No, I’m not a handloader myself. I don’t even own a gun. Just wanted to see how many people load their own bullets.
Use to, but I lost the press and dies in the divorce. It was more his hobby anyway, but I liked it too and could do all of it. I’d get bored with working up my own loads though, and just used the ones published in the books. It’s been years, and it’s still all I can do to not hoard brass.
yea, but haven’t in a while. Mainly pistol however, rifle loads would be a blast but quality control would be a bitch. You would have to be really good to load accurately enough to compare to manufactures. I need to get a chronograph before I could do anything seriously.
:eek:
[sup]Talk about an ugly divorce![/sup]
Right now I load for 16 rifle calibers from .222 Remington to .50/70 Government and 9 pistol calibers .32 S&W Long to .45 Colt.
Yo. Just a few calibers, though. Much of what I enjoy shooting is available far cheaper as surplus than I could ever reload it.
.357 magnum and .38 special.
The only time I buy factory ammo is when my brass is getting worn out (the ranges I go to don’t allow you to collect brass).
I always found the reloading process to be pleasing – I have a cheap single stage reloading press, so a couple hundred bullets takes an hour or so, but it is pleasant methodical work.
FYI, with a cheap press like mine you do the following:
- Run the casing through a sizing die that squeezes any bulges and also pops out the old primer.
- Run the casing through a flaring die that puts a slight flare in the mouth, to receive the bullet.
- Use a priming tool to put new primers in the shells (I like this part – the tool is fun to use).
- Scoop in the powder.
- Place the bullet in the shell.
- Run the whole thing through a die that presses the bullet into its final position and crimps the sides slightly.
Put a hundred shells in a rack and do each step on all 100 at a time and you can be quite productive.
I handload. I live not far from the Dillon factory which makes it more convenient to spend wheelbarrows of money on blue machines and stuff that goes with them. I have tried to consolodate calibers so mosgt of my loading is .45 ACP and .44 WCF (.44-40) with black powder for cowboy action shooting. I load shotgun shells only because it is extremely expensive to buy commercial shells with black powder.
I operate the progressive press somewhat differently than [NB]minor7flat5**. First station decaps the case and sizes it. Upstroke on the handle inserts a primer at the second stage. Downstroke flares the neck as it charges the case with powder. Third stage has a powder level check which checks for gross errors like missing or double charges. Extremely rare with this setup but it can happen. Fourth station seats the bullet to the correct depth and fifth station crimps the cast neck.
Scumpup makes a good point. If you shoot common calibers it’s difficult to impossible to save money. Especially true with a press like I have and that isn’t even counting the value of your time.
Snaggletooth, I have to disagree. High quality is not that difficult to achieve. I have no trouble loading my own .223 and getting half MOA accuracy.
I don’t, but my father does. I think he likes the precision required (he was a chemistry major in college).
I primarily load for .300 Savage and .30-30 for use in a Contender because there isn’t much available off the shelf for them. (Yes, you can shoot regular factory loads in the Contender, but reloading lets me use them fancy pointy bullits 'n stuff.) I used to load for .243, .45 Colt, .45 acp, .308, .223, .357 magnum and a few other cartridges, but either the guns are gone or shoot so little that a box of cartridges lasts for years.
“I got a gun for my wife. It was a good trade” comes to life. And on the heels of the highlined Alaskan bullmoose yesterday making the kid’s joke “Antlers in the Treetops by Hoogoose Damoos” a reality.
I don’t handload, yet.
Right now I shoot mainly .22LR and 9mm, so I haven’t felt the need to handload yet.
I’m going to buy reloading equipment as soon as I’m done with school and start shooting more centerfire stuff, like 10mm and .223.
Probably gonna start casting my own bullets, too. Quite a few people around here do it and it looks like fun.
Wow, that stinks. I was at the range the other day, and a guy put about 100 rounds through a .44mag. The brass vultures kept eyeing him to see if he was going to pick any of it up before he left. 
I have a .270 Weatherby, and reloading is about the only way I could afford to shoot it. I also reload .44 magnum and .357/.38.
I used to help my dad do it when I was a little kid. It was fun!!!
Yep. With .45/70, you pretty much have to ($1 a shot for wimpy blackpowder-equivalent factory loads). Costs me about 40 cents each to load my own.