Why Handload?

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COSteve
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Why Handload?

Post by COSteve »

Why Handload?

Many who do started doing it to save money or produce hard to find ammo for unpopular or obsolete calibers.

I started for a different reason. All of my working life I worked with my mind, not my hands, and I've always looked at making things as recreation. My daughter, when she was young, never worried about breaking something because she believed that, "My dad can fix anything." I took that as the highest complement she could give me.

So, when I was able to reconstitute my firearm collection when the kids when off to college after having to sell it off when the kids were small to pay the bills, I also looked to a couple of friends who were into handloading. Through them, I found a hobby I thought I could really get into. It turns out if anything, I understated my enjoyment of it as I seriously wonder these days if I handload to shoot or shoot to handload.

To me, the money savings is secondary to the pure enjoyment of handloading. I like the precision of the process, the act of creating and the satisfaction of incorporating my ideas into a physical object. There is nothing more relaxing for me than going down into the basement and cranking out some new variation of a caliber to try.

I guess that's why, with only 7 pistol and 9 rifle calibers I load, I have 108 different variations of bullet and powder loads I make up ammo with. The satisfaction of making the ammo is powerful draw for me in the sport of handloading. And for me, the process is so relaxing that I can let all the cares of the world float away.
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Re: Why Handload?

Post by JimT »

My dad taught me to handload, beginning when I was about 10 years old. I have been handloading for a long time. When people ask me about the cost I try to explain that while they will not save any money by handloading, they will shoot a whole lot more for the money they spend.

And as you said, there are side benefits. When my wife passed I found casting bullets and handloading to be therapeutic for me. I got so much therapy with it that I did not have to cast bullets for certain calibers until 4 or 5 years later!

And now my grandson who is 9 is interested and helps me once in awhile.
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Re: Why Handload?

Post by Rimfire McNutjob »

I like to experiment with the borderline obsolete and some obscure stuff. That got me going. I don't cast ... yet. Oddly, I have some moulds ... just in case.
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Re: Why Handload?

Post by Walt »

Get yourself set up for casting, McNutJob. It is the ultimate in creative pleasure in the gun world.
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Re: Why Handload?

Post by GunnyMack »

I more or less am self taught for hand loading. 13 rifle calibers, only 4 pistol.
While attending gummsmiff skool we had a hand loading elective, gee I was doing it right all along! :lol:
The only odd ball I load is my 257 AI, I put the rifle together while in school, Mexican Mauser, Shilen barrel, Bastogne walnut. I'll be darned if this rifle will shoot less than 1.5"@100! It's darn near frustrating. I've tried every weight bullet, Speer,Sierra,Nosler, Hornady, even boutique bullets. Many different powders up in smoke too.
Should I complain? Probably not but all the other rifles ' I built ' will do less than 1" and better. Next load I'm trying is 4350 ,5 start load then up a grain until it get to max. Something shows promising I'll start in ¹/¹⁰ gr increments.

Does it save money? These days I'd say NO until ya look at the lack of ammo on the shelves unless you want 223 or 9mm.
I've been looking for fresh brass for the 257- Nosler makes the AI brass at 120 bucks / 50! Sure fire form regular Bob ammo, rare as hens teeth!
It's a toss up for savings I guess...
It is however as CO mentioned very satisfying to roll your own and get good results on paper/ steel/ meat for the freezer.
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Re: Why Handload?

Post by Griff »

