Reloading = Irrational OCD

[Mauser69]

I wonder if irrational OCD is the definition of a hobby? I do not know, but it struck me recently that it certainly seems to be the definition of my reloading. I started this game to save money when I was shooting Skeet competitively - really saved a LOT for that. But metallic reloading is different.

Way back in the 1970s, when I read that you could make more accurate ammunition by reloading than you could buy at the store, I thought it might be worth while to work up a standard load for the few calibers I shot and then just fill a box or two as needed. I have never shot any handgun or rifle competitively, so I really did not need high volume or ultra accuracy. Frankly, just about any ammo is plenty accurate for just punching holes in paper, ringing a gong, or the average hunt. Even with crappy ammo you can occasionally luck into good groups and feel proud about it! In fact, I do not shoot at ANYTHING less than 25 yards just because it seems so pointless (even with my CCW) - what skill is there in hitting something with a gun when you can do just as well with a rock?

So why do I have over 20 different powders and thousands upon thousands of bullets and primers stacked up in my reloading room? I must be crazy. I only shoot a few different calibers in both handgun and rifle: .38/357, .40 S&W, .44, .22-250, .270, .308 (YUCK), and .30-06. For all of those combined, I could get by with only about three powders. And back when I used to buy ammo off-the-shelf, I never obsessed over it - any box with the right bullet weight was just fine. So when I reload, I should just have a standard load for each purpose and be done with it, right?

But Noooooo, I just cannot do that. I have to load up at least 8 or 10 different combinations in just a simple caliber like .38 Spl to punch holes at 25 yards and compare them; I have to spend hours studying chrono numbers and standard deviations while trying to cross reference each shot with the particular hole it made. I have to spend more hours going back though my logs to try and understand why today's results do not exactly match those from months or years ago. Yeah, with some loads I can shoot 2" groups at 25 yards with my Blackhawk, and other loads I can only manage 6" groups, but so what? Why can't I just pick one of the good ones and stick with it? I must be crazy.

Sigh . . .

The weather is nice today, so I guess I'll go out and load up some new bullets in .22-250 and see how well they kill paper.

 

[thomas15]

The whole of this hobby is somewhat of a mystery if you ask me.

 

[stoky]

ain't it grand?

 

[Walkalong]

I bought some new IMR Target at the gun show this weekend. I need it like I need another hole in my head. Yea, I have a number of different powders around that I have tried or use. I almost bought some IMR Green too, and kind of wish I had. Curiosity killed the cat. Trying new stuff is fun.

 

[The Bushmaster]

As I have stated many times on here. Reloading is not a hobby...IT'S AN OBSESSION!!!

 

[Sam1911]

Uhhh.... wow. See, my thing is I try out a few powders for the bullet I want to shoot, pick a load I like, and then churn them out by the thousands or tens of thousands so I can go shoot. If I can get a load together that seems to print a pretty decent sized group and carries sufficient power to do the job, I'm not going to go chasing other hypothetical loads that might maybe eek out a half-inch better group, perhaps, maybe, under mechanical circumstances. I'm going to go shoot a few thousand in varying positions and situations and learn how to improve the actual weak link in the system -- ME.

Maybe if I needed some way to kill off the remaining hours until death, I'd spend them chasing eternally ephemerally higher levels of mechanical precision out of my firearms, but I've got enough to do already and some of it's more fun.

Is the goal to spend time tinkering at the reloading bench, or is the goal to be able to shoot well?

Of course, I find drag racing pretty dull, so maybe that's the same kind of question. Zero to 150 mph in a 1/4 mile, in a straight line. Great. But where are you GOING?

In fact, I do not shoot at ANYTHING less than 25 yards just because it seems so pointless (even with my CCW) - what skill is there in hitting something with a gun when you can do just as well with a rock?

I assume that's a joke, but just in case... you practice with a self-defense gun NOT because you can't stand and deliver a carefully aimed shot at 3, 7, 10, 15, or 25 yards, but because self-defense with a sidearm is all about adequate hits in the fractions of a second you might have to get that gun out and a shot or three on target. While moving, while startled/scared, when it's dark, when there's multiple moving threats, etc. I know, I think, you're kidding, but I have known guys who pull out a box of .38s at the range bench, unbox their gun, load up, fire that box off, and say, by word and attitude, "Well, they're all on the paper, I'm ready for self defense!"

