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Old February 18, 2013, 09:29 AM   #26
kutz
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Bullseye shooters that I know it's 100%.
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Old February 18, 2013, 09:57 AM   #27
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according to Lee reloading manual 1% reload and 1% of the reloaders cast there own
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Old February 18, 2013, 09:59 AM   #28
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Quote:
Some people take their cars to get serviced, some change their own oil.
I both reload and change my own oil, but I suspect the percentages are approximately the same and somewhere in the 1-5% range.

I've saved nearly $4K in 3.2 years by reloading, enough to buy a number of guns or a really nice safe.

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Bullseye shooters that I know it's 100%.
Only if they shoot centerfire - many casual Bullseye shooters do not.

Last edited by spacecoast; February 18, 2013 at 10:54 AM.
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Old February 18, 2013, 10:08 AM   #29
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Judging from the number of gun shops around here, that stock reloading supplies, nobody reloads.
There used to be be at least a few shops that did, but now there's only one, and their main business is commercial reloading for the others.
And they aren't sharing, right now.
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Old February 18, 2013, 10:13 AM   #30
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I shoot quite a bit of ATA trap and I expect that over 60% of those that participate reload 12 ga. It still is the the most economical way to shoot more. With the arrival of the imported second tier bargain ammo such as Kemen and Rio the price difference between is not that much. Many of us on a budget just like to produce reloaded premium ammo at bargain ammo prices.

The people I see in trap that do not reload are very savvy about buying their ammo in bulk to get the lowest prices. I am talking a pallet at a time split between a couple shooters. That can last many a year of shooting. Those same people usually arrive at the bigger shoots in motorhomes, or fifthwheel toyhaulers.
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Old February 18, 2013, 10:50 AM   #31
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"I wonder what percentage of gun owners reload."

I think it's 1.76%. Could be wrong tho. And it may change from time to time. ??
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Old February 18, 2013, 11:17 AM   #32
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Look, some people like to reload and some people like to clean guns...to each, his own.
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Old February 18, 2013, 11:43 AM   #33
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Re: Percentage of gun owners that reload

I was shooting out in the desert on Saturday. Met about 7 people from American spirit arms who were working on a pro 2A video. They let us try a few of their guns (beautiful BTW) and I had to ask, "surely one of you guys reload right?" Nope they let me pick up all their 308 and 223 I could find. Said normally they just pick it up take it home and save it to go to scrap.....couldn't beleive it.
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Old February 18, 2013, 02:44 PM   #34
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I reload there for i am.

I reload for several reasons...

1: Enjoyment/satisfaction

2: Saves a LOT of money's!

3: You never know when the shelves will dry up for whatever reason.( not like that has ever happened)

These are also the reasons I own muzzleloaders and cast my own bullets. The safety of my children, family, friends and country are that important to me.

Last edited by Boomer58cal; February 18, 2013 at 02:46 PM. Reason: can't type
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Old February 18, 2013, 02:54 PM   #35
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Quote:
Some people take their cars to get serviced, some change their own oil.
Some people can afford to shoot without hand loading, some of us could not. That is why I started in the sixties; hand loading and casting were a lot cheaper than buying ammo. I remember one instance when my then wife was trying to sell her Colt Combat Commander, we went through at least 500 rounds and never considered the cost...they were hand loads with home cast bullets.
There are a few things to consider when someone does not hand load and cast bullets. They think they shoot more that they actually do. They are gun owners more than gun shooters. They do not think that it is important to practice, erroneously think that they are "good enough". Hand loading, bullet casting are a no-brainier unless you are rich enough to never consider the cost of ammo.
When it comes to rifles and if you are anal about accuracy, you will hand load because as in every rifle I have owned, I could get best accuracy from a case that was shaped to my chamber and developed and tested for accuracy, A.K.A., hand loaded.
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Old February 18, 2013, 04:51 PM   #36
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I've been shooting a since the early 80s and always considered myself an avid shooter. I've also always wanted to learn how to reload and am also quite a tinkerer. I've never been able to cross the invisible line to buy the reloading equipment. My calibers are now down to 9mm, .380. .22LR. Not sure it was worth it (cost-wise) a year ago. Maybe now it is very much worth it.
I see people wonder about the cost, and I don't get it.... For me, it was a matter of I had always thought about reloading, and then one summer I helped my dad re-roof his house, so had an extra chunk of change that wasn't earmarked for anything else. So I bought a bunch of reloading stuff.

