How much to reload?

[mokin]

As I used up the remainder of my Blue Dot yesterday, I was thinking about my component use strategy. I managed to "stockpile" quite a bit before this most recent scare over the previous two years so I feel I'm pretty well set for a while. But, that being said, I am wondering, what would y'all do? I have cut back on shooting recently, more due to schedule conflicts and time, but I still manage to make it out to the range once a week or so.

Only reload what I shoot and save my components in case things aren't as bright as I think.

or

Load everything I can lest Zed comes knockin' on the door.

 

[morcey2]

For me, it depends. If I've found a good load in a specific rifle, I'll usually load up a bunch of them. An example is 150 gr Hornady FMJBT with 52 grains of 4064, CCI 200 primer, HPX cases shoots extremely well out of my sportered 1903. I loaded a ton of them and it's one of my main practice loads for that rifle. If I'm still experimenting with a specific rifle, I'll be a lot more stingy with my loading. I'll load enough to be able to tell what works and what doesn't.

I voted "load everything you have" because that's what I do once I've worked up a load.

Matt

 

[Lost Sheep]

Who is "Zed"?

I load what I expect to shoot.

I shoot a number of different calibers which share primers and powders. To maintain flexibility in how I replenish my ammo, I never load everything I have.

If you measured all the gunpowder in my house and determined how much was loaded in ammunition and how much was waiting to be loaded, never less than 1/3 nor more than 2/3 is still in the bottles/jugs.

Lost Sheep

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I never know what I will want to shoot a month from now so if I use everything I have on hand how can I load something else in the future? I would never load up everything I own just to load it up.

 

[beatledog7]

How about something in between?

I load more than I shoot, mostly these days for therapy. Thus, my inventory slowly grows. I keep components on the shelf for exactly that reason. I don't want to reach a point at which I need some press time and have nothing to load.

 

[ljnowell]

I selected only reload what you shoot, but its only because there wasnt another option. I like to have about 1 months worth of stuff loaded in advance. I then reload every week or so to keep it up. For example, right now is Bullseye season and two monthly IDPA matches. So I keep 800 rounds of 38 wadcutters and 650 rounds of 45 acp loaded at all times. Every weekend I replenish what I used in the weekend match and the Tuesday match and practice.

 

[codefour]

I voted load as you need it. I probably have a thousand rounds of each pistol caliber I shoot loaded and 300-500 of each rifle I shoot with with the exception of .223.

I try and keep at least enough components for 4,000-5,000 rounds for each pistol in the cabinet. Rifle, I ususllay keep 800-1,000 extra bullets, powder and primers on hand with the exception of .223. Although, my .223 stock pile is getting small. There are not many of my favorite 55 FMJ Hornady pills running around out the to buy......

 

[frankenstein406]

Depends on how much of a stockpile you have. Otherwise it would be nice to have components to trade.

 

[zxcvbob]

Something in between. Load up an adequate supply of ammo, and keep the rest in components. (do you really have enough brass to load all your powder and primers, even if you have enough projectiles to do it?)

 

[gamestalker]

I've developed everything I like long ago, so I stock pile now. And when I find a new bullet to try, I'll do my work up, and then load the rest of it. And since I keep detailed records, and label the boxes, stock piling works well for me.

GS

 

[TexasShooter59]

Somewhere in between, but I voted for what you shoot. Like a poster above said: I might need some press time. Also, I tend to want to test stuff, so I would need some available components for that.

 

[Magnum Shooter]

I never load everything I have but I load much more than I shoot. I keep a good supply, for each caliber, on hand ready for the range. If I loaded everything, I would not need to reload again for quite some time, maybe even long enough to forget how.

 

[James2]

Hard to advise you, I can only say I like to have some loaded on hand, more than my immediate needs, but never load all my components. I might want to try something different, work up a load for a new bullet.....etc, who knows?

 

[Reloadron]

I voted what I shoot or plan to shoot. Mainly because I don't want to use all my powder up on on a single caliber or load where I may want that powder later for another caliber. For example dump a few pounds of H4895 into a pile of 308 only to wish I had it later for 30-06.

Ron

 

[Reefinmike]

Brass is what keeps me from loading. If I have a handful of brass sitting around, it'll be loaded within the week. I have reached a breakthrough, I have successfully stopped picking up brass for two of the 4 calibers I load. I pick a magic number for each caliber and stop picking up brass once I reach that number... which happens to be about what I shoot in 6 months. Im still 2k away from my 45 goal and 500 away from my 380 goal.

Its nice knowing that between loaded and components, I can go almost a full year of unrestricted range playtime. Only gun related thing ive bought in the past 7 months was a pound of h110 and a couple boxes of xtp's all at normal prices. Foresight is always better than hindsight.

 

[GLOOB]

I would take it easy on the stockpiling of finished reloads. Just cuz you never know. You might buy a new gun that doesn't like your reloads, or you may trade clear out of a caliber.

You can't sell reloads without a license, but you can sell or recast bullets, and you can sell or reallocate the powder and primers for other calibers.

 

[LUCKYDAWG13]

i just reload what i need to shoot may need to trade something one day

 

[bobinoregon]

load more than I shoot, but less than I have. If I remember right ask Ving Rhames who "Zed" is, think Pulp Fiction

 

[cfullgraf]

I pretty much follow Lost Sheep, ArchangleCD and beatledog7 do.

I load a certain amount of inventory of each cartridge and save the remaining supplies for future loading sessions of one of a number of cartridges. I may not shoot a particular cartridge for a long time so there is not need to stock up on tons of ammunition for that cartridge. I load for something like 28 or 29 cartridges these days, but I have slept since I last made a count.

 

[Schwing]

I am fairly new to reloading. I am hesitant to reload much more than I shoot because I am still in a phase where I am still not completely satisfied with very many of my loads. I have a few in .38 and .357 that make the grade so I keep a few hundred on hand but I won't be doing any marathon reloading until I feel like I know what I am doing a little better.

 

[Mobuck]

I suggest having a suitable amount of ammo(reloaded or factory) ready to go and maintaining a good supply of components to reload practice ammo as needed. Reloading components don't help much if you don't have enough ready ammo for the short term.

 

[BYJO4]

I keep 500 rounds loaded for each of my handgun calibers and reload them as I shoot them.

 

[FROGO207]

I have a minimum amount of each caliber loaded ahead that I will not go below so that I can go to the range or wherever and then shoot what I want to. The other stuff stays in component form to load/replenish what I use as needed. I also might not shoot a certain firearm for months or years then choose to shoot it daily for a while so the need to be flexible with limited components is a must..

 

[Crashbox]

I load more than I shoot, but certainly not all that I have in stock. I would need many thousands of additional brass and bullets to make use of the powder and primers I have.

As a rule, I do the bulk of my reloading from October through March because the colder rain is here. And so I do stock up for the summer, but of course if I run low then I'll reload regardless of the weather.

 

[4895]

I try to keep a minimum of 300 rounds of handgun caliber ammo ready for range trips. Rifle ammo is almost never done except for a few recipes that work well and even then I have more components than loaded rounds. If I had everything done, how could I stay on top of my hobby?