.308 Norma
Member
And some of us buy guns in oddball chamberings just because we think it will be fun to develop loads for them.
Well, at times my "touch" of OCD can be a bit more.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.
Why?
Who says you can't do both?
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 comparison
Read the post before getting your panties in a twist.
Read the post before getting your panties in a twist.
There is more...in terms of hand guns, why shoot from a rest and obsess about how well you do at 25 yards? I often see indication of shooters bringing a rifle mindset to handguns. I feel good about how well I do at 50 feet and believe that is more like what I would be shooting in a defensive situation, even hunting. Holding the gun steady, maintaining sight picture, while getting a good trigger squeeze and while free standing, no leaning on the bench, is part of the practice and skill. It is an imperfect process, so there lies the OCD pitfall. But whatever one calls fun...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.
I hope you value THR like I do. I thought your post was thoughtful and made sense. Try to ignore when someone goes off on a post, perhaps thinking better of it later.Excuse me! First no need to be rude.
Second no need to be offensive nor take offense
Third I was replying to Varminterror'a comment which I quoted and and offerered what I thought was a respectful point. The point being that they were making a claim of two mutually exclusive options and I felt the options were not mutually exclusive. I then explained why.
I'm sorry if this upset you, but A) I think my response was valid and relevant B) there was no reason for you to be rude to me like this C) if you disagree with me that's great but why not be respectful and offer an alternative view D) if my post wasn't clear or wrong how about civilly letting me know why instead of being offensive. E) if I did something wrong again pointing it out civilly goes a long way in keeping the forum polite and helping folks, myself included from repeating the mistake.
So again. I'll stand with my response to Varminterror that the options they offered were not mutually exclusive. I wasn't trying to be offensive but rather that there are folks like myself who are spending times focusing on loads. And then we flip to making a batch of ammo to enjoy shooting from one of those loads before going back to trying to make the loads even better.
Relating back to the original post, as a fairly new reloaded and as an engineer, I'm very OCD about my processes. I try to do things the same way each time. I put a great deal of time into checking my powder and making sure it's exact. Making sure my brass is the same and taking decent notes.
When I'm working up loads however I work much slower than when I'm loading up 100 or two hundred rounds to go enjoy shooting!
I collect powders and holsters, just like the guns and the loads. That's my excuse.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.
Kinda like gun safety, an obsessive thing if there ever was one.It keeps your mind sharp.
Also, when dealing with explosive components, a little OCD is a good thing.
And some of us buy guns in oddball chamberings just because we think it will be fun to develop loads for them.
I'll stand with my response to Varminterror
As an OCD engineer, I can't help but point out the irony in your response to mine.
I quoted myself in my response to you above because you had obviously read the start of my post and did not read the closing. In this case, you read the post but not the poster - me, Varminterror.
So again, I'll call attention to the fact you posted your quote of MY post without reading the entire post, because the ending statement in my post - which I quoted in my response to you above - specifically called out the fact reloaders and handloader a can be both, and we all fall on that spectrum somewhere between ammo producer and ammo developer. Being in the middle is more costly than either end, because you spend time, effort, and capital on both aspects, which is where I, like yourself, alluded that I fall myself.
So my my count, you haven't read closely either of my posts, but have obviously taken offense when I tried to point that out. No offense was intended, so my apology for expecting a thicker skin. I'll overlook the offense I could take in your post criticizing my own when it was clear you didn't actually read it before firing your shot across my bow. Twice.
The only offense I took was with the pantry in a wad comment. Everything else is just discussion. That came across as rude to me.
That saying will fire up my fight instinct!
Not to make excuses but I suffer from insomnia so when I can't sleep I'll see what's been posted. Obviously at an early hour I'm not as sharp as normal.
I guess I missed a few things, so yea it's silly to argue when you're agreeing!
So other then a little offense taken at a comment I'm quick to forgive and forget. In fact it takes an awful lot for me to hold a grudge. And an annoying comment usually won't do it. As you saw it'll just fire up the fight instinct and a bit of a defensive post!
Anyway thanks for being civil and I'm not sure what way to say "me bad" would make the most sense. So hope this is ok!
Trading paint is part of racing (as I'm told; not actually a racing fan). No worries.
Getting back to OP.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 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.
No, you are not crazy. If you look at some other hobbies like fishing, you will often end up with many different poles, reels, lures, flashers and sinkers along with various tackle/tools. Same with painting where you end up with different brushes, paints and palettes. I also pursue cooking/BBQ as a hobby and have several sets of knives, pots/pans and various utensils (I have over 10 of each whisks and tongs alone).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.
Not crazy. It is what we do. Would you eat canned tuna if fresh tuna was available? How about canned beef stew or MRE ration if you could eat made from scratch beef stew or restaurant food?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.
There are reloaders who reload for economy of being able to produce ammunition at half to third of retail price and if their reloads produce decent accuracy, they are happy. But for some of us "hobbyists", decent accuracy is not good enough and our curiosity will often take us on a journey to test every reloading variable to produce the most consistent and accurate loads.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?
I tested Bullseye/Clays/WST/Titegroup/W231/Universal/WSF/HS-6 for my 9mm/40S&W/45ACP match loads and used my favored match loads I was happy with as my reference loads for years.Why can't I just pick one of the good ones and stick with it? I must be crazy.
I have shot a bunch of those as well (Actually any 200, 225, or 230 Gr bullet, but lots and lots of 200 Gr LSWCs), starting over 30 years ago. It just works, and still does.boringly consistent W231/HP-38 loads: 200 gr SWC with 5.0 gr for 45ACP
When I was a kid people were meticulous, now in a world where no one can win and everyone gets the same awards, people that strive for perfection have some sort of disorder...
This is a really good post.When I was a kid people were meticulous, now in a world where no one can win and everyone gets the same awards, people that strive for perfection have some sort of disorder...