I'm kind of thick-headed and have a hard time believing that all firearms owners do not reload. This is influenced by the fact that almost all of my friends load their own as do the other shooters at the sportsmens club where I shoot.
I was in my late teens when I first saw the advantages of putting together my own ammunition. I was addicted to magazines such as Outdoor Life and writers such as Jack O. Connor, and it was only a short step from owning a varmint outfit to the purchase of a loading press, a set of .222 dies, and a scale.
I made my own loading block by drilling the proper size holes in a thick piece of walnut and used a spoon to drop powder into the pan of the balance. My outfit was very basic but it was the start of a landslide of loading equipment.
In reality, we started to put together our own ammo to save money but that illusion soon turned to the real reason to reload. It enables the firearm owner to shoot more. As I look at the prices of ammo today, I realize that reason for sitting at a reloading bench becomes more and more of a reality.
Even economical ammo may cost $1 per shot.
I remember a friend who owned a .416 Regby and every time he pulled the trigger it cost $7. He certainly needed to reload.
I have often said there are a variety of reasons to reload. The most common factor that draws one into the hobby is saving money. The shooter takes one look at the price of a box of .338 ammo and decides he better load his own. After investing in the necessary tools he starts loading and then buys more and more goodies to make the loading easier or more precise.
That certainly pushes the cost of reloads up but the tail is starting to wag the dog. The reloading itself is becoming interesting.
The third reason is something that usually comes a bit later into the act of reloading. The shooter finds he can make his rifle shoot better with a reload. The punching of paper becomes important in itself, and while factory ammo is safe and works well, only through careful work can a load be developed for an individual firearm.
Over the years, I have found those three major reasons for the gun owner to put together his own ammunition.
There is little doubt that saving the brass casing, stuffing it with powder and then topping it with a bullet saves money.
How much one saves depends on the components used. Back when I started reloading, I could probably do so at 75 percent of factory cost. Times have changed and I am not sure that is true today.
It depends a lot on the cartridge loaded. Rounds like the .30-06 can be purchased at a good price even today. On the other side of the coin, a box of .300 Ultra Mags can be expensive. It only costs a bit more to reload the Magnum.
Cost and availability are two good reasons to check ammo price before buying a rifle. That is especially true for those who don't reload.
On the far side of the reloading spectrum is the serious bench-rest shooter. This type of shooting not only requires reloads but ammo that must be meticulously put together. All casings are weighed and matched for identical internal capacity, primer pockets are cut to a consistent depth and primer flash holes are deburred. Necks are outside turned to bring to a uniform thickness.
Not any factory bullet will do, but special offerings are purchased. All of this means you don't just walk into a sporting goods store and find what you need.
Much of the equipment needed is ordered through the mail from companies such as Neil Jones and Sinclair. There is a lot of time spent at the bench making sure every round is exactly identical to the other.
When done right and fired in the right rifle, all shots should go into or almost into, the same hole at 100 yards. This style of loading requires costly equipment and time at the bench.
Most of us, however, fall into another category. This group wants good accuracy but doesn't want to spend long tedious hours at the bench. We load carefully and use top-grade bullets from Sierra, Hornady, Nosler or Speer. We leave the expensive Berger and Watson bullets for the bench resters.
This group finds accuracy by juggling powder charges and bullets. We are never happy with a rifle and load that shoots over one-inch groups, but we do keep hoping for a load that will outshoot the high-grade equipped shooter next to us at the range.
I have gone the whole nine yards and with the rifles I use, don't see that much improvement in the use of the bench rest techniques. I am not going to buy another rifle that I can't carry.
I will say that every firearm shooter would be a better shooter if he reloaded ammunition. I can't imagine not doing it.
• Don't forget the Washington County Sportsmen and Conservation League's Outdoors Show at Washington Crown Center that begins Thursday and runs through Sunday.
I'll measure deer Saturday starting at 1 p.m. at Gander Mountain.
George H. Block writes a Sunday Outdoors column for the Observer-Reporter.
