Shooters that don't reload

[gunzo]

WHY?

"I just don't want to" OK

Or:

" I have the funds to buy all the ammo I want" Thats great! or it was, untill the recent ammo shortage.

I AM NOT trying to get on anyones case, just a nagging question for me everytime I read or hear a comment about ammo prices or availability. Don't read that comment here much, but feel if I asked right after such a comment I'd be calling that person out, and I don't want to do that. I have asked this here instead of the reloading section, cause I felt there,"I'd be preaching to the choir" I f Lee moves it, I understand.

I've been loading for 35 years & it's been very satisfying. Would like to see everyone that possibly can give it a try, and hope they enjoy the benefits that many have.

Gunzo

[Bile]

Okay, I'll bite.

I've been reloading for 35 years also. But if I had the money to buy ammo to support my shooting habit I'd quit reloading and never look back. I reload to shoot; not to relax, not for recreation, not to fit in, not for mental stimulation or some need to create, not to find some real or perceived load perfection - I reload to shoot. If I didn't shoot so much, I wouldn't reload.

I have taken various game over the years with both factory ammo and handloads, and guess what, they both work just fine. I get close, I put the bullet in the right place, and I'm eating fresh meat that night. Can I load full tilt loads that push the envelope and eck out another ten paces of range? Sure I can, but so can Buffalo Bore and Cor-Bon. I used their ammo and mine to gain the advantage, real or perceived, but prefer getting ten paces closer.

I send a lot of ammo down range using my guns that are chambered for common cartridges. I can't afford to do so unless I reload. I also shoot guns that don't use common cartridges, my 348 Winchester for instance, wherefore ammo is loaded by the factory only once in a while, and then marked up to ridiculous prices. The same goes for my Weatherbys. Why pay $110 for a box of 340 Weatherby Magnum when it can be reloaded for $20. Money, or lack thereof, for the most part is why I reload.

There are some guns in my collection that I don't reload for and don't ever intend to reload for. Why? because ammo for them is cheap and readily available. Money, or lack thereof, for the most part is why I reload.

I work, work, and work, and have little time. If I didn't have to reload and could buy all my ammo I would. Time, or lack thereof, is one reason I buy ammo.

And finally, I grew up subsistence hunting and guns were merely tools, like a good axe, but ammo was precious. Two boxes of centefire ammo and a half dozen boxes of rimfires ensured there was meat on the table all year long. I like the look, the weight, and the feel of a new full box of factory ammo. I even like the smell of the cardboard box as I crack it open for the first time. I still retain the full sense of satisfaction at the purchase of box of ammo, and know within that box is sustenance. Where and when I grew up, guns were traded like girlfriends, but a box of ammo was something of real value. I've never gotten over it. I like factory ammo.

During the past year ammo was short, but so was reloading components. I still shot. I went through boxes of ammo and reloaded thousands of rounds of cartridges I load for. I will do the same next year.

I don't like ammo shortages or component shortages. I makes me spend more money to shoot and takes a lot more time to find. Did I mention money and time are in short supply around here.

You savvy?

[J Miller]

Wow!!
Gunzo,
Bile answered for me. For a minute there I thought he read my mind.


Bile,
Your reply is about 90% of what I would have said but better. About the only difference is I've never had to do subsistence hunting. And I sooooo love the smell and sound of brand new factory ammo.

Joe

[rigby]

About 18 years ago when I first learned about hot loading the 45 Colt, there was no one around making those rounds ( at least that I knew about). So I reloaded out of necessity. If there would have been a Buffalo Bore or Grizzly, I most likely wouldnt have. I find that BB and other semi-custom loaders ammo is as good as anything I can turn out. So accuracy isnt in the equation for me. Cost is the only reason I reload but that depends I finding deals on ammo that do come along. If I shot a lot more I would have to reload more but as is I shoot about 50% reload and 50% factory.

[Bile]

Gee, thanks J Miller and rigby. I thought I was the only one reloading out of financial necessity.

