| Posted: Mon Apr 2nd, 2007 01:45 AM |
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Force_Recon_Marine
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Just out of curiosity, How many rounds does it take before you really know what you are doing? I counted my empty primer boxes today and I am somewhere between 17 and 1800 rounds and I still learn something nearly everyday about reloading. Either from the HB or by my own mistakes. This site has been a great learning tool for me and I am sure for many others. So my question is this, How many does it take before you have it all mastered? Is there even a number out there that high?I know there are several guys on here in the tens of thousands. How many rounds have you loaded in your lifetime?
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| Posted: Mon Apr 2nd, 2007 01:20 PM |
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.45 COLT
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Metallics, I'm probably somewhere around 20 to 25,000 rounds, maybe more. Shotgun, many times that. I've been reloading since 1956. A feller can always learn something new, no matter how experienced he is.
DC
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| Posted: Mon Apr 2nd, 2007 02:55 PM |
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Black-tailed Bandit
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It takes several hinders to get the feel and several thousand to get proficient, but you learn something new nearly every time you load, at least for me.
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| Posted: Mon Apr 2nd, 2007 03:46 PM |
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The_Mountaineer
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I'd have to say that I've probably reloading in excess of 5K rounds best I can figure.
You're always hearing and reading about new stuff and techniques but I think the biggest realization I've made with reloading is that there's only so much you can do. It's sort of like a balancing act between the ammo you roll - your technique - the rifle and of course you as a shooter.
Knowing what you hope to accomplish, REALISTICALLY, from your gun-ammo-shooter combination is the real ticket.
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| Posted: Mon Apr 2nd, 2007 06:05 PM |
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charlie-6
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I have load 5000 + and sometimes I learn something new been at it since 1960
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| Posted: Mon Apr 2nd, 2007 06:32 PM |
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owlcreekok
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I dunno. Mass loading .45 ACP and .38 Special gets one's count way up in a hurry, but feeding a progressive is a lot different than slowly making rifle ammo.
Best I can remember, I have bought 25k primers at a whack ONCE. I have bought 5k in the likes of five or six times. There is no possible way I can begin to remember how many 1000 boxes I have bought. I know of three 8# jugs of Bullseye I have gone through, two four pounders of 231 and a wheel barrow full of one pounders of each. How much 4895 and 4350 is a complete mystery. How many 8 pounders I bought last year is classified.  .
I need 2k large pistol primers as of this writing. I am down to 100. I would rather be out of rations than primers.
As has been well said, I learn something about every time I mess with reloading. The older I get, the more I forget so the more I learn (again). Fun times. I ain't no where near finished reloading, so I reckon I am still BEGINNING. Lol
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| Posted: Mon Apr 2nd, 2007 07:52 PM |
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billt
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I've been reloading since 1972. All total including shotgun it's well over 100,000 rounds. I don't think I've ever stopped learning. You run into new reloading challenges all the time. Case life, when to trim, neck size, or full length resize, seat deep, or out to the lands. It never seems to end. It's a very satisfying and rewarding hobby that makes the sport of shooting more affordable. Bill T.
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| Posted: Mon Apr 2nd, 2007 08:29 PM |
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Charley
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As a practical guide, I figure it takes about 100 more rounds than you have loaded to know what you're doing...
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| Posted: Tue Apr 3rd, 2007 12:38 AM |
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sdb777
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When you think you've learned everything, you better quit handloading......something bad will happen!
Scott (hearing a bang while reloading = bad) B
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khtrent
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hmmmm well I have only been reloading about 5 yrs trying to figure out how many is tuff... but ill say 5000 gone thru a lot of 223. my best guess but not exact.
Kev
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okie
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this thread raises a question to me.
Gene and I have been loading since 1960 and neither of us have all the empty primer boxes to count.
so how many of you save the empty primer boxes to keep tract of how many you loaded?
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ohiococonut
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Quote;
"I dunno. Mass loading .45 ACP and .38 Special gets one's count way up in a hurry, but feeding a progressive is a lot different than slowly making rifle ammo."
My thoughts exactly.
I don't think round count can account for experience since the majority of the rounds loaded by "most" people are simply reproductions. They may pick one load from a book they're satisfied with and load 1000's of them without every really learning anything. They're just going through the motions. I have a friend of mine that does this and even though he's loaded 1000's of .223 rounds he still asks me what I feel should be the obvious. As and example. Why am I denting the cases on the shoulders of my cases? How come when I switch from Hornady to Sierra bullets of the same weights they don't shoot in the same place? Simple things that you would think he would have learned along the way. Obviously not.
Where I learned most of what I know came from reloading different components with several different calibers, not 1000's of the same cartridge using the same components. I load for 31 different calibers now including four different shotgun gages. I like finding an accurate load for a particular bullet but I don't stop there, I choose another bullet and start again using different powders and primers until I find the best load. It's a never ending cycle.
I keep detailed notes in my loading log books so I know exactly what I loaded for each cartridge, what it was shot in, all of the components and conditions including chrono results so I can duplicate everything as closely as possible with the exception of the outside conditions. I leave nothing left to chance. Years ago I started using Lotus and switched to Excel when it was available to keep track of my loads because I don't want to duplicate something that didn't work the first time.
Just with the S&W 500 alone I've loaded 25 different bullets using at least 12 different powders, 4 different primers and 3 different cases. When you start thinking about the number of different combinations that you can come up with it adds up to the 1000's quickly. I'm already at over 3000 rounds just with this caliber alone and these were done in batches of 5, not 50 or 100. So yes, it is time consuming but I enjoy it and I'm constantly learning. My round count may not be as high as some but there's quite a bit of variation.
