No I won’t make you ammo!!

As a former electrician and a reloader I've learned the value of "No". You have to sort of enjoy it- give them a quizzical look and say something along the lines of "at 25-30 dollars a box, you'd be well served to log in to targetsportsusa.com" or "I'd call Acme Electric they'll treat you right, ask for John Smith their service manager." No further explanation needed.

I agree it's rather presumptuous of people to think you'll just make them ammo for free. If you are comfortable loading for others, you could just make it clear you are willing to do so as long as they buy the dies and components.

As for whether they realize a load needs to be worked up, I see no reason why they would. If they are the kind of person who will buy the cheapest ammo they can find thinking all ammo is the same, you could load them a bunch of rounds in the lower part of published charge ranges and they would likely be happy as a clam at high tide.

Ask them to pay you in primers. That will stop the insanity.

Friend/Family wants reloads. Loaded 38s for him. He brings his gun to club, has me shoot 10 of my reloads. I guess he didn't trust my work.
Another brings Fuji 30-06 fired brass with split shoulders. Loaded my good brass for him. Complained about accuracy. Never again.

Another- Go to my members only gun club, with me, to sight in. No.

Nephew calls the night before deer season opener. Needs to sight in rifle at my club, to hunt in the morning.
It's dark out. He said we can shine light on target to sight in. Nope.

Hunter has wife buy 300 Weatherby ammo for him. Opens package night before season opener. wrong ammo, it's 300 Win Mag. Call me to see if I have any Weatherby. Nada.

Needs gun repair day before season opener. Lol.

Friend or family like this, not needed.

Axis II said:

What is the deal with people expecting you to make ammo for them just because you reload. I’ve got a “friend” who i pretty much only hear from when he wants something and he text me do you have any 38s? Me: No. Him: I need 38s. Me: Okay, go buy some. Him: You reload, right? Me: Yeah, but I don’t have any stuff for 38s. Him: Well I need 38s cause I bought this Taurus 38 snub nose polymer. Me: Yeah, knew someone who had one and the timing was off and its junk. I just got a new shield plus in 9mm. Him: Yeah, well i don’t need 9mm I need 38s for my new gun. Me: Oh, btw things are going great with me, new job is good, I like it a lot, everyone else is doing good. Him: .

Get a few weeks out from deer season and everyone wants ammo. Do these people not understand loads need worked up, pressure checked, etc. it’s insane they just think you stuff some powder in the case and here ya go. They also fail to realize this stuff cost a lot of money. Well I don’t have any or I’ll throw you a couple bucks. NO!!!!!!!!!!!’

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Sounds like you need to cut this freeloader (pun intended) out of your life. It's one thing to ask to buy some reloads from a friend who reloads, and it's quite another to expect it for free. Add in that he only contacts you when he wants something from you, and it sounds like this one-way relationship doesn't have an upside.

I can't recall a single time that any family or friends have asked me for reloads, to buy or for free.

Now that I think about it, I do have one friend, a very close friend, who has been planning to get into reloading for years, even bought the stuff, just never actually set up his bench. He has a Desert Eagle in .50 AE, and wanted some rounds last year, and was shocked by prices. He actually had all the components and dies for it, so I offered that he come over and use my bench to start reloading. He brought everything over, and we reloaded together, with him doing the actual work, me giving instruction. It worked out well. We had a great time, he learned something, he got to reload at roughly 2015 prices in 2021, and Santa dropped off a case of Busch Lite at my porch the next morning!

People have asked me to load. Willing to pay at least. I still decline because of liability reasons. I have a friend who breaks everything he touches. He asked me to teach him how to reload. I told him after he gets a press and dies. I'll teach him. That was the end of that.

I had a friend thinking "we" would "go in together on supplies" and I would load him ammo. I ignored the suggestion thinking it would go away, but finally told him I would help him get started reloading but would not do it for him. Gave him a list of what to buy and offered up a single stage press to get him going and I haven't heard the suggestion ever again. I still have my press under the bench too so....

-Jeff

Axis II said:

What is the deal with people expecting you to make ammo for them just because you reload. I’ve got a “friend” who i pretty much only hear from when he wants something and he text me do you have any 38s? Me: No. Him: I need 38s. Me: Okay, go buy some. Him: You reload, right? Me: Yeah, but I don’t have any stuff for 38s. Him: Well I need 38s cause I bought this Taurus 38 snub nose polymer. Me: Yeah, knew someone who had one and the timing was off and its junk. I just got a new shield plus in 9mm. Him: Yeah, well i don’t need 9mm I need 38s for my new gun. Me: Oh, btw things are going great with me, new job is good, I like it a lot, everyone else is doing good. Him: .

