I really ENJOY handloading.
An old guy sold me all his Lee stuff a few years ago and I find great satisfaction in the process of tweaking charges. My local range is 3 miles away, so I get out & shoot several times per week.
I use range brass, so it's free, but I agree that using the highest quality brass is a good idea. Match brass can be bought but I use whatever I can get: 40, 45ACP, 223, 308, 30-06.
I use CCI primers, generally about $30+/- per 1000. SP, SR, LP, LR.
I buy bulk powder whenever I can find it, in 8lb jugs. St Marks (Gunbroker) H335, Benchmark, WC 842, WC846, Fiocchi (BLC-2) etc. So I save $ there, too.
I buy bulk projectiles whenever I can find a deal, and I shop around. Midway had a sale on factory 2nds 223/55 gr & 62 grSP, 55 gr FMJ for about .08 cents per so I buyed once-cried once (well, never DID actually cry... they work very well) and got a shit-ton of em. Like 8,000 ?
I found another deal on pulled USArmy match 175 grain HPBTM bullets so I bought a small test quantity, found they work well and went ahead and got a shit-ton of em as well, about 13,000 of those.
My process is pretty simple:
No dance, but if an ex-SF guy says that's what he does... Well, I'm open to whatever works!
-pick up ALL brass laying on the ground. Local Cons Dept ranges, people leave money just laying around. It's worth money just for scrap, if nothing else! I leave the .22 but pick up everything else. Any oddball stuff gets traded to another home loader who uses it.
-sort by caliber.
-tumble clean in walnut media. Blow off with compressed air. Brass left on the ground is often pretty dirty, it WILL get stuck in the FL sizing die if not cleaned & lubed.
-lube with some farm store udder balm (lanolin based) WAY cheaper than gun store lube.
-de-prime, full length size. EVERY CASE, EVERY TIME.
-tumble clean again to remove lube.
-prime with Forster Co-Ax priming tool. I used to use the Lee hand priming tool, but the Co-Ax is much mo bedda. I also use the plastic thing that store bought .40 & .45 ammo comes in, as a holder. Holds 50 rds. No need for expensive ammo tray thing. Got dozens of the empty boxes from the trash at the range.
-charge with Lee powder dropper. Its inexpensive and works well, with very little variation in charge weight. I weigh charges exactly (Lee beam scale) when making ladder tests, then when I find the best charge weight (best groups at 100yds) I run with it. Also bought a RCBS Chargemaster Lite and use that, too. It seems pretty precise, but sort of slow.
-I seat bullets at different depths until I test fire and find the best combo (most accurate groups at 100yds).
-Once my recipe is made (each rifle requires testing to find the most accurate bullet type, powder type, charge weight, and seating depth) I load a bunch & enjoy shooting it.
So.
I find match brass makes an improvement over various range brass. But keeping all the same mfg/headstamp in one loading lot also helps. Consistency as much as possible.
Buy quality bullets if you can find/afford them. Buy bulk quantities when you find something that works well.
Buy bulk powder when you can.
Test, test, test for best charge weight & seating depth for any given bullet style/weight.
Don't drink alcohol when I reload. Homey needs to be focused.
Might just consider that dance, tho!
Edit: as you can imagine, because of all the variations in materials & process, my accuracy may not be all that. I am satisfied with 1 MOA. My 223 & 308 bolt guns are 1MOA or better, but the gas guns seem to do 1-3 MOA, generally.
With 40 & 45ACP pistol ammo, I use a measured dipper.
One of those never knew I needed it deals. Holds 120 rounds.
