Who reloads for their harder to find ammo?

Reloading

For several years I looked for a 45-70 but to no avail.Then one day at a pawnshop I noticed a rifle with a huge bore and wondered what it was.The guy behind the counter said I'll make you a good deal on that one even before I saw what it was.She had very nice wood and a rubber armored scope.To my amazement it was an Interarms Mark-X action 458 win.I didn't know much about them at the time but the guy said it's easy to download to 45-70.I looked all over town and found exactly one box of factory ammo, 510 gr soft points.Some years later I aquired a P08 German Luger, but no American made ammo I tried would cycle reliably thru it.Now I've got 38's ,357's, 44's, 308's 30-06's,9mm's and God only knows what else I reload for. A few years ago I even started casting my own.Oh, and I did finally get the 45-70 I always wanted and yes reload for her too.
 
I reload every caliber I own also but REALLY save money on 44 Special, 45 colt, 45-70, 7x55 Swiss, and 303 British. Frankly find reloading as much fun as shooting even blindly cranking out loads of 9mm on a progressive...well not blindly you get my drift
 
When I got back into shooting my friends warned me of reloading and still I fell victim to the joy and challenge. I now load for all I shoot and for all my range/work buddies that don't have the time(since I am retired and love the time filling it provides). Currently load for :
3x 6.5 Creedmoor rifles ( 1 is mine other two are friends)
6mm Creedmoor
308
270
223/556 x 4 - 3 bolts and 1 AR
7mm-08
7mag
300WM

They provide the dies and materials and I provide the load development and time. Fair trade for all involved
 
Lots of my guns shoot tough to find ammunition: .38-40 for rifle, .25-20, .30 Luger, .30-40 Krag, .358 Winchester, .35 Remington, .41 Magnum, .38 S&W, .32 S&W Short to name a few.

For most, I have cast bullet molds that keep them on the firing line, but a few (.30 Luger, .35 Remingon & .38-40) I long ago bought a considerable supply of jacketed bullets when Midway decided they'd no longer stock them and they came up for discount prices.

The toughest by far in .30 Luger...those 93 gr FMJ pills are tough to come by and I dole them out to selected friends at single magazine levels on special occasions. YMMV Rod
 
Try reloading for 'Schuetzen' rifle calibers!
Even the word is so arcane the spell checker won't accept it...

Schuetzen rifles is why I fell for gunsmithing in the first place.

Every gunsmith that built HIS Schuetzen rifle invented his own caliber and made his own ammo,
While customers got to pick a caliber that was produced and he could buy ammo (at the time) for his rifle.
Schuetzen collectors look for those one of calibers, knowing that particular rifle was built by a gunsmith for himself. This is the ultimate challenge for reloaders...
I love Schuetzen rifles, and old west 'Buffalo' rifles, so I've had to cast chambers, figure out calibration, and attempt to reproduce brass/cartridges for that particular rifle.

Even finding Sharps Creedmore brass is nearly impossible, and it was commercially produced for about 20 years... Granted it was discontinued 125 years ago, but some occasionally pop up...
(Different rim size and slight taper to the case over 'Common' Sharps .45-120 & .50-120 brass)
 
WV Gunner asked:
Who reloads for their harder to find ammo?
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When I buy a center-fire gun that is new (or new to me), I buy a box of cartridges and use them the first time I fire the gun. That way if there are any problems, my reloads cannot be blamed. As a result, I have purchased 230 rounds of ammunition in the 40+ years I have been shooting,

After that, if I shoot it, I loaded it even if it was something I could have bought at the store for roughly the same amount of money.

I have to load for my 5.7mm Johnson carbine since I have never seen factory ammunition for it. I understand that some commercial reloads come onto the market from time to time, but I trust what I load more.
 
I think the answer to the original question is: pretty much everybody does. People who don't reload, it seems to me, are unlikely to buy a gun for which they cannot purchase ammunition, nor would someone advise them too. Other than inheriting one, I don't think it will happen, and if they inherit one, it will be a mantlepiece gun or will be sold.
 
