Is it tiime to start reloading?

[rstbkt69]

Reloading has always been one of those things that I just always put off doing. Untill recently. I'll get to my shot shell reloading in a minute because I wanted to put out a few of my thoughts, educated or not, on reloading in general.

I don't shoot alot. Between my son and I we probably only shot 400 shotgun shells and 20 to 30 rifle rounds a year. So it was always cheaper, it seemed, to go out to wally world and pick up everything I needed as I ran low. Heck .308 rounds were 18 to 20 bucks a box and shotgun shells were that much for 100. So why spend the money on the reloading equipment?

I shot a couple of boxes of rifle loads trying out different loads that a friend of mine and I put together. I will have to admit that the were a heck of a lot more accurate than the factory loads i was shooting. We did it slow and steady so I could learn and see what was involved to help make up my mind on if I was going to make the plunge and spend the money. Okay so they shot better, to me that meant fewer shots to check my rifle before deer season. So the the cost of the gear over the cheapness of the hand loads still couldn't sway me to buy the equipment.

Well that was 2 years ago. California has made the places close to me that I hunt lead free and have banned leaded bullets for mamals and the lead free loads are now 50.00 and higher a box. I either have to drive for 3 hrs to find any or mail order them so there is that cost added now. The local gun shop is supposed to get some in soon but they are still 50.00 a box. So all of a sudden it has become obvious that hand loads are the only way for me to go. I would have picked up my press and some of the other things today except that my gun shop owners house caught fire last night. So I will have to wait a little bit on that. Didn't get much of a chance to talk to him so I don't know what kind of loss he took on his personal weapons but I know it will be staggering.

So on shotgun reloading. We will have our dog back from the trainers soon and this year I know and I will be shooting at more birds. We have been shooting at more clay pigens lately so our shell count is going up. And will only get higher.

Is there an increase in accuracy or patterning improvement that will come with hand loading 12ga shells. I know the cost is going up on components so I cant see any big savings right now. As long as wally world will carry the same cheap loads that they carry. But if they ever stop I'm in for another reloading press and maybe all the adapters to load 12 and 20ga too. I bought 20 boxes on their last close out. My son helped unload the shells and he asked me If I was expecting a zombie invasion. LOL. So I am stocked up for at least this year, maybe. Has it been worth it to you guys in the past and do you still see an advantage to hand loads in the times we see in our future. It has always made sense to me that reloading was for guys that shoot more than I do. And with my reasoning that cost advantage for me has just not gotten there yet. So where is that point for you when hand loads isn't just about money.
Thanks
Jim

[romeo212000]

I have a better option for you. Move out of California. Honestly could you live in a more anit-gun and anti-hunting state?

[rstbkt69]

I think about that every day. Honestly. I originally hail from Texas and when I got out of the military I was able to snag a pretty good job using my experience. Now I'm in that gotta have money trap and i don't think I could make the transition very easily now. Might have been able to right after I got out though. I'll leave one day when I retire.

So back to handloading. I went to the Sportsmans warehouse today and drooled over all their reloading stuff. Shotgun equipment seems to be priced pretty high compared to rifle gear.

[romeo212000]

It depends on what loader you get. You can pay a lot of money for a MEC shotshell loader but it is hard to beat the Lee Load all loader. That is what I use. It does not have all of the bells and whistles of some of the others but it works very well and doesnt cost nearly as much. You will pay out the A$$ at the big box stores for lead or steel so I would try to find another supplier. That will be the most expensive part of reloading.

[rstbkt69]

The big MEC unit was what they had displayed. They may have been sold out of the others because their display model shelf area was empty. I have to go back to the town where the store is in a couple of weeks so I'll check on the Lee equipment.

[romeo212000]

Check out midwayusa.com. That is where I bought mine.

[rstbkt69]

Wow that is more like it. As a matter of fact midway has a couple of reasonably priced units. This makes it a no brainer almost. Why in the heck are the other units so expensive. I noticed that my new cabelas catalog didn't have any of the reasonably priced units. Thats insane. i think Ill order one of the lee load alls for starters. What reloading manual do you like to use with yours.

[romeo212000]

Lyman's shotshell reloading book is an excellent choice. That is what I use and like it very much. The reason the others are so expensive is because they are called progressive reloaders. They are somewhat faster but I am not reloading 1,000 shells everyday. I am reloading 25 shells a day. Helps me relax too.

[claybuster_aa]

I don't shoot alot. Between my son and I we probably only shot 400 shotgun shells and 20 to 30 rifle rounds a year.

I don't know Jim, and I would hate to discourage you from learning about reloading and enjoying that as kind of a hobby. Also a great way to teach some responsibility of your own shells with your son, but at 400 rounds on average per year, I’d have to say not quite enough to warrant reloading I think. If you each did 2 boxes a week at the skeet field, that's different and I would say absolutely get into reloading. 5200 per year...see what I mean...big difference IMO in regards to what would warrant reloading. Even 2600, you went every other week, 2 boxes each, I would say go for it, why not. But I can't say that at 400 a year, just not enough to warrant IMO.

Charlie

[rstbkt69]

Thanks Charlie!