I figured, I was going to spend the money on SOMETHING, weather it be a gun, R.C heli or plane (my other hobby), or just dollar by dollar on movies and crap like that....

So when I figure the cost of reloading, I don't figure in the cost of the press and initial things.... the money I spent on the press would have been gone by now one way or another. Its down the road when I DONT have a nice chunk of change sitting in the bank that I look at the cost of reloading, and from where I sit now, it looks pretty good. I spend about $30 at a time on components, which would get me around 20-30 (cheap) rifle or 100 pistol rounds, but turns into over 50 premium rifle or 200 pistol rounds.....

Quote:
I both reload and change my own oil, but I suspect the percentages are approximately the same and somewhere in the 1-5% range.
I disagree on the changing oil thing. I bet a lot more drivers change their own oil than shooters reload.... Like I said before, I know more than 10 shooters, but only 1 reloader (me). But I would guess 20-30% of the people I know change their own oil.
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Old February 18, 2013, 06:00 PM   #37
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I remember in the 80s in eastern Idaho the stores carried everything, including a stock of various bullet molds, sizing dies and nose punches. Most of the people that I meet lined up at the local emporium the morning after a shipment are mainly looking for AR-15s and loaded ammo. I know a few folks that cast their own, but they are my age or older, 60+. The appearence of quality cheap bulk lead bullets and surplus ammo was great for shooters, but maybe not for the sport itself.
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Old February 18, 2013, 06:18 PM   #38
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I have noticed a belief that reloads are second rate ammo that can damage your gun. And I can’t convince many of them otherwise. Funny thing though, not one of them can out score me and my reloads at the range. Even though some of my guns have never fired a factory round and are older than many of the “experts” at the local public range. One of whom claims I am going to blowup my gun, that has been use to fire more reloads than days he has been alive.
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Old February 18, 2013, 06:18 PM   #39
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I'll put my money on ~10% as well. I am a "young guy" by most standards, and most people look at me crazy when I tell them I spent my Saturday evenings reloading instead of bar hopping. I can see older guys lighten up around me too, when in a conversation about shooting, my reloading gets mentioned. I think it's pretty cool to see both sides of that equation. But amoung my similarly aged friends involved in shooting, it's just me and another guy. The rest are whining about having no ammo to shoot right now. lol. I'll toss them a 50 round box of .22lr's at the range and smirk as my bolt action .223 barks.
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Old February 18, 2013, 06:50 PM   #40
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Quote:
@Marco Califo
"People that shoot AR type guns a lot, from a standing position, mostly miss, and then leave the range, are not reloaders, nor good shooters. For some reason this is the Saturday crowd. "

100% accurate statement...

Ran into one of those this past weekend at our range.
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Old February 18, 2013, 07:10 PM   #41
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Out of over a hundred people I will see at the range on a weekend maybe two of them reload, (and that is a big maybe.) Fewer than 10% of gun owners go to the range regularly. Many will take a new gun to the range burn a couple of boxes of ammo go home put the gun away, and not shoot it again for a couple of years. There are a hand full of regulars I see at the range. Most will shoot 2 or 3 boxes of ammo, then go home.

I know one other reloader that shows up every week to the range. He is a disabled veteran with lots of free time.

I think the 1% overall is a close figure from what I see.
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Old February 18, 2013, 07:19 PM   #42
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I always loved to shoot and only started reloading about four years ago. So I can speak to why I never did it before.

