What's you most enjoyable part of loading? Needed the sister thread!

[mattw]

This is in response to the following thread: http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?380430-What%92s-your-least-enjoyable-part-of-loading

I really felt that we needed to have the sister thread to the above thread.

For me, I love making my own bullets. This is the most satisfying stage of the reloading process. I find reloading to be as enjoyable as shooting, the older I get the more I enjoy the whole process.

[Texas by God]

Probably seating the bullet and admiring what I've just done.

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[Froogal]

I enjoy all of it, but the most satisfying aspect is when I go to the range with my reloads, and every single one of them goes BANG!!

[osteodoc08]

I love hearing the finished round plunk in the akro bin with each pull of the handle on the 550/650 and then seeing it all organized in stacks of Dillon 50/100 count boxes or a full and heavy ammo can full of plinking ammo. The whole process is enjoyable and I do itnin stages. Cast a while. Size and lube a while. Load a while.

[ShooterAZ]

The part I enjoy the most is when my load development comes together for a particular gun. Bug hole groups make me happy, I love accurate ammo!

[daloper]

I enjoy the quite when I am down stairs loading. I consider it "Me Time". Of course going to the range and making more to reload is high on the list and having others at the range ask about my colored boolits is a plus.

[FredBuddy]

Shootin' 'em.

[dverna]

Shootin' 'em.

Exactly!!! No point (or fun) in any of the rest of the process.

[lar45]

I really enjoy the whole process. Standing at the casting bench for several pot fulls of lead turning into a pile of shiny new boolits. Taking an empty brass case, sizing, seating a primer, adding powder and seating one of my cast boolits lubed with my lube. Then having a fresh round of ammo from an empty case that many would just leave lying on the ground.
Also working up an accurate load for every gun that I have, then loading up a few hundred rounds for each of them. It just makes me feel good inside.

[Ozark mike]

Fred beat me to it I'm not big on sitting around loading ammo. but shooting em that's a different story

[Winger Ed.]

I don't have a worst part, although trimming & deburring case mouths is rather tedious.

The favorite part is pulling a finished round off the press.

[Tom W.]

I like casting boolits, then seeing the results all come together into a nice shiny round that begs to be fired.....

[brass410]

listening to my dog snore while lying beside the wood stove as the wind and snow make little drifts on the window sill behind my newly loaded rows of cast bullets in gleaming brass cases and thinking of warm spring days at the range.

[stubshaft]

Emptying the cases again! Probably seating comes in second.

[Springfield]

Taking the loaded rounds out of the big ammo can and putting them in smaller boxes for my family and I to take to the range, knowing that if I didn't cast and reload we couldn't afford to shoot as many Cowboy matches as we do.

[Wheelguns 1961]

The part I enjoy the most is when my load development comes together for a particular gun. Bug hole groups make me happy, I love accurate ammo!
This is what I have become. Everything I do is to make the best most consistent ammo I can. I enjoy load development. It can take some time to get the perfect load for each gun, but when it all comes together it is great.

[mattw]

This is what I have become. Everything I do is to make the best most consistent ammo I can. I enjoy load development. It can take some time to get the perfect load for each gun, but when it all comes together it is great.

At one point, I could not agree more. My eyes have degenerated to the point that a good tight pistol group without optics just does not happen anymore. So for me, I go for the best I can on that given day. I really miss picking up a revolver and making little tiny holes out of a group.

[avogunner]

Somebody here has the "shoot2reload" handle and that fits me to a tee. Reloading is my de-stress time. I like creating my own ammo, I like shooting it, and I like doing it all over again. Thankfully I have an understanding wife because I'd hate to have to make that choice[emoji51]
Semper Fi.

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[Froogal]

Taking the loaded rounds out of the big ammo can and putting them in smaller boxes for my family and I to take to the range, knowing that if I didn't cast and reload we couldn't afford to shoot as many Cowboy matches as we do.

I hear you loud and clear. Wife and I both shoot cowboy action. Figure 100 rounds each for each event, and 5 to 6 matches per year adds up to a LOT of ammo, and that doesn't count what we go through when plinkin' and practicing.

[goryshaw]

The loud BANG part after I've finished.

[Bazoo]

I'd say my favorite part is loading of the finished round followed closely by seeing a pile of bullets grow while casting. I enjoy making my own ammunition.

[Taterhead]

The best part is when all the tiny details come together and show up on paper. Right components, right weights and dimensions, and the jerk behind the trigger does his part.

So satisfying.

[country gent]

The best most rewarding part of reloading is when I get the honor to help a newcomer get started. Helping them learn and get started producing good ammo and understanding is the most rewarding. Ive had this honor a few time and asked to help with a couple classes over the years.

[bedbugbilly]

I ave actually two - seating and then crimping since I do them in two operations - enjoyable to see the assembled round!

