Somewhat OT - What got you started into reloading?

[Ysabel Kid]

I think we may have asked this one some time ago; if so, sorry for rehashing this!

I'm not sure we have the "poll" feature any longer, so I'll ask this in a regular post.

Why did you start reloading? Here are some of the "common" reasons:

(1) Save money over factory ammunition (economics pure & simple - it's cheaper!)
(2) Work up better ballistics than available factory ammunition
(3) No factory ammunition available for the gun(s)
(4) Need huge quantities for a shooting sport
(5) Just love tinkering
(6) Needed a hobby

Me? I was 16, and the .44 Magnum was not cheap to shoot - especially when one is making minimum wage, and minimum wage was less than $3.00/hour! My brother and I went halfsies on the press and dies, with the understanding that I owned both, but would crank out 9mm ammo for him free of charge as long as he supplied the components. Worked well - I loaded .44 Magnum's for my Ruger SBH and loaded 9mm for his S&W Model 59. My first press was a Lee Turret press, and I still have and use it - almost 30 years later!!!

[Rusty]

When I first started reloading in 1974 it was because I could afford to shoot more for the same amount of money pure and simple.

[JReed]

I started reloading with my dad when I was a kid. Now I do it because buying the stuff costs to much.

[Andrew]

(1) Safe money over factory ammunition Yes
(2) Work up better ballistics than available factory ammunition Yes
(3) No factory ammunition available for the gun(s) Not around here
(4) Need huge quantities for a shooting sport Not so much
(5) Just love tinkering Yeah
(6) Needed a hobby Um...no

I have slowly been gathering bits and peices of the puzzle for awhile. I am not there yet, but I have been getting more aggessive in buying the stuff I need. A few things in transit as I am typing this and more to come soon.

[mescalero1]

In high school, worked part time at a garage ( remember them )
older brother was going to college, worked part time at a gun store,
powder, primers for his cost; wheel weights for nothing.
It was the only way we could afford to shoot
students lead a hapless life

[coachise]

I guess I started years ago because 45 Colt ammo was so expensive (early 80's - before the CAS craze). I was buying 45 acp, 30 WCF and 30.06. I started getting into levers and single action revolvers and decided to learn on 45 Colt. Now I load everthing (45 Colt, 45-70, 44mag/spl, 30 WCF, 30.06, 375 Win, 22-250, .223) for the control that it allows...and it is still cheaper. Of course, I go through probably 300-400 rounds/wk. I wouldn't be shooting that much if I was buying factory.

Reloading is part of the hobby to me now. And I have developed this phobia about keeping those darn plastic boxes filled.

[J Miller]

Why did you start reloading? Here are some of the "common" reasons:

(1) Save money over factory ammunition
Absolutely! It wasn't so bad with the .303 Brit, I could still get mil surp ammo for really cheep then, but the 30-30 and later the .45 Colt made it mandatory. Reload, or don't shoot.
(2) Work up better ballistics than available factory ammunition
Yep, that too. Especially with the .45 Colt which only had the original conical bullet.
(3) No factory ammunition available for the gun(s)
Nope, I didn't have that problem.
(4) Need huge quantities for a shooting sport
Yep, that I did when I got into IPSC. I went through a bunch of .357 and .45 ACP in hurry.
(5) Just love tinkering
Not really. I load to shoot, not shoot to load.
(6) Needed a hobby
Nope, never needed any more things to do, shooting pretty much filled my calender.

[Old Savage]

1&4 pistol shooting.

[don Tomás]

That's an easy one, Jay:

[CowboyTutt]

I originally got into it for cost reasons. I had already decided to get into handloading when I bought my first pistol in 45 Long Colt. But at the time, I could get my ammo at 10% above wholesale, so that was fine. When I moved to Central CA, these sort of discounts were not available to me. So, it was time to invest in handloading equipment. Even after I bought my Dillon 550 B, it sat for almost a year before I began to learn how to use it.

I was doing it without a chronograph for the first year. I figured if a load shot well for me on paper, I was doing all right. However, after I bought my first chronograph, a whole new world opened up for me. All at once, I could "see" what it was I was doing! What a difference that made!

I've been enjoying handloading ever since. Most of my loads are more accurate than I can shoot, but its fun to play "beat the chronograph!"

