Handloading vs Reloading

[Smithhound]

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

 

[Bkreutz]

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.

 

[ironhead7544]

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

 

[mikld]

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"...

 

[ChattanoogaPhil]

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...

 

[DR505]

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.

I subscribe to this point of view.

 

[Rule3]

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.

http://smith-wessonforum.com/reloading/387388-old-timers-advice-interested.html

 

[Twoboxer]

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.

 

[Nevada Ed]

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" !!

 

[Doubless]

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!

 

[gboling]

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

 

[arjay]

Handloading is what one does with a muzzle stuffer,reloading uses a brass,paper or plastic container that holds the powder and shot/bullet [emoji41]

 

[Smithhound]

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

 

[rwsmith]

Handloading

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

 

[Buford57]

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?

 

[Jellybean]

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.

 

[OKFC05]

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.

 

[MasterTech1960]

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.

 

[Smithhound]

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

 

[Cpo1944]

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.