Mr. 16 gauge
AH fanatic
Just curious. Which of AH's members reload, and why do you reload?
I mean....you probably don't shoot that many .375 Ruger, 416 Remington, .300 weatherby, etc. to make it fiscally viable (or maybe you do?).....at least, not in today's climate.
When I first started reloading, back in the late 70's, I did it to "save money".....or so I convinced myself. I started with the LEE "whack-a-mole" kit in .30/30 Winchester and a MEC 600 jr in 12 gauge. I thought I was saving money, but the fact is.....I was just shooting more. Which isn't a bad thing.
When I started loading for the .30-06 a few years later, it was because I couldn't get factory ammo that was loaded with 165 grain bullets; now EVERYBODY makes 165 grain loads for the 06, but I'm still reloading them.
I started reloading nontoxic and 16 gauge shells because the steel shells I was using were ineffective, and the only 16 gauge shells that I could find were the cheap "promo" loads......using 1 oz of hard or copper plated shot dropped pheasants a lot more efficiently!
But I guess nowadays the main reason I reload is that it's just a relaxing hobby, and gives me something to do while I'm 'on call' for the hospitals and can't get out hunting/shooting/or fishing.......it's sorta the "next best thing". I also cast bullets for some of my cartridges (mostly handgun, but a few rifle).
Things are certainly better today, in some respects. You can order bullets/powder on line, so you don't have to "settle" for what your local gun store has in stock (a big problem when I first started handloading). However, my biggest gripe is that you spend countless amounts of money, time, and effort into working up a good, accurate handload for your rifle, and then the bullet company or powder maker decides to D/C the product you need because they've come out with something "better".![Roll Eyes :rolleyes: :rolleyes:](https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/twitter/twemoji@14.0.2/assets/72x72/1f644.png)
So.......whose reloading?
I mean....you probably don't shoot that many .375 Ruger, 416 Remington, .300 weatherby, etc. to make it fiscally viable (or maybe you do?).....at least, not in today's climate.
When I first started reloading, back in the late 70's, I did it to "save money".....or so I convinced myself. I started with the LEE "whack-a-mole" kit in .30/30 Winchester and a MEC 600 jr in 12 gauge. I thought I was saving money, but the fact is.....I was just shooting more. Which isn't a bad thing.
When I started loading for the .30-06 a few years later, it was because I couldn't get factory ammo that was loaded with 165 grain bullets; now EVERYBODY makes 165 grain loads for the 06, but I'm still reloading them.
I started reloading nontoxic and 16 gauge shells because the steel shells I was using were ineffective, and the only 16 gauge shells that I could find were the cheap "promo" loads......using 1 oz of hard or copper plated shot dropped pheasants a lot more efficiently!
But I guess nowadays the main reason I reload is that it's just a relaxing hobby, and gives me something to do while I'm 'on call' for the hospitals and can't get out hunting/shooting/or fishing.......it's sorta the "next best thing". I also cast bullets for some of my cartridges (mostly handgun, but a few rifle).
Things are certainly better today, in some respects. You can order bullets/powder on line, so you don't have to "settle" for what your local gun store has in stock (a big problem when I first started handloading). However, my biggest gripe is that you spend countless amounts of money, time, and effort into working up a good, accurate handload for your rifle, and then the bullet company or powder maker decides to D/C the product you need because they've come out with something "better".
![Roll Eyes :rolleyes: :rolleyes:](https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/twitter/twemoji@14.0.2/assets/72x72/1f644.png)
So.......whose reloading?