Please Post Your Reasons For NOT getting into reloading - Long Ago

[RVTECH]

Plus, I don't shoot enough ammo to justify getting into reloading.

Quantity of rounds expended is not the only justification for reloading.

I shoot frequently, sometime every weekend but shooting frequently does not equate to a lot of rounds expended.

Often my shooting session will only be 50 +/- rounds - sometimes more if I bring a handgun or two but my point being reloading should be approached as an EXTENSION of your interest in shooting and not just as a penny shaving chore because while you are SAVING money - you are spending a little more on equipment and accessories to create considerably better ammo than you can buy.

Typically my shooting session will be an early morning run to my shooting spot, set up (5 minutes) and depending on the gun - lets say rifles - I will singly load rounds, shoot from my bench and evaluate what I am doing. If all goes well I'll go set up some clays or other targets and shoot a few more rounds then move to random pine cones to send them flying.

Don't forget about never having to run to the store to buy ammo at the last minute as you will always have a ready supply when you reload - so that 'I don't have time to reload' can be offset by making your own ammo in the security and peace of your own home - and that is a BIG savings for me!

 

[FourTeeFive]

I've been buying bits and pieces of reloading gear as I find it, with plans of doing it when I retire. At this rate I have no idea when that might be, but for now I just don't have the space or time for reloading, unfortunately.

 

[ma96782]

On the other side of the question.....

Long ago (late '70s or early '80s in Hawaii).....I couldn't afford the price of factory ammo to keep me supplied with .38 Special ammo. That is.....in the quantities that I needed to be/get to being proficient with my revolver. Yeah....D/A shooting takes practice. So.....I had to take up reloading. My mentor/teacher ("Mr. Ogden") was trying to sell his single stage press in the newspaper. I met up with him and agreed to buy the press if he would give me a few lessons. I even bought a few more essential items. And, he gave me a few items to get me started. The deal was made and to this day, I am eternally grateful to him. I even saw him at a few guns shows after that and always stopped to thank him.

Aloha, Mark

 

[Slobray]

Yeah there aren't any excuses now that you're retired, right???

Actually, there's one excuse and you've met her....................


When I'm around the house, the wife always seems to find something for me to do.



Ray

 

[Caveman Jim]

Actually, there's one excuse and you've met her....................


When I'm around the house, the wife always seems to find something for me to do.



Ray

Bro, Do you need a large shop at a different location to get away from all that nefarious work. I can design one for you if needed.

 

[Utzpotatochips]

I don't complain about ammo prices. I doubt I ever have, though it happened, it was so long ago, I forgot. I don't keep track of round count per year, but it is a good amount. Two adults in our household contribute to the figure.

Why do I not reload?

1. Zero interest in said. My interests in firearms, as with many other things, are fluid and eclectic, but this field has never held any fascination. Not knocking it in the slightest and I know it is great for a lot of folks. Just not for me.
2. Time. I work long hours, workout a lot, and have a family, a house and acreage, a side business, and an extended family that is tightly knit. I barely have time to shoot and read on the topic as it is. With factory ammo, I give them money, they give me cartridges, and done. It is even easier with online ordering.

Maybe in the future when this settles down I could see relooking at it. Or not.

To each their own.

What he said haha

 

[HappyChemtrail]

Just getting into reloading. Agonized between red or blue team. Ended up going Hornady as I got a single stage, LnL AP progressive, and a 12ga 366 shotshell press for not much more than what a 650 would have cost me. Knew I wanted to do this for a couple years so I stocked projectiles, primers, and powder long before this panic started. Now it's just a matter of getting it all rolling.

I know some folks cite time as a reason to not get into reloading and I get that. It's a concern of mine as well, but I figure if everything is there I will use it. I like to shoot and got bit hard in the New Town panic. Will never get caught with no means to source ammo again.

 

[Member 5605]

I didn't have the hungry collection I have now.
Was too busy wrenching on cars for a living.
Didn't have the extra scratch.

 

[Dungannon]

... it's a peanut butter and a nanner sammich.

Grew up on those !!

Only kind of sandwich my dad ever made! His Irish ancestors landed in New Jersey and a generation later trekked to the hills of western North Carolina in 1770, where they've been ever since. I was born in South Carolina but have lived in the west all my life., which makes me the 'Yankee cousin.'

 

[Dungannon]

I'm late to the game; i.e., post retirement. In fact, it was I-1639 last year that initially pushed me to start. The anti's are relentless and I realized I needed to have more options to continue shooting, and sharing that joy with my kids and grandkids.

