Do You Need To Reload? – by Chris Christian
As an IDPA Safety officer shooting at least two matches a month, I’m often asked by newer shooters whether or not they should start reloading. My answer is always an emphatic “Maybe!”… or “Maybe Not”.
That’s not being facetious. It’s actually factual. Not every shooter will benefit from reloading, and not every reloader will realize all of the commonly assumed benefits. It all depends on what you shoot and how you shoot it. To keep things simple, I’ll just talk about handguns here, since there are significant differences in the “whys” of reloading handgun rounds as opposed to rifles.
For starters, a gun owner who has one or two handguns kept for self-defense and fires just a box or so of practice ammo each month doesn’t need to reload. It’s very ill advised to carry reloaded ammunition for self-defense, so factory fodder works there. And, a box of lower priced practice ammo a month isn’t going to break the bank. This shooter isn’t going to improve the performance of their ammunition, or save any money, be reloading.
Add a few more guns & calibers, get into competitive shooting (or just a heavy practice schedule to improve skills) and reloading becomes viable.
The first consideration is cost. Reloading equipment and components cost money. That will require some amount of time to recoup via ammo savings. How fast that occurs depends upon the cartridge case – it is the most expensive component of a loaded round, but also the only reusable one. If you have a source of inexpensive brass you can cut your ammo costs by half, and recoup your equipment investment fairly quickly if you are shooting regularly. There is one range that I shoot matches at that allows people to pick up range brass after a match. In 30 minutes I can collect 400-500 9mm cases (most of it once fired Win White box). That makes sense. Other ranges only allow you to pick up your own brass. That doesn’t make dollar sense. You can buy brass, but if you go that route your savings will be noticeably less. If you’re thinking about getting into reloading to save money, figure out where you’re going to get your brass before you take the plunge.
Another commonly assumed notion is that reloaded ammo will outperform factory fodder. That’s not always true. It’s very difficult to equal the consistent accuracy and velocity of premium factory ammo. The best the reloader can hope for it to get close to it. With the less expensive factory practice ammo, you can equal it and sometimes beat it, but not by a significant margin.
The performance advantage achieved by handloading is in allowing you to tailor your load to a specific task. I’ll use the 9mm in IDPA/USPSA competition as an example. Both organizations require a 125 minimum Power Factor. That number is determined by multiplying the bullet weight x velocity and dividing the resulting figure by 1000. To make the 125 PF a 115-grain bullet must hit 1095 fps, a 124 grainer needs 1010 fps, and a 147 needs 851 fps. The two lighter bullets need more powder to hit those velocities than the 147 does to reach its required figure and they actually recoil more. They also, despite their velocity, do not knock down steel targets as reliably as the heavy bullet. So, the 147-grain bullet at 851 fps produces a softer load that hits harder. That’s one reason why the majority of top competitors use it in their 9mms.
The problem is that most factory 9mm 147 loads hit 950 – 990 fps. More powder & recoil than you need, and some of the advantage is lost. There are a couple of 9mm147-grain “match loads” offered that clock about 900 fps, but they are expensive. A reloader can equal their performance for considerably less cost.
If you shoot a .38 Spl in competition (as I often do) you almost have to be a reloader because there are only a few factory .38 revolver loads that will make the required 125 PF. Yet, a reloader can make them easily and this is one case where you can beat the accuracy of factory loads. I have a couple of .38 competition reloads that are softer shooting and noticeably more accurate than any factory .38 Spl 125 PF load.
The same thing extends to the .40 S&W and .45 ACP for competition. You can soften recoil and equal, or increase, accuracy. And, if you can handle the brass acquisition, you can do it for half the price.
There are advantages and disadvantages to reloading (the time factor is a minus for many). Whether a shooter needs to reload… or will see any benefit from it… comes down to what they need to accomplish by reloading.
