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Well, I should have said "good, high quality, commercial ammo" LoL.
I haven't seen too much of any other, but I am sure it is out there.
I did some research a few years ago, and would have more faith
in 30 yr old commercial loads than I would 30 year old handloads
made in somebodies basement.
For 10 year old ammo, if kept in an air conditioned home, I would say
there is no real difference, assuming the guy loading it was reliable.
That is about as far as I am willing to go, in open forum, here.
Then there is that guy who weighs every component, sorts into groups for consistency, weighs each charge, and then each loaded round. And paints the primer/case junction and the projectile crimp area with lacquer to waterproof it. That guy is the serious( and obsessive) one!
Well, I should have said "good, high quality, commercial ammo" LoL.
I haven't seen too much of any other, but I am sure it is out there.
I did some research a few years ago, and would have more faith
in 30 yr old commercial loads than I would 30 year old handloads
made in somebodies basement.
For 10 year old ammo, if kept in an air conditioned home, I would say
there is no real difference, assuming the guy loading it was reliable.
That is about as far as I am willing to go, in open forum, here.
Yeah, I am not much on shooting other people's handloads. Mine, I think have stood the test of time quite well. Components stored in a cool, dry place (most Western basements qualify) will probably outlast the guy who bought them, even if he bought them in his (her) 20's.
Then there is that guy who weighs every component, sorts into groups for consistency, weighs each charge, and then each loaded round. And paints the primer/case junction and the projectile crimp area with lacquer to waterproof it. That guy is the serious( and obsessive) one!
Quote:
Originally Posted by M3 Mitch
Yeah, I am not much on shooting other people's handloads. Mine, I think have stood the test of time quite well. Components stored in a cool, dry place (most Western basements qualify) will probably outlast the guy who bought them, even if he bought them in his (her) 20's.
Glad to see some people who are conscientious, even obsessive.
Most people who hand load do it to save cost per thousand rounds,
or just because they want to, so what I said still stands, about most hand loaded ammo.
Well, I should have said "good, high quality, commercial ammo" LoL.
I haven't seen too much of any other, but I am sure it is out there.
I did some research a few years ago, and would have more faith
in 30 yr old commercial loads than I would 30 year old handloads
made in somebodies basement.
For 10 year old ammo, if kept in an air conditioned home, I would say
there is no real difference, assuming the guy loading it was reliable.
That is about as far as I am willing to go, in open forum, here.
Is here something top secret about reloading that precludes you from discussing further?
Maybe I just hang around with a rather elite crowd of shooters and handloaders - these guys generally know what they are doing.
It's still bad ju-ju to shoot other people's handloads, if anything goes wrong and injuries are involved, you will be needing product liability insurance, and if you don't have that, things can get interesting. Even if it's your best bud, even if he does not agree to sue you, his insurance, on the hook for his medical bills, will go after you.
I do, to some extent, handload to shoot more for the same money, and most of my centerfire production is with my own cast bullets. These also reduce wear on the gun's barrels. But just because I am in the game to save money, does not mean I am sloppy. Many light loads with fast powder, like Unique, in many larger handgun rounds and most rifle rounds, it's quite possible to get a double charge of powder into the case if you are not paying attention. I personally handle this risk by always seating a bullet immediately after charging powder. Some guys like to use a loading block, and then check every charged round either visually with a flashlight, or with a small dowel. Do whatever works for you.
Of course if you don't use proper technique, your cast bullets won't be filled out properly, they really need to be cast of the right alloy and should ideally drop from the mold very close to the correct diameter for a sliding fit in your chamber throat (I am mostly talking rifles here). Anyway if you make quality ammo, you should have good accuracy. If you don't dot your I's and cross your T's, you can make ammo that at least does not fit your gun and won't shoot very well. Which is no fun.
Maybe I just hang around with a rather elite crowd of shooters and handloaders - these guys generally know what they are doing.
Is there something that would lead you to believe that people discussing handloading here don't know what they are doing?
Quote:
It's still bad ju-ju to shoot other people's handloads, if anything goes wrong and injuries are involved, you will be needing product liability insurance, and if you don't have that, things can get interesting. Even if it's your best bud, even if he does not agree to sue you, his insurance, on the hook for his medical bills, will go after you.
<<SNIP>>
Who's talking about shooting other people's handloads?
Is there something that would lead you to believe that people discussing handloading here don't know what they are doing?
Who's talking about shooting other people's handloads?
Well T Rex apparently has had or heard about problems with handloads or commercial reloaded ammo, I am not certain which he is on about, I was intending to reply to his post about a few of us being conscientious.
I have run into a few people who load, particularly for rifles, with more enthusiasm than sense, if you get my drift.
