Reloaders: how many are there?

[fordson]

I’ve seen estimates on the numbers of gun owners and the number of guns in general circulation but haven’t come across any estimates on the number of us reloaders. Anyone got a source for or data of the estimated number of reloaders out there?
Are there 1M, 5M, 10M of us?
Thanks.

 

[Funflyer]

Hard to tell what the actual numbers are, but with the current situation, along with the last, I'd bet the number has doubled over the last ten years.

 

[Dieseltech56]

I thought I once heard the number 5 million

 

[colt_saa]

I thought I once heard the number 5 million

I think you are close

According to a 2019 Gallup poll, 30% of Americans responded that they own a firearm.

America has 328 Million residents.

So that gives us over 98 Million Firearms Owners.

I am going to guesstimate that only 5% - 10% of Firearms owners reload

So that gives us between 4.9 and 9.8 million reloaders in America

While the number of new Firearms owners has dramatically increased in the last 4-5 months, I doubt that they represent a measurable increase in reloaders

 

[Twoboxer]

I once tried to estimate the number of reloaders by looking at the serial numbers on the different mainstream presses lol. No joy!

But some conclusions I quickly came to are:

By and large, the folks whose name is on the powder jugs we buy do not manufacture any powder. They are customers of the few companies who actually do, ie, they are merely distributors.

The "reloading market" has got to be an extremely tiny part of the overall ammunition market. Yes, we are important customers to distributors like Hodgdon and manufacturers like Hornady, Berger, etc, But to powder makers and others we are a minor segment whose "needs" are secondary to the bulk of their business.

 

[fordson]

Thanks for your guesses. The reason I asked, I was on Midwayusa this morning shopping for some reloading supplies. They were out of just about everything. Powders, primers, bullets and brass. Even loading dies and some equipment. Loaded factory ammo has been unavailable for months but loading supplies to roll your own? There’s more of us out there then I thought.

 

[rockquarry]

How could there be a realistic figure on the number of handloaders? In comparison with gun owners, it would seem the number of handloaders would have to be very small.

 

[njl]

Thanks for your guesses. The reason I asked, I was on Midwayusa this morning shopping for some reloading supplies. They were out of just about everything. Powders, primers, bullets and brass. Even loading dies and some equipment. Loaded factory ammo has been unavailable for months but loading supplies to roll your own? There’s more of us out there then I thought.

It doesn’t take much to scare some people into stockpiling ammo or components. Every time there’s a mass shooting event, Presidential election, etc. there are runs on “high capacity” mags, ammo, primers, and powder. Today, we have the BLM and other protests going on + an upcoming Presidential election, so it should be no surprise that everything firearms is in short supply. You’ve got people buying because they’re afraid a new administration will make firearms laws stricter, people buying because they worry they’ll have to defend themselves or their property, etc.

 

[fordson]

Reloading is a hobby that supports Firearms and shooting. You can enjoy shooting without reloading but the other way round is not logical. People panic because they may feel overwhelmed by their situation: a worldwide pandemic, rioting in our nation (and to a lesser extent, overseas) and an upcoming election, none of these help to create a stabilized environment. All of these can contribute to buying guns and ammo. Reloading is another commitment on its own. Equipment and supplies cost money and your time to reload. And one needs to know what they are doing. After all, you are handling a potential explosive; it’s not to be taken lightly.
As I said, there must be more reloaders out there then I thought. I was curious as to what our members here thought our population was.

 

[mikld]

A poll is worthless. Polls can very easily be skewed to get any results wanted by the pollster by simply asking the people that agree with them. As far as gun owners if you poll residents of LA, or San Francisco or New York, the percentage and numbers of gun owners will be low. If you polled the residents of Idaho or Texas or any rural community the numbers of gun owners per population would be much higher. Same with all the political polls, Trump will loose the next election when liberal, democrats are polled, but a landslide win if Republican, sane people are polled...

 

[SLT223]

Hard to tell what the actual numbers are, but with the current situation, along with the last, I'd bet the number has doubled over the last ten years.

Or the last five months....

This is the first time I've ever seen any supplier out of Dillon conversion kits.

