Not loving reloading.

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is there some "ah ha" moment just around the bend or is this as good as it gets?
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The enjoyment 'pay off' from reloading doesn't come from focusing on cost savings plus time inputed verses how much time I can save if I just buy someone elses ammo.
Kinda like 'why do folks enjoy shooting?' - With all this time I spend at the shooting range, I could be saving time by being back in the office or at home watching TV and it wouldn't be costing me money.

Alot of folks (I know I do) reload because we/I find it an enjoyable outlet or hobby that complements our/my shooting hobby also.
Hobbies take the mind away from day to day mundane tasks, and if you personally think reloading as just another of those mundane tasks, then it may not be your 'cup of tea' as another poster said.
'Everyone to there own' another borrowed line, but who knows you might find the 'ah ha' later on. :)
 
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So while you can save money, if you factor in your time its a wash.
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That's a valid point if you take time away from making a living. Very few people get paid to watch TV or pursue other hobbies.
 
I can understand the sentiment. I have a lot of friends who like to shoot.. That's it. They just aren't into the time and detail of reloading. You are right, it isn't for everyone, but that's ok. Think of all the free brass these folks leave laying around. :)
I do have to say, at least for me, reloading pistol ammo is not as interesting as rifle. I do it more to save money and keep my reloading skills up. You may enjoy reloading for rifle a bit more because the changes you make tend to have more of an effect on your downrange performance.
When you are trying to hold a sub MOA group at 200 yards consistently, all the little things you do are far more apparent. This might make reloading more interesting. If not, could you just pick up your brass and leave it in a box for the next guy?
I use 2 Dillon 550's by the way, More interesting to me than a single stage. Although I would mind owning a single for dedicated fussy work.
 
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I started 40 years ago ---to see what it was all about----me & a rockchucker.
I was not impressed...................
By the time I was taking 3 kids to the range every weekend---shooting approx, 1000 rds.
I got real impressed.
I started out saving a lot of money---much later I had spent so much money on equipment--it just turned into a fun hobby & a great excuse to buy another weapon.
What ever floats your boat...........................:):):)
 
Reloading

I started reloading about 1968...............you couldn't buy good factory ammo then. I wanted to load .264 mag. in Nosler partitions for a sheep hunt to the Yukon.I have been reloading ever since. I find it tedious, time consuming, and a general pain in the ass. I reload for so many calibers and have so much equipment it is hard to quit. I only punch paper to work up a hunting load. I am trying high grade factory loads in some calibers and may never load for them again if factory loads shoot well. But, where do you find .450 Alaskan and .348 Ackley improved ,among others?
Cisco
 
I think you are pretty smart to think of it now instead of spending a bunch of money and then hating it. I could fill up the whole web with things I don't like to do. And if I don't like them, I sure don't do them!!!
 
I got into it to save $ only. My dad bought me a Dillon Square Deal B (progressive handgun press) for my B-Day when I was in college.

I quickly (surprisingly) began to enjoy loading in, and of itself. I load .300WM on a single stage Lee and love crafting custom match grade ammo to exacting tolerances for waaay less $ than the cheapest factory stuff.

For handgun, I just crank out the 9mm at about 400 rds/hour for 1/2 factory price (or less) still using 124gr FMJ bullets.

An afternoon will get me through a 5 day shooting course and save me hundreds of dollars.
 
I was hooked the first time I saw someone reloading. How could I not love it? It was related to shooting. Thirty-six years later and the romance is still there.
 
Reloading can be a satisfying hobby in and of itself as others have mentioned. Many people enjoy it but it is not for those who have other, "more important" things to do with their limited free time.

So, go into the world little grasshopper, you shall return.
 
For those who are far more experienced than I in reloading, is there some "ah ha" moment just around the bend or is this as good as it gets?
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Reloading is a boring and tedious chore.

I never could do assembly line work. There are those who show up, hit a red button all day every three seconds, and love it. Not me.
 
