Starting Reloading from the Pros

[edevans]

Wondering about getting into reloading from people who have been doing it for awhile.

With the state of factory ammo (my understanding for popular cartridges is pretty good now), would you still start reloading today?

I am interested in reloading for precision long range hunting. I currently only have two calibers, 300 win mag and 6.5 creedmoor. I don’t really have any current plans for getting into other calibers.

Wife is trying to talk me out of picking up a new hobby.

 

[Matt5266]

How much do you shoot a year? 300 mag and 6.5 are very readily available.

 

[wapitibob]

Depends; 7STW factory ammo is close to $100/box. Reloading made sense.
7PRC is half that and I had everything but brass. I bought 200 pcs of ADG 7PRC once fired for $100, so again, it made sense.

 

[edevans]

How much do you shoot a year? 300 mag and 6.5 are very readily available.

Was pretty casual years prior. But starting to shoot more since getting into competitions and want to focus on accuracy for hunting

 

[teflonhunter]

I would buy the Lyman reloading Manuel and read it. I don't think I save a ton on reloading but I get to shoot more for the money spent.

 

[Luked]

The thing I like about reloading is being able to choose what bullet I want to shoot.
Not all calibers I have use the bullet in a factory offering that I want.
I dont think you really "Save" money, but it gives me options. And I am able to shoot more and also have ammo when I want or need it for whatever rifle I might want to shoot.

 

[TaperPin]

At no time since I started reloading in the late 1970s has reloading not been worth it. As a long term hobby, the cost of a good basic tools spread over decades amounts to a couple bucks a month and if you like all the latest gizmos a couple bucks more.

There is no way to reload and not learn more about the shooting sport. It also allows a lot more options for bullets and velocities. The component shortages we’ve had were real, and what components were available weren’t always our first choice, but we always had something that would work. Relying on factory ammo is even worse - guys stopped shooting rifles because of a lack of factory ammo, and some lots have been over 100 fps different.

Reloading is cheaper, even if acceptable practice ammo is inexpensive. For those of us that enjoy it as a hobby, not just to save a buck, we stop thinking about how much we are saving since it almost doesn’t matter. So many extra components are sitting on shelves some of us may not spend less overall, but we’re also shooting and hoarding more.

We all have our addictions.