Reloading: The 2nd Hobby of Gun Owners

savage1r · March 26, 2012, 05:23 PM

Just me giving a basic overview of the benefits and joys of reloading. More of an educational piece for those who have thought about reloading but haven't gotten around to it yet.
VIDEO

Cascade1911 · March 26, 2012, 07:05 PM

For some of us, shooting gives us a excuse to reload....

RobertInIowa · March 27, 2012, 12:31 PM

And reloading gives us a reason to shoot........

davery25 · March 28, 2012, 03:49 AM

its the brilliant circle of shooting life. To be honest, whether i bought my first centrefire rifle to shoot or as just an excuse to reload is a case of which came first: the chicken or the egg.

Good work on the video Savage. Nicely done

shootsafe · March 31, 2012, 12:18 AM

I have not saved any money, I just shoot more.

I really enjoy the reloading part as much as the shooting part.

Shootsafe

Jim243 · March 31, 2012, 04:20 AM

You mean people actually buy commercial ammo (LOL). It's been so long now that I forgot what a box looks like (8 years). LOL

Nice going.
Jim

deepcore · April 1, 2012, 01:08 AM

Quote:

You mean people actually buy commercial ammo (LOL). It's been so long now that I forgot what a box looks like (8 years). LOL

+1. I've only bought 22LR for years now. And that's only because I can't reload it. Think of how far a pound of powder would go...

bbqncigars · April 1, 2012, 02:25 PM

Heck, I've got a Hornady AP just to feed my beautiful little 25-20 Marlin 1894. I won't comment on the vast assortment of tools to keep my .50 BMG rifle fed. I couldn't afford to shoot w/o reloading.

hooligan1 · April 1, 2012, 04:57 PM

Did I hear him right? We handload to save money? sheeeeeest I wish pal, I'm just like Cascade 1911, man I shoot JUST TO HANDLOAD!!!

( and i do spend more than is necessary), only to achieve the very best out of my rifles, Hell I gave good hard earned money for them, they( ammo and rifle) better perform nicely whilest afield!

Magnum Wheel Man · April 2, 2012, 04:14 PM

Haven't bought a box of factory ammo ( other than rim fire ) for many, many years... I currently reload around 75 different calibers... I get every bit as much out of designing the rounds, as I do actually shooting them...

have a batch of steel cases just getting finished up for something custom ( again )... smallest I reload is 17 cailber working on my 3rd 17 caliber ( 17 K Hornet, 17 Fireball, & 17 Remington )... I don't mess with anything smaller ( my hands are too big ) biggest is a custom 53 caliber that uses cast bullets from a custom mold, but I have serveral different 50's, though no 50 Browning, as I don't have a safe place to shoot them

having my own 300 yard range helps, to transition from sketches on paper & machining, to holes in the paper at distance

to me... it's like "rocket science for the common man"

Double Naught Spy · April 2, 2012, 04:24 PM

Sadly, I have lost two shooting friends to reloading. We used to get together to shoot. Now when they come to the range, they aren't there to shoot as much as they are there to evaluate their reloads. They have become so involved with reloading, that they often fail to perform simply malfunction clearings during timed drills. Instead, they stop and assess the condition of the gun in order to determine what went wrong and if it was because of the round being a reload or not. It is almost like shooting with a newbie who has a malfunction and doesn't know what to do so he stares at his gun from strange angles.

Both have said they reload to shoot more, but as near as I can tell, they only shoot enough to test their reloads (often several batches with associated records), make notations, then go back and make corrected loads and repeat.

Back in the old days, we didn't spend several minutes after a malfunction trying to find the piece of brass from the malfunctioned round in order to assess the problem.

I miss my shooting buddies.

Cascade1911 · April 2, 2012, 04:50 PM

I'm not far removed from your old shooting buddy's. I enjoy developing, testing, evaluating and revising loads as much as shooting. Testing a different bullet or powder combination. Finding the best load for intended use for my individual guns. That's how I roll. I probably spend half my shooting time evaluating loads and the other half working on my shooting skills.

hooligan1 · April 2, 2012, 05:52 PM

I got into this "how many damn bullet weights and shapes will this rifle shoot",, kinda thing with my 7mm rem mag. The .270 is pretty well covered for now, but now theres a Mark X .243 win, that'll be fun finding loads for!!

m&p45acp10+1 · April 2, 2012, 05:58 PM

I love to reload for the most part. Ok brass trimming is not a favorite pastime, though I understand its necessity. I eve went a step further, I started casting bullets too.

jwrowland77 · April 2, 2012, 10:00 PM

I've really enjoyed reading this thread as a person that is just getting into reloading. I'm starting with my 9mm pistol but can not wait to try my hand at my 7mm rem mag since I deer hunt quite a bit and I like to reach out there and touch'em!

