What kind of loader are you?

[NKBJ]

I've always considered there to be 3 different types of loaders. The first and most skilled I call a Handloader. He's the guy who has no use for high volume production. He gives every consideration to producing ammo that no manufacturer can come close to matching. Everything he does is centered around precision, especially his shooting.

The second is the Reloader. He shoots a lot and therefore must supply his addiction. Progressive presses, usually more than one are used to save on setup time between caliber changes. This guy started loading high volume after first playing the part of the Handloader and developing what he knows to be of commercial or better quality ammo that is 100% dependable for his purposes. He's also willing to make small changes if he learns a way to make improvements in either his product or his production.

Third is the bullet stuffer. Nobody wants to admit to being this guy but there are a bunch of them around. If they can stuff it together so it feeds and goes bang he's golden. He doesn't want to spend the money on high quality equipment and would be happy if he could stock only one powder for everything he shoots. He believes in the myth he can save money by reloading and that is his goal.

Plain and simple, rolling your own is expensive, time consuming, and doing it right should always be the goal. I've done this for over 50 years and to this day I learn something new all too often. No matter which guy you are or what you think your abilities are, if you're not learning and adapting on a regular basis, step away from the bench.

The driving force behind reloading is curiosity. Tinkering. Fun.

 

[Old Syko]

The driving force behind reloading is curiosity. Tinkering. Fun.

Is curiosity not the driving force behind most everything we do voluntarily? Once involved in something, different people continue to follow up on the same thing but for different reasons.

 

[SteelDude91]

I primarily got into reloading to feed my addiction and have a fun at home hobby.It still is my primary purpose for reloading, to produce large quantities of consistent ammunition to shoot.
A side effect however has been tinkering with loads, and creating the best round for a specific firearm that rivals match ammunition.
Both are fun, but I do far more of the "Reloader" than I do of the "handloader"

 

[87iroc]

Somewhere between stuffer and reloader. Dillon 650...got a load that works...crank 'em out. Shoot at cardboard and steal while trying to move fast for a fat guy.

 

[bstewrat3]

I am the handloader who custom tailors a round for a perceived purpose or a certain gun and moves on to another perceived need and doesn't get around to shooting the ammo until my interests come full circle. I still have rounds I loaded in the early 90's for my T/C Contender barrels.

 

[Old Syko]

I am the handloader who custom tailors a round for a perceived purpose or a certain gun and moves on to another perceived need and doesn't get around to shooting the ammo until my interests come full circle. I still have rounds I loaded in the early 90's for my T/C Contender barrels.

This got me curious so I checked my inventory of 357 Herrett which would be my oldest rounds for Contender. The note inside the box is dated 1-14-88. This is a load I would without question reuse when these run out because it is the most accurate load I ever develloped for this particular barrel. The powder used is of WWII era manufacture and I still have a bit more left. Needless to say, I loaded a bunch of them at that time. I still load other loads for this barrel that get used more often these days since the bullets I used back then no longer exist.

This is kind of my point to this thread. I'm all about both precision and high volume.

 

[BluedSteel]

Well I guess I'm just a poor lost misfit. Can't figure out where I belong on this scale.

When I turned 18 and went to college my Dad decided that he was going to divvy up the labor. He loaded all our shotshells [in 4 gauges ~ 10, 12, 20 and .410] and I got all the metallic cartridges. Which at the time were .30-06, .30-30, 6mm Remington, .22 Hornet and what seemed like every handgun cartridge known to man including .221 Fireball and 222 Remington for Thompson Contenders. These last two, along with Dad's pet 6mm (his favorite cartridge) were Handloaded with near Bench Rest madness. Prepped, pampered and processed with enormous amounts of attention to detail and every last "trick" that could be gleaned from every loading manual and article that could be scrounged up by either of us. The '06 and 30-30 were Reloaded with reasonable attention to detail and bullet selection and just enough load experimentation to come up with something brag-worthy. The .22 Hornet was just a fun oddity that most people had never seen and bullet selection sucked for it in those days so anything that worked well was cheaper than factory and thus acceptable. We never met a paper target or a groundhog that could tell us the difference. . .

Being a Reloader was good enough for most of our handgun shooting, although I did take time to work up specific loads for my .45 ACP Commander and Dad's pre-war National Match. Everything else (with the exception of some 9mm self-defense loads for my wife and friends) is done with an eye towards maximizing rounds per range/match time fun. Except for 5.7x28mm. Harumpffff. It's a bear.

Dad's been gone a while now so the shotshells are back in my court too. And while writing this I just figured out what kind of loader I am. I am a Hobbyist. I enjoy it, I learn from it, and it lets me spend time both on the range and at the shows and stores where I meet other people like myself. Which is as good a reason to reload as any. I highly recommend it.