Get a few weeks out from deer season and everyone wants ammo. Do these people not understand loads need worked up, pressure checked, etc. it’s insane they just think you stuff some powder in the case and here ya go. They also fail to realize this stuff cost a lot of money. Well I don’t have any or I’ll throw you a couple bucks. NO!!!!!!!!!!!’

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I feel you on this one. I do help my friends reload, but I have a couple of requirements.
#1: You ask me what you need for said caliber before we start so they have the right powder, primers, brass, dies. This way they dont show up with H335 for a 300 Win Mag or some nonsense.
#2: You supply all brass, primers, powder, bullets, dies (if I dont own them), and probably pizza for my kids because Im taking time away from my family to help you.
#3: You are present and useful for all reloading sessions. IE, Ill drop the powder, you seat the bullets, or something like that
#4: We only work to book max per powder manufacturer. Im not going to be remotely responsible for you wanting something stupid. COAL is generally the book value.
#5: For test shoot, the gun WILL be clean, and I will verify it. I will shoot 2 foulers post cleaning. During testing they will be present, but I do all the test shooting, off my rests and bags, with my chronograph. I tend to be a better shot than my friends, and if Im shooting a 1" group, but they suck and cant hold a 2" group, then there is no doubt its them.
#6: Once a load has been established, we work up 20 rounds, and go test them again. I shoot 10, they shoot 10.
#7: Production. They help, we load, then we have a beer, smoke a cigar and a laugh.

Only my real friends that truly value my time are willing to go to these lengths. They know they are getting a good end result, so some are willing to put in the work, but most are not.

1KPerDay said:

Ask them to pay you in primers. That will stop the insanity.

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Truth!

I find it advantageous to have very few friends. Eliminates freeloaders and makes decisions on who to load for easier.

Just say, "You get what you pay for.", laugh and walk away.

During the latest ammo shortage a friend purchased a AR15 and ask me to load him some ammo, my reply was 1; How much brass do you have? 2; How many primers do you have? 3; How many bullets do you have? 4; How much powder do you have? He had zero of each and expected me to supply him with each since they were hard to obtain, I told him when he got enough of each and had a few days of extra time to come over and I will let him use my equipment and I'll show him how to reload. He still hasn't come over and he hasn't ask me to load him any ammo again after I told him the prices of powder and primers.
I went to the range with a group and some people wanted to do mag dumps with my 223 accuracy loads and a couple couldn't believe it when I said no
Same range some of the same people couldn't believe I didn't bring 38sp ammo (all I carried was 357), they came to the range without ammo
I enjoy reloading for MYSELF, I don't have a FFL to reload for others and in the past I've made the mistake of turning my hobby into a business and then it is not a hobby anymore.

Here is a sure way and it has worked for me every time ... and I mean every time ...
Not one person has accepted my offer .

Tell Them ...
1.) Under Federal Law you can not reload ammo that you sell or give away to other people , without a Manufacturing Permit and Liability Insurance . You can only reload for yourself .

2.) But you can help them reload their own ammo on your press ... so if they buy/furnish all the
cases , primers , powder and bullets and come to your house , you can direct them as they do all the actual reloading and not violate any Federal Laws .

Not ONE freaking person has ever took me up on my offer to teach them... Not One !!!
Gary

So far, the only people that know I reload is those that reload too. I do not "advertise" the fact that I reload or even that I have a few guns. It started during one of the LA riots when folks were fearful and were asking about borrowing a gun for protection. Not a whole lot of people knew about my hobbies and even fewer now. Not paranoid, just no need for anyone to know...

Axis II said:

What is the deal with people expecting you to make ammo for them just because you reload. I’ve got a “friend” who i pretty much only hear from when he wants something and he text me do you have any 38s? Me: No. Him: I need 38s. Me: Okay, go buy some. Him: You reload, right? Me: Yeah, but I don’t have any stuff for 38s. Him: Well I need 38s cause I bought this Taurus 38 snub nose polymer. Me: Yeah, knew someone who had one and the timing was off and its junk. I just got a new shield plus in 9mm. Him: Yeah, well i don’t need 9mm I need 38s for my new gun. Me: Oh, btw things are going great with me, new job is good, I like it a lot, everyone else is doing good. Him: .

