Give Handloading a Try

by
posted on May 28, 2015
wiley-clapp.jpg
I am advised that well under half of all active shooters use ammunition they have assembled in home reloading shops. That means a solid majority of shooters go to local or online merchants to buy their ammo. Since we know that interest in the shooting sports is at an all-time high, with more people shooting more shots, I am amazed that more of them are not handloading. This is particularly true of handloading for handgun cartridges, as there are several new handgun sports that really didn't exist in the past. The sporting handgunner shoots a lot more times per match than does his rifleman brother. At the same time that all of this came to pass, the reloading industry replied with what amounts to a revolution in high-volume loading equipment. More than a few IPSC, IDPA, SASS and IHMSA shooters have a big blue Dillon of one sort or another bolted to a bench in the garage. Although these big blue (red, black, green, orange, whatever) presses are somewhat pricey, they pay for themselves quickly if you are loading for volume. Shooters who are considering a progressive, high-volume press need to take note of the fact that there is a surprisingly wide range of prices available.

But volume is only part of the handloading mystique. No shooter will ever appreciate a nice, tight on-target group as will the shooter who personally loaded the ammunition that produced it. When he follows all the rules and assembles a batch of cartridges that perform well, he knows the extra care that he put into it. As his abilities grow, so does his confidence. When a load combination does not perform well, a confident handloader/shooter instantly knows that it isn't (or maybe is) his fault and he needs to try another combination. As time passes, an experienced and conscientious handloader simply knows more about his ammo, gun and himself. And lest there be any mistake about it, it is possible to out-perform the ammo companies—almost all the time. Learning how to do it is simply  a matter of time and effort. The ideal way to do it to load at the range. For various assignments over the years and one complete book, I developed a kit that permits me to go to the range and set up a complete, but portable loading bench. Working with a partner (usually long-suffering Stan Waugh), I can get through a pretty detailed work-up of a particular caliber and load in a single day. I might want a super accurate, cast-bullet, long-range load for a long-barreled .41 Magnum. If you get a good early start, you can get through several dozen loads assembled, loaded, fired for accuracy in the machine rest, chrongraphed and targets measured and tabulated. That's in a day.  

Obviously, you have to be motivated to do this. Give it a try.

Latest

250 Years Of U.S. Infantry Ammunition
250 Years Of U.S. Infantry Ammunition

From Paper Cartridge To PMAG: 250 Years Of U.S. Infantry Ammunition

Any survey of military firearms isn’t complete without also discussing the development of ammunition across this past quarter-millennium. From a conceptual standpoint, very little has changed.

Review: IWI Carmel

Initially introduced in 2019 to the international military market in a select-fire format, the IWI Carmel is a modular, durable and thoroughly modern sporting rifle.

Ruger Reaches New Milestone In Support Of Youth Shooting Sports

Sturm, Ruger & Co., Inc. became the first Blue Diamond level sponsor of the Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation (SSSF) in 2024 by supporting the youth shooting sports program with more than $75,000 a year.

KelTec’s PR57: Thinking Outside The (Detachable) Box

KelTec has brought the stripper clip back with the thoroughly unconventional PR57—a carry pistol with an uncommon chambering, an unusual action and no box magazine.

The Armed Citizen® June 9, 2025

Read today's "The Armed Citizen" entry for real stories of law-abiding citizens, past and present, who used their firearms to save lives.

More Western States Opening Large Shooting Ranges

A number of states in the western U.S. have opened or are planning to open large, versatile ranges to serve the growing need for publicly accessible shooting spaces.

Interests



Get the best of American Rifleman delivered to your inbox.