Who reloads their own ammo?

Discussion in 'Reloading' started by Billythekid, Dec 23, 2012.

  1. SOG

    SOG .22LR

    Yes I was just fooling around. I have all the equipment I need. My shotgun MEC's are progressive, but my rifle press is single stage. I reload 300 WSM, 3006, 308, 5.56, 22 Hornet, 357 mag and 45ACP. I have components I have not used in years.
    Thanks


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  2. SHOOTER13

    SHOOTER13 Guest

    Welcome to the forum...!!
    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 28, 2018
  3. lead-fouling

    lead-fouling .22LR

    I reload my own 12g cartridges. It is IMPOSSIBLE to make a saving on your plain old clay busting #7.5 28g loads.

    But any deviation from that to buck (very hard to get this side of the pond) or slug (ridiculously hard to acquire) you will save up to 80%!

    I use a simple Lee Loadall II to reload.
  4. SHOOTER13

    SHOOTER13 Guest

    Sounds about right...
  5. Leland Craig

    Leland Craig .22LR

    I started loading my own ammo about 5 years ago.

    Pistols I load: 38/357mag, 9mm, .380, 45acp

    Rifles I load: .223 (bolt guns), .22-250, .243, .25-06, .308, and .30-06

    Attached Files:

    SHOOTER13 likes this.
  6. nitesite

    nitesite .410

    Leland,

    Sounds like you got a huge variety of rifles and handguns.

    Good job, Mr. Reloader~~~~ :)
  7. nitesite

    nitesite .410

    Leland, I bet five years ago you were pretty pissed off that there was almost NO pistol powder available on store shelves and internet sales were on a terminal death waiting list.
  8. Leland Craig

    Leland Craig .22LR


    Thanks. Ha Ha. I inherited most of my long guns from my dad and father in law. I inherited dads reloading equipment too. Dad loved prairie dog shooting, so he reloaded for his prairie dog trips. So when I started prairie dog shooting, I started reloading for those trips as well. When loading 600 rifle rounds for two calibers, you do save money in that you can build the equivalent of a premium bullet for about half the cost. If you figure in your personal time, no there is no money saved.

    I load most of my pistol rounds in the winter as a way of staying busy during cold rainy days. And yes, during the "shortage" you had to buy what you could find and make do with that. Thats how I stumbled upon Winchester Autocomp for pistols. my favorite pistol powder now.
  9. nitesite

    nitesite .410

    You are so ahead of the curve it is a proud moment for you.

    People who are behind that curve are one day going to experience the suck, which won't be you.
  10. nitesite

    nitesite .410

    I waited over SIX years to find Bullseye and 2400 and Unique on store shelves. SIX YEARS. The first pistol powder I could buy several years ago (2014???) was IMR-700X. It worked out well for me but still....
  11. Leland Craig

    Leland Craig .22LR

    [QUOTE="nitesite, post: 24805, ........ find Bullseye and 2400 and Unique on store shelves. ....[/QUOTE]

    The only time I see these powders are at gun shows. Don't need any pistol powder at the moment. Between my supplies of Autocomp, Red Dot, and Blue Dot I am good to go.
  12. nitesite

    nitesite .410

    I was lucky that ten years ago I bought a 1-lb bottle of rifle or pistol powder each payday or so. Primers too. Before I knew it I had something like 30-pounds of every rifle and pistol powder I wanted to have on hand. So when the sudden and complete powder and primer drought hit us, I was not without what I thought was more than adequate stock. I DID really shoot and reload less during the next eight or so years until I saw plenty coming back. Primers came first but it took until around 2015 to see plenty of pistol/shotgun powder on shelves.
    Leland Craig likes this.
  13. lrrp75thRngr

    lrrp75thRngr Copper BB

    I started loading for 12 gage in the early 80's and began loading for rifle shortly thereafter. I still load for shotgun even though its no longer a savings and also for .243, 30-06
    45-70 and 35 Rem.
    SHOOTER13 likes this.
  14. Rob poston

    Rob poston .270 WIN

    I pretty much load 12g and 20g shotgun shells only. Nothing in a rifle or pistol round.
    But in the winter, I do find pleasure in loading. I love to sit and watch it snow, while loading my AA and STS shells. I currently have about 7,000 empty hulls to load... more hulls than I have shot/wad/powder/primers.
  15. Roan444

    Roan444 .22LR

    Necro post here, but I am new so it's relevant to the OP...
    Started reloading 444Marlin because I felt accuracy with factory rounds could be improved, and it obviously spread to include everything I own and shoot.

    Loading equipment ranges from Lee Classic "Rock and Stick" loaders for any/all calibers to Lyman single stage press for all.

    Pistol:
    38/357 Mag
    9mm
    40 S&W
    45 ACP

    Rifle:
    223 Rem
    30/30 Win
    32 WinSpcl
    35 Rem
    307 Win
    308 Win
    444 Marlin
    SHOOTER13 likes this.
  16. nitesite

    nitesite .410

    Roan444,

    That is a very impressive list of cartridges!

    Isn't factory .444 Marlin almost $2.50~$3.00 per round now?
    SHOOTER13 likes this.
  17. SHOOTER13

    SHOOTER13 Guest

    That's where rolling your own makes sense.
  18. Roan444

    Roan444 .22LR

    nitesite, indeed it runs $2.00 to $2.50 for sure, and I couldn't get under moa...

    Until I started handloading
  19. Dallas_CMT

    Dallas_CMT .270 WIN

    Roan, are you still loading .35 Rem on occasion?
  20. Roan444

    Roan444 .22LR

    Dallas, I certainly do!

    Load development is always fun! It's actually a little sad when you reach the end of testing, which is maybe why I continue to add rifles and calibers so I can keep "cooking"

    I have found some great loads, but settled on most any 200g bullet with 37.5 (Max) of IMR 3031. My favorite is Hornady 200g RN, but the Hornady FTX and Sierra 200g are also quite accurate.

    The Hornady RN is a very tough constructed bullet, with the jacket slightly wrapping the nose. Very good on Hogs, but zips through whitetail if you take the traditional "meat saver" shot...You actually want to hit bone in deer with this bullet.

    The Hornady FTX is dramatic in it's mechanical operation, (in all calibers) sometimes resulting in blow back and jacket separation on tough game, not ideal, but still hasn't let me down on recovering game. This is where the meat saver shot is very necessary and effective.

    Being a Hornady fan myself, I have only tested the Sierra for accuracy so I can't speak to game performance.

    Is the .35 one you handload?

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