Is reloading a dying past time?

[longwinters]

I was down in Green Bay today and ended up talking to the gun/reloading etc.... manager @ Gander Mtn. My buddy asked why the reloading area was so small, with so little on the shelves. The manager said that while, for the near future, shotgun reloading was still strong; metalic reloading was dying off. He noted that 4-5 years ago the reloading dept did $400,000.00 worth of business. But last year it was $100,000.00 so why have a bigger area if it was not making that much money. He noted fewer people shooing at rifle ranges, and also all the factory premium cartridges that people could purchase. Also that factory rounds were very accurate so . . . I dont doubt that there could be other reasons as well. Like maybe his primers were 22.00 a brick and I could go to Sportsmans Warehouse and get the exact same ones for 17.00 a brick. Also they never did have a good reloading section at Gander Mtn so people went to where there was better selection. I noted at Sportsmans warehouse that the reloading area was almost crowded, which did make me feel better.

So what do you think, is reloading a dying past time?

Long

 

[joedwhit]

When I first started reloading, premium ammo was just not available, and the factory stuff was not as accurate as what I could load if I took reasonable quality control measures. Neither of the above is true any longer. If one owns a common caliber like .270 Win, 7mm Rem. mag or 30/06, the best hunting ammo is the premium ammo from Winchester, Remington, Federal, etc.. This is not my opinion, this is what the big gun writers are saying.
If I were starting over today, I would buy the custom stuff, save the brass, buy an inexpensive reloading set-up, and load practice ammo for my .270 and 30/06.
But I also own a .45/70, which I will always prefer to hand load for both hunting and practice. I also own a Taurus Tracker in .41 Mag. That I know of, there is no custom ammo for this caliber, and if there were, it would be loaded so hot it would hurt to fire that 29 oz. pistol. I had to work up a load with a CP 250 gr. WFNGC at 1000 fps (Brian Pierce says any more is overkill, and the wild hog I dropped in its tracks agreed with Brian). Then there is the S&W 340 PD, a 12 oz. .357 that I load 180 CPs for at 900fps to carry in the White Mtns when hiking (fits in my pocket, the last thing I want to show my fellow hikers is a belt gun).
Bottom line, reloading will always be important, but I admit I dont load as much as I used to. As I see it, reloading is not dying, just dropping off a bit.

 

[grizz007]

the year that Gander sold out to Cabelas in their mailorder catalog or for in my parts they did themselves the injustice. I used to order from them all the time until the last 8yrs approx. Now I order thru Cabelas or Midway or Huntingtons and Brownells. I doubt they would say there in a sluff, if you ask them(cab,mid etc) they would say their sales are stable if not better. cheers.

 

[Ol` Joe]

If Gander Mountain stocked the components one wanted they would have better sales. I`ve went in their store here, and very rarely find the bullet or primers I`m looking for. They seem to stock powder to a point, but bullets are a once a year deal. I go in the store and see the same box of A-Frame 150 gr 277 cal bullets on the shelf by its self, or maybe with a dozen boxes of 90grs no one wants for 6-8 months before some other bullet in that caliber and wgt joins it. This is true with most of the calibers they stock, very limited and very rare restocking. They`ve lost the sales of at least 10-15 boxes of bullets in various calibers to me, per year over the last 5 years or so, and I`m sure I`m not the only one.
Ya can`t sell it if ya ain`t got it.

I do think mail order is taking a toll on bullet sales at most stores though. One can always order exactly what one wants and have it on hiw door step in a couple days at most.

 

[BigJakeJ1s]

I think maybe rifle reloading may be slowing down due to the availability of premium ammunition from several vendors. A recent article in Handloader on 8x57 reloads mentioned that Hornady's off the shelf 195gr ammo was within a hair's breadth of being as accurate as his best handload. The big 3 (rem, win, fed) still only offer slow, 170gr loads that aren't that accurate either.

However, pistol cartridge reloading is still alive and well, mostly for the money saved (or in most cases, the extra shooting for the same $). I shoot 45 colt, which would cost me >$15/box (50). But I can reload same or better for ~$5/box. Most pistol shooters shoot many more rounds/month than the average rifle shooter, so the $ savings is more important.

Andy

 

[Gator]

I disagree that reloading a slowing. More speciality tools, greater selection of brass/bullets/powder than ever before. Also keep in mind there are many more outlets. Reloading as a hobby is doing very well.

 

[FredN]

I think there are a few things going on here. One is mail order, it would cost a fortune to stock a complete line of reolading things, (bullets, powder, primers, presses, dies, brass, scales and on and on.) So to see how reloading is doing you would have to see how bullet sales from the mfg is. And they seem to be doing quite well. When I was at RCBS a few months ago they were quite busy. But my local Sportman's Warehouse stocks a pretty complete line, and they are competive with Midway.

That fancy factory stuff is very pricey, and then what do you do with that fancy case after you've shot it. I can handload .375 H&H for about the same price as a 30-06. It shoots at least as well as the $2.50 a round factory stuff. I can also load it at about 2100 fps and then it is fun to shoot.

I'm reloading more than ever, because I have the time and I enjoy it. I also have a 100 meter range outside my door.

For .40 Smith &Wesson and .45 ACP and 9X19 I buy the once fired factory reoladed stuff because it is cheap (($40.00 for 500 rounds) and I go through it so fast I don't have time to reload it and I don't like to reload semi-auto anyway. But other wise, every thing on my shelf is home made.

 

[Johnny Guttry]

I do not think reloading is a dying proposition,I just started a new loader reloading this past fall.

 

[Blaine]

It is not dying in my area. I know of 5 guys in my circle of friends that have started in the last year, and I live in a small town. It helps that a new Trading Post has opened up that carries reloading supplies incl. powder and primers. My men's group has asked me to give a demonstration to a group of men interested in getting started, too. I will be doing that in April. In a small town of less than 5000 people, I know of at least 20 that hand load, at least a little.

