ROD AND GUN Reloading: Costly But Absorbing

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30633, 26 December 1964, Page 14

ROD AND GUN Reloading: Costly But Absorbing

Reloading your own ammunition is an absorbing and satisfying hobby in its own right and it has enjoyed a boom in popularity in New Zealand—so much so that prices for reloading com-

(Specially written for "The Press'' by

J. SIERS]

ponents have skyrocketed and it is hardly economical to load your own shells.

Reloading became popular on two fronts—with the specialist competitive shooter who would experiment until he could find the load best suited for accuracy and the hunter, who could “soup-up” loads for a bit more velocity to ensure cleaner kills.

A third reason to play an important part was the economy of the system. You can always tell a reloader when shooting in the field. He has a well-develop-ed knack of catching the empty brass case as it is being ejected from the chamber. The brass is then put through a sizing die and the expanded neck of the case is re-sized to accept the projectile, mounted in a separate die. As the neck is sized down,

a pin knocks out the old primer at the same time. With some bench-press systems a new primer is seated in the same operation and the case swung to accept a new load of powder. Most bench press systems, however, do only one job at a time. The “brass,” or the case, is the most expensive component. With careful treatment a case can be used 20 or more times.

Until fairly recently, excluding the cost of the case, it was possible to reload highvelocity, expensive ammunition (up to Is 9d a cartridge) for a little over 7d. Now it costs a minimum of a shilling for something in the 270 calibre. Once, it cost me 6d a cartridge and with gay abandon I could squander up to 30 shots in a day’s practice on the range with my 270. Now, I’ll have to think of joining

a rifle club and shooting .303 s prone and from a sling, a system that does not particularly appeal to a game shooter.

If a comparison of component costs with overseas is fair, someone in New Zealand is making a very handsome profit. For example, it costs nearly three times as much for a pound of du Pont 4320 powder here as in America. The cost of Primers and projectiles is also doubled. There is no duty to pay except a negligible 2s 6d on a hundredweight of bullets.