To reload or not?

B

BangFlop

Member
I have a .223 Remington LTR and a 7mm-08 Remington 700 Mountain Rifle. My dad and son also have 7mm-08’s (1-Rem 700 and 1- Xbolt). All rifles shoot really good to excellent. We all probably shoot about 20 rounds each in the -08’s and maybe 50-75 rounds in 223 as we only have a 9 day rifle season and only coyote hunt for 3 months a year.

My question is should I spend day $500 on reloading equipment for the performance advantage and bullet selection options? Accuracy is not a concern as I would say all the rifles easily shoot sub 1” and probably closer to 1/2” with the LTR and Black Hills 52 gr probably more like 1/4”. What would I gain by reloading?

Thoughts?

Thanks all,
Steve
 
Once I started reloading, I could never buy Factory ammo off the shelf again.
With that being said, if you're not doing it for the accuracy... and you're not doing it to save a whole lot of money because it doesn't sound like you shoot much, then I guess for you it might not make sense.
Accuracy is the main reason I reload. I also reload because I have Wildcat's I shoot, plus I just enjoy the hobby of reloading. I'm sure I save a ton of money too
 
I have no wildcats (at least yet obviously), and I would not save any money as I would have to shoot way more (prairie dogs etc) to shoot enough to consider reloading a cost savings. I’m predominately a bow hunter and only hunt deer with a rifle 5 days a year and haven’t shot a deer with a rifle in 9 years (8 archery bucks over 140” in that time though).

I’d really only want to reload for performance gains. Say shoot 120 gr BT in my 22” barrel at over 3100 or say a 50 gr 223 at like 3400 or something like that.

Thanks!
 
Steve,
Just save up all your brass and some cold Winter day you may want to start reloading because it is a fun hobby. If you don't want to spend the money to start reloading just buy ammo off the shelf. It's really about being out there doing it regardless of how you get here.

Have fun...
 
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I do it mainly for the fun of it. If I considered all the bullets bought that didn't work and powders bought that were just so so, I could probably shoot factory ammo and be ahead. But I don't so I just keep buying and trying. Its a hobby and fun and rewarding when you find the right combo that makes your rifle shoot those little bitty groups.
 
When I pack up to go to the range with buddies, I typically bring 50-100 rounds of ammo per rifle. My shooting buddies may bring one 20 round box per rifle, and when that's gone the pick up one of mine. I bought a bunch of factory PPU for 22-250 lately but other than that all my stuff is reloads.

I may get to go on an elk hunt this year, part of my training will be using my hunting rifle while hiking shooting awkward field positions.

If you don't intend to shoot more, then no it is not worth it. If you want to take everyone to the range for the day and not run out of ammo, it might be worth it. I've got some old pictures of going to the range with my father that are priceless to me.
 
Main reason I started was more then a few years ago I could not buy a factory .223 round on a shelf anywhere in Michigan.

And because I didn't reload or hoard ammo I was screwed. Well kinda it gave me an excuse to buy a new rifle in 22-250 and I could get ammo for that!

Made my mind up I would never be in that position again.(until the great .22 long shortage lol)

Picked up an RCBS Rockchucker and everything necessary to start reloading at a local gun club swap meet for cheap and have been buying bullet components and powders when convenient since.

I will still buy box ammo from time to time for convenience but do prefer to load my own now.

Reloads really brought out the potential in the .32 Winchester Special I got from my Grandfather when he passed.

You could hit a paper plate at 50-80 yds with factory ammo but with my reloads I can actually get groups at 100-150 made a believer out of me.

So for me it started out of necessity but like everyone is saying I do enjoy sitting down and loading my own stuff now.
 
Reloading is a fantastic hobby. I enjoy reloading maybe even a bit more than actual shooting. Because I reload I shoot year around, both rifles and handguns. If I didn't reload I probably wouldn't pull the trigger very often at all, just to verify zeros before hunting seasons. I do enjoy the quest of seeking that perfect round, or 4, for each firearm. I have only had/owned one caliber/firearm that I could not significantly increase accuracy by developing hand-loads. Started reloading at the ripe old age of 14 so I have been doing it for almost 35 years.
 
I started shooting my 223rem and 9mm a lot and hated driving 30min one way to the only place that carried a lot of ammo only to find it sold out and I also got tired of spending $35 on 50rds of V max which is the only thing the rifle likes so then I thought about my lever action calibers and when I seen how much cost of factory ammo was I purchased everything to reload for everything I have.

I also enjoy reloading so its just another shooting hobby. If I only shot 100rounds a year I wouldn't bother. You also don't need to be $500 in the hole. Buy a lee single stage press, lee dies, lyman micro touch scale, lee perfect powder measure and your done! Maybe $200 in the hole.
 
Don't start unless you want another hobby. Once you start loading you will find yourself shooting a lot more. When you shoot more you will need to start buying barrels, and on and on, don't do it.
 
I started reloading to be able to shoot a pet load out of a 30-06 and to save money on 6.5 Rem. Mag. ammo. As time went by, and I acquired more calibers, I'm really glad that I stocked up on components for calibers such as the 6.5 and .350 Rem. Mags.
For what you are talking about reloading it may not pay, but just having the ability to produce your own ammo can be a big plus and more like a hobby. In my case, being able to reload for calibers where the price of NOS factory ammo and brass is now ridiculous has become an enormous benefit.
 
