I've been handloading for my pistols (9 & 45) for some years, though not much in the last several years. Doing both on a Hornady L&L, though I've got a Lee single stage mothballed on the shelf. At my peak, I'd do about 1K rounds/month of combined calibers. Only rifle I own is a .22 I've had since as a kid.
Background: I've never had much desire for a defensive rifle, thinking a concealed carry is of far more practical value. But I'm considering adding a rifle for home defense. Before reloading I'd have gone to a shotgun for that purpose, but with firsthand experience in the cost savings of handloading for pistol, and subsequent experience gained of many 1000's of rounds sent downrange, I'm wondering if there might be logic in going to a rifle instead of a shotgun.
Factors: I'm not looking to shoot competitively with rifle like I did with pistol (just IDPA, so 'competitively' is perhaps too strong a word, lol), so accuracy isn't an issue. But I do appreciate the 'stand-off' aspect of a long gun. I don't hunt. Reloading is soothing, but carving out time is not easy. I do really like the 'comfort factor' of having many 1000's of rounds of components at hand, and never thinking about ammo shortages. I wouldn't stockpile anywhere near that amount of components for rifle however. Thinking rifle over shotgun as I already own a press I could set up of low runs of one caliber & leave set.
Question: Do you think my base logic is good, ie, rifle over shotgun, and doing very low volume reloads? If that is sound, what platform would you suggest, given my criteria? AR15, 30-30, etc. I'd say factor would be primarily ease of reloading and platform's dependability for eating handloads vs factory. Or is shotgun reloading an easier route, and economically advantageous?
Thanks in advance!
Background: I've never had much desire for a defensive rifle, thinking a concealed carry is of far more practical value. But I'm considering adding a rifle for home defense. Before reloading I'd have gone to a shotgun for that purpose, but with firsthand experience in the cost savings of handloading for pistol, and subsequent experience gained of many 1000's of rounds sent downrange, I'm wondering if there might be logic in going to a rifle instead of a shotgun.
Factors: I'm not looking to shoot competitively with rifle like I did with pistol (just IDPA, so 'competitively' is perhaps too strong a word, lol), so accuracy isn't an issue. But I do appreciate the 'stand-off' aspect of a long gun. I don't hunt. Reloading is soothing, but carving out time is not easy. I do really like the 'comfort factor' of having many 1000's of rounds of components at hand, and never thinking about ammo shortages. I wouldn't stockpile anywhere near that amount of components for rifle however. Thinking rifle over shotgun as I already own a press I could set up of low runs of one caliber & leave set.
Question: Do you think my base logic is good, ie, rifle over shotgun, and doing very low volume reloads? If that is sound, what platform would you suggest, given my criteria? AR15, 30-30, etc. I'd say factor would be primarily ease of reloading and platform's dependability for eating handloads vs factory. Or is shotgun reloading an easier route, and economically advantageous?
Thanks in advance!
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