Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles Keep it in components or bulk load!

How many rounds of worked up loads for individual rifles do you keep on hand? Have rifles I seldom use but have too many rounds of of ammo preloaded to get rid of rifle? Thinking 50 rounds of verrified rounds would meet my needs. Any more with change in future powder variations would have to adjust future loads.

It depends on the usage for me.

I don't shoot my 300 Savage or 308 much, so I usually only keep 50-60 loaded rounds for each.

Now, something like 32 S&W Long, 45 Colt, or 303 Savage that I take out and plink a bunch of ammo through for fun, I usually keep 200-500 loaded, because I might go out and blow through a couple hundred rounds on a longer plinking day.

if it is a rifle I hunt with most of the time, about 50 rounds.
High volume varmint rounds 300-400

This

Deer/hog rifles with a proven load get 30-50 rounds on standby, usually.

If it's a new bullet I'm wanting to try on animals, I might only load 15-20 after load workup and zero. That's enough to shoot several critters and confirm zero again if need be.

Hunting rifles get 20 rounds loaded. Pistols, AR’s get hundreds.

For the rifle i hunt the most i usually have 50 60 made up.

The back ups i have about 20 or so.

The 556,25-45 Sharps,458 SOCOM have about 200 or so.

It won't take long to make more if needed.

I only load 20 for my hunting rifles. That will last me for a while.

100 to 200 rds. Per hunting rifle

I've pretty much bought all the rifles I'm going to buy. If I buy another it will be something I don't have and will need components anyway.

Another thing, I'm done loading for individual rifles. My ammo will be able to be used in any rifle the cartridge is appropriate for. It might not be as accurate as loads made up for a specific rifle, but it will work just fine. Basically, I'm putting together factory equivalent ammo.

Along with that thought process, I decided that components on the shelf ain't worth a damn when a weapon is needed. I've spent most of the year thus far, loading for all that I have. Still got a long way to go getting it done. When I'm finished, my 4 and 9 year old grandsons will still be using my ammo when I'm gone. I will always have handgun and .223 ammo to load at the rate my bunch wants to shoot it.

Sounds like sacrilege to most on here I'm sure, but that's where I'm at.

Less and less as the years go by, and as the firearm inventory increases. This year loaded just five rds .375R.

I load up 150-200 rounds for most rifles, more for the 223. Like to have 300+ of handgun rounds for each caliber. The guns I have more than one of, I do as Aboltfan mentioned in that I load up a factory equivalent more or less that shoots well in all of them. I have not yet had an animal killed with such ammo complain.

Most of my shots at big game are well under 200 yards. I have no interest in shooting big game over about 450 yards. My longest shot ever on big game was an elk at a lazered 342 yards. You do not need 1/4 inch groups for those ranges. I am more than satisfied with anything around an inch but I do have a few loads that will shoot about 1/2 inch if I do my part.

TT,

I spent many years loading ammo for specific guns chasing the last 1/4 inch of accuracy and the last ten fps of velocity. That was when I was loading for myself. As my family and my brothers matured, they started shooting and hunting.

I'm the ammo maker for pretty much the whole family. As such, it really got to be a pain keeping ammo separate for individual guns. I load for many rifles, using the same cartridge, owned by different family members. As you noted, no animals have complained of being shot with inferior ammo.

Go to an estate sale and see what that kind of stuff sells for.

You will have your answer.

I reload in spare time, with the TV or radio one, when no one else is home, when I don't have much else to do. That way I always have plenty of ammo when I want to shoot and don't have to do any mad dashes to get ready. No surprise low supplies, suddenly I don't have the primers I THOUGHT I had.

Over the past few days I'd shot up a couple boxes of 45-70s just playing around deciding if I want the peep sight or blade and groove irons and getting them both set up a couple different times. Finally noticed something that was most likely been giving me a problem with it for a couple years or more now. Got if figured out and shoots great. Thanks to I had plenty of ammunition for something I was rarely shooting.

I also cast and have plenty of lead. I can telly casting up that scrap lead in to bullets significantly increases the value of that lead and what is the point of having it if you never intend to use it?

KK Alaska: My Big Game Hunting Rifles I keep 50+ rounds on hand per each.
My Colony Varmint Hunting Rifles I try to keep 100+ rounds on hand per each.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

I keep a reserve for AR's and handguns.

For hunting rifles it varies.

Several .223AI's, 6.5 CM's, and .308's that I both shoot and hunt a lot I'll try to load 200-300 rounds at a time. I'm bad about running through the ammo when I start shooting so I try to keep 20-30 in a zip lock separate so I don't end up having to reload when time is tight during hunting season. More than once I've come back from shooting with nothing but empty brass when that wasn't the plan....the zip lock hold back is nice to have.

For a .358 Win I often hunt with but rarely spend time shooting I'll only load 50 or so rounds and that will last a long time. A couple of weeks ago I had 11 rounds, checked zero with 2, went hunting with 9, 1 shot to kill a buck....now I'm at 8, still enough to hunt with. No rush to reload for it....I might have an extra rifle or two.

Someone else mentioned this and I'm with them on generic loads. With the 6.5 CM's and .308's I shoot generic loads. I may be leaving a little velocity and tiny precision on the table but if it's under MOA with 3 rifles and is killing stuff well the extra hassle of individual loads isn't worth it to me.

For the majority of my hunting rounds, I load 50 for each load. I do have a few exception like my .338 WM. I have 36 loaded for it. The load I developed was for a 210 gr. Partition. I ran out of those bullets and the new partitions I bought off a member here, have a different ogive measurement. I will test those rounds out in the spring and probably load all I have and it will last me a while. For my 6 ARC and 6.5 Grendel, once I get more components I’ll probably keep 500 rounds of each on hand. Since I don’t load for my .223/5.56 rifles or pistols, I just get what I can guy at the store for those.

Even a bit less per hunting rifle, maybe more for handgun & 5.56. But I don’t live far from where we hunt. Easy to refuel.

Not a reloading maniac but I go by the single pound yield.

Hunting rifles get about 100 rounds loaded ammo. I keep 500 rounds of varmint ammo loaded up. 223 ammo for my AR's I have about 1,200 loaded. 6.5 Creedmoor for long range competition 600+ loaded rounds. Tons of primed brass for everything I load for...