Editing Handloading (section)

== Advantages ==
Some consider handloading [[Cartridge (firearms)|cartridges]] or [[Shotgun shell|shotshells]] a hobby, but reloading can save the shooter money, providing a greater quantity of higher quality ammunition within a given budget. However, hobbyists' enjoyment of the reloading process may be a significant benefit.

=== Economy ===
Handloading ammunition avoids the [[labor costs]] of commercial [[production lines]], reducing the expenditure to only the cost of purchasing components and equipment.  Reloading may not be cost effective for occasional shooters, as it takes time to [[return of capital|recoup the cost]] of needed equipment, but those who shoot more frequently will see cost-savings over time, as the brass cartridge cases and shotgun shell hulls, which are often the most expensive components, can be reused with proper maintenance.

=== Improved ballistic performance ===
There are three aspects to [[ballistics]]: [[internal ballistics]], [[external ballistics]], and [[terminal ballistics]]. Internal ballistics refers to things that happen inside the firearm during and after firing, but before the bullet leaves the muzzle. The handloading process can realize increased accuracy and precision through improved consistency of manufacture, by selecting the optimal bullet weight and design, and tailoring bullet velocity to the purpose. Each cartridge reloaded can have each component carefully matched to the rest of the cartridges in the batch. Brass cases can be matched by volume, weight, and concentricity, bullets by weight and design, powder charges by weight, type, case filling (amount of total usable case capacity filled by charge), and packing scheme (characteristics of granule packing).<ref name=rrc/>

Handloading is a fundamental prerequisite for success where the most extreme accuracy is demanded, such as in rifle [[benchrest shooting]],<ref>{{cite journal |title=Reloading Techniques for Match-Grade Loads |journal=Shooting Sports USA |date=August 2018 |author=Stanton L. Wormley Jr. |url=https://www.ssusa.org/articles/2018/8/29/reloading-techniques-for-match-grade-loads }}</ref> but can only be done consistently accurately following load development to determine what cartridge components work best with a specific rifle.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Load Development Methods |website=LoadDevelopment.com |date=October 2020 |author=A.J. Deysel |url=https://www.loaddevelopment.com/load-development-methods/ }}</ref>

Customized performance is a common goal of handloaders.  [[Hunter]]s may desire cartridges with specialized bullets with specific [[terminal ballistics|terminal performance]].  [[Shooting sports|Target shooters]] often experiment extensively with component combinations in an effort to achieve the best and most consistent bullet [[external ballistics|trajectories]], often using cartridge cases that have been [[Fire forming|fire formed]] in order to best fit the [[chamber (firearms)|chamber]] of a specific firearm.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Reloading 101 part II: starter kits |journal=Guns Magazine |date=September 2008 |author=John Taffin |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BQY/is_9_54/ai_n27963825/pg_1?tag=artBody;col1 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090203181439/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BQY/is_9_54/ai_n27963825/pg_1?tag=artBody%3Bcol1 |archive-date=2009-02-03 }}</ref>  Shotgun shooters can make specialty rounds unavailable through commercial inventories at any price.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Five Reasons to Handload Shotshells |journal=American Rifleman |date=April 2017 |author=Aaron Carter |url=https://www.americanrifleman.org/content/5-reasons-to-handload-shotshells }}</ref>  Some handloaders even customize cartridges and shotshells to reduce recoil for shooters who might otherwise avoid shooting sports because of the high recoil of certain firearms.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Gunpowder Selection for Controlling Recoil |journal=Shooting Sports USA |date=June 2017 |author=Brad Miller, Ph.D. |url=https://www.ssusa.org/articles/2017/6/19/gunpowder-selection-for-controlling-recoil }}</ref>  Some handloaders make [[overpressure ammunition|increased-power ammunition]] (i.e. "hot loads") if higher [[muzzle velocities]] (hence flatter trajectories) are desired.

=== More versatility over commercial ammunition ===
The equipment used to assemble the cartridge has an effect on its uniformity/consistency and optimal shape/size. [[Die (manufacturing)|Die]]s used to size the cartridges can be matched to the chamber of a given gun. Modern handloading equipment enables a firearm owner to tailor fresh ammunition to a specific firearm, and to precisely measured tolerances far improving the comparatively wide tolerances within which commercial ammunition manufacturers must operate. 

Recurring shortages of commercial ammunition are also reasons to reload cartridges and shotshells.  Store-bought ammunition may be unavailable when commercial supplies are exhausted, but having the ability to reload one's own cartridges and shotshells allows continue shooting despite shortages.

Handloaders can also experiment with resizing and create newer-specification cartridges for which no commercial equivalent has ever existed — so-called [[wildcat cartridge]]s,<ref name=nonte_14>Nonte, chapter 14, "Case Forming: Making What You Need from What You've Got."</ref> some of which can eventually acquire mainstream acceptance if the ballistic performance is proven to be good enough.<ref>{{cite journal |title=DIY Rifle Cartridges: Wildcatting Made Easy |journal=Shooting Illustrated |date=April 2019 |author=Richard Mann |url=https://www.shootingillustrated.com/articles/2019/4/10/diy-rifle-cartridges-wildcatting-made-easy }}</ref> Once the new cartridge has achieved widespread market adoption, handloading components can also be acquired at [[discounts and allowances|discount]]ed prices when purchased in bulk. Examples of such cartridges include the [[.22-250]], [[6mm PPC]], [[7mm-08]] and [[.260 Remington]]. Some cartridges initially purely designed for handloaded [[target shooting]], such as the [[6.5mm Creedmoor]] and the [[6.5mm Grendel]], have not only gained mainstream acceptance in the civilian market but also partial adoption by [[regular military]].<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/articles/2024/4/12/65-creedmoor-round-expands-in-sof-applications|title=6.5 Creedmoor Round Expands in SOF Applications|date=2024-04-12|last=Gourley|first=Scott R.|publisher=[[National Defense magazine|National Defense]]|accessdate=2024-12-27}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2017/11/22/first-military-6-5-grendel-rifle-zastava-m17-ak-dmr-revealed-serbian-army/|title=FIRST Military 6.5 Grendel Rifle? – 6.5mm Zastava M17 AK DMR in Testing by Serbian Army|date=2017-11-22|last=F|first=Nathaniel|publisher=The Firearm Blog|accessdate=2024-12-27}}</ref>

Ammunition for special uses can also be loaded including; For new or recoil sensitive shooters, reduced pressure loads can be assembled.  These loads allow for less flinch inducing recoil. Handoading also enables hunters to use the same rifle and caliber to hunt a greater diversity of game. For instance, in the same cartridge/rifle combination, using a light for caliber bullet for varmint and heavy for caliber for large game.<ref name=rrc>{{cite book |last=Camp |first=Raymond R. |title =The New Hunter's Encyclopedia |publisher =The Stackpole Company |edition =Third |date =1966 |location =Harrisburg, Pennsylvania |pages =524–526 }}</ref>  Collectors of rare, antique and foreign-made firearms must often turn to handloading because the appropriate cartridges and shotshells are no longer commercially available.