Reload what you need or more?

[g-dad]

This has probably been covered before but a long search didn't turn up an answer for me.

In the past I haven't reloaded much more than I was going to shoot. But I'm rethinking this. I have plenty of components that were purchased 8-10 yrs ago at very good prices compared to today.

Do you reload just what you're planning on shooting or do you keep 500, 1000 or more of each caliber you shoot?

 

[biku324]

Don't go overboard - you might find another load you want to try but have no more components.

 

[Valmet]

I’ll usually load what I think I’m going to shoot up over the course of the next few months. Lately that hasn’t been that much as I don’t have time to get out and shoot like I used to.

 

[Erich]

I generally load what suits my fancy at the moment - which is almost always something kinda esoteric (e.g., some hot .45 AR with 255-grainers, .45 ACP full wadcutters, max load Blue Dot 180-gr .357, Sharpe-level .32 S&W Longs with a max load of Unique, the old "combat wadcutter" loading Jessie and I discussed here back in the Aughties, 9mm Major 147-grain loadings that are only okay under CIP standards . . . weird stuff) and I load a little more of it than I think I'll need for testing. I'll test it - if I don't like it, I'll shoot it all up. If I like it, I'll keep the remainder around for whatever bizarre idea I had when I was loading it . . . and then often lose track of where I've stored it.

It's silly how I do things, but it's a hobby.

 

[Sevens]

For me it varies wildly. When I am cooking up something with a pet load that I long ago decided is a great load, then yes I make many hundreds of them and I stack them high & deep and when I notice the shelf has only 3-4 boxes, I make many dozens more of them. Think 9mm/124, .45/230 ,.38/158 and .40/165-180 also.

If I am making some .357 Mag or .44 Mag then I typically have a wider selection of both bullet and powder choices on hand, so I will usually make 3-4 boxes of whatever flavor I want.

I really only have one “go to” load for .460 Mag, but 100rds of that usually eats powder like it is going out of style so typically 100 rounds in a session.

When I make my hunting ammo for rifle, that’s a very set load so I will roll enough for my next trip and two range sessions to ensure it’s ready to hunt. That’s typically about 500 rounds and I do that once a year.

 

[g-dad]

Thanks for the replys! I may have asked the question the wrong way but Sevens response is the info I was after.

For the 9, 45, 38/357 I'll load em up. Anything else will be on an as need basis. I.E. .32, 380, 38 s&w etc rifle rnds and 12 ga for sporting clays.

 

[Roofuss]

I used to reload for 11 different calibers, and always had 500 + rounds of each caliber on hand. Had a 5 drawer steel filing cabinet with each drawer stuffed with loaded ammo . Some being different "pet loads ". I don't shoot as much as I used to, so I have started to downsize my inventory lately. I'll clean, de-cap, and store the unprimed brass after a range session for future reloading, or bartering. lol .

 

[Dvus]

I like to have at least 1K rounds of the loads that I shoot on a regular basis, (.45 Colt, .38 Special, .357 Mag, .40 and 10mm) sometimes 2K. All else is subjective to how much I plan on shooting that caliber, but generally never less than 500 rds. Keep at least a years worth of loaded ammo and another year or two of components.

 

[Model19man]

I tend to keep 4 - 6 boxes of loaded ammo for every arm that I own. If I go to a range then I clean the empties right afterwards and then reload them if needed.

Somehow I have way too much 38 Special. Must be 10 boxes in the safe.

 

[venomballistics]

There's such things as some ammo, more ammo and out of ammo, but unless you're on fire or swimming, there's no such thing as too much ammo.

For the most part, we all enjoy our arms rather than depend on them. Really, we should be of a mind to do both.
As such, my personal policy on ammo is what I call "The Swiss reserve". Inspired by the Swiss militia's practice of issuing official use only ammo. They are not only armed, but legally obligated to have this ammo with which to respond to a national crisis.
Neither Kaiser Wilhelm nor Adolph were crazy enough to mess with the Swiss.
Thus, for any arm that could be pressed into service, you should maintain 200 rounds of ammo for it. this 200 rounds is sacred. You will absolutely NOT fire any of this ammo in peace.
in addition to this, you should take your biggest weekend blastathon round count, and multiply it by 2.
whatever this number is, should be your bare minimum.
this will let you enjoy your arms without too much pressure to restock.
If things go sideways, and you must call upon your weapons to fight, or survive, the absolute worst case will leave you with 200 rounds per weapon. any unused supply from the blammo ammo stash will only help your cause.
If you have the means to meet these minimums by reloading, you most certainly should. You probably won't have time to crunch rounds at the press if you really need your ammo

 

[andyinlz]

Once you see that handloads go for less than the sum of the components at an estate sale, you may choose to reduce how much you load in advance.

