Anyone else hate reloading?

Conelrad said:

Leaves more powder and bullets for you guys.

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Thanks. Where did you leave them? It must not have been around here recently.

I shoot so I can reload.

berettaprofessor said:

I shoot so I can reload.

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I've done that too. It's cheaper than buying a new gun just so that you can work up loads for it, but not quite as much fun.

Left on the shelves somewhere. lol.

C

It comes and goes with me. I got into it probably 20 years ago and actually started out loading .243 and .22-250. Then .280, .270, .308, .30-06, .25-06 and on and on. Every time I got another rifle, I bought brass, bullets and dies. Or maybe I bought out an estate sale of reloading components, then went in search of a rifle. Never loaded for handguns since I always had semi-autos and ammo was cheap. I couldn't load fast enough to supply myself with them, but I didn't shoot rifles in high volume. One day I quit. After a few years, I sold most of the rifles since they never got used. Fast forward 15 years and now I'm loading for semi-auto handguns and still don't shoot rifles very often.

Sometimes when I'm developing a new load reloading is OK but most of the time reloading is a necessary evil I have to put up with if I want to shoot centerfire ammo. I wish I could afford buying all the factory ammo I like to shoot every month but unfortunately that't not the case (no pun intended) for me.
But the reality is that is isn't so bad. They will be much worse if the Libs take over our country. If that happens we will not be able to even find ammo reloading supplies.

This is why I shoot rimfire...and muzzle-loaders. No messing around with cartridges to reload. I suppose I'll have to get into it to feed my .56 Spencer, but it's not on the top of my "must do" list.

I enjoy the bits most folks don't seem to care for. The brass prep, and the repetitive nature of the job is pretty relaxing actually. It makes me focus on the one task in front of me at the time. Can't be thinking of the jobs I have coming up tomorrow, the conversation with the client yesterday, or the trip next month. My brain actually gets to slow down, kinda meditative. Load development gets tiresome, I like finding the load that works well and cranking out piles

I thought I was the ONLY one! I detest reloading. Pure, abject, tedium. I can do it, but I truly hate it. It takes an enormous amount of time. Time I would rather spend doing almost anything... even work! And it is NOT the big "money saver" that it is made out to be. Reloaders almost act as if their ammo is free... it ain't. The equipment costs money, the powder costs money, the primers cost money, the cases cost money, the bullets and moulds cost money... Sure, eventually, you may start saving money... but you'll spend a whole lot more time, and a whole lot of money before you start "saving".

It seems many reloaders absolutely LOVE reloading... and approach the subject with a religious zeal. And they cannot fathom how anyone could possibly not LOVE it the way they do.... and when presented with an unbeliever, then proceed to attempt to proselytize the uninitiated to the wonder that is reloading.... it's the same with hammock campers...it's a strange phenomenon...

Don't hate it, don't love it.

I'm fascinated by the process, and when I start reloading for a particular chambering, will spend a bit of time researching and buying appropriate powder, projectiles, etc. Once I have a pet load and have loaded several hundred or thousand of them, it is somewhat of a chore and a bit less enjoyable, but I still do it because I tend to buy enough components to be supply-chain independent for a while, and therefore have a ready source of ammo for a fair bit of time.

And when Ii set up the press for a certain chambering, I tend to crank out 500-1000 at a time before resetting the press. And when I do a bit of loading, I'll do a number of chamberings in a couple-week-period. So i can/will crank out several thousand rounds in four-five-six chamberings in that time frame.

So...do I enjoy cranking out 1000 200-grain.45 acp SWCs? No, not really, but I enjoy having 1000 .45 acp rounds to shoot before having to start again, and 1000 9mm, and 1000 .380, and 1000 .357, and 1000 .45LC, and...you get the idea...

Single-stage became too tedious.
* But the main factor was that I had limited desire for that much .303 in an Enfield or .308 in the Spanish FR8.

Cheap Russian-made stuff is plenty of fun for spray-painted bottles and concrete at 25-50 yards in an imported AKM or VZ-58. I had became Very honest with myself, beginning at a buddy's funeral, and also after my unknown, 100% blocked heart artery ("Widowmaker") quite easily--statistically-- should have killed me. Hey-tell somebody if you became short of breath etc. Don't delay this.

