Reloading side hustle

[The D]

Someone at work got wind that I reload and is asking if I’ll do some for him. It’s not a small amount though, it sounds like he has several gallon bags in a couple of cartridges.

Anyone do this for friends/acquaintances? Is this amount something you would charge for(I think this guy is kind of a douchebag so I’m definitely not doing it for free)? How do you determine pricing?

Mods, if this is verboten I’ll take my pee pee slap and be on my way

 

[OREGUN]

So he’s a douche bag when he wants something from you? How do you think he’s going to react if he gets a squib load and blows his hand off. I wouldn’t do this for any amount of money.

 

[MK20]

It is in contravention of federal rules to manufacture ammo for profit without an FFL.

 

[spife7980]

Sounds like you should be distancing your self from the douchebag, not getting involved deeper with.

 

[The D]

It’s…complicated. He’s a supervisor and he’s always been cool to “his guys”, which I’ve never been one of. This is making it seem like a much more serious situation than it really is though.

 

[D̷e̷v̷i̷l̷D̷o̷c̷A̷Z̷]

It’s…complicated. He’s a supervisor and he’s always been cool to “his guys”, which I’ve never been one of. This is making it seem like a much more serious situation than it really is though.

Someone already stated it’s illegal and you still want to do it for cool guy status?

First rule about pew pew, don’t talk about it at work.

 

[OREGUN]

So it’s illegal to do it for profit. He didn’t mention anything about holding out as an ammo manufacturer. I know the ATF kind of does whatever the hell it wants but I wouldn’t feel like I was breaking the law if I ran a few hundred rounds of someone else’s components through my reloading set up. I just wouldn’t do it because I don’t want to be exposed to the liability.

 

[bmash]

I have allowed friends and relatives to use my equipment, but I don't load for them. Liability is an issue imho. I know what to do when a round mis functions, but I doubt many have a clue. For example, i have missed powder in a revolver load - bullet went in the barrel - I knew STOP! don’t shoot again and check the rest of the ammo for a potential double charge.

 

[The D]

Guess I’ll be mentioning the legal aspects but say I could do it if he provides all of the ingredients, maybe

 

[Supersubes]

Pretty time consuming to hand load without special equipment. For my time, it would be $5-$7 per round. Id decline in any event, cuz I got shit to do.

 

[OREGUN]

If you feel the need to make money on the deal, there’s all kinds of workarounds for that. You can sell him the components at a 300% mark up and then load them for him, for example. You aren’t making a profit from the reloading. You’re just helping out a buddy who grossly over paid for his reloading components. It’s a little like the pro-rata share of aircraft operation that you can charge as a private pilot. If you’re familiar with that at all.

 

[CMP70306]

It’s…complicated. He’s a supervisor and he’s always been cool to “his guys”, which I’ve never been one of. This is making it seem like a much more serious situation than it really is though.

If you load for him any issues he has falls squarely on you, would you want to be sued by this guy is something went wrong using your ammo?

So it’s illegal to do it for profit. He didn’t mention anything about holding out as an ammo manufacturer. I know the ATF kind of does whatever the hell it wants but I wouldn’t feel like I was breaking the law if I ran a few hundred rounds of someone else’s components through my reloading set up. I just wouldn’t do it because I don’t want to be exposed to the liability.

If you aren’t getting paid then you are spending hours of your time and taking all of the liabilities for exactly zero benefit. And taking a profit gets you a felony plus he doesn’t like the guy so I really am not seeing the benefit here.

I’ll take that risk for my Dad and Brother but outside of that they can come load their ammo on my equipment if they want handloads.

 

[straightshooter1]

Someone at work got wind that I reload and is asking if I’ll do some for him. It’s not a small amount though, it sounds like he has several gallon bags in a couple of cartridges.

Anyone do this for friends/acquaintances? Is this amount something you would charge for(I think this guy is kind of a douchebag so I’m definitely not doing it for free)? How do you determine pricing?

Mods, if this is verboten I’ll take my pee pee slap and be on my way

You'd better think carefully about the consequences if something goes wrong with the ammo you've reloaded for him.

 

[acudaowner]

I get you my friend did not buy when I found items to reload with he sat back and did nothing , now he is out of his supplies looking and me like a piece of beef asking me to reload his ammo . I would not mind doing a few for him but to hell with using my supplies to do it . I am burning through my stock at a pretty good clip on my own . friend or not drugs are bad . besides I told him where to go to get what he needs he just don't like the prices .

 

[Near miss]

I load for a friend and taught him to reload too, but I do keep some of the ammo I make for him. Everybody knows the big guy gets 10% or more.

I even processed a crapload of his cases (~700pcs of 6.5cm) when I was sick and had nothing better to do / all my own brass already done.

And of course he buys the stuff, goes without saying but going to add it here.

If the guy in your work pushes you to use your own supplies, tell him you have ran out.

