Losing Motivation To Reload

Status
Not open for further replies.
I have a bunch of other hobbies that I rotate through when I get bored with one, sometimes I'm involved in 2 or more at the same time though.
All of these hobbies have a mechanical element that seems to keep my interest, I've stopped reloading for years at a time, but nothing is out dated on my return like some other of my hobbies.
Reloading has become seasonal since I've moved to a place that has winter as my garage in not heated, or have a basement, I just retreat to my loading closet under the stairs :evil:

I recently bought a Loadmaster setup in 9mm even though I have another progressive setup for 9mm, because it was a "good deal"o_O.
I did some mods to it, got it running smooth, and have yet to load with it...
:D
 
Last edited:
I don't load for the 9mm, cartridge is too small, hands are too big and prices are too low. However, I do load for the .38 Special, .357 Mag, .44 Special, .45 ACP and .45 Colt. Sometimes I'm in the mood to reload and when that happens it's an enjoyable hobby. When I'm not in the mood I don't mess with it. By the way I load off a Redding T-7.
 
There's no "shame" in walking away from a hobby. My reloading waxes and wanes depending a lot on weather and how often I can get out and shoot. Forest fires, weather and health issues have hit my shooting time pretty hard this year so, I bought a bicycle. Rode my bike for a few weeks and missed reloading, so I loaded a bunch of 9mm yesterday...
 
Reloading is something I do to get ready to go shooting. Not an unpleasant chore, but seldom done for its own self.
I have lost my source of free 9mm brass but have prospects for a very cheap source of 9mm brass. If that does not work out, I will use up components on hand and go to purchased econoball.
.38, .45, and rifle ammo is definitely worth the trouble.
 
I reload for every gun I own. Only 3 years now doing it but I'll go buy another caliber or a new gizmo for the loading room to load some more. I do buy bulk 9 mm and 223/5.56 but still like to load. I'm not so fond of brass prep but I find it relaxing. I work 10-12 hours a day and it's relaxing to go into my loading room and forget work exists for a few hours.
 
Like most of the above posters, I think its normal for your interest to come and go. Most of us have probably put things on hold for different reasons. I neglected nearly all of my hobbies between the time the last kid left home and my retirement. Work got really busy and I tried to capitalize on that in order to better prepare for retirement. But, back to reloading. Your equipment and components will last forever if properly stored. You don't have to do something in the loading room every day or even ever week to still be called a reloader! Unlike electronic stuff, reloading equipment has not changed very much over the years. So, next year or next decade, your gear will still work ok.
 
Lots of good advice. 9mm is just one of those rounds that can be bought so cheap that its hard to justify loading for it. Like Kidneyboy said, you just need to buy something fun to shoot that has expensive factory ammo and load for it. 44 special sounds like a great option to me.
Or, buy a LCT. They are cheap, work great and while not up to the rounds/hour count of the progressives, its still 3 times(or more)the speed of your single stage. For like $100, you could drastically reduce the amount of time loading your 9mm. Wouldn't take you 30 years to recoup your investment cost with an LCT compared to a progressive.

Just my $0.02
 
I have been loading on a single stage for over 30 years and there were literally years in there when I did not reload or even shoot. I never even thought of getting rid of my equipment because I knew one day the light would come back on. I sat behind a desk for over 40 years and have always liked doing things with my hands and reloading does it for me. I like the mechanics and holding each finished round. I scale each powder load and it takes me forever to load a box of pistol and that is just the way I want it. Like others have said, it is OK to walk away from it for now and then some day you may come back or maybe you won't. No harm either way.
 
I loved reloading when I had a lot of time and little money. Great way to spend an evening when I had nothing else to do and it expanded my gun hobby to me.

I still like loading but now have very little time to do it so I changed my techniques and equipment to make it faster. I load all of my 20 cartridges in one go through the turret or pregressive press. I do the absolute minimum of brass prep and handling. No seperate priming or multiple cleanings or anything like that. I dry tumble them, spray them with one shot, load them in one go and put them in the box.

This keeps it enjoyable because I can still make my good ammo but it doesn’t take up all my time. 9mm and 38 recently became a burden as I started shooting more so I bought a progressive and that fixed that. I load my own 9mm because there is a substantial savings and I don’t like the way any of the cheap $10 a box ammo shoots. I much prefer my handloaded ammo. To get ammo that shoots as good as my handloads I have to spend like $14/50 so my handloads are half the cost. If I had to do it on a single stage again I wouldn’t bother.

