Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters How many do you load?

When load development is finished, how many do you load and put away?

Just enough for the season? A box of twenty, forty, 50?

Just curious as to what you keep on hand for hunting and what you just go and load for as season approaches.

Good question. The short answer for me is only as much as I will shoot up within a year or so.
Here is my completely unscientific reasoning. Several years ago I commented to a guide who does a lot of competition shooting that when I was preparing for our hunt I shot a few rounds to check my zero and was disappointed in the accuracy. Thinking there was something wrong with my rifle or optic I checked all of the usual things like action screws and cleaned the barrel then switched scopes none of which solved the problem. At this point I needed to load some more ammo and voila, accuracy restored.
My friend said he had seen the same thing with his competition rifles and theorized that the culprit was possibly bullets welding in the case neck and messing up the neck tension. I have never tried to prove that but now only load up smaller quantities.
Be interested if anyone has experienced similar or has proved/disproved this.

Usually load up about 30ish, enough to verify zero, enough in case I switch scopes, and when the hunt actually begins I like to have 7 or 8 with me. I have never had any cold welding take place in any cartridge, possibly because I never clean or tumble brass, carboned necks won't weld in my experience.

About 40 once loads are developed. I shoot a ton of hogs and whitetail does. Makes for good bullet performance testing as well.

I just worked up a load that I'm quite happy with. I loaded an extra 40 and put them in a marked case for my hunt.

Generally a full box, but it really depends on what cartridge it is for and how much I shoot said rifle. I may load up 300, but it all depends.. They don't make boxes that hold 40, so that is stupid..

Usually 50 for most cartridges, a bunch of 223’s and 308’s

For the first thirty-five years or so of reloading i would always load a hundred round box of the preferred load for a rifle that was intended for fairly steady hunting, even though it would sometimes take me years to use them up. Then, after having an 8 lb jug of one powder go bad and my 14-15 lb stash of old 4831 go bad as well (w/i a couple of months of each other), I stopped that practice. I only had one large batch of loads with one of the affected powder, but that was enough. I now load a box (20) or so at a time. It's no problem...anyway, I get to try more new powders/bullets and combinations that way.

Thought better of it, after the fact.

Typically 50 cartridges, more for varmint rifles. I normally pack 40 cartridges in two plastic 20rd cases for a hunting trip.

Some big rifles only might get 20-30 rounds loaded at a time. Most get 30-50 rounds. A few rifles that shoot factory ammo will often have half a dozen boxes on standby.

That box that you have pictured holds 40 rds.-----JUST TAKE OUT 10 rds.!!!

Hip

Once a load is established - 50 at a time. When I get down to 10 or so I load up the balance to 50.

For load development, could take 10 or 50+ depending on my requirements and the particular rifle. If it’s taking 50+ then the rifle better sure be worth it.

My .02

50 for big game, in the hundreds for ground squirrels/coyotes. Also depends how much powder is left in the can. No point in not finishing up an almost empty can of powder. Same goes with bullets. Why leave 8 or 10 bullets sit on the shelf. For pistols I'll load up until all the bullets are gone.

Once I get a load developed for a particular rifle, I'll usually load one or two hundred rounds, plus what's left in the open box I've been working on. I like to shoot my rifles.

At least 50, so I can get some shooting in with that recipe before the season. Of course current things being what they are, that can change.

Usually fifty which is why I have not developed a load in many years.

A weekend match may require 200

For hunting, usually 50 rounds. For competition, usually several hundred. Most of my loading for competition is 9mm on a Dillon 750 XL.

I'll typically have 200 rounds loaded and ready to go for most of my bolt guns.