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Each passing day it becomes increasingly obvious that we have to protect our families in the event of an attack on U.S. soil. Wars are taking place all around us and we cannot leave ourselves vulnerable. I know that I am not alone when it comes to the desire of being prepared for such an event to the best of my ability – firearms and ammunition are not an exception to this.
I recently wrote an article about ammunition where I made the point that you need to make sure you have the appropriate ammo to match each purpose you have for using your firearm. For example, if your purpose is personal protection then you need to purchase factory made ammunition. I still stand behind that as a general rule, but what happens if you can’t get ammunition from the store for some reason? What if there is an attack on the United States and either the stores that sell the ammunition are closed or maybe they have even run out? Although I pray that this situation is one that we never have to face, I also believe that we need to be prepared for every situation possible. That is why reloading your own ammunition is a great option.
There are several reasons why you should consider reloading. The first I touched on above – in the event that factory-made ammunition is not available for some reason, you will still have the ability to generate your own ammunition. Basically all you need to do is make sure you have the supplies on hand to do so.
The cost is another benefit for reloading. I can reload a box of ammunition for 33% – 50% off what it would be to purchase it at a retail store. To me, that makes it worth it right there because that means that I can practice my shooting a lot more and stay within my shooting budget. Practice is also extremely important but that will be for another article.
Reloaded ammunition can actually be more accurate. This may be surprising to some but you can customize your load for your specific firearm because every firearm is different. For instance, rifle chambers are different from rifle to rifle and if you customize your load you can increase the accuracy of your rifle. Fitting the brass to your chamber will allow for a more consistent round and may allow you to shoot tighter groups. Your particular rifle may also shoot a heavier or lighter bullet better than what factory ammo has to offer. By changing bullet weights you can increase accuracy as well. Sometimes the only way to do this is by reloading.
You can also customize your reloads to suit your own needs. You can actually reload you rounds for more or less recoil. This may be a benefit if different family members will be shooting this ammunition as well. For instance, if the firearm you have is fine for you but produces too much recoil for someone else in your family, you can adjust it by reloading specific ammo for that very situation. By changing bullet weight, powder, or the amount of powder used, your reloads can be customized.
Different powders have different burn rates allowing you to control how the firearm recoils. Using a lighter bullet helps with recoils. By decreasing the amount of powder will also reduce recoil. The options are endless. However, it is imperative to always stay in the specs of the reloading manual.
You also have the ability to store up your supplies in the event of an emergency. The key here is to make sure you are storing your supplies in a location that is temperature regulated. If you have that ability then you are good to go and you will be able to store these items for many years to come. There are warning signs that occur when your items haven’t been stored properly – brass casings may turn green or the steel casing will start to rust. In the event that you see this occur, you should never use those casings for any reason.
If reloading sounds like an option you would like to consider it is fairly easy to get started. My suggestion is to pick the caliber that you shoot the most and focus on getting all of the supplies you need to start reloading that caliber first. Later on you can purchase additional dies for other calibers you would like to reload. After the initial cost of your reloading supplies there isn’t much to it. I would suggest you purchase a good book on all of the “how to’s” of reloading as you want to eliminate mistakes at all cost – after all you may be depending on this ammunition to save your life.
As I said before, in the perfect world I would always recommend factory made ammunition for your personal protection needs. However, in a state of national emergency you may have to do what you have to do in order to protect your family and that may mean using reloaded ammunition. It is better to have everything you need on hand to be able to complete this task than it is to be without it.