[RogerDat]

Getting the parts and pieces prepared and finally in the end making them into a finished product. From making shiny trimmed brass where once there was grungy old brass, to filling the ammo cans with cast bullets that I then take out to PC or lube. To loading them and filling a bag, box or bin. At each step I get to see progress toward a goal stacking up. In the end all the individual processes come together and I get to make a finished product that is well made and has value. I do enjoy working toward a good solid recipe that I can return to each time I make more. I'm not as driven to find the best as some, I just want to make something I know will work well. Maybe eventually I'll get around to trying to find the best but for now works well is all I need to consider it a success.

I enjoy the scrounging of materials a lot. Scoring lead is great! Going to check on lead is like opening a present. Could always be something really good, even if just "ok" lead or a little solder it is finding something I value. I like getting or rigging up the tools to accomplish a new operation or caliber. This tool will allow me to .... do something new. A new challenge, a new skill, a new chance to come up with how I want to do this.
Shooting them afterwards is just a bonus.

[kbstenberg]

That last crank of the handle that crimps the bullet.

[lead-1]

Successfully shooting the rounds that I loaded, that is the rounds hitting in good groups and no misfires.

[trails4u]

load development and target testing for sure......it's the biggest part of the reason I do it. Don't get me wrong...I enjoy the process (except for chamfering and deburring), but at the end of the day....it's about the target. I also load for some somewhat obscure stuff....and there's fun there in getting something shooting when ya can't buy it off the shelf. :)

[44Blam]

I think when you finally get a gun wired for a couple loads and you can really trust your process/boolit/load to be accurate.
I really enjoy shooting my own boolits because it is dialed into the gun. I was talking to some folks at a match and they asked me how much it cost me to make a round. I had 40 S&W and I said around 7 or 8 cents - which is about right. He said "Oh, you are trading your time for just a little money." I told him that "I trade my time for boolits I like shooting and that I could not buy if I wanted to."
Second is probably seating the boolit.

[cwtebay]

Loading with my boys. Period. Showing them how to cast their bullets, clean their brass, anneal, shooting ladders for optimum loads, measuring powder and confirming EVERYTHING. My oldest has had the same 20 cases for his 300 wsm since he got it. He's got hundreds more, but his twenty are always impeccable. He's likely got 15-20 firings per piece of brass, he anneals every 5 loadings, measures and trims when needed each time. My youngest keeps his 25-20's hoarded like gold, waiting for his next outing. They look forward to it, and I think that I cannot imagine a better way to spend an evening.

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[sw282]

l like it ALL. From scrounging lead to pulling the trigger. Then hearing that ''CLANG'' on a 55 pound RAM @ 200 Meters:-)

[gwpercle]

Turning a dirty pile of scrap lead into boxes filled with perfectly cast , sized and lubricated boolits !
Gary

[kevin c]

Like many others above, the whole process is satisfying. If I had to narrow it down to "favorites", it's seeing the coated, baked and sized boolits in a big pile, thinking, "I made those". A close second is showing them off to shooting friends and having them ask if I'll be selling any (unlikely: these are MINE! ;^D).

[georgerkahn]

Reckoning after getting all requisite components; setting dies up in press; doing perhaps a few really unnecessary, but I do them anyway things to brass, meticulously measuring powder, and finally cranking them out -- perhaps the most rewarding part is when I "quality inspect" and turn each case in a bit of paper toweling, put it in the MTM case... and have the greatest feeling of accomplishment in having something which (to my way of thinking ;) ) may even be too pretty to shoot. (But -- :) :) -- I do that -- what it's all about. (Second satisfaction is when I hit the target!)

[John Boy]

What's you most enjoyable part of loading?
... When I find the unique mold for all the obsolete caliber rifles I reload for: including original or custom molds. After that enjoy casting and lubing all the steps
Example: There are only 3 owners a Schuetzen rifle with a 9.5x47R caliber (vintage 1880-1900) in the US. We found a German bullet catalog and did a diagram - sent it to Tom at Accurate Molds - the rifle is now a shooter

[Shopdog]

Hitting the game field with handcrafted CB's.

[MostlyLeverGuns]

Destructive testing to review quality and specifications of my finished product in the specific device the product was built for.

[44Blam]

... When I find the unique mold for all the obsolete caliber rifles I reload for: including original or custom molds. After that enjoy casting and lubing all the steps
Example: There are only 3 owners a Schuetzen rifle with a 9.5x47R caliber (vintage 1880-1900) in the US. We found a German bullet catalog and did a diagram - sent it to Tom at Accurate Molds - the rifle is now a shooter

Tom at Accurate molds is amazing. Because of my ideas and him being so flexible, I'm shooting cast lead tokarev rounds around 1500-1600 fps and I LOVE it. They are accurate as all get out and they go BANG! Really load BANG!

