Reloaders: Do you load only in even batches? Or...

[gmerkt]

The question is, do you load only in even lot batches? Or are you okay with odd lots?

It's easy enough to wind up with mismatched amounts of cartridge brass, bullets, primers or powder. I like to stack mine away in boxes of 50. But I don't like to keep partial boxes of bullets that only have a handful in them. So I might scrape around and find what it takes to finish up a small quantity of left-over bullets. Things I don't shoot very much at one whack I have boxes of 20, like .45-70. But at present, I only keep 15 loaded cartridges for .45-70; the rest of my .45-70 stuff is in components.

I suppose a very careful person might start out with even lots and be able to stay the course for a long time. That is, if he never screwed up and ruined a primer or crushed a case, or lost a bullet that rolled somewhere never to be seen again. Everybody gets to the end of a powder container, which might lead to an odd lot.

On a shelf above where I do my loading, there is a squirrelly collection of very odd bits of components. Once in a while when I run short at the end of a batch (like Midway sent me 99 instead of 100, or 101 instead of 100), I might reach up there and find what I need to complete that single odd cartridge. This assortment of odd bits is a decades long work in progress resulting from minor screw-ups along the way. Not all of them mine, but most.

I've already referred to running out of powder. But how about when there are a couple of tablespoons left? Do you waste it or do you scratch around for odd matching components to complete a few stray rounds? Or if you have a new bottle waiting, do you sneak the leftover into the new one, which may be a different lot number?

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[Alexx1401]

I have always batch loaded. As in do all the prep to a good amount, then move on to the next. Never cared about exact amounts though. Just do a good batch and when done put stuff away till time to do more. Of course I am not doing anything "bench rest" type. So I never care about mixing primers or even bullets by lots and such.

 

[Certaindeaf]

View: https://youtu.be/lPH2-sqHRPA?feature=shared

 

[Yarome]

My OCD demands even batches. I can't start a batch until I have an even number divisible by box count... even if I have to go out and shoot off a bung load to get the number of brass required.

 

[eb in oregon]

I load what I got in cases. And as mentioned by Alexx I don't care about small groups (for the most part as I do load for accuracy for some instances and don't load anywhere near maximum) so I mix cases and primers. I don't give a rip about even numbers as they all go into an ammo can. I do keep boxes on hand to take to the range but the majority is in cans.

 

[oremike]

I run whatever until I run out of something. Being a commercial loader the even box counts go into inventory for sale the over runs go into my personal ammo stash.

 

[gmerkt]

For the things that I shoot most often, I've tried to keep to "standard" loads. Meaning, once I've identified what works best, I stick with that one rather than bouncing around with different components. I've found one IMR 4895 load that worked well in my .308 M1 Rifle and my Model 70 Winchester .308. Well, that was working well until The Famine came along. Fortunately, I'd already done some experimenting with a few other powders, did the chrono work, etc, beforehand.

.223's, I have two AR's, one with 1-7 twist, another with 1-9 twist. Then there is a Ruger 77 Mk. II, a Ruger No. 1, and an NEF SB2, those have 1-12 twist. Then there is another NEF SB2 that I believe (measured it three times) has a 1-14 twist. Ammo for these isn't necessarily interchangeable. And, not all the 55 gr. bullets are compatible with the 1-12 and 1-14 bbl. rifles. It's not too difficult to label and keep full boxes sorted out. But the little dribs and drabs of left-overs can be a nuisance.

For a while, I kept finished cartridges in cottage cheese containers. But when you get the stash built up, roundie containers take up more room than rectangles. So I really prefer boxes. But roundie containers you can put whatever count in them, they don't have a predetermined capacity. Which doesn't necessarily need to be filled, but what's the point of a partial box if you're going to that trouble?

 

[Koda]

I load and store my handloads by how many times the case has been fired.

I shoot the least fired cases first, then move those into the next level up to handload together. Eventually i can load and store them in 50rd boxes.

When i get to the bottom of the powder, i blend it in with the next pound. Ive tested separate powder lots with no change in zero, velocity or pressure so I stopped worrying about that.

 

[Catfishmoon]

I always run out of a particular projectile before I run out of powder, primers or cases because I stock pile the latter items in larger numbers. I have never had an issue locating and buying projectiles even during shortages.
For me, primers are stock piled the deepest, then powder. Cases have been picked up off the floor at the shooting range for years and they are now in abundance at home.

 

[P7M13]

With rifle cartridges, I usually load more than 50 at a time and either lay them stop the other cartridges in the MTM case, start to fill another case, or will band the extras together and store with the case.
Pistol? I load until there is no more, and they're all in a hopper.

 

[DLS]

My match rifles get fed prepped brass from the same lot, and that lot is kept together until the whole lot is scrapped.

The same was true of the .44 Mag loads I used on the 200-meter ram back when I shot metallic handgun sillihoutte.

Everything else gets loaded in batches (the bigger the better) until I run out of something. These are stored in ammo cans or repurposed peanut butter and nut containers. The empties go back into a bucket waiting to be batch processed and reloaded.

 

[orygun]

I like to reload in batches that fill whichever ammo box I'm going to use to store them in. If I am using the factory boxes that means 20 for rifle, 50 for handgun. For my hunting rifle ammo, I store in a 50 round MTM box, but load in smaller batches. I'll check sight in with a few, then possibly use one when hunting. A small batch lasts. Only once did I load up a large batch and put all of the cartridges loose in an ammo can. It was a 400 round batch.

 

[dangerranger60]

I load in batches equal to the number of primers in a tray. If I am testing and have a tray with 90 rounds left in it, I'll load 90 rounds [ or 190]. if its a set load that I'm duplicating, it goes in lots of 100, 200, 300, etc... Now the last SP primers I got came in trays of 150, so when I start on those it will be lots of 150, 300, 450, etc... DR

 

[TTSX]

I load until I'm done loading. Or when there's a convenient stopping point like running out of bullets, primers etc. Rarely do I get to end on a perfect 10 count. Heck, there was a time I had 17 pieces of brass so I made 17 rounds. I do not have the OCD but I do have the ADD