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Two questions: When did you start reloading, and why did you start?


jame
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Mine's pretty simple.  I was a 21 year old kid with my first centerfire handgun, a stainless steel, 6" barreled Ruger Security Six in .357 Magnum.  I wanted to shoot a lot, and the only way i could afford to do that was to cast my own bullets and reload.  Tire shops would give away buckets of wheel weights back then, so between a double cavity Lee bullet mold, a a Green Coleman camp stove, and an RCBS Rock Chucker starter kit, I was on my way.  It was hot, boring, and tedious.  

And I loved every minute of it.  That was 37 years ago.

What got your motor running?

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Back in the late 80s, I was in a Dale Carnegie class, and one of the people gave a talk on reloading.  Fascinated me, but I didn't shoot much at the time.

A couple of years after that, I got divorced, moved to Atlanta, and started my gun habit/hobby.  In 89, got my first Glock, and store bought ammo was getting expensive.   Remembered the talk, and a guy I worked with was getting married and selling off his reloading equipment.  Bought that and got started.

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started (self taught) to reduce the cost, about thirty years ago, with 357 magnum.

bought a LEE turret press at a gun show, out grew it, bought a Dillon 550 when they were 259 dollars. still doing 8-10,000 a year on it, nine different calibers and will add 223 soon.

got real serious about it when my youngest son decided he wished to go from 22's to a 9mm.

nothing says "reload" like a nine year old boy with a hi cap 9mm pistol. (that son turned 32, last week)

all my children learned firearms safety between the ages of 6 and 9. never had a problem with them. quality time spent the most important part of life.

 

 

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I started back in the 70's, friend father was an avid reloader and showed us the basics and let us load our ammo for his guns. 45 LC and 44 Mag. He also got us into casting too, not so much for the cost savings but to get heavy for caliber bullets that weren't available then.

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I started reloading earlier this year to get better precision out of my Mini 30. I bought it used and it had horrible groups. I ended up over on Perfect Union and was reading about guys getting 2 to 3 MOA. I thought I could pull that off so away I went.

I now reload 38 spl, 357 mag and 45 acp also.

I am getting tighter groups with all my reloads and saving a lot of $$$. If I don't count the initial investment yet. I got the Lee CTP and I'm sure that's all I need for now.

 

Russ P

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I started reloading and casting bullets in 1964 so that I could afford to shoot.  The first gun I had was a wartime 9MM P38 for which I cast (single cavity) a Lyman conical bullet.  I then bought a Ruger Blackhawk (pre-Super Blackhawk) .44 magnum with a five and one-half inch barrel.  I shot only my home-cast bullets...from a Lyman 429421 hollow-point bullet mold.  Nowadays, I use two Lee six-cavity molds for each of the cartridges I shoot (I do not like wasting time...rather be shooting than casting).  Being old, I have sold off most of my guns.  I only have about fourteen left.  I shoot a whole lot of .38 spl. (72 rounds per day in Summer months), on my home range.  I also cast and shoot for 9MM, .38 Super, .44 Spl., .357 mag., .30 M1 Carbine.  I also load for .22 Hornet (Browning Low-Wall), and a Ruger 7.62 x 39.  I started handloading and casting because I was too poor to afford commercial ammunition.  I came from the era when it was common for a deer hunter to buy a box of twenty rounds that would last several deer seasons.  However, I wanted to shoot more than hunt. 

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I've only been reloading for a bit over two years.  I started in my late 50s because I wanted to both save a few bucks on ammo, and wanted the education about both ammo and guns that is inherent in taking up the hobby.  I wasn't completely new to reloading - I knew people who reloaded as far back as my teens, when my best friend and his dad reloaded and showed me the basics.  Taking it up yourself is a different experience, though, and for me a good one.  

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  • 2 weeks later...

Just a couple of years ago.  I got tired of paying stupid prices for factory ammo for .357 & 44 mag, I never like the reloads from manufacturers either.  Decided that it would be more fun to just roll my own than to open my wallet for overpriced, mediocre ammo.  

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On 10/4/2017 at 6:36 PM, Wishoot said:

Just a couple of years ago.  I got tired of paying stupid prices for factory ammo for .357 & 44 mag, I never like the reloads from manufacturers either.  Decided that it would be more fun to just roll my own than to open my wallet for overpriced, mediocre ammo.  

I echo this thought. I started just about a year or so ago. I was tired of spending the big bucks on .357 and .44 mag and said what the hell. I ordered up a Dillon RL 550B and went from there. I also tend to be one of those types of people that likes hand crafting stuff so reloading was a natural choice for me.

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I started about 5 years ago. I got tired of not being able to find ammo and retailers wanting dumbass prices. It was a no brainer for me. Somewhat self taught, there are a couple of guys I PM on Eric's old sight to get help,those fellows know their ****, but basically go by the book. My shooting comes and goes. The equipment is worth every penny. 

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I started about 7 years ago with just black powder .45-70 for BPCR competitions in Arizona.  You HAVE to roll your own for that club.  I moved back to Idaho and didn't compete anymore and typically don't shoot enough to make it worth it.  That changed this spring when I bought a 10mm.  Then I started competing in GSSF with said 10mm.  I also bought a Ruger Blackhawk in .45 Colt for carry in grizzly country and started working on my own bear loads.  I also started casting bullets for the .45 Colt and the 10mm with great success.  But, I mostly reload for cost and accuracy in GSSF, now.  Just bought a 9mm for GSSF and didn't want to get into reloading for it, but wasn't happy with the accuracy of the off-the-shelf stuff so have started trying out some loads with little success so far.

 

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

I started in 1970 both as a hobby and to be able to shoot more. I started with a RCBS Rockchucker which I still have and use and then a MEC sizemaster for shotguns, again I still have it and use it for developing shotgun rounds. Later on when I started into competition I graduated to a Dillon 650 for metallic and a Sploar for shotgun. I used to cast bullets, gave all my equipment to a friend.  I still enjoy tinkering with different loads. 

    Z

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  • 3 months later...

Started about 19 or 20. A company I worked for in Chicago had a trap team that I was on.  Saturdays when I went in to work, they would pay me to reload shells for the next match.  All the other members were all paid more then me to do their regular work. Since I was the cheapest labor, I got to reload while everyone else had to work.

:greensupergrin:

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  • 4 months later...

Well, I started off reloading to save money. Had no idea just how addictive it is. Now I don't know if I reload to shoot or if I shoot to reload. Either way it's therapeutic,relaxing and rewarding. Be safe everyone.

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I started about 15 years ago. Initially, it was to shoot more. Now I have accuracy loads, hunting loads, powder puff loads for gun games, and range fodder ammo for high speed blasting games. I really don't enjoy reloading as a hobby but it is the only way to dial in a specific load for a specific need. 

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I jumped into it about 20 or so years ago. Mostly looking to maximize the dollar and accuracy for rifle ammo, pistol was a side benefit. Soon I found it was something to be enjoyed, a way to spend more time relaxing with a hobby when weather was not conducive  to outdoor shooting. The side effect was I always had ammo to shot when it was nice out. 

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About 5 years after reading and studying everything around reloading and ballistics for many years.

I went all in once I made the decision. Redding UltraMag, Redding T-7, Dillon 550, Dillon 1050, and tons of other related tools. Well over 60 powders in inventory. I don't shoot that much and focus on bullet pull downs, powder analysis, replicating and exceeding factory loads, pushing the envelope past +P+, optimizing reloading ergonomics, high quality and high precision handloading, tailoring rounds for specific firearms with specific barrels, spring and gas setups, zero recoil systems, and ballistics.

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