Do you load/shoot the same stuff all the time?

[brewer12345]

I have been trying lots of different bullets, powders, loads, etc. in different calibers. Add in bullet casting and there has been even more experimentation. As I get further into this, I am realizing that there are certain loads that shoot really well and they are what I shoot the most of. So a DEWC in 38 special is so accurate for me that I am taking a revolver loaded with it on a squirrel hunt tomorrow (in addition to a .22 rifle). My 357 lever really likes 158 grain RNFPs with certain powder charges. And so on. Coming to this realization, I came to the conclusion that I should just go into mass production and make a big pile of my favorite DEWC load and stop fooling around with other flavors, since the gun and cartridge shoot better than I can. Is this what all the really experienced reloaders end up doing?

 

[BigBore44]

Yes. Once I find a load that does what I want, I stick with it. Took some experimentation. But I have no need to experiment further.

Now, if something new comes out and I want to try it, I’ll start the process. But I could cut my powders down to about 5 and never have to buy anything else. H-110, BlueDot, H-4198, H-4350, H-4895. And maybe throw in Unique just for some reduced loads.
Bullets would be a different story because all my guns shoot a particular bullet best. And only one of them is the same bullet. A revolver and a levergun in the same caliber.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

Yep

 

[ray15]

I think there are several groups of typical reloaders.

Some just want to generate more ammo for the next trip to the range and take the quickest and dirtiest route to it. They may not do much in the way of optimization and judge progress by how little time they have invested in the next box. More typical (at least on this forum) reloaders approach things like you describe, testing until they isolate good loads and then producing those.

Some people will immerse themselves in any interest, reloading being no different. Several regular posters here continually try new things at times just to try them, or certainly at the drop of a hat, need-wise. And in the end, the man that tries the most things tends to learn the most, and in any event generates lots of data that can help anyone understand trends and apply the understanding to their personal efforts.

The real question is - what kind of reloader are you? What level of interest and desire you have is the only important factor. Everyone stops experimenting at a certain point, and only you can say what that point should be. I've still got lots of things I want to try, but certainly produce numbers of my best loads. At some point I expect I'll have enough of those really good loads that I'll try a lot less.

 

[Allen One1]

Pistols maybe yes. Rifles I've never found a load that I was 100% satisfied with, I'm always looking for the next great load. There is always one more thing to test. I may have a favorite that I shoot a lot of for a certain application. The guys I shoot with are really good marksmen (world record holder) and they are always trying new products, loads, etc.

 

[ewlyon]

I used to only be able to load small amounts, enough to last me a couple range trips at most. But now after I find a good load I try to get enough components stocked up to do one good night to last me for a good long while. Doing a large batch like that lets me use more time to experiment and try new stuff and find more good loads, and in the meantime I at least have ammo available that I am satisfied with.

 

[Ironicaintit]

I find what I like and stick with that. but, it could take a while, and a dozen or more different combos to find what that is. And then for each caliber I may still build to different levels, or cater a load to a specific platform.

I keep it as simple as I can, or else managing stock becomes a serious PIA

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I'm with the others once I find a load I really like I stick with it.

As for powders mentioned above I think I could get by with 3 handgun powders and 3 rifle powders.
W231/HP-38, W540/HS-6 and W296/H110 along with AA5744, H4895 and H4350.

That said, I do have 12 handgun powders and 11 rifle powders I use. Some powders are used for only 1 cartridge, I just can't help myself lol.

 

[brewer12345]

The real question is - what kind of reloader are you? What level of interest and desire you have is the only important factor. Everyone stops experimenting at a certain point, and only you can say what that point should be. I've still got lots of things I want to try, but certainly produce numbers of my best loads. At some point I expect I'll have enough of those really good loads that I'll try a lot less.

