Reloading milestones - 5k rounds reloaded

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  • throttletony

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    12   0   0
    Jul 11, 2011
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    I recently tallied up my reloads, and I figure that I'm hovering right at the 5000 round mark. I know for some of you, that is just a busy month or 2, but for me that has been about 4 years. :) Still, that's better than probably 80% of all gun owners that I know. The amount of knowledge and confidence that I've gained from reloading is crazy. It's spurred me to learn more about external/terminal ballistics and basic gunsmithing as well.

    I just wanted to share the good news - since I was on the fence about getting into reloading at all. If I weren't reloading, I'm sure I would have only shot half as much.

    I now reload (in order of volume of rounds loaded): 38 spl/357mag, .45 acp, 300blk, .223
    I'm using the Lee Classic Turrent press, and it's been good so far. I can safely say that it has let me shoot more for the same price and has become a fun hobby also -- I now scrounge brass every chance I get (I've got bags of .40 and 9mm in case I start reloading those calibers).

    I weep when I think of the piles of 9mm, .40, and .223 brass I've left on the ground in my early years of shooting, and don't even mention the shotshells.

    I've only crushed a couple cases, and loaded 1 squib round.
     

    ScouT6a

    Master
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    13   1   0
    Mar 11, 2013
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    That is a great milestone. Nothing to sneeze at. I am always amazed at the amount of guys that I talk to, that shoot a lot, that have never gotten into reloading.
    I started reloading 25+ years ago. I also did enough research and had enough friends reloading that I started out buying a Dillon 550.
    I currently load .380 ACP, 9x19mm, .38/.357, .45 ACP, 44-40 Win., .45 Colt, .223/5.56, .308 Win., 30-30 Win., 22-250 and I just picked up 6.5 Grendel dies.
    My milestones have been filling 500 count .45 ACP bullet boxes with spent primers. I have just about filled my 4th box.
     

    OHOIAN

    Marksman
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    0   0   0
    Jul 20, 2014
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    NE OHIO
    Glad to hear that you stuck with it long enough to realize the benefits other than the cost savings. IMHO the education alone justifies the cost of reloading.
     

    Bfish

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    13   0   0
    Feb 24, 2013
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    Congrats! Still planning on stick with the turret or have you considered other types of presses now that you are up and really going?
    My big milestone was "paying for" my whole setup with money saved over buying factory ammo.
     

    King31

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    Nov 10, 2013
    827
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    Southern Indiana
    good work Tony! I'm about half of that number and going on winter number 4 I think. I wish I had more time outside of work, but everything will pay for itself several times over in the end. Crushing a few cases is going to happen and I've also only had one squib. KNOCK ON WOOD. Somehow managed no powder in that case. Congratulations on the milestone!
     

    bgcatty

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    23   0   0
    Sep 9, 2011
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    Congratulations! It truly is a great complimentary hobby to the shooting sports. I’ve been reloading for years and years and have never tired of it. I’m always learning something new and I love the challenge of testing and working up optimal loads for each firearm I shoot. Enjoy!
     

    Sniper 79

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    Oct 7, 2012
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    No idea on round count. Started about 12 years ago. Sold everything off this year and started over.

    My old gear more than paid for itself. I too have learned so much and have been able to take my marksmanship to a new level. My stupid self dumped buckets of brass in my early days into the garbage. Then again ammo was a third of the cost then and I had cash to burn. Not the case these days. No brass left behind now. It gets filled back up or sold.
     

    Goodcat

    From a place you cannot see…
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    Jan 13, 2009
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    I collected brass for 5 years before I began loading! I still have 15k+ of all sorts sorted. I have loaded and fired about 3-4K myself and it's taken me about 5 years!
     

    BiscuitsandGravy

    Future 'shootered'
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    10   0   0
    Nov 8, 2016
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    At the Ranch.
    It was my younger son that got me back into reloading in 2014. We dug out an old Lee handloader from my Mothers barn that I used in high school. Loaded up some 223 to see if we/he could get more accurate rounds than factory. Of course it worked...

    Now fast forward to almost 4 years later we have a single and progressive press.

    I too cringe to think about all the brass I lost over the years which now we save!

    I'll have to count how many bricks of primers we have gone thru. Less than 10 probably more than 5.

    Learned a lot, have a lot to learn.

    :ingo:
     

    Doublehelix

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    15   0   0
    Jun 20, 2015
    1,874
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    Westfield
    OK, so I am a freak. I get that. I am pretty OCD and anal about things. I keep an accurate log of every round I have ever loaded, and even match chronograph and accuracy notes/pictures to my spreadsheet. I keep the spreadsheet and then also duplicate the main data in an old fashioned paper journal.

    Call me crazy...

    So far, I have loaded 12,597 rounds this year alone! Dang. Of those 12,000-plus rounds, I have a "stockpile" of about 1,800 rounds, so that means I have shot about 10,800 round this year!!! You'd think I'd be a better shot by now, right???? :n00b:

    This is a combination of 9mm, 9mm Mouse Farts (for Steel Challenge matches), .45 ACP and .223 rifle ammo.
     

    mac45

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    0   0   0
    Feb 17, 2008
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    Congrats. 5000 rounds is nothing to sneeze at.
    No clue what my count is, been loading for almost 30 years, and I'm afraid my early note keeping wasn't quite what it should be.
    I do know I couldn't shoot near what I do if I didn't cast and load.
     

    Whip_McCord

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    May 14, 2010
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    throttletony, that's great. Reloading helps you shoot more and learn about several aspects of shooting. Looks like you are learning a lot. It is good you keep track of how much you load. I notice others on here say they do not know how much they have loaded.

    I started keeping track of the primers I use. For every box of 1000 primers I use, I mark that down. I keep track by calendar year, that way I know how much I reload each year. I keep the types of primers separated too: LP, LR, SP, SR, and shotgun. If you want to get more detailed, I guess you could keep track of boxed of bullets used. Then you would know how much of each cartridge you reloaded for. I have been loading for over 36 years. I load for 25 cartridges and two shotgun gauges. Looks like I have loaded over 230, 000 rounds so far, but this year is not over yet.

    Keep up the good work. Reloading is a hobby to enjoy and it helps get the most out of your shooting. Enjoy.
     
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