Reloading Binge

When I first started loading .45s, I'd shoot my 100 cases one night, clean them the next day, and then reload them that night. The third night I'd go shoot them again, and repeat.
After a while I'd reload every few weeks.
Now I go on a reloading binge a couple of times a year.

I'd shot up almost all the .45 ACP I'd loaded last fall, (I was shooting more .41 Magnum for a while) so rounded up all the .45 brass I could find processed it, and then started reloading. Before too long I had used up all the 230 grain FMJs I had on hand and had a six by 12 inch cardboard box, and some 50 round plastic ammo boxes full of .45 reloads.

On to the .41 Magnum. The dies for it had been mislocated, temporarily, so I primed a bunch of cases last night and this afternoon. In the middle of the session today I looked where I should have looked in the first place and was able to start making .41s. Before supper I'd used all the 230 grain LSWCs I could find and had a coffee can three quarters full of .41s. I still have some primed brass, so either have to buy some more lead bullets or switch to jacketed hollowpoints.

Instead of going on in .41, I could make some test .44 Magnums. I got some brass ready during the winter and need to make some jacketed rounds for the .44 Magnum Ruger semiauto carbine I bought myself for Christmas. (Still haven't shot it, because I didn't buy myself any ammo to go with it. A tactical error for sure.)

There's a box of deprimed and belled .38 Special cases in my reloading room too. I'm not out of .38s, but the last batch I made is dwindling.

I might also make some .308 target rounds. I've got some 174 grain target FMJs to try. Now might be as good a time as any.

This fall I'm going to need some .250 Savage and I have some 250 cases already primed...

Now that I'm started the brass will fly for a while.

Anyone else leave the tools alone for months and then go on reloading binges?

Anyone else leave the tools alone for months and then go on reloading binges?

Yep. I typically do two or three large batches a year. One to two thousand rounds at a time tends to be a bit mind-numbing—I spread it out over two or three days—but rounding up gadgets and adjusting dies is a bother, so the less frequently I have to do it, the better.

I find it helps to take lots of five-minute breaks to keep the mind alert: it's all too easy to fall into routines and start making dumb mistakes.

When I recently moved I knew I wouldnt set up my presses for a while. I shoot a lot of IPSC as does my fiance so I loaded up about 15,000 before I left. It was a fun week!

I'm one of those guys that reload just so I can shoot. I don't consider it a "fun" time for the most parts. I do my reloads in marathon sessions. I get a thousand of each caliber reloaded and leave it all alone till I need more. I got a couple deals on 2 Dillon 650 presses and keep one set for my 9mm load and the other for my 45 ACP load......the 550B is set for the 38 Special and all rifle loads. I love guys getting out of reloading!!! ;)

I love the whole aspect of reloading - I will reload just 20 or 50 in a morning, just for some relaxing press time before work, or on my weekend. I do something with the press, whether is finishing, depriming/resizing, trimming rifles brass, etc, almost every morning, and have been doing so for almost a year. Fun and productive hobby!
Yes, people getting out of reloading is great - cheap new stuff. :cool:

in theory, i like to do what standing wolf described.

however, in practice, i find that when i have a lot of ammo loaded up, i tend to shoot a lot more. when my shelves start getting bare, i cut back.

the net is, no matter how much i load, i can't seem to keep a stock pile. so i wind up doing big batches every other month or so

on the plus side, it sure is fun

I stockpile, load several thousand at a time of each caliber for handguns. As soon as I can scratch up enough components for another couple thousand I load them up. It isn't unusual for me to have up to 15,000 rounds for a given caliber on hand. Then I don't need to load them for a while and I work on the next caliber on the list. I end up on a 'rotation' of calibers and only load once every couple weeks. If I can't crank out at least 500 I don't even start. Reloading is work to me, a necessary evil to shoot more, so I tend to take a 'get it overwith' attitude.

I like to reload when the in-laws are visiting. :)

They spend about one week with us out of every 7 . . .so on that one week I tend to load everything I've got on hand and order more. Then I spend six weeks shooting as much of it as I can and start over again.

Have a good one,
Dave

I found another box of 230 grain .41 Mag bullets, so now I have a full coffee can of .41s.
I'm now also out of primed .41 cases, except for the new ones I'm saving for hunting loads with 210 grain HPs.

Where'd I put that H110?

I don't know where your H110 is but I have a new pound of H110 and a new 8 pounder of W296 on the shelf.

my Hornady 366 is a cranky old machine and I can only stand the frustration one day at a time.:)
I'll load twenty boxes up and that's enough for 3 months worth of cowboy matches.
Pistol reloading I enjoy,and load a few hundred at a time of 2 calibers,shoot em up ,and start over.It don't get boring 'cause I change loads and bullets all the time in search of'that perfect load'. :rolleyes:

After the last batch of .41s, I loadad the first .44s I've ever made.
Just 10 .44s so they look kind of funny next to the boxes and cans of .45s and .41s. I used Unique powder Federal brass, Winchester LP primers and Mag-Tech 240 grain soft points.

I'm going to try them in my old-style Ruger .44 Carbine this afternoon.

If they work I'll make a bunch more.

Reloading binges are tons of fun. Whenever the girlfriend is out of town, or I have a few extended days off I go nuts reloading. You can really crank them out after 10-15 strait hours of it.

It's nice to have "free" ammo for the next few shooting trips. I like just paying range fees.

Your in-laws stay with you one week every seven? I'd kill someone.

I shot some .45 reloads from a Reising M50 subgun yesterday.
They all shot well.

My .44 reloads with Unique shot OK in the Ruger carbine, but didn't have enough zip to work the action and load a new round. Back to the reloading bench!

I live in the south, and since I reload in the air conditioning (inside), I load in the summer and shoot in the winter mostly. I have about 20k pieces of brass stockpiled ready to be loaded now. I am totally tapped out of 357 mag, 38 special, 10mm auto, 40 s&w, 9mm parabellum, 357 sig, and low on 45 acp and 380 auto. I guess it is time to crank the pro2000 up!