What other people shoot, and at what distance, makes absolutely zero difference to me. Fashion or not.

At least the 7.62x39 ammo was cheaper while it was being added to the reserve, over the last few years--for truly bizarre times like This, or even times with only a >>single factor<< causing anxiety among the novice shooters.

I enjoyed it quit a bit when I started. Will go for spurts where I don't even look at the press.

I enjoy it much more now that I have a progressive press that cranks ammo out that is reliable and more accurate compared to factory ammo.

I completely and utterly understand why people don't like loading. Another poster commented they can't stand working on their car. Add me to that list. Something in the house needs painting? Let me Google local painters, 'cause I sure as heck ain't gonna do it.

I can sit at the reloading bench for hours. I love it. The repetition calms me down. I use a single stage and have no intention of getting anything more complicated. I love managing the processes and being forced to be focused and meticulous and careful. In the world of shooting and loading, nothing makes me happier than having good results on target that have resulted from my efforts to get a good load and also practice.

Hand loading and cleaning guns is not fun for me, but they’re as necessary as cooking and washing dishes. I’m the kind of guy that doesn’t like shooting factory hunting ammo and I don’t like eating restaurant food. So my personal preferences force me to hand load and cook.

Nope - Love it

I mostly handload 10mm; handloading/reloading is preferred versus mowing the yard.

I only load for .45 LC, 45-70 and occasionally for .270 and .22 Hornet. I would only reload for .45 Auto, 9mm and 5.56 Nato if it was the only way to get ammo. Otherwise I just buy it. It may cost more but my time is valuable too and I do not get that much fun out of reloading. I reload for the stated ammo because I find difficulty getting loads commercially that are what I would want and as of late .270 /.22 Hornet has had much better offerings so I no longer reload for it either. And with Lever Revolution for the 30-30 I do not do much reloading there as well anymore.

Don't mind straight wall cartridges. Bottlenecks just have that case prep BS that is so tedious. I'm set up to do 223 but I'll buy Tula until the price gets too crazy.

Dun like it.......like shooting weird stuff....have to do it.

After about 50 years of reloading i don't enjoy it as much as I used to--the kids & grandkids have gotten away from shooting--maybe it's time to go after the great grandkids-maybe I am just old--whatever

I like to shoot, I like to hunt. I like to reload.

I don't like cleaning up the inevitable mess the reloading area becomes or the RE organizing required to fit too much stuff in to to small a space.

I have a single stage 12 gauge press.

It's miserable to operate. It demands complete focus and attention at every singe tedious, monotonous, and repetitive step.

The worst part is dropping the shot. I don't have a place to mount the thing, so the press is screwed to a board. If my attention has wandered a fractional millimeter, that shot will drop onto the kitchen table, and then scatter all over the entire kitchen. A few pellets can be swept up, sure, but most are found barefoot at 2:00 am. And hopefully, by me. I didn't even realize it could happen until it did.

The thing about reloading is that it all comes down to how you value your time. If you value your time at $0 an hour, it works out pretty great. If you have come to enjoy it, no wonder you are singing praises from mountaintops. If you start thinking about charging yourself what you make at work, or even assigning a bonus to not to have to sit down for an hour or two to do something you hate, you might not break even.

I kind of like the idea of a progressive press, but I'm a bit spooked about case prep, and I don't really shoot enough for it to be economical.

Reloading beats mowing the lawn.

If you have a lawn you mow it. If you shoot a lot you reload. I think that's a given.

CDW4ME said:

I mostly handload 10mm; handloading/reloading is preferred versus mowing the yard.

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A Master Manipulator (like myself) has learned to say things like, "Hon, I have some cases primed and ready to go. Would you mind mowing the grass while I finish loading so we can go shooting this afternoon?" Of course having a riding, or at least a self-propelled mower, and a wife that likes shooting helps.

.308 Norma said:

A Master Manipulator (like myself) has learned to say things like, "Hon, I have some cases primed and ready to go. Would you mind mowing the grass while I finish loading so we can go shooting this afternoon?" Of course having a riding, or at least a self-propelled mower, and a wife that likes shooting helps.

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I don't think my wife even knows we have a lawn.