As a married E-4 in the Navy, money was scarce, ammo was plentiful, but expensive in comparison to my budget. My B-I-L taught me how to reload, even leaving his reloading equipment when he moved out of state. I only loaded for two cartridges, a .44 Mag Winchester 94 and the .30-30 for a Winchester 64A. After getting out of the service, I had to add 45 Auto to feed the 1911s, and a shotshell loader to support a burgeoning Skeet habit! After having the two Winchesters stolen, I never replaced the 44 Mag, instead opting for a Colt SAA in 45 Colt. Reloading has allowed me to have and feed a Sharps in a obsolete cartridge that back in the late 1980s had no retail availability. I have several rifles and more than one handgun that've never had a round of factory ammo thru them. My 1980 Remington 700 BDL in 7mmRemMag has only seen either 115 grain HPs or 140 grain Ballistic Tips. I don't think I've even bought a single round of factory ammo. Similar story with my Marlin 375. While I have a box each of Winchester 200 & 250 grain factory loads... neither has been opened. While I continue to hope that Hornady will bring back their 220 grain FP, Sierra's 200 grain FP will be tasked to make up the difference. Without casting as an auxiliary hobby, I don't think I could feed my 45 Colt rifles & revolvers the variety of projectiles for the variety of uses they get tasked with. From cowboy action to hunting & self-defense, I've got a bullet & load in stock! And, the fact that many of them can do double duty with the 45 Auto is icing on the cake! I could go on and on, but why bore everyone? :P :P If you don't reload... I think you're missing a big part of the enjoyment of shooting.
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Re: Why Handload?

Post by bmtshooter »

Reloading is just one of the many skillsets that I think are important to have in your personal toolbox.

My father reloaded back in the 60s and I picked it up as a kid. Scavenging wheel weights was an enjoyable part of the process for. I have not had to sweat out ammo shortages as long as my component inventory was properly stocked.

I have been a recycler for decades ........ saving the planet one bullet at a time.
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Re: Why Handload?

Post by FLINT »

I started because I have and have had several calibers that are either totally obsolete or uncommon and expensive to buy factory ammo for.

however, I'm branching out now to reload for more calibers since ammo even for common calibers have become expensive and hard to find. rediculous.
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Scott Tschirhart
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Re: Why Handload?

Post by Scott Tschirhart »

It’s therapeutic for me. I like having ammo to shoot whenever I want. So I load large quantities of ammo for the guns I shoot most.

I really don’t know that it saves me any money because I shoot a lot more.
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Re: Why Handload?

Post by Walt »

Factory ammo?! I haven't shot factory ammo in anything but .22lr for decades. I haven't even shot jacketed bullets in anything but a few rifles for the same period of time. Now, JimT suggested a load for .41 mag involving jacketed bullets so I bought a couple of boxes of those but virtually all of my dozens of handguns have never had a jacketed bullet through them. My leverguns have had nothing but cast bullets through them as well.
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Re: Why Handload?

Post by 2ndovc »

I started at 16 when I bought my first Enfield. Wasn't a box of .303s to be had anywhere around here, except at a show and there weren't that many around in those days. My dad talked my uncle out of my grandfather's equipment and taught me how to do it. At last count I have dies for 43 different calibers.
I do buy factory ammo when needed or starting with a new caliber, just to have a place to start accuracy wise or with a new firearm for the same reason.
Like many others have said, it's a peaceful thing to do when you need a little downtime.

jb 8)
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Re: Why Handload?

Post by J Miller »

Many who do started doing it to save money or produce hard to find ammo for unpopular or obsolete calibers.
That was me nearly 50 years ago. Try finding anything other than R-P or W-W .45 colt ammo back then. Nope, buy ammo shoot it and reload the cases, that was the only choice to those of use that were enamored with the grand old .45 Colt.


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Re: Why Handload?

Post by samsi »

I originally started so I could afford to shoot more, but the experimenting sideline of it gradually took hold so now I do both, bulk range reloads and specialty handloads. I often end up way behind on the shooting part now.
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Re: Why Handload?

Post by pshort »

Howdy Folks,
I reload 'cause I can't get the sort of loads I wanna deal with....
Prices of parts these days are sky high... So, I don't reload 9mm, or .223 ...
All the straight wall cases are what I do mostly...
I'm well stocked on parts that I got several years ago...
Lifetime supply, really ...........
I'm 76, not 40, so lifetime could mean different for younger folks...

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Scott Tschirhart
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Re: Why Handload?

Post by Scott Tschirhart »

I’ve never loaded 5.56/.223 or 9mm. Neither made a lot of sense to me. I should load for my .30-30 but I don’t. Haven’t loaded .308 for many years.

.44 Special, .45 Colt, .45ACP are the bulk of my loading.
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Re: Why Handload?

