a question on who all reloads?

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rockjd79

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I was trying to get my brother-in-law to see the value of reloading. Beside the cost, and knowing exact components in each round. I was trying to tell him about the accuracy that can be gained by reloading. The question that came back to me was, "so do all snipers and competition shooters reload?" I didn't know how to answer this one.
 
I saw a show about snipers somewhere. Part of the show thew were talking about the hand loading of the rounds. The shooter himself was not doing the loading but some other soldier.

Cannot say if that is really true but made sense.
 
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Most rounds used by U.S. snipers are handloads built in the arsenal by the same smith that build the rifle under exacting conditions. Snipers have too much other stuff to hump around when in country.
 
"so do all snipers and competition shooters reload?" I didn't know how to answer this one.

Tell his YES, each time they reload their gun.

Jim
 
The movie Jack Reacher has some interesting scenes and dialog about reloading and snipers. It doesn't answer your question definitively but, it does indicate competetors and snipers do have/use handloads.
Good flick btw.
 
Most rounds used by U.S. snipers are handloads built in the arsenal by the same smith that build the rifle under exacting conditions. Snipers have too much other stuff to hump around when in country.
Most rounds used by U.S snipers are made by Lake City. :)
 
I think Hungry1 is right about Lake City. I would assume thats why Lake City makes "match grades" of certain calibers and has for years. But the competitive shooting teams of at least some of the armed forces do have military personnel making custom handloads for specific rifles. Lake City ammo isn't bad but there's no way off the shelf ammo is going to work for highly competitive shooting matches.
 
When I was on an Air Force rifle team, we pulled the bullets and remeasured the powder for competition. Mostly we pulled the 173 gr bullets, reweighed the charge, and seated Sierra 168 gr HPBT bullets. So yes, most competitive shooters and probably snipers DO reload their ammo.
 
Besides accuracy another reason to reload is to get premium bullets for your most accurate load. I load Nosler Partitions in all my hunting handloads. They aren't quite as accurate as Ballistic Tips but they don't fail on game.
 
Most rounds used by U.S snipers are made by Lake City.

+1. Current issue U.S. military sniper ammo is Lake City M118 LR and has been since 1997. Snipers do NOT reload their own ammo. They shoot whatever their department (police) or Uncle Sam issues them.

Don
 
If your brother in law in not interested in reloading, he isn't interested in reloading. Typically folks can reload most common calibers for about 1/2 the cost of store bought but for any number of reasons most shooters do NOT reload. It is a fun and rewarding hobby ONLY if a person is looking for a fun and rewarding hobby. Otherwise it could easily be viewed as a P.I.A. and a waste of free time.

Reloads are not necessarily any more 'accurate' than store bought, regardless of what sniper do - lol - because it all depends on the skill of the reloader and their attention to detail.
 
Many people who shoot hate the thought of reloading. I do it because it is fun. I spend more money on reloading supplies and equipment than I do on guns lately.
 
Quote:
Most rounds used by U.S snipers are made by Lake City.
+1. Current issue U.S. military sniper ammo is Lake City M118 LR and has been since 1997. Snipers do NOT reload their own ammo. They shoot whatever their department (police) or Uncle Sam issues them.

Don

Yup yup.

Competition guys such as those at perry do a little bullet smashing, so I hear......
 
To me what DOES make reloads more accurate is the fact you can fine-tune your loads for YOUR gun.
 
Snipers do not shoot the volume as competition shooters. The theory behind snipers is 1 shot 1 kill. So to answer the question, I would bet the house that snipers either reload or have a source in the military to have special reloads made just for them. Remember snipers are the elite of elite competition shooters.
 
...I would bet the house that snipers either reload or have a source in the military to have special reloads made just for them. Remember snipers are the elite of elite competition shooters.

Get ready to sign over the deed, 45lcshooter. Below is what is issue ammo for Army and Marine Corp. snipers and DM's.

M118long.jpg

Please tell us where snipers are issued reloading equipment as part of their kit? Or, tell us what Army or Marine Corp unit provides the "special reloads"? And, I hate to tell you, but most snipers are not competition shooters; competition shooters are by and large civilians.

Don
 
I saw a show about snipers somewhere. Part of the show thew were talking about the hand loading of the rounds. The shooter himself was not doing the loading but some other soldier.

