Ive been loading on a pretty much a weekly basis since the late 60's. Started in my parents house in jr high school with a Lee Loader and as soon as I could, got a real press. Im still using on a weekly basis the Rock Chucker my wife gave me in the early 70's while we were going out. Loaded in our 1 BR apartment after we got married with things mounted on 2x4's and 2x6's, clamped to a coffee table, found a corner somewhere in each of the houses we lived in as the kids were growing up, and just kept plugging along after they moved out.
I couldnt begin to tell you how many rounds Ive loaded in that time, but its a bit more than a good bit. For the past decade or so, Ive normally loaded around 20-25K of just 9mm a year, as that's what I shoot the most of these days, but I also load a lot of 5.56, 38, 357, 45acp, and a few others.
One thing I think is probably the most important is, Ive yet to be out of ammo, even when things are/were very tight, and Ive always shot all along, when most others are crying they cant find any ammo anywhere. I shoot two to three times a week and have all along, good times and bad. Buy in bulk all along, especially when things are good, and just keep stocking up best as you can as you go.
I think reloading is just one of those things, that if you like to shoot a lot, and do, you see the plus side to it and are willing to get into it. I load a lot, and shoot a lot, but Im not really saving a lot of money, I just shoot a LOT more for the money.
Of course, there are times, or at least have been in the past, where it was actually cheaper to just buy surplus ammo than it was to buy just the componenets, and thats what I did too, and will do again if I ever see it. Dont see much of that these days though, and Im suspecting we wont see much of it again, unless something really dramatic happens, but, you can always hope.
Of course, money isnt the only thing here. Ammo is something a lot of people dont take into consideration when it comes to accuracy. They seem to think its all the gun, when in fact, the right load, can make the difference with a good gun, between shooting ragged bugholes, and groups measured in inches, just by swapping the ammo.
As far as "time" doing it goes, time is what you make of it, and it all depends on what you do and how you handle your time. I prep and load what I shoot during the week at my leisure. You dont have to do it all at once, just a little each day or so. Tumble the day you shoot, maybe size/expand things the next day, prime another, load the next. Only takes an hour or less each stage and its all loaded and back in the queue in short order. And thats just with a single stage press.