I've never met anyone that regretted learning to reload. If your not already addicted to shooting than I don't know what's wrong with you lol. In all reality it won't save you any $$. Cause you'll shoot twice as much. Once you see how much better reloads can shoot you'll scof at moa groups. I'm a long range shooter so anything over 1/2 moa is a no go for me and my shooting.

This could be one more thing that the three of you can do together. Get your dad and son involved with it.
 
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Steve,

I don't know where you live in WI, but I live in the NW side of the state, and this winter hand loading saved my life...Or maybe my freezer's life, as I didn't shoot it in a fit of cabin fever.

It doesn't sound like you NEED to hand load, and you won't realize any money saved. As many have stated, it will cost you much more, money wise, due to the addiction. But what you will gain is a great hobby, no more dependence on stores(local/on-line) for your ammo, and ammo tuned for your firearms, ringing the last little bit of accuracy out of each of them.

So I have a FEW rifles, some factory ammo chambered, and some wildcats, and I shoot a lot. I also load pistol, and shotgun, as I compete with both. So for me, I have fun shooting in the warm months, and during the dark cold of winter, I hand load MANY rounds of rifle, pistol, and shotgun ammo. It helps pass the time until the sun gets higher in the sky again.

Try to meet/work with an experienced hand loader, just to see how detailed the work is. It may be too much effort, for what you want to do. It is time consuming, and the more you learn, and pay attention to details, the better your ammo will get. It is not for everyone. I have showed a few people just what is involved with making the ammo that just impressed them on my range, and most pass on the idea of hand loading. Some do take the dive, and most of them thank me, and their spouses hate me.
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So try to find a way to test drive hand loading before taking the dive.

Squeeze
 
I first learned the basics in the early to mid 80's from a friend. he set up to reload for his 270 and we also set up for my 30-06.

then he moved away & I was too poor to buy the stuff for myself, but I kept all my brass for a few years.

when clinton won the 92 election & the dems were coming after us for everything they could, I had added more guns to my collection & still hadn't set up to load. So I did 2 things:

I upped mine & my wife's NRA memberships to life and I made a list of what to start with, called Dillon precision & placed an order. I started by setting up for 3 calibers & just added one new one on a regular basis as I could afford.

Now all these years later I still reload for all my center fires & generally don't worry about what ammo is in any store. When I need some, I make it, for the gun & purpose at hand.
 
Another thing reloading will do is make you shoot, if shooting more is something you're interested in then by all means reload. I shoot more finding a load for a new rifle in one day than I ever have for any other reason. It will hone your actual shooting skills. If you're happy with shooting 50 times a year it's probably not worth the space in the house or time it takes to load.
 
everyone tells you you'll save money as a reloader.

let me be the first to say thats a big ole negative. you wont save a dime.


however you'll shoot a whole lot more for the $ you have to invest into trigger time than you did with factory ammo, and end up with ammo thats accuracy tailored for YOUR firearm. and more trigger time = you become a better shooter.


if you shoot any volume, between the 3 of you, you can "pay" for a reloading setup pretty quickly with your cost per round "savings". and then since you saved so much $ you can even look at upgrading to a powder dispenser like a Chargemaster. Or a wet tumbler. or.... or....
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the real trick is to get on the 'buy a box a week program" but instead of buying a box of 20 rounds of ammo... its 100 bullets this week. and 1k brick of primers next week. and a pound of powder the week following. and then another box of bullets, and then more powder, etc.

Since it sounds like you'll be reloading for a couple shooters - an even better option will be to pool your $ and buy powders in bulk (get 8lb kegs), likewise for the primers (1k bricks minimum). Bullets where possible. Watch for powder/primer sales w/ free hazmat and then be ready to pounce. Have $ set aside for when blems show up and buy a couple thousand blem/2nd bullets for practice - and save your premium quality stuff for hunting season. Things like that.

next thing you know you'll have lots of components around, and never have to worry about finding your pet load on the shelf of the local bubba-mart when you need/want one.

and you wont feel bad about giving those 7mm-08's some extra trigger time through the year at the target range.


personally going to the range with less than 200 rounds with me seems like a sacrilege now.




just for reference on how much reloading you get out of a pound of powder per caliber - this is just rough numbers, but a nice benchmark anyway (different powders, different bullet weights,etc).

This will be helpful when figuring out a balance of components to purchase to make complete ammo.

223 - 275 rounds
308 - 165 rounds
7mm-08 - 165 rounds
9mm - >1000 rounds
450 bushmaster - 180


HTH
 
I definately save a bunch of money by reloading. I don't buy hoardes of tools and gizmos. I invested in a modest quality setup 12 years ago and only occassionally buy something as needed. I "broke even" by paying for the equipment in the first year. Ever since then I've been saving money on every single round I load. It's not true that "you won't save any money" if your shooting habits stay relatively the same or only moderately increase. In fact I probably shoot 2x as much as I would otherwise and still save money.

Of course you can choose to collect lots of equipment as a hobby and shoot 5x as much and thus end up not saving any money, but that's moving the goal post.
 
I also save money on reloading, not so much for common calibers, but at $80-$100.00 or more for a NOS box of 20, or now over $200.00 for 100 new brass, I'm way ahead when I reach into my stash of brass that I paid around $27.50 per hundred!
 
I just shoot 5x more maybe 10x. Per round yes I save. My cast 44mag rounds cost about .08 a round, 9mm a bit less. Rifle around $1 with quality components depending on how many times I can reload the brass
 
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