1) I had no one to teach me how and it was intimidating
2) I did not understand what I needed to get started
3) It seemed expensive to get set up
4) I was afraid I would pull a Wile E Coyote and blow myself up
5) My late uncle did it and what he produced was garbage

Eventually I just decided to go for it, bought a manual (Lyman) and taught myself.
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Old February 18, 2013, 07:21 PM   #43
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I’ve reloaded for the past 50+ years, but in the last 20 I can count other reloader's I’ve met on one hand. Bullet casting is even more scarce.
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Old February 18, 2013, 07:43 PM   #44
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It could be that the 1% of shooters reload is accurate. If that is true, it might help explain why components are so unavailable currently. Given the panic due to the political environment and the high profile recent shootings, it is quite possible that an additional 1 to 2 % of shooters have decided that they may NEED to start handloading to ensure an adequate supply of ammunition for recreation, hunting and/or defense. That would very suddenly double or triple the demand for reloading equipment and components. This would easily explain the seemingly overnight disappearance of almost all components and reloading equipment (presses, dies, etc.) Casual handloaders might be caught short, while the true handloading loonies among us have been stockpiling for years, buying powder, primers and bullets in bulk whenever good deals appear. Some refer to us as hoarders, but we just like to make sure we have enough on hand to last us a while.
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Old February 18, 2013, 09:24 PM   #45
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2ndtimer - A colleague of mine had a BS in Economics from U Cal Berkley. I asked him why he chose econ as a major. He said he was rapt with the concept that it was impossible to prove anyone's economic theories were wrong. Or as I would put it, they don't bother with cause and effect, and proving facts. If that guy were to actually reload, his minds theories would be tested effectively against the laws of physics, in close proximity to his face.
Anyway, I don't spend a lot of time pondering those kinds of economics as we have now. However, my being a reloader means my on hand supplies will outlast this nonsense situation.
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Old February 18, 2013, 11:35 PM   #46
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I reload for every gun I own, minus the rimfires, and most of the rest of the shooters in the family do the same.

In my area (Salt Lake Valley, Utah), I would say 90-95% of the non-family shooters I know shoot only factory ammo. Most say they don't shoot enough to reload (a half dozen boxes a year, per gun is about what they shoot), the rest say they just don't want to spend the time reloading, or they don't have the patience, and are afraid they would injure themselves or damage a gun due to impatience and/or inattention while reloading.
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Old February 19, 2013, 07:33 AM   #47
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Percentage of gun owners that reload

My club runs a Saturday morning plate shoot for pistol. While the attendees are probably not representative of gun owners as a whole, I will say that 40-50% of them reload.

I wonder if there's a regional factor? In Maine, there's a long history of gun ownership as a part of recreation and self-sufficiency. When i was a child, my family went through some rough times financially and hunting was a significant factor in our survival. Making the most of our resources, including reloading rifle cartridges, was a high priority.
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Old February 19, 2013, 08:19 AM   #48
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I would say that 1% is probably a generous estimate. In thinking about the folks I have hunted and shot with over the years, only a couple were reloaders. That figure is probably rising lately due to the shortage of ammo and the desire to not get caught empty handed again down the road.

Most hunters have no real incentive to handload. I have worked many a sight-in day at a local range, and I think it is fair to say that the average attendee is quite happy when he leaves if he kept most of them in a pie plate at 100 yds. A couple of boxes a year covers their needs.

While there are no doubt a lot of new gun owners in the last few months, I suspect many just bought a gun "while they could" with no desire or intention to get involved in the shooting sports. They are not on these forums.
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Old February 19, 2013, 10:21 AM   #49
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In my area, I find those shooters who shoot regularly and are involved in more of the various aspects of shooting have a greater tendency to be re-loaders. Still, since I don't know most of the members and dailys at the range I frequent, my guess would be no more than 2%. I started in the mid 70's because I bought a TC in 357 Herritt, a wildcat will kind of push you into re-loading.
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Old February 19, 2013, 11:23 AM   #50
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I was chatting in line, while waiting for the local emporium to open, about what we hoped to get hold of upon start of business. I was hoping to get some .22LR, I shoot a lot of .22s. They were sadly mentioning their lack of stock of ammo. I mentioned my habit of having comfortable amounts of componants including hundreds of pounds of WWs, linotype, and pure lead, to which one of the gents says, old school eh. Never thought I'd live long enough to be 'old school'. Pretty cool if you ask me.
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