How many people here incorp. reloads into your supply of ammunition. if not why. reliability? (don't we trust our process or is there a better reason to not stock reloads?)

What do you mean by incorp?  Are we talking SHTF?  If so:

I have reloads but in all honesty I do it as a hobby for hunting, target shooting, and for a bit more level of self reliance.  Not including training and strictly SHTF type of situation, aside from world war 3 or civil war 2 what would have any one using more then a few hundred rounds individually in a realistic SHTF situation?  (That excludes walking dead or mad max.)

most of my stock is reloads.
I also have enough on hand to reload the brass many more times

I do...

I took Massad Ayoob's MAG40 course, and got lots of great info regarding the legal aspects of using lethal force to protect oneself and one's family.  Based on the info provided in that course (its detailed and I don't want to sidetrack this thread) I tend to prefer factory premium loads for self defense.  In addition, I can load a decent load, but I don't have access to components like Federal HST bullets, or good low flash powders.  Therefore, my defense guns are currently loaded with factory premium.  The shotgun has a magazine full of Fed Flight Control 00 Buck, the 1911 is loaded with Speer 200 +P Gold Dots, the Ar15 gets Win Ranger 64 PowerPoints, and the little Solo 9mm gets Federal 124 HST.

I tend to keep a couple hundred rounds of these premium loads on hand.  However, I really want more than a couple hundred rounds of each.  At $1 each for some of these, cost quickly becomes prohibitive.  Storing a 1000 rounds each of 9mm, 45, and 5.56 premium loads entails a $3,000.00 expenditure.  Thats a big steep for me (and I figure that $3000 could have better uses elsewhere).  

Therefore, I back up the factory stuff with good hand loads.  I shop components and buy in bulk on sale.  For example, I bought  a ton of blemished bullets (just tarnish) that turned out to be Hornaday XTP's.  I figure that my own hand loaded XTP's are a better performer than any factory cheapo FMJ load....  I achieve really big savings, which means I can store many more cartridges, when I start comparing things like factory 5.56 with various 62-64 soft points against my own hand loads with sierra 65 Gamekings....  Reloading also allows me to scavenge brass.  Local Border Patrol uses HK P2000's, and they walk off the local gun range and leave  couple thousand Federal .40 brass (and 556) lying in the dirt.  I'm not a huge .40 fan, but when brass is free, loads are cheap.  Cheap enough that I bought a .40 handgun just to service ton of .40 ammo I have cobbled together for low dollars.

I figure if its all gone to hell bad enough that I've burned through my supply of factory premium, all bets are off regarding a functioning legal system, and the shit has hit the  fan hard enough, with enough splatter factor, that I want stopping power better than can be afforded by Blazer Brass FMJ's in 9mm or 45....

I started reloading with a Lee hand press that you pounded the bullet in with a hammer....and ended with this thing.... in between about  340,000 reloads that allowed me to shoot USPSA competition for 30+ years... I stock 5.56 and shotshells

I'll be hitting the 20 year mark for my reloading career in February.

I trust my reloads, but I have so many components that I just leave them in non-reloaded form.  If somebody were to snatch them up and didn't know how to reload, they're not going to come back and bite me for the most part.

I have enough loaded stuff here for reasonable and personal needs, so I'm not unprepared.

In fact, a lot of the load recipes are locked in my brain, so I don't even need the manuals to get buy, should things go dwanky on us in the future.

Loaded ammo and unloaded components are heavy, so if people need to skedaddle at the drop of a dime, lots of stuff will be left behind.  The scavengers are less likely to take the components, than they are loaded ammo, IMO.

Another reason to leave them unloaded.

Chris

Store factory ammo
Save all brass
Reload for hobby, but maintain capability

I've been a reloader of 25+ years.

I have fired some of my own loads that were over 18 years old. No problems at all.
These were "stored" in tupperware and/or plastic ammo boxes (no cans) in a damp basement that I run a dehumidifier in.

Quite honestly, I don't see any problem at all with relying on one's own reloads.
In fact, I prefer it for rifle ammunition.  

Though I think a lot of current, domestically produced sporting ammunition is consistent and accurate, I prefer "knowing" for sure what to expect from ammunition.

Y43.