Blaine

 

[steve4102]

Gander Mnt. is a joke! Not only their reloading dept. but their entire hunting and shooting dept. If you want to purchase a 270, 30-06 or maybe a 308 they will have a sit load. If you want anything else like a 6.5x55, 260 Rem , 338WM forget it. They look at you like you are from Mars, "What, you want something other than our WalMart selection of goodies."

The last time I went into Gander Mnt. I tried to buy some 7mm bullets. Not one 7mm bullet in the entire store, not ONE. I was standing in from of their bullet selection when I asked the sales person if they had any 7mm bullets. He bent his head down and looked at the selection and said "Nope" and walked away. This is a Brand New multi million dollar store and they don't have sit.

I received a gift certificate from Gander this past Christmas, can't find anything to spend it on. Unless I want some nice yuppie cloths.

 

[jbdre]

Factory ammunition is better but very expensive compared to handloads of the same or better quality. Casual shooters don't reload but the rest of us are either rich or are reloaders. As far as I can tell reloading is going well. I don't think I could afford to shoot much at factory prices. In fact, most of my rifles have never fired a factory manufactured catridge.

 

[Blaine]

Gander Mnt. is a joke! Not only their reloading dept. but their entire hunting and shooting dept. If you want to purchase a 270, 30-06 or maybe a 308 they will have a sit load. If you want anything else like a 6.5x55, 260 Rem , 338WM forget it. They look at you like you are from Mars, "What, you want something other than our WalMart selection of goodies."

The last time I went into Gander Mnt. I tried to buy some 7mm bullets. Not one 7mm bullet in the entire store, not ONE. I was standing in from of their bullet selection when I asked the sales person if they had any 7mm bullets. He bent his head down and looked at the selection and said "Nope" and walked away. This is a Brand New multi million dollar store and they don't have sit.

I received a gift certificate from Gander this past Christmas, can't find anything to spend it on. Unless I want some nice yuppie cloths.

LL Bean is the same way. They opened up another store across from their main store in Freeport "devoted to hunting and fishing ONLY". I thought "Oh boy, Hand Loader Heaven". Took a trip done to check it out. The ENTIRE hunting section was smaller than my local trading post's. The reloader section could be missed entirely if you yawned while walking by it. The entire store (at least 90% of it) was filled with "hunting clothes" Yea right !!!! if you make $500K and can afford to pay $500 for a hunting coat that you will probably only use once. "Yuppie Heaven"

Blaine

What is the world coming to.....Old L.L. must be turning in his grave.

 

[wolfram]

Longwinter,

I agree with the other guys that it's mostly the store. I live in the Metro Detroit area. There is a Gander Mountain fairly close to me, but their variety is very limited. Why shop there when there's a big Cabelas not much further in Dundee? They have a very good selection of bullets, powder, and dies. I don't think that Gander Mountain is the best store to gauge reloading popularity. At least not in my area.

 

[longwinters]

Wolfram, I have often thought about going to the Cabelas in Dundee, but it would be a 9-10 hour drive from where I am in the U.P. I think I will keep going to GreenBay. :lol:

Long

 

[wolfram]

Wolfram, I have often thought about going to the Cabelas in Dundee, but it would be a 9-10 hour drive from where I am in the U.P. I think I will keep going to GreenBay. :lol:

Long

You're really up there if Green Bay is closer to you. You should come down for a visit to Cabelas during the summer. The traffic going your way will be light, and you'll be able to take a break from the tourists

 

[quarterbore]

If you have the equipment you can definetly reload premium type ammo for far less than you can buy it. But that said if you haven't already made the investment there aren't as many reasons to jump in as there used to be.

I am actually jumping in sort of, I reload but I used to use a set up of a family member's but recently moved too far away to still use it. So, I've got to buy all the kit except for the dies. Since I'm in the unique position to be in driving distance to Gander, Cabela's, Bass Pro, and Sportsman's Warehouse the reloading dept. in SW and Cabela's are far better than the rest, with SW having the lead.

I do think the ammo manufacturers have made it a tougher choice.

 

[Ol` Joe]

Wolfram, I have often thought about going to the Cabelas in Dundee, but it would be a 9-10 hour drive from where I am in the U.P. I think I will keep going to GreenBay. :lol:

Long

Longwinters, You might also want to try Jays in Clare, if you get in the lower. They have a pretty good inventory and are ~4-5 hours north of Dundee. I try to stop (wife willin`) everytime I get that way.

 

[longwinters]

For you Michiganders, I live 200 miles west of the bridge. And am 100 miles north of Green Bay (yes most here are Packer fans. This is also home stompin grounds to Steve Mariucci and Tom Izzo. I go to Ludington and Big Rapids several times a year and always stop at Jays in Gaylord. I think their prices are a little high, but never seem to leave without some type of purchase. :lol:

Long

 

[JD338]

Long,

Cabela's is going to be opening up a new store in Walker, which is NW if Grand Rapids. They seem to have a good selection of reloading supplies. Gander Mt offers just the basics for the most popular calibers.

I buy most of my supplies from a local guy who has a very good selection. He orders anything you want and is great to work with.It would be worth the trip to see him if you are down state. Let me know if you need his contact info.

Regards,

JD338

 

[DFinKY]

Hello to all, new here! Really don't think handloading is petering out. I've only been loadin' about 10 years, but have taught two friends in the last 7 mos. and my 12 year old son is so into it, that he could teach a class on it! I don't about the rest of you, but that "premium" stuff is just too pricey, and not as satisfying as coming up with a real shooter that you "rolled" yourself!