Two of my favorite guns to shoot are my 7.62x39 and 7.62x54 as they are the only two calibers I don’t reload. It’s nice to have something I can just pick up and shoot without worrying about picking up the cases or loading them again.
 
slowr1der said:
I'm finding it hard to stay motivated to reload these days. Especially pistol ammo. It's become more of a chore than a hobby. Has anyone else experienced this? How did you get over it?...............
Click to expand...

jmorris said:
I automated the processes so they are not chores.

There are things that take the work out of pretty much everything that you do.
Click to expand...

jmorris is right.....and taking the work out is doable even if you aren't a machinist magician like John......I'm definitely not.

After using a Rock Chucker for a million years became a drag on my tired bones, I quit for a few years.....then I got a progressive. The rejuvenation was amazing! But......
That made the trimming bottleneck stand out.....so I automated that to keep up. Didn't require machining skills or a lot of money....you just learn to work with what you got.
I soon discovered other annoyances.....well....my press wasn't perfect....no such thing. So I set about to rid myself of the worst annoyances....and reloading got steadily faster and funner.....and you know what.....I found that tackling annoyances and fixing them is fun in an of itself. jmorris discovered that years ago.

Modding & improving tools may be a sidetrack some aren't interested in........but for me is was something new to do, useful too, while I rested from what I got tired of doing. The result was improving and speeding up......what I got tired of doing.

For me modding my tools has become at least as fun as loading with them.....especially if it helps you make better ammo 10 times faster.....

Start by getting a progressive...then smile....rejuvenation begins there!:) Especially pistol Ammunition.
 
Last edited:
I think when it becomes a chore you will be more likely to make a mistake that isn't found out until you pull the trigger. Take a break but don't throw anything out just yet.
 
I've been reloading for almost 40 years and casting for about half that time and it's a hobby I really enjoy, if anything I find that I don't have time to do it enough and it's a joy when I do. I enjoy the load testing process as well as I've acquired a few new rifles and handguns over the past few years and there are always multiple styles of bullets to work up loads with.

One thing I find enjoyable about the whole process is getting together with buddies of like mind that also reload and cast and have a shooting an testing day ever so often. One thing is for sure regardless of how the political winds or commercial ammo supplies go I'll always have ammo to shoot.
 
Anything done repetitively can have the potential to get boring. Even things you swear would never, ever, get boring,,, get boring,,, (A very 'energetic' Blue-eyed Blonde I once knew comes to mind, but that's a whole nuther story,,, :D )

I enjoy bustin' Clays and plinkin w/22's,,,. I don't reload shotshells, so both of those activities give me a break from the press.

First started reloading with a SS for a bolt action rifle. Not real hard to keep ahead of that, and I really like the 'accuracy vs price' factor. That, and it was something new to learn,,,

Then I figured I'd try reloading for a 45 ACP semi-auto. While it was economical, it didn't take long to realize that feeding a SA pistol with a SS press was a lot more work / took up a lot more of my time. So, I bought a Progressive. (Something else I could learn, and I like mechanical devices.)

After that, I was just the price of a set of dies and a shellplate away from reloading 9.

Like others, minimizing steps/becoming efficient helps. I'm not much in the way of an ~accurate~ pistol shooter anyway, and probably never will be, so 'quantity' takes place over 'extreme quality' for my pistol ammo needs. My routine include Wet tumbling 'straight from the range' and from there, straight though the Progressive. 1 pull, 1 round.

I typically dedicate an entire 'otherwise not busy' day to Reloading. I'm certainly no 'speedster, but 1,000 rounds of Pistol isn't hard through my LNL AP.

Set up for 9, run a couple 3 thou before I set up for 45,,, Load up all my 45 ammo containers,,, switch to rifle,,, Typically a span of 'several months' before that cycle needs to be repeated,,,

I don't go 'full-on progressive' with rifle, so it's not as fast as pistol, but even just something as simple as combining the priming / charging* / and bullet seating all on 1 pass through a progressive is certainly faster doing each step individually.

(*I use a 'LNL AP powder funnel die' and a dispenser to measure the charges. Super easy to change charge's and with no powder drop involved, the ~only~ loading the press see's while seating is,,,, seating. )
 
If you hate loading pistol ammo it's time for a progressive press. I went to progressives for pistol when I started shooting 300 rounds a week.

