so.. i quit reloading.

Not something I do constantly. I over the last few weeks have polished up some brass in anticipation of doing some over the winter when I cant do much else. The point is not to find THE best load, those are easy to work up and every firearm is different. The point is to have something relaxing to do in your spare time and to look at your accomplishment.

You are making something, it is not much different than woodworking or metalworking in that respect.

Only you can decide if its worthwhile to keep your stuff.

I started loading in the early-mid 70s. There are times I do it regularly, and theres times I don't load anything for a couple years or so. It doesnt cost anything to sit there. Never considered selling any of my gear because I haven't used it in any certain time frame.

Ive had loads I didn't write down and couldn't recall exactly what they were. I pulled a sample down and weighed the charge, then wrote it down. If I load different loads in anything, if the bullet doesn't indicate exactly what it is with no doubt, then I use different makes of brass for different loads. Finding loads in the gun, or in a bag years later under the seat etc aren't a problem, I can tell what it is by the headstamp and/or bullet type.

I've stopped reloading for years at a time before......but that didn't mean that I quit. I load up as much ammo as I feel like when I'm in the groove and then don't load again until I start running out. Some years I shoot a lot more than others. It was never a fad for me....I do it because it's enjoyable.

I can spout off from memory almost every load that my weapons prefer. For some reason they just stick in my head......

Keep it.

I've gone spells where I got busy with daughters, and didn't touch my stuff for 4-5 months. Sometimes life gets in the way. Got back to the point where I do a little something every day just to keep stuff going and stay involved.

You don't have to load completed rounds every day.


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I've had my reloading stuff for about 4 years. Started with a lee loader in 25-06 out of necessity. I was a 19 year old kid who liked to shoot my only rifle a lot and 1.25$ per shot was not working out. Since then I have gone through phases of buying stuff/loading ammo and the. Maybe 6-9 months goes by before I think about reloading again. You would be well off just boxing the stuff up and when the reloading bug bites you again you and just unpack a box instead of buy new equipment.


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I load my own .38 special target loads as well as black powder .45 Colt for my SAA clone and smokeless for dad. 9mm just so cheap it isn't worth it for amount of work to do. .45 ACP target loads as well.

I do not load as a hobby, I load so I can shoot. I find it tedious work sometimes and other times a good groove to knock them out. I use a Lee Turret for my handgun loads, dad is the rifle loader as he loves it and is into precision.

Most of my reloading is done in the winter when it to cold and nasty to be outdoors and after football season is over.

I normally will reload every piece of brass I have. Of course when warm weather returns I empty the brass.

Opposite for me. I get in A/C during summer and shoot fall/winter/spring.

I hate hot weather!

I've gone months at a time and never fired a shot or reloaded a round. I hung on to my equipment as I knew it would be a matter of time before I got back into the groove. Think this over, what will you do if Hillary gets elected and ammo gets as scarce/pricey as it did a couple of years ago? Do you think you'll kick yourself for selling out?

Just make sure all your die sets and components are stored in a dry area. It will be there when your itch returns. If that be months or years, the load data will still be load data.

Hand Loading, Shooting, Stamp or Butterfly Collecting, only you can ultimately decide what is or is not right for you. I am personally going to enjoy the remaining sweet nice weather before it gets ugly up here in NE Ohio. You need to do whatever works for you and trips your trigger.

Ron

I was wondering where you went. You started up threads hand over fist for a month or so - seemed to be making progress.

I ( maybe a lot of us) don't hit the reloading bench every day/week - especially those of us who work 40+hours week.

If you need the cash - sell your stuff. If not, keep it - at least until November.

Take a break - the excitement will likely return. Or, buy a new gun/caliber.

Opposite for me. I get in A/C during summer and shoot fall/winter/spring.

I hate hot weather!

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I'm with you brother! I am from the upper midwest and live in middle Tennessee. The summers down here are horrible! ......but then I think of how horrible the winters were up north!.....I still prefer the cold....

I loaded a bunch of ammunition for a prairie dog hunt back in July and have not touch the press since. Too busy catching up with other stuff but I will get back to reloading. I had lots of fun shooting at prairie dogs though.

Like many others, I go through time of little loading and shooting.

