For those who’ve read many of our blogs, you know that we are a small team of like-minded veterans that prides themselves on creating unique and practical content for our readers.
We’re very fortunate to have an office that is full of American war veterans that have worked with every imaginable gear or tool you can think of. We’ve built connections through our time in service and now as businessmen/women.
Those connections have allowed us to speak with current & former soldiers, competitive shooters, and veteran reloaders to find the best reloading supplies. There has been a consensus on where to buy your reloading supplies and which brands are the best, according to the pros.
Which Reloading Supplies Should I Buy?
There are so many different reloading supplies with different calibers, materials, and uses, that it’s impossible to cover everything in one blog. However, for a quick understanding, refer to our Ultimate Beginners Guide to Reloading Ammo blog.
Since it would be pointless to buy powder, primers, brass, and bullets, and not have the tools to create ammo, we need to make sure you have the proper reloading tools to turn raw materials into ammo you can use.
Powder Measure
Reloading Press
Primer tool
Cleaning Brass equipment
Gun Powder
Primers
Brass
Bullets
How Do We Determine the Best Reloading Supplies?
We try our best to give our readers the most insightful and authentic content on the internet. We want our readers to know that we don’t make these decisions easily and believe everyone should know what we look for in a product before we highlight them.
Availability
If a product isn’t available in more than a couple of places, we have to take that into account. There are so many products that I love, but I can’t get them because only 1 place sells them and they’re always out of stock.
With that in mind, all of our products that are listed below can be found at several store-fronts and online stores with varying prices to compare and contrast.
Shipping
One of the most overlooked costs associated with any product is the shipping costs. If you don’t believe me, just ask Amazon what Amazon Prime has done for their business.
When shipping costs are more than the product you’re buying, it seems like we’re being taken advantage of. Just like everybody else, we hate being taken advantage of by a company that we spend money at. For this reason, we found the best places that offer either free shipping or discount shipping costs.
Price
Fortunately for our readers, you don’t have to spend hours researching the best prices on reloading supplies. I get paid to do that for you and purposefully display all prices associated with each product. This will give you the best chance to compare and contrast and find the best price possible.
Which Companies Do We Trust to Buy From?
There are other companies that we will buy from, but these companies have sold us the most consistent, reliable, reloading supplies. As of now, I have never had an issue with customer service from many of these companies listed and get what I ask for each time.
Brownells
Brownells is a company that every gunsmith from the newest amateur to the most veteran of gunsmiths and reloaders. We’ve written extensively about who Brownells are and why you should buy from them. Every time I need powder, brass, and bullets, I look on Brownells first.
I like Brownells because they have built an outstanding reputation in the gun community for the last 80 years. Maybe I’m just a softy for American companies that make it and do it the right way, but regardless, I always trust them when I buy their products.
Pros
Brownells stands by their products with guaranteed satisfaction
One of the largest supplies of reloading supplies online
They restock faster than many other companies
One of the best customer service departments I’ve ever dealt with
Free shipping on most orders over $50.00 (Powder is listed as Hazmat, so there are always shipping costs).
Cons
Prices are above average in most cases
Shipping can take longer than average (depending on product and weight)
Sportsman’s Warehouse
If you’ve never been to a Sportsman’s Warehouse, you should go as soon as possible. It’s like Dicks Sporting Goods, but more affordable and better customer service. As Dicks Sporting Goods and Cabelas are moving away from selling certain guns and ammo, Sportsman’s Warehouse has stayed steadfast with selling the guns, ammo, and reloading supplies that we need.
Sportsman’s Warehouse has a huge selection of powders, bullets, and brass listed at a competitive price. Everything you’d ever need for a hunt, they have on their shelves, ready for you to try it out to get a feel of what you’re about to buy.
Pros
Massive selection of reloading supplies
Competitive Pricing with everything they sell
Shipping is free for any order over $49.00
Great customer service
Great response to notifications
They restock frequently
Cons
Availability isn’t the best most times online (better in-store availability)
Only standard ground shipping is free, but that’s common
Kentucky Gun Company
Pros
Massive selection of reloading supplies
Competitive Pricing with everything they sell
Shipping is free for most items
Great customer service
Great response to notifications
They restock frequently
Shipping always arrives on time and in great packaging to protect my guns and gear
Cons
Availability isn’t the best most times online
Shipping fees seem to be inconsistent and hard to know which item has free shipping
What is the Best Place to Buy Powder Measure?
There are a few places that I prefer to buy my gunpowder from, including Brownells, Sportsman’s Warehouse, and Kentucky Gun Company. As every gun owner and reloader knows by now, it’s incredibly difficult to find the correct gunpowder for your gun right now.
When we talk about a reloading press, several companies come to mind. RCBS, Hornady, Lyman, and Frankford Arsenal are the top companies for reloading supplies and gear.
Based on my research I see that Hornady and RCBS are some of the most popular. However, I believe this is much more about marketing than it is about product quality. I may be biased since I own the Frankford Arsenal Single-Stage Coaxial M-Press, but the M-Press is night and day better than any other reloading press.
