Do you enjoy reloading?

Rustydust

Rustydust

Active member
Just wondering that's all.

There is no telling how many times I have yanked the handle on my Rock Chucker over the last 43 years. Plenty ammo I have made to wear out as many barrels as I have over the last four decades. Even shot out a .44 Magnum barrel on my Super Blackhawk and I did that twenty years ago.

And have spent most of today sorting and loading too as it was a bit too windy for whistlepig shooting so I loaded me up 200 rounds of .17 Remington ammo and came in to fix me a bite to eat and will go back out again in a few minutes to crank out some more.

You know, it used to be exciting loading up ammo. Taking those big empty .44 Mag cases and turning them into big loaded .44 Mag ammo. Go out and shoot them all up and repeat. Good times. Now? Well I dont know. I still love to shoot (not that boomer .44 much anymore) and if I am going to shoot then I have to load so load I do. And yeah- a 50 round or better yet 100 round box of polymer tipped bullets in polished brass sure does look nice, dont it? Yes it does. Sure does.

So how many of you still enjoy cranking them out? A pleasure? A joy? Or possibly just a loathsome task being necessary in able to shoot your favorite thunder stick? And if not quite as much fun as it used to be then what do you do to make it better? Good question, no?
 
I enjoy reloading shotgun shells more than I enjoy reloading rifle shells. But I do enjoy reloading both.

Yesterday afternoon and this afternoon I reloaded a total of 30 boxes of 1 oz #8 target loads in once fire gold Remington Nitro hulls and had a good time doing it.

Now that I am retired and put an Air Conditioning unit on my little reloading room I will have to pace myself this summer or I will go broke from reloading to much. LOL

I don't shoot but maybe 300 to 500 rifle shells in a year so it is pretty easy for me to stay ahead on my rifle reloading.
 
I enjoy the rifle/pistol loading. I find shotgun a bit tedious though. 75% of what I shoot can't be store bought so it's to the bench I go.

Greg
 
I enjoy load work up more now that I can shoot from home (sometimes from sandbags on the bedroom window sill), and it sure saves a ton of time. I like machinery, so loading on my old progressive Ammomaster is right up my ally. It took some tweaking and fine tuning of the mechanism but it works great. My only problem is seeing the dollar signs in all the components, if funds were unlimited so would be my shooting and reloading.

Years ago I found an ancient Herters progressive shotshell press on ebay cheap. It took some work, and substituting parts from newer machines to get it running but turned out great. Definitely not a MEC but good enough for me.
 
Only been jerking a handle since the early 90's. Seems like whenever I get truly bored, I just buy a new gun and do some load development.... Or buy something that I can cast for.... Now my boys are old enough that I get some projects from them. GOOD TIMES...
 
I would rather reload than shoot as long as it's for precision. Probably because I'm better at creating ammo than I am a shooter. I often have a friend of mine who is an excellent shooter come to the range with me and do some of the shooting.

When it comes to cranking out 40S@W or 38Specials or plinker AR ammo then it's just something to get done, not tiresome or mundane but not like coming up with a new load for the 220 Swift.

I can't wait until my grandsons are old enough to do the shooting and papaw just does the loading.
 
To be honest I like filling them almost as much as I like emptying them. There is something soothing and relaxing about processing brass and pressing bullets into those shiny new looking cases
I like load development too. Makes me feel like a mad scientist type in my laboratory. Laboratory being my basement.
So yeah. I love it.
 
I've always enjoyed reloading. I started off reloading shotgun shells-20 ga & 12 ga,when I was in my early teens in the mid 70's,and then started reloading centerfire cartridges in the early 80's.
I load for 17 different calibers,and always have fun creating the most accurate shooting ammo for each firearm that I'm loading for.

Lately,I've been working hard coming up with some loads for a couple new AR-15's that I built,a 18" SPR barreled 223,and a 16" 6.5x6.8 wildcat. The 223 is taking a toll on my brain,it's one of the pickiest barrel's I've ever seen,but the 6.5x6.8 is showing some real good promise of being a shooter.
 
More of a necessity for me. I never have the time to spend anymore. Nowdays I pick a book load and shoot it to see if it will work at 300. Lloking forward to slower times so that I can play with it again and not be in a time crunch.
 
hey man i love reloading bullets, i also started with shotgun shells and moved onto pistol and rifle bullets, its become a hobby.
 
Originally Posted By: ackleymanIt is very relaxing to me, especially if I am talking on the phone to a good shooting buddy.

Aw, thanks Keith! I know what you mean- buddy!!
 
Yup, went through much the same thing a couple years ago. So I took the plunge into a big blue press. I should have done that a lot sooner. The Dillon make plenty good ammo for PD season and pistol loading is much more relaxed. Oh I still load them one at a time for a few rifles, but the volume demand just isn't there for those. For everything else, having a loaded round fall out with every lever cycle is soothing, and I enjoy the process again.
 
Well when I started out it was fun, a new learning experience hopefully find a load that worked better than factory offerings. Then the great state of New York got a new governor and now reloading has become a necessity. We can no longer order ammo from the internet, LGS don't carry ammo that I use. So while I am now pretty much forced to reload I do enjoy it just a little less.
 
Been doing it for 40 years always enjoyed reloading started loading for a ruger super blackhawk 44mag and Rem 22-250 bdl varmint, and many different cartridges in between,
now it's more of a necessity along with case forming as alot of the stuff I shoot now is either a wildcat or almost obsolete.
taking a pile of new LC 223 brass and turning it into a pile of 20VT brass to me is very relaxing or like recently blowing out some 30-30 brass to 375 winchester
 
I don't dislike it. But, it ain't like it used to be, that is for sure. In the long ago time, I'd be happy as a clam spending days upon days at the loading bench. Now, it's more like something that needs done, that I don't really mind doing, but don't look forward to either.

But, I don't do it like I used to, either. Over the years I gradually changed and simplified my process so that it takes far less time and is far less tedious work than it used to be.

For instance, I don't uniform primer pockets anymore, or clean them either. Gave up on doctoring flash holes many years ago. I don't trim brass. I don't use case lube. I never did weigh charges, still don't. Never cleaned brass either, still don't. Neck size, re-prime, dump powder, seat bullet. That's it.

Can't see that my accuracy has suffered compared to the days I'd obsess over every little detail of case prep. But the process goes an awful lot faster.

- DAA
 
I like to take game with cartridges,arrows or fishing lures that I put together. Seems like more preparation than taking as I grow older. That seems ok to me.
 
Yes I do! Enjoy reloading, that is. I design high performance integrated circuits for a living, and hours spent in the loading room, helps me decompress from career stresses. I load centerfire rifles, both for accuracy, and bulk food, for ARs. I load centerfire pistols, for competition, self defense, and hunting. I load shotgun in 10ga, 12ga, 20ga, and 28ga, for hunting and various clays games I participate in. I can't say I enjoy loading them as much as I enjoy unloading them, but it is a close race. I load all year, but in the warmer months, it is only for load development, or if some supply runs dangerously low. In the winter, I pile the loaded ammo high. Basically all ammo boxes are full by April, so I can spend the summer and fall shooting with no care to ammo availability.

I can't imagine not reloading.

Squeeze
 
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