Simply reloading apparently wasn't enough of a diversion for me, so I started casting this year. That means I could try a brazillian different molds and combinations if I so chose. Practically speaking, my eyesight is iffy and my time is unlimited. What I am really after is accuracy combined with 1) cost control and 2) flexibility. Cost control is easy with just buying components, but when I scored some really cheap lead on craigslist I can churn out bullets for a penny or two. Compared to jacketed pistol bullets at 15 to 25 cents or rifle bullets at 30 cents and up, I am doing just fine on cost. Flexibility is a bit more elusive, but entirely doable. I own a 35 Rem Marlin lever, but I do not shoot it much because it takes few rounds to hunt big game and the recoil and expense are enough to make me not want to do much at the range. Cast a few gas checked bullets at a nickel a pop and work up some moderate power/recoil loads and it is a whole different ballgame. I just got a mold for what amounts to a wadcutter for 30 caliber rifles. As soon as I have some time for a casting session, I will be working up a plinking and small game load for my 30-06. Can't do that with factory ammo.

In the meantime, I will be churning out a whole pile of DEWC 38s simply because they shoot so well. When I get my custom ordered 8 cavity DEWC mold I can really churn 'em out...

 

[ray15]

If you're not in my third group, you're at high risk to join it. Not sure there's anything we can do to help you at this point.

 

[Charlie98]

For the most part, I just find a load any particular weapon likes and load a bunch of it. I don't like to have a bunch of different powders on the bench, so I find data that loads with what I have on hand, which may or may not be the best powder, although I will go out on a limb if I don't get the results I'm looking for.

Yep, I may be missing out... I loaded the Speer HotCor 170grn in my .30-30 loads for many years, just assuming 2MOA was normal for a lever gun, I happened on some Winchester SilverTips and BAM! my groups shrank to 1" @ 100yds... so there IS something to trying different components.

 

[Sam1911]

I came to the conclusion that I should just go into mass production and make a big pile of my favorite DEWC load and stop fooling around with other flavors, since the gun and cartridge shoot better than I can. Is this what all the really experienced reloaders end up doing?

Hopefully, right? I mean, maybe there's something "zen" about endlessly tinkering, but I shoot. I want to work on my abilities with the firearm. I want to know that my ammo hits what I'm aiming at, within a certain degree of probability, at a known range. In other words, I want a known quantity from my ammo that lets me concentrate on the weakest link in my system -- which should always be ME.

Endlessly pursuing smaller and smaller groups -- much beyond your ability to hold accuracy reasonably in line with that group size in a practical application and setting -- seems like a distraction from the point of the whole process.

Sort of like obsessing on how fast your car can go when you don't have anywhere to go.

 

[hdwhit]

brewer12345 wrote:
Do you load/shoot the same stuff all the time?

Pretty much.

I have standardized loadings within each caliber that I regularly load and shoot.

• For 223, I use either 60 grain spire point for serious work or a 55 grain fmj/sp/hp for plinking.
• For 9mm, it's a 115 grain FMJ or JHP
• 38 Specials are always 158 grain JHP
• While 45 ACP splits between 185 grain JHP or 200 grain Lead SWC.

I've been shooting these loads consistently since I got the guns they are shot out of and developed the load. In some cases, particularly the 223 60 grain loads, that standardization occurred in 1979.

When I seek to develop a new load for an existing gun or I get a new gun that requires a load, I may go through dozens of different bullet types to find the one or two loads that meet my requirements, but once that load is determined, it is what is loaded consistently in volume.

 

[warnerwh]

Once I find a load with the accuracy I like I will stick to it. Good deals on bullets sometimes gets in the way of leaving things alone but I will not bother to change anything other than the bullet even if accuracy drops off.

 

[Havok7416]

I find a load and I'm done. Like Sam, I want to shoot not work.

 

[444]

With pistols, I typically load a thousand or more rounds of ammo at once. And I am not all that particular about what I am loading. I have been shooting and loading for years and I have a good idea of about what I want to do, but I do not "work up" pistol loads. For what I do with pistols, the loads I use are plenty good enough.