Get a few weeks out from deer season and everyone wants ammo. Do these people not understand loads need worked up, pressure checked, etc. it’s insane they just think you stuff some powder in the case and here ya go. They also fail to realize this stuff cost a lot of money. Well I don’t have any or I’ll throw you a couple bucks. NO!!!!!!!!!!!’

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It’s not just mechanics and reloaders, its the rude people we all know.
I’m a programmer and do some server admin. That makes me a “computer guy” in some people’s minds and they seem to think it means I know how to “fix” their home computers, gaming consoles, smart phones, and everything else with a microchip, like the clock in their car. I don’t. I don’t care about anything smaller than an Enterprise class server. If your system has less the 100 petabytes of storage, I don’t know how to work on it. I really only care about the money I get paid writing apps and maintaining trillions of lines of code. I dont like programming, I like getting paid.

Funny how people think I should thank them for letting me fix their rotten kid’s gaming console.

I think the saying goes like this: "Give a man your reloads and he's good for a day. Teach a man to reload and he's good for a lifetime."

I've had it asked of me more times than I care to mention. Family and friends. Nope.

I don't know anyone who re/handloads...
When the family goes to the range (adult daughters and husbands,wife,dad,dad-in-law) I supply all the reloaded ammo shot in all guns.
Don't expect to be reimbursed, nor do I ask.....They all volunteer to offset the cost, tho...
Seeing everyone have a good time at something we enjoy, but don't get the opportunity to do but a couple times a year together, is payment enough for me....
But I can see some of the scenarios outlined here would be a definite "GO AWAY".........people that try to leech of you, can go suck it somewhere else.....

GeoDudeFlorida said:

It’s not just mechanics and reloaders, its the rude people we all know.
I’m a programmer and do some server admin. That makes me a “computer guy” in some people’s minds and they seem to think it means I know how to “fix” their home computers, gaming consoles, smart phones, and everything else with a microchip, like the clock in their car. I don’t. I don’t care about anything smaller than an Enterprise class server. If your system has less the 100 petabytes of storage, I don’t know how to work on it. I really only care about the money I get paid writing apps and maintaining trillions of lines of code. I dont like programming, I like getting paid.

Funny how people think I should thank them for letting me fix their rotten kid’s gaming console.

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I'm a primary care physician. I've been doing it several years, and am frankly burnt out. I don't love what I do, but I also don't hate it. However, what I do hate is that every gathering, picnic, etc. turns into a free doctor's visit, often for several or many people there. I like to spend my free time NOT working. If I wanted to work on my off time, I'd hold office hours and get paid to work.

Not exactly the same topic but related.

I have acquaintances that regularly ask if I will sell them primers because I have inventory and they don’t.

Early in the beginning of these shortages I was helping a few folks out but I had to start saying no or I would have ended up selling off my stock.

Many of these people are fellow competitive shooters that have enough experience to have known better. I don’t feel sorry for them anymore

gwpercle said:

Here is a sure way and it has worked for me every time ... and I mean every time ...
Not one person has accepted my offer .

Tell Them ...
1.) Under Federal Law you can not reload ammo that you sell or give away to other people , without a Manufacturing Permit and Liability Insurance . You can only reload for yourself .

2.) But you can help them reload their own ammo on your press ... so if they buy/furnish all the
cases , primers , powder and bullets and come to your house , you can direct them as they do all the actual reloading and not violate any Federal Laws .

Not ONE freaking person has ever took me up on my offer to teach them... Not One !!!
Gary

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This was my reply to the guy down the street who wanted to buy my reloads for a third party. This being Memphis I can just imagine a murder with my prints all over the brass. I might be willing to help someone load some 270 to hunt, zero chance I'm involved in nato ammo used in SD or worse.

GravelRider said:

I'm a primary care physician. I've been doing it several years, and am frankly burnt out. I don't love what I do, but I also don't hate it. However, what I do hate is that every gathering, picnic, etc. turns into a free doctor's visit, often for several or many people there. I like to spend my free time NOT working. If I wanted to work on my off time, I'd hold office hours and get paid to work.

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As long as people know you have a skill, whether it be a Dr, dentist, capenter, mechanic, ect..........someone will ALWAYS have the gaul to expect free something......
It's actually pretty sad the way society has spawned ignorance and greed and the like........
But I suppose that is a conversation for another time/place......

I won't reload for most people but I reload for my brother and dad and they reload for me on occasion.

mcb said:

I won't reload for most people but I reload for my brother and dad and they reload for me on occasion.

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My dad's reloads are the only ones I ever shot after the gunshow 7.7 incident. He passed and now I carry on with his gear. I will help family, but they are all way more well off than I so they return in a different way.