Thread: To all the hardcore reloaders

You will become a better shot too with all the extra shooting you will do

its not about saving money for me. its accuracy, and projectiles you cant buy in factory ammo.
a rifle with customised ammo (hand loaded) will usually shoot better than one feed factory ammo, and a hand loader is probably a better shot because hes behind his rifle shooting more often.

Well, Jimmy J if you are concerned about the time taken for reloading, then don't take up deer stalking as the rate per hour is shocking...I have always said that venison costs about $300 per pound...by the time you take into account the gun, the dog [and associated costs], the vehicle, the reloading gear, the helicopter costs, the time away from work, the gifts to the woman to justify all of the above.

Originally Posted by James J.

How much will you save and understanding it's time consuming, how much times IS consumed? Cheers!

How many rounds do you shoot per week ?
Per month ?

Perspective is a good friend to have

I chose reloading so I can make ammo that my rifle likes and you know that the ammo you made won't be hard to come by or become unavailable when there are shortages like we have been experiencing.

Reloading 100 rnds full process takes about 3-4 hours which I'll space out over a week. If I included tumble time. It's about 10 hours total.

I end up with a "++ premium" rounds for less than the budget price.

If you considered the value of time ... Let's say 50/hour exclude tumble ... At approx $1 end for components.

$200+$100=$300/100rnds=$3rnd

$3x20rnds=$60 "Packet"

Excluding time it is $20 packet of ammo ...

Taken with a pinch of salt ...

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

You will not save money , you will spend the same or more , BUT you will have more ammo to shoot , and as has been said , you can tailor the load to your rifle , and pick the bullet YOU want to use , and not whats available in factory ammo .

I used to reload all my own ammo, but now can't be bothered. I just buy factory ammo off the shelf. The accuracy of factory ammo is such that if I aim at an animal, I will hit it, it will go down and the job is done. I hate range shooting so don't actually fire that many rounds each year.

However, if I was target shooting and needed the accuracy and was churing through much higher numbers of rounds, then reloading is probably justified. With high volumes it is cheaper and some find there is some therapeutic value in sitting down in the garage reloading.

Originally Posted by Kaweka_Neil

I used to reload all my own ammo, but now can't be bothered. I just buy factory ammo off the shelf. The accuracy of factory ammo is such that if I aim at an animal, I will hit it, it will go down and the job is done. I hate range shooting so don't actually fire that many rounds each year.

However, if I was target shooting and needed the accuracy and was churing through much higher numbers of rounds, then reloading is probably justified. With high volumes it is cheaper and some find there is some therapeutic value in sitting down in the garage reloading.

Kaweka_Neil

This is my main reason for reloading .... because I enjoy it.

You also get a little extra buzz when you take an animal with your own reload, similar to catching Trout on the Fly you just finished tying.

Cheers
Pete

You can be at the pub or you can reload and get something worth while done.

Some find reloading Fun ? , but to me , its just like doing the dishes or mowing the lawns , ie " I hate it " , But its the only way I can afford to shoot , so its a neccessory evil at the moment , until I win LOTTO .

I will say , as to reloading , be
1 ) Careful , make sure all your data is out of a current reloading manual .
2 ) If using a powder thrower/despencer , use a piece of masking tape to stick to the hopper & label the powder in use ? , why because 3 mths later when you relaod again , you will look at that powder & think , whats that powder & guess as to what it is , ( and either use it ? , or tip it down the sink ) , IF you are not 100% sure of the powder , DONOT risk your life for $5-10 of powder , throw it out .
3 ) Or once done , pour all the powder back into the correct container .
4 ) If you store stuff in containers , other than original packing , make sure they are marked as to what they are , from powders to primers etc ,
5 ) Save the guessing for the Casino , NEVER guess when assembling ammo .
6 ) Also , donot borrow reloaded ammo from anyone , the ammo maybe dangerous , squib etc .
7 ) NEVER make ammo , when you are tired or are rushed ( ie little time etc ) , as you are more inclined to stuff up , and miss something you would other wise pick up on .

Later Chris

I enjoy reloading, something I can do between shooting and better than watching TV.
I've been loading some 53gr Vmaxs in my 223, which if I was too buy would cost me about $2.20 a round, but considering I have free brass is about $.70 to reload.
If I brought things in bulk it'd be cheaper again.

I loaded about 50 rounds this weekend and was probably an hour and a half, but I wasn't in a hurry, I sized another 30 odd cases, and I was trimming, deburring, individually weighting powder, and doing a thorough job. What I'm doing will be more accurate than most factory loads, but more importantly you get a much better selection of projectiles.

If you shoot a lot of a certain round and don't need to be super accurate you could do it dirt cheap buying everything in bulk and load up pretty quickly, but of consistency and accuracy is what you are after then it'll be slower and more expensive.

I'm not a hard core reloader by any imagination but banged these .223 out this afternoon for use this weekend on some rabbits - combination of Vmax, soft points, and a couple of hollow points. All while having a nice zen time with no interruptions or kids yelling. Reloading also does give you the opportunity to try different projectiles and load combinations. To purchase that lot you're looking at *roughly* $55/box, reloaded *roughly* $30/box.

But if you're wanting to get into reloading to save money, think about how much $$ you're already dropped on your rifle and scope that'll put things into perspective.

Originally Posted by Kscott

Attachment 22942

I'm not a hard core reloader by any imagination but banged these .223 out this afternoon for use this weekend on some rabbits - combination of Vmax, soft points, and a couple of hollow points. All while having a nice zen time with no interruptions or kids yelling. Reloading also does give you the opportunity to try different projectiles and load combinations. To purchase that lot you're looking at *roughly* $55/box, reloaded *roughly* $30/box.

But if you're wanting to get into reloading to save money, think about how much $$ you're already dropped on your rifle and scope that'll put things into perspective.

What projectiles are those @Kscott ?

The reds are vmaxes , but what are the blacks ?

The VLD hp I'm guessing is a targex 69 ??


Tim

Close. Vmax, Sierra 55gr SP and Sierra 53gr HP. The Sierras seem to group better in my rifle than the Hornady 55gr SP, and also have a rounder, smoother nose. The Hornady ones sometimes look as if they've been plucked from the mould with a pair of pliers by a blind bucktooth Yankee called Billy Bob Sue.