How Many Times Can You Reload Ammo?

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One of the most common questions first-time reloaders ask is how many times can you reload ammo. If you ask people, they will give you a different answer. I got to the bottom of this and will provide some information regarding reloading count.

How Many Times Can You Reload Ammo?

You can potentially reload any handgun calibers infinite times. Whereas rifle calibers can be reloaded 5 – 15 times. The general average for bullet reload is 5 – 10 times. You can use a reliable reloading scale to help you in reloading your ammo.

Rifle full-loaded magazine.

A beginner on reloading may not have the same reload times compared to that of an experienced one. Other variables also go into account how many times you can reload ammo.

Factors That Affect Reload Count

As mentioned before, many factors can affect your reload count. If you’re a beginner at reloading, don’t let it bother you too much that you don’t have experience yet. It’s just part of the factor.

As you gradually get into reloading, you will get to know these factors and learn how to improve on them. Reloading is an art of its own, separate from marksmanship. There are people I know who aren’t that much into guns, yet love reloading ammunition like 9mm bullets.

Brass Quality

A bullet will have more reload times if it has excellent brass quality. Cheaper brass ammo usually doesn’t have many reload times because they are easily damaged.

Before buying, decide whether you want cheap brass ammunition that you can maybe use for 1 – 5 times or expensive brass ammunition that you can potentially reload more than 5 times.

Guns and ammunition continue to rise in demand so you can expect their prices to increase. Reloading might be the best way to go in the long run.

Brass Caliber

The smaller the caliber, the more it can be reloaded. Larger calibers are applied more pressure when fired. Therefore, they have a higher chance of expanding the casings more each time they are fired.

“Hotness” of the Reload

If you add more powder and its velocity is higher, more pressure is placed on the brass upon firing. Take this into consideration when adding powder on your next reload.

You should balance it so the velocity won’t decrease and make the ammo lose accuracy when fired. You should be able to get the hang of it with a few sessions of reloading.

Equipment Used

The quality of the equipment you used for reloading can affect how many times you can reload ammo. Mostly it is about resizing. Some argue that full-length resizing shortens the ammo’s reloading life compared to neck sizing die.

A photo of a red hand press

Casing Is Important

The primer pocket needs to be cleaned when reloading. If the primer gets loosed, it can cause gas loss and the primer could fall out. This can affect how effective your ammo will be and lessen the times you can reload it.

Here are some important casing parts to take note of:

  • Case Necks
  • Case Rims
  • Primer Pockets
  • Case Walls

Related Questions

Is Reloading Ammo Illegal?

Reloading ammo is legal if you are only reloading it for personal use. If you are reloading while engaging in the business of selling or distributing reloaded ammo for profit, then you need to own a manufacturing license for it. Otherwise, it would be illegal.

Can I Sell Homemade Bullets?

If it is private party sales, then you can sell homemade bullets. Generally, I don’t recommend that you do since you could be liable for it. Even if As long as your not making a living out of it, you can sell homemade bullets as a form of hobby.

Conclusion

Reloading times depend on a lot of things. Especially nowadays, reloading bullets are hard to find. hard to You could be reloading a bullet as many times as you want or you could be using low-quality ammo and only reloading them once or twice.

James Forrester is a lifelong gun and firearms owner, and an even bigger advocate for gun safety. He created KeepGunsSafe.com with the purpose of sharing helpful tips and educating others on how to keep guns and weapons safe and secure.