Negatives to reloading ammo?

There's one thing to remember, don't go into harms way with re-loads. Factory loads are more dependable using the laws of average.
 
The downside.

I have to go to the range WAY too many times to play every month.
There's always a new experiment to try....more trips to the range.
I got into bullet casting, and well, with the price of loading cheap target rounds....well, my wife wonders if I still live at the house :D

It's a great hobby. You can make most, if not all, shooters using factory loads look bad at the range. You're shooting more than they are and paying WAAAYYYYY less. You're constantly practicing throughout the year, so when hunting season comes along, you're a sniper and that 400+ yard shot on a deer really isn't that much of a problem. The initial cost is a little high, but once you've got some quality equipment, you've got it for life.
 
Blacksmithden said it correct. You will shoot twice as much as the next guy (assuming he's not rich) with (hopefully) more accurate ammunition.

The only time you're going to see a drawback is when you screw up, which seems to happen less and less as you reload more. Your first month is going to be a joke, if you can stomach the fact that you're not perfect you'll end up like us, shooting your ammo just so you have something to reload. It's kind of ironic :(
 
There is only one drawback that I am aware of: You feel sick to your stomach when you buy factory ammo. It is so bad now for me -- I can't even dig deep to buy premium factory 22 WMR ammo because I can reload .223 for cheaper...
 
It really makes it worthwhile if you shoot a Weatherby. A box of factory ammo was $78 when I bought some. A pound of H4831 was $35? the last time I bought, and a box of 100 168 gr. Bergers were $55. primers were $4/100. 7000 grains in a pound, 70 gr. per cartridge...........hmmmm. My wife does get upset when I choose sitting at the bench in the basement over snuggling her on the couch until the wee hrs.
 
punkrockboy said:
Lets see, I can load rounds for my .308 that shoot better in my rem700P than Federal Gold Medal Match or Norma match for about .75 cents a round instead of 3 dollars per round. You can get a case trimmer, and trim the brass whenever it has reached the maximum safe overall length. The cost savings and increased accuracy make reloading totally worth while. Do yourself a favor buy a good reloading manual like the Lyman 49th, it will walk you through reloading step by step. Better yet, find someone that already reloads and learn from them.
Someone who says that handloads are likely to jam has probably never reloaded themself, or has not reloaded properly!
You might save lots of money reloading down the line, or you might be like many of us, and just get to shoot 3 or 4 times as much!!
Click to expand...

:agree:X2
 
the (-) to reloading is forsure the time it takes. a batch of 50 can easily take 6+ hours. everyone's time is different but my self,,,, it seams to take me forever.

However, I would rather load my own ammo and have the confidence of knowing every bullet rather than pay $40-$50 for a box of 20rds for match ammo.
 
Your friend has no clue about reloading. That being said, don't get into reloading because you want to save money. You will end up spending lot's of money nad spend lot's of time farting around. If you don't shoot much and only plan on reloading a few practice rounds and some hunting ammo, forget it and just buy factory stuff.

Some will say you will shoot more, but that is only true if you have plenty of time on your hands. If you have a young family and a couple of other hobbies, reloading is probably not for you.
 
Thanks for all the info guys, I want to shoot way more often that I can, but just cant afford buying ammo all the time, soo I think reloading is for me to allow me to fire more often :)

Also, the wife has her PAL and wants to go hunting/target shooting so BONUS!

The person that told me did agree that reloaded ammo was much more accurate than factory, but his only concern was with the jamming, which I figured he meant by not having properly trimmed brass. The comments about cycling the ammo before the hunt will make a great response back to that though for any concerns of it jamming after having trimmed down.

As for my choice in the RCBS? A good choice? It will be as much a hobby as it is for actually making ammo, and so I'm not worried about being able to make it fast, only make it precise.
 
I reload for handguns only and agree with most of the others here that time is the biggest negative for reloading but you save money and get a 'custom' product for your efforts. I keep a minimum of 2000 for each primer (large/small pistol), 1000 bullets for each calibre (9mm, .357 and .45) and 2 pounds of powder. This could be another negative because you'll need to store the stuff and it ties up cash but given the scarcity and price increases of primer and powder it worked out well for me......FWIW, I more than 'paid off' my 3 Lee 1000 presses within the first year I owned them in terms of money saved compared to buying factory or commercially reloaded ammo! YMMV.
 
can14 said:
There's one thing to remember, don't go into harms way with re-loads. Factory loads are more dependable using the laws of average.
Click to expand...

In almost 20 years of handloading, I have had exactly one round fail to ignite when I asked it to. And I guess I could have prevented that one also had I inspected the primers. An autopsy of the round showed there was no priming compound in the primer.

I would guess an equivalent amount of factory ammo would have yielded the same results as far as duds, if not more.

Factory ammo is not scrutinized as carefully as yours can be. Why would you trust factory ammo more?
 
mbogo3 said:
Free reloading data reloadersnest.com The money you save reloading will only encourage you to shoot more and there goes your savings ! Vicious circle.Should start a reloaders annonomous. Signs of addiction include component hoarding,hrs spent researching data and finally in the later stages bringing more guns home from the range than you took.[to fool the wife] It's downhill from there..................Harold
Click to expand...

Data is available everywhere. The knowledge gained from reading a manual will stop you from asking stoopid questions and iritating grumpy old bastards like me.
 
Joe is right. Don't start picking out stuff just yet. The very first step should be a good reloading manual. After you've read understood that, you'll be able to make an informed decision. Yes, RCBS is good.......so is Lyman........and Redding...........older stuff like Texan.....

I almost forgot one of the best things about reloading. The ammo store never closes and it's never out of stock on what you want unless you let it get that way :D
 
joe-nwt said:
In almost 20 years of handloading, I have had exactly one round fail to ignite when I asked it to. And I guess I could have prevented that one also had I inspected the primers. An autopsy of the round showed there was no priming compound in the primer.

I would guess an equivalent amount of factory ammo would have yielded the same results as far as duds, if not more.

Factory ammo is not scrutinized as carefully as yours can be. Why would you trust factory ammo more?
Click to expand...

I loaded up 4000 rounds and had one primer fail. I fired about 3000 rounds of factory this year and had the same thing, one bad round. I seriously can't see the difference between the primer in a reload vs a factory load, there's just no difference. The only thing I can see happening is if you don't know what you're doing and you FL for a semi, etc.
 
blacksmithden said:
Joe is right. Don't start picking out stuff just yet. The very first step should be a good reloading manual. After you've read understood that, you'll be able to make an informed decision. Yes, RCBS is good.......so is Lyman........and Redding...........older stuff like Texan.....

I almost forgot one of the best things about reloading. The ammo store never closes and it's never out of stock on what you want unless you let it get that way :D
Click to expand...




I let it get that way. :(
 
Glock4ever said:
There is only one drawback that I am aware of: You feel sick to your stomach when you buy factory ammo. It is so bad now for me -- I can't even dig deep to buy premium factory 22 WMR ammo because I can reload .223 for cheaper...
Click to expand...

X2 on that.

To rephrase it. I have become too much the cheap SOB, to consider factory ammo anymore, when I can load a 100 rounds for the price of a couple or 3 boxes of the cheapest factory ammo around.

If I owned a Weatherby, one of the many soon to be extinct "short magnumb" variant calibers, or one of the recently revived cannon calibers that seem to be getting popular again, the margins are even wider, when comparing cost, availability, etc. Price out a box of .416 Rigby, or 400/450 NE.

Reloading made me into a cheaper SOB than I was before! My name is Trev, and I'm a reloader. "Hi Trev" :


Cheers
Trev
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom