I've debated this topic for awhile and have decided to kick the ant nest and post it.
First some qualifications, I've been loading ammo since 1980, started with a gift from my soon to be Wife of an RCBS rockchucker set. I'd watched a neighbor load a few times in my teens and had been amazed you could shoot cases over and over, so this gift was both a surprise and appreciated.
I had zero experience with it tho', but read the manual that came with it and this aspect of the shooting hobby just took off from there. I've been casting bullets since 1990 as well, but that's another topic.
Here is my theory of handloading vs reloading:

Handloading is different from reloading. To me, it entails a level of excellence above reloading. Handloading is a quest for the ultimate accuracy of a load for a specific firearm, you want to get the utmost out of your load, and try many different components in that quest. If you have to sacrifice a bit of velocity for utmost accuracy, so be it. It is all about the search for 'The' load. Sometimes you'll never find it.

Reloading entails finding an acceptable load that will function in your firearm and give a level of accuracy you are happy with. This is what most hobbyists will be happy with, and there is nothing wrong with this.
Most people want to shoot cheaply and are happy with a load that will accomplish this goal.

I've never owned a progressive press (NOT knocking them, it's not the purpose of this post) and have loaded tens of thousands of rounds on my set up of two RCBS single stage presses. This has served me well over the years and gives me the control for Handloading that I desire.

I know this will cause many comments, so lets hear them.
RD

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Got a Phd from Hard Knocks U

Handloading is making ammunition.

Reloading is putting ammunition in your pistol/revolver/rifle/shotgun.

I realize that over time the terms have become generally interchangeable but I shoot various action pistol type matches and "reload" means drop the mag and put a new one in.

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Minimize the variables

I consider a handload as having a new case. A reload would be a case that had been fired previously.

I agree with your description of handloading vs. reloading, but in reality and today's methods of speaking; six of one, half dozen of the other...

With your description, I'm a handloader. I weigh a lot of charges, I still experiment/work on loads, I have no quota and am not concerned with "Rounds per Hour"...

To me, handloading is similar to a gunsmith hand fitting. I'm not sure why one word vs two word. I'll ponder that a while...

I subscribe to this point of view.

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No good deed goes unpunished.

Vase, Vahz

Potato, Potahto

I reload with my hands therefore I am a hand reloader.



I guess hand loader denotes a bit more care or precision. I take such an approach but when folks ask I say I reload.

All semantics to me.

I believe coaltimer was attempting to say this in his thread but it came out with other interpretations.

Old Timers Advice, Interested?

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Still Running Against the Wind

Agree with the OP that there's a difference between those two approaches to the hobby . . . but the definition of those two words depends solely on the context or what the listener chooses to hear.

Factory ammo is new and unused..........

A fired case is now empty..........
sort of like a tire without air in it...............

So I must be a..................

"Ammo repairer" !!

I find it very interesting that the periodical mailed to your home or bought off the shelf at the local Barnes and Noble is named "Handloader" and not "Reloader"... I consider myself a handloader. I think it has a better connotation than reloader; to me, a reloader is somewhat willy nilly in what he does, while a handloader is much more careful and precise, capable of bettering what is out there on the commercial market.

But hey: I am wrong A LOT!

Semantics! Reloading of what, shell cases, guns or manure spreaders. I got the impression that Smithhound was referring to shell cases.

Handloading is what one does with a muzzle stuffer,reloading uses a brass,paper or plastic container that holds the powder and shot/bullet

Some good thoughts from all, actually the post 'Old Timers Avice..' is what got me thinking about posting this.

Yes, the two words are a semantic problem, but I've always believed if you are going to do something, do it the best you can, and that is where the difference, to me, comes in.

