Reloading for caliber you own?

[spawndn72]

Do you reload for all the calibers you own? Just the major ones? Or just a few?

I currently own guns in 327 Fed mag, 380acp, 38 special, 357 mag, 9mm, 7.62x25, 44 mag, 223, 45 Colt, 45acp, 40s&w and 30-30.

I have a Dillon 550b with quick change setups for everything except 7.62x25, 380acp, 9mm, 38 special, 40s&w and 223.

I have never bothered with 9mm and 223 due to how cheap and plentiful the ammo is. The others that I don’t load for is because I do not shoot a lot of them. However with things the way they are I am beginning to think I need to get everything together for the ones I don’t load for starting with 9mm and 223.

What do you guys do?

 

[DocRock]

Everything. I buy a firearm with a new cartridge and say to myself, I only need factory ammunition for this one.

It never works.

 

[12Bravo20]

Everything. I buy a firearm with a new cartridge and say to myself, I only need factory ammunition for this one.

It never works.

Yup, it never works. I end up with another set of dies before long.

 

[WrongHanded]

I reload the cartridges I like to shoot when one or more of the following is true:

- It saves me a healthy amount of money.
- I can't get what I want unless I make it myself.
- It's fun.

e.g.

I reload .357 SIG because it saves me money.

I reload .41 mag because I can't get what I want easily otherwise.

I reload .45 ACP because it's easy and kinda fun.

But I don't reload .30-06 because I don't shoot it enough to save much, I can get what I want in factory ammo, and reloading bottleneck rifle cartridges sounds tedious and workup sounds like a long process.

 

[George P]

Everything except .22lr and .177 air rifle...........

 

[WestKentucky]

All... and tooled up for some I don’t yet, or have previously.

 

[Jessesky]

I reload for:
7.5x55
.41swiss
303
8x56r
30-06
375h&h
338 win mag
45-70
357
44mag
257 Roberts
300win mag
30-30
30 Remington
6.5x55



I don’t reload for:
9mm
5.56(might start however)
300blk
308
270
8mm
8mm lebel
30-40

As you can see I mainly reload for obscure cartridges that allow me to shoot the guns because the ammo is either scarce, or extraordinarily expensive. You can see a lot on that list, but most I don’t load often, and are mostly made to order for when I feel like taking out and old piece of history. The reason for the common cartridges I load for are to have quality ammo tuned to my rifle.

The ammo I don’t load for I either soot enough of that I wouldn’t be able to keep up, or is cheap enough that I won’t bother. (Surplus 8mm is pretty well priced). The only reason I don’t load for 30-40 or 8mm lebel is because I haven’t gotten around to buying dies or brass.

 

[gotboostvr]

I don't reload my "bulk" ammo. I've got a lot of steel cased 223 and cheap 9mm and some 45acp. I reload 75-77 BTJHP's in 223 though.

Since I only shoot "quality" stuff in my 308win I reload all that.

For 38/357, 44spl/mag, and most my 45acp I reload to save money and/or tailor my load to my purpose.

 

[HDMontana]

Everything except .22lr and .177 air rifle...........

Same here.

 

[cfullgraf]

Do you reload for all the calibers you own? Just the major ones? Or just a few?

Yea, I can reload for every CARTRIDGE for a gun that I own. At last count it is 30 plus different cartridges.

I enjoy reloading plus my ammunition is better than the cheap, bargain basement stuff out there.

Besides, with the ability of reloading, I can manage supply shortages of factory ammunition that many folks experience.

22 rim fire is the exception but I prefer to shoot center fire guns any way.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I handload for everything I own/shoot.

I own dies for 21 handgun/rifle cartridges (without actually counting) but I don't have guns for all of them at the moment lol.

 

[Swampman]

I load (or at least have dies for) every caliber of weapon I own with a few exceptions.

1- Rimfires, for obvious reasons.

2- .25 ACP, it's an inherited gun and I almost never shoot it. Also the cases are so small that I lose most of them when I shoot 'em anyway.

3- .40 S&W, I got the pistol when I retired from LE. I don't shoot it much and I probably have enough old ammo lying around for what little shooting I'll ever do with it.

4- 20 gauge, I have an old single shot that I got when I was a kid. I haven't shot it in 30 years. I'll probably give it to a friend's kid someday if I ever meet one that prefers guns to video games.

To offset the above lack, I've got a couple dozen sets for calibers I no longer even have guns for.

 

[Gumby0961]

I load a lot
17 rem
204
221
222
223
243 ai
25-06
7x57
7.62 x 39
7x 64
30-30
308
30-06
300 win mag
32 win spl
375 h & h
450 BM

30 herrett
38/357
44spl/44mag
45 acp
45 colt

Dont load but have
32acp
38 auto
9mm
250-3000
12 gauge
I'm sure I missed something....

Living in CA being a law abiding citizen I refuse to participate in the background check game to buy ammo.

 

[CptnAwesome]

I don't reload any pistol or 223/556 for the same reason spawndn72 mentioned. I do reload for every other rifle I own though.

