Why reload if you mainly hunt?

Three reasons to reload over factory.

1. Cost
2. Accuracy
3. Balistics.

Just a small personal note. I have yet to see factory ammo live up to what they advertise when fired through a cronograph.
 
If you have a premium rifle & scope in the common calibers that I listed, try a variety of factory ammunition until you find a cartridge that shoots under half MOA, & then prove the cartridge in the field by taking a variety of game with one shot kills - I can't see the need for reloading.
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Phil,

Likewise, I can't see the need for spending all that money on factory ammo for my .243, 7mm mag, (add nauseum) to find an accurate, effective load. Premium ammo can cost $1.00 up per cartridge, and they aren't getting any cheaper. All I'd be paying for is the convenience of someone else loading my ammo, and I'm just not that lazy. I already have what I need in my handloads. I've shot coyotes, bear, deer, antelope, elk, buffalo, and all sorts of stuff with my handloads, and have never had a problem. IMO, factory loads are fine for those who want to use them, but not for me.

No, the ammo makers aren't going out of business. I still buy bullets, powder, cases, and primers from them; I just get more shooting for my money than you do.

There's no convincing me that factory ammo is the way to go. If someone GAVE me a bunch of factory loaded ammo for my rifle(s), I'd shoot it up on coyotes and jackrabbits, and reload the brass for serious hunting. After all, when you've been shooting the same bullets and the same loads for 30 years, you pretty much know what to expect from them. Anything else isn't needed.

I do buy a certain amount of factory handgun ammo for my carry handgun. This is for legal reasons rather than performance, but such is life.

I still practice with handloads that I've tailored to shoot to the same POI as the factory fodder.

For the bolded part of the above quote, I can only remember one animal that I had to shoot twice (and I've killed a LOT of critters over the years). It was in 1990, and I hit a bit farther back than I wanted to on a running bull elk. The first shot was at about 75 yards. When the bull finally fell behind the herd where I could be sure of which bull I'd hit, he was walking at a bit over 600 yards. One additional shot dropped him in his tracks.

I can't remember ever killing a big game animal with factory ammo. I started handloading when I was 10 years old; it's the only way I could keep myself in ammo on the sparse wages I made back then. I'm a dang good shot with a rifle or handgun, if I may say so myself, and I attribute that to the many thousands of cartridges I've loaded and shot over the years.

For some, good is good enough. I want and expect more, and get it from the flexibility offered by handloading.
 
I see no need to reload rifle rounds for hunting specifically. If your hunting consists of going out a few times for whitetail deer annually, then reloading is purely a hobby and probably not cost effective or worth the effort. Of the usual calibers, only varmint rifles will likely be shot much year around and reloading for them is probably worth it.

Handgun calibers are a different matter as the amount of shooting is probably an order of magnitude higher than centerfire rifle calibers.
 
I reload my hunting rounds to get the most flexibility out of the caliber that is possible. Also, my reloads are more accurate than most of the factory ammo, and I can tailor the load for what my rifles like.
 
It is an argument that has no answer for everyone. Reload if you want to. Pilot if you are that interested in squeezing out a little better accuracy with your rifles, then go for it. It's a hobby and you like it. More power to you. But I can shoot my Remington Model 700 in 270 and get 1" groups at 100 yds with factory ammo. I have no need for anything better. That rifle gets shot about a box or three a year max. Some years I don't even shoot it at all except to check the scope. I have never been interested in taking 5-6 deer a year. One is sufficient for my needs.

With 223 or a varmint round, I can easily see shooting much more if you are active during the summer months. I don't blast away 500 rounds of 223 ammo just to plink as a normal thing nor do I provide ammunition to others on a regular basis. But I know people that do and reloading is a very good idea for them (and me). I just choose not to reload.

I do understand however the appeal to shoot as good as possible. I try very hard to shoot tight groups with 22LR and expend a great deal of effort to achieve that result with essentially out of the box rifles.
 
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see no need to reload rifle rounds for hunting specifically. If your hunting consists of going out a few times for whitetail deer annually, then reloading is purely a hobby and probably not cost effective or worth the effort. Of the usual calibers, only varmint rifles will likely be shot much year around and reloading for them is probably worth it.
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If you're a casual shooter, and only shoot a box or three of ammo per year, then you're probably right. Go buy you a few boxes, check the zero on your rifle for the current lot, and go hunting.

I shoot a lot of ammo, and I only visit the range to sight in my rifles. I hunt all kinds of things, and like I said, I shoot a LOT.

