Reloading Co-operative & Free Hind stalking

Loler UK

Well-Known Member
Good morning all.

On the weekend a friend and I decided that we would start a reloading co-op to allow people to use top of the range annealing equipment, auto weigh scales etc without having to shell out many £k

Often we need / want to own the most accurate & constant reloading equipment to make our desired load but that equipment costing 1000's sits unused 99% of the time

It's also the case that for a bit extra we can speed up our reloading whilst also increasing accuracy with certain equipment as to many of us our time is valuable, less time reloading = more time shooting / stalking / keeping our significant others happy.

We have decided to allow a maximum of 12 members and a maximum length booking of 10 days

I am purchasing:
Lab radar
AMP Mk 2 aneeler with bushings for 15 calibres, but the cost of bushings for the most unusual calibres will be split 50/50 by the club
V3 auto trickler scales
Electric case trimmer & prep station (that indexes of the shoulder)
6l ultrasonic cleaner
Peli cases & custom foam to pack for transit

Paper & Video instructions will be available for all of the equipment

The cost to become a member will be £300/year and £35/ use for admin, wear & carriage costs

The co-op will be not for profit and plans to register as a cic or charity and publish annual accounts, the excess funds that build up will be used to renew /repair equipment that wears out and, once large enough, some proposals will be put to the members as to what additional kit / co-op range days could be acquired and voted on, after 2 years there will be an option to vote on decreasing the membership cost providing breakages have been at a low enough level.

We will encourage members to make the kit available as much as possible so not to book for the full 10 days unless required and to buddy up with local members where possible, an online booking system will be used. The kit will go out as a set bar the lab radar which will be booked separately on the same terms.

Members must be willing to prove identity and FAC and have a credit check run, membership must be paid one year in advance and can be paid annually or monthly (eg £300 up front then a monthly standing order of £30/ month (so £360/year if by SO) or £600 up front then £300 each year.

We do not aim for this to be solely a financial transaction, we would like to build a community offering opportunities to other members stalk & shoot / help each other with reloading, target shooting etc. We already have a few links with those in the industry so have access to some support & opportunities already.

I for one will offer a free day's hind stalking in 2021 in the highlands to anyone that signs up before January the 1st including transfers from inverness airport if required.

If you are interested please send me a pm with:
Full Name
Full Address
Email
Phone Number

If the venture is in high demand we will buy 2 sets and allow 24 members
We may also make a 'lite' membership in the future giving access to a cheaper set of equipment but this will not be an option until the 1st 12 places have been filled and i will post on SD if / when this is an option so please do not message me asking what the lite version will cost.

I will personally be investing allot of money in the venture so that equipment can be immediately available regardless of initial membership numbers, please also appreciate that this carries a sizeable financial risk and a fair weight of admin, the equipment will be insured and sent insured carriage / delivered in person but i'd hope that as honest fac holders and fellow shooters we'd all treat the equipment better than we would our own personal equipment, insurance companies have a habit of wriggling out of paying after all.

I know this is not everyone's cup of tea so please keep comments positive, the speed and accuracy of this equipment is no way required for stalking or even some target accuracy.
 
Just to note, I'd hope that the 3rd year's membership be reduced to £100-£150/ year but it would be for the co-op to vote on & decide, there will be a multitude of possibilities moving forward
 
I would gauge interest before investing unless you intend buying all the kit anyway, can’t see it taking off personally but best of luck
Thanks for your concern but, Sometimes, someone needs to lead the charge, my mate that is going in is only paying the £600, the rest of the risk is mine. If people know it's a dead cert they're more likely to sign up, the plan's been a long time in the making. I'll take pleasure in knowing that i''ve it only helps a handful of people.

People may join for different reasons, a cleaning & annealing service can set you back a fair bit / year, some will be chasing ultimate accuracy, others economy of time, the trimmer and auto weigh scales more than halved my reloading time when i used another friend's (he has far too much money but doesn't share much with many). To be fair i can use his setup whenever i want, this isn't being done for fanatical reasons i want to create a true co-op.
 
Great idea - best of luck. Just wish you had thought of it 25 years and a lot of £ ago!!
haha, i should of spoke to you before sinking over £4k into the idea!

Thank you for the positivity, i posted the idea on some facebook groups and the hate mail has already started.
 
FAQ's:

What if i want to cancel?
Minimum membership is 2 years, your year's advance will be refunded if you choose to cancel after that
What about diary conflict?
At full membership levels there will be up to 30 days/ year availability, we encourage everyone to respect other members and reload / develop loads in bulk / intensively to help success. we anticipate there to be much more availability as membership will be likely 4-6 people for the first 6months-year
If i had £600 why wouldn't i buy my own equipment?
You are welcome to, the scales alone cost well over £1000 and are accurate to 0.0015grain, less than the weight of a single kernel of powder, the annealer also costs well over £1000, the available kit cost well over £4000
12x£600 is more than the cost of the equipment where will all the money go if it's NFP?
Members will vote to decide, it will either renew / repair / service equipment or be used to reduce the cost of ongoing membership, the 3, 4th & 5th year etc may even be free for the original members
 
sorry my bad, original post can't be edited, just to confirm it's the V3 auto trickler & auto throw with sartorius scales.
 
Thank you for all of the pm's & subsequent phone calls
Suggestions so far:
reduce membership fee & increase the postage / rental fee
decrease the postage fee and have it come out of the kitty
Only allow local folk to join so people can always collect face to face
have fewer places so kit more available and can be kept for longer, wet days might make development on planned weekends futile.

I actually travel all over the UK for work so there's a good chance i will do a fair few deliveries in person taking slight detours to tie it in with work

disadvantage of reducing membership and increasing rental. carriage is I fear people will take less care of kit

Pro to removing postage fee is that a few people have said it is the only thing putting them off.

what do people think?
 
Whilst I like to trust others and would hope they are as reliable as I am, you would need some sort of system to prevent or account for loss/damage.

Better to have everything in one physical place such as a range and FAC holders can just rock up for a few days of zeroing, practise and load development.
 
Whilst I like to trust others and would hope they are as reliable as I am, you would need some sort of system to prevent or account for loss/damage.

Better to have everything in one physical place such as a range and FAC holders can just rock up for a few days of zeroing, practise and load development
Loss will be insured but damage is why payment is a year in advance, it'll also serve as a deposit, genuine wear and tear & expiration is expected, if there's only a few members and things wear out it'll be me that foots the bill which is fine. I'm beginning to think that fewer members might be ideal, and I'm very open to that, would just mean membership cost would stay a little higher for a little longer
 
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