Why DON'T you reload......

[Bfh_auto]

We are answering for the shooter that don’t reload, because we all once “ Don’t Reload”

I can honestly say I don't remember not reloading. When I was 3 I would "pull" the lever on my dad's Lee Load-all so he could goose hunt. I know I was just sitting on his lap getting in the way. But I totally understand it now that I have 3 and 4 year olds.
Not everything is about money, time, or saving it.
I give time and money freely just like I was given a new life.
If reloading gets in someone's way of spending time with loved ones. Don't do it. If you have a few minutes here and there or wake up at 2 am and can't sleep like I do. It's great.

 

[Mark_Mark]

I can honestly say I don't remember not reloading. When I was 3 I would "pull" the lever on my dad's Lee Load-all so he could goose hunt. I know I was just sitting on his lap getting in the way. But I totally understand it now that I have 3 and 4 year olds.
Not everything is about money, time, or saving it.
I give time and money freely just like I was given a new life.
If reloading gets in someone's way of spending time with loved ones. Don't do it. If you have a few minutes here and there or wake up at 2 am and can't sleep like I do. It's great.

I want those memories with my sons. ! I got mad at my oldest for spilling spent primers on my shag carpet. Hope I didn’t scare him for life

 

[AJC1]

Why don't you cook all your own food? It's not rocket science. It's so much cheaper, and you know exactly what you are getting. Plus other reasons.

Why don't you change your own oil? It's not rocket science. It's so much cheaper and you know exactly what's going into your car. Nobody to fail to put your drain plug back - besides yourself.

Why don't you cut your own hair? It's certainly possible. Think of all the money you could save...


Outside of some atrociously bad cooking, none of these things will hospitalize or kill you if you make a mistake. Reloading most certainly can and has done these things. Maybe a bit extreme, but there is definitely a safety element that I can respect others not wanting to take chances with when it comes to reloading.

I do all of those things and more..... I also reload.

 

[Bfh_auto]

I want those memories with my sons. ! I got mad at my oldest for spilling spent primers on my shag carpet. Hope I didn’t scare him for life

Just remember they are learning and you're the teacher. I try to remember what I was like as a kid to give a baseline for what I expect from them.

 

[Mark_Mark]

Just remember they are learning and you're the teacher. I try to remember what I was like as a kid to give a baseline for what I expect from them.

that’s scary to think of. Most these kids including my kids are spoiled and I’m to blame.

 

[Jeff62]

If you started reloading now with off the shelf gear it is not cheaper than buying ammo. I haven’t bought any reloading gear, other than the occasional die set or bullet mold, since the early 1990’s. I reload for almost everything I shoot but I spent decades smart shopping and horse trading just to reload or feed the habit. That aspect has been as much of an attraction (obsession?) as the act of reloading.
If I started reloading now it would rightly be because I wanted to reload, to roll my own. As good a reason as any I think.

 

[Mark_Mark]

I do all of those things and more..... I also reload.

I’m changing oil and doing a spark plug again. Prices at the dealership has gone insane. $99 oil change, $350 spark plugs (you know, remove the manifold, lol) glade I learn this stuff as a teenager

 

[AJC1]

I’m changing oil and doing a spark plug again. Prices at the dealership has gone insane. $99 oil change, $350 spark plugs (you know, remove the manifold, lol) glade I learn this stuff as a teenager

I have helpers for everything I do now so they also have skill and experience...

 

[Mark_Mark]

I have helpers for everything I do now so they also have skill and experience...

well my oldest son like helping out, but my youngest likes hugging

 

[Archie]

I stopped for a while as I don't shoot a lot of calibers anymore and the common ammo I shoot is all pretty ordinary. (.45 ACP hardball, .38 Special Disservice round, .25 ACP.) For a year or two (not very long, really) commercial ammo was cheap enough to not reload for the time and work involved.
So all I loaded was .44 Special and .45 Colt and a couple rifle rounds that were not as common. (6.5x53.5mmR comes to mind.)
I'm back to loading common ammo these days.

 

[HighRoadRover]

I re-load in 9mm -- where the savings margin is the least, but still worth the trouble. Roughly speaking, my 124 grain 9mm ammo costs half of what I can buy it at commercially ($.035).

 

[trackskippy]

There out there if you look, but they arent cheap. Still, its cheaper to buy them in bulk, than it is from the local shops. Last time I asked around here, they were getting $15/100 if they had any.