Post by JimT »

Because you can:

Make a tool to flat nose round nose 9mm bullets
IMG_3269.JPG
IMG_3272.JPG
Shoot 'em into sand and see what they do compared to standard round nose
Flat-nose:
berrysnoseflata.JPG
Round nose:
berrys124a.JPG
IMG_3273.JPG
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COSteve
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Re: Why Handload?

Post by COSteve »

Scott Tschirhart wrote: Wed May 10, 2023 5:12 pm It’s therapeutic for me. I like having ammo to shoot whenever I want. So I load large quantities of ammo for the guns I shoot most.

I really don’t know that it saves me any money because I shoot a lot more.
I also load in bulk partly for the ammo and mostly because I like to handload. It's my most relaxing hobby and I look forward to it. There isn't any part of the process I don't like, even necked brass processing.

I have a Dillon trimmer so trimming is automatic while I'm running brass prep without ever having to touch a piece of brass. I just dump them in the casefeeder and they come out decapped, resized and trimmed.

Removing the crimp is a breeze as well as I use Dillon's Super Swage I added a spring to so I can easily do 1,000 pieces in an hour. Once swaged, the brass is good for it's life which varies from 5 to 7 reloads depending on caliber and load.

I keep my brass prep separate from handloading for my rifle calibers so I can spread out the process. So, I usually load in 500 to 1,000 round batches be it rifle or pistol as it doesn't take much time on my 750 to work those up and I like to space out my handloading.

I make my handgun ammo at a comfortable rate of 400 rds per hour and necked rifle at a steady 200 rds per hour. I could go much faster but I like to keep the pace slower to ensure the quality and consistency stays high.
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Re: Why Handload?

Post by Rimfire McNutjob »

COSteve wrote: Thu May 11, 2023 10:07 am I just dump them in the casefeeder and they come out decapped, resized and trimmed.
Trimmed as well? What dark magic is this? What sort of Dillon "thing" does this during the process.
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Re: Why Handload?

Post by Streetstar »

i'll offer a counterpoint and state that i dont really like to reload a heckuva lot. I'm spread too thin with many other aspects of life and have been for quite some time.

However - years ago after a bit of research, i decided that .300 Weatherby was going to be my rifle caliber of choice. standard loads for the prospect of western hunting and reduced pressure loads for target shooting and everything else

If a guy has a hankering to go with something a little left of the mainstream, he better learn to reload unless he's a millionaire playboy. $60-80 a box 25 years ago even dictated that i learn. Later on i fell in love with the 45-70 and 45 Colt so to feed those with somewhat modern loads, it was the same story until Hornady FTX came along for the 45/70.
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Re: Why Handload?

Post by Rockrat »

Dillon rapid trim will size and trim. I use a seperate decapping die on station 1 of my 650 and the RT on the second station. When done, clean lube off cases and run sized/trimmed cases back thru the 650 with the toolhead set up for loading.

I started with the old lee loader and figured later it was too much work so ended up with an RCBS Jr press back when I was 17. Learned by reading some old loading manuals
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Re: Why Handload?

Post by COSteve »

Rimfire McNutjob wrote: Thu May 11, 2023 12:27 pm
COSteve wrote: Thu May 11, 2023 10:07 am I just dump them in the casefeeder and they come out decapped, resized and trimmed.
Trimmed as well? What dark magic is this? What sort of Dillon "thing" does this during the process.
Not "Dark Magic." Besides the sizing/decapping die in station 1 of 5, a Dillon Rapid Trim electric case trimmer sits in station 4 of 5 of my case prep toolheads on my XL750.

https://www.dillonprecision.com/62164

I have trim dies for .30 Carbine and all my necked rifle calibers on my case prep toolheads that are adjusted so that all I need to do is just screw the trimmer on, plug it in and start my case prep cycle.

It automatically trims only the cases that need it. As I said, with my casefeeder, I don't have to touch an individual case to decap, resize or trim it. Just dump them in and crank.
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Re: Why Handload?