-Tutt

[claybob86]

To save money, yeah, but I have this affliction where if I can do something myself instead of paying someone else to do it, I do. I get more satisfaction out of life that way.

[Griff]

Load selection 1st & foremost. Started with my 7mmRemMag. Then the .30-30 and .45ACP.

[gundownunder]

$38 for 50 rounds of .357 ammo.
Reloading brings that down to about $15 for 100.

[GANJIRO]

One word: DAD. Started reloading with him since I was a kid, and continued into adulthood but not so much to save money as I just love to tinker and reloading satisfies my mad-scientist/pyromaniac in me.

[junkbug]

I started because I wanted to shoot more for the same amount of money. The two or three cartridges I remember first loading (30-06, 7x57mm, .303 British) weren't exaxtly top tier as far as price for factory ammo whent, but only the 30-06 seemed available almost anywhere (early 1980's). Surplus ammo for all three was around, but not readily available, it was hit or miss.

I found out VERY quickly that I could shoot these surplus rifles much better with reloads that were basically text book starting loads, due to the reduced recoil. With the open sights they all had, the trajectory concerns that many in the gun magazines of the time talked about alot were meaningless. Starting loads in any of those cartridges at open sight range was still more than powerful enough for any game in Virginia, especially since the only off-the-counter component bullets I bought were soft points meant for deer. It wasn't often that I was willing to spend the extra money for match bullets. I seldom went to any matches then.

I'm sure part of it was that I did enjoy the tinkering part. I could assemble ammo at home, when there was no opportunity to go to the woods, abandoned quarry, or real range.

Sean

[Poohgyrr]

One day I figured out how much I was paying for ammo every month for 100 to 200 rounds a week. Even the cheap surplus .45 cost too much.

At the most, hardcast commercial 158 gr swc's were $15/500; 240 LSWC's and 230 gr LRN's were $20/500. Primers & powder were often on sale. Bought a LEE Pro 1000 and RCBS Jr, both on sale and they kept me happy for a long time.

With a new press, even the 30WCFs and .356 Win are set for my future needs.

[runfiverun]

when i was a kid 8-9 i got a job at a small gun shop.
used to unload bags of shot and all the other stuff for the owner.
i don't remember moving any factory stuff for him.
was always around trap shooters, when i started shooting on
my own it was natural to think that you reloaded if you shot.

i remember a friend of mine bought a box of duck loads once and
i told him i wasn't gonna stand by him when he shot them ,as i didn't think they would work.
that was the first time i could remember seeing anybody buy and shoot a box of ready made ammo.

[Hobie]

That's an easy one, Jay:

Yep, that's it!

To shoot 50K rounds at skeet, you have to reload. After that it was natural to reload everything!

[Rimfire McNutjob]

#3 ... nobody was making 22 Remington Jet back then ... and they still aren't.

[Old Ironsights]

Back in the day when I was shooting .45 competitively I would burn a couple thousand rounds a month.

Can't do that without reloading.

Likewise, I had a FA .454... and the only GOOD loads came from handloading.

Now I don't shoot nearly enough, but still cast & reload for the $$$$ aspect.

That and 9.3x72R is waaaaaay to pricy to buy.

[WCF3030]

The 300Win!!!
I was shooting 200rds a week.

[RIHMFIRE]

(1) Save money over factory ammunition (economics pure & simple - it's cheaper!)
and its a nice hobby ta boot

[Slick13]

Trap, and the .25-35 Win. I quickly learned if I reloaded I could drop my 12 ga trap loads down to 7/8 oz of shot and save on money and recoil, and still break targets. And the .25-35.... I had to reload if I wanted to afford to shoot it.

~Michael

[Killer Kanuck]

With the price of 45 Colt around here, I was leaning heavily towards starting to reload. Then I bought a 38-55, and the leaning turned into falling

[El Chivo]

Saving money, I started out with .357 and didn't want to reload. But when I started getting into rifle calibers, it was .75 a round for 30-30 and $1.00 for 35 Remington. I wanted to shoot them more and so figured I had to reload. I shoot a lot of silhouette and that is pretty ammo intensive.

My equipment layout was not that high and I figure I've gotten about half of it back in less than a year. I like the accuracy you get when you get the right load for the rifle. Although this has gotten very complex for me, I'd say my shooting has improved having just the right load for the purpose.