[mathias]

I reload because i like to shoot 45 ACP and 45 Colt and there is no one around here that sells them not at lest whit in a 100 Km, and when you add postage and hazards to the price it´s just too much
Regards
Mathias

[derekr]

I can't say I really enjoy reloading, but it does allow me to shoot the guns I like to shoot almost as much as I want to. Now casting is a different story. The price of quality cast bullets is still too cheap for me to crank up my melting pot!


Derek

[greygt]

I have been reloading since I was 8 (I won't date myself any further ;D). I enjoy it and God help me it is relaxing at times. The only factory ammo I buy is 22 lr and factory stuff for different guns I carry for self defense (for the legal reasons). Otherwise I don't buy factory stuff. I agree that it is hard to match factory stuff for various reasons. But I'd agree with the previously mentioned reasons of cost of factory stuff. Not to mention the lack of availability of factory anything right now being a major reason to reload.

[gunzo]

Not quite what I was looking for but thats my fault for not asking a more refined question.

Thanks to all for your replies, a lot of food for thought. Count me in as one who reloads out of financial necessity, from the first time I pulled the handle to the last.

I didn't start reloading for any of the other above mentioned reasons, but some have been side benefits. I have come out of my loading room after a 4-5 hour session, Tired, but with a good feeling that I can shoot a lot more & have saved some money. So thats relaxing to me. I guess I have been guilty of looking for some perfect loads. I have a custom long range target rifle would be a waste of hard earned money if didn't try to give it the best loads I can muster. The results of a better load at 1000 yards are real & not perceived. I've searched for the best loads in handguns but found that about any well assembled load will outshoot me so the Ransom rest has been gathering dust for a lot of years. Now I just shoot at stuff and leave all that testing to the ballistitions and magazine writers. As for hunting, thats up to the skills and morals of the hunter & I would never try to replace those two with some magic cartridge. The deer thats in the freezer this year was taken at 30 yards with a .44 SBH, a recycled wheel weight at 255 grains, traveling at 1050 fps, and the shot was in the right place. I'm sure a factory load would have sufficed, I just don't have any.

Would I reload if I didn't shoot much? Probably not. Would I reload if I became wealthy? Yes but probably just for precision rifles. I'll have to admit, opening up fresh boxes of Buffalo Bore, Grizzly, & Corbon would be a warm fuzzy feeling.

Components, just like ammo have been in short supply but I've learned in the past to buy in bulk and stock up. So that keeps me doing just what you guys said: saving money & shooting a lot.

Happy New Year, Gunzo

[Frank V]

I enjoy reloading, but have no problem with those who don't. So if you want to reload, or are satisfied with factory, that's ok with me. Let each enjoy his or her sport as they like. Good shooting.
Frank

[wickerbill]

My primary reason for reloading is to get the loads that my particular gun likes the best. The added benefit of cheaper ammo and a lot more of it happen to be great with me.
Bill

[AxeHandle]

I like the guys who buy new ammo, don't reload, and save me their brass.... ;D

[wickerbill]

Dec 30, 2009 20:06:36 GMT -5 AxeHandle said:

I like the guys who buy new ammo, don't reload, and save me their brass.... ;D

I also don't mind the guys that buy all that new factory ammo, shoot it up and leave the brass laying on the ground for me to pick up and use.
Bill

[dave]

I started reloading in 1971 when I got out of the Army and bought my first center fire handgun. I've loaded for myself, my wife and my sister. At one time I was shooting between 7,000 and 10,000 rounds of 45 ACP a year. On the slower years I still shot at least 5,000 45s. Loaded for other calibers at the same time. I never liked it but did so for financial reasons.

Now I'm pretty busted up with a bad back and severe arthritis in both shoulders (reloading, bullet casting and shooting contributed some to that). I can't stand to set for long and pulling the handle on a progressive press hurts like hell. I'm shooting factory ammo these days. Can't afford to shoot as much as I used to, but then I can't shoot like I used to anyway! (LOL)

Dave

[gunzo]

Axe & Bill,

I was given some once fired just lately, 300 .44 mag, 200 .45 Colt, & 400 nickel plated 22-250's. Christmas fer an ol' country boy! There's a railroad tressel close to town that a lot of city fellers go to plink. Heck, thats where most of my 9mm & 223 brass came from. I need to check that place again. Maybe they been shootin 44's or 45's.