Handloading - How Many and How Long?

[nwhunter]

With my dad's help I started loading in 1965 on a Herters press for the 303 british jungle carbine I was hunting deer with my first year hunting. I was 10 years old.
For the next 30 years I never hunted with any cartridges I had not loaded myself.
Currently I load for
223WSSM
243
257 Souper
257 Roberts
6.5-06
7x57 Mauser
7mm Rem mag
7.62x39
308
30-06
30 Gibbs
338-06
300 Weatherby
And in handguns I load for my 400 Corbon.
And for the record, I still load with an old Herter press, even though I have owned Dillon, RCBS, Lee and Lyman presses the old Herter press and I have loaded a lot of cartridges.

 

[ridgewalker]

I was introduced by a neighbor in 1960 as a high school freshman. Started after college when I could finally afford equipment. I am slowing down a lot these days. Donated several MEC presses (9000, 650, 600 jrs) to kids who are competing. Getting rid of the last of my shotgun powders, primers, wads, etc soon.
Also trying to decide what calibers and guns to finish my life with. Probably 375 H&H (just in case I can squeeze in another Africa hunt), 30-06 or 300 WM (for most big game from hogs to moose), and 223 for PDs and coyotes.
Not sure what pistols to get rid of yet, but need to evaluate them such as which do my old hands handle best, etc.

 

[levers4life]

20+ years since I started loading. 44 special was my first because I was pretty sure I couldn't hurt myself running it in a 44 mag Super Blackhawk. Load for 30+ cartridges now. I shoot and collect some oddballs, so you have to roll your own. Good thread!

 

[memtb]

I was introduced by a neighbor in 1960 as a high school freshman. Started after college when I could finally afford equipment. I am slowing down a lot these days. Donated several MEC presses (9000, 650, 600 jrs) to kids who are competing. Getting rid of the last of my shotgun powders, primers, wads, etc soon.
Also trying to decide what calibers and guns to finish my life with. Probably 375 H&H (just in case I can squeeze in another Africa hunt), 30-06 or 300 WM (for most big game from hogs to moose), and 223 for PDs and coyotes.
Not sure what pistols to get rid of yet, but need to evaluate them such as which do my old hands handle best, etc.

ridgewalker…….life didn't start until I had and loaded for a 375 H&H! memtb

 

[Mark37082]

Wow! I knew there were some long time reloaders here, but the shear number of cartridges some of you load is amazing. I am a relative newbie to reloading. Spent many decades buying ammo off the shelf. Now I'm up to 7 cartridges that I reload.

 

[memtb]

Wow! I knew there were some long time reloaders here, but the shear number of cartridges some of you load is amazing. I am a relative newbie to reloading. Spent many decades buying ammo off the shelf. Now I'm up to 7 cartridges that I reload.

Only 55 years of my 70 years meandering about! I would've started sooner, but my father wasn't really a shooter or hunter…..but, he didn't hinder me and my ambitions! memtb

 

[Turpentine21]

A friend and I loaded shotgun shells on our Lee Load-Alls for a couple years in high school back in the early 80s. Then an almost 40-year gap until 2021 when I started loading for the new .243 I bought. Now I load the following:

.243 Winchester
.30-06 Springfield
.308 Winchester
.35 Remington
.30-40 Krag

.357 Magnum
9 mm Luger
.44 Magnum

Looking to get a .41 Remington Magnun next and load for it, and then probably 7 mm Mauser.

A friend has had a 41 mag for about 30 years. Great caliber. I always stuck to 44s and 45s but always admired that 41.

 

[john k]

Started hand loading in 1989 for my .280 A-Bolt and .280 BAR with the Lee loader for a few years before moving to single stage RCBS. Now load all 7's. 7mm-08, 7saum, .280AI, and my son's 7mag. In the past .220 Swift, 22-250, .284, and 30-06.

 

[Bret GRAVELINE Graveline]

114 different cartridges including shotgun, 17 Hornet to 460 Weatherby, i started reloading under my dads supervision in the 60's, dad turned me loose on my own at 15 in 1973, i started with a 218 bee M43 and 6MM Rem M77 added a 338 Win M77 in 1975, over the years i experimented with 71 different rifles in 31 different chamberings I thought I would hunt with, these days im down to loading for 30 different cartridges, I still have and intend to use those original rifles, today my go to rifles are not all that different than what I started with, a 257 Ackley and a 338 Winchester,

 

[Idahohoho]

Started reloading when I finished paying the last kid's college tuition years ago…1st cartridge was a 348 Winchester and you can probably guess why. Now I load about 5 pistol/rifle cartridges-I'm a lever gun addict, and lost count, but around 18 or so rifle cartridges for different levers, bolts and old school semi-auto's like the Remington 8's,81's,14's etc. etc.. Also tie my own flies, help the wife with beekeeping, picking wild huckleberry/service berries and canning & drying all the fruit from our trees…..no constipation issues in this household!

 

[Turpentine21]

Started reloading when I finished paying the last kid's college tuition years ago…1st cartridge was a 348 Winchester and you can probably guess why. Now I load about 5 pistol/rifle cartridges-I'm a lever gun addict, and lost count, but around 18 or so rifle cartridges for different levers, bolts and old school semi-auto's like the Remington 8's,81's,14's etc. etc.. Also tie my own flies, help the wife with beekeeping, picking wild huckleberry/service berries and canning & drying all the fruit from our trees…..no constipation issues in this household!

You sound like me. There was a time that I made my own longbows and Flemish twist strings, cedar and birch arrows, cut my own fletching with turkey feathers, hunted hogs with that equipment religiously, and had the energy and body to do that without a problem. Injury, arthritis, and time took care of that so I moved on to more reloading and guns, working on outboards, etc. Jack of all trades, master of none

 

[Citified]

Well, you guys made me stop and count how many guns I have and load for. I selected 16-20 but that may have been low. Been reloading since 1962 and the only one I don't load for is a .32 colt in a Hopkins and Allen pocket revolver from 1898. I don't shoot that one anymore because it may not be safe.
Sure have changed my procedures through the years based on suggestions from this site.
Don't buy factory ammo anymore unless I am desperate for donor brass.

 

[highfinblue]

Started in the late 80's with the Rem. 7 mag, and am now at around 40. I will pretty much load for anything if the one wanting me to load it will supply components, and dies if I don't have them. I'm sure there are some specialty cartridges better left alone for me, but I do enjoy it; other than case trimming, not a fan of that lol. One of the best lessons I learned was little guns are not to be treated the same as hunting rifles. No one told me that when I started loading for the 17's and 20's, and I increased powder too quickly for a 204 Ruger. No major issue, but one-half grain can make a big deal in a small caliber. I really enjoy going to the bench to roll my own instead of having to go to the store or wait on a package when I need some ammo. Almost every round can be improved with very few exceptions, without over pressuring or doing anything dangerous. The 300 WSM is one that I could always find more velocity than factory, but accuracy definitely went south after 2950 fps velo. I have some factory Winchester 357 mag ammo that I cannot approach, no idea what powder they are using, but those things are hot, and when you shoot a watermelon with one you can't find a piece big enough to eat. That being said those are really the only two rounds I've had experience with that my reloading couldn't improve, especially accuracy, and most times velocity.

 

[sturner]

1982
20 rifle and 4 pistol