Downsides to reloading.

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do it anyway, but nothing short of a lobotomy will ever get me to enjoy it.
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then you are not doing it right! if all you are doing is loading one load so you can go bang bang bang at a peice of paper, yes, it is going to be boring. however, if you actually try to acheive something, like much improved accuracy, or better balistitics than what is available by buying ammo at wal-mart, or loading for a specific purpose. then you are missing ALL of the fun. yes, i do load quite a bit of handgun ammo to be shot at paper targets. and yes, some if it is just slap it together with known good loads, that require no extra effort. but the fun (or insanity perhaps) comes when you try to get sub 1/2 or better moa groups from a specific firearm. then try to better that result by changing one item at a time. of course the goal is unobtainable, of 10 shots through the exact same hole @ whatever distance you deem appropriate. if you add in molding you own bullets to the mix, then it gets even more interesting (or insane). i am sure i will go insane before it is all said and done, but it is better than sitting in the house, watching tv until i die!
 
Although as GLOOB said, I get a little obsessed about policing brass sometimes.
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This is probably the worst. Sometimes I spend more time looking for brass than shooting and I get annoyed with myself :)

Reloading is insanely, mind-numbingly, soul-crushingly boring.
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So is television, so I sit at the reloading bench instead :)
 
First, there's no mercury involved with today's loading. Exposure to metallic lead is a concern, but only if you don't wash your hands, then eat something with your hands. Lead salts in the form of primer residue, IS a concern, especially if you're using a tumbler to clean cases.

Second, if I didn't enjoy it, I wouldn't do it. If it's a chore, then you're destined to make a mistake.

Third, there's ways to make it more efficient, IE, progressive loaders. Read that as faster, to get it over with quicker. I'm a tinkerer by heart. I HAVE to know how things work, that's why I got into reloading. I find myself to be always trying to find a better load, keeps me interested. If you don't have an inquisitive nature, you'll get bored real quick.

4, Sell a gun? Why in the world would you want to sell one of your guns? That's akin to selling a child, or your loving dog.
 
snuffy said:
Sell a gun? Why in the world would you want to sell one of your guns? That's akin to selling a child, or your loving dog.
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I'd sooner compare it to selling a car. Typically, you do it to make room for a better car.

You can sell a gun and put the proceeds toward a better gun. Tough to do that with a child or a dog.
 
TexasRifleman said:
This is probably the worst. Sometimes I spend more time looking for brass than shooting and I get annoyed with myself :)
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I spread out several large drop clothes to catch brass and have a metal detector. Even so, I begrudgingly accept up to a 2% loss rate in the grass.
 
You don't have to be a reloader to get exposed to lead,people that shoot in indoor ranges not properly ventilated can have a higher blood level content that a reloader that takes the proper precautions when handling lead bullets or casting.

I've cast and reloaded for nearly 30 years and my blood lever are normal. My only downside to reloading is I keep wanting to buy different calibers so I can reload them,this stuff is addicting.
 
Exposure to lead and mercury is a downside.
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I always thought that was a Plus! I always wanted to be a Super Hero and the only way to become one is to be exposed to a dangerous combo of industrial chemicals and hope for that one "Freak" accident to happen and Poof I am Spider/Hawk/Woodchuck Man! :)


On the serious side I don't see many if any real down sides to reloading. I would call them trade offs and the good out weight the bad.
 
kbbailey said:
Before I built the man-cave/reloading room in the shed, I kept my mec reloader with it's 200 rd shot capacity bottles in an upstairs room. My wife was cleaning that room one day and accidently knocked the reloader over, breaking the plastic tube and sending about 10 lbs of #8 shot all over the old wood flooring.
That was 20 yrs ago....We are currently remodeling that room and have ripped up the old carpet. I still get the "stink-eye" look whenever you hear the distinctive sound of lead shot rattling through the vaccuum sweeper
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You don't remind her who knocked it over years ago? Guess not, you're still alive.
 
The problem with reloading is that its going to cost me more money. The only time I come out of my reloading room is to watch the news. I get so depressed that I go back in right away. If I buy a TV for the room I won't have to come out for anything.
Won't my wife be thrilled. Anyone got an old army cot?
 
Lately, I've been thinking about the positives and negatives of reloading. I've come up with lots of positives, but the only really negative I can think of is that with factory ammo if you ever get rid of a gun and have left over ammo you can sell the ammo off. Or you could also sell off ammo if you ever have more than you feel you need and prices go up. However, if you have a ton of reloads you can't legally sell them, so if you sell a gun and no longer have a need for a caliber you are basically stuck with rounds you might not use. Other than that I can't think of any other negatives. Is this an issue for anyone? Are there any other downsides to reloading?
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Big downside for me is that I cannot get enough of it, nor can I have enough die calibers nor new presses or specialty tools. As with the printers you buy, it is not the price of the printer that kills you , it is the toner, all the stuff that you "just gotta have" to go along with reloading.
 
