivalent industrial plant due to the much lower overhead of running a small
batch.

Cartridge research and experimentation is a world unto itself. There is an
enormous amount of performance variance (both precision and ballistics) due to
relatively small changes in geometry, configuration, powder, bullet, and
firearm characteristics. Not only are there a large number of "hyper-miler"
types who try to squeeze every gram of precision and ballistic performance out
of a particular firearm and cartridge geometry, the hardcore types will design
entirely new cartridges (and matching firearm components) to explore parts of
the design space that are not possible with existing geometries. This is a
popular hobbyist area, sort of like brewing a thousand slightly different beer
recipes, that is enabled by the fact that it is straightforward to manufacture
custom ammunition at home.

The vast majority of all DIY ammunition manufacturing exists for one of these
two reasons, it isn't political or ideological. I'm sure a few of them are
ideological but it isn't their primary motivation. The idea of designing new
cartridges specifically optimized for the characteristics of printable
firearms is interesting though.

~~~
EdwardDiego
You can also produce vastly more consistent rounds handloading compared to
manufactured - which is why a lot of hunters I know will handload.

~~~
Scoundreller
Is there scientific evidence behind this?

Ie: tests with proper blinding or mechanical non-human shooters?

~~~
dharmab
It's well known in the competitive shooting world, where competitors calibrate
their rifles from benchrests that minimize the effect of the human operators.

[https://www.theboxotruth.com/educational-
zone-98-shooting-a-...](https://www.theboxotruth.com/educational-
zone-98-shooting-a-rifle-from-a-benchrest/)

------
Bjorkbat
Back when I was a teenager I used to do this sport called Cowboy Competition
Shooting. Think normal competition shooting, but everyone's dressed as some
character from a western movie or trying to realistically portray some figure
from the 19th century American West.

A lot of the people in the crowd would make their own ammunition. Myself
included. I never saw anyone go as far as to make their own lead bullets, but
we all generally recycled spent cartridges and reloaded them with powder and
lead to make them whole again.

There really wasn't anything particularly ideological about it though, no
concern that one day big government would take our guns or anything like that.
It was a simple necessity of the hobby. A single day of shooting would often
have you spend 100+ rounds of ammunition and replacing your loses was
expensive. On top of that most of these events took place on some rancher's
land, and it wouldn't be particularly kind to leave all these brass casings
all over his property. Better to recycle them than throw them away or leave
them to slowly pile up.

On an unrelated note, nice perk about the sport and the fact that this all
took place on a ranch is that lunch often came from where it was served.

~~~
escherplex
Reloading is fun but can trigger OCD :) For some reason was a natural in
archery in my teens and decided target shooting would be a interesting skill.
Opportunity presented itself in the form of a Ruger .220 Swift M77V bullbarrel
stamped _made in the 200th year of American liberty_ and a Remington 700
(right! the one with the defective bolt design which can misfire when
chambering a round, which on occasion it did) in 7MM Rem Mag, both acquired
from a late grand uncle's estate. Then segued to RCBS reloading equipment,
primer pocket brushes, case trimmers, then weighing individual powder loads,
you know the rest (that .220 Swift needed case trimming after only a few
firings). Goal was a 1 inch (2.5cm) group at 200 yds (183M) with the Remington
(which had the kick of an angry mule). When that goal was met, decided NEXT!,
then moved on to flying. Consider yourself lucky to have had open ranches in
your area.

------
slr555
Reloading is a contemplative and exacting pursuit. And single missed powder
measure could cause a bullet to lodge in the barrel and the round following
could cause an injurious catastrophic failure. My father reloaded on a single
stage press (one operation on one round at a time) due to economics. As a boy
I was always given the "privilege" of shagging brass (no cracks from the Brits
please) at the range. Each usable casing was worth a few cents and it added
up.

Today, reloading is the stock and trade of top shooters in competitions such
as the Precision Rifle Series and the King of Two Miles, where shooters
attempt targets at ultra long range. Each case is sized trimmed and annealed
by hand and measured with micrometers. Powder is measured down to the
individual particle using scales costing over 1,000 dollars. Primer pockets
are treated as well. Consistency wins these matches and these hand loads are
more consistent than even match grade factory ammo.

Shooters use doppler chronograph to create their own data on how these loads
perform in their rifles.

Last comment. This article puts a lot of emphasis on cast bullets. Lead only
bullets aren't used nearly as much as the used to be. Pistols, as opposed to
revolvers can be finicky with lead and the vast majority of rifle rounds are
jacketed.

~~~
Havoc
>Powder is measured down to the individual particle using scales costing over
1,000 dollars.

Really? I'd imagine that at those ranges it would make more sense to spend all
your time on superior wind & barometrics measurements rather than counting
powder particles...

~~~
slr555
You're point is valid but some of the participants are spending 10K+ for
Vectronix range finders so they are pretty far down that rabbit hole already.
Wind is a dark art because at those ranges it likely varies in intensity and
direction over the distance to the target. I guess you could say they are
having to estimate the effect of multiple competing force vectors. I have read
that some people consider the spotter the more skilled member of a two person
shooting team, implying that the wind calls and environment are more difficult
than the holdover and breaking the shot.

------
paulddraper
The #1 reason my friends load their own ammunition is cost, not independence
or ideology.

A single box of .45 rounds will set you back $25. Depending who you ask,
reloading costs a third of that (plus upfront costs for the equipment).

[http://www.massreloading.com/reloading_savings.html](http://www.massreloading.com/reloading_savings.html)

~~~
mmt
Sadly, this cost analysis doesn't even mention time spent, though, given the
motivation of the site, that could detract from the message.

I realize that some participants may consider it a part of a hobby, in which
case the dollar value of the time may be negative if not zero, I can't imagine
this would be everyone (especially of the subset who load their own due to
cost).

Someone might even value that "lost" leisure time higher than their hourly
work earnings.

