Bought a Belgian guild double rifle in 9.3x74R and went to the range with several commercial loads. This is the first I tried...PPU 285gr SP....shot the pair to the right and then adjusted the scope and shot another pair all at 50yds. The owner said the gun shot well...and I believe him.

Why reload?
1.For many ammo may not be available for many calibers.
2.If ammo is available it is usually quite expensive.
3.Reloaded ammo can be adjusted for a proper target.
4.It's just a fun and relaxing hobby.
5.Many older doubles require bullets with various diameters that may not be loaded commercially.
Cal

In my case I use my 470NE to hunt feral pigs. 500gr heavy jacket factory load soft points are not the best choice but hand loading 480 Ruger pistol bullets that regulate at 50 yards works great.

quote:

Originally posted by cal pappas:
Why reload?
1.For many ammo may not be available for many calibers.
2.If ammo is available it is usually quite expensive.
3.Reloaded ammo can be adjusted for a proper target.
4.It's just a fun and relaxing hobby.
5.Many older doubles require bullets with various diameters that may not be loaded commercially.
Cal

All great points. For me, it's mainly items No. 2 and 3.

No.3 allow you to pretty much shoot whatever bullet you want by giving you the flexibility to fine tune the load to your rifle's regulation.

No.2 - Oh Boy. Start shooting 200 to 300 rounds of 500NE on a yearly basis and compare the price of reloaded ammo vs factory fodder. The savings add up quickly.

I see the OP is describing his experience with a scoped. 9.3X74R. My experience with the same set up is described in a thread somewhere on the forum. Bottom line is that my rifle shot anything I fed it as long as the scope is off. Put the scope on and everything went to hell. But I wanted to use the 9.3 as my light rifle, taking over longer range duties. I went through 11 or 12 load combinations before I found one that the rifle would shoot satisfactorily with both barrels. That type of fine tuning is not available with factory loads. Shooting factory loads, it either works out or you have to send the rifle in for re-regulation.

My question was rhetorical...I have already started reloading for this gun...but out of the box ammo that shoots well is a plus.

Cost.
Flexibility.
I like to do things myself.

I don't save any money. I get bored in the winter and go out and load another 1000 rounds or more that I will never live long enough to shoot..Its relaxing for me..but for the once a year big game hunter its probably not a money savor..Its a costly investment to start with and you must justify the cost with a pencil not a guess...For some a box of ammo lasts several years, for some 15 or 20 years..

Its a double edged sword, I am a reloading addict, I need to actually kick the habit. Reloading can become a hording situation. Think about your widow having to dump a lifetime of ammo loaded over 70 years..If I live to be 200 I could not shoot up my supply of reloaded ammo. and another winter is coming up..

quote:

Originally posted by cal pappas:
Why reload?
1.For many ammo may not be available for many calibers.
2.If ammo is available it is usually quite expensive.
3.Reloaded ammo can be adjusted for a proper target.
4.It's just a fun and relaxing hobby.
5.Many older doubles require bullets with various diameters that may not be loaded commercially.
Cal

All of the above! Add to the fact that factory ammo is not always loaded the same over time because the powder used, though numbered the same, may have a different lot Number changing the way a double rifle regulates. The Key to long term consistency in loads for a double rifle is to obtain as much of one lot as you can find, once a regulating load is found. Buy 100 new brass, and save it for the double you are loading for.


…………...The best one can do is re-load for any double rifle once the recipe is found, and load all 100 cases and store away for later hunts.
………………………………………………...

quote:

Originally posted by MacD37:

quote:

Originally posted by cal pappas:
Why reload?
1.For many ammo may not be available for many calibers.
2.If ammo is available it is usually quite expensive.
3.Reloaded ammo can be adjusted for a proper target.
4.It's just a fun and relaxing hobby.
5.Many older doubles require bullets with various diameters that may not be loaded commercially.
Cal

All of the above! Add to the fact that factory ammo is not always loaded the same over time because the powder used, though numbered the same, may have a different lot Number changing the way a double rifle regulates. The Key to long term consistency in loads for a double rifle is to obtain as much of one lot as you can find, once a regulating load is found. Buy 100 new brass, and save it for the double you are loading for.


…………...The best one can do is re-load for any double rifle once the recipe is found, and load all 100 cases and store away for later hunts.
………………………………………………...

