Cartridges you don't buy factory for

[film495]

I keep thinking about pickup up an old revolver that I would just assume I would only reload for. 32 S&S or Long or another of the .32 or .38 cartrdiges that have lost favor, but are good. I see no reason not to own one, and well - that gives me more of an excuse to reload... lol

I've loaded some .32ACP and honestly found it kind of a hassle. The little cases easilly deform and I don't know, .38 Special seems like a whole other level of not very hard. So, is there a .32 that might be good to focus on - or .38 Long Colt or .38 S&W might be something better to keep an eye for.

I don't want to get something so obscure I can't find springs and parts for it if it needs work. I can make springs, but I don't really want to have to make parts ... lol

What are some cartridges that you don't buy any factory ammo for, and why?

 

[denton]

41 Magnum: Can't afford factory ammo.
7x57: Factory ammo typically anemic.
All my other guns: Because I enjoy reloading and like having ammo designed for my particular purposes.

 

[film495]

Colt Police Positive .38
Harrington & Richardson H&R Model 1 1/2 Top

Yea, I want something that is exclusively intended just for target shooting as a hobby, plinking cans really - that serves no real modern functional purpose as their are just superior choices for function, but my function is a range toy to practice only as a hobby for fun and reload for it cuase you kind of have too.

 

[Bill M.]

ditto on the .41 mag. Too expensive and too heavily loaded for my general use.

I just do not buy much factory ammo in general. I do not shoot .22 because I hate to shoot without the opportunity to load the shells.

 

[entropy]

Basically every caliber and gauge I own except .22LR, .410, and 16ga, 2 1/2", but I'm working on getting a set up for that one.
Reason? I enjoy reloading them as much as firing them, and I can control the desired end product. I was never really into it for the savings. Well, maybe Trap loads back in the day.
I do have some milsurp ammo I picked up some time ago, but I do load for those same rounds also.

 

[DRM7997]

I don't generally buy ammo for my 9.3x57 mauser, 7mm mauser, 35 whelen, and 35 Remington. My 7mm mauser didn't shoot factory ammo as well as I would've liked. My 35 remington is a bolt gun so I use pointed bullets and tend to load on the hot side. The others can be cost prohibitive. Just started messing with reloading hand gun. 357 mag and 44 mag. Probably won't buy factory for them to much in the future.

 

[troy fairweather]

Just about everything, only gun I shoot factory in is a very early German 98 spoter, the stock is so thin i don't need pull power and for the cost of 8x57 196 ppu I can't reload it that cheap.

 

[Mr_Flintstone]

8x57 Mauser, .30 Carbine, .32 S&W, .32 S&W-L, .32 H&R Mag, .38 Short & Long Colt (loaded for .38 Spl using .358” bullets), .38 Spl, .357 Mag, and .30/30 Win (cast loads).

Ammo is available commercially for all of these, but they are all cheaper to hand load.

 

[Arkansas Paul]

The only round I do buy factory for is .380 acp, and that's just because I shoot it so infrequently.
Every other centerfire metallic cartridge is handloaded.
When I buy a new caliber, I budget in the cost of dies and brass.
I have guns now that have never fired a factory round.

 

[AJC1]

Sounds like you want a unique range toy to double as a conversation piece. The 38-55 would do that exactly and was designed as a silhouette cartridge.

 

[jmorris]

I buy the rimfire rounds I shoot.

 

[12Bravo20]

Everything I shoot, with the exception of rimfire ammunition and my SD carry ammo.

And I haven't bought any factory 410 shells in about 25 years. I have reloaded a lot of 410 shells on the old MEC 600 press.

 

[Armorer 101]

I do not buy factory anything. If you cast and reload, you can reload cheaper than any rimfire ammo, any.

 

[Blue68f100]

22LR is one I don't reload for. I hand load for every round I shoot. The only time I have to buy factory fresh is when it's mandated for qualifying.

 

[RougeLeader1]

Echoing the above, I buy 22lr, 12GA, and cheap 9mm.
Everything else I shoot is more economical to make, never mind the advantages of being able to tailor rounds.

I do however buy rifle ammunition new if I am starting a new cambering. That provides a baseline for me to work with, as well as a bit of a sanity check later on when I am experimenting. I'll fire it off, examine the brass' behavior, then reuse the brass and get to work. I'll just always make sure I have at least 10 rounds of every chambering in factory ammunition just in case I need that sanity check.

 

[mcb]

My 450 Bushmaster had never seen a round of factory ammo. I fell into a larger pile of 450 brass and away I have gone.

Both of my Webley started with factor ammo 38S&W sand 455 Webley only because that was the most expedient and cost effective why to get brass. But once I had brass I only reload using bullets from Matt's bullet that allow me to make fairly faithful reproductions of the 38/200 MkI load and 455 MkII load.

I also can't remember the last time I bought factory 40S&W of 45 ACP.

 

[FROGO207]

About the only firearms I don't reload for would be rimfire. All the others I can buy bulk supplies and load better ammo for less than any factory. I have some factory ammo set away to hand out to realitives if they need some in the common calibers but many of my firearms have never seen factory ammo. The first thing I do is buy a set of dies whenever something new is purchased. Sometimes even before I purchase a particular firearm.

 

[Mike L.]

.38 Special and .357 Magnum. Just no need for factory. I can handload anything from plinkers to barn-burners.
Rarely buy .45 ACP or 9mm. Just a couple boxes in a year. Same for 5.56/223.

 

[.308 Norma]

What are some cartridges that you don't buy any factory ammo for, and why?

ditto on the .41 mag. Too expensive and too heavily loaded for my general use.

"Ditto" again on the .41 Mag, and for the same reasons.
My wife and I don't buy factory ammo for our big game rifles either. A couple of the reasons I don't buy factory ammo for my .308 Norma are kind of obvious - it's expensive and hard to find locally. But a couple of other reasons are that I like to choose the bullets and the velocities I'm kicking them out at.
Those last couple of reasons are the same ones why my wife doesn't shoot factory ammo in her 7mm Rem Mag. Obviously, factory 7mm Rem Mag ammo is readily available (at least it used to be), but my wife wants to choose the bullets and the velocities she kicks them out at.
Besides all that, doubters can believe what they want, but I build better than factory big game hunting rifle ammo. I know, I know 1MOA precision is not necessary for big game hunting. But it's what I want. So, by that rule alone - my own big game hunting rifle ammo is "better" than the factory ammo I've tried.

 

[George P]

Way back when, that would have been my XP-100 in 7mmBR as there was no factory ammo

 

[.308 Norma]

The first thing I do is buy a set of dies whenever something new is purchased. Sometimes even before I purchase a particular firearm.

I think that's one of the definitions of a "handloader" - instead of just a "reloader."

 

[Nature Boy]

With the exception of shotgun and rimfire, if I’m shooting it I’m loading for it.

The “why” is pretty simple: it’s fun.

 

[BBarn]

I too enjoy reloading, so pretty much the only thing I buy is rimfire.

 

[Armored farmer]

I insist on reloading for all my muzzleloaders

rimfire and 9mm and 5.56 i buy . Everything else is reloaded.

 

[tightgroup tiger]

I reload everything but rimfires. No special reason, I just always have.