There are lots of reasons to reload and enjoy it, but if these aren't reasons that are important to you, then perhaps it's not your cup of tea.

Some people like golf; some hate it. Different strokes and all that.


I agree w/ a previous poster who said that if your only motivation is to save money, it can be a tedious thing to do.

However, there are lots of reasons to value and enjoy it (not to say these are reasons you will):

1. I have a source of ammo independent of what the stores can/will provide.

2. In a SHTF scenario, I have ammo. Suppose martial law is declared; where are you going to get your ammo then?

3. I enjoy figuring things out. I had to learn reloading on my own, with the help of books and the internet. There is a certain satisfaction in learning to do something the vast majority doesn't do, and doesn't understand. I bent a piece on my LnL progressive a couple days ago; while I wait for a replacement from Hornady, I fabricated one last night that works. There's some real satisfaction in being able to do that.

4. I enjoy learning. This is just complicated enough to make it an enjoyable learning experience. How can I make ammo more accurate? Hit the sweet spot? How do different powders perform? Different bullets? What works best in my gun? How does OAL influence performance? Does the X-Die really work? How? Can I combine it with the lube die effectively? There are tons of interesting questions.

5. There is a satisfaction, at the end of the reloading session, that comes from looking at the hundreds of rounds I've loaded and realizing they're better than I could buy. It's the same satisfaction, I suppose, that people get when they wash their car by hand and enjoy the result, knowing it was their own hands that created the result. (FWIW: I *never* wash my car).

6. I find the process relaxing. It's a kind of shut-out-the-world peace I experience while reloading.

7. I do save money, but of all these reasons, it's the least important and satisfying.


If you can't find enough reasons above, or others I've not listed, that make it enjoyable for you, then it's probably not your cup of tea.
 
Reloading can be boring. For me, some shooting can be rather dull. Firing round after round at a basic paper target doesn't trip my trigger. For those who have made the transition, handloading is a blast, it does requires significant attention to detail and a reasonable degree of mechanical aptitude.
 
Mongoose33 gives sage advice.

I was bitten at my first experience, when I was 11. But, I love to experiment and tinker. Sometimes people ask why I try different ways of doing things, and I answer "why not?" Not everyone is like that.

I have also found that reloading to save money doesn't work. I probably spend much more than I would simply buying ammo. But it does allow me to shoot a lot more.
 
Thanks, guys, for all of the great responses! Seriously, you gave me a lot of good feedback and it is very much appreciated.

The press my friend has is single stage, which is slow as you all know, but factoring in the other prep work, too, I have determined that reloading is not right for me at this stage of my life. The issue I have is that there is not enough time in my day to enjoy reloading; with two teenage boys and a hectic career, opportunities to unwind and truly enjoy reloading are few and far between. Once the boys are out of the house in a few years, I think I will look at reloading in a whole new light and will likely embrace it with vigor.

Thanks again for the insight and responses!
 
IMHO there's no "ah-ha" moment. Either you enjoy it or you don't!

I find it very relaxing & rewarding.

Wait a minute! I take that back - The first time I went to the range with Yurko-made ammo, I definitely had an "Ah-ha" moment. My accuracy improved by leaps & bounds.

But seriously - reloading isn't for everyone. All I can say is - don't do it if you're doing it just to get done. That's when mistakes can happen with SERIOUS (possibly even deadly) consequences.
 
Yes, spending time with your reloading setup instead of with your teenage boys is certainly not the best use of your time, even if you liked it. Just forget about it for now, enjoy the time you have with your boys, and you can always come back to it when they get to the age where they think dad is an old, square geezer who yells at them too much for getting speeding tickets. Plus with two sons driving, you will have new incentive to try and save money by handloading!! So long for now, and we'll see you when you get back in a few years!!
 
That's a valid point if you take time away from making a living. Very few people get paid to watch TV or pursue other hobbies.
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No kidding. I always laugh when people use that line. Do you bill yourself for your time spent playing golf? Then why would you for reloading?
 
