Is shooting a hobby unto itself ?

Or just a way to reclaim brass so it may be reloaded again ?


.

Yes!

quote:

Originally posted by 30378:
Yes!

+10,000

Hammer ----- It certainly is for me. I am a hunter that has been reloading for 35 years and shoot to perfect loads for me my son and grandsons and hunting buddies. I burn 3000 plus rounds per year of all sizes from .22 Mag up to 50 BMG. I Elk hunt each year along with Deer hunting and skeet shooting (no included in my rifle shooting numbers). I make occasional trips to Alaska, Canada and one Safari to Africa with more to follow. I shoot on my private benchs three days a week, weather permitting and can get shots to 400 yards, which is my personal limit. In the winter I resize and work up loads for new rifles and those of my buddies who don't or wont take the time to do enough shooting necessary to perfect their loads. I am not a real technical reloader, but do a hell of a lot of it and enjoy every second. All that shooting is invaluable to me as a hunter. The general hunting public thinks a dozen shots per year is enough to do the job, and in some cases it may be, but I gaurantee that any shooting will help the shooter become more proficient, and the more the better. My chronograph is my best friend and tells me those little secrets the loads try to hide but can't. ----- Yes shooting is a hobby for me, like golf is to golfers, making me a better hunter, hopefully. Good shooting.

Shooting is the goal - reloading is just the enabler.

YMMV, of course.

Mark
Competitor and varminter, occasional hunter

I agree with everyone! Shooting comes first then you become addicted to handloading.

I'm a hunter first, but shooting season NEVER closes...so I shoot more than I hunt. I've been loading my own for 32 years now and find it most satisfying. I'm a far better shot (due to the large amount of practice) than I would've been had I been buying factory ammo.

As an aside, I had a steel gong (8" diameter circle) made that hangs on a frame. I practice shooting at it from field positions at unknown ranges. The clank a direct hit makes is cool...though not as cool as the whump of a boiler-room hit on game.

Coyote season never closes in Maine, and from Jan 1 to June 1 24 hour hunting except sunday

quote:

Originally posted by James Kain:
from Jan 1 to June 1 24 hour hunting except sunday

Gives you a day to reload .

Ken....

quote:

Originally posted by Hammer:
Is shooting a hobby unto itself ?.

Absolutely NOT. It is an addiction much like smokeing or alcohol only worse. roger.

Shooting is just a way of lenghtening the hunting season.

As I posted on the other forum

Shooting and reloading are like owning and driving a boat, shooting without reloading is like being a passenger on that boat, wishing you were driving but are too lazy or too cheap to buy a boat.

I enjoy shooting...and I dont shoot to be a loader...I have to load to shoot

Shooting isn't for "unloading"! I can't bring my self to shoot any of my finely crafted art work(reloads). I just marvel at their beauty. Occasionally I will fondle some of them. But when it's time to go shooting I stop at the store and buy some ammo. More brass to create more art work!

muck

quote:

Originally posted by woods:
As I posted on the other forum

Shooting and reloading are like owning and driving a boat, shooting without reloading is like being a passenger on that boat, wishing you were driving but are too lazy or too cheap to buy a boat.

I d have to say for some of the people I know its like owning a "pimped" SUV. You put all the bell's and whistles on it and leave it in the drive way idling, you have to keep feeding it gas! When you do decide to dive it, you only do 2 weeks after getting your drives license. You don't clean it and wonder why your 90k investment is worth 10k in 5 years.....

since I started reloading. I shoot so I could reload and shoot some more, its a nonstop cycle for me. Before I started I shot when I could but kept the brass of what I shot and what I found.

It started for me the love to shoot. The cost started getting to me. So I had a friend at the time show me how to reload and what it took. I have been reloading now for almost 5 years and will do so until I m dead!

I reload to shoot, I shoot to reload!

They perpetuate each other. Loaded brass needs to be shot and empty brass needs to be reloaded. Thats the way it works for me.