I have always logged my reloads so that i can go back to that load. I also learned a while ago that if I do not write down some information on test loads, I tend to forget why I loaded them and what the expected outcome was.

Just like the cartoon says of the guy on the john, no job is complete until the paper work is done.

Keep the gear, you will want to get back to reloading in the future and will be frustrated that you have to buy it all again at higher prices than before.

I was taught in nursing school, "If it isn't written down, it didn't happen."
Today, at 65 yo, that has evolved into "If I don't write it down, it ain't gonna happen."

Memory is a terrible thing to lose-------------so are all the notes I make for myself to keep me from forgetting to do something!

I think you should hang on to your gear until the time comes where you feel the itch to give it another go.
And when you do, take notes!

Write it all down.

I have several spiral-bound notebooks with load data from over the years.
If I find an especially good load I'll flag the page for easy retrieval.

It's not just about find the "perfect" load, it's also about producing it in a volume
proportional to the amount you are shooting it.

I only slowed because I ran out of place to store my ammo. I'm working on that part now.

Your just in a funk, dont sweat it. Keep everything and at some point you'll find the ambition to re work those lods you forgot (this time write em down) and start reloading again.

I write all loads on the container the ammo is in........plastic box or ziplock Baggie.

The reloading machines are there to enhance your time with the "un-loading" machines.

Its like the chicken or the egg thing. Do we reload to shoot, or...shoot to reload?

Can't tell you what to do. It is all on you. Some of us have loaded for decades. I started in mid '70's. I now load eleven calibers. Its some of this and some of that. Just for fun. If its not fun for you, well...

Hope you come to a decision that suits you. If you get out nothing will stop you from jumping back in one day. See you at the reloaders shop!

Mark

...part of me says I got in too deep keep the stuff and part of me says well you tried it and it failed so sell everything after you make enough ammo to get by with your hunting needs.

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I have, perhaps, a unique perspective on this issue. I began hand loading at age 17. I did this because M1 Carbine ammunition was considered pistol ammunition and could only be sold to people 21 and over. Anyone could buy components, so I started making my own.

In the 1970's you could load your own for less than you could buy factory ammunition, so it became a matter of pride for me to make everything I shot for the carbine and every gun I have acquired since.

In the early 1990's, I developed a progressive, debilitating neurological condition. The last entry in my reloading log was December 14, 1993; 12 rounds of .38 Special for use in the Smith & Wesson revolver I had had inherited from my grandmother's estate. Everything I load is on a single stage press, so lots as small as 12 rounds are not unusual for me; although, I normally load in 50 or 100 round lots.

I would ultimately benefit from an experimental (and controversial) treatment that put the disease into a (near) permanent remission and I recovered most of the functions previously lost. [Anyone interested in the details of the disease or the treatment can PM me.] I unlocked my gun safe and took the trash off my reloading bench starting in late 2014. After dealing with the effects 20+ years of neglect had had on my components and equipment, I resumed reloading in March 2016.

If I had disposed of my equipment in 1993, the cost to resume would have been prohibitive and I probably would have left reloading as just a happy memory, but now I am back rediscovering a former passion. You might find the same thing applies to you.

it was like one day okay I have loads that work for everything except 9mm which I'm a little scared to even start loading...

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If you're used to rifle loads as I was, the tiny powder charges and the huge jumps in pressure that accompany small changes in powder load and seating depth can be intimidating. But millions of people reload 9mm and haven't blown themselves up, so it's really not as scary as it seems.

It's actually .38 Special that scares me. The powder charges are so small that there is the potential to double or even triple charge the case, so I have a special section in my written reloading procedures calling for the powder charges to all be individually weighed and the load checked twice - once visually and the second by dumping out a random sample of loaded cases to check the weight of the charge - before the bullet is seated. I'm sure you can adjust your reloading procedures to compensate for any potential safely issues that you see with 9mm.

I still haven't gotten a combination of bullet weight, powder load and overall length that will function reliably through my 9mm, but I'm hopeful it is just a matter of time and perseverance. Maybe you could give 9mm a shot and let me know if you come up with something that works for you and your pistol.

I can't even imagine giving up reloading! I really enjoy it.