I can't hear you over the awesome sound of my DILLON XL650

I do.   My reloads have a better record than factory

It is a critical part in more ways than one. Without the cost reduction of reloaded ammo I could not hope to maintain, let alone improve, my skill level and that of family members. It is much easier for me to buy a thousand primers than a thousand rounds of something do to financial constraints. Many calibers share bullets, powders, and primers, so if I see a good deal on a rifle I can probably just buy a set of dies and get to shooting, slowly building up a bit of brass as I go. Stocking dies and common components also means I can probably reload stuff I find that I don't have ammo set aside for should things get stupid.

Thats all I use  308 147 FMJ 168 AMax and 175 BTHP  223 55gr and 62  as well as 115 9mm and 230gr 45 acp

There are some calibers I reload, that I've never even bought factory ammo for.

Any possible SHTF ammo(factory or reloads) I may take will be dependent on the weapon I take.

Factory ammo is best for sale/trade. Also good for checking against your reloads, which should be better. Other than that, everything I shoot are my reloads.

I store both, but for calibers I reload for, I mainly shoot just reloads in summer (when I can find the brass) and tul ammo in winter (when the hot brass falls in the snow to not be found until summer with the lawn mower )

This is my plan as well. Although , I do have some cans of handloads that are my best work and would trust them with my life. Once fired LC cases, 62gr bullets and varget.

I don't have more than a few factory loaded rounds in my entire house.


I take that back, I have 250 shotgun shells I bought for a trap shoot... because I don't have my shotshell press setup yet.

How do you use a blender to load bullets?









Nice set up  

A good portion of the ammo I own is my reloads.  Nothing exotic, just a few boring, proven loads using one pistol powder and one rifle powder to keep it simple.

As we have seen, ammo can be the means of disarming the people through shortage or prohibition.

Why not? Mine are better than factory.

The only factory ammo I keep on hand is limited personal/home defense ammo, mil surplus ammo and some small amounts of normal factory loads for function testing new guns.



Everything else is my handloads, which meet or exceed factory specs and performance (I load for accuracy, as a high velocity miss does nothing to help you).

I reload all my rifle rounds, I use factory rounds in the G23 and gp100 I haven't seen the advantage for pistol
rounds giving the amount I shoot pistol, and the storys I heard about glocks and reloads and I  won't take the chance..

At this time I don't have any reloads in my preps, maybe in the future.

About 80% of my ammo is stuff that I've reloaded.

I use reloading to maintain my ammo supply.

I shoot in competitions every other weekend. If I didn't reload I couldn't do that.

I like buying quality ammo and putting that back and shooting my reloads and cheap ammo for practice.

Just finished a batch of M2 ball reloads for my Garands. About 100rds were 150gr SP hunting loads.
I've got no problems relying on my reloaded ammo for serious use.

My thought has always been (and have been reloading for 40+ years), what if, just what if when (and if) the hammer falls (an extreme SHTF situation - maybe like marshal law with accompanying confiscation), where do you get ammunition?  Or what if all your (and neighbors) ammunition is gone: what's left? If you're planning for real, prep for real.  If (just if) there's a true SHTF situation, probably you and yours are not going to get a 'do over'.  Just saying ...............

don't wait too long,,,,when things get stupid again you won't be able to fine (in order)
small rifle & pistol primers
powder
some bullets
some dies

buy & stock up in that order; use online load data to determine what powder to get;
I personally load for range use, but in a pinch it'll work for most anything;

for hunting it takes time to develop a load; right now most of all that stuff is easily
available (at least in Central Tx powder is easy to get)

good luck

Yes, my reloads are up to par or better.

This is what I do.

Just about all my centerfire rifle shooting is reloads.  I have good factory ammo for storage, and components to supplement that (rolling my own is far cheaper than factory ammo).

Dialing in some loads that have good accuracy and shoot to similar points of impact as your preferred factory ammo is a good way to learn more about your rifle.

I mostly shoot my reloads, but sometimes shoot factory stuff. I mostly store factory stuff, but the fact that I reload means I end up stocking reloads as well. As others have said, I keep a lot unloaded in component form. No real tactical or strategic reason for that; it's just that sometimes I come across a load/bullet I want to try, and having non-assembled components on hand just keeps things more versatile.

That said, I'd absolutely trust my loads in a defensive situation if need be.



Which press is that?