I wasn't able to shoot or reload much last summer due to a pinched nerve in my lower back. When I started shooting this Spring, I was shooting .45's that I loaded in 2017. I shot through those and the 350 rds I loaded in 2018. Because of my back, I only loaded 100 rds in 19. I shot those and had to start reloading again in July of this year. It was a year and 13 days since I had reloaded.

I have been reloading after each shooting session to maintain my supply. I have loaded 800 rounds since mid July. I am ahead of the game, but will be shooting again tomorrow.

I always said my plan was to shoot in the Summer and load in the Winter. It never seems to work out quite that way. I hope to shoot many more .45's before Winter. I have about 1,000 rds loaded.

Sounds very familiar. Back in the 80s, I was doing a lot of shooting which consisted mainly of 2700 BE, PPC and bowling pins. I had a marathon loading session one winter and loaded every case I could find. Then, my job changed, married, kids and suddenly little time for shooting. Still shooting my way through some of that ammo. Works just fine.

Me too. I recently reorganized and cleaned up my work area/shop, and I found .38 and .45 target loads I loaded in the late 70's and through the 80's.
They shoot just fine. Some of them are even test loads for evaluations I never got around to. I may have to drag out the chrono soon as it cools off a bit and do some serious work at the range.

When I shot lots of Cowboy action, my 45 Colt and my 45 ACP got loaded twice a year. Although I'm always buying in brass, I'm always loosing some too. so I maintained about 5000 of each.

Bullets were always easy to keep a 10K supply of but primers have been more difficult. I would place orders for full sleeves (5000) or 2 when I had the money, but they never seemed to get filled.

Then I started ordering all my powder, primers, and Jacketed bullets once a year. I would order and pay in February and take delivery in late September. Yes, my dealer got to operate 7 months on my money! Yes, it was a big chunk of money! But then, I was saving 15 to 20%! When it was several (8) of us doing year at a time ordering together, the savings became around 30%! The long time frame let our dealer order when there were specials.

Some components need to be ordered by the 500, some by the 1000, some by the 5000! I would order 15,000 large pistol primers every year, but Large Rifle Match 5000 every 2 or 3 years, and so on!

The only fly in the ointment, was buying a new target rifle, that I didn't already shoot that caliber. Until the next order cycle came in I was buying off the shelf (just like everybody else)!


Ivan

I haven’t been shooting as much this summer simply because I’ve been reloading. Most of the time it’s a winter activity but since I wasn’t as busy this summer I got more time with the RCBS.

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Some Might Say.

This summer, I have been the primary caretaker for another "senior citizen" who broke her leg, and would have gone into a nursing home if it were not for me.
OK, stepped up and did it willingly, but I have to tell you it absolutely brought my shooting to a screeching halt. Although I have the key to a private range that I can use anytime there is not a match, I used to shoot as much in a week as I have done the last 3 months. I have a years supply of ammo, even at the rate I used to shoot. Just now getting back to the range to see if I can remember what that little bump at the front of the barrel is for........

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Science plus Art

Up until January of this year, I was also responsible for a senior relative who was in a nursing home. It took a great deal of time and caused a great deal of stress.

A friend passed away a couple of month's ago. His brother is planning an auction and asked if I wanted any of his reloading stuff. I told him, I had loaded some .45's for his brother and I wanted them back, not sold. He dropped off 500 of my .45's the other evening. Some are so old, the WW primers are silver. I also got a few hundred primers. Some CCI are so old they are in the old green and white boxes.

I have shot 100 of the 45's and they all worked just fine.