For me, saving money isn't a motivation for any hobby or interest in life. But to take up a new hobby, there has to be some sort of tie-in to things I'm already doing because I long ago gave up the biggest time waster in my life [television]. And just as importantly for an introvert like me: it has to be something I can do by myself at my own pace, it has to have a useful purpose, and it has to be something that lines up with my temperament.

 

[HaveGun]

I'm late to the game; i.e., post retirement. In fact, it was I-1639 last year that initially pushed me to start. The anti's are relentless and I realized I needed to have more options to continue shooting, and sharing that joy with my kids and grandkids.

For me, saving money isn't a motivation for any hobby or interest in life. But to take up a new hobby, there has to be some sort of tie-in to things I'm already doing because I long ago gave up the biggest time waster in my life [television]. And just as importantly for an introvert like me: it has to be something I can do by myself at my own pace, it has to have a useful purpose, and it has to be something that lines up with my temperament.

Yep. In this current situation of 9mm being long gone from the local shelves, and anywhere online for reasonable prices, I love the feeling that I can walk upstairs to my gun room and crank out practically ANY flavor of 9mm that I desire in a couple of hours of listening to the radio and working my Lee press.

Same for .40 S&W, or 10mm, or .45 Colt, or .308, etc, etc.

Winter is not only coming, it is here...

 

[Joe13]

Well, why reload when you can buy great deals like 500 rounds of green tip XM855 for the low low price of $550????

I mean really.... my time is worth a lot

 

[Stomper]

Wife said I had to give up one of my hobbies and I haven't picked one yet...

Just tell her that your left testicle is your main hobby.... then see if she's still willing to push that dictum.



It's a win-win.

 

[Stomper]

I really don't have a good place at my home to set everything up.

I don't mean to be argumentive but I have reloaded in an Air Force dorm room, on a kitchen table with a 2X6 cut as as a press mount and on an old desk in a storage building at one time.

I think far too many see pics of long term reloaders with multiple presses and other equipment and think this is the way it has to be.

One can start out fairly simply and still produce good reloads cheaply and efficiently.

Agreed! (Although I have a 650XL and two Rock Chucker's out in the shop)


I'm doing .308's with my Lee hand-loader while sitting on the couch watching YT videos of ANTIFA twerps getting their azzes kicked by patriots....






Of course it can be a bit tough on the furniture when you try to find that ONE SHELL you dropped in the cushions.....

 

[Member 52301]

My MT husband has reloaded since the early 1970's.

He used to own far more firearms and in many different firearm calibers too. Unusual calibers and some that were not that unusual but were far more expensive to feed and regular/common calibers too.

He downsized and consolidated many firearm calibers right before and some after his retirement.

He still reloads in his senior years.

He ENJOYS reloading and has many reasons for reloading which have already been mentioned HERE plus some other reasons too.

(He shoots RF rifles in 22lr and 22wmr too. Plus one Beretta pocket pistol - 22lr.)

He reloads for ALL of his CF firearms and he has a BIT of factory ammunition in 45acp and in 30-30.

He reloads for these firearm calibers:

45acp

.223

30-30

30-06

45-70

He used to reload for several shotguns in various gauges too. Long before I knew him.

Then he went down to one shotgun in a 12 gauge. That last shotgun was sold and, by that time, he did buy factory ammunition for that shotgun.

Me?

I do not reload. I did consider learning how to do this with my late husband but we never did get INTO IT (Buying equipment and learning this together.) due to his cancer and death.

HE supported me if I chose to do this just as he did when I started to buy all of my own firearms in the late 90's and on too. I owned more guns than he did, I owned more firearm calibers and I shot more rounds than he did in his entire life too.

He only owned 2 firearm calibers and only a few firearms in his entire life on purpose. (22lr and 357Magnum. He did keep some 38Special ammo on hand too.) HE owned more sail and power boats in his life.

I lost interest in learning to do this for myself. It literally died within me - the interest in actually reloading for MYSELF.

I support my MT husband's reloading and firearm interests.

Other interests too. Vice versa.

He supports my firearm interests.

I only shoot 22lr and 22wmr rifles now too. I am NO longer a high volume shooter and I have not been one in several years.

I do believe that a person should keep up their shooting SKILLS and apply safety issues as they age and NOT just at any age too. That goes for any skill and any interest - common sense. That goes for reloading and not only shooting.

