Do you handload?

[RockyMtnTactical]

Yes, I do.

 

[Cosmoline]

I used to just handload for my exotics and European cartridges. Now I'm handloading for the .357 and other rounds I used to be able to buy for $8 a fifty. The price went to 10, then 12, then 15, then 20, then the ammo just vanished. It's still nearly impossible to find locally, though ironically the uncommon cartridges are in abundance. Can't get .357 or .45 ACP, but you can get 7.62 Nagant or 6.5 Swede

 

[Eightball]

Any chance I can, yes.

 

[MinnMooney]

Economics plays a big part in the decision to hand load

In my first year of loading my own ammo, I spent about $25 per loaded cartridge!

Everyone will say, "Oh, you can start out cheaply with basic equipment". That's exactly how I started........ the 1st week. Then things got expensive. Hand loading your own ammo is fun and cheap but ONLY if you don't figure in the cost of the :

Rockchucker press
RCBS powder measure
bullet puller
media
media sifter
vibratory brass cleaner
work desk
manuals
50 bins for brass, bullets etc.
bin shelving
10-15 sets of dies
electronic scale
loading blocks
ammo boxes
chamfer tool
reamer
case prep station
Lock-N-Load AP Progressive Press
locking collars
case lube
case neck lube brush
primer strip loader
hand priming tool
100 hours of reading about hand loading
100 hours of testing load recipes
100 hours of record keeping
Ballistic software
another press
Fireproof cabinet for loaded ammo/powder/primers
subscriptions to 5 handloading Mags.
Chronograph
shooting bench
Your own shooting range (400 yd. min.)
$10,000 Atty fee for divorce
$25 case of beer to celebrate
Dillon 650
Dillon case feeder
6 new rifles in various 'wildcat' calibers
More reloading items 'cause your free to do whatever you want!!!!

I love loading my own. My $15,000 worth of reloading equipment is only an investment. If my kids don't want it when I die then they can sell it & consider it their inheritance.

 

[AK103K]

I do when its cheaper and for a couple of specific rounds I want the accuracy out of.

For a while there, it was cheaper to just buy loaded surplus than it was to buy the components to reload, and that didnt even take into account your time.

Its a little different these days, but you never know where it will go.

 

[Redneck with a 40]

Yep, sure do. I couldn't afford to shoot nearly as much if I didn't. I handload 40 S&W, 357 mag, .223 and .308. I really enjoy the satisfaction of putting my own ammo together, step by step, quality control is high. My $60 Lee 4-hole turret press has paid for itself 10x over, I've probably loaded 12,000 rounds on this thing.

My handloaded .308 ammo will kick some factory ass, guarantee'd.

 

[KJS]

ironically the uncommon cartridges are in abundance. Can't get .357 or .45 ACP, but you can get 7.62 Nagant or 6.5 Swede

I've been seeing some .45 Auto around. Doesn't do me any good though as I need .357 Mag which seems to be one of the hardest to get.

I've noticed that uncommon calibers are in stock, probably because hardly anybody has a gun chambered in something like .45 GAP. And you can get .500 Mag should you need to take down that pesky elephant that tramples your flower garden.

 

[woad_yurt]

There's an advantage to the reloading: You can make stuff that you can't buy off the shelf. I only reload .38 SPL because I shoot it a bunch. I'd like to reload others but equipment money is a little tight. Anyway, I use 148 gr hollowbase wadcutters. But, factory ammo with that particular bullet is only available with powder-puff target-shooting loads. I use 4 gr of HP38 or Win 231, which is fairly stiff. I can use the same very affordable load for both practice and self-defense, which makes for the most consistent results.

 

[Mt Shooter]

Couldn't afford to shoot as much as I do if I didn't.

Ditto, I have some mag's that have never even held a "store bought" round.

 

[belus]

I have spent $1,050 getting my Dillion 550B set up and churning out ammo and I'm not even done yet. I still need to buy a vibratory cleaner, but I'm waiting until I've shot all my clean brass, and I want to purchase a digital scale for faster powder measurements.

I've loaded not quite 700 rounds of 9mm since starting in July. I could have bought 700 rounds of factory ammo for $195. The components I've used have cost $100 even, for a savings over retail of $95.

I will have to load ~8000 rounds to break even. That number includes two more cases of bullets (bought in batches of 3k), and another 5k primers.

I'm keeping track of all this on a public spreadsheet if you want to see the detailed breakdown:
http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=reyrnzkN_JB0j-sSjXDTtQg&output=html

 

[Marlin 45 carbine]

yes, for several different pistol chamberings and 2 rifle. also cast my own BP slugs and balls (as pure lead as possible)

 

[chevyforlife21]

i would like to but i dont got the spare money to buy the equipment,instead i just buy the cheapest ammo i can.

 

[navajo]

hand load

I have two .41 mags, have to hand load. That stuff is now over one dollar per round.

 

[Black Knight]

I used to but got out of practice. I have been thinking about getting back into it. I started with an old Lee Loader (the one that required you use a mallet to tap the die over the case). I did close to 1000 rounds that way for an NRA Security Firearms Instructors course back in the early 1980's. Graduated to an RCBS Reloader Special shortly thereafter. Kind of miss it.

 

[shotgunjoel]

I do not reload, but am quite confident that I will in the future. I like the lower costs, and it just seems fun.

 

[iwilc2]

If I didnt, would not be able to shoot all that much


Len

 

[Patrick R]

Yes, I reload. I've completed 1,200 rounds of 9mm in the last 2 weeks.

I don't mind doing it.

 

[Grassman]

I load: .40
9MM
.308
22-250
30/30
Hopefully more when I get the dies...

 

[Ala Dan]

Handloading since the fall of 1972~!

 

[kostner]

Handloading for 25+ years and enjoy every minute. Started small with one press and its grown a lot. Have five presses and even have a MEC in 12g. Just started casting and have plenty to learn but rifle bullets cost a lot. You can always get good advice right here just ask. Jim

 

[creekerdoug]

I reload on a Dillon 550. It's pure economics for me. It's a chore that I don't get any pleasure or enjoment from doing. I rate reloading somewhere between getting a root canal and painting the house.

I've done 3K of centerfire rifle rounds and just over 3K of various pistol rounds this year. Just because I don't like doing it doesn't mean I don't do it.

 

[jimbeam]

Economics surely figures into the plus column for reasons to reload, but I'm surprised that no one replied they do it for a hobby. I have been in it for almost forty years. I think in time people will appreciate what you can do with reloads; this takes time. Stick with it. You will appreciate the fruits of your labor.

 

[Deanimator]

I couldn't afford to shoot if I didn't reload.

I look at people complaining about the price of practice ammunition and I just roll my eyes.

 

[billybobjoe]

My Winchester 94, 30-30 really loves handloads. I think it's because the chamber isn't the tightest.

 

[lexjj]

Reloading = paying less for better ammunition.

It also increases your shooting satisfaction. When you shoot that amazing group, you get to (in as modest a way as possible of course) remind everyone that not only are you capable of shooting lights out - but you also made the ammunition to do it.