1KPerDay
Member
Even if you dismiss the other advantages of reloading: the much cheaper ammo cost, the greater flexibility of building ammo to your specs, the ability to build ammo from your supplies when no factory ammo is available anywhere, the enjoyment of the activity... even the environmental benefits... the following should be reason enough. This is the first group I shot of the first batch of new loads I'm working up for a new bullet (Berry's 155gr HBFP with HP-38). Seated from a cardboard box rest at 25 feet, I first fired a group of factory ammo, CCI Lawman 180Gr TMJ (left group) and then my reloads (right group):
Glock 23:
And through the Taurus:
PPC bronze produced a similar group to the CCI Lawman.
I'm not claiming I'm the best marksman in the world (I'm definitely not even close). But I just was impressed at the obvious improvement over commonly available factory rounds. These aren't what anyone would consider "Match" reloads, either. These are relatively cheap, plated bullets assembled safely but quickly via Lee Classic Turret into mixed range pickup cases. For handguns I don't trim, I don't clean or uniform primer pockets, I don't weigh cases or bullets or sort brass by headstamp. If my powder measure throws within .1grain or so I call it good (I don't approach max loads; HP-38 meters very consistently though... I get no variation to speak of). I don't freak out if OAL varies a couple hundredths, as long as the rounds still pass the "plunk" test and chamber well.
I put off reloading for many years... now I wish I'd started many years ago.
Glock 23:
And through the Taurus:
PPC bronze produced a similar group to the CCI Lawman.
I'm not claiming I'm the best marksman in the world (I'm definitely not even close). But I just was impressed at the obvious improvement over commonly available factory rounds. These aren't what anyone would consider "Match" reloads, either. These are relatively cheap, plated bullets assembled safely but quickly via Lee Classic Turret into mixed range pickup cases. For handguns I don't trim, I don't clean or uniform primer pockets, I don't weigh cases or bullets or sort brass by headstamp. If my powder measure throws within .1grain or so I call it good (I don't approach max loads; HP-38 meters very consistently though... I get no variation to speak of). I don't freak out if OAL varies a couple hundredths, as long as the rounds still pass the "plunk" test and chamber well.
I put off reloading for many years... now I wish I'd started many years ago.