For the last few days, I've been working on loading some .243 ammo. I do this in my spare time; not full time. In this picture, there are about 550 empty brass in the bags; all resized, primed, and ready for powder and bullets. There's 215 rounds of loaded ammo, along with almost enough bullets in those boxes to finish loading the empties.

This is only one cartridge that I load and shoot. Did I mention that I don't spend much time at the range? You don't become a skilled marksman by shooting a box or two of ammo per year, and bench rest shooting has little to do with shooting from field/hunting positions.

So, some say that can't see the need for handloading ammo. So be it, and shoot factory if that's what works for you. Just don't try to decide what's right for others.

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If shooting a rifle is not in and of itself a hobby, and if the hunting in the U.S. is for deer, the occasional coyote and the occasional elk or hog hunt, why bother to reload?

The ammunition cost per year for sighting in, two or three deer, four or five coyotes, an elk and maybe two or three hogs just isn't enough to care about. One or two boxes of ammo a year?

In my .243, Federal ammo gives me the same 1/2 to 3/4 MOA for three shots that I've always gotten from my handloads. Same for Remington ammo in my 7mm08. Ergo, accuracy is not particularly a factor.

It's when you go beyond "just hunting" that you get into justification for the money to invest in reloading. Prairie dogging, paper punching, plinking for the fun of it or competition: These can use up a lot of ammo, and aside from cost there is then the hobby aspect of trying combinations which are not available from the manufacturers.

Not everybody arranges his whole lifestyle such that there is a benchrest on the front porch for a hundred-yard range. :D

'Scuse me. I need to go outside and check the sight-in on some rifles...

Art
 
Well Art,

The title of this thread is:

Why reload if you mainly hunt?
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Well, I mostly hunt. Jackrabbits are great practice for shooting at bigger game. I sometimes shoot an awful lot of coyotes, in addition to big game.

I've had the reloading equipment since about 1976, so I'm sure it's paid for itself many times over. Cost of equipment is no longer a factor for me.

So, with the question asked, I answered it. Argue your point if you wish, but it's only your opinion. Mine differs, and I'm going to keep right on handloading.

To answer your question about why to reload if you only shoot a few deer, a few coyotes, and such? Practice makes you a good shot, and I don't like making bad shots. When I get the chance at a big game animal, I don't usually mess it up. It's just another shot, and I take enough of them that I'm familiar with the firearm, and I know what to expect from my loads.

Now, I already know where my rifles are shooting, so I guess I'll go load more ammo while you sight your's in.
 
Daryl, no argument from me. You're right about being a rifleman. You can't get good unless you shoot!

I find that shooting 22LR helps maintain my form for centerfire shooting. But that does not replace experience when it comes to shots over a couple hundred yards on anything. I do like to shoot targets now however. I used to hate it and only shot enough to check ammo or scope.
 
"...will not shoot reloads unless the brass was fired in my rifle..." Shooting ammo loaded by somebody else isn't a good idea, but the brass doesn't have to be fired out of your rifle. Virgin brass won't have been fired at all.
 
"...will not shoot reloads unless the brass was fired in my rifle..." Shooting ammo loaded by somebody else isn't a good idea, but the brass doesn't have to be fired out of your rifle. Virgin brass won't have been fired at all.
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You make a solid point. I sometimes shoot my loads in more than one rifle. My brother, my dad, and I shoot many of the same cartridges, and I do the handloading. I don't bother sorting brass for individual rifles (my brother has two 7mm mags, anyway). Once they're resized correctly, they'll fire fine from any rifle that's factory chambered for that cartridge.

I only use the term "factory chambered" because I know some folks have custom barrels with minimum spec chambers that use specially sized/loaded ammunition.

Like you, I won't shoot other people's reloads. I WILL use brass if someone gives it to me, or if I can buy used brass at a good price.

Daryl
 
i got quoted and just noticed. darryl and t' i'm figuring that my marlin is fussy. my dad does the reloading,not just someone else if it was just someone else i would use caution. and only use it at the range for shooting paper or 2 liter bottles. so i trust the reloaded ammunition with my life :D.

if i try to shoot reloaded brass that was fired in my dads marlin, my marlin will not even chamber it. if its fired in my grandads marlin and reloaded, it will not chamber in mine. i don't know why. so if i want to shoot reloads i must fire factory loaded then reload it or use once or twice fired factory loaded brass that was fired in my marlin only. speaking of my marlin i need to take it to the range and fire a box of ammo through it. its been too long.
 