When I load for my standard .45's or .38's and want something for the range I have a set load for both. I don't bother sorting cases, weighing etc. Just check to make sure the cases are within spec's and use an old recipe that has worked. But when I load for my Gold Cup or a highly accurate pre 14, I trim cases, use good hand cast bullets, I don't weigh charges in these but have a different recipe for them.
Loading for an incredibly accurate early Ruger 77 .243 is different, I sort cases but most times don't weigh them, but they are trimmed, cleaned and prepped very carefully. A load I have with a Sierra 85g bullet is a true tack driver. I won't get that kind of accuracy just cobbling things together, I've compared the two processes and know this.
That is where the difference comes in, the care and precision you put forth into the load, that is what seperates, to me, reloading and handloading. I do both, but am careful to deleniate between the two.
Range ammo is reloaded, hunting or target ammo is handloaded, simply that.
Nothing wrong with either, it is just the level of excellence you strive for that, to me, makes the difference between the two.
RD

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Got a Phd from Hard Knocks U

Handloading to me covers all ammunition making because is it reloading if you start with new components?

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

Not quite ready to accept the definition based on fired vs. virgin brass. I have loaded ammunition with Lee Loaders, Lyman tong tools, single stage and turret presses. Never had a need for a progressive, as my shooting is usually as slow and methodical as my loading and I'd rather spend the money on powder and primers.

All of my loading is hand loading, since it is all done on hand operated machinery (except for brass tumbling).

Before Remington made an honest woman of the .35 Whelen I loaded lots of it using once fired .30-06 brass, just like every other Whelen shooter from the Colonel to 1987. I also experimented with the 7mm TCU, every round of which started life as .223 brass.

That made me not only a handloader, but a wildcatter, which in most people's minds follows only benchrest shooters with regard to precision and attention to detail.

When I am churning out a few hundred rounds of .38 wadcutter ammo I may take more of an assembly line approach, not sorting cases by brand or lot, but I am still meticulous about the settings of my dies, verify the powder charges with a scale on a regular basis and examine every case for a charge before seating.

There is more of a difference in my mind between automated loading, where all the components are dumped in hoppers and the only human involvement is pulling a lever or throwing a switch and handloading, which is a hobby in and of itself, than between the use of fired or virgin brass.

Besides, I don't know any handloaders who load up a round in virgin brass and then throw away the empty, do you? If they ever use the brass again wouldn't they descend to the level of a reloader?

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I need ammo, not a ride.

The titles on my bookshelf all pretty much use "loading", "reloading" and "handloading" interchangeably, although it might be that some authors are dreaming a little too much because the books are not all equal.

I usually define "reloading" as making ammunition to meet SAAMI specifications and "handloading" as producing ammunition for a specific firearm that may not meet SAAMI specifications when this topic comes up.

I completely disagree with the usage, but the following is what you see repeated various places on the internet (paraphrased):

Handloading: What I do with my super meticulous slow technique and superior equipment.

Reloading: What the rest of you slobs do because you don't do it like me.

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Science plus Art

I understand what the OP is saying. I have friends that reload. They are happy if the rounds go bang. They never try to find just the right load for their guns. They stick to the one load mix that they tried first, if it went bang, that is it. They do not wish to expermint with different powders. I have been told that would cost too much.

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Not so Free in the Free State

Thanks MasterTech, that is exactly what I am trying to get across!

OKC, I hope snobbery wasn't intended, just getting a discussion going.

I said I was going to kick the ant nest, rainy day here so am enjoying the back and forth.

Actually, right now I'm sitting here cleaning .45 brass and 'handloading' some .25-20 winchester, given the scarcity of that brass right now I want to get it as good as possible. The last factory I priced was around $70 per 50! I don't understand how anyone can afford to shoot nowadays without rolling thier own.
Whatever your view on it, count yourself lucky.
RD

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Got a Phd from Hard Knocks U

I was mostly a reloader , but as I have gotten better at it, I must now be a handloader . I load better / more accurate stuff , but my old eyes aint good enough to take advantage of it. I might as well go back to just reloading and not worry so much about quality.

What happens if you use and call yourself a "Ultimateloader"??

Is that then a precision oriented snob?

Ultimate Reloader Reloading Blog

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Still Running Against the Wind

So if you are into Black Powder and don't use metallic cases..........

are you just a loader ?

