why do you reload/handload?

[Huntersuave]

Kind of new(ish) to reloading...have had my RCBS set up for about 7 years, shortly after i bought it and got started i did it more as a hobby than anything. I love to shoot but i honestly cant justify it from a financial perspective. i just dont shoot that many rounds. since then ive sold my house, started a new business and build my family a smaller house so i have had my stuff in storage boxes for about 3 years or so as i dont have room to set it up at this point. really....really looking forward to getting my stuff set up and getting back into it...again, more for the hobby aspect and something to do. My question is why are you guys reloading? do you do it because you like the sheer joy of it? is it challenging? do you need to to save money on ammo? do you need the accuracy of tailored handloads for your competition rifles? im really just curious. i read and research anything firearms daily, im kind of addicted. i love how much even the slightest change in a cartridge from case to bullet to primer can make a difference at great distances down range. I am set to load for my 223, 308 and 6.5cm(all bolt action tikkas, the 6.5 is a heavy barrel stainless). im addicted to this stuff. but it pains me to see this stuff sit and im trying to think of a way to set it up in our smaller house without taking up too much room.

 

[OLeveraction]

So I can shoot in these after times.

 

[milboltnut]

if I just shoot it would get boring, so it's enjoying to shoot better groups too. AND the main thing now is components have vanished, and I'm set fairly well with what I need, for now.

 

[miningshawn]

Honestly for me it started with accuracy. I wanted better and became hooked. Now reloading is a hobby that has replaced football and other TV. I spend 15-20 hours per week reloading.
As I got better, I shot more often and my skills increased. Now I shoot more - and more productively. The fact that I can now outshoot factory match ammunition at 1/2 the cost is a bonus.
Nothing sets the hook harder or deeper than that first group at 100 yards all touching.

 

[6ShotsOr5?]

It started as a quest for more accuracy but now I am just enjoying it also.

 

[Dub]

For accuracy and pleasure

 

[JimSC]

it is fun and challenging, a great retirement hobby

 

[rwj]

Most hand loaders are not doing it to save money...

 

[CA_Shooter]

I got into reloading about 5 years ago to save money...

I'm now spending more money because I'm now demanding more and more precise rounds, which means different equipment that is more pricey.

That said, I'm under 80 cents/round for 6.5 creedmoor and if I wanted to buy match grade right now it would be over $2/round if I could find it.

So I may still be saving money overall with way better rounds. Now I want to do the math and the amount of shots I've fired in the last 5 years or so

 

[scope eye]

There are very few things in life that give you more satisfacion than loading your own ammo.

Dean

 

[perazziguy]

Because I enjoy it and a box of 22 caliber bullets(100) is usually cheaper than a box of 20 factory shells. 6 br is kinda hard to find at the store too. I load shotgun shells the way I want and I hate wasting new shells at the 16 yard line.
Jonathan Taylor

 

[jasophil1]

Hello them calibers you can not get and shoot more and better ammo its easy to build stock pile reloading stuff than it is to stock up on ammo it is a great hobby.

 

[scope eye]

Most don't know this but a "Handloader" is someone who only uses new componets.
And a "Reloader" is just that, the person reloads and recycles the brass.
Me I do both depending on the situation.

Dean

 

[DiffEQ]

Got into it in 1985 with a Lee hand loader to save money because, at $8/hr, I couldn't afford factory ammo for the amount of shooting I did.
Got back into it in 2000 for pistol. Given how many rounds I shot each week, it paid for itself within 6 months. If you stop to think about how many wildcat rounds, 338 LM rounds and thousands of plinking rounds I've shot, it has paid for itself at least 10x. Still, like a sailboat, it's a money sucking black hole - and I love it.

 

[cw308]

I got into reloading 30 years ago by an old timers , now I'm an old timers . Liked reloading right from the beginning . You can customize a round just for your firearm . I didn't do it for some kind of savings , I just like it.
Chris

 

[Jager]

Handloading never saved anyone a dime. But it's the yin to shooting's yang. It will teach you more about firearms than anything else on this planet.

I've known many a good shot and many a good hunter who didn't handload. But every true expert in firearms I've ever come across was a confirmed handloader.

 

[gmitchell]

When I started I was supplying my 2 young boys, Dad, an myself. We shot Trap,skeet, bench rest, and prairie dog. I started with a garbage can of hulls. And couldn’t keep up loading. That evolved into what some call hoarding, I call it being prepare. If I stopped I would run out. Now my wife and Daughter have taken interest in pistols along with son-in-law and sons. Our family is more into shooting sports than hunting. Our hand loads are tailored to specific rifles. Pistol ammo is for A group of pistol. We have rifle range.Just get pistol range set up behind our house in the woods.

 

[jepp2]

My question is why are you guys reloading?

My reasons in order from most important to least for me:
- can't buy loads for 20 Practical, 20 Bobcat, etc.
- improving the accuracy of my rifles closer to their potential
- save $$
- have access to loaded rounds that become unavailable during times like these
- love the process as much as shooting

 

[caihlen]

The endless quest for precision and accuracy.

 

[Bill K]

Started reloading back in 1954, did it to make more accurate loads for my rifle. But also did it for a good hobby. Now days it is along the same line/reason, but also allows me to have ammunition, when there is none on the shelves, so I can keep shooting as I desire.
Does it save money, that is a loaded question. But who cares I do it because I enjoy it.