 

[The D]

Thanks guys, it looks like I’m going to turn into a reloading coach to this guy

 

[hlee]

I’ve reloaded for family, but I took possession of the firearm in question and did load work up from scratch. And, I didn’t charge for the service. I wouldn’t load for an acquaintance or coworker for any amount of money. And, a DB too? GTFO with that.

 

[smoothy8500]

Quick! Where's the meme with the ATF guy "Somebody look at this"?

 

[Shifty6BR]

Quick! Where's the meme with the ATF guy "Somebody look at this"?

 

[squirrel_slayer]

I'd just say it's illegal, sorry but I can't help ya.

 

[alamo5000]

The best I've ever done is during the Obama shortage I gave a co-worker about 100 rounds of 9mm. They were as big of an asshole you could ever find but I did it to try and create peace.

I also reloaded a couple hundred rifle rounds for a friend but that was a different story. He was going on a big hunting trip so I developed a load for him using his own components. He has since started reloading on his own and has taken it to a new level.

In the second example it was a combination of reloading lessons and a bit of urgency because his expensive hunting trip fast approaching.

 

[jolofree]

"You'd better think carefully about the consequences if something goes wrong with the ammo you've reloaded for him."

"If you load for him any issues he has falls squarely on you, would you want to be sued by this guy is something went wrong using your ammo?"

"Someone already stated it’s illegal and you still want to do it for cool guy status?"

"I wouldn’t load for an acquaintance or coworker for any amount of money...."

"I'd just say it's illegal, sorry but I can't help ya."

Follow This ^ Advice ^ - because When/If Anything goes Wrong - he makes a bad shot, has a ND, blows up his rifle because he stuck the muzzle in the mud..... It is Your Fault

 

[lightman]

There is no way I would do this. Tell him that you checked and found out that you need a license and insurance to be legal. Maybe tell him you just blew up one of your guns and have lost your confidence!

 

[JM4590]

Brings to mind the fable of the little girl who puts the poisonous snake under her coat to keep him from freezing……..follow?

 

[D̷e̷v̷i̷l̷D̷o̷c̷A̷Z̷]

Brings to mind the fable of the little girl who puts the poisonous snake under her coat to keep him from freezing……..follow?

Venomous. But yeah.

 

[JM4590]

Venomous. But yeah.

Thanks for the correction

 

[kthomas]

Little upside and a lot of downside.

He can learn to reload, like everyone else. Your choice to provide advice. Or he can buy factory ammo.

 

[Kadams1563]

Invite him over and go through the process teach him and build that relationship.

Don’t do the work for him but instead make him be included. If he doesn’t want to be that involved he’s just looking to use you to do more work.

 

[sirhrmechanic]

Someone at work got wind that I reload and is asking if I’ll do some for him. It’s not a small amount though, it sounds like he has several gallon bags in a couple of cartridges.

Anyone do this for friends/acquaintances? Is this amount something you would charge for(I think this guy is kind of a douchebag so I’m definitely not doing it for free)? How do you determine pricing?

Mods, if this is verboten I’ll take my pee pee slap and be on my way

Don’t go there. It is illegal.

Invite your friend over and show him how to do each step and let HIM pull the levers. And then go buy his own gear.

Teaching someone to reload is a great time investment. Doing it (and posting it) as a side hustle is Big Big no no.

Anyone can reload. But some require a mentor or teacher. Be that person. Do not sell your home-manufactured ammo without a license.

Sirhr

 

[Heretic]

To the OP - even if you are using the components he purchased to load ammo for him, I think it would still count as manufacturing without an FFL.

Reloading for personal use - you're responsible for yourself. As mentioned several times above, if he gets a bad load load, double load, squib, etc., you just got yourself a lot of problems you could have avoided.

 

[DownhillFromHere]

As mentioned several times above, if he gets a bad load load, double load, squib, etc., you just got yourself a lot of problems you could have avoided.

In my mind - having briefly worked in the industry nearly half a century ago - the danger to OP is not in his inadvertently producing a "bad load" (overcharge, squib, whatever). The more likely danger is the recipient of his benevolence does something stupid, gets hurt or damages something, and the smell of money lures every scum-sucking lawyer that ever chased an ambulance to ply the douchebag with promises of $$$$$$$$$$$$$.

I remember when lawyers discovered potential easy money from firearms manufacturers back in the late '70s. One involved a moron with a cheap break-action single-shot encountering a snake. Cock shotgun's hammer, draw a bead... o wait, why waste a shell, moron flips shotgun around, puts hand over muzzle, and drives the butt of the shotgun into snake head...and the gun fires and blows a hole through his hand. Out-of-court settlement for $100k (almost $450k in today's dollars), and an example of why factory firearms generally have awful triggers.

I've reloaded shotshells and metallic cartridges since the late '60s, probably numbering well into the hundreds of thousands, and can count the number of "bad loads" - all of which involved low/no powder - on one hand. But, despite having been asked numerous times, I have never and will never let anyone shoot my reloads unless I can see those reloads placed in the firearm and fired in my presence.