Are Reloaders Hoarders?

I used to be a hoarder. Being 76 and not shooting as much as I used to, I've been selling off for the past few years. All local and at the NE Ohio 'bunches'. Powder, brass, bullets have been reduced with more to go. I started out with about 40K primers, I'm down to about 10K.
 
I generally collect once fired brass if I see it. Way more than I need. I usually sell the excess when it looks like more than I'll need for a few years. I'm about there with 9mm and 30 carbine. I can always buy more if I run out. I need to sort it before I do though.

Looks like a cold cloudy day today. Maybe I'll start that project.
 
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I'm definitely a hoarder not only loading supplies but food, toilet paper and other items I regularly use. I was a professional photographer and still shoot photos for myself. I love shooting film so about 15 years ago when the film I like went on sale I bought quite a few cases. Film will stay fresh if frozen so I bought a freezer as nd glad I did. The product I like best is now discontinued and the closest equivalent is now $12 a roll. I put enough away for another ten years so I'm quite happy. I did the same with printing paper too so I'm good to go.

We also keep 3-6 months of basic necessities too, medications, food and toilet paper. My parents and grand parents who survived the depression thought me to be that way and I'm glad they did.

Thers no shame in being smart.
 
oldman10mm said:
I used to be a hoarder. Being 76 and not shooting as much as I used to, I've been selling off for the past few years. All local and at the NE Ohio 'bunches'. Powder, brass, bullets have been reduced with more to go. I started out with about 40K primers, I'm down to about 10K.
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10K of primers, that is only one and a half seasons of SASS shooting (& practice) for me! I started this drought with 65K metallic and 10K shotgun, I'm down to 45K Metallic and 12K Shotgun.

I had a philosophy of order one to two year ahead of components. My supplier would take my paid order in February and fill it in late September. Yes, he used my money for half a year! I was getting below wholesale prices, but not a lot of people buy 40 pounds of powder and 20K-40K primers and 40,000 bullets at a time. His shop, and 3 or 4 of us make a pretty good buying group!

I knew a dearth in Primer Land was coming when; 4 years ago he bought personally 65K of Federal 205M! At that point I started grabbing all I could find. I warned others, but The Grasshoppers never listen to the Ants! I think the powder and 22 shortages took most of us by surprise.

A shooting acquaintance said 6 or 7 years ago that 22's were the savings account for the future! He set out to store up a million rounds of plinking grade. He was well into collecting his second million when the typical household started buying everything they could at the beginning of Covid. I talked to him about 4 months ago, he says his stack is all gone! But that rainy day bankroll is much fatter!

Ivan
 
LostintheOzone said:
I generally collect once fired brass if I see it. Way more than I need. I usually sell the excess when it looks like more than I'll need for a few years. I'm about there with 9mm and 30 carbine. I can always buy more if I run out. I need to sort it before I do though.

Looks like a cold cloudy day today. Maybe I'll start that project.
Click to expand...

I could use a few thousand 30 Carbine brass! Anyone can send me a PM, I'm looking to do a batch in the next year or so.

Ivan
 
I collect almost all calibers left at the "range", I have more 9mm and .223/5.56, 38 Special, 44 Magnum brass than I will ever use even if I shot my handloads and left most brass. I hate to waste anything (just look at my shop and you'll see some "I might need that someday" items abound), I have my "don't reload" bucket of brass that I will give away 'cause I don't reload a specific caliber.

My other components have been collected because I grew up in Earthquake country and jes want to stay prepared. My intent is to have a workable inventory for my use, not hoarding for future profit. Big difference; I save/amass components for future use or when no longer available. A hoarder has amassed components just "I gotta get my share before anyone else gets it", with no intent to use any...
 
Yeah. Once upon a time I bought 1,000 once-fired Winchester .38 Special cases. A decade or so later I bought another 1,000...just in case. Another decade has passed and I haven't broken into that second lot yet. My .38 cases seem to last forever. Well, maybe not forever but like 40 years.

For a while I was buying virgin .357 magnum brass when I ran into it at any sort of reasonable price. Now it's hard to find and not cheap.

The range I used to shoot at would sweep your brass up for you if you told them you were a reloader. They also swept up all sorts of other stuff with it and didn't care. I always came home with more 9mm brass than I shot. Plus .380 and a few strays of other calibers.
 
AJ said:
When is brass considered to much brass? I know that I do not have as much brass as some.......But I have more than I will reload in a lifetime. Still when I see once fired brass I tend to pick it up.........Is it a sickness?
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Heck No ...it's no sickness !
Think about it ... when you see a dime ( inflation from a penny ) lying on the walk ... you pick it up ...Right ? Is that a sickness , not at all ... human nature to pick up stuff that could be valuable .
Have you bought any brass lately ... it is valuable , if you can find it .
You Okay ... Reloader Gary says , you just keep on picking up brass , can't use it ... give it to a person starting out reloading to help him get going .
Think of it as " recycling " ... we are saving the Earth by doing our part !
Gary
 
My hoarding abounds!!! I just found eight ammo cans of brass that I forgot that I had. Two each of 9MM, .38 Special, .357 Magnum and .45 ACP. Was looking for something in the garage and found four cans. Then stumbled across four more..... Lord knows what else I will find!
 
About decade ago there was a swap meet at my local gun club. One of the members was getting away from reloading and had primers on sale for $10/1,000. Hadn't reloaded for a while so called a buddy to see if that was a good price. He suggested that I buy all that he had. I did. I was not aware at the time that they were going for $50 to $70 per 1,000 and lately as high as $100.

I was also shocked when I learned that a brick of .22 ammo was being sold for $50. I still have 1 lb powder cans that I paid $10 for.

So I guess that I am a hoarder and I always pick up center fire brass at both our indoor and outdoor ranges. Have food saver bags of different head stamps and calibers just waiting to be processed. The club just takes it to the scrap yard anyway, might as well be used again.

So yes I'm a hoarder.
 
AJ said:
My hoarding abounds!!! I just found eight ammo cans of brass that I forgot that I had. Two each of 9MM, .38 Special, .357 Magnum and .45 ACP. Was looking for something in the garage and found four cans. Then stumbled across four more..... Lord knows what else I will find!
Click to expand...
The one big upside to getting older ... you find things you forgot you had ... some days are like Christmas around my house !
Gary
 
Reloders by their nature have to be hoarders. Brassm bullets,powder,primers. You name it. I have brass and dies even though I don;t own any rifles in these calibers. My main concern is Keeping my '06 fed and my 45 plus s littlr 30-30 as a small game gun. Cast bullets for all three.`Frank
 
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