When I loaded pistol on a single stage I would do it over the winter when I was stuck indoors. I would stock pile enough to carry me through the summer. With the progressive I stockpiled enough for the last 5 years and have lots left.
 
I started reloading so that I had a round that was more accurate and a lot cheaper for my Enfields. I never bothered with 5.56/223,45 ACP or 9 mm,never thought it necessary.... I buy them when on sale.
I am about to get into 375 Mag cowboy action rounds of 1100 (+/-) FPS for a 20" carbine. Thanks to MEHavey's research he posted,I can load a duplicate round for 15 cents, instead of the 60 cents (+ shipping) for the Black Hills 357Mag Cowboy Action round. I use an old single stage RCBS. and the dies were $30,so this is not like starting from scratch cost wise.
 
I guess I am in the minority as I LIKE going slow and reloading on a SS press. I have a pile of brass and process it over the winter when I rarely get to shoot because of the cold. Then I load up enough ammo for a range trip or so and go shoot it up. The act of reloading forces me to stop and pay attention to the reloading and the other distractions go away for a while. Call it my escape from the daily grind if you will. I sometimes think that it is more fun to reload than to shoot---especially the accuracy aspect, even for handgun ammo. YMMV
 
I have rifles and revolvers which have never tasted a factory round, and I have firearms which have never tasted a reload.

For 9mm, I have never had a need to reload. For 6 creed and 300 Rum, I have never had a need to buy a factory round. For 45acp, 223rem, 30-06, .44mag, and 30-40 other cartridges, my needs have dictated a blend, for example, I reload 45acp for bullseye, but don’t for pleasure plinking. I have over a hundred sets of dies, only about 40 of them are active currently.

I never want to find myself reloading on a day when I should/could be shooting. Reloading is an enjoyable hobby for me, but it is a hobby with a purpose. If I can’t achieve that purpose (shooting) then the hobby isn’t worthwhile for me. I thoroughly enjoy working out, but if exercise didn’t yield some greater result, I would have a much harder time sticking to it. Same with reloading.
 
The choice of whether to reload or not for a particular caliber is a cost issue for me. I can reload for all my centerfire firearms and have worked up accurate loads for each. I keep a reasonable amount of components on hand so if supplies of anything dry up I can reload as needed. But if I can buy inexpensive ammo that is OK for plinking stock then I will not bother reload for it. 7.62X39, 7.62X54, and 9MM are some of them that I will buy and shoot factory ammo. For a while there it was cheaper to reload 32 H&R, 38 SPL, and 9MM with lead bullets than it was to find and purchase .22LR so I put the rimfires away until things went back to sane levels. If I ever find that I want to go and shoot but have no reloads I will not hesitate to buy factory ammo and go, but normally a bit of planning ahead and I will have reloads enough so that is not necessary. I am fortunate that I am at a time in my life that I can find time to reload without short changing other needs most days if I want to though. YMMV
 
slowr1der said:
Worse than the rifle ammo, I've gotten to where I absolutely dread reloading pistol ammo. It takes forever to reload on a single stage.
Click to expand...

My suggestion is to double-down and invest in a progressive press. If that doesn’t rekindle your interest in reloading you can always sell it
 
I reloaded almost everything that I shot on a single stage press
Click to expand...

I did to up to 5 years ago.

Long ago I bought my first progressive press and tried to use it for a few years. It didn't work very well but you get what you pay for. I went back to my Rockchucker. My shoulder and elbows got to bothering me something awful and my single stage was taking so long I was shooting more 9mm than I could stand to reload. I didn't have time to load anything else.

In a last ditch attempt around 5 years ago, to keep loading my own ammo I bought a LNL-Ap and now it sits alot because it is so efficient. A Dillon will do the same thing for you.

When I used to reload 2-3 hundred now I load 2-3 thousand and it brought the fun back into reloading for me. I still do my custom loads and load development on my Rockchucker but once I have my load developed I go to my Hornady AP.

I'm not a slave to my single stage anymore. Best money I ever spent.

I've been loading since I was 12 and I'm 60 this year. Buying factory ammo is not in the cards for me. Progressive presses can be intimidating when you first get one but take your time and learn the machine and it becomes second nature to you.