I did find one down side a few weeks ago. Dried blood is a real pain to get off a press. That's what happens when you try to de-prime your thumb.
 
To me:
1--More clutter and expense than I could possibly bear.
2--I have very little patience.
3--The idea of reloading scares the crap out of me.

Hey, somebody has to keep those poor ammo makers in business! :D
 
Downside?

I bought a 7.62x25 Tokarev. & a spam can of ammo.
The ammo is surplus commie stuff, so it's berdan primed.
And it bugs me to no end that I can't reload it!!!!!!!!
I hate having to just recycle all that brass. ;)
 
Downsides -
Exposure to materials known to cause health issues if you are not careful (think little kids)

Space needed is more than a comparable amount of factory loaded ammo

Savings come from buying components in bulk (see space above)

Having too much of incompatible components on hand means having to buy more in bulk

Takes time - for some that is a critical issue
 
Downsides:
You get into reloading to save money and spend way more money overall because you are shooting more than ever.

You feel compelled to find that "perfect load" and run through a hundred rounds by the time you "think" you found the perfect load for your gun, but aren't quite sure you shouldn't now run through another hundred to find the perfect seating depth for that perfect load.

You blow through a pound of every powder on the store shelf looking for that extra 1/4 MOA for your "plinking" rounds.

You load up 1000 rounds for SHTF and keep them stashed "just in case" (are you sure that load has the perfect terminal ballistic for hunting wild animals AND home defense?).

You are never satisfied unless you have at least 1 each of
A sealed 8 pound jug of fast and slow rifle powders
A sealed 8 pound jug of pistol powder
1k each of any primer type you need
500-1000 projectiles for the calibers you reload
1k+ brass ready for reloading of each caliber you shoot.

There are more and more chunks of time where your whereabouts are unaccounted for by your family until they simply write it off to "he's reloading".

You shoot in order to reload.

I'm sure many of you can think of more downsides.
 
Reloading boring??!?!!?!?!?!?!?! NEVER! From scrounging WWs to picking up brass to banging steel plates to bringing home dinner....Reloading will never get old. I told my brother yesterday that if I couldn't reload then I don't even want to shoot anymore. It is what makes shooting fun for me. I have reloaded since 98 and have been shooting since 82. I have thousands upon thousands of primers, more powder than I can recall, and brass out the wazoo. About 19 5 gallon buckets of un-rendered WWs so I have my work cut out for me. I thank God for the freedom we have and the ability to do the things we do in the reloading/shooting community!......P.S. There is a downside....Trimming brass!!
 
The downside (for me) is that there will be a time when you want to go shooting, but you didn't have the time to replenish your ammo pile. At least there's rimfire.
 
Reloading is insanely, mind-numbingly, soul-crushingly boring.
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Well, I suppose it could be. I work on home-improvement projects, too, and painting is right in there for an excitement level. I've found it to be less boring, however, if you don't actually watch the paint dry...

I also tie flies. There is a certain satisfaction is catching a fish on a fly that was the product of 30 minutes of eye-squinting, tedious frustration. The bad thing about tying flies is that they get completely lost when they get lost...there are no components to recover.

No, reloading can be a challenge, as others have said. If you're trying for accuracy with a rifle, you can try dozens of combinations of powder charge and seating depth until you find the right one. And you need to keep records of all that if you're going to avoid chasing yourself. If you're just reloading for pistol competition, there's the challenge of getting the process down so you can reload 2000 rounds that are as good as factory. No double charges and no squibs, because you were paying attention the whole time.

It's a mindset thing. Almost anything you do can be boring, if you have the wrong mindset. I find it's easier to tune the mindset than to constantly search for something new so I'm not bored... :)
 
Quote:
Exposure to lead and mercury is a downside.

I always thought that was a Plus! I always wanted to be a Super Hero and the only way to become one is to be exposed to a dangerous combo of industrial chemicals and hope for that one "Freak" accident to happen and Poof I am Spider/Hawk/Woodchuck Man!
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That's just awesome! Let us know how it turns out. :)
 
The only down side I can think is the "Devil Spawn" of 45 ACP cases with small primer pockets. AND, picking 380 cases out of batch of 9mm cases.

Otherwise, I see no downside what so ever!!
 
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