Anyone else hate reloading?

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Rockrivr1

Rockrivr1

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I can't be the only one. I was just commenting on the "Hungry Handgun" thread and many of the responses to the ammo shortage is that you should reload. A few years back I would have agreed with that. I had a full Dillon 550B setup with caliber conversions, dies, brass, powder, bullets, primers and all the accoutrements you need to reload. I worked up loads for 45acp and 357 Mag and pumped out a number of rounds to shoot.

The funny thing is, the more I did it the more I hated it. Found that I just don't have the personality for it. I was bored and more then a little bit frustrated with the slow process. I wasn't as meticulous as I should be as I wasn't having fun with it. Then I hit the range one day and had a squib with one of my reloads. That's when I realized it was time to get out of the game. Luckily it was a squib and not a double powder load. To dangerous not to be enjoying yourself.

I kept the gear for a "Just in Case" scenario, but finally decided to sell the whole reloading setup lock stock and barrel. Made all my money back and made an 18 year old kid, who bought it, very happy. To each their own.

Life's too short to spend a lot of time doing something you hate.
 
I don't enjoy loading for rifles, particularly .223. I do it for my Garands out of necessity, but it's so time-consuming with so many steps for case prep and gauging that it's to the point that I'm paranoid about shooting any of the ammo I make for fear of having to do it all again LOL.

I enjoy loading for handguns and at the end of a frustrating day at work, it's good to put some effort into a project that results in something tangible at the end.
 
I love it, but I realize that not everyone does.
I also cast bullets...............and pan lube them.
I enjoy it to the point of it being therapeutic.
I enjoy my time at the loading bench almost as much as my time at the shooting bench.

It's all personal. Some people like to work on their cars. I'll pay whatever the mechanic charges. I hate it.
I don't even change my own oil I hate it so much.

Bottom line, your last sentence is spot on. We don't get enough time to waste any doing something that does not bring us joy.
 
At one point I didn’t know if I handloaded because I shot a lot or shot a lot because I hand loaded. A condition shared by many I would think. Now a days it’s more of a chore, but a pleasant one. Sorta of like cutting the grass, do it when it needs doing, and I’d no more hire it out than I would buy commercial Ammo.
 
Any activity a person hates to do isn't fun or enjoyable for them. Me, I started reloading because my interest in firearms expanded. But I'm the very careful type - I enjoy the zone of carefully assembling 50 or 100 rounds at a time - first with a single stage and then a turret. When I'm done and carrying my new box of ammo back to the house I have a sense of accomplishment. During the process I focus on what I am doing, watching every case fill, and enjoy the loading block filling with ammo.

So I don't hate it, it's not a chore. I guess with the pace of life and work these days, sitting down by myself with no distractions to focus on reloading is a kind of meditation.
 
I like it, but there are problems with it.

For one thing, it can be unpleasant trying to get help. People reflexively defend the manufacturers when they know some machines are rough and hard to use. Yes, if you tune one correctly and use it very carefully and maintain it and grease it, it will work, but you can't just open the box and expect it to run. Skill and experience are required. People get them running, and then they forget how much they screwed up in the beginning. After, that, they're not very patient with other people's requests for information.

Second thing...it's not cheap unless you put a lot of limits on yourself. If you experiment with components, which is a good thing to do, you will blow through a lot of cash. If you want to save money, you have to stick to published loads, only buy what you know you'll use, and so on.

Third, there is a certain amount of BS in the pipeline. For example, it took me forever to realize affordable electronic scales weren't very good. You just assume a product that says "Hornady" or "RCBS" must be okay, and then you find out a real electronic scale is a $500 tool. Also, it seems like published loads are not always reliable, which makes you wonder why they were published.

Other than that, it's neat. You can make ammo that does what you want. You learn a lot about firearms and ammo in the process. In times of shortage, you'll have some advantages, because cartridges disappear from shelves before components do, and you can make your own lead bullets if you have to.
 
I don't "like" rolling my own as in looking forward to it. I don't hate it any more than any other "chore" though. When they started letting us order ammo I slowed way down on rolling for some stuff. As cost to buy was just so cheap I did not bother. Some ammo never did get cheap enough to stop though. Anyone who has something in .45 Colt or .44 for example knows this. Even when there is not a panic going on they just do not make enough of some ammo for it to ever get nearly as cheap as rolling it. While back one kid wanted to shoot a .44 mag. I don't have one any more but told him no problem. Only about a 10 spot to rent one. When I mentioned it would be the better part of a Grant to buy one box of ammo though he no longer wanted to shoot one bad enough :rofl:
 
CaptHank said:
Don't hate it, but I love to shoot. Getting prepped now to reload about 300 rounds of 44 Mag. It's supposed to rain off and on all weekend. I'm planning on a range trip, Monday morning.

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Pics like this make me want to go out and clean my work space up:rofl:
Then I get a call asking me to work an extra half shift today and work a full shift on one day off and think, well I guess i'll clean and straiten next week:D
 
I really enjoy it as a hobby itself. There even have been times at the range when I wasn't enjoying shooting but kept emptying brass so that I would be able to load it again!

I also have been taking up increasingly "arcane" projects, like brass-and-blackpowder shotshells and inside-lubed "heeled" bullet cartridges, just to gain a greater understanding of the game. I can certainly understand a shooter who grudgingly handloads solely for affordable shooting, but I personally get real satisfaction out of it.
 
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I don't hate it, I don't reload any cartridge that is cheap to buy or that's small. My smallest being 357/38 (rarely load 38) , I don't reload any semi auto pistol cartridges and the only bottleneck cartridge I currently do is 30-30. I'm happiest loading 45-70 & 454 casull , saving a lot of money and making awesome cartridges to suit my exact use not generic rounds made for the masses and not spending $2+ per round.

I will do runs of 1000 357s , on a single stage press which is a chore but I did just set up my lee app press to speed up the brass prep, seems it'll be a great addition . if I don't feel like loading, I don't load. Then I get the bug and I'll load every night for a few weeks.
 
I enjoy it for the most part. I generally find it as meditative. I also enjoy being able to customize ammunition for different guns and purposes. I can also see how it can get tedious. I recently spent what I thought was way too much time finding the sweet spot on a pistol load. But now that I found it, I'm pretty pleased.

Life is too short to do things you don't enjoy. It was wise to keep the gear "just in case."
 
There will be stretches when I dont touch a press for 6 months... but then ill binge and load every empty case I have.

I don’t think I could fire factory ammo in good conscience any more. Its expensive and I cant buy what I want.
 
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