Same/same. I load each cartridge by hand. Sometimes its virgin rifle brass working up a load for a new rifle/bullet combination. Sometimes its several thousand pieces of 9mm brass and bulk bullets. Either way my finished product is way ahead of the ammo you can buy at the local Walmart.

Handloader, reloader, prepper, hoarder, zombie phobe, match shooter, grumpy old man, conservative, etc. all are correct...some more than others.

When no one had ammo on the shelf, I kept on shooting at the local range. I enjoy crafting small batches of .32 wadcutters for my J frames as much as developing a load for a new .243. Equally as happy cranking out several hundred rounds on the Dillon.

I just enjoy reloading period. It helps me relax. Gladly will I learn and gladly will I teach. And when its all said and done...lets go the range to test said loads.

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The American dream is alive

What is this section of the forum called?

When you look up on the internet for supplies under what category is it?

What are the manuals called?

Ed, you are a case re-filler

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Still Running Against the Wind

My Hornady Handbook of Cartridce Reloading #1 1967 and my Speer Manual For Reloading Ammunition 1970 were my first and second books purchased. Both say Reloading ammunition. But all my Handloader's Digest purchased through out the years call it Handloading. I just don't know.
I reload ammo and use my hands to do it, or so I thought....I'm soooo confused ...just what have I been doing all this time????
Let's just go fishing, a nice can of worms has been opened.
Gary

This is how I express myself when referring to this topic.

I reload my handloads.

I reckon I'm a cartridge/shell remanufacturer/handloader/reloader. I started loading & casting back in 1972. Through testing/trial&error I established what my guns like. I have stuck with most of the same recipes over the years. They work! I have no desire or $ for retesting everytime a new powder or bullet hits the market.

Or simply........Who cares as long as it gets the job done.

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S&W Accumulator

Like I said in an earlier post, handloading and reloading have become a common term for the same thing for most people. The difficulty comes in when using those terms in some of the action shooting sports (USPSA,IDPA, 3 Gun). All of them define "reloading" as (quoting USPSA Handgun Rules Appendix A-3) "The replenishment or the insertion of additional ammunition into a firearm."

I didn't think much about the difference until one time I was giving a course of fire description to a bunch of brand new USPSA shooters and part of the instruction was a "mandatory reload" at one point. I got a puzzled look from one guy so I asked him if he had any questions. He said "Does this mean I can't shoot my store bought ammo?, I don't reload yet." I'm just glad this wasn't an IDPA briefing and I had said "reload with retention, or tactical reload." His head may have popped.

Personally I don't think there is any implied distinction between handload and reload, at least I've never thought of it that way. Even though I shoot thousands of rounds a month, I still make sure they are the most accurate and dependable that can be made. I put too much time, effort, and money into my shooting to have it spoiled by a substandard round.

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Minimize the variables

I consider myself a handloader. Loading now 25 calibers, including 3 wildcats & several old commercial carts that have no data. i cast my own bullets, swage jacketed bullets, i had a chronograph when they were foil screens. Yes I am a Handloader first & reloader 2nd.
Having said that, the misconception you can't make high quality ammo on a progressive just gets old. Today's equip is certainly capable of match grade ammo, rifle & certainly pistol. It is the 21st century, th days of arbor presses & painfully slow handloading can be behind you.

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NRA Cert. Inst. IDPA CSO

"Reload" is a verb needing an object. It doesn't mean anything by itself. You can reload your old mechanical lead pencil, your old Pez dispenser, your 50cal, or your brass cases.

Handload is a verb needing an object . . . etc.

Frankly, neither of them mean anything more (or less) without either an object or a context.

But the term "handloading" means even less because, well, its certainly not done to a meaningful degree of excellence without a great deal of equipment.

I'm not sure "precision and attention to detail" is what most people think of with respect to wildcatters. In fact, there have been a few reloaders I've known where the phrase that comes to mind is "dangerous".

Having known a few benchresters, OCD comes to mind. Bless their hearts.

How about handloading shotshells? I can see it now. Meticulous inspection of each shot to make sure they're perfectly round with no indentations; each shot is weigh, checked for size with a caliper and then counted. Each are individually placed within the shell for that perfect pattern. Adjust the placement if the pattern doesn't suit you.

