Old Question - New Poll

[.308 Norma]

I'm curious how many of you reload because what you need to shoot isn't normally sold?

Ammo for my .308 Norma Mag isn't all that common, and neither is ammo for my .45-110 Sharps, but that's one of the things I like about those two cartridges. As a matter of fact, I'm keeping my eyes open for a .38-55 Winchester. I know factory .38-55 ammo is available, but it's not all that common.
Also, I once knew a guy that had an old .22 Hornet that he used his own cast lead bullets in instead of a .22 rimfire of some kind for shooting ground squirrels. I thought that was a great idea and thought about getting myself an old .22 Hornet myself and working up a cast bullet load for it. I mean, sure factory .22 Hornet ammo is fairly common, but factory .22 Hornet ammo using cast lead bullets isn't, and I think it would be fun to build and shoot ammo like that.

 

[Handshaker]

I do reloading simply because i am cheap and i reload the ammo that is over a buck a round. I buy the cheap regular stuff, but that was before Covid. Sometimes i enjoy it, sometimes not. Luckily I have enough commercial ammo i wont need to reload the cheap stuff even if we have a couple more pandemics.

 

[BushMaster-15]

Shoot 'em up n have fun......!!
Like anything else, we will pay whatever we need to do whatever we want to do....If we wanna keep shooting, we will buy what we need---or not shoot.....
Just because gas is high, most of us didn't stop driving......
Life is too short to bicker back and forth....my apologies..

And Likewise

 

[GeoDudeFlorida]

lol. Kinda funny. Just as many responses don’t understand the question as consider reloading a chore. Coincidence?

 

[Soonerpesek]

lol. Kinda funny. Just as many responses don’t understand the question as consider reloading a chore. Coincidence?

………….I don’t get it…………………..

 

[Bugster]

Once in awhile it starts out feeling like work, but then I get in the groove and the satisfaction comes back and I end up loading more than I planned. I guess it's not just a hobby but really soothing. No TV, music or phone, peace and quiet and my reloading routine, I love it.

 

[Bazoo]

I’ve done answered the question so I’ll address another.

Why i reload. Cost. I have less money than time. I can make ammo much much cheaper than factory since I cast my own, and don’t count my time. Others say well you need to count your time. Okay... my time is better spent making top quality ammo than working for the same amount and buying inferior, less suitable factory ammo. So my ammo isn’t cheaper that way but it’s much better quality because I control each step.

Satisfaction of doing it. I enjoy making my own cast bullets and reloading it. I’d still reload if I didn’t cast, but I’d lose a lot of the enjoyment of it. Pride of making something with my hands. It isn’t my only outlet of manufacture, I spend my life making things.

Availability. So sure if I wanted 357 mag or 9mm it’d be easy enough. Try finding 44 special though. Last I seen was a dollar a shot. That was three boxes I found a few years ago. When I go gun shopping, I don’t have to shy from a gun for ammo availability.

 

[JKP]

I enjoy reloading. I usually shoot around 300 rounds a week, so as soon as I get home I decap and throw the brass into my wet tumbler. While the "mini maytag" is cleaning the brass I clean the guns. By the end of the day the cases are cleaned, sized and primmed. Every couple of weeks I'll crank out a thousand with powder and bullets. If components were back to pre- covid prices, I'd probibly do this twice a week.

 

[.308 Norma]

Others say well you need to count your time. Okay... my time is better spent making top quality ammo than working for the same amount and buying inferior, less suitable factory ammo. So my ammo isn’t cheaper that way but it’s much better quality because I control each step.

I think folks that say "you have to count your time" when reloading have entirely different mindsets than I (and apparently you) do, Bazoo. I enjoy handloading, so the time I spend building "top quality ammo" that's "better" than factory ammo (IMO) really does not "count." Besides, some of the ammo I build really isn't available as factory ammo.
Handloading is like woodworking (which I also enjoy) as far as I'm concerned. Just the other day, my wife told me she'd like to have a candle holder for one of her tall Christmas candles. The candle itself is in a tall, glass cylinder, and my wife was afraid it might tip over.
So, while we were in town today, I stopped by Lowes and picked up the parts (I already had the wood) to build the candle holder I've dreamed up. I spent less than $8.00 for everything, and by this time Saturday, my wife will have a custom-built candle holder that's unlike (and better than) any factory-made candle holder I've ever seen. Of course, I'll have to "count the time" I spent building it when I figure out how much it actually cost.

 

[GeoDudeFlorida]

I think folks that say "you have to count your time" when reloading have entirely different mindsets than I (and apparently you) do, Bazoo. I enjoy handloading, so the time I spend building "top quality ammo" that's "better" than factory ammo (IMO) really does not "count." Besides, some of the ammo I build really isn't available as factory ammo.
Handloading is like woodworking (which I also enjoy) as far as I'm concerned. Just the other day, my wife told me she'd like to have a candle holder for one of her tall Christmas candles. The candle itself is in a tall, glass cylinder, and my wife was afraid it might tip over.
So, while we were in town today, I stopped by Lowes and picked up the parts (I already had the wood) to build the candle holder I've dreamed up. I spent less than $8.00 for everything, and by this time Saturday, my wife will have a custom-built candle holder that's unlike (and better than) any factory-made candle holder I've ever seen. Of course, I'll have to "count the time" I spent building it when I figure out how much it actually cost.

Handloading is one of my least expensive hobbies. If I weren’t outside or in the tv room loading I’d be in the sewing room making quilt tops for charity, family, friends - or out in the barn working on motorcycles (which I don’t have anymore because I decided to STOP having suicidal hobbies) - and talk about an expensive hobby! My neighbor has air boats. For fishing.

No, I figure the time I spend on the press doesn’t cost, it pays. I could be doing something much more expensive with my time.

 

[speedingpickle]

I haven't been at it for long but I find it a chore. Oddly not so much for rifle rounds, but pistol...yikes!
But I load on a single stage, weighing each charge by hand, and even the small batches I do can be tedious.

I've been considering "moving up" to a progressive in the hopes it'll reignite the spark.

 

[tightgroup tiger]

I don't know anything but reloading, it's what we have done since I was old enough to know.
I enjoy it alot, but there are times I just have to walk away from it. I was trying to load two days ago and the static was messing with my powder measure and I couldn't tune it into what I wanted, + one, like I can usually count on.
It was one of those days when nothing was going right anyways, so I can't blame it on not liking reloading.
If is a labor of love for me though. I wouldn't call it a chore.