I don't read the magazines these days, but I've noticed that the other writers whom I go on shoots with don't save their brass. Which suits me just fine, since I can usually get some of them to save their empties for me. I just wish they wouldn't look at me as though I'm a fossil from the Pleistocene.
I think there are two reasons, at least -- (a) the better-known writers do a good bit of their shooting on sponsored shoots, with the new guns and the factory ammo provided, and (b) their shooting at home is usually to check-out new guns, again with provided ammo. Also, as long as the manufacturers are so willing to provide expendables, there's less work and time involved in requesting loaded ammo than there is in requesting the components and loading 'em in a variety of test loads.
Come to think of it, I guess I am a fossil from the Pleistocene after all -- I'd much rather get the components and load my own ammo. But I hesitate to give-out my load data to a sea of anonymous shooters, many of whom load their own but aren't handloaders. All it takes is one fool to get himself into trouble by "improving" one of my loads on his own.
I made the mistake of giving a good friend (an experienced and usually careful handloader) the data for a safe load, and he blew his new rifle into teensy-weensy pieces by using my charge weight with a much faster powder. (I know that you wouldn't do such a silly thing, but the guy down the street, now -- I'm not at all sure about him.) Anybody who's going to blow his rifle apart will have to do it all on his own -- start to finish -- without any help from me.
Besides, many of the newer editors whom I've been on shoots with are more interested in modern "music," the stock market, and professional sports than in guns, hunting, or shooting -- as shown by which topics they talk about most enthusiastically around the tables at the restaurants each evening. When I've turned the conversation to guns or shooting, it quickly gets switched back to modern "music," the stock market, and professional sports. Handloading? Forget about it! No interest.
One of my genuine writer friends called me one night -- had to tell somebody who'd commiserate but wouldn't tell me which editor of which magazine who'd just called him to acknowledge receiving his latest article and column manuscripts -- and to ask him two questions about 'em:
"What is a 'flash hole'?"
"What do you mean by 'key-holing'?"
Evidently, neither of these terms had appeared in any of the new-product announcements that editor had been reading.
I'm leery of any load data that come from writers and editors whom I don't know, personally, well enough to trust.
