Reloading Question

[raul1427]

I've heard and read of people reloading but am a bit skeptical at how safe and effective it is. I've seen some nasty pictures of broken and ruptured gun barrels. Does anyone on here do there own reloading? How safe is it to do? How reliable/and accurate is it? Any advise would greatly appreciated

[dyferant]

Its as safe as YOU choose to be

[Crimp]

Check out the "Ammo Can" forum here on the board for many of your answers.

I handload and rarely shoot commercial ammo. With the proper mindset, it's not only safe and produces accurate ammunition, but it's an enjoyable hobby.

[Salilus]

Since I have been reloading for a while now, I think that commercial ammo is more dangerous than mine. I am quality control, not somebody waiting for 5:00

[zac07]

As long as you understand what you are doing and pay attention it is perfectly safe. And is usually more accurate than commercial ammo and you can fine tune it to your liking.

[Verk]

I have been reloading for 20 years with no problems. Besides saving money, it is a great hobby in itself. As long as you observe the cautions and don’t stray from the published loading data you will be fine. Best advice I can give, when you are reloading have no distractions!!

I have a reloading room and when I am in there I am not to be bothered unless the house is on fire. When you are dealing with proper powder and charge weights, your mind has to be on what you are doing.

[MasLakas]

I have been reloading for about six years now. I have never had a misfire with any of my reloads, they are more accurate than factory loads because they are taylored to my personal firearms. I would suggest you read a quality reloading manual. Most have instructions on how to safely reload and will walk you through the process. My local library has a Hornady manual published in the early 80s and I have purchased two others for my own collection.

The danger comes when you are not paying attention to your powder charges when you load, accept reloads from a fellow reloader who has a 'special load' they worked up that is 'hotter' or 'better' than factory, or you disregard the max load data in your load book.

Having a firearm blow up in your face is not a fun experiance. I had a 22. pistol blow apart in my hands. I was not injured, just a little numb and bruised. It was a friends pistol shooting factory loads out of a 500 bulk pack. This experiance taught me that while I am reloading, I MUST pay attention to what I am doing and follow the selected load data very closely. I would hate to see what a 357mag or 45acp felt like blowing up in your hands.

[raul1427]

Wow! Thanks for the advise to all. I do have another question.

Some of you have written about better accuracy with your reloads. I'm trying to figure out why that is. Can anyone explain the reason for better accuracy with reloads as apposed to factory loads?

[fredj338]

Shooting in itself is more dangerous than handloading. Follow instructions, pay attention, totally safe. Go beyond your ability, & like most things in life, you'll end up in trouble. Worst thing that has ever happened to me in 30+ years of handloading is a round w/o powder causing a bullet stuck in the bbl. This can & does happen occasionally w/ factory ammo too.

[QCATrader]

Originally Posted by raul1427

Wow! Thanks for the advise to all. I do have another question.

Some of you have written about better accuracy with your reloads. I'm trying to figure out why that is. Can anyone explain the reason for better accuracy with reloads as apposed to factory loads?

As someone stated in another thread, you are fine tuning the ammo to your specific gun, where as factory ammo is designed to work in any gun of that caliber.

You can fine tune the amount of powder, the type of bullet, the case and even the primer to get optimal performance out of your gun - factory ammo simply can't do that.

can't tell you how satisfying I find reloading. I truly enjoy it just as much as shooting.