Editing Handloading (section)

=== 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.