| > I'm guessing it's making your own ammo yourself, yes? Yes. It's mainly done for two reasons: cost and performance. If you use a lot of ammo you can reduce your net costs. Depending on what you shoot the cost savings can be substantial, especially if your firearm is not a common type. You can achieve higher performance (accuracy, power, etc.) as well. Refining the 'load' (primer, powder and bullet are the main variables) to a particular firearm, as well as precisely controlling materials and assembly, can improve accuracy. Lately, availability has also become a motivator. Ammo scarcity can sometimes be worked around by acquiring components and assembling them yourself. Anyhow, it's a common pursuit and a continuation of historical practice; at one time everyone made all of their own ammo. The downsides are the time and equipment necessary, including space to accommodate it all, which needs to be dry and clear of unrelated traffic, and the possibility of injuring or killing yourself or others if you do it wrong. I've done it and it suits geek type mentalities; a multidimensional optimization problem involving obscure knowledge and refinement. It's quite a thrill to touch off a round you designed and assembled. |