Curious about handloading

[Lolits4]

Not long ago, a buddy of mine showed me his load notebook which was filled to the brim with detailed notes on powders, seating depths, and velocities. It really opened my eyes to the level of detail that goes into crafting precision ammo. Now, I can’t help but wonder how many people on this forum are diving into that kind of careful reloading.

 

[chrishayes]

I do. My first 10mm firearm got me into rolling my own due to expense. Now I load for 9mm, 10mm, .38 spl/.357, .40 and .45.
I'm sure you've read that ammo can be built that's more accurate than factory and it's certainly true. And more consistant.

Taught a local country sheriff to reload and found him a used Dillion 550 press, already sporting 9mm dies for $350. He really wanted a load for his duty pistol so I gave him my .40 recipe. He told me 2 weeks later he wished he could use that for duty as the issued ammo varied greatly (Federal and Remington). He said the Federal shot 2-3" high and to the left while the Remington was low and right. Said the recipe I gave him was the only ammo he'd fired in his Sig that went right to point of aim.

Cost can vary. It's a good amount more expensive than it used to be with bullets, primers and powder up. But things have been coming down. I have found powders SUBSTANTIALLY down from where they were when Biden was in, but not down to where they were in Trumps first term. In MOST cases handloads are cheeper.

Welcome!

 

[crazymonkey]

I load for 7-08,308,223,30_06,280ai,6.5 Creedmoor 300rum, 300wm, 357,38spl,357harett,30harett and more. There's a sense of satisfaction in making the best ammo your gun will shoot accurate. Lots of testing and different combinations go into it for sure . It's not hard to see the benefits when you chronograph a store purchase and then your own loads the store bought are all over the place with SD numbers and es .
Seen over 150 fps spread in store bought ammo and I've loaded ammo down to a SD of 2.9 . Not always that good but I can usually get into the low teens or single digits. It's a big deal the farther you try and shoot .

 

[Sgt. Stadanko]

There is nothing more satisfying than finding/creating a load that will make your specific firearm shine when it comes to accuracy.

Developing that perfect load for each specific weapon is extremely satisfying, making the time and testing effort totally worth it.

 

[Bottom Gun]

Reloading will open a new dimension of shooting to you. It's one of the most valuable shooting skills I've learned. I've been reloading for over 50 yr.
I will caution you though . . . . . .once you start reloading, you won't be satisfied with factory ammo.

 

[oldracer1]

10mm handloads from 15 yds.

 

[Bob W]

Keeping detailed notes is really necessary. Especially if you have loaded rounds just for hunting and have say 50 of them and you don’t get drawn for a couple of years. You need to replicate that load in the future so notes are important.

 

[oldracer1]

I keep a detailed record of all handloads. I also cut out best groups on my targets and keep them in an envelope for future reference. This is a group out of a .338 Lapua as an example. First shots out of buddies brand new Savage. Then another out of a Ruger Hawkeye .223. These are five shot groups. I don't post these for other peoples loads, just an example.

 

[oldracer1]

It's a sickness!

 

[tew3006]

I keep notes on all of my loads. I try to use one load per caliber, but some guns like their own load. I like reloading so much I'm not sure if I reload so I can shoot more or if I shoot so I can reload.