Advantages & Disadvantages of Reloading Ammunition

After seeing the word ammunition, we can imagine only about bullets and rifles.

But ammunition consists of more than that. Reloading ammo is not an easy task. It is not for everyone.

Generally, there are two types of people who have their own reloading workshop. The first type are those who shoots a lot.

As like shooting club members, trap, sporting clay, shooting competitions, skeet, sports rifle shooting, hunting guides and so on.

They need a ton of ammo. With the help of reloading ammo on their own, they save lots of money.

The others are called “Sharpshooters.”

These people know the perfect and exact amount of powder and the size of the bullet. They need to know which pellet goes into shells.

These folks do the work with complete accuracy. They do not want to compromise their chances by using any factory made  bullets.

What is wrong with factory bullets?

There’s nothing bad or wrong with factory-made bullets. All the bullets made in a factory are perfectly aligned and used precise powder and weight.

But  most professional shooters do not recommend factory made bullets. They prefer to choose and use the reloaded ammunition for their perfect shot.

As said before, there are advantages and disadvantages of reloading ammunition.

Advantages:

You can save a lot of money

Reloading ammunition is much more efficient and cost-effective. If you shoot a lot, it will save your money . I usually mold bullets with lead scrap which is from my range.

I gather and collect all of the empty cases from the local range. So the main cash spends on simply powder and priming tool.

For example, if a box of 9mm cartridges is $12, but I can make $4 off a box. If I shoot a lot every week, that means the savings of mine is like $732 per year, and that is a lot.

You can customize Your Rounds

With a reloading press, you can get creative with your rounds. There are certain limits to what you can do, but there are many ways to add your own signature in each round.

Most of the long competitive range and mid range rifle shooters usually load their own ammo. They tweak the fulfillment of their guns on their own.

There are many shoot loaders which are not available in the market. For example, you will not find bullet which is 5.56 with 80 grain and wildcat cartridges. You can optimize the suppressed fire and so on.

You can still Make Bullets that Don’t Exist on the Market Anymore

There is a lot of collectors out there, and if you are one of them, you are going to love this. Reloading presses can load bullets that you can’t find any more or that are rare to find in the market.

You don’t need to search everywhere for a special caliber or a distinctive bullet when you can make them in your own house.

You can get control over your rifle

If you want to get control over your rifle as well as ammo, then it is the best possible way to do that. For example, few long range rifle shooters give an arbitrary shape of the meplat. That’s how they can get greater consistency and optimum performance.

Disadvantages:

It is Not Cheap

You may save a lot of money making your own ammunition, but when you start, you won’t feel the difference. This is because most reloading presses are expensive. But, single stage presses are not as expensive if you need a few rounds.

However, you will start to feel the cost difference a few weeks after you buy it. But you will have to get there first.

For example, all the accessories that will be needed to reload some cartridges and a Dillion 650 press will cost you about $1000.

If you want to buy some gunpowder, it will cost you 180$. A thousand of primers will cost you $32 each. A thousand bullets will cost $100 or more.

You need to be Dedicated and Patient

If you are an impatient person, this is not recommendable for you. Reloading needs a lot of time and concentration. You need time to learn how to do it, and then the time to do it.

Each casing has its own primer, and you need to know exactly how to use the reloading press. And so, it will be a while before you become an expert on it.

It Requires a Separate Room

You need to have a space that you can dedicate exclusively to the use of the press. What’s more, it should be a spacious one.

This is because the press itself isn’t small, and you need to be comfortable in your workspace. Since some materials can be hazardous, you need to have designated storage for it.

It is Risky

You must take proper caution before doing anything because reloading is not safe at all. Make sure you have enough knowledge before start reloading.

Wrapping up

Making something by your own makes the work more joyful. Reloading ammunition is not an easy task to do.

So you will need proper tools and proper caution before approach. You must gather all the basic knowledge of existing tools and stuff. Little learning is dangerous. So level up your knowledge & have fun. Ta-da.