Post by Rimfire McNutjob »

I went to the Dillon site and checked it out. What a cool little trimmer. Might even adapt to my RCBS press. It seems like it needs some very specific dies. Plus I'd have to paint the little vacuum collector green.
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Re: Why Handload?

Post by COSteve »

Mounts on a standard 7/8" threaded caliber specific trim die.

Also, CH4D makes trim dies for tons of oddball calibers.
https://www.ch4d.com/
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Re: Why Handload?

Post by Scott Tschirhart »

I don’t generally worry about trimming cases and that’s probably why I don’t load bottle neck rifle cartridges
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Re: Why Handload?

Post by piller »

I reload because I have a few uncommon calibers. Easier to reload than to find them factory loaded. I branched out to some common calibers such as .270 and .30-06 for the interest in finding more accuracy.
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Re: Why Handload?

Post by 6pt-sika »

I started loading when I got hung up on competitive skeet and trap 12-20-28 and 410 . Not to long after I added the 16 and 10 ga 3 1/2” . Another year or so I got into loading for my deer rifles as well as a couple handguns . At the apex of it all I was loading for eighty separate metallic cartridges and 7 different shotgun gauges . While all that was going on I got into the Marlin levers and after awhile the desire to cast for lever action silhouette got me . Then metamorphasized into buckshot slugs and punkin balls for the shotguns . Now I load very few rifle cartridges maybe sixty in a year although I would like to start going to the range again to shoot 100-200 yard BR with HB 222 and6 PPC . Now most of what I load for shotguns is 8 gauge 10 gauge 2 7/8” or 12 gauge . Back when I wanted to try everything after awhile that ran its course . Now very few rifle cartridges I posses are anything difficult to deal with . Simplicity is the key now .
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Re: Why Handload?

Post by marlinman93 »

I started hand loading about 45 years ago because a coworker and shooting friend did, and told me I could save money and have better ammo. In the beginning I wondered how I'd save money, or ever pay back the initial investment, even having bought much of my equipment cheap at used prices. But it didn't take long to look at ammo prices and see I'd quickly saved a lot on rifle ammo especially.
Years later I began to get into older guns that were in obsolete cartridges, and then the ability to form, and load my own cartridges was the only way I could ever shoot them, and I definitely wanted to shoot them! So I went beyond just reloading, and learned what cases could be reformed and used to make some obsolete brass. Casting my own bullets was another almost mandatory step to shooting my old guns, and greatly increased accuracy having bullets that fit my bores properly. I stopped buying bullets decades ago, and since I rarely shoot my modern guns much, I've got plenty of factory jacketed bullets for the occasional time I shoot them.
I consider learning to reload and enjoying more time shooting my old rifles as one of the best things I ever did. It's given me decades of enjoyment, and enhanced my interest in guns in general. If I had it to do over I'd have started a few years earlier, instead of waiting until my mid 20's to take it up.
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Re: Why Handload?

Post by Bob Hatfield »

The only thing my old man taught me was to hit first and how to dig a ditch with mattock and shovel. What I was taught about reloading, hunting, fishing, baseball, football, or basketball by him, I could write about it on the back of a gnat's butt. Every time he would give me a 22 or a shotgun, he would eventually sell it or trade it off. I guess in the 60's he needed the money. I'm thinking of selling his 742 BDL I inherited to get even LOL.
I learned handloading reading Elmer, Skelton (not Red), Wooters, Milek, Waters, Jamison, Venturino, and all the others while reading G&A, Shooting Times, Handloader, Rifle, Guns. Couldn't get enough of it in the 70's and 80's. For some reason, I feel naked if I have a caliber that I cannot handload for.
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Re: Why Handload?

Post by Bill in Oregon »

I started in high school. Nixon had just been elected president, if that tells you anything. I've loaded for a lot of calibers over the years, including the weird, the historical, the obsolete and almost all the surplus calibers, and feel guilty shooting factory ammo. Like Scott, I don't load for 9 mm. I like the process, and probably spend four hours at the loading/casting bench for every hour I spend at the range. Started tying my own fishing flies in junior high.
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Re: Why Handload?