I have reloaded for the .220 swift. One can find ammo, but it’s expensive and very limited selection. Ammo, especially if loaded with anything but the basic soft points, is grotesquely expensive now (Canada, but I assume the last decade has seen it go nuts in the states too), so it just makes sense, especially for my .300 win mag. I like the 208 grain hornady elds. I will soon be trying them out with the enduron powders. The hornady ammo loaded with eld bullets in that caliber are over 3 dollars a round to buy. I can cut that in half while tailoring the load to my specific rifle. Also to consider is that a lot of cartridges are. It loaded to full potential in factory ammo, for a variety of reasons. They must be safe in all firearms so chambered, so they have to load them conservatively. I also suspect that some older cartridges have been deliberately understoked because when they’re loaded full tilt the new and improved cartridges do not appear to offer much over them. The .270 and .300 win mag are two of the most blatant examples of this. I can easily drive 140 grainers to 3050-3100 FPS out of my 22 inch barrel. Most factory ammo does not get 130s going that fast. In the 300 the factory ammo spec is typically 2960 for 180s and 3200 for 150s. I’ve had no trouble making the 150s do 3400 out of a 24” with long case life, and it’s the same story with other weights. Even if I saved no money, gained no accuracy, had no greater selection of projectiles over factory, and did not experience joy and relaxation from hand loading, easily beating factory ammo by 200 feet per second I my 2 favourite calibers would be reason enough to do it. 200 feet per second counts for more than it might seem. It’s as big a jump again as going from factory .30-06 to factory .300 win mag. It’s as big a jump as going from factory .270 to factory .270 wsm.
 
I reload for every caliber I own. I'm also consistently stockpiling reloading components for that dark day that hopefully never comes where lead is no longer available and becomes more valuable than gold...
 
Two calibers I reload for that are not at all common are: .221 Rem Fireball ($1.25 a shot or more for factory ammo.) Also .41 Magnum (Typical price for factory ammo is around $1.50 to $2.00 a shot.) I reload for both for cost savings, and lack of available factory ammo that is too expensive to shoot much of it.

I also load .35 WSL. I have to make the brass for that by turning the rims on .38Spcl. brass down, and forming the brass in a forming die. I rarely shoot the rifle, though I have a lot of fun with it when I do. The early semi auto is very neat.

I reload several other rounds like: .44Spcl.,.45-70 Gov't., 7.62x54R,.223 Rem, .9mm Luger, 9mm Mak, .380 ACP, .357 Mag/.38Spcl, .45 ACP, .45 Colt, and there are more.

I can say the .221 Fireball rounds loaded have saved enough to pay off the press, dies, and brass. The .41 Mag gets shot a whole lot so savings are high on it. The .45-70 paid for itself long ago. The rest is just icing on the cake.

The .35 WSL I have to reload it. Factory ammo has not been made in a long time as far as I know. If there is a source it is going to be costly. I saw obsolete ammo had some listed for $3.95 each.
 
How many of you are familiar with the .222 Rem Mag? I still have several boxes of new unfired Remington brass. Probably no factory loads anywhere to be found.
 
Not only do I load for my unique calibers, i'm also learning how to cast. My ultimate goal is 100% shooting independence regardless of political climate.
 
I got into reloading mostly because of .444 Marlin. When I bought the rifle a box was $19. Now IF you find it its $40. Brass is hit and miss. Buy it when I find it. I reload for the fun, cost savings is just a cherry on top.
 
I load my own for everything except shotgun shells, 22 LR and "AK food" (in 7.62 and 5.45.)

Nothing else in my safe ever gets factory ammo. Most of my rifles and handguns have never had a factory round fired through them since the day I got them. I have has a few of them for 45-50 years.
 
How many of you are familiar with the .222 Rem Mag?
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Condor, yep... I make mine from 204 Ruger brass, neck expanded and shoulder blown out to .222 Mag dimensions. Works well, accuracy is the same as with factory brass, (even on the first 'fire-forming' firing!) and the .204 brass is AVAILABLE!!! A very big deal for my Sako 461 Mannlicher Vixen. I've never lost a case when forming the brass either...very easy to do. Rod
 
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