In fact, go to Dillon's site and read the immediate pop up that consumes the whole screen.

Dillon Precision: Reloaders, Reloading Equipment, Bullet Reloading, Bullet Reloaders

 

[TMan51]

I once tried to estimate the number of reloaders by looking at the serial numbers on the different mainstream presses lol. No joy!

But some conclusions I quickly came to are:

By and large, the folks whose name is on the powder jugs we buy do not manufacture any powder. They are customers of the few companies who actually do, ie, they are merely distributors.

The "reloading market" has got to be an extremely tiny part of the overall ammunition market. Yes, we are important customers to distributors like Hodgdon and manufacturers like Hornady, Berger, etc, But to powder makers and others we are a minor segment whose "needs" are secondary to the bulk of their business.

Yep, that is true.

Sometimes numbers pop up as a percent of shooters, and that number is usually small. Like 3%-5%. While that doesn't seem like many, the suppliers are geared to keeping them in components. And a 1% increase in percent of shooters is a 20% + increase in the number of people buying stuff. Plus, when the ammo shelves empty, guess who gets the dwindling supply of components to catch up with the surge in demand.

Lesson 1: buy lots, and maintain a standing inventory of everything you need. Don't plan on availability when you run out, keep enough on hand so when things run out, you have a supply to get to the next "good times".

Or buy snap caps and practice pulling the trigger until things get better.

 

[Classic29]

Hi. I’m one of them. Hope that helped

 

[lrrifleman]

I would hate to be a new practitioner of reloading today. The cost of reloading equipment is almost as expensive as firearms. I did a rough projection of what it would cost to replace the reloading equipment that I have, and it came close to $3000, exclusive of my casting equipment. In reflection, I don't think that I have spent a thousand dollars to put together my reloads over the past forty years.

 

[robertrwalsh]

For years I have heard the guesstimate that 10% of gun owners are reloaders. I have no idea where that number comes from, could be somebody removed it from his anal orifice and liked the sound of it. I am always dubious of convenient round numbers but it is one of those things that would be very difficult to track scientifically. that being said, based on my interactions with gun owners and modest to heavy shooters, it sounds pretty close to me.

 

[rwsmith]

Maybe in a few years....

I'll find a Dillon on the used market from all those people that 'planned' to reload, but didn't.

 

[Scharfschuetzer]

Having been a rifle and pistol competitive shooter for over 50 years, I can say that except for fellow military rifle team members and some police shooting team members, almost all the competitors that I shot with or against were reloaders, and avid reloaders at that.

I might also add that most of the rifle shooters and at least half of the pistol shooters at my club, are reloaders. And at least half of the shooters at my shotgun club all reload for trap, skeet and five stand.

How many does that make? Beats me, but the majority of my shooting comrades spend time at the loading press and often the lead pot for casting bullets as well.

That said, I'll admit that the men in my extended family, all of whom are into shooting and hunting, do not reload at all other than my son. That makes it two out of seven shooters. Perhaps that's a good average.

 

[SMSgt]

I would hate to be a new practitioner of reloading today. The cost of reloading equipment is almost as expensive as firearms. I did a rough projection of what it would cost to replace the reloading equipment that I have, and it came close to $3000, exclusive of my casting equipment. In reflection, I don't think that I have spent a thousand dollars to put together my reloads over the past forty years.

A new RCBS Rockchucker single-stage reloading kit and I'm just about even with what I have now, only updated. The Herter's gear is getting pretty old in the tooth.

 

[H Richard]

I started reloading in the early 80's when I started competing in Metallic Silhouette, then Bullseye, then CF rifle, then IPSC & USPSA, then Prairie dot shooting, then Trap & Skeet. Once you start reloading there is no end to what you might try. I started with a old used Texan Loadmaster vintage about the 50's. I still have it and still use it for low volume loading. But, I added a Dillon 550, and a MEC 9000.

 

[fredj338]

I think the number is quite small compared to the number of gun owners. Even among avid shooters, it might only be 50%. Most gun owners dont shoot much, they just have a gun, in case. So 100rds of ammo last them years.