Given Ammo Prices And Availability, How Happy Are You That You Load and Cast?

[charlie b]

Of course I am happy I cast and reload! Only been doing it for 50 years

And, yes, I started cause I wanted to shoot more and could not afford that much factory ammo. Same reason I reload and cast today. Can't afford Gold Medal Match ammo on a regular basis

When times like this come around it makes me happy to crank out some ammo instead of standing in line to buy one or two boxes.

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[LenH]

I started reloading and casting in my teens (soon to be 65) and it was so I could keep shooting then and now with all the shortages, I am as happy as a pig in slop.
When someone asks where did I get my bullets, and when I tell the I cast my own most look at me like I have a third eye.

[onelight]

I was happy to load at normal prices there is no way I could have enjoyed all the shooting I have done in my life if shooting factory loads .
For the most part I choose the simplest way to make holes in paper but I enjoy the loading as much as the shooting most of the time

[FredBuddy]

If events continue on the present trajectory
I may be the only source for ammunition
for miles around.

I prepared for it and I'm happy.

[markmars]

Yes I've been reloading all my life started casting handgun bullets around 1999. It was costing my less then the price of .22 back then to cast and shoot 9 mm. I think I read on here a long time ago that most competitive handgun shooters cast.

[trapper9260]

I got into reloading and casting so I do not have to depend on the stores and factory for the ammo and also able to load what I want and fine tune it to what it will be used for . As for primers I got that cover on to reload my own and for how it is , it is not the first time some thing like this happened and it is just worst one . will see how things will come to.

[Kraschenbirn]

I've been reloading since the early 1960s and casting...off and on...since the mid-'70s so it's difficult for me to separate the two from my principle outdoor pastime: i.e. recreational shooting. I cast so that I can reload, and I reload so that I can shoot; the three activities all mesh together. I must admit, though, the current ammuntion/component famine caught me a little off-guard and, at my current rate of consumption, I'm going to begin running out of things somewhere between two and three years from now.

Bill

[Burnt Fingers]

Happier than a hog in warm mud.

I can still load and shoot 9mm and 45 ACP for around $6/100 or less. I also was prepared for the shortage.

[farmbif]

I don't know about happy, but satisfied as a hog in a warm muddy turnip patch.
its a hobby or maybe an addiction, keeps me from getting bored and each new load worked up is like a new adventure, load a few, shoot a few make some adjustments, load a few more, shoot a few more. what to cast, load and shoot next. well I'm starting out the week pondering wether it should be some 22 hornets or 25-20's,. waiting to see if the post office can deliver the stuff ordered last week for a new foray in 308 win
although turkey season opened here last weekend so the load 3" 12 gauge is kept handy if I might get lucky and spot a tom nearby.

[Jim22]

I am happy. I got back into boolit casting last fall after about a 30 year hiatus. I got back in just in time to score some moulds, gas checks, primers, and powder. Took a long time to do. Had to hit the LGS's regularly to find what they had in stock. Managed to score a Lyman 45 Lube sizer they had bought from an estate. At 74 years old I reckon I have enough. Picked up another 70 lbs of smelted wheel weights from my local scrap yard - in one lb ingots. So far I have about 300 lbs of wheel weights, anothe 100 of soft lead and a few lbs of tin and linotype. I think I'm pretty well OK.

[Winger Ed.]

To still be able to afford to feed my .45-70 and others---
I'm happier than a dog with a new stick.

[JSnover]

I'm as satisfied now as I was more than 25 years ago when I started. I feel bad for the 20-somethings who didn't realize the whole ammunition and component markets were going to be so messed up - they simply weren't old enough to know what was coming.

[Cast10]

Been reloading over 45 years and just began my trail into casting. Started acquiring stuff last year when things started getting bad. Couldn’t find everything till this new year. A hog shooter/semi auto carbine and present political/market environment made mine up to start casting. Glad I found this site and folks. Has brought back a little fun in load development.

[Goofy]

Started casting 10-12 years ago and since then have shot about 50 jacketed rounds. Other than rimfire I haven’t fired factory loaded ammo for about 40 years. For that matter I haven’t fired any factory rimfire ammo in about 2-1/2 years as I load that also in CF format. Most of the rifles and scatterguns have been sold as they no longer are useful. Did hang onto a flintlock and have all the BP and flint needed.

[onelight]

I'm as satisfied now as I was more than 25 years ago when I started. I feel bad for the 20-somethings who didn't realize the whole ammunition and component markets were going to be so messed up - they simply weren't old enough to know what was coming.

When I was 20 I had a baby and a wife living off a motorcycle mechanics pay so it would not have mattered if I new it was imminent or not . I would not have been able to stock up enough to make a difference .

[Swamp Fox]

I’m glad I’ve got what I do and can continue to shoot some, but I have a hard time using what I can’t replace. So I’ve cut back a lot until I can resupply or there’s a real emergency.

[Daekar]

I probably wouldn't be able to shoot at all if I didn't reload, and casting is a big part of that. Very glad, overall. Now, if I could just find more primers...

[gwpercle]

I started casting boolits and reloading in 1967 , can honestly say I've never had one regret .
Happy as a clam at high tide with my choice of hobbies .
I may not of saved any money but have never lacked ammo .
I have always enjoyed casting , amassing and trying different moulds and chasing the elusive perfect 38 Special Target Load . It's been fun .
Gary

[Loudy13]

Super Happy that I cast and reload. The J-words are still available for some stuff but I can cast everything I need which will do just fine. I have also had about a dozen people ask if I will sell to them, I tell them as soon as I can find primers maybe. I have a bunch reloaded for what the wife and I need for the next couple of summers but I am not taking the chance as to when Primers are gonna be available again.

This shortage is putting me in a bit of a bind though I have 9000+ bullets I cast and coated for this 3 gun season and I don't want to load anything just in case i need those primers for something else I run out of.....guess its not the worst problem to have.

[David2011]

I made my first handloads in 1977 and my first cast boolits in 1981. Very happy I’m still doing it.