What is Ammo Reloading?
Ammo reloading came into being simultaneously with reusable centerfire brass cases replacing consumable paper cartridges. Drawn brass was expensive, black powder pressures too low to deform the cases much, so loading with minimal tools was common for hunters and recreational shooters. Over time, more sophisticated loading tools evolved, both for increased output and for improved precision.
Three Purposes
Ammo reloading serves three purposes: reducing the cost of high-volume shooting, making guns in exotic or obsolete calibers viable, and improving precision.
Competition and Recreational Shooters
For high-volume competition and recreational shooters, handloading reduces the cost of practice without reducing the quality of the cartridges. IDPA or IPSC shooters who go through 500 rounds a day, using cast lead bullets and picking up brass, can reduce costs by close to half compared to quality factory ball.
Collectors
For collectors, it is often the only way to continue using rare guns after commercial ammunition production for them goes away. There’s nothing complicated about recreating 19th-century ammunition, but the market for it is so limited that the rare production run commands stiff premiums. For old, tired guns, reduced loads are often the way to enjoy them with greater safety. Odd and unusual loads become possible with handloads too: multi-projectile, extra lightweight hypervelocity, heavy subsonics, atypical materials like zinc alloys or machined nylon. In the event of ammunition shortages, the same bullets and powder can be combined in various ways to feed guns chambered for a variety of calibers.
Benchrest & Long Range Marksmen
For benchrest and other long-range marksmen, ammo reloading at home provides the only way to gain sufficient precision with cases fireformed for their specific rifles’ chambers. A typical precision rifle might yield 2MOA with factory ball ammunition, 0.5MOA with factory match, and the sky is the limit with hand-loaded ammo using brass fireformed in that exact rifle — 0.2MOA isn’t unheard of. Typically, small batches are made and tested, then the best powder charge, crimp strength, and seating depth are used as the basis for the next small batch, improving accuracy step by step.
Conclusion
Ammo reloading requires a press for repeatable seating of primers and bullets. Also needed: dies for reshaping the case, seating projectiles, and crimping them. Dies are specific to each caliber. Ideally, tools for cleaning and trimming fired cases are also needed. Most reloaders get load data from two sources to exclude the chance of a typo resulting in a dangerously hot load or a squib. The process calls for an attentive attitude: it’s not a pastime that lends itself to multitasking. Approached with diligence and care, ammo reloading can improve results without breaking the bank.
Written by: Oleg Volk, Firearms Photographer