It also depends what ammo you are shooting. Shotgun sabot slugs are obscenely expensive and a real rip off. Once you take these rounds apart - usually the cheapest powders and the sabot shell sometimes have parts missing! Also prone to getting wet(rain,snow) because crimp seal is sloppy. I see alot of guys sighting in their shotguns with one/two boxes of five shells! Forget about real practicing to shoot. have been handloading sabots for about $1.15 apiece compared to $3.00 commercial round - the only way to be fair to the animal>:o
 
Daryl, sure, if you do a lot of hunting-type shooting and do a lot of practice, I'm in full accord with reloading. I've been a reloader since 1950.

What I'm talking about are the far more common types of shooters who sight in their center fire, shoot a very few times and then it's back in the closet. Odds are, if they do any other notable amount of shooting, it's with a .22...
 
Art,

I agree with your last post. The only thing is, I'd encourage those folks to get out and shoot more. If they lack the interest to do it, then they'll also most likely lack the interest to get seriously into handloading (I hate the term "reload", even if I use it occasionally, simply because to me it suggests simply throwing some compnnents together to make it go bang).

Being a long-time handloader yourself, you also likely know more benefits of handloading than cost. You know your ammunition, it's ballistics, and it's accuracy from your rifle. You know what to expect when you shoot an animal, and you probably experience very few surprises in those aspects of shooting.

You don't post questions like "Gee, what ammo should I choose for hunting *******", because you already know what will work. Instead, you might ask questions about the BC or SD of a particular bullet that you might want to try, and how well it shoots in various weather conditions.

It's been my experience that serious handloaders know far more about velocities, BC's, SD's, and internal and external ballistics than most others do, simply because they've studies those things in developing their own pet loads.

Does a person NEED to handload in this day and age to hunt deer? Nope. Are there benefits to learning it, and doing it the way handloading should be done? Absolutely!

Daryl
 
Because it is just plain fun to kill something that reloaded yourself. Plus you can get better groups many times if done correctly.
 
To assume that all people who use factory ammunition only shoot/hunt occassionally is incorrect. Most of the 200(minimum)centerfire premium factory ammunition rounds that I go through per year is fired at game. I also go through 500 rounds minimum of 22lr ammunition mainly at targets(no opportunity to reload here). For the last 18 years my mate has owned a 2,000 acre cattle property that himself, the manager & a couple of close friends - (mainly me:D)- have exclusive hunting/pest eradication rights. Last year 65 pigs were shot from this property. Add to this over 100 goats, a few deer ,heaps of foxes, rabbits, hares & we also get on well with the neighbours(extra 25,000 acres +). I get to shoot a lot of game with factory ammunition & I suppose I'm fortunate enough to have a Sako 308 rifle that groups Winchester Super X Power-Points at 1/2 inch at 100 yards. I'm certainly not against those that choose to re-load & I personally know a number of professional meat shooters that reload for cost as this is their livelihood. I also know a professional fox shooter that reloads 17's for minimal pelt damage, but for me as a hunter I've never considered it important. Most shots that I take up to 300 yards with a rest I am confident of achieving with premium factory ammunition. As I always have hunted light-I've never contemplated carrying a range-finder, so if game is spotted at ranges beyond this I stalk closer so as to estimate the distance more accurately. I must emphasize "premium" factory ammunition that shoots right in your rifle.
 
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Phil, I imagine most of us can come up with examples from "outside the box".

In Texas, basically, we for decades had a two-buck limit on whitetail, and a one-buck limit on mule deer. Hogs might be a game animal for a few people, but even those have only been a pestiferous infestation within these recent twenty or so years. The only other big-game animal is the antelope, and those are a rather low population with not many killed. After that, it's exotic game and varmints.

IMO, when generalizing about some methodology, it's usually best to figure on the average hunter and his milieu. That's why I've tried to keep a fairly narrow focus with regard to the opening post.
 
I guess as just a hunter with no interst to reload, their is no reason to do it if you can afford ammo cost now days. I do like to reload however, I enjoy it, and i do save money for sure. It will also depend on what your shooting. I see guys stating about 200 rounds a year just for hunting. Im not anywhare near that for hunting rounds, but i like to take my guns that i hunt with and shoot them a few times a year. In my local area 300 ultra mag shells loaded with barnes tsx are $77.00 a box.... yeah i said $77.00. thats $3.85 each. I can relaod them for about $1.30 each. Now i dont shoot this gun much. But saving some here or their allows me to spend more on other hunting items. I have also had my reloading stuff for a while, its paid for so really to reload a new caliber, all i would need is the dies. I could se not wanting to go buy all the stuff needed to reload 50 270 shells every other year.
 
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