~~~
Merad
Time isn’t a very big factor, TBH. Reloading a single cartridge involves 3-4
steps, and there three different types of equipment you can use in reloading.

* A single stage press has to be reconfigured for each step, so you run a batch of cartridges through one step at a time. Typically you can do ~50 cartridges an hour.

* A turret press is configured to do all of the steps, but only works on one cartridge. Pulling the press lever advances to the next step, so you work on one cartridge at a time, taking it through all the steps to completion. Output of 100-200 cartridges per hour.

* A progressive press is basically a turret press that holds multiple cartridges, so each pull of the lever performs each step on a different cartridge and produces a finished cartridge. You easily put out 750-1000 per hour.

Even with cheap cartridges like 9mm your reloading component cost is around
half the price of of retail ammo. As the cartridge you’re reloading, the
savings increase pretty drastically. For example, I used to reload high
powered .357 Magnum shells for about $0.20 a piece that would cost upwards of
a dollar a piece retail.

~~~
mmt
> Time isn’t a very big factor

If that's true, then I'd hope the analysis to mention something like "and an
hour or two" in addition to mentioning the dollar cost savings for 1000
rounds.

> there three different types of equipment you can use in reloading.

Presumably their up-front purchase cost is significantly different. The OC's
link didn't mention that, so I'd assume the cheapest option.

> Typically you can do ~50 cartridges an hour.

This cheapest option means that, according to that site, the savings range
from $7.68-$66.50/hr (not counting equipment purchase?). That strikes me as a
significant, if not very big, factor, if someone considers this a chore,
rather than part of the hobby, since that range of hourly rates is at least
the same OOM as what people would value their time at.

> easily put out 750-1000 per hour

As little as 1 hour per 1k is, I agree, insignificant, even for someone
placing a high dollar value on their chore-avoided leisure time. How much more
does that equipment cost?

Do those time figures include extra time to recover the brass, and any other
differences (positive and negative) in handling pre- and post-production? It's
easy to focus on only the most time-consuming part of the process, but
everything adds up, and, for beginners or other low-volume participants, it
can inflate the per-unit time cost.

------
dlhavema
I'm just super glad they highlighted the fact that it's much easier to make a
gun with normal off the shelf/modified metal than to 3D print one. Every other
article that involves 3D printing guns is all "the world is over, people can
make guns all by themselves!".. the only real difference is the reduced amount
of metal in regards to detection

------
newnewpdro
Some of my childhood summers were spent in the back room of a jewelery store
casting wax models of custom rings/bands.

One summer the owner had me casting wax slugs for his handgun in the same
fashion, which he used for DIY shell recycling.

Judging from the cardboard box they had setup back there for target practice,
the wax slugs were very effective. As an adult I've wondered on multiple
occasions if those wax slugs were actually a good alternative to lead for
indoor self-defense where the risk of unintentionally shooting people through
walls is high.

~~~
pdoege
I used .44 wax slugs for a while. They were quite dangerous at very short
ranges and were not able to penetrate two layers of sheet rock.

~~~
newnewpdro
Are these commercially available? Is there a particular manufacturer you'd
recommend?

------
claydavisss
Very cool but seems very labor intensive. I probably shoot about three-four
hundred rounds a week...can't imagine making them! Fortunately there are a lot
of ammo sellers online that keep prices pretty low and deliver.

But kudos to these folks as they will keep downward pressure on prices

~~~
madengr
I can load about 12 rounds/min of 45 ACP on my 5 stage press, but that does
not include time for tumbling the brass, etc.

If ammo prices skyrocket again, which they will, then reloading makes more
sense.

I made a couple of video a long time ago on the press and tumbling:

[https://youtu.be/gCOjenjFKmI](https://youtu.be/gCOjenjFKmI)

[https://youtu.be/i3qFDbVm7sA](https://youtu.be/i3qFDbVm7sA)

~~~
paulddraper
> 12 rounds/min

Wow! I get like 1/min on my single stage press.

Maybe it's time to upgrade.

------
chrisbennet
I didn’t hand load so much for accuracy. I hand loaded to make loads that
weren’t available commercially.

The most extreme would be 230 grain “logs” for shooting bowling pins with a
.357 revolver. (158 is normal.)

------
devwastaken
There's a couple good reasons to do your own ammo. 1. Cost. Bullets are very
expensive, and you need to shoot to use your firearms well when you need them.
The whole 'individualism' thing is applicable to anything people would do
themselves other than forking over money for it. If bullets are cheaper, the
equipment and time to reload would not be worth it.

~~~
madengr
Bullets are cheap. Rounds cost more, which is why I reload. I can reload .45
ACP for 1/2 the cost of economy ammo, and get better consistency.

Even if commercial ammo were cheaper than reloading, many precision rifle
shooters load their own rounds for accuracy.

------
imhoguy
What is that bracelet on Mr Crumling's wrist? Looks like some screw tool.

~~~
slr555
It is a multi-tool bracelet made by Leatherman called the Tread.

------
DoreenMichele
Has this been incorporated yet into some post apocalyptic film? Because I was
just talking about this the other day. In the post apocalypse, everyone has a
gun and no one ever seriously addresses where they are getting their ammo
while gunning down zombie hoards daily.

~~~
bdcravens
It's a major character point for a character in the Walking Dead (Eugene)

~~~
FireForce
It's very unrealistic that he's the only character with even a passing
familiarity with reloading, and that Rick and the gang never run across any
proper reloading setups or manuals. Eugene has to reinvent an extremely crude
version the process.