. Also can't wait to try a reduced youth load for my 7yo daughter and her .223.

Starting with only one caliber so I can learn the basics first.

Waldog · April 3, 2012, 10:07 AM

What amazes me is the number of people that love to shoot and have no interest or intention of reloading. To me shooting and reloading go "hand-in-hand". You can't do the former without the latter.

sc928porsche · April 3, 2012, 11:36 AM

Its great fun to develop rounds for your particular firearm. It is even more fun once you have it developed! Only ones that are still in development stage are the 378WBY and the 45/120N. Both are getting close.

RevGeo · April 3, 2012, 11:54 AM

I was raised by a life-long reloading nut - my father. He called himself and his shooting buddies 'gun cranks'. I reloaded my first rounds at the age of eight and now I'm fifty-eight. Among my father's friends were Bruce Hodgdon, Jack O'Connor, Vern Speer and Parker Ackley. I used to sit and listen to those guys talk about guns and cartridges and hunting while they smoked Luckies and drank bourbon in the old man's living room. I miss those days, I'll tell ya.
Among my most cherished possessions are several sheets of loading data hand-typed by Bruce Hodgdon that he sent to my dad when he (Bruce) was first developing loads for the surplus 4895 and 4831 powders that he went deeply into debt to buy by the boxcar load in the late 40s and early 50s. Those old, yellow, neatly typed sheets of paper now reside in plastic liners in their own covers - the finest loading manual a man could own.
Bruce wrote me a letter when Dad died in '92 telling me of his high regard for 'one of his dearest friends' and wishing me a long and happy life. I still have that letter as well...and now Bruce is gone, as are Jack and P.O....

Anyway, I reload because I always have. Like many others here I have not shot a factory round - barring .22 rim fire - in many a year. My dad and his buddies considered hand loading to be part and parcel of being a rifleman and so do I. Sometimes I feel like we've lost something in this modern day of pre-packaged loading outfits and computer generated loading data, but I came up learning from guys who pretty much invented modern hand loading and they were a pretty wild bunch. Folks nowadays would be horrified at some of the things they did in the name of 'research', not to mention economy - every one of them was a cheap bastard.
Hand loading has been a huge part of my life and will be until I die or get too old, which ever comes first. It's a fabulous hobby and I couldn't imagine life without it.

George

Double Naught Spy · April 3, 2012, 03:42 PM

Quote:

What amazes me is the number of people that love to shoot and have no interest or intention of reloading. To me shooting and reloading go "hand-in-hand". You can't do the former without the latter.

Yeah, it is just like people that like to drive vehicles but that don't make their own fuel. They go hand-in-hand and you can't do the former without having done the latter.

Quote:

I'm not far removed from your old shooting buddy's. I enjoy developing, testing, evaluating and revising loads as much as shooting. Testing a different bullet or powder combination. Finding the best load for intended use for my individual guns. That's how I roll.

And there is nothing wrong with that. I just think it is rather boring to "go shooting" with a person who spends more time setting up a chrono, recording data, trying to figure out why the chrono isn't reading each shot, getting a tool to extract a case with the bottom ripped off from reloading too many times, etc. etc. etc. and calling it a day after 3 hours of "shooting" less than 100 rounds.

Cascade1911 · April 3, 2012, 05:49 PM

It's like the guy I knew back in the day. We all had bikes but this guy always had the hottest. Except he rarely rode. He would build a bike, tune it, ride it enough to know it was perfect, sell it and start on the next box of parts.

I guess you need to find some guys who are more into the shooting and less into the reloading DNS.

March 26, 2012, 05:23 PM	#1
savage1r Senior Member Join Date: March 17, 2009 Posts: 313	Reloading: The 2nd Hobby of Gun Owners Just me giving a basic overview of the benefits and joys of reloading. More of an educational piece for those who have thought about reloading but haven't gotten around to it yet. VIDEO __________________ Please visit my YouTube page at: www.youtube.com/user/savage1r

March 26, 2012, 07:05 PM	#2
Cascade1911 Senior Member Join Date: February 27, 2011 Location: Dutchess County, NY Posts: 450	2nd? For some of us, shooting gives us a excuse to reload....

