I am sick of working up loads

[LE-28]

Its one thing to develop "The Load" Thats generally not about compromise.

But if you can't get the components for that load..sometimes the goal is " With this stuff I have,can I make safe ammo that will go "Bang" and cycle the gun?"

It might not make sense to burn 100 rds of components "working up" a load if its a make-do load

I completely agree, if primers were plentiful it would be one thing, I'm not wasting my primers using up strays, when I can't easily replace them.

I have lots of primers and bullets but I'm still not wasting them on something that is unknown when I have good, accurate recipes to use.

 

[gwpercle]

Sounds like this is your first shortage ... having problems coping ?
I've been casting and reloading since 1967 ... Been through lots of shortages .
I buy what I can , find load data in the two dozen Reloading Manuals I have , look on line for powder manufacturer's data .
Shortages have forced me to try many many powders... If I can't get my old reliable powder ... I find something close . No Bullseye ...look for 700X , Red Dot , acc, #2 , HP38 , get a burning rate chart and see what powder is in the same class and buy it .
Here's a tip ... most of the time a good load is in the middle ... not the minimum or the maximum but average the two and start there , lets say powder XYZ has a start load of 10 and a max load of 20 ... 10 + 20 = 30 divided by 2 = 15 so a good place to start is 15 and if not good you can adjust up or down but believe it or not these middle of the road loads are usually pretty good .
Gary

 

[Shadow9mm]

Sounds like this is your first shortage ... having problems coping ?
I've been casting and reloading since 1967 ... Been through lots of shortages .
I buy what I can , find load data in the two dozen Reloading Manuals I have , look on line for powder manufacturer's data .
Shortages have forced me to try many many powders... If I can't get my old reliable powder ... I find something close . No Bullseye ...look for 700X , Red Dot , acc, #2 , HP38 , get a burning rate chart and see what powder is in the same class and buy it .
Here's a tip ... most of the time a good load is in the middle ... not the minimum or the maximum but average the two and start there , lets say powder XYZ has a start load of 10 and a max load of 20 ... 10 + 20 = 30 divided by 2 = 15 so a good place to start is 15 and if not good you can adjust up or down but believe it or not these middle of the road loads are usually pretty good .
Gary

Yes, in a sense. The first shortage I remember was under Obama. More of an ammo shortage for me. I have been loading for 12yrs or so now, and it was pretty leisurely, starting with 9mm and transitioning into mainly 223. I saw the writing on the wall and kind of got in mid way this time around, enough to get primers and a couple powder to try. Then it hit and I cant get the stuff I found that I like, that I just worked loads up for. Its been a learning curve for me. First reloading shortage for me.....

 

[LE-28]

You live and learn.
I have always kept a large supply of components on hand since I started loading. Don't know why, just my comfort level I guess.
The first shortage I went through I didn't know there was a shortage.
I coasted through it with no problem.
The next two shortages, I was paying attention too and made sure I kept my supplies up to where I wasn't worried.
In late 2018 I started agressively stocking up because I knew things weren't going to be good in the next election.
I was worried I only had enough for a couple years, but now I know I'm good for at least 4 years +.
I don't know how this shortage is going to end up the way it's going, and I didn't count on the Civil unrest and the Covid 19, there was no way I could see that coming, but I did put quite a bit back and did it in a way that it didn't cause a hardship on my family finances.
I glad that my high inventory level is in my DNA because it really paid off this time.

 

[5whiskey]

But if you can't get the components for that load..sometimes the goal is " With this stuff I have,can I make safe ammo that will go "Bang" and cycle the gun?"

It might not make sense to burn 100 rds of components "working up" a load if its a make-do load

This. I don’t stress over always having “the load.” Especially for pistol. Even for rifle though, if I’m using up odd and end components I don’t stress load work up. I load near starting so I’m functionally safe. Then a few rounds per charge weight to find a decent accuracy. Load and shoot.