My MT husband shoots ALMOST every single day of the week especially since he retired. He loves the good weather and he shoots in cold - snowy/icy weather too.

Western Montana Fish & Game Association - The WMFG is a membership based organization that privately owns and operates the Deer Creek Shooting Center in East Missoula Montana

www.wmfga.org

He shoots at some other places, rarely, but he mainly shoots HERE ^^^ the most.

He is taking his elderly friend 'grouse hunting' (?) or fishing on Thursday. I think that grouse hunting starts on Thursday but I could be wrong. I don't keep up on hunting dates unless he tells me or if I see it on the news websites.

FIRE season has closed more trails, camping sites, etc. big time here. They had more announcements about this on Wednesday and one specific place was close to where I used to camp and, later on, live in a tiny log cabin when I first moved out west. Butt up to wilderness and IN a VERY rugged mountain terrain on a private ranch.

Old Lady Cate
PS: My MT husband said that he saved a lot of money reloading but he shot much MORE and often and not just when he used to compete too. He had his other reasons for reloading too. I figure to each their own.

 

[Member 52301]

PS: I have helped my MT husband and several friends FIND PRODUCTS from a to z DURING and not only before or after fake/real shortages too.

So that sort of thing DOES interest me and watching what IS going on with factory RF and CF ammunition, shotgun shells, and reloading products especially in what my husband uses, etc.

BOTH of us keep an eye on these things.

Plus I have ALWAYS had a huge interest in specific RF ammunition too.

Watching the craziness makes me glad that we always stocked up but sooner or later - a person has to REPLACE what they shoot up in ANY product especially when they shoot often. You could go for several years - more or less depending on what you are shooting and how often and how much per session.

We calculate this. He is continuing to SHOOT but when he gets to a specific level in some items - he will switch or shoot LESS way down the road. Future times!

Some people may cut back some after they reach a specific LEVEL and IF those products are not showing up on the shelves.

We always kept shooting but we did keep an eye on things. We wondered what would happen especially in RF ammunition when it went on for YEARS on end here.

We were able to gift some and sell some at COST to our close friends. Various products!

I offered some to a Boy Scout and his Dad one time when they were trying to sell something to me. They never came back to me on my offer of a GIFT of some 22lr! Go figure.

My husband is keeping on shooting several HUNDRED rounds (250 to 300 as of my last count.) per week right now in RF and CF. That figure does vary a bit.

Old Lady Cate

 

[papersoldier]

Even though I do reload a little, I don't actually consider myself to be a "reloader" if that makes sense.

The reason for this is because I only reload for two calibers (.300 Blackout and 7.62x39mm) and I only set up my temporary reloading station about once every two or three months. The majority of the time my reloading equipment is sitting in a closet gathering dust.

The majority of the shooting I do is with 5.56mm and 9mm, so I find that it's not really cost efficient enough to bulk reload for my range time since I can (usually) get ammo for those two calibers cheap enough that reloading wouldn't be worth my time.

The only thing worthwhile for me to bother loading myself is subsonic and hunting rounds for my .300 Blackout and 7.62x39mm rifles, so that's all I bother to do.

 

[Red98422]

I must admit in my current situation I don't get out nearly as often as I should to reload. Being that my reloading setup is literally 5-600yrds from my residence and that I've had to cancel my range memberships (due to COVID they close before I'm off work).

add that to the state lands shut down and the nearest national forest being 2hrs away I find myself goin our less and less. .

Fortunately that is fixing to change here this week as a buddy of mine is in town from Texas and he's wanting to learn and help load some up for shooting this weekend! So I'll be blowing the dust off my machines and maybe adding another reloader to the fold!

 

[spider]

Space and cleanliness, even to this day I have been paranoid about aerosols and its worst now with Covid-19. Thinking about how that brass is tumbled in media and how that stuff is just floating in the air.

One of my friends has a nice Dillon set up in his garage, his garage basically is just his reloading room, when I went up to lift his garage door, my hand wiped off some of the residue on the door and he's like, yeah that might be lead, so go wash your hands.

But hey, you only live once.

 

[Dungannon]

Thinking about how that brass is tumbled in media and how that stuff is just floating in the air.

That's why I wet tumble. In fact I do it twice: wet tumble dirty brass with just soap and citric acid and then, after decapping primers, running them a second time with soap, citric acid and steel pins.Wipe down the press after decapping primers with a damp paper towel, and toss the primers and paper towel in the trash.