[lightman]

I like just about all of it, even case prep. I enjoy looking at a big pile of shiny new ingots after a long day smelting or a pile of shiny new bullets after a casting session. I like looking at a pile of loaded ammo and I like looking at a good group that I just shot with ammo that I loaded.

[Lloyd Smale]

yes sir! reloading and casting to me hasn't been what I call fun in 20 years. When I first started maybe but now its a job that has to be done if I want to shoot. Shooting is the fun!
The loud BANG part after I've finished.

[JBinMN]

The whole process from the casting to the shooting is enjoyable to me.

Knowing I am doing something that the vast majority of folks do not do.

Knowing I am able to load for & shoot every different caliber/gauge I own(15), with the only exception of .22 S/L/LR.

Knowing the satisfaction of teaching others how to do it, & seeing my sons & grandboys take an interest to carry on, is enjoyable as well...

I'd bet I could go on with things that make it enjoyable.

I think that of all the things I enjoy thru-out the whole process, the part I like best is the load development & testing.

Seeing the results of what was done thru out the whole process come out and reach a goal & know that it was my own work that reached that goal, and seeing it better than factory made ammo, is the "icing on the cake".

[3GRacing]

The art and science of working up a load. Sometimes I wonder where I'd be without the net, what a great resource. Until last year I limited myself to loading jwords. Casting has opened a new door for me. I really like seeing the results from ingot to target and everything in between.

[rintinglen]

I like sizing the boolits the best of all the phases of reloading.

There is a zen-like state of relaxation that comes as one sizes a big batch o' boolits that I enjoy. Sizing doesn't require close attention,at least, not like adding powder or seating primers. You just set a boolit on the ran or in the sizing die and pull the handle. On the push-through Lee sizers that I prefer, I just place and pull. Nothing to get overly concerned about, just place and pull and repeat.

[44Blam]

I like sizing the boolits the best of all the phases of reloading.

There is a zen-like state of relaxation that comes as one sizes a big batch o' boolits that I enjoy. Sizing doesn't require close attention,at least, not like adding powder or seating primers. You just set a boolit on the ran or in the sizing die and pull the handle. On the push-through Lee sizers that I prefer, I just place and pull. Nothing to get overly concerned about, just place and pull and repeat.

This step is pretty easy, but the previous - shake and bake PC. I kind of like finding the boolits...

[higgins]

Shooting center fire rifle jacketed loads for about 15-20 cents per round using components I bought years ago.

[tinsnips]

Casting boolits is the most fun but I like the whole process of making my own ammo. Wet tumbling brass, an PC coating lead is my newest thrill.

[robg]

Seeing my boolits making nice little groups of holes to the surprise of those that only shoot factory stuff.smug mode.

[OS OK]

I like it all...just try not to do too much of one particular thing for too long or it seems a bit like monotonous work.

20 pounds of casting for a particular platform, then PC'ing and Sizing after that is enough for a days adventure...the payoff is seeing them in their storage containers ready for my choosing & loading. I like to keep all the components ready to load, including clean brass.

https://i.imgur.com/kf4JOHR.jpg

[Drew P]

My most fav is when I lose track of how full the clear red hopper that my Lee pass-through sizers come with gets and the top pushes off on it, releasing the swear words all over my loading room lol.

[nun2kute]

That's a difficult decision. I really enjoy it all, but being out of the house in the canyon watching my pup find the boolits I shoot and then try to dig them up and barking at me to do it all over again is certainly enjoyable. But then early in the morning before work, sitting here reading you guys answers to other member's questions makes me late for work on a daily basis. Like the question of what's your least favorite common caliber. I laughed the hole way through reading that one. There are others, but you guys are the BEST !!! I don't know what I'd do without you !

Keep up the good work !

[Smoke4320]

When the mold is hot and good bullets are dropping like rain its all good

[OS OK]

My most fav is when I lose track of how full the clear red hopper that my Lee pass-through sizers come with gets and the top pushes off on it, releasing the swear words all over my loading room lol.

A picture is worth a 1,000 words...


https://i.imgur.com/1kCTJnt.jpg

[nueces5]

Probably seating the bullet and admiring what I've just done.

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I agree, much more on big rifle bullets
And put it in the ammo box ready to be fired

[WheelgunConvert]

No cell phone service!

[AABEN]

When I reload I lock the door and leave the phone in the house tell the wife I am not home to any one and lesson to my country music load some rest them load some more taking my time to do so I load from 32SW long up to 30.06 that is 22 different brass that I reload for.

[Petander]

Figuring out a load & all the cartridge dimensions for a new gun is what I like a lot. Preferably a new to me caliber & mold.