 

[mdi]

Reloading/handloading is much more than assembling components to save money. I too have several more types of powders than I need looking for a "better" load (like 6 different "38 Special" powders). A wise old feller once told me; "there is nothing wrong with the pursuit of perfection, just don't get upset when you can't reach it". So, I will continue to research, try new powder and methods, evaluate and record, pull the handle with my left hand instead of my right, in search of that "perfect" load (I'm not sure I will ever find it, but it's fun tryin'). OCD? Nope, jes happily pursuing that "perfect" load...

 

[Varminterror]

A guy has to differentiate whether his hobby is the process of load development, or the act of reloading.

If you enjoy sitting at the bench and cranking out hundreds or thousands of rounds so you can stand at the firing line and blast them, then your hobby is the act of reloading. Guys with this affliction tend to have high volumes of only a few components, only a few manuals and focus only upon a few select cartridges, often utilizing a few select powders among them. Once these guys find their load for a given cartridge, they settle in and crank them out. However!! These folks, focused on the act of loading, will often spend their time and money trying to improve their loading process, working on different progressive presses, different powder measures, etc.

Alternatively...

If your enjoyment is derived in the comparison of different seating lengths, different charge weights, different brass prep methods, or in comparing multiple different cartridges within a class, your disease is often much more serious. These folks get lured in by wildcatting, get bogged down into minutia of comparing one die to another or burning out barrels by testing one powder against another... We end up with dozens of boxes of bullets we'll never shoot once we find something better and pound on pound of partially used cans of powder which we may never completely use either.

So it really depends where upon that spectrum you fall. If you enjoy both equally, you'll certainly stay busy and certainly stay broke as your time and money get committed to both equipment improvement AND cartridge and component comparisons.

 

[Fine Figure of a Man]

I'm not addicted, I can quit reloading whenever I want.

 

[Sam1911]

If you enjoy sitting at the bench and cranking out hundreds or thousands of rounds so you can stand at the firing line and blast them, then your hobby is the act of reloading.

Or, perhaps, your hobby is shooting -- spending your days in practice, competition, improvement of skill and technique, challenging yourself with timers, expedient positions, difficult target presentations, and/or putting that gun to use in the field or on the street -- and reloading is a means to that end. (Which sometimes is interesting in it's own ways, but neither the act of reloading nor the pursuit of "the" load, is then the compelling part of the exercise.)

 

[LiveLife]

Reloading is a hobby for many but for some of us, it's a passion that requires a touch of OCD.

 

[Axis II]

i got the OCD for ya. I have to weigh each charge 2 times just to be sure. measure each OAL just to be sure and even if i know it will fit my rifle i always check it to be sure. I have never had a lot of reloads assembled because I have to make sure say 24gr of h335 shoots the way it did the first 100 times so i don't make a lot of bullet and they wont perform to the very top. I have tested the same charge, bullet, primer combo about 20 times. I have 4 rifle powders and the only rifle i shoot is 223rem.

when i began loading 44mag one time the combo i made shot 3 holes touching at 100yards and the next time it opened up so i pulled 25 bullets and started from scratch. I have ocd.

 

[badkarmamib]

If you enjoy sitting at the bench and cranking out hundreds or thousands of rounds so you can stand at the firing line and blast them, then your hobby is the act of reloading. Guys with this affliction tend to have high volumes of only a few components, only a few manuals and focus only upon a few select cartridges, often utilizing a few select powders among them. Once these guys find their load for a given cartridge, they settle in and crank them out. However!! These folks, focused on the act of loading, will often spend their time and money trying to improve their loading process, working on different progressive presses, different powder measures, etc.

Describes me to a "T". I enjoy reloading as an extension of my firearms hobby. I like making quality ammunition for a fraction of what factory costs. I like being able to pick a particular hunting bullet, and tailor a load that matches the firearm. I dial my scope for this load, and practice continuously, knowing that my chosen round will not be unavailable due to Wal-Mart's delivery schedule.

I load lead for my pistols, for about 1/4 of what cheap range fodder costs at Wal-Mart. This equates to 4 times as much practice at the range, and double my range time staying out of my wife's hair

I agree there is a difference between reloaders and handloaders. I enjoy the process of manufacturing my own ammo, and seeing it perform consistently. I do not have my own land to shoot on, so I would be very frustrated indeed, if I were to obsess over obtaining that last 1/4 MOA of precision.

 

[Walkalong]

I have to weigh each charge 2 times just to be sure.

You need therapy.

Like Sam posted, I too will work up a load and then stick with it, but I also like to play around with new stuff. I just loaded up 1K of a favorite 9MM load, and 500 of another. I'll do the same next time. One load is a number of years old, where the other not so much, but I will reuse it because I like it so much.