I may go back to a different caliber when a new bullet comes out and even though I may have loaded 1000's of rounds with it I still find myself asking if I know what I'm doing because I'm not happy with the results. It's like starting all over again. I don't think there's a magical number that you reach that proves you've mastered anything. I still screw up, on occasion but I'm still learning.
There's no doubt you become proficient by being repetitive, but you learn much more through diversity.
I agree with sdb777 too. And don't ever get complacent, bad things will happen.
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bea175
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I really have no real idea since i have been loading since 1972. I would guess over 50 k but would say not over 100 k. I believe you will never learn it all in one life time. I have loaded every round one at a time and have never liked progressive loaders. I guess they work well for pistol shooters but i believe rifle ammo needs one at a time precision care . When you think you have learned it all , something will bring you back to reality. 
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saddlesore
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I have bought at least 4 cases, of 1000 rd boxes of pistol primers that I can remermber, I think there are 10,000 primers per case. Many 1000 lots of large and small rifle.
I shot competition service rifle for about 10 yrs. two 10 week leagues per year, 80 rds per match and about 200 rds per week practice.
Right now I load 2000 rds each of.357, 9mm and 45 every winter , then a bunch of 44mag
Always looking for tips to do it better,but have weeded out the anal stuff that doesn't make differnce.
By the time you load about 10,00 you should know what you are doing
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Charley
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Depends on how the progressive is being used. I use mine for many diffent cartridges, and different loads. OTOH, I have a friend who is Dillon dealer, and his market is mainly IDPA and IPSC shooters. With them, he will set up the machine, tell them to use ONLY tis bullet, promer, and powder combination, and touch NOTHING. Big difference.
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sdb777
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okie wrote: this thread raises a question to me.
Gene and I have been loading since 1960 and neither of us have all the empty primer boxes to count.
so how many of you save the empty primer boxes to keep tract of how many you loaded?
I'm not Gene, but I thought I'd throw my change in anyway.
I use my records(either written in a notebook or stored on my computer) to keep some sort of idea of what works and what didn't work. These records are only good for me and the particular rifle in which the handload was sent down range in. I currently load for over 70 different calibers! I should have bought some kind of stock option in a paper company!!
As far as the number of rounds I've loaded? Worked at the ammunition plant in Lonoke, Arkansas for 4 years(got the big 'laid-off' and found other work) and would load about 85,000 rounds during a typical 8 hour shift! So I guess that's an average of 425,000 a week, or 21,675,000 rounds a years....or almost 108 million rounds just while working there! That doesn't include the estimated 175,000 rounds I've loaded in the garage, basement, or den between 1972 and now. Some of which were 'wildcat' rounds that I dreamed up(and often abandoned-long story), but most were just normal everyday .223Rem stuff.
Nope, I didn't shoot all those rounds from the "Big Green Plant", but I loaded them(to me that counts). As far as I know, they were all safely sent towards the targets they were intended for? I hope!
Have I learned everything about loading? Never will! There is always something to try differently, or even a safer way to accomplish the same load from the day before. Thanks to the people that make sites, such as this one, happen....sharing information just is the smart thing to do! Will you get my secret load for brand "X" rifle....probably not, but I'll contribute in any way possible!
Scott (novella was written today...whew!) B
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wyo300rum
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Hard to say. Been reloading since..... 1974. Loaded for many calibers. Still load for 6 pistol and 8 rifle calibers, some not as much as others. I don't thinks I would be bs'ing to say 10 to 15K. Loaded allot of .223 and 308 for some so called "assult rifles" A Mini 14, a couple AR180's and a HK91. Back then it was cheaper to reload than buy cheap factory ammo.
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| Posted: Fri Jul 27th, 2007 12:51 PM |
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caz223
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It's not really a magic number or time served, but a desire to get in there and fight.
It's why some people are pistoleros and others are riflemen.
It also depends on your shooting skill, attention to detail, IQ, and many other unquantifiable factors.
That's like asking how many bullets do you have to shoot to be a competant marksman.
Exactly how many cigarettes can you smoke before you die?
If you start reloading on a progressive, didn't know how to ask for help, or that you needed any, you can crank out an amazing number of crap rounds before you have any idea what you're doing....
And if you are new to shooting, and are barely keeping your shots on a paper plate at 21 feet, then you may never know your reloaded ammo is substandard until your shooting improves.
And if you stop learning stuff, it's a sure sign that a) you're not paying attention, b) you stopped reloading, or c) you shouldn't be reloading.
One very good sign is that you're HERE. A public forum, to learn from others, and share what you've learned. It really is an amazing resource, when I started reloading those resources were not yet available. I learned more the first year at TFL forums than all the years before. I pick up something from every forum I go to (Good or bad.) but it's info, and it helps you make decisions. Informed ones. I hope to be a reloading guru someday, until then I'm content to learn from others, and share what works for me.
My 1/5 peso.
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| Posted: Fri Jul 27th, 2007 05:11 PM |
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Timberghozt
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In the vicinity of 20 plus thousand here...Lot of lead I have sent downrange.Most was precision handloads for my match guns,with pistol ammo number 2 followed by match grade hunting ammo or as close to match grade as I could get it.
BTW,I don`t thinkthat it was till I started experimenting with Wildcatting and got hooked that I became a truly knowledged handloader.Wildcatting has taught me volumes,literally.
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| Posted: Sun Jul 29th, 2007 02:13 AM |
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BPCR Bill
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Geez Guys, who's keepin' track when your havin 'fun?? I can't remember how much old mil surplus brass I shot out from my '06 from high school days. That doesn't count the Remington, W-W, Federal, Ad Nauseum...Then there are the other rifles in my life, not to mention the handguns. I have never loaded a single shotshell in my life, however. But I digress. Yep, I'm still learning, and that is what keeps me coming back to the bench year after year.
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