Every new rifle is a new set of dies and (even if I have several suitable powders already on hand) a new powder

 

[.308 Norma]

Yup, it never works. I end up with another set of dies before long.

Yeah, I gave up on that a long time ago. Anymore, I just figure dies and possibly a shell holder into the price of the gun that shoots a cartridge I don't already load for.

 

[LoonWulf]

I have the gear to load for everything i own (except .243 for some reason), and many i dont.
There are some that i DONT load for, like autoloader rounds, but i have components on hand for the just in case, or when I need something special. For pure blasting ammo, It dosent make financial sense to load it myself.
Bigger rounds like the .44s, and pretty much all rifle besides the mini cartridges I load.

To be fair, i dont like reloading. I used to, but its now something I do because I like to shoot wierd stuff, and/or cant afford factory ammo.

 

[bangswitch]

I reload for 9x19mm, 10mm Auto/.40S&W, .38Spl/.357Mag, .45Auto, .223/5.56 (for a few friends, but I don't have a rifle in that caliber), .308/7.62x51, 300BLK, and 6.5 Grendel. I have a .32 Auto pistol, but don't load for it, don't shoot it much, and I have a 7.62x54R (Mosin-Nagant) that I don't load for. Don't shoot it much, and the factory ammo has Berdan primers, plus it's cheap enough.

 

[LiveLife]

Do you reload for all the calibers you own?

What do you guys do?

Yes, I reload all the calibers I own except 22LR (380Auto, 9mm, 40S&W, 45ACP, .223/5.56, .300 BLK, .308)

I particularly reload 9mm the most since I stocked up for retirement to shoot using 40-9 conversion barrels in my Glocks and PCCs, I can reload 9mm for around $5-$6/50 which is less than half the cost of decent factory ammo. I have reloaded over 600,000 rounds during my lifetime (Spent over $175,000 so far in shooting and reloading cost, mostly on reloading components) and plan on shooting over 1,000,000 before I die so 400,000 rounds of 9mm is 8000 boxes of 50 rounds or about $100,000 in factory ammo cost so I anticipate savings of over $50,000 just from reloading 9mm.

And since I come home with more 9mm brass (usually factory once fired), no cost for brass.

 

[Paul R Zartman]

I have supplies and tools to load all, but do not reload
9mm
45acp
380
38sp/357
12 guage
7.62x54r

 

[forty_caliber]

In early colonial times things were much different and citizens were required to bear arms or be fined four shillings.

Lord Baltimore's “An Act for Military Discipline” enacted in February or March of 1638 required
“that every house keeper or housekeepers within this Province shall have ready continually upon all occasions within his her or their house... for every person within his her or their house able to bear arms, one serviceable [working] gun” along with a pound of gunpowder, four pounds of pistol or musket shot, “match for matchlocks and of flints for firelocks...."

While I don't keep musket shot or own a matchlock or firelock I do keep ammunition on hand for every firearm in the household and consider this responsible ownership. Where that ammunition comes from makes little to no difference.

I hand load where it makes sense to do so from an economic or performance standpoint. Currently that is for 5 cartridges and have enough supplies on hand to keep doing so for the foreseeable future.


.40

 

[earlthegoat2]

I have 44 mag, 35 Rem, 444 Marlin, 30-06, 303 Brit, .223, oh and a few others I can’t think of right now. Oh yeah 450 Bushmaster is one of em.

Long story short I only reload for 44, and 444. I’m set up for 30-06 and 450 BM but don’t typically.

 

[badkarmamib]

I have the ability to load for every centerfire I own, except shotgun. However, for plinking ammo, if I can buy it cheaper than I can make it, I will go that route.

 

[jmr40]

I only load for my centerfire big game cartridges. 308, 30-06, and 6.5 CM. I've loaded for 280, 338-06, and 35 Whelen in the past but no longer have those cartridges. Saving money is secondary. I started loading for 280, 338-06 and 35 Whelen simply because factory ammo just wasn't easily available, if at all. I continue with the others because I can now load premium bullets as well as getting a little better speed and accuracy for about the same cost as cheap factory loads.

I also shoot 30-30, 35 Rem, 44 mag, 357 mag and 10mm. I don't shoot enough volume with those to justify hand loading. 223, 9mm, and 45 I can buy ammo cheaper than I can load it.

 

[Blue68f100]

Everything except rimfire. Including 20 ga shotgun if needed.

 

[4570Tom]

I used to reload quite a bit. Life got busy, but slowly getting back into reloading now. Past and future reloading choices are influenced by the reality of a finite amount of time I can devote to it per week; hence, choices are made by mostly deciding on what my “biggest bang for the buck” (sorry-couldn’t resist) would be. For me, that is revolver rounds such as 38 Special, 357 Mag, 44 Special, and 44 Mag. Those, along with 45-70, are the most cost effective for me to reload. As circumstances change, .308 and 6.5x55 would be the next considerations.