Once you get a good progressive press tuned in the work becomes careful play.
 
Last edited:
slowr1der said:
I'm finding it hard to stay motivated to reload these days. Especially pistol ammo. It's become more of a chore than a hobby. Has anyone else experienced this? How did you get over it?

A few years ago if you'd asked me, I'd have said that I'd never care to shoot centerfire ammo that I didn't reload. I reloaded almost everything that I shot on a single stage press and I couldn't believe other shooters wasted their money on factory ammo. I enjoyed reloading, saved a lot of money, and had more accurate rifle ammo, which I shot a lot of.

Well, today I still reload most of my rifle ammo although I don't enjoy it as much, I still can't imagine going back to factory ammo. I like the increased accuracy that I receive and the cost savings is huge. I usually save $15-20 per box of ammo which adds up pretty quickly. I've also found that I dread load development and the time it takes. My range time has gotten severely cut down with my current job and I'd prefer to spend it shooting instead of testing.

Worse than the rifle ammo, I've gotten to where I absolutely dread reloading pistol ammo. It takes forever to reload on a single stage. I'm also not accurate enough with a handgun to tell if I'm getting slightly more accurate ammo or not. I wouldn't know the difference between a 2.5" group at 25 yards and a 3" group, because I can't shoot any better than that anyway. I've also found that I have to shoot plated bullets (or lead) to really save any money at all and I've yet to find a load that shoots as well with either of these as factory ammo does for me. If I load FMJ ammo, I have some loads that shoot great, but they cost as much or more than factory ammo.

Then to top it off, since I mostly shoot 9mm, I've noticed that I can pick it up on sale pretty often for $7 - $7.50 per box. I'm literally saving about $1 per box if I reload with plated bullets, and I'm spending about the same if I use the Precision Delta FMJ bullets that I really like. If I figure 100 rounds an hour (which is cranking it out on my single stage), I'm literally saving $2 an hour at most.

So I thought about a progressive press, but when I'm saving $1 a box it would literally take me 30 + years to just pay for the equipment, and it would still take up my time. So it hardly seems worth it. So much to my dismay, I've started buying factory 9mm again and it's what I've shot my last few range trips.

Has anyone else reached this point in their life? It just seems like for 9mm it's no longer worth it for me to reload it. Or at least right now while it's so cheap and readily available. Is this a phase you guys have gotten through? The thought of not reloading everything I shoot does bug me, but it just doesn't seem to make sense.
Click to expand...
I limit my reloading to rifles and cartridges like 38, 357, 45 acp, and 7.62 nagant. If it costs close to store price I won't reload for it unless accuracy is lacking.
 
A Lee pro 1000 for your 9mm may add some fun back into the process.
You’ll have to buy the components in bulk to save money.
The pro 1000 will cause you some initial head/heart ache. It will run fine for a 9mm though and pay off pretty dang fast.
 
I’ve commented on this before but a problem I have with loading for extended periods is it’s hard on my back. For rifle stuff I’m usualy loading less than 50 rounds so no big deal, but if I want to load up a bunch of 9mm on the turret press we are talking about hours of continuous loading. I do about 200 rounds an hour of 9mm on the turret press taking breaks to get up and walk around. About 500 rounds is all I can do before my back gets very uncomfortable. With the progressive I do 400 an hour and my back is fine doing several hundred rounds.
 
I think 200 rounds on a turret in an hour is really fast. I'd max out at about 150.

I don't normally spend more than an hour to an hour and a half at a time reloading. That includes stopping to check powder, OAL/plunk etc along the way. I may do a couple of sessions a day (joys of retirement) but I feel like any more time spent and errors start getting made. I've been very careful myself, but I know my limitations. If I start hurting or my attention wanders for some other reason it's time to stop.

Dave
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

M
  • Locked
Reloading .44 Magnum
2
Replies
26
Views
2K
red rick
red rick
Tallball
  • Locked
Save Money Reloading Handgun Ammo?
2 3
Replies
52
Views
3K
Dudedog
Dudedog
S
  • Locked
bare minimum to start reloading .45?
2
Replies
30
Views
2K
Elkins45
Elkins45
H
  • Locked
I just saved $1,000
2 3
Replies
62
Views
3K
Walkalong
Walkalong
M
  • Locked
Quality Reloading Hulls
Replies
15
Views
2K
BlisteringSilence
B
Back
Top