Why Did I Start Reloading? $$$

[Krogen]

It was all about money!

The time was 1983. I had recently bought a new S&W 586. I just had to have that revolver. As a kid, I didn't really consider the cost of feeding it. I scrimped and saved and bought the 586. Then, after the shock of buying a few boxes of factory ammo, I got smart and started reloading.

Fast forward to 2020. I found this old box while rutting through some long forgotten stuff. This is an example of what I fed my 586 in 1983. Check the price! $17.24 for a box of 50 rounds! Perhaps that sounds decent for factory ammo in today's climate. However, that equates to $45.39 in 2020 dollars! Wholly shmoely! That would be about 91 cents a round in today's dollars. Expensive ammo on a kid's income sure didn't make for much shooting.

So THAT'S why I started reloading. Money, plain and simple.

What made you start reloading?

 

[Kid Shileen]

Yep,that's abound when I started reloading and for the same reason. Hard to buy much ammo at those prices when you're making about $4.00 an hour

 

[Nevada Ed]

Well I needed more money to buy tools to go after Razor Clams.

Just joking.....

I actually only had a .22 rifle and a Ruger 22/22 Mag as a youngster, so no reloading but I did finally save up for a Winchester model 100 in .308 and like you found out that they had a nice price tag.

Then someone got me into trap shooting.
MORE $$$$.

Got to love it.

 

[Abflyboy]

1993 was when I got my first handgun ... 629-4. Ammo wasn't terribly expensive for me but loading my own definitely made it way more affordable to shoot.

Then it became all about loading EXACTLY what I want vs settling for whatever is available. And trust issues ... I trust my handloads way more than anything on the shelf.

 

[rwsmith]

Mostly, I was curious.......

I wanted to tailor loads and experiment, which I did a lot of. I always shot for making the most budget conscious reloading I could do. Then I had to quit work on disability and it became "If I want to shoot like I want, I'm going to have to reload" That worked fine and I bought new stuff as I went along to streamline my operation.

NOW, I'm just glad to reload because I wouldn't be shooting at all buying all commercial ammo. It's bizarro.

 

[Just another 22 shooter]

It was all about money!

The time was 1973. I had recently bought a new Colt Trooper and Remington 700BDL in 243 Win. I just had to have those guns. As a kid, I didn't really consider the cost of feeding it. I scrimped and saved and bought the guns. Then, after the shock of buying a few boxes of factory ammo, I got smart and started reloading.

 

[bigggbbruce]

Back in the 80's I saw an article for Thompson Contenders in 7mm TCU..

I was so impressed with the ballistics that I had to have one.

Didn't realize I had to load my own to shoot it.

That was my baptism.. Now I load to customize my range fodder.

 

[stansdds]

Pretty much the same story for me. I started shooting centerfire handguns in 1987, my first being a Dan Wesson Model 15-2. I found that 357 Magnum ammo was expensive, even 38 Special ammo could be pricey, especially if I could not find re-manufactured ammo. I bought a Lee Challenger kit from Midway USA, along with a bag of 500 pieces of 357 Magnum brass that bore the headstamp "Midway". I reloaded that brass a lot and I still have some of it! It was loaded with everything from 148 grain LWC target loads to maximum charges of H-110/W-296 driving 125 and 158 grain SJHP bullets.

Since then, my firearms and caliber collection has grown and for each centerfire caliber, I have dies, bullets, brass, powders, and primers. During my days of USPSA competition I finally figured out that my reloading efforts had not saved me one penny, but it did allow me to shoot at least three times as much ammo for the money spent!

 

[moosedog]

I started loading for the 300 Winchester Magnum in a Browning BAR which I used for a Grizzly Bear Hunt in the early 1970s. Ammo was never cheap for that gun and my partner and I both had identical rifles.
After you get into reloading for a while it is addicting and very enjoyable.
Let's see, forty seven years for me and still enjoying it more than ever.

 

[mikld]

I don't and didn't count pennies when shooting or reloading. In 1969 I was shooting my 38 Special and as I emptied the cylinder watching the brass hit the ground I thought "I wonder if these could be reused?". Did some research, bought a Lee Loader, and that started it all...

If I want to ruin a pass time/hobby I'll start assigning cost to each piece of bait (hmmm, how much does this frozen anchovy cost per fish?) or compare cost of each bullet available to find the cheapest, then do some math and get an often skewed cost of my handloads vs factory ammo (I would have to keep records of the cost of the powder I bought in 2009, the primers I found on sale in 2011, the free brass and new brass purchased in 2000, or the cost of the lead wheel weights I bought in 1991, not to mention shipping, Haz Mat etc, vs travel expenses to get supplies). So I happily buy components that I need (none with exorbitant costs) and enjoy my bench and range time...

