New to reloading

[gregkl]

I do a lot of things that I enjoy. Some things I enjoy while doing it; shooting for instance. Some things I enjoy after the event is over. Getting caught in a thunderstorm on my bike. Doing a grueling CrossFit workout. I think there are two types of enjoyment. The kind that you enjoy in the moment and the type that you enjoy after, mostly because of the effect it has you you physically and emotionally. We all talk about the tough bike rides and the hard workouts. They mean something to us. The stretch us. They see what we are made of.

I used to hunt. Then one day sitting in my tree stand, the thought occurred to me; what I really like to do is shoot. So I retired from hunting and started shooting. Other hunters enjoy the whole process of the hunt; prep, travel, set-up, wait, kill, clean, eat. However, if they were honest I bet a lot of them would say what is most enjoyable it pulling the trigger and harvesting the game.

I look at reloading as a hobby. Like RVB I like loading rounds to what I want to shoot, not what is on the shelf. I enjoy the pace( I load on a single stage), I am kinda OCD so I enjoy the accuracy, repetition and consistency of loading my own.

However, to be perfectly honest with myself, if I could buy "my" load off the shelf at the same prices that I load them for, I'd just buy them.

Kinda philosophical, I know. But that's me. Deep thinker.

 

[rvb]

Life's too short to spend much time doing something that feels like a "chore".

agreed! But we still have to do them (until the kids are old enough make themselves useful!).

Usually when you have people do a chore for you they get something in return.

But it's not a chore for them, right? I mean if someone said to me "hey, you wanna come shoot my guns while I watch TV?" I'd be like HELL YEA.

Now I just need to figure out how to convince the wife I "NEED" one of these.... Welcome to Mark 7® Reloading - Simply the Most Advanced Autodrive Products Out There

-rvb

 

[rvb]

I used to hunt. Then one day sitting in my tree stand, the thought occurred to me; what I really like to do is shoot. So I retired from hunting and started shooting. Other hunters enjoy the whole process of the hunt; prep, travel, set-up, wait, kill, clean, eat. However, if they were honest I bet a lot of them would say what is most enjoyable it pulling the trigger and harvesting the game.

I've never hunted. My immediate family never has, but a lot of people I know and extended family does. I was invited on a hunt a while back. At first I jumped on it, then I thought on it and realized the only parts I'd really enjoy would be making the shot, and eating the results. The rest sounded, well, like a chore.

I love being in the woods, but am not so good at sitting still. I'd probably just end up shooting at tree stumps and stuff. haha

-rvb

 

[gregkl]

agreed! But we still have to do them (until the kids are old enough make themselves useful!).



But it's not a chore for them, right? I mean if someone said to me "hey, you wanna come shoot my guns while I watch TV?" I'd be like HELL YEA.

Now I just need to figure out how to convince the wife I "NEED" one of these.... Welcome to Mark 7® Reloading - Simply the Most Advanced Autodrive Products Out There

-rvb

Buy a Mark 7 Revolution and I'll come load as much as you need. For free! Just let me load an hours worth for me each time.

 

[gregkl]

I love being in the woods, but am not so good at sitting still. I'd probably just end up shooting at tree stumps and stuff. haha

-rvb

As a kid we used to walk around the woods in northern Michigan with .22's and shoot at all kinds of random stuff. Cans, funny looking twigs, birds(no songbirds though), chipmunks, squirrels, etc. It was so much fun. Too bad kid's now a days can't really do that anymore.

I can't sit still either. My wife says I'm like a shark; as long as I keep moving I have energy. If I stop, I sink to the bottom and fall asleep.

I couldn't even do high power shooting because of the long intervals of time between shooting.

Maybe I should try some of that action pistol stuff.

 

[Doublehelix]

Lots of great stuff in this thread, thanks to everyone that is contributing.

I am a newbie as well (started late last year), but it took me about 6 months from the time I started researching the subject to making my first bullet. Don't rush it! Read and research!

I am loading my 9mm loads for about 10-11 cents a round, or slightly more than half the cost of buying new (assuming 20 cents a round for 1000), but that is not calculating the cost of brass, which I consider "free" at this point (I have a 5 gallon bucket full of dirty 9mm).

I enjoy it immensely as a brainless activity that allows me to escape the hustle and bustle of my day-to-day madness. I also take extreme pride in the accuracy of the rounds I assembled by hand compared those factory loads that I still have on hand.

The comments about shooting more when you make your own is so true! Maybe it is a matter of not having to scrimp any more and I can go to the range pretty much any time I want and not worry about the ammo cost.

 

[edicius]

Sometimes I shoot with a couple friends who do not reload. We leave when they run out of ammo. I usually still have a couple hundred rounds with me. Never fails that they usually say something like: well, that was a quick $80. For that reason they shoot once a month and usually less. I'm good for 2-4 times a month. So yeah, you just shoot more.

 

[rvb]

Maybe I should try some of that action pistol stuff.

You should, it is a lot of fun! While we might just shoot one stage every 30 minutes or so, there's not much sitting still, with all the walk-throughs (prep), pasting targets, etc.

-rvb

 

[Broom_jm]

I think you would find that for most hunters, the shot is the anti-climax, with the moment they live for being everything up until that point.

Once a game animal is on the ground, there is some work to be done, but there again, some work is its own reward. I have never dreaded the process of field-dressing, dragging out, or even the work of processing an animal...it's all part and parcel of "the hunting experience". Not everyone hunts the same way, or for the same reasons, so there is a lot of variety in that, as well. If I didn't/couldn't hunt, I would still shoot, and if I shoot, I will reload. If I couldn't hunt or shoot it would make reloading kind of pointless, but I would miss the peace and quiet of reloading. Maybe I'd make fishing lures.

 

[romack991]

But it's not a chore for them, right? I mean if someone said to me "hey, you wanna come shoot my guns while I watch TV?" I'd be like HELL YEA.

LOL, No doubt. For me, reloading sucks. But it enables me to shoot a lot more for the same amount of money and also have a load tuned for my purposes. So I put up with it to the extent that I have to. If others like it, more power to them. But I doubt any would do it if they weren't also shooting.

Now I just need to figure out how to convince the wife I "NEED" one of these.... Welcome to Mark 7® Reloading - Simply the Most Advanced Autodrive Products Out There

-rvb

I used the tennis elbow excuse. Reloading, combined with practice, was bothering my elbow. MK7 isn't that much compared to some medical deductibles. At least that's how I convinced myself and my wife gave up trying to understand my "NEEDS" long ago... No 529 savings plans helps with that as well.