As much as I like to buy from ethical American companies, Amazon has the best price for the Frankford Arsenal M-Press by more than $100 cheaper. The standard MSRP listed by Frankford Arsenal is $299.00. The average price is right around $270.00and Amazon has it listed for $186.99 with free 2-day shipping for Prime members.
If you’re interested in learning more about hand primers, you should read my blog, Frankford Arsenal Vs. RCBS Hand Primer. There are many hand priming tools, but the Perfect Seat Hand Primer from Frankford Arsenal has the most features and is compatible with the most calibers.
The Perfect Seat Hand Primer will fit almost any caliber you can think of, making it truly universal. Once again, the best place to buy the Frankford Arsenal Hand Primer is on Amazon with an incredible price of only $76.79. I like the price from Kentucky Gun Company, but shipping is $12.00, so Amazon and SPortsman’s Warehouse are offering the best prices right now.
What is the Best Place to Buy a Cleaning Brass Reloading Tool?
As you reload one of the first steps is to clean your used brass from any debris, oil, or carbon from the explosion of the shot. The best way to clean your brass is to use a rotary tumbler that can be used without constant supervision.
The best rotary tumbler is the Frankford Arsenal Platinum Series 7L Rotary Tumbler because it’s the most versatile, universal, and convenient brass cleaner I’ve ever used. For example, it can hold above 1,000 rounds of 9mm brass in one wash or about 400 30-06 brass pieces.
You can set the timer on the tumbler and have it go for 3 hours with a full load or 1-2 hours with half a load. I think it’s pointless to do a half load, given the investment of time and overall capacity of the drum, but I understand circumstances are always different for every shooter.
One thing to consider with gunpowder is that regardless of where you buy it from, you’ll have to pay some sort of Hazmat fee. Brownells has one of the lowest Hazmat shipping costs ($20.00) that I’ve seen online so far.
As I mentioned above, Sportsman’s Warehouse has an incredible selection of powders for almost every caliber. Their availability is shaky, but every company right now is struggling to keep anything in stock for more than a couple of days, especially gunpowder.
One of the most popular hunting cartridges around is the .308 Winchester and they have dozens of options to choose from, with my favorite being the Hodgdon BL-C2 smokeless powder.
To find the powder you want and click the “Notify me when in stock" button. and enter your email. From my experience, once a product is scanned into its inventory, you get an email notification. Being quick and buying your powder once it’s available will save you time trying to search every day for powder.
As far as the powder I listed below, I use the Accurate MagPro Double Base Smokeless Propellant for my 7mm Rem Mag, even though I know it’s meant for the Winchester WSMand Remington SAUM. Due to the nature of gunpowder being explosive, there are going to be more transportation costs associated with it (Hazmat designation).
Primers are one of the hardest things to find right now along with a small pistol and large rifle gunpowder. The best places to look are Sportsman’s Warehouse, Brownells, and Kentucky Gun Company.
As of right now, the only primers in stock are at Brownells for small and large rifle calibers to fit anything from a .270 Winchester, 30-06, .308 Winchester, and a 7mm Rem Mag.
As far as the best primers, most competitive shooters and hunters I know prefer CCI primers because they’re the most reliable across the spectrum of calibers. As of right now, there are not many options for primers with the most common hunting rifles. I’ve only found one deal right now that is in stock and will work for your .308 and 7mm Rem Mag rifles.
When it comes to brass, there is no other company that I trust more than Lapua brass. The important thing to consider is the quality of the brass and the materials used to produce each case. In short, Lapua does the best job at mass-producing the most precise specifications for their brass cases.
When we discuss long-range rifle cases, I learned from Jarred Grove, the Brand Manager at Frankford Arsenal, that the thickness of the cases matters when you’re shooting magnum loads. Not only is Lapua brass thick and durable but it’s also cut to the tightest measurements and shapes that artificial intelligence can produce. In short, Lapua brass will give you more reloads with magnum rounds and give you better, more consistent accuracy.
One of the best places to find bullets, especially long-range competition shooting or hunting bullets, is Creedmoor Sports. Obviously, everyone knows about the 6.5 Creedmoor bears the name of the company that created the bullet (Along with Hornady). You can find the best possible bullets, including, Berger, Sierra, and Hornady.
When I start my search for bullets, I first think about which bullets I need and go to different stores for different bullets. For example, if I’m looking for the best bullets for my 7mm Rem Mag or my 30-06, I go to Creedmoor Sports, Sportsman’s Warehouse, or Brownells.
If I want the most affordable 9mm bullets for my pistol, I look at Sportsman’s Warehouse and Brownells because they have a great selection of pistol and rifle bullets from the most brands and best prices. The Sportsman’s Warehouse 9mm is the standard 115 Gr FMJ training bullets that we all use to train and keep our skills up to par. You get 1,000 9mm FMJ bullets for $0.16 per bullet.
Leave a Reply
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *