Reloaders: how many are there?

[BE Mike]

Anyone who intends on shooting a lot or has some odd calibers can benefit greatly by reloading. Competitive shooters can save a substantial amount of money by reloading, as well as, tailor loads to their firearms. The vast majority of competitive shooters would be financially unable to compete if they couldn't assemble their own ammo. By in large, I believe that those who reload shoot quite a bit, i.e. competitive shooters already mentioned. These folks utilize a lot of powder, primers and to a lesser extent brass, which fuels the production of these items. Reloading equipment can be amortized over time (pay for itself). Even many years after it has paid its way, it still retains a lot of its initial cost. I've never had a job that paid so much that my time was too valuable to reload. I have seen a big increase in people taking up reloading in the past 10 years or so. How many reload is anyone's guess.

 

[SMSgt]

All I know is there is at least one reloader--me! How much shooting I do varies with my shooting mood. I can go from not shooting for months to going through a 100 rounds of rifle every week for a while. Sometimes I have other irons in the fire that require more attention.

 

[pasote]

I agree

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.

I agree. I started reloading in 1974 as a means of saving on ammo. I could not afford to shoot the amount of ammo that I shot without reloading so I started with .38 spec and .357 magnum both lead and jacketed bullets and gradually migrated to other calibers as my interest developed. I now reload .38 spec, .357 magnum, 9mm, 44 magnum, .45 colt, .45 acp, .223rem .308win and 30-06. Since the pandemic started in march, it has been difficult to get all the components especially powder. Before the pandemic started, everyone doubted the validity of reloading 9mm, .223 and .45 acp because there was so much cheap ammo available. With the pandemic, there is very little ammo available. Since I was already prepared with all my reloading equipment, all i needed was the components. I got those and now, Since I am not going anywhere with the pandemic, I have plenty of time to reload and I have done so. I am pretty well set to go shooting whenever it is safe to go to the ranges. I am a happy camper, but even components are hard to come by now. I try to use brownells almost exclusively since I am a member of their "edge" club which cost $50 a year but you get free 2 day shipping on all orders with no sales interstate sales tax. Midway has been relagated to 2nd place.

 

[Buford57]

Started with a Lee Loader in 30-30 in 1974. Went through a wildcatting phase in the 80s before .35 Whelen was legitimized. (Remember the 7mmTCU?) Then a mass-production revolver commitment when shooting Cowboy Action in the 90s. I accumulated enough .45 Colt and .44 Special brass and bullets to keep me going until the Apocalypse. Nearly all since about '75 has been on an RCBS Rockchucker, supplemented from time to time by a Lyman turret. I started using electric scales and calipers a few years ago but keep the balance scales and dial calipers just in case.

Being a fan of odd-ball calibers (still shoot .35 Whelen, along with .280, 7.65X53 Argentine and .38 Super) reloading has been financially advantageous up to now when, in the midst of this drought, I keep stumbling on deeply discounted factory ammo for each of these rarities except the Argentine.

At my age it should be unnecessary to ever buy any ammo again except rimfire and 9mm. I have primers left from one of the ammo scares in the 90s (almost messed up and made this political by naming the guy in office at the time), but still take advantage of sales (such as Gander's close-out) to add to the stock.

 

[M29since14]

I have no proof but if I were to guess, I'd think 5% of the gun owners would be high. I'd be surprised if the actual number was more than one or two in a hundred. And I would guess that as a percentage the number is smaller now than it was 30-40 years ago, but who knows?

 

[BE Mike]

I have no proof but if I were to guess, I'd think 5% of the gun owners would be high. I'd be surprised if the actual number was more than one or two in a hundred. And I would guess that as a percentage the number is smaller now than it was 30-40 years ago, but who knows?

I doubt that the percentage of reloaders has decreased over the years. I base this on the fact that new reloading equipment companies have entered the market and the companies which have been in business for a long time are coming out with new equipment. Some of the long lasting companies like Lyman, RCBS and Lee seem to have done very well in recent years. The shortage of powder and primers only involves panicked reloaders. There are new reloaders on forums that are presently crying that they got the basic equipment, but can't find components.

 

[Turn4811]

My dad and two uncles reloaded. The other uncle was a jeweler and would make molds for casting. He would use everybody else's presses to do his reloading. I started by sorting and cleaning brass then graduating to single stage sizing and decapping. It was the mid 70's when I was about 15 or 16 when dad walked me through the steps to load hot 38 Special SWC loads with Blue Dot for the Ruger 357 truck gun.

For about a year he watched me run that single stage before he let use the progressive press. After a few months of supervision he gave me free reign with the understanding it would only be 38Spl with Blue Dot for the Speed Six. When I was 18 I graduated to 9mm where I got a used Hi-Power and as long as I stuck by his recipes I could load pretty much what I wanted.

I learned you can wear out a gun pre-maturely with a constant diet of +P loads (sometimes higher). Up until the 90's the only people I knew that reloaded was family. I helped teach my brother-in-law, 2 co-workers, and a range buddy how to reload. I have met about two dozen re-loaders in the past 20 years mostly on the range.

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

No way 5 to 10 million people reload... 10 million reloaders would be over be over 3% of the population. That would mean 3 out of every 100 men, women and children reload. No way! If you assume few woman or children reload, that mean close to 10% of men reload. Not even close to 10% of men are regular shooters.

I'd be surprised if 3% of the population visits a shooting range or goes shooting more than once a year. Most gun owners don't even go shooting more than once a year.

I have no idea how many active reloaders are out there but I'd be surprised if it was over one million. Maybe one to two million if you include people who own a press but never use it.

You are leaving out the shot gunners. Many shoot year round and many reloads too.

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

I started casting in 1972 with a single cavity Lee 9mm mold for my Browning HP. Now I have dozens of molds for many calibers. I like shooting skeet( have own field) and quail and doves. When 25 lb. bags of shot went to $45-$55 a bag I couldn't/wouldn't pay that price. So I started making my own shot. A box of 12's/410 cost me about $3.00. A box of cast .44 mag cost me about $4.20.

 

[huthike]

I did it the "wrong" way - started with a Dillon progressive in the 90's then added a single stage and a turret later for small batches. I've never really shot enough to justify the Dillon, I suppose, but it's fun and I'm never out of ammo. It's an enjoyable and relaxing hobby. I'm all self taught - never met another reloader.

Just bought a Lyman Mag 25 on sale from Midway, so casting is next on the agenda.


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[BE Mike]

I did it the "wrong" way - started with a Dillon progressive in the 90's then added a single stage and a turret later for small batches. I've never really shot enough to justify the Dillon, I suppose, but it's fun and I'm never out of ammo. It's an enjoyable and relaxing hobby. I'm all self taught - never met another reloader.

Just bought a Lyman Mag 25 on sale from Midway, so casting is next on the agenda.


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You've probably known other reloaders, but they are hesitant to reveal their disease in public. "While walking down the street on doctor's row, I hear, I'm Mike and I'm a reloader. HI MIKE."

 

[BB57]

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.

There are a few different factors in play now.

- There is probably increased demand given the current mess we're in.

- However, COVID -19 also has an effect on supply, as production rates go down and the delivery of that smaller supply is delayed.

- Online suppliers are also being hit harder than local shops as more people are buying on line, rather than going out to shop.

As to the upcoming election, runs on guns and ammo only occur when the perception is that a conservative won't be elected. If you are correct in your view that this is a reason for increased demand, then it probably speaks louder than any poll.

 

[fredj338]

Of all the guys I know that own guns, only a handful reload. Even with current/past ammo shortages, they have no intention of reloading. I'm confused as hell at this logic!

I think its a fear factor for some & a miss perceived time factor for others. A bit of study removes eithervisdue from discussion, but I get it, some people just dont like doing their own thing. I have always like the autonomy of reloading. Casting/coating bullets just gives pushes it to another level. All I need are primers to keep all my handguns running.

 

[Rambler42]

I'm 65 and just started reloading in January so I guess an old dog can learn new tricks!

There must be a lot of us because every time I go to an LGS or online for supplies nothing is available.

 

[Mistered]

Recently (before reading this thread) I started a thread on another gun related forum with the title:
Please Post Your Reasons For NOT getting into reloading - Long Ago

The reason I did this was because I was reading so many complaints about ammo prices, lack of availability etc. and a lot of the posts did not make sense.

