HUNTING
Why reload?
Why don't I just buy ammunition over the counter? Why do I feel that the time spent was
better than spending the weekend watching rugby on TV? Why do I want to spend hours
and hours working on a load and the reloading of ammunition?
By Jan-Lodewyk Serfontein
I
load my vehicle early on a Saturday
morning, on my way to test a few
loads at the shooting range. The
different loads were my focus until
late the previous night. The depth of the
bullets and the weight of the gunpow-
der were adjusted. Every group of three
rounds is unique and different to the
next group. After having talked to a few
experts and a few late nights, I hope I
have a combination which will give me the
desired grouping.
After a few hours on the range, I have
an idea of the combination which suits my
gun and how I should reload. Now I can
use the rest of my weekend to reload my
ammunition according to the recipe which
I arrived at on Saturday morning. By late
Sunday afternoon, my ammunition is lined
up on the table. I made everything myself.
I determined the most accurate combi-
nation for my gun and I loaded enough
ammunition for a good hunt this year.
34
SENWES SCENARIO | AUTUMN 2018
The reloading of ammunition is a pro-
cess which is as old as rifles are. The
reloading process of the first guns used to
take place just before the gun was fired.
It did not take place in a room, away from
the action. The gunpowder and bullet
were put into the barrel just before the
gun was fired. The percussion cap was
on the outside of the barrel in the early
years. Over time it moved to the inside of
the barrel and nowadays the percussion
cap, gunpowder and bullet are one single
product, held together by a cap.
The reloading of ammunition is there-
fore as old as the gun itself. The firing of a
gun cannot take place without reloading.
Buying ammunition may be faster and
not much more expensive than reloading.
However, for the rifleman who wants to
have the real experience of shooting,
reloading remains part of the experience.
The experience of three shots touching
one another at 100m, or cutting the bullet,
which you reloaded yourself, from the
gemsbuck, or the pride and satisfaction
involved in something which you calculat-
ed, is unequalled. That bullet is kept and
more stories are told about it than about
the hunt itself. Reloading is therefore a
process followed by hunters to make their
guns more accurate and to enjoy the hunt
even more.
WHAT DOES A RIFLEMAN NEED TO DO
HIS OWN RELOADING?
In South Africa any person with a legal
firearm licence, may reload. You need
your licence to buy gunpowder and
percussion caps. The remainder of the
components required are not governed
by legislation. Bullets, caps and reloading
equipment may be purchased without a
firearm licence.
Reloading equipment is the most
expensive component of reloading.
Fortunately this equipment is a once-off
buy. It is therefore sensible to buy good
equipment, which will last a lifetime.
WHAT TAKES PLACE DURING THE
RELOADING PROCESS?
In short, the following needs to be done to