I saw a special on TV about military snipers and they said the same thing.
 
Why do I load thee, let me count the ways.

I was trying to get my brother-in-law to see the value of reloading. Beside the cost, and knowing exact components in each round. I was trying to tell him about the accuracy that can be gained by reloading. The question that came back to me was, "so do all snipers and competition shooters reload?" I didn't know how to answer this one.
Why do I load thee, let me count the ways.:

Economy: Depending on what cartridges you are reloading (and whether or not you want to count your time and the up-front equipment costs) you can save anywhere from just a little to 80% or more of your ammo costs. (9mm is very close to no savings. 500 S&W, my friend's ammo costs are $0.75 per round, factory loaded ammo is $3.00 each for comparable ammo. More exotic calibers (especially rifle calibers) can save even more. Some rounds are not even available on a regular basis at any price.

Quality: Ammo you craft yourself can be tuned to your firearms particular characteristics. Handloaders for rifles quite often find some individual guns have quite striking differences in group size when shooting tuned ammunition.

Knowledge: As you study reloading, you will, perforce, also study internal ballistics. The study of internal ballistics leads into the study of how your firearm works.

Customization: Ammo you load yourself can be tuned to your particular needs. My friend with the 500 S&W loads full power loads and "powder puff" loads that clock 350 grain slugs a little under 800 feet per second. I know that's more than a G.I. 45 ACP's power and momentum, but they shoot like 22 rimfire in that big, heavy gun. Great for fun, familiarization, training and letting the curious bystander go for a "test drive" with a super-light load, a medium load, a heavy load and, if they are still game one of the big boomers. This tends to avoid the "rear sight in the forehead" mark.

Satisfaction: Punching small bunches of small, medium or large holes in paper or bringing down a game or food animal with ammunition you crafted yourself has a good deal of satisfaction. Same reason I prefer to make my own biscuits instead of store-bought.

Smug satisfaction: When the ammo shelves are bare during a market or political scare, loaders are demonstrably less affected by the shortages. A couple of pounds of powder, a thousand primers and bullets (or few pounds of lead) and a hundred cartridge cases wouldn't fill a small book carton, but lets the loader know he can shoot while price-gougers take advantage of non-loaders.

Self-satisfaction: The repetitive, calm, attentive concentration of the reloading activities is often found to be so much fun as to bring to the shooter's mind the question, "Do I reload so I can shoot shoot or do I shoot so I can reload?". Some find loading to be as satisfying a hobby as shooting or fly-tying or many other hobbies.

The more fanatical among us combine a couple of the features I have mentioned and, instead of shooting for bullseye accuracy at the range, reload in a search for the "magic load" that achieves perfection in a given rifle. Then, they move on to the next target, which is not another piece of paper, but another rifle and another tuned load. But you do have to be at least a little fanatical to even get it. It is the hunt they seek, for they enjoy the quest more than the goal.

Lost Sheep
 
A buddy just discharged from our armed forces says that companies will make rounds for the various guns they shoot. They shoot the various bullets and the ones they like, bullet weight, powder charge etc., they tell them and that's what they get. Not the factory, slam a bunch together but very precise made bullets made for what they ask for.

So, in a sense, they get bullets with different bullet weight, powder charges etc and they pick the one that works best for them. Not sure if it's for that sniper team(division) or the whole Army, Marines Air Force etc.....
 
A buddy just discharged from our armed forces says that companies will make rounds for the various guns they shoot. They shoot the various bullets and the ones they like, bullet weight, powder charge etc., they tell them and that's what they get. Not the factory, slam a bunch together but very precise made bullets made for what they ask for.

So, in a sense, they get bullets with different bullet weight, powder charges etc and they pick the one that works best for them. Not sure if it's for that sniper team(division) or the whole Army, Marines Air Force etc.....

So, all these sniper guys are shooting gawd knows what loads, and the Army and Marine Corp are OK about it? Ridiculous!!! The Armed Forces is all about logistics. Google "General MacArthur M1 Garand Development". The M1 Garand was initially designed to fire a .276 caliber cartridge. General MacArthur put the kabash on that and insisted that the rifle be chambered in .30-06 because they already had millions of rounds for that cartridge in the supply line. You guys have got to use logic and stop listening to what your sister's boyfriend's cousin's best friend said.:banghead:

Don
 
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