Mid-Life Reloading vs. Buying Ammo Crisis

KyCarl said:
I have had Outstanding results with Copper Creek ammo!
Great bullet choices..Fine service..And they hang with reloads any day.
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I'm wondering how anybody at Copper Creek knows the powder weight "sweet spot" for any of my barrels. I'm wondering how they know the exact seat-depth my favorite bullets need to shoot optimum accuracy.

Because unless you get those things right, I am not going to get the accuracy with their loads that I get with my reloads, period!

Now, is my level of accuracy worth the many hours of load development, followed by the many hours of brass-prep every time I want to reload a batch? Well, that is matter of personal preference, but it is to me.

I'd also like to say this to the "no timers." Maybe I did it all wrong, but aside from a few years when I was a young adult, I have never let myself get suckered into a game of making money, parenting, husbanding, etc., that left me no time to do the things I wanted to do. Reduced time, when the kids were young? Sure. But no time? No way. Life is too short. Too many wives and kids turn out to be disappointments no matter what you do. I've seen it happen over and over.

As I heard Joseph Campbell say back in the '70's -- follow your bliss.
 
One very simple and easy question..Have you EVER tried anything from Copper Creek?
Or just talking...? They can use any bullet any powder any length you need.
They have done so many they know where to start! Try one of their Load Development
packs..Then get back to me!
 
KyCarl said:
One very simple and easy question..Have you EVER tried anything from Copper Creek?
Or just talking...? They can use any bullet any powder any length you need.
They have done so many they know where to start! Try one of their Load Development
packs..Then get back to me!
Click to expand...

Well, let's see some of your targets shot with their custom loads.

But remember, I enjoy reloading. Paying someone to load my recipe in new brass every order sounds like a pretty expensive way to go. Prolly best to leave that to the rich guys with no time.

I find the maximum base-to-shoulder length my chamber will allow and then set my shoulders back to suit. Every chamber is different, some by a lot. If I don't do that I do not get optimal accuracy, unless I just happen to get lucky (which is rare with factory ammo because most ammo makers make their ammo short enough to fit in just about any chamber).

Are they going to make sure their new brass is the perfect length for my chamber? No, of course not. What they're going to do is give me some BS about how that isn't important.

Lemme see targets from their last five customers. :)
 
Side step all you want..You have never tried it..So you have no point of reference.
You can type pages but you don't know what you are talking about if you have never done it!
Sit in the celler all you want I like to get out and do things1 And it's my money not yours I'll spend it as I see fit! Why do they have a dummy case tapped in the primer
and single bullets of the type you want? Hmmm I would think you might use such things to like ..measure chamber length or something like that??
https://coppercreekcartridgeco.com/
 
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KyCarl said:
Why do they have a dummy case tapped in the primer
and single bullets of the type you want? Hmmm I would think you might use such things to like ..measure chamber length or something like that??
Click to expand...

Those are Modified cases made by Hornady. I have one in every caliber I shoot. They are for measuring bullet seating depth, and have nothing to do with case length.

Apart from skipping that one, important aspect, I'm sure they make great ammo. But that means, like all other ammo makers, they are forced to buy brass that is on the short side, to be sure it will fit in everyone's chamber.

This issue is why you read so much talk about "fire-forming" brass and shoulder "set back." It's kind of important to accuracy wonks.

So, no thanks, I'm not going to "try" them out, just like I don't "just try" the other 20 "great ideas" that get shoved at me every week. If you use them and like them, enjoy. I'll stick to my reloading. :)
 
I realize that there is a lot of top quality ammunition commercially made, but it is mainly made for the most popular calibers. Some of the other calibers I shoot are very limited in selection, if you can find it at all. Or when was the last time you saw a box of say 17 Mach IV or 357 Maximum on the shelf? Sometimes reloading is the only way to go if you want to continue shooting that firearm.
And besides, what else am I going to do when the weather outside is -10 with a 25MPH wind in a snowstorm?
 
Wouldn't sell you your tools just yet. I got in a rut buying hornady precision hunter ammo (to collect brass). Supposed to be for the kids. Then i end up shooting critter after critter with the little creedmoor because it was accurate and easy. It nice to know i can buy 5 boxes when time is an issue. But its hard to imagine paying for loaded lapua or ultra mag and shooting a lot and trusting it for the loooong stuff.
 
KY_Windage said:
This issue is why you read so much talk about "fire-forming" brass and shoulder "set back." It's kind of important to accuracy wonks.

So, no thanks, I'm not going to "try" them out, just like I don't "just try" the other 20 "great ideas" that get shoved at me every week. If you use them and like them, enjoy. I'll stick to my reloading. :)
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That expresses what I was getting ready to post, if you are getting amazing reload level accuracy with any factory loads, great! Must cost a bit more than rolling your own though.

Got a can of IMR4895 that is in the Dupont can from early seventies, It still looks and smells right as well as shoots very well when working up different caliber loads (just haven't found a caliber where it's the best).

Boy has this thread gotten off original topic, guess I shouldn't have brought up storing components for use down the road. My bad, still think OP should hang onto his equipment, things always change with time. I had nothing to do with the factory load vs reload debate....I post on a reloading thread cause I reload. Dave
 
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KyCarl said:
Side step all you want..You have never tried it..So you have no point of reference.
You can type pages but you don't know what you are talking about if you have never done it!
Sit in the celler all you want I like to get out and do things1 And it's my money not yours I'll spend it as I see fit! Why do they have a dummy case tapped in the primer
and single bullets of the type you want? Hmmm I would think you might use such things to like ..measure chamber length or something like that??
https://coppercreekcartridgeco.com/
Click to expand...
I guess I am kind of curious as to how you can compare factory ammunition to the semi custom ammo you are buying from Copper Creek? Even premium ammunition as it is being tossed around is still one size fits all.
You paid for a load dev service, they store your info, you can make a call and repeat your purchase and it should be close.
Bag of Skittles compared to a toilet seat.

Make no mistake, Josh @ Copper Creek goes the extra mile for customers, and if I was to buy ammo, it would be from him. Just placed an order for a 25 saum modified case, this service invaluable to me.
 
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