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Reloading;It's Just Not All About Saving Money

2K views 23 replies 19 participants last post by  Southernpride 
#1 ·
It's about making your first loads that you created that actually work and function properly and the feeling of accomplishment you get from it.
The people you meet and interact with along the way while learning.
The hunt for components you need for what your loading and how you feel when you finally find them all.
Being able to make ammo for a caliber that might be hard to find or expensive even if there's a shortage of what you shoot going on.
Ordering supplies or components through the mail and anticipating there delivery.I really enjoy tracking stuff I ordered and following it online.
After all the reloading steps are done holding a completed round in your hand and packing them up completed is very satisfying.That's my favorite step.
Finally the cost savings,if that's the only reason you want to reload it's probably not worth the time or cost to get started.But that is an added bonus.
 
#4 ·
....ahhhh, there was a time when it was not hard to find any supplies.... i suppose this is only a fond memory for us now and in the future....

it makes me nervous when i have to worry about supplies. ....currently, it is a pistol powder thing... russia makes a fair amount of primers, so i suppose primers may be next... also the EPA has shuttered the last US lead smelter, so projectiles may soon become an add to the short list too...

do i get satisfaction from reloading? ....yeah, but less now than before....

will there come a day when reloading will no longer be possible? ...absolutely....

enjoy it while it lasts...
 
#5 ·
Another benefit to my family is specifically the ability to tame down some of the snappier calibers. My two daughters and wife, all around 100 lbs, just don't enjoy getting the snot smacked out of them every time they pull the trigger. Shooting the 91/30, M44, '03 Springfield and 300 Win Mag to name a few just aren't fun for them with crispy factory loads. Being able to load less intense rounds for them allows all to share a great hobby.
 
#6 ·
On top of the good feeling of reloading because you made it yourself, add casting into the mix. Every time I cast up a bunch I feel like General George Washington is looking down on me with a big smile on his face. :D
 
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#7 ·
Can't wait for it to start really cooling off to do some casting. It was a pretty hot summer for us, 100+ wasn't uncommon and my wife doesn't appreciate my casting in the house (kidding!). This weeks in the mid 80's so hopefully here in a month we'll be down to the 60-70's. Casing is perfect for rainy cold days.
 
#8 ·
Well said. There is at least one more aspect to reloading. Were it not for my reloading....habit....and lathe, I couldn't shoot most of the rifles I own. For some ammo hasn't been available since before WWI. I can count on one hand and have fingers left the number of rifles I own for which ammo can be bought over the counter.
 
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#11 ·
I don't think there is a more satisfying aspect of shooting than reloading (other than mebbe bullet casting). Assembling the hand picked components with loving care, to produce ammo that is designed especially for one particular firearm is priceless...
 
#12 ·
I've been considering getting into reloading for about a year and seriously planning for it (identifying specifically what equipment I wanted to get, getting it, etc.) for the last 4 months or so. I just started actually loading. I've loaded about 100 rounds of .223 - and have fired 50 of them.

Although I always figured I'd enjoy it and find it relaxing - I'm stunned at how satisfying I'm finding the whole process. I work out of my house and on my lunch break I'll take 20 min and size 50 cases. Or at the end of the day (like today) prime 50 cases. It's so fun to take stuff *I made* and run it through the firearm. I went to a local gun show last weekend and had a completely new experience. I kind of walked quickly by the tables of guns - looking for tables with components. :)

What a fun way to augment an already great hobby.

OR
 
#13 ·
it gets much better guys. When I saw that deer drop straight down by using ammo that I ever so carefully made the whole process became worthwhile. The joy flushed over me like a freight train at full steam. YES!!!!!!!!! Precision is quite tasty
 
#14 ·
Ahhhh...Reloading. The third addiction. First is shooting, second is TFF, third is Reloading.

I enjoy the satisfaction of hearing the "bang" as I squeeze the trigger, and see the hole appear in the target, as close to the center as it can get, time after time. I have fun tailoring my rounds to my gun to get the best precision.
 
#15 ·
After reloading now for a few months I realize that the main benefit to reloading is the relaxing quality time! Money savings.... hardly, I've spent a small fortune on goodies.

I can sit totally relaxed with a tray of prepared cases in front of me, adding primers one at a time with a hand primer, measuring powder on a scale... one case at a time then seating the bullets one at a time, checking all the rounds in the Wilson gauges before putting them into nice ammo boxes.

Last night around 9:00 I thought I'd spend some time with my little powder scale. Then I decided to load some test rounds using the six different pistol powders I have along with some X-treme bullets. In each of three calibers I loaded five rounds of each powder, put them in plastic bags and decided to call it a night....at 1:30 AM. Time fly's when you're having fun!

Next, it's an outing with the Chronograph and my load data ledger, another benefit of reloading! :)
 
#16 ·
It is relaxing, Show Low, when I can find time to do it. And you remind me; I'll be in Mesa for a meeting on the 6th, and I want to pick up a hand primer. I've got the RCBS press-mounted type, and I've been having a little trouble getting primers to seat properly. I think it would be much better to be able to sit on the couch, watching the one-eyed idiot, and manually squeezing primers in cases with better feedback to my fingertips. The press type looks good, but lifting the handle instead of pressing it down is an unnatural act, and sometimes causes my reloading table to move; I also can't feel the primer seat fully.
 
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#19 ·
There is also the therapeutic value to reloading! Arthritis is reeking havoc with my hands and there are many days I just don't feel like doing anything because of the associated pain.

I have noticed that when I sit down and start priming cases that my hand actually starts feeling better after squeezing around 50 cases and after a hundred or so my hand feels a lot better. Now if I could just get used to using my right hand I'd be in great shape.
 
#20 ·
I started reloading in 1969, just out of curiosity. "Hmmm, I wonder if I could re-use this stuff?". Read as much as I could find and bought a Lee Loader. Since that time I have not tried to find out "how much it costs" to reload for anything; plinking, hunting or SD. I like to shoot. I like to reload. I have been fortunate enough to have a good enough job to buy factory ammo if I wanted but in 20+ years I have only purchased mebbe 5 boxes of ammo and that was for brass (except my SKS and rimfires). I have tried to figger out why I reload, if it's to customize ammo for each gun, or being able to make better (?) ammo, or to "save money". Still not sure, but I have learned much, much more about my guns by reloading than if I shot factory stuff, and a bit of the "scientific" side of firearms like internal and external ballistics, pressures, etc. But I guess it's a combination of things; customized ammo, availability of ammo, mebbe some costs in there, and prolly right up there on the top is satisfaction and pride of workmanship...
 
#22 ·
I started in '78, and it was reloading that taught me how to shoot. Not so much shooting technique, but learning to reload and reading manuals and articles made me understand what really happens when you squeeze the trigger. It keeps me interested in shooting, keeps me shooting more, and helps me be a much better shot. Hobby within the hobby...
 
#23 ·
I only started about a year ago, and can't place a value on the time that I spend doing it. Sure, I could figure out how much, if any I save, but even if I didn't save a penny it's still worth a great deal to me to be able to do it. Besides the increased accuracy and the ability to tune a load for a particular firearm, the time I spend in the basement, couple of dogs lying around on the floor, radio playing hits from way back when I was in High School...just a time to step back and wind down from all the craziness going on anymore.
 
#24 ·
I just started reloading about two years ago when I couldn't find 300 BLKout ammo for less tha $1.80 a rd now I can't get enough it's like my ******* yoga. As soon as I start I'm able to block out everything All problems the wife, kids , bills you know life in general. It's turned into a pretty cool hobby.
 
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