 

[dwh]

I have some pretty standard loads for 38spl,357mag,45acp,44spl and 32-20. So I will load every piece of brass I can for those cartridges. I still experiment from time to time. But many of these cartridges have well established accuracy loads developed decades ago some a century ago. There’s nothing more satisfying than seeing ammo cans full of reloads.

 

[SweetMK]

For 44MAG, I have one pet load,, I could load everything I own,, and be OK

Not so with 10MM,, it seems like every time I take it out, I want the load to be different,,

I doubt that I have over 100 rounds of reloads for the 10MM
I got WAY more factory ammo for it than that,,

 

[g-dad]

Once you see that handloads go for less than the sum of the components at an estate sale, you may choose to reduce how much you load in advance.

Very true and this is what prompted me to ask the question.

 

[robertrwalsh]

Once I get a load that I like and my guns like I try to run up at least a few hundred so I don't have to mess with it for a while. Plus that way if something comes up on short notice that you want a couple of hundred rounds for you are all ready to go.

 

[Sevens]

I also subscribe to the idea that the larger production run I can make of anything tends to mean that more is same same same.

Repeatability is consistency. I always want to hope that translates to accuracy.

For me, mindset it part of it. So maybe you cannot show the difference under laboratory conditions but if I believe in my head and in my heart that my stuff is top shelf, it helps me shoot better.

This has always been my argument for sorting headstamps. If you open a 50-round box of my ammo, all the headstamps match. Plenty of handloaders don’t do this and I would never suggest they should, but I do and after 3+ decades of it, I’m not changing.

 

[LoboGunLeather]

The real questions are:

1. How much is necessary?

2. Is there such a thing as too much?

Most handgun calibers I try to reload in batches of 500 to 1000 at a time. As I accumulate fired cases they are processed, resized, deprimed, re-primed, case mouths flared for bullet seating. These operations are done in sessions of a couple hours each, over the course of several days or a week or two. Then when I see the need I decide on the load to be used, charge the cases, seat the bullets, and move that batch to the empty space in the ammo locker. Seeing such empty space is what prompts me to get busy again.

I have slowed down in recent years. As long as I have sufficient supplies for a year or so I can wait. The marathon sessions, like casting bullets for an entire weekend or cranking out a thousand rounds start to finish without a break, those just don't happen anymore.

The big exception always seems to be .30-30 hunting ammo. My sons, grandchildren, and now great-grandchildren have never learned that these can be purchased in stores. They all send the empties to Grampa's house, then I do the big production run for that year. I am working on a plan to transfer the reloading shop to the next generation, which will probably require some on-site instruction and consultation suitable for a senior citizen like me.

 

[max503]

I never have reloaded more than what I plan to shoot short term.

 

[Greyman50]

I usually load 50 rounds of a certain load so the whole box of bullets gets used as most come 100 to a box. Research the load before loading then shoot and see how load performs. Worked for me for years except for my cast boolits. Might load several 100 of them as I know how they shoot.

 

[BC38]

This has probably been covered before but a long search didn't turn up an answer for me.

In the past I haven't reloaded much more than I was going to shoot. But I'm rethinking this. I have plenty of components that were purchased 8-10 yrs ago at very good prices compared to today.

Do you reload just what you're planning on shooting or do you keep 500, 1000 or more of each caliber you shoot?

I'm in the same position, I've got lots of components on hand.

I've always loaded up just enough for short-term use, but I'm starting to lean towards the idea of loading up a bigger stockpile.

If things in our corner of the world ever go completely sideways, I think it would be better to have some excess ammo loaded and on hand rather than having a bunch of components and needing to load up an adequate supply in an emergency situation.

I guess it is time for me to get busy....