March 27, 2012, 12:31 PM	#3
RobertInIowa Senior Member Join Date: March 4, 2012 Location: Iowa Posts: 149	And reloading gives us a reason to shoot........ __________________ Guns don't kill people, fathers with pretty daughters do. Two wrongs don't make a right, but three comes pretty close. Proud NRA member

March 31, 2012, 12:18 AM	#5
shootsafe Member Join Date: March 2, 2008 Location: Lincoln, NE Posts: 86	Shooting more I have not saved any money, I just shoot more. I really enjoy the reloading part as much as the shooting part. Shootsafe

March 31, 2012, 04:20 AM	#6
Jim243 Senior Member Join Date: January 5, 2009 Location: Just off Route 66 Posts: 5,067	You mean people actually buy commercial ammo (LOL). It's been so long now that I forgot what a box looks like (8 years). LOL Nice going. Jim __________________ Si vis pacem, para bellum

March 28, 2012, 03:49 AM	#4
davery25 Senior Member Join Date: October 4, 2011 Location: Australia Posts: 318	its the brilliant circle of shooting life. To be honest, whether i bought my first centrefire rifle to shoot or as just an excuse to reload is a case of which came first: the chicken or the egg. Good work on the video Savage. Nicely done

April 1, 2012, 02:25 PM	#8
bbqncigars Senior Member Join Date: February 1, 2009 Location: Iowa Posts: 525	Heck, I've got a Hornady AP just to feed my beautiful little 25-20 Marlin 1894. I won't comment on the vast assortment of tools to keep my .50 BMG rifle fed. I couldn't afford to shoot w/o reloading. __________________ "Of all the things I've lost, I miss my mind the most." A. Brilliant

April 1, 2012, 04:57 PM	#9
hooligan1 Senior Member Join Date: July 18, 2010 Location: Independence Missouri Posts: 4,586	Did I hear him right? We handload to save money? sheeeeeest I wish pal, I'm just like Cascade 1911, man I shoot JUST TO HANDLOAD!!! ( and i do spend more than is necessary), only to achieve the very best out of my rifles, Hell I gave good hard earned money for them, they( ammo and rifle) better perform nicely whilest afield! __________________ Keep your Axe sharp and your powder dry.

April 2, 2012, 04:14 PM	#10
Magnum Wheel Man Senior Member Join Date: July 26, 2006 Location: Southern Minnesota Posts: 9,333	Haven't bought a box of factory ammo ( other than rim fire ) for many, many years... I currently reload around 75 different calibers... I get every bit as much out of designing the rounds, as I do actually shooting them... have a batch of steel cases just getting finished up for something custom ( again )... smallest I reload is 17 cailber working on my 3rd 17 caliber ( 17 K Hornet, 17 Fireball, & 17 Remington )... I don't mess with anything smaller ( my hands are too big ) biggest is a custom 53 caliber that uses cast bullets from a custom mold, but I have serveral different 50's, though no 50 Browning, as I don't have a safe place to shoot them having my own 300 yard range helps, to transition from sketches on paper & machining, to holes in the paper at distance to me... it's like "rocket science for the common man" __________________ In life you either make dust or eat dust...

April 2, 2012, 04:24 PM	#11
Double Naught Spy Senior Member Join Date: January 8, 2001 Location: Forestburg, Montague Cnty, TX Posts: 12,717	Sadly, I have lost two shooting friends to reloading. We used to get together to shoot. Now when they come to the range, they aren't there to shoot as much as they are there to evaluate their reloads. They have become so involved with reloading, that they often fail to perform simply malfunction clearings during timed drills. Instead, they stop and assess the condition of the gun in order to determine what went wrong and if it was because of the round being a reload or not. It is almost like shooting with a newbie who has a malfunction and doesn't know what to do so he stares at his gun from strange angles. Both have said they reload to shoot more, but as near as I can tell, they only shoot enough to test their reloads (often several batches with associated records), make notations, then go back and make corrected loads and repeat. Back in the old days, we didn't spend several minutes after a malfunction trying to find the piece of brass from the malfunctioned round in order to assess the problem. I miss my shooting buddies. __________________ "If you look through your scope and see your shoe, aim higher." -- said to me by my 11 year old daughter before going out for hogs 8/13/2011 My Hunting Videos https://www.youtube.com/user/HornHillRange

April 2, 2012, 04:50 PM	#12
Cascade1911 Senior Member Join Date: February 27, 2011 Location: Dutchess County, NY Posts: 450	To each his own... I'm not far removed from your old shooting buddy's. I enjoy developing, testing, evaluating and revising loads as much as shooting. Testing a different bullet or powder combination. Finding the best load for intended use for my individual guns. That's how I roll. I probably spend half my shooting time evaluating loads and the other half working on my shooting skills.