Well T Rex apparently has had or heard about problems with handloads or commercial reloaded ammo, I am not certain which he is on about, I was intending to reply to his post about a few of us being conscientious.
I have run into a few people who load, particularly for rifles, with more enthusiasm than sense, if you get my drift.
There used to be a commercial reloader in my area that always sold bulk ammo at gun shows. Cheapest price in the place, usually. Enthusiastic fellows, given the piles of ammunition on their multiple tables. And rumors swirling about the guns they had destroyed. Never a shortage of customers for that cheap ammo though.
Then there was a guy at the same shows, sold only rifle ammo, loaded himself. Not cheap. Good brass, top end bullet. I saw his operation, and he was turning out good ammunition that shot very well. Would load a particular load for you if you wanted. Or you could drop off your rifle and he would work up a load for it if you wanted. Never understood that kind of customer (kinda like loaning your wife out to some guy so he can tell you what she wants in a lover), but he had some. I used some of his stuff for hunting. Loaded my own for matches and putting back for rainy days.
There used to be a commercial reloader in my area that always sold bulk ammo at gun shows. Cheapest price in the place, usually. Enthusiastic fellows, given the piles of ammunition on their multiple tables. And rumors swirling about the guns they had destroyed. Never a shortage of customers for that cheap ammo though.
Then there was a guy at the same shows, sold only rifle ammo, loaded himself. Not cheap. Good brass, top end bullet. I saw his operation, and he was turning out good ammunition that shot very well. Would load a particular load for you if you wanted. Or you could drop off your rifle and he would work up a load for it if you wanted. Never understood that kind of customer (kinda like loaning your wife out to some guy so he can tell you what she wants in a lover), but he had some. I used some of his stuff for hunting. Loaded my own for matches and putting back for rainy days.
We agree 100% on this. I have never understood the guys, sometimes rich guys, who, almost always it's a .300 Weatherby, they want someone else to sight it in. Well, I can sort of understand because this is about the worst gun to shoot off a bench (so use a standing rest of some sort!). Guy goes hunting with a rifle he's hardly shot a dozen times. Of course it shoots flat enough so if he does not take any crazy long shots, he should be able to hit deer and larger such animals out to 200, maybe 300 yards just by holding more or less "on" and pulling the trigger (hope he does not flinch).
But to me, working out what load shoots best is sort of "part of the game".
The dirt cheap ammo that maybe blew up some guns - Sad to say, Americans seem to be the worst in the world to buy a product based on low price only (consider McDonald's) with little thought about quality. The best rifle (or pistol) in the world won't shoot accurately with junk ammo.
There used to be a commercial reloader in my area that always sold bulk ammo at gun shows. Cheapest price in the place, usually. Enthusiastic fellows, given the piles of ammunition on their multiple tables. And rumors swirling about the guns they had destroyed. Never a shortage of customers for that cheap ammo though.
Then there was a guy at the same shows, sold only rifle ammo, loaded himself. Not cheap. Good brass, top end bullet. I saw his operation, and he was turning out good ammunition that shot very well. Would load a particular load for you if you wanted. Or you could drop off your rifle and he would work up a load for it if you wanted. Never understood that kind of customer (kinda like loaning your wife out to some guy so he can tell you what she wants in a lover), but he had some. I used some of his stuff for hunting. Loaded my own for matches and putting back for rainy days.
Quote:
Originally Posted by M3 Mitch
We agree 100% on this. I have never understood the guys, sometimes rich guys, who, almost always it's a .300 Weatherby, they want someone else to sight it in. Well, I can sort of understand because this is about the worst gun to shoot off a bench (so use a standing rest of some sort!). Guy goes hunting with a rifle he's hardly shot a dozen times. Of course it shoots flat enough so if he does not take any crazy long shots, he should be able to hit deer and larger such animals out to 200, maybe 300 yards just by holding more or less "on" and pulling the trigger (hope he does not flinch).
But to me, working out what load shoots best is sort of "part of the game".
The dirt cheap ammo that maybe blew up some guns - Sad to say, Americans seem to be the worst in the world to buy a product based on low price only (consider McDonald's) with little thought about quality. The best rifle (or pistol) in the world won't shoot accurately with junk ammo.
I have never asked anyone to do this for me, but the only other reason I could think of to have someone work up a load for me for my rifle is time. When I was reloading I was lucky if I was able to get away for a few hours of reloading every 6 months.
I did not have the time to work different types of loads. I would have liked too, I just did not have enough time in the week to get that done.
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), but he had some. I used some of his stuff for hunting. Loaded my own for matches and putting back for rainy days.