Perhaps this is more important for doubles, but this logic applies to any rifle. Hell, consistency is why I buy my LR bullets in sets of 500 with the same lot number.

And let's face it: certain rifles just don't like certain bullets and powders. I have a .375 I bought off an AR member that wouldn't group 2 inches with two powders, but tried RL 19 and viola: great groups with Barnes, Swift, and Speer GS.

While I'll check out a new gun/cartridge combo with factory loads initially, to see what to expect out of it and usually to get some fired brass, reloading enables me to shoot stuff there are hard to come by or no factory loads for. With the price of stuff like the 450-400 these days I can load from 3-4 boxes for the price of one factory. The cost over a number of years vs the versatility and opportunities it gives me is negligible.

quote:

Originally posted by JonP:
Bought a Belgian guild double rifle in 9.3x74R and went to the range with several commercial loads. This is the first I tried...PPU 285gr SP....shot the pair to the right and then adjusted the scope and shot another pair all at 50yds. The owner said the gun shot well...and I believe him.

Cal's list is a good list-

in this case- per your pictures-
what do you plan to shoot with the Prvi loads
(they are a historically a pretty soft cup and soft core with variable in field performance)

IF lighter game -- all is good
IF heavy game -perhaps not

since your 9.3 and my 375FL are on the lighter end of the DG spectrum- (have a 9.3 as well)

i would tend to reload for your rifle with a superior projectile,
that is unless, i found a superior projectile in a factory load that worked well

have been reloading for 50+ years,
as a kid it was an economic necessity,
later it was fun and i fell in love with very many "exotic" calibers-

now, as a senior citizen,
only when i can not purchase a good load or
i simply have the free time--

reloading for reloading's sake has in general left the realm of my current desires for my time expenditure

The last time I hunted with a factory load, I was 10 years old on my first deer hunt. My Dad taught me how to reload shortly thereafter. We would do it in the garage with Dad supervising me as he drank a beer and listened to the ballgame. I enjoyed being entrusted to do the job and as a perk, I got to go shoot more! The satisfaction I get from using my handloads on game is almost as much as I get from using a rifle that I barrelled up and stocked myself. I have handloaded for friends that have hunted all over NA and Africa. They trusted me for their DG loads and in a small way, I was then a participant in their successful hunt. There is a lot of satisfaction in "rolling your own" and I have yet to meet a rifle that cannot be improved on with a carefully chosen handload. To me, handloading is just a natural extension of the shooting hobby.

quote:

Originally posted by lee440:
The last time I hunted with a factory load, I was 10 years old on my first deer hunt. My Dad taught me how to reload shortly thereafter. We would do it in the garage with Dad supervising me as he drank a beer and listened to the ballgame. I enjoyed being entrusted to do the job and as a perk, I got to go shoot more! The satisfaction I get from using my handloads on game is almost as much as I get from using a rifle that I barrelled up and stocked myself. I have handloaded for friends that have hunted all over NA and Africa. They trusted me for their DG loads and in a small way, I was then a participant in their successful hunt. There is a lot of satisfaction in "rolling your own" and I have yet to meet a rifle that cannot be improved on with a carefully chosen handload. To me, handloading is just a natural extension of the shooting hobby.

……………………………..ABSOLUTELY!!!!! I load for all my rifles and handguns except the .22 pistols, and I don't own but one rifle that simply will not regulate no matter what I try, so it is going to either Aaron Little, or JJ for regulation!

…………………………………………………...Each barrel shoots 1.5 in groups but the barrels seem to be on different rifles for composite grouping.
…………………………………………………………..

Mostly it’s because you want to, an extension of the shooting hobby as someone already noted.
With the big stuff, most people will not bear the cost of enough factory ammo to achieve and maintain proficiency. How many practice rounds are going to be fired at $150-250 a box?
I cast lead bullets for low velocity practice ammo for my 470. Paid for the casting set up with the first batch of bullets. I can burn 50 of those in a session, and load cheap Hornady DGS for full tilt practice ammo.
I hunt with North Forks, but don’t need them to put holes in paper.

I could have done better if I only had one 30-06 and 2000 rounds of 180 gr. corelokts.

therapeutic...

quote:

Originally posted by jorge:
therapeutic...

Yes, it most certainly is!