Anyone else hate reloading?

Status
Not open for further replies.
I only load straight walled or tapered handgun cartridges. No riffle and no bottlenecks. When I do it, I put on some good music or a comedy podcast, and enjoy the quiet time where I'm focusing on that, rather than all the other stress in life.

I love reloading and wish I had more time to dedicate to it.
 
I seem to be opposite of some folks. (Nothing new there...)

I enjoy loading rifle rounds. But I quit attempting to improve on defense ammunition (once I had a couple and decided hardball for 45 ACP was exactly what I needed to duplicate my factory defense load). Pulling the handle ad infinitum to produce the same round bores me stiff. I suppose I would feel the same way about .223 Remington or 7.62x39mm if I shot those calibers.

So I hate some of reloading and enjoy the rest. Go figure.
 
I've created a great space to reload and enjoy it. I reload several rifle calibers but decided not to expand into pistol or shotgun because it is too time consuming and I have competing interests. My reloads are more accurate than factory...a big plus. But, I have to confess that when I shoot prairie dogs and burn hundreds of rounds, I'm glad the most of them are 17HMRs that I don't reload. I'll continue until I no longer enjoy it.
 
I'll be honest, I do. Im not much of a tinkerer. But I do have specific tastes in firearms and ammunition often not covered by factory options, so I have to. My reloading setup is a lee handpress and accessories in a daypack, its all I want to spend on the game.
 
I enjoy loading more than the shooting. Hardly load any 22/250 or 243 anymore (likely have a lifetime supply of those two). Loading 9mm, 40S&W, and 45acp mostly. I go to the range to generate empties to reload.
 
Reloading to me is sort of like painting the interior of the house, its mundane and boring. I like the results and how I get to snub my nose at ammo shops because I reload for 41 Mag. Bottom line its a headache that you have to overcome, like priming cases.
 
Reloading sounds like something I will enjoy when I am much more limited in my physical capabilities.
Right now, can’t imagine spending time on that kind of tedious repetitive work.
No room on the bench anyway with all the tools that I use all the time.
I look forward to having something to fill my time with if I live that long.
 
I hate Reloading when I have to . There’s nothing that sucks more than realizing you don’t have enough ammo for your range trip the next day so you have to sit down and start cranking out some ammo right away . OK there’s a lot of things in life that sucks more but I hate that .

That said I actually enjoy Reloading I like the process the nuance that comes with each stage, yes I enjoy it in general
 
With some recent health issues and endless 90+ heat I jave been loading more than I've been shooting.
I thoroughly enjoy it. Time away from the TV and the concentration it requires takes my mind off the chronic joint pain.
My son helps produce empty brass.
 
I never reloaded as I never had the tools necessary for it. I do not have enough room for it. I would like to get into once I get a 357 or 44.
 
Rockrivr1 said:
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.
Click to expand...

I didn't read the entire 5 pages of this thread here but my view is you did it wrong.

If you are going to reload for a handgun and want to enjoy it, you need a fully indexed progressive press. My recommendation, Dillon 750 with a casefeeder a must and bullet feeder highly recommended.

With a fully indexed press you have to go out of your way to get a squib or double load. Likewise, I can crank out the 200 rounds I need in 15 minutes (I typically just load what I need for a range trip rather than just crank out 1000ds of rounds). No exaggeration, but it is less work for me than going to the store to pick up ammo. Especially now that I would have to call 5 or more places to find one that even has ammo and probably have to drive 30 minutes each way. Even case prep is quick and easy with the right tools (lyman cyclone, frankford media separator, etc).
 
I hate loading .223. the cases are so small they suck to hold onto for trimming and deburing and chamfering and anything else you have to hold them right to do. Also, there are always so many of them to load because for some reason it's just so hard to keep from unloading them all in 1 outing.
I'm very happy to have components for loading it on hand right now. Beats the hell out of paying an arm and a leg for factory stuff.

I love loading straight wall pistol. There's no stuck cases, no sticky case lube, no stupid crimped primer pockets, no trimming loading cycle, no chamfering or deburing every loading cycle, none of the bad stuff.
 
I <removed> hate it.
That being said, I am very good at it. I trim every case, deburr inside and out, etc.
I weigh every single charge.
But, I hate it; the worst goddamned thing is lubing and then after resizing de/lubing the cases. I load only for my 1944 M1 Garand.
Why no one has come up with a lubeless die for the 30-06 is beyond me...
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I used to find it boring to reload and the press would sit on the back burner some years ago. Now its different and I have a routine down pat. It helps to work though your mistakes and aggravation and once you get past that reloading can be smooth sailing. You are making a controlled explosion after all.
 
Rockrivr1 said:
... 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.
......
Life's too short to spend a lot of time doing something you hate.
Click to expand...

You don't feel safe or don't like doing it, good reasons to get out of the game.

But realize that even the pros, the commercial companies, will have rounds with problems. I Had three squibs out of a lot of 1,000 rounds from a top tier company last year. Not the only squibs or misfires I've encountered. It happens.
 
Rockrivr1 said:
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.
Click to expand...
I found it tedious and nerve wracking. But, I suppose, if I had better equipment and a dedicated work space it might have been more enjoyable.
 
I have noticed that the scope and purpose of Reloading has changed over the years from when I started out back in 1969. Now it seems to be all about volume and blammo ammo. And then there is now a whole slew of gizmos and gadgets advertised as the latest and greatest thing to improve performance and accuracy.
I'm still reloading the basic calibers I started out with but have added .223 into the mix. I have a dedicated gun room in the house that I can hang out in and play with my toys.
 
There are things I would rather do, hate reloading no, am I fond of it no. Right now, too cold to go outside, I can only workout so much, go downstairs and load some .45-70, yeah, okay. I reload only for specific calibers for which either ammunition is not made in the specification I want or for special purpose ammunition, not for bulk ammo. I reload .45-70 (in between loads and light loads), .44 Magnum (rifle loads), .45LC (in between and super light loads), .30-30 (Lever Revolution load but with the Sierra 170 bullet for example). I have dies for all my rifles and handguns but I am not going to sit around loading up 9mm and 5.56 NATO, I have been successful, even now getting that ammunition and I bulked up over the last few years to hold me over.
 
It's horrible! Terrible! Not worth the time!

Any newbies perusing this thread be advised! Do not ever get into reloading! It's a horrible waste of time and money!
(And address your queries to sell your reloading components to me via pm. I'll pay you 10 cents on the dollar.)
 
You bet I hate to reload. Every time I fire the last round I have to reload the damn thing. Why can't they invent a gun that never becomes empty? Wait...They have them in the western movies, don't they.

Oh...Sorry...You mean reload ammunition. To me it's habit forming. I love shinny brass with a bullet sticking out the mouth of the case.
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

Rockrivr1
  • Locked
Can you compete/have precision and not reload?
Replies
17
Views
402
JmacD
JmacD
WestKentucky
  • Locked
From full house to catastrophic detonation
Replies
5
Views
1K
AK103K
AK103K
C5rider
  • Locked
Tellin' a little squib
2
Replies
26
Views
746
BCRider
BCRider
M
  • Locked
I had a squib today
Replies
20
Views
1K
Walkalong
Walkalong
T
  • Locked
Set me up for reloading 45acp
2
Replies
26
Views
1K
1911NM
1
Back
Top