Post by JimT »

Bob Hatfield wrote: Sun May 14, 2023 8:21 am For some reason, I feel naked if I have a caliber that I cannot handload for.
I can identify with that! I even reload .22 Long Rifles ..... :shock:
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Re: Why Handload?

Post by COSteve »

Bob Hatfield wrote: Sun May 14, 2023 8:21 am The only thing my old man taught me was to hit first and how to dig a ditch with mattock and shovel. What I was taught about reloading, hunting, fishing, baseball, football, or basketball by him, I could write about it on the back of a gnat's butt. Every time he would give me a 22 or a shotgun, he would eventually sell it or trade it off. I guess in the 60's he needed the money. I'm thinking of selling his 742 BDL I inherited to get even LOL.
I learned handloading reading Elmer, Skelton (not Red), Wooters, Milek, Waters, Jamison, Venturino, and all the others while reading G&A, Shooting Times, Handloader, Rifle, Guns. Couldn't get enough of it in the 70's and 80's. For some reason, I feel naked if I have a caliber that I cannot handload for.
I can identify with this. My dad was an aerospace engineer and he was great with a pencil but not so good with anything else. What I learned about things, I learned mostly by trying to figure it out myself or reading books I got from the library long, long before the interweb was a thing. Made a ton of mistakes but learned from every one of them.
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Re: Why Handload?

Post by Sarge »

My dad was a brick and stone mason, had my skinny little butt on a mudboat and carrying buckets of mortar by the time I was 11. I got really strong for my size PDQ.

I started reloading out of curiosity and kept reloading to save money. One day the light came on and I discovered all I needed was one or two exceptional loads for each gun. I continue to reload to have an unlimited supply of those loads, regardless of the whims of manufacturers, market trends, supply issues or whatever idiot happens to occupy 1600 Pennsylvania. That's a comfort especially in today's world.
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Re: Why Handload?

Post by Scott Tschirhart »

I suppose I also load because I can’t get my favorite loads commercially. The Skeeter .44 Special load is a natural because it has never been commercially available. My favored .45 ACP ammo features an H&G68 bullet that is commonly available but the load is not. Then I shoot more .45 Colt than anything those days. It’s available but at a reduced power and great cost along with spotty availability.

Lately I’ve been looking for.480 Ruger which simply isn’t available. If I didn’t load for it I wouldn’t have any ammo.
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Re: Why Handload?

Post by wolfdog »

Started loading 45acp as a early teen helping the neighbor who got me shooting 1911 load for them. It wasn't until years later that I realized he was using me for cheap labor. What got me started on rifle ammo was when I discovered the 6.5x55. The other rifle rounds I was shooting at the time 30/30, 30.06, 444 Marlin where plentiful and not expensive for the few rounds Shot every year. The 6.5 while surplus was readily available and inexpensive was difficult to find hunting ammo and selection was limited.
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Re: Why Handload?

Post by ollogger »

I started hand loading & casting for a ML back in the 70s, then in the early 80s i started in on revolvers & long guns
since that time ive loaded for over 3 dozen different chamber sizes & a lot of casting for some of the herd
have i saved money? i do know that ive spent alot of it, in todays market the powder & primers i have from
10 - 20 years ago makes shooting real cheap



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Re: Why Handload?

Post by 6pt-sika »

To me handloading and casting is to shooting what tying your own flies is to fly fishing . Just seems right ! I had an epiphany a few years back it dawned on me , I cast the projectile - loaded the cartridge - killed the deer - cleaned processed the animal and cooked the edible portion then of course consumed . I suppose that’s about as full circle as it gets within reason .
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Re: Why Handload?

Post by Ysabel Kid »

Late to the party...

I started handloading when I was 17 or 18. Started with the .44 Magnum. Rounds were as high as $.50 each, even for target stuff, and I made $2.78/hour. Math wasn't hard - a full cylinder in my Ruger SBH was an hours worth of work.

Kept up with reloading was it is very therapeutic for me. In fact, little is as relaxing for me. :D

Plus... not only can I customize loads, but I load for several rounds that no longer have factory ammunition available - other than older stuff that is usually horrendously expensive.

Reloading is just... fun! :D
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