 

[Hikingman]

Let's face it. Some of those considering it may exercise very little patience to ensure safety for each step involving primers, charging, and seating, and COAL.

 

[trackskippy]

And they would be the same people that probably shouldnt have a gun at all.

 

[chicharrones]

. . . what is the reason you don't reload.

Short version. If I had time to reload, I'd spend that time at the range instead.

Long version. I'm currently working 55+ hours per week with 1/2 of that time in other cities. Once back home, car repairs and house chores await my tool kit. All my kids are grown, so it's not family time that takes my time. I'm sure that will change once my kids start poppin' out grandkids.

Bottom line. I barely have time to warm the barrel of a gun, let alone make ammo. I figure retirement would be the only way I'd have time to reload, but retirement isn't really in the cards for me.

 

[ADKWOODSMAN]

I will never forget my 2 1/2 year old daughter sitting on my lap and working the lever of my RCBS junior. That was when primers were $.35/100, powder $2.95/can and leadshot $10/25#. I had to go pickup a blasting permit for $.50 at the town office.
I still compete so I load .38super, .45acp, 38's, 38-55, .45 Colt and 12ga. I also load for deer .358 Win.

 

[illinoisburt]

Most of the hunters and many of the shooters I know do not reload. There are many rounds I do reload and I have rifles which have never fired a factory load. However I think it's really not an issue of cost per se. Rather for most people I converse with its simply an issue of interests. They like shooting or use guns as a tool for their hobby, but the gun itself is not the hobby (if that makes sense). So buying ammunition from a store is simply the normal way of things.

 

[.308 Norma]

Bottom line. I barely have time to warm the barrel of a gun, let alone make ammo. I figure retirement would be the only way I'd have time to reload, but retirement isn't really in the cards for me.

Maybe, but I've been retired a long time. And while it's different now, for the first few years after I retired, I was so busy I couldn't figure out how I ever had time to work. Several of my retired friends said the same thing.
Joking aside, this is my first post in this thread because I DO reload, and the question was "Why DON'T you reload." I've read most of the other responses though, and I feel most of them are good, legitimate reasons for not reloading - that don't apply to me. I didn't take up handloading 40 some odd years ago to save money or time, or to be more self-reliant, or to build uncommon ammo. I took up handloading because it looked like it would be something I'd enjoy, and I do. The facts that I now build ammo that is non-mainstream and just not available everywhere, and some of the ammo I build is (in my opinion and experience) better than factory ammo, and I now have enough components on hand to last me the rest of my life, are all just icings on the cake.
Nevertheless, I don't think handloading is for everyone any more than working on their own automobile(s) is for everyone. For that matter, our darned lawnmower blew its transmission last week, and it's going to cost more than it's worth to fix it. So, my wife and I went to Lowe's and priced new mowers. And we've just about made up our minds to get by with our big-wheel pasture mower for the rest of this year and hire a lawn service outfit to take care of our lawn from there on out - that will give us more time for doing things we enjoy, like handloading.

 

[trackskippy]

Most of the hunters and many of the shooters I know do not reload. There are many rounds I do reload and I have rifles which have never fired a factory load. However I think it's really not an issue of cost per se. Rather for most people I converse with its simply an issue of interests. They like shooting or use guns as a tool for their hobby, but the gun itself is not the hobby (if that makes sense). So buying ammunition from a store is simply the normal way of things.

Seen that a good bit here. Most are a "box every other year hunters" not "shooters", although if you ask, all are "expert" shots.

They dont seem to plan ahead well either, as the past couple of ammo shortages turned pretty ugly in a couple of shops I was in while it was going on. Deer hunting here is a MAJOR thing, and a lot of people who dont see the need to stay ahead of things were freaking out when the shops didnt have the ammo they needed.

You dont need to reload to stay ahead, but you do need to allow for things, think ahead, and buy more than you need in the moment.

 

[illinoisburt]

Seen that a good bit here. Most are a "box every other year hunters"

.... a lot of people who dont see the need to stay ahead of things were freaking out when the shops didnt have the ammo they needed.

This is pretty much what I see. The hunters buy a box or two every couple of fall seasons, while casual shooters will buy maybe 100 pistol rounds just before going to a range (or buy at the range if its available). Many of them are incredulous at the idea if buying bricks or cases of anything because 1 it's expensive, 2 ammo goes bad after more than a couple of years, and 3 it will "shoot out the barrel." I do understand why they have concerns even if I feel they are misinformed. Of course attempting to correct these views is an exercise in futility as any time spent near a gun counter, range, or campfire will undoubtedly confirm.