 

[Twoboxer]

Love hearing about the subtle differences, the several different paths to reloading. Money in one disguise or another always seems the major incentive for pistol reloading; rifle often has a different driver.

An uncle of mine couldn't find commercial ammo for a particular firearm he had acquired and decades ago showed me how he reloaded for it. Twenty years ago I started shooting again, the CONCEPT of reloading, making my own ammo, intrigued me.

Looked at the cost of a basic setup, and it didn't take long to figure out I could explore the new hobby for "free". $600 saved on the 5,000 rounds of 9mm I shot each year - let alone the other calibers I shot - would MORE than pay for the equipment. And so it began.

Today? Until COVID, I was still shooting more ~7k reloaded rounds per year across 2 pistol and 5 rifle calibers. I've enjoyed the hobby and enjoyed buying new equipment that "made reloading easier" or "more precise". Sometimes it di, often it didn't.

As a result MAYBE I've broken even in total lol. Maybe saved a little money, DEFINITELY had success improving precision. DEFINITELY had fun.

 

[ddixie884]

Nearly everyone thinks they will save money. Nearly everyone gets to shoot more and nearly everyone has much more ammo stored away for shooting whenever they want at a reasonable cost. Then there are the loads you can't buy off the open market. All JMHO-YMMV...........

 

[Cdog]

A .257 Roberts and .41 Mag got me into loading.

Ammo for both was hard to come by, and expensive when you did.

At that time the .257 Roberts factory rounds were loaded at much lower pressures than modern rifles can handle, thus the curiosity of what this classic caliber in a Ruger 77 was truly capable of delivering.

Handloading is all about performance for me. I do admit that I've not hesitated to buy .45 Win Mag's, .454 Casull, 7X61 S&H, 6.8 SPC, .450 Bushmaster, .357 Rem Max, 7X57 and several other caliber firearms because I'm not at the mercy of factory offerings.

As posted earlier, the ability to "season to taste" is what got me into it, and what's kept me in it.

 

[glenwolde]

I started just a couple of years before you, and at first it was about the money too. I didn't appreciate the benefit of having a continuous supply of consistent ammo.

Now decades later, I find that more important.

 

[MRB1]

Started in 1968 with a Lee loader loading 30 carbine. I discovered my loads were just as good as the surplus stuff available, so moved up to loading for my .270. By then I was hooked, and bought RCBS equipment that is still being used - even this morning. It took a few years before my "savings" caught up with my initial investment.

 

[Willyboy]

Started reloading

I picked up a 6mmBR target rifle, and a friend just gave me all his reloading RCBS equipment that he wasn't using anymore. So I started reloading handgun calibers which turned out to be a real money saver. Willyboy

 

[Amp]

Actually sold all my loading stuff because it just sat there after a traumatic accident.
However I am re buying so i can load HBWC's for bullseye league. And perhaps SWC to plink steel plates.

 

[MyDads38]

The year was 1980. I traded a Gibson SG (customized) and a Kustom III Lead half stack amp to a buddy for a 6" Ruger Security Six, Lee Loader with all components and a 22 rifle I can't remember. No internet then, no one to mentor so I followed the directions in the kit. Still have all 10 fingers LOL. Started out as "saving money". That ship sailed years ago!

Then a local guy who had a small gunshop behind his house and shot Bullseye Competition, asked if I would be interested in his RCBS press and steel 38 Special dies? For $50, it went home with me. I built my first bench and have been hooked ever since! Still have/use the 1978 Reloader Special press and the dies still work, though they were retired for carbide years ago.

This COVID thing has put a "crimp" in my shooting for the past 6 months. Luckily I learned from past shortages and have a supply of components. I'm still locating/purchasing when I can, especially with November rolling around. That scares me more than COVID! I retired a year ago, so now I have more time for my hobby and I enjoy it more now because of that. Been reloading with my 9mm Lee Loader for my Glock 17, 115 Gr. plated RN/TiteGroup powder. Life is good

 

[Moe Mentum]

I started reloading as a hobby, something to do during those long winter nights where it was too cold to shoot. My friends made fun of me for reloading 9mm, who's the fool now ?

 

[gwpercle]

In 1967 reloadin ammo & casting my own bullets it seemed like a good idea . I could shoot more ... it was fun .

It's 2020 now , we are in the midst of an ammo availability shortage ...

Reloading seems to be a better idea now than it did in 1967 ...
Still shooting more for a lot less and still enjoyable hobby .

Plus ...I have all the ammo I want ... Do you ?

Gary