I'd love to debate this fascinating topic, but I have a lot of reloading to do...

Now that I've gotten to the bottom of thirty-four posts, my coffee cup is empty. Is this refill, reload, or handload a cup? The dead horses are here, let the beating begin.

I like Smithhound's original definitions. I'm just a slob reloader with 30 pounds of Accurate Arms powder in handgun and rifle formulations. Who needs Bullseye, Unique, 2400, IMR 4895, W296, or any of the other Unobtainium powders?

Where's my coffee pot?

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S&WHF 366

I agree that handloading implies a higher degree of selection than reloading, but not sure that it is always defined by the quest for accuracy. It may be that you want a particular bullet or weight for a big game hunt and that combination is not available in factory form. Gilt edge accuracy may give way to velocity/power in such a load. I tend to think of handloading as the attempt to make something that is not readily available in factory ammo.

So is it then unloading or shooting? I'm so confused I need to go disassemble some ammunition.

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Really? U saw it in Wikipedia?

I like that term! We could call it assembling ammo, reassembling ammo and disassembling ammo....
No that's just another can of worm's!
I'm going fishing. I think it's still called fishing.
Gary

Exactly right. Accuracy is not the only reason to become a handloader & not handle puller. The guy with a 650, loading one caliber for min PF, not a handloader IMO.

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NRA Cert. Inst. IDPA CSO

We are discussing two different things. People and ammunition.

A reload is a fired case that has been remade into a completed round, either by a factory or person.

A handload is by a person using a new case, never loaded before. Not from a factory.

A reloader, as applied to a person, is some who makes ammunition from fired cases, might be commercial or personal.

In reality, handload and reload is almost interchangeable as terms except when the cases are new. So, if you are using fired cases then you are reloading, like it or not.

Well, after all that, I think I'm confused!

I'll just live here in my happy world and handload, or reload and enjoy it.

RD

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Got a Phd from Hard Knocks U

. . . and here I thought this was handloading!

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Gary
SWCA 2515

Only if done with attention to detail and talking your time!

Otherwise you would just be a common reloader.

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Still Running Against the Wind

Reading Twoboxer's post above gave me the idea to look them up in the dictionary. Using the 1921 edition of Webster's New International Dictionary...

They didn't have the word "handloading", so I went to "Reloading" and it referred to the second definition under "re-", which meant "again" and so "reload" would mean to "load again".

So, based on that, I went to the different verbal meanings of "hand", and found a couple that could fit. "1) to manage, or manipulate, with the hands: to seize: to lay hands on: to deal with." and "2) To lead, guide, or assist with the hand: to conduct...".

My guess is that someone decided that "reloading" meant to "load again", and that wasn't a good enough description to cover loading ammunition with new brass.

Sooooo, where does re-manufactured fit in?

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Still Running Against the Wind

So, how does a Handloader measure his Split Times.
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With an Hour Glass
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How does a Handloader measure his powder charge?
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1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, . . . . . . . . 102, 103, 104, 105. Just perfect.

Just to further muddy the water, the NRA refers to it as Reloading.

Reloading Bench

Reloading Instructor

Reloading class

It's the Forest Gump of reloading!

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Still Running Against the Wind

Using the OP's definitions, I think you can be both depending upon your intended usage of the ammo. For example, I mass produce .45s on a progressive press as I shoot a LOT of .45. It is a very good load that I worked up first on a single stage in small increments but now that I have it dialed in, I am produce this in terms of hundreds per hour. Now for some of my rifle loads or more niche pistol loads (i.e. .460 S&W Mag) I would consider myself a handloader supreme, especially with my long range ammo.

But not always, in 1981 they published a book titled "Handloading", edited by William C. Davis.

OK, the guys with the progressives are reloaders. The guys with the SS presses are hand loaders. I was thinking about buying a progressive but I don't want to be associated with a group who just reloads. I have an image to maintain.

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That's just somebody talkin.