Some were saying they couldn't find any ammo so did this mean they had little to no ammo as it was and were scrambling to buy a supply up?

Others said they had ammo on hand but were not going to shoot any until the availability came back. One said he was not going to shoot any of his current supply until prices came down again, referencing some of the inflated ammo prices he had seen.

My point to this is if one is a dedicated shooter why did you NOT get into reloading previously?

Well, the answers somewhat surprised me but the top three were:

Lack of space
Lack of time
Lack of interest

Some went into lengthy explanations about their responses and while I did my best to accept their answers (I did not respond to any of them - I let others do that) my consensus was a lot of them were simply not regular shooters or if they did shoot with any regularity their interest was limited to few calibers of inexpensive ammo (IE 9mm or 5.56)

As I have always maintained I got into reloading as an extension of my interest in shooting, to create accurate and specialized loadings such as reduced loads for certain calibers and to always ensure I have and adequate supply.

 

[Engineer1911]

Gun owners may have 1 gun or a 1,000 guns. The owner of a 1,000 guns may reload and there is a smaller chance they may cast bullets. Bullseye shooters (estimate 90%) reload but they are 3%+ of the shooting population.

I don't believe that 50,000 reloaders have bought up all the powder, primers, and bullets that were in the distribution chain. A significant amount must have went to commercial reloaders. The range I reload at has sold 200 thousand rounds since mid-March. Ammo prices have not been raised but ammo is limited to 50 rounds per caliber per shooting bench. If a customer comes in with 3 guns, they can buy 9 MM, 38 Spl, and 40 S&W 1 box each at about $17 per box. Four people are reloading and we are barely keeping up with demand on three Dillon 650 presses plus my 550 at home. I provide "reloading relief" to the full time employees.

Disposing of "dropped & unfired" ammo has become a significant problem. It can't be resold, can't be thrown in the garbage, and can't sit in the back area in 5 gallon buckets. At the current availability of ammo and its price, it is hard to believe that people don't pick up their own fallen jacketed ammo. I sort, clean, and inspect the ammo. It works just fine in my guns, and I haven't reloaded for myself in 6 months of shooting 3 to 4 hundred rounds per week. If it wasn't for "work" I'd be in the Golden Days of my retirement.

 

[pasound]

Four months ago, when I started seeing ammo getting scarce, I started stocking up reloading supplies. The good stock and selections at my LGS and the local Cabela's dried up, quickly. I went online and found most of what I wanted. Weeks later, I asked a guy at Cabela's what was going on. He said "Reloaders panicked and stripped our shelves. We tried to order, and suppliers said they can't get it from the manufacturers." I checked at the LGS on the way home, and their manager said the same thing. Makes me wonder if the major powder suppliers got emptied by the ammo manufacturers. I checked both again last Friday. Condition is still the same, at least in my area.

 

[68Dave]

The number is definitely going up. I sold a press this morning to a brand new reloader. The three folks that contacted me before the purchaser were all just starting out.
David

 

[SweetMK]

I have reloaded since the early 1970's,, and I live in an area where almost everyone owns at least a hunting rifle.

Well,, it is shocking how much free brass I have been offered over the years,, these guys have guns, but, almost zero reload.

My estimate,, MAYBE 1%,, TOPS! that is 1% of gun owners reload.

Casting bullets? Go look at the membership at the castboolits forum,,
maybe 50,000,, and not all of them cast,, I am a member, I do not cast.
(I joined to find a certain type of brass)
Their fund raising goal ~ $6,000,,, so far they are at $3,005,,,

Who would cast bullets, and not need that info at some point??

Heck, 100,000 casters for the entire country might be high,,

On the news last week, they said 20 million guns were sold in the first six months of 2020,,
I doubt that I can believe that statistic,, 20 million new gun owners,, this year??
At that rate, pretty soon, a LOT of 6 and 7 year olds will be applying for a concealed permit,,,

 

[pasound]

I've bought two rifles and three revolvers during this buying spree. Only one gun was "retail", a Ruger Single-Ten. And I reload for all but the .22 and one rifle - my new Mossberg 464 30-30 lever action. I intend to change that, when I find the components.