Handload

noun, verb

noun, verb ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A cartridge that is handloaded.

    "Factory pressures on these items don't run over 46,000 but your handloads undoubtedly would, and the old action design seems to me a poor bet. If you want to build a 6 mm. single-shot, I'd suggest a Winchester high wall, or the action made by Wilbur Hauck of West Arlington, Vermont. —W.P."

Verb
  1. 1
    To load (cartridges for firearms) by hand. ambitransitive

    "He handloads his match ammunition. For long range he uses 49½ grains of 4064 powder, the Sierra Match King (boattail) bullet and Government (F.A. [Frankford Arsenal]) primers. How does he get Government primers? He pulls the bullets out of […]"

  2. 2
    To load (a firearm, usually a pistol or rifle) by hand. ambitransitive

Example

More examples

"He handloads his match ammunition. For long range he uses 49½ grains of 4064 powder, the Sierra Match King (boattail) bullet and Government (F.A. [Frankford Arsenal]) primers. How does he get Government primers? He pulls the bullets out of […]"

Etymology

By surface analysis, hand + load; possibly a back-formation from handloading (noun).

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.