Rifles are a totally different story. With rifles, I constantly try new things. If I find a really good shooting load, I try to make it better. There is always a better load right over the next hill.
There are a couple reasons for this. First of all, I enjoy the process. I enjoy trying to learn more about reloading and attempt to always get better. Second, you can never have a rifle or rifle ammo that is too accurate. To me, this is what makes shooting and reloading interesting. I try something new and can't wait to get to the range to see if I accomplished anything.

I am a target shooter. And, I shoot a lot. And I regularly shoot at fairly long range (the rifle range I go to has steel out to 1200 yards). I don't do a lot of hunting. And for any hunting I ever did (the way I hunt), mediocre accuracy was more than good enough. Especially where I live now. I am going to go deer hunting in about 10 minutes and I expect any shot I take to be within 50 yards but it's much more likely that I will be shooting at maybe 20 yards. I don't need to work up a precision load for that.

 

[kcofohio]

I have only about 4 loads with certain bullets in hand gun that I stick with. I hope to narrow the others down also. Time constaint is the biggest hurdle for me now.
But I'm still young in reloading years too.

And too, there is so many new bullet offerings out there.

 

[Walkalong]

Somewhere in between. I have certain loads I repeat, but I also experiment some. It takes more dough to experiment, and that curtails some of it with everyone.

 

[jmorris]

I shoot higher volumes of the same old same old. I have powder measures that have not been adjusted for more than a decade, dropping the same charge of the same powder into countless thousands of cases over the years.

I shoot “new” or different combinations quite often but don’t load as many “test” loads, just seeing if the grass is really greener or just looks that way from my side of the fence.

 

[badkarmamib]

Some just want to generate more ammo for the next trip to the range and take the quickest and dirtiest route to it. They may not do much in the way of optimization and judge progress by how little time they have invested in the next box. More typical (at least on this forum) reloaders approach things like you describe, testing until they isolate good loads and then producing those.

I started reloading so I could produce better-quality hunting ammo for my .30/06 than Wal-Mart had available, for less cost. An afternoon of load development and testing, and my groups were 1/4 of the previous size. Good enough for deer within 250 yards.

I also load cheap lead bullets for my pistols. I use them for close-range CCW practice. They do not need to be anything special, so cost and availability are definitely the deciding factors there. I use enough HP-38 to cycle the action, and spend a lot of time cleaning powder residue and lead out of my pistols when I get home.

Some components intrigue me, that if what I use became scarce, I would try others, but have no burning desire to do so at the moment.

 

[Jack B.]

I have three guns that I have developed loads for that are dead on and that's all I load for them. There are five more that I am still experimenting with. When I get loads sorted out for them I'll buy a new gun to work on. Lots of fun.

 

[entropy]

Until I have different needs for ammo, yes. Last one I developed was a .223 deer hunting round that closely replicated Hornady's Superformance 55 gr. V-Max load. My son liked how it shot from his Axis. It also shot well from his Sportical, and my Axis. Otherwise most of my loads are GI-type, M193, .45 ball, etc.

 

[egd]

To steal an expression--do you load to shoot or shoot to load. I'm the former.

 

[375supermag]

Hi...
I load a lot of rounds for calibers that I shoot a lot of, generally don't change my general purpose/target/plinking load for a given handgun caliber.
However, I do experiment with loads that I use for hunting. I test different powders all the time trying to find a bit more accuracy or a way to achieve a given accuracy/power for less cost.
Recently, I have been experimenting with plated bullets to find loads that will reduce/eliminate leading in my revolvers and 1911s. The new year will see me working with plated bullets in 9mm, .40 and 10mm autoloaders.
I hope to find plated bullet loads in most handgun calibers that shoot as well as my cast bullet loads that I have used for decades as general purpose/target/plinking ammunition.
Most of my hunting loads for handguns have been worked up using Hornady HP/XTP bullet and they have worked well, so I have little reason to experiment extensively for that application but am always open to try something new, at least on a limited basis.

 

[drband]

I have go-to loads for .380, 9mm, .45, .44 and am currently working up a good load for .22TCM.

I stick with my proven loads unless I run out of powder or just want to try something new. I confess I really enjoy the load development process but I enjoy shooting more!