I reload as a hobby, initally as an appendage to shooting but eventually it turned into a hobby all on its own.
Can you imagine how self-satisfied I can be when I go shooting with friends in the desert, and they stop after firing a hundred or so rounds each of 9mm, .45, .38, .40 and .223, whereas I have brought a couple thousand of each caliber? The look of envy, as they sit idly by having exhausted the ammo they bought that morning and I continue to rapid fire thru 2 100-round twin-drum mags in my AR....THAT is priceless!
I have sold ammo to friends, and have reloaded on contract for them, but having to make a friend sign a waiver for the ammo kinda leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I don't do it very often, and not for batches less than a couple thousand. I price it less than Wallyworld ammo, and I still make a profit.
My daughter (who has recently gotten into IDPA shooting) burns thru 9mm ammo about as fast as I do, and we never have to worry about supply.
Zombie Apocalypse? Bring it on! I've got thousands upon thousands of rounds of all the calibers I shoot, and it will have to be quite a mass of zombies before I run out I am driven to beating them about the head with an empty gun.
My favorite pistols are short-barrelled (like the G26 and the G30), which tend to develop lower than maximum muzzle velocites. I can tailor my loads to attain max velocities without exceeding max chamber pressures by fooling around with my recipe (combination of primer, powder, and bullet). I can shoot really accurate and more importantly
consistently accurate rounds using rounds you usually cannot buy off-the-shelf, like using flat point hollow-bottom rounds.
Is it a religious experience? I think not. However, I know of a friend who had a primer detonation while seating primers, that caused sympathetic detonations that blew up the primer feed tube on his reloading press....100 primers joined together as one to blow up his reloader and puncture the ceiling of his garage. I suppose he may have had a religious experience out of it...
It's a hobby that allows me to enoy another hobby, saves me money (especially when considered as "how much would I have spent if I shot as much as I did today with ammo I bought off the shelf?"), earns me money (when I sell reloads), gives me great satisfaction (especially when others envy my contiued shooting long after they have run out of ammo), allows me to improve my shooting skills without regard as to cost of ammo, gives me confidence in knowing that when ammo becomes scarce I have more than I will ever really need, and in the final analysis, it is all about holding in your hands that shiny new round, knowing that you put it together with your own hands and are confident in everything you put into it.
One of my other hobbies, building model airplanes, also gives me great satisfaction and pride in the completion, but it's all about the process to get the visual result. I still build 'em, and I still spend on 'em, but they have never given me anything more than visual satisfaction. Another hobby, fishing, at least puts food on my plate.
Is it a distraction? Well, you need focus and concentration when setting up, but when I do a marathon reloading session, I do it in the living room in front of the TV.
Hope that helps.
Cheers!