Some like playing around with new stuff all the time, and some work it up and never change unless they get a new caliber or try a new bullet and the old charge didn't work as well. Some do some of each. I have a .45 ACP load I have used for 30+ years. It just works. But I also have new ones from experimenting over the years.

 

[JeffG]

I'm not interested in the cost savings, I craft ammunition. Many of my rifles and handguns have never seen a factory round. That's what I want out of reloading. The research and data, combined with the mental concentration and gymnastics are satisfaction for me.

 

[wally]

Reloading is more like CDO, Its sorta like OCD, but with the letters arranged correctly.

Guys with this affliction tend to have high volumes of only a few components, only a few manuals and focus only upon a few select cartridges, often utilizing a few select powders among them.

That'd be me. I reload so I can shoot 2X+ more rounds at steel plates for the same $$$ spent fueling my pistols.

 

[Havok7416]

Reloading is many things to many people and I don't think you can exactly put it in a specific category.

Some people do it for the hobby of it, some do it as a means to an end and I'm sure there's half a dozen other reasons at least.

 

[mdi]

So far, I haven't seen a "wrong" answer. It all depends on how the neurons are arranged in yer brain. Some view reloading as a means to an end; shooting. Many reload for the sake of reloading. (I remember asking myself many years ago; do I reload so I can shoot, or shoot so I can reload? Didn't have a good answer!)

 

[Zendude]

It keeps your mind sharp.
Also, when dealing with explosive components, a little OCD is a good thing.

 

[Arkansas Paul]

But Noooooo, I just cannot do that. I have to load up at least 8 or 10 different combinations in just a simple caliber like .38 Spl to punch holes at 25 yards and compare them; I have to spend hours studying chrono numbers and standard deviations while trying to cross reference each shot with the particular hole it made. I have to spend more hours going back though my logs to try and understand why today's results do not exactly match those from months or years ago. Yeah, with some loads I can shoot 2" groups at 25 yards with my Blackhawk, and other loads I can only manage 6" groups, but so what? Why can't I just pick one of the good ones and stick with it? I must be crazy.

Yeah, I don't think everyone does all that. I certainly don't.
Don't get me wrong, I enjoy loading ammo, I really do.
But I don't own a chronograph and have no plans to buy one. Also once I get an MOA group, I stop chasing anything tighter. This is because I'm more of a hunter than a target shooter. If I shot competition, I'd likely do things differently.
But MOA is more than good enough for hunting whitetails and as far as chronographing loads, well I don't have a clue how fast my loads are moving but I've never had a deer shake one off and walk away, so they're going fast enough.

However, you do what makes you happy loading.
Don't let anyone else convince you their way is better. Do it your own way.

 

[sbwaters]

It is not OCD to want to understand how your guns operate most successfully and accurately.

Beginners experience a figurative explosion of bullets and powder, but after a while -- like a year into it for me -- you begin to prune away powders your don’t like and bullets that don’t work well.

If I haven’t pruned that away by next year then, yes -- OCD.

 

[RainDodger]

Someone above said you have to have a "touch" of OCD?! Geez. I think we have to be slightly insane and totally OCD to be very successful at what we do. Plus there are bits of the packrat or the hoarder in all of us too. Or you're not doing it the "right" way. Not by my OCD standards at least. Then again... sometimes I like the loading part more than the shooting part if it was a bad day at the range....

 

[H&R Glock]

To cure this malady, box up all your guns and reloading stuff and send it to me.

 

[BrocLuno]

Ah, the OCD thing for me is to work up loads in each caliber with one of 4 powders. Try to find the best accuracy with a limited number of powders. I like 4064 for rifle, but I have some 844 gov't powder to use up, so I need to work that down to acceptable in 308 and 223... So for me it's all about minimizing and simplifying ... It's an OCD thing in it's own right

For most of my rifles, 2"~3" groups would be acceptable. But if I can tighten that up with what I have, why not...

Same work you'all go through. I'm just looking for minute of critter

 

[Hokie_PhD]

A guy has to differentiate whether his hobby is the process of load development, or the act of reloading.

Why?

Who says you can't do both?

What's to say someone can't have both hobbies?

Can't someone spend some time doing load development? Use a load they like to make rounds to shoot? Then repeat?

Or say I spend time working up loads.

Then spend some time loading up a bunch of ammo to shoot.

Or in my case I'm still learning to find the best loads for my guns but I'll also load up a few hundred rounds to shoot with loads that I've tested and find decent for my needs.