 

[.308 Norma]

Of course attempting to correct these views is an exercise in futility as any time spent near a gun counter, range, or campfire will undoubtedly confirm.

Ain't THAT the truth!
I used to work with a guy that was always telling me that he'd had the same box of "bullets" for his deer rifle (a 30-06) for 10 years, so reloading just "wasn't worth it" to him. For a while I tried to explain to the guy that saving money (or time) wasn't why I reloaded.
I eventually learned that it was "an exercise in futility" for me to try to explain why I handload to someone who couldn't understand how "a 44 can be more powerful than a 45." And who called 1911 pistols "45s" instead of 1911s.

 

[dh1633pm]

During the great ammo shortage, I was shooting. My brother, a non reloader, was sitting at home. I even learned to cast and load shotgun. Cheaper, not really. But always available. I travel 40% for work, still find time to load.

 

[Bottom Gun]

Like everything else, reloading is a personal choice. You can certainly enjoy shooting without reloading.

However, if I had to name the single most valuable shooting skill I’ve learned, I would have to say it was reloading.
Reloading gives one a good insight into the workings of cartridges, bullet construction, ballistics and more.

I never thought about cost savings or expenses. For me, it is about quality. I can achieve a repeatable level of accuracy I can’t match with factory ammo. Repeatable is the key word. I may find some factory stuff that shoots well for a while but the next lot of that ammo the factory produces may or may not shoot the same in my rifle. Ammo can often change from lot to lot.

Until you have done it, it’s difficult to understand how much difference in accuracy and point of impact you can see when you work up a load for a specific rifle or pistol.
Reloading allows a person to shoot the ammo he has tailor made for his gun rather than what the store has in stock.

Reloading can open doors to other, deeper aspects of shooting. I am STILL learning new things despite having been an avid reloader for 47 years. The learning keeps it interesting and exciting.
It’s also challenging. In other words, Just like golf or target shooting, you are always striving to do better. With your loading press, maybe a different primer, less crimp or a powder change or reduction might reduce your group size by ½”, or a different bullet style, etc, etc, etc. It really does become fun, especially if you have friends you can discuss reloading or even reload with.

Having a reloading room is great but not a necessity. I traveled a lot in my work and spent long periods away from home. I used to load hunting and target ammo when I was on the road to pass my off time. I mounted a single stage press and powder measure stand to a short length of 2x8 which I would clamp to a table or counter top.
Add your scale and other incidentals and you’re ready to make ammo. I loaded everything from .223 to .338 Win Mag using that setup. When finished, take the clamps off and store it in the closet. I used to leave it assembled when I stored it. It wasn’t perfect but it got the job done.

So reloading isn’t for everyone but it is something that nearly anyone can start with a modest expense and very little space. All you need is interest. Start small with a single stage press. You’ll always use that single stage in addition to your Dillon or other progressive you may want to add later.

My two cents. . . . . . . . .

 

[.455_Hunter]

Given my professional career, family commitments, and shooting needs, saving a few $$$ reloading has been FAR from a priority. Maybe that will change, maybe not- I am far more interested in custom loads like .45 Colt BP or 200 gr .38 Special than seeing how cheap I can make range fodder.

 

[kimberkid]

I got lured into reloading by a shooting buddy. decades ago we were both shooting Service Rifle Matches at our local club, he’d been shooting a couple years longer than I but he was consistently scoring higher until one day I forgot my ammo and he loaned me some of his and I finished within a couple points of him. When I ask him he said “that’s the difference between surplus that you shoot and my hand loads that I shoot. He told me about working up the best load for a rifle and at that time I was paying $4/20 for Lake City surplus and reloading 223 cost him 9cents a round for ammo “built” for our rifles (at the time we were shooting Model1Sales 20” kits assembled on Sendra receivers)
He convinced me that I could shoot twice as much for less money and it would be better quality that the surplus I’d been shooting.
So I saved up for a Dillon 550, a tumbler & media to clean the brass and a separator & scales and one set of dies.
Usually, at gunshows a dealer would give you a package deal for around $375 IIRC. You still had to buy bullets, primers, powder, case lube and of course a bullet puller for screw ups.
Now I reload 11 calibers and I quit calculating my savings when my wife gave me a second Dillon 550 for Christmas about 3 years later; so I don’t have to change out the cartridge turret when I wanted to load 308 or 45acp.