Thanks, guys, for all of the great responses! Seriously, you gave me a lot of good feedback and it is very much appreciated.

The press my friend has is single stage, which is slow as you all know, but factoring in the other prep work, too, I have determined that reloading is not right for me at this stage of my life. The issue I have is that there is not enough time in my day to enjoy reloading; with two teenage boys and a hectic career, opportunities to unwind and truly enjoy reloading are few and far between. Once the boys are out of the house in a few years, I think I will look at reloading in a whole new light and will likely embrace it with vigor.

Thanks again for the insight and responses!
__________________
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Folks, this sounds like a good man that knows his priorities and has them in order of preference. We all should take note.

9,

Good for you, Mate.

See you on down the freeway...

LGB
 
Love loading, hate brass prep. Hate it. Too bad that is most of reloading.
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For handgun brass, could hardly be easier; I toss the cases in the tumbler, couple of hours later, run them through my media sifter, and they're ready to be reloaded.

Rifle is a bigger pain. I reload .223, and trimming, chambering and deburring is a pain.

I've been working w/ the X-die from RCBS, which prevents the case from growing beyond a few thousandths. I'm on the 7th reload of a batch of X-Die prepped .223 brass, and I've not trimmed them, nor deburred and chamfered since the first time I prepped them for the X-Die.

In fact, you can use the X-Die in conjunction w/ an RCBS lube die to actually do progressive reloading of .223. The lube die has a decapping pin, so it can work on the LnL AP as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqPJJinDr8Q

.
 
The issue I have is that there is not enough time in my day to enjoy reloading; with two teenage boys and a hectic career, opportunities to unwind and truly enjoy reloading are few and far between. Once the boys are out of the house in a few years, I think I will look at reloading in a whole new light and will likely embrace it with vigor.
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The two teenage boys don't like to shoot? When our son was growing up in the house, shooting/case sorting-processing/reloading were some of many quality times we spent together along with hiking, camping, fishing, off road/dirt bike/quad riding as a family.

We involve the entire family in regards to shooting and reloading - my wife and daughter help me with reloading. I have built another 2'x3' portable reloading bench on casters so I am not isolated in the garage when I reload. I have two presses mounted (single stage and progressive), so wife/daughter will deprime/size on the single stage (they think it's a resistance workout) while I use the progressive or we switch out (it's easier to work the progressive just to powder charge/seat bullet. I hand prime cases and this allows me to be with the family in the living room while we chat, watch TV/movies, or play games together. Now, I hardly reload in the garage bench anymore (I use it to tumble cases). When our son comes to visit, of course he is happy to help me reload so he can shoot them. :D

I think if you have to rush and things are not well organized and laid out for smooth reloading, it will become frustrating. I have helped many shooters set up for reloading who have family to raise/hectic jobs and recommended them to break down the reloading process in steps that can be performed when time allows so they don't have to rush. Sorting cases by caliber can become a game to kids. Tumbling can be done while you are doing something else - I use a timer (20-30 minutes average unless I am doing some specific polishing job). I deprime/size cases while I watch TV/movies in the living room. I hand prime cases while watching TV/movies/playing game with the family (when it's my turn, I simply set the hand primer down). All of these steps can be pursued while I am distracted by some other activities.

The only time I focus is when I am on the progressive to flare cases/powder charge and seat bullet/taper crimp cases. The family knows the importance of doing these steps carefully and they either give me "quiet time" or offer to do the progressive press steps themselves (I check the press settings, shell plate timing and dies before they start the session). As to time, in another thread, we calculated the total time required to reload and I came up with about 400 rounds an hour using the separate sort, tumble, single stage deprime/size, hand prime, progressive powder charge/bullet seat steps (if not factoring deprime/size and hand prime times since I do other activities with family while doing these steps, about 900 rounds per hour). http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?p=6344162#post6344162

If you like to shoot, reloading can be a happy/relaxing compliment with some organized steps and proper supplies/equipment/bench setup and storage. Maybe you could approach it again later with a different perspectives?
 
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