I absolutely love reloading. The pleasure I get from creating my own ammunition has never ceased, even though it’s been three decades since I began diligently rolling my own. And even when the ammunition shelves were bare, I could always head out to the bench and make my own stuff; there wasn’t a worry about having enough ammo on hand for target work, plinking or a hunting trip.
But, with the turmoil that was 2020 and 2021—what with riots in the streets and who-knows-how-many million new shooters coming on board—factory ammunition became nearly unobtainable … and reloading components followed suit very quickly.
Slowly, even my own personal supply of reloading components began to dry up, to the point where I shot less and put some stuff in the “emergency kit,” especially reserved to keep the hunting guns and defensive weapons properly fed. Calls to supply houses and even manufacturers resulted in the same “sorry, nothing here” reply.
But, after a drought, it finally seems like factory ammunition has made a return to the shelves—albeit with a higher price tag—and that has