April 2, 2012, 05:52 PM	#13
hooligan1 Senior Member Join Date: July 18, 2010 Location: Independence Missouri Posts: 4,586	I got into this "how many damn bullet weights and shapes will this rifle shoot",, kinda thing with my 7mm rem mag. The .270 is pretty well covered for now, but now theres a Mark X .243 win, that'll be fun finding loads for!! __________________ Keep your Axe sharp and your powder dry.

April 2, 2012, 05:58 PM	#14
m&p45acp10+1 Senior Member Join Date: May 3, 2009 Location: Central Texas Posts: 3,930	I love to reload for the most part. Ok brass trimming is not a favorite pastime, though I understand its necessity. I eve went a step further, I started casting bullets too. __________________ No matter how many times you do it and nothing happens it only takes something going wrong one time to kill you.

April 2, 2012, 10:00 PM	#15
jwrowland77 Senior Member Join Date: March 23, 2012 Location: Conway, Arkansas Posts: 1,398	I've really enjoyed reading this thread as a person that is just getting into reloading. I'm starting with my 9mm pistol but can not wait to try my hand at my 7mm rem mag since I deer hunt quite a bit and I like to reach out there and touch'em! . Also can't wait to try a reduced youth load for my 7yo daughter and her .223. Starting with only one caliber so I can learn the basics first.

April 3, 2012, 10:07 AM	#16
Waldog Senior Member Join Date: March 28, 2007 Location: SOCAL Posts: 359	What amazes me is the number of people that love to shoot and have no interest or intention of reloading. To me shooting and reloading go "hand-in-hand". You can't do the former without the latter. __________________ I am the Christian Conservative that CNN warned you about!! “Socialism is the philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance and the gospel of envy.” Winston Churchill

April 3, 2012, 11:36 AM	#17
sc928porsche Senior Member Join Date: May 29, 2008 Location: now living in alabama Posts: 2,433	Its great fun to develop rounds for your particular firearm. It is even more fun once you have it developed! Only ones that are still in development stage are the 378WBY and the 45/120N. Both are getting close. __________________ No such thing as a stupid question. What is stupid is not asking it.

April 3, 2012, 11:54 AM	#18
RevGeo Senior Member Join Date: September 18, 2011 Location: North Idaho Posts: 161	I was raised by a life-long reloading nut - my father. He called himself and his shooting buddies 'gun cranks'. I reloaded my first rounds at the age of eight and now I'm fifty-eight. Among my father's friends were Bruce Hodgdon, Jack O'Connor, Vern Speer and Parker Ackley. I used to sit and listen to those guys talk about guns and cartridges and hunting while they smoked Luckies and drank bourbon in the old man's living room. I miss those days, I'll tell ya. Among my most cherished possessions are several sheets of loading data hand-typed by Bruce Hodgdon that he sent to my dad when he (Bruce) was first developing loads for the surplus 4895 and 4831 powders that he went deeply into debt to buy by the boxcar load in the late 40s and early 50s. Those old, yellow, neatly typed sheets of paper now reside in plastic liners in their own covers - the finest loading manual a man could own. Bruce wrote me a letter when Dad died in '92 telling me of his high regard for 'one of his dearest friends' and wishing me a long and happy life. I still have that letter as well...and now Bruce is gone, as are Jack and P.O.... Anyway, I reload because I always have. Like many others here I have not shot a factory round - barring .22 rim fire - in many a year. My dad and his buddies considered hand loading to be part and parcel of being a rifleman and so do I. Sometimes I feel like we've lost something in this modern day of pre-packaged loading outfits and computer generated loading data, but I came up learning from guys who pretty much invented modern hand loading and they were a pretty wild bunch. Folks nowadays would be horrified at some of the things they did in the name of 'research', not to mention economy - every one of them was a cheap bastard. Hand loading has been a huge part of my life and will be until I die or get too old, which ever comes first. It's a fabulous hobby and I couldn't imagine life without it. George

April 3, 2012, 05:49 PM	#20
Cascade1911 Senior Member Join Date: February 27, 2011 Location: Dutchess County, NY Posts: 450	It's like the guy I knew back in the day. We all had bikes but this guy always had the hottest. Except he rarely rode. He would build a bike, tune it, ride it enough to know it was perfect, sell it and start on the next box of parts. I guess you need to find some guys who are more into the shooting and less into the reloading DNS.