Does hand-loading increase your enjoyment of shooting?

[Ballistol]

Back in the day, I remember several club members who derived more pleasure from handloading than the actual shooting itself, and delighted in sharing out their latest creations.
Rose tinted glasses may be clouding my memory, but it seemed that everybody who shot was an active reloader, it may have been driven by pistol ownership, and the large amounts of ammunition being shot at the time. I reckon less than roughly half of all shooters now reload.
I became obsessed with the manufacture of the perfect round at an early age, and spent an age measuring, weighing, sorting, etc. in an effort to reduce variation of components and processes.I was told by a very experienced member “You’re chasing shadows lad”, and you know what he was right, but for me it’s worth it when all the planets align and the the target reflects your hard work.
The cost savings involved in loading ammunition are still there, but have considerably diminished of late, most of us will remember the penny a primer days

[WelshShooter]

Hand loading is necessary for some calibres. My two examples are 6.5x47 Lapua and 7.62x53mmR.

The former is a ridiculous calibre to buy factory ammo for (like £4 a round when I first checked about 6 years ago) but hand loading costs me about £0.50 a round which makes it a viable option nowadays. My rifle was built before 6.5 Creedmoor appeared in the UK, so had I waited, I probably would've gone for the CM to have factory ammunition available.

The latter is a not a typo for 7.62x54mmR (same round as Russian Mosin Nagant). I have a Finnish Mosin Nagant which has a tighter bore so can shoot 30 cal rounds instead of the 311cal rounds normally used in 7.62x54mmR ammunition. As far as I'm aware, 7.62x53mmR doesn't exist on the shelf as ready made ammo so I have to make it myself.

I enjoy tinkering with things, so finding a more affordable, accurate round for my rifle is worth the investment. Just don't ask us how much we've spent on all the reloading gear...

[John Gunn]

ABSOLUTELY!
I have almost complete independence of my ammo supply. I keep plenty of parts in stock and I love to find just what load shoots straightest!!
I currently have 4 presses in intermittent use, though one of the Dillon Square deals will have to go soon! I'm shooting less pistol ammo since the ban...

[waterford103]

In a word --- YES !

[Mauserbill]

Hello
Only by 1000%

[Vossie]

I get a lot of satisfaction from loading 577/450, just as much as the shooting of it. I now also load 44-40 in black powder as well, so yes it really does increase my enjoyment.

Doh double post

[Mike 01]

In answer to the question, yes - but only just! I reload mainly 308 Win, for which you can obviously buy very good target quality ammunition (e.g. GGG). However, you can't readily buy factory ammunition that has been assembled using my preferred bullet types such as the Sierra 2156, Berger 155.5 or HBC Dyer 155 gr bullets. The same applies, for Match Rifle, to the Berger 215 gr or Hornady 208. So, I spent hours (or more accurately days) making my rounds very slowly and carefully. If it weren't for the radio, I would have collapsed from boredom long ago. On the bright side, the finished product usually works well, and by the time I come to fire the rounds, I've largely forgotten the endless tedium of making them.

[Geek]

I enjoy reloading, although case prep is tedious so I do it in stages over a period of time. Once all cases are prepared, I can load when I need to do.