Not loving reloading.

[GMFWoodchuck]

You could look at it from a different standpoint. Building engines versus driving. An engine builder may well be happy if his engine was put into a tractor. But that doesn't mean the racecar driver is going to have any interest in driving one. The builder (reloader) is concerned with how optimal the engine is for the application. Does it have enough horsepower (bullet speed) enough torque (bullet weight)? A tractor engine would need more torque (hunter gunning for bear) but a racecar engine would need more horsepower ( a varmint bullet reaching a target 400-500 yards away.) Reloading and shooting are two different things really.


Different strokes for different folks. Maybe you're the racecar driver.

 

[Yank]

two bits

I always new I would reload my own some day. Growing up watching my father turn out cartridge after cartridge in 30-06 on the old Lyman Spartan single stage press. I was fascinated with methodic approach he took to inspect, measure and load cases, the mechanics of the press and how he wiped and polished each cartridge. It wasnt until much later that I realized his true motivation and love for the outdoors was out of necessity as his wife, my mother, was the biggest nag west of the Mississippi.

 

[jmalys]

newbie

I have been reloading for about 3 months now and enjoy it. I have a single stage press, nothing fancy, but I will say an auto powder measure is something that made hand loading hand gun rounds A LOT less tedious. I am pretty slow, it takes me about an hour to do 50 rounds, and usually I just do batches of 25 every now and then.

Loading .40 S&W and .357 mag is pretty satisfying to me, but more so for the .308 and 45-70. The prices for 45-70 rounds for modern (1895) rifles are simply horse dung. $60-$80 for 20 cartridges?? Give me a break. I can reload the same stuff for like 9 dollars per 20.

It is nice to reload match .308 rounds as well, which will cost about 1/3 of the price as store bought, not to mention neck sizing only, which theoretically improves accuracy.

But like I said, if you have a single stage press, invest in an auto disk measure or something similar; saves a bunch of time.

 

[Peter_S]

Like others have said; if I was reloading only to save money it would probably drive me nuts. I enjoy the process and probably use many more steps than necessary. I wander into the garage and spend some time reloading then go do something else, go back when I'm in the mood again. It suits my ADD-type personality

 

[Damon555]

There will be an ah-ha moment. Mine came when the rifle loads I was building shot groups 1/2 the size as factory ammo. You just need to keep trying.

But as mentioned, reloading isn't for everyone. It's expensive to get started. You will save money about 20 years down the road.

 

[lykoris]

I started reloading for one reason, control.

Overall I find it manually repetitive and quite tedious for pistol/revolver ammo.

Rifle adds more steps but really is no different.

I don't enjoy the process but the time spent doing it enables me to reflect on certain issues.

The most I have got out of it would be that my wife now shoots full load 9mm and in due time I will have her comfortable with shooting full load 45 auto.

I don't appreciate the process much but admire the results.

 

[Riss]

Contrary to popular belief, reloading does not save you money. It allows you to shoot more with the same amount of money.

 

[KevinR]

Equipment , Equipment , Equipment Its all about your equipment, the better your equipment works the more fun you will have. Contrary equipment will turn you off to the whole experience.

 

[918v]

Contrary to popular belief, reloading does not save you money. It allows you to shoot more with the same amount of money.

That's like saying you won't save money by eating in because cooking your own food allows you to eat more.

 

[StretchNM]

Well, there is truth to that statement of Riss'. You can reload most cartridges substantially cheaper than buy them, after you've shot and reloaded enough where the savings pay for your equipment. But.... then what happens with most of us is, once cartridges are reloaded, we just have to go out and shoot them. Once they're shot, we just have to clean them and reload them. And on it goes.......

To me, reloading is its own process, seperate and apart from shooting. I reload them for the joy (and peace) of "building" something correctly. Then, rather than sit around enjoying them or marveling at them, I have to shoot them. An entirely different process where I'm concerned with how they group.

So....if I had to buy manufactured ammo, I couldn;t justify the expenditure. But I accept the costs when buying components. They're cheaper in the individual components of the purchase. When you add it all up, you've shot way more reloads than you would have if you'd been forced to buy factory ammo. The costs of equipment and components, in the end, costs substantially more than buying ammo, IF you're like me and you shy away from the high cost of factory ammo. That's my take, anyway.....

 

[twofifty]

If it weren't for reloading there would be no HG comps for me.
Plus I enjoy the process for all the reasons mentioned by others.
Add to that the learning & insights into internal and flight ballistics that are part of it - I love learning stuff.

But certainly, reloading is not for everyone and that's ok.

 

[lykoris]

I agree with Riss.

The group of guys I shoot with on the weekend come with a box of 50 cartridges and on the rare occasion maybe two for each calibre they shoot. None of them reload.

I shoot 200 a session as a minimum, with my wife it would be 300-350 per session minimum.

for rifle it's the same as above, they come with 20 cartridges, I'll come with at least a 100.

In France they all reload due to legal restrictions on purchasing ammo per category 1 firearms , 1,000 cartridges per year so I know a lot of reloaders. The only guys I know that save money are those that come with commerical boxes of factory bought ammo....which is basically the group of guys I shoot with on a regular basis.

Seriously, the reloaders talk less and shoot 4 times more You don't save money unless you are 'extremely disciplined' with costs.