I'm not happy about the time I've had to devote to it but I'm working that out, it's not too bad if I can reload while watching a movie or listening to the radio. Eventually I hope to nail down my loads and just cruise along.

[2ndovc]

Just something that was done in my family. "You want to shoot it? Go make some ammo!

That and when I got into the collecting/ shooting thing 38-55s, 32-20s, 25-20s etc. weren't that easy to find around here. At least until the CAS stuff took off. I remember going into one of those here today gone tomorrow gun shops and asking if they had any .38-40s. The guy tried to sell me a box of .38 Specials. Had no idea what I was talking about. Forget about stuff like the 7.62x54 before the fall of the the Iron Curtian.
Along with the rest of the odd ball stuff I've gotten into. .455, .30 Mauser, .30 Lugar, 7.5 Swiss, 8mm Lebel. What ever. Stuf like that you had to make it yourself or take your chances with the surplus stuff at the gun shows.

If I remember right you couldn't mail order ammo for many years too.

Doesn't everybody reload?


jb

[cavemike]

Two words

.41 Magnum

[Travis Morgan]

I'm cheap as hell. Period.

[Travis Morgan]

With the price of 45 Colt around here, I was leaning heavily towards starting to reload. Then I bought a 38-55, and the leaning turned into falling

When I bought my first .45 Colt, I was looking at Vaqueros in .44 magnum and .45 Colt. Since I was already shooting a Sig 220, I figured I could save myself some headaches by sticking with the same caliber. (Yes, I knew .45 ACP was .451 and .45 Colt was .452 or .454) Well, I wandered around the gun show looking for ammo, but there was none to be found.
So, on my way home, I figured I'd stop at Gander Mountain or Sportsman's warehouse and pick up a coupla boxes of ammo, and called ahead......... I nearly had a fit when I heard the prices! $40 for a box of 50? My butt!

The only factory loads I've ever bought in .45 Colt were from American ammo co., and that was only because they were $12 or $15 a box. And they SUCKED! Velocity was all over the place, and the flash holes were so off center, my decapping pin was punching new flash holes!

[mad mucus]

Natural progression.

Mucus

[rjohns94]

To save money over factory ammo - my first pistol was a .44 mag SBH, bought in 1979. My next was a 1911 series 70 colt, and my third was a Thompson conctender pistol in 7mm TCU and bought a .44mag and .22LR. I could not afford ammo for .44 mag and .45 auto (as much as I shot them) and there was no ammo for 7mm TCU on the shelves. I reloaded for many years and then took a break from shooting. Recently got back into it for the cost savings again. I have always enjoyed making my "rounds" for my muzzleloader and just seems to continue the fun in modern cartridges.

[bj94]

We started reloading mostly to save money. Probably in the mid-60's, my father and some of his friends were getting interested in clay target shooting. Eventually they had their own club with 5 traps and held ATA registered shoots there. Since we were starting to shoot more, we got interested in reloading and we had a friend that loaded a little bit with the original Lee loader so we visited him. Later we got a single stage "Texan" press, and then after that a MEC 600 progressive. We got to the point where I would go to my dad's shop on Saturday mornings and crank out 500 or 1000 rounds of target-grade 12 gauge for us to use and for some of my dad's friends that would shoot with us.

Coincidentally I had an uncle that was more interested in rifle shooting, and he helped my dad buy an RCBS press and dies for me when I was about 14 or 15. So I got into metallic cartridge loading back then mostly for fun.

[dr walker]

I started reloading as a teenager. I was making maybe $3.35 per hour and could shoot up a paycheck in just a couple of days, so with the help of my Uncle and a neighbor I purchased my first reloading set and have been learning ever since.
I have been teaching my 9 year-old daughter, she is very focused when working the press.
Reloading is my favorite form of recycling.

[AmBraCol]

Well, back in the 70's, 22LR ammo sold for $10 US per box of 50. And as direct support missionaries my folks rarely had $10 to spare for ammo. So we started reloading the 22 cases using the powder we'd get from Berdan shotgun primers that were relatively cheap along with either FFFg black or firecracker powder and a 3T shot squeezed on it with a pair of pliers. We could load a 22 shell three times, orienting the case carefully so that a new portion of the rim would come under the firing pin each time. This entailed a careful cleaning of the gun afterwards since the primer was corrosive and so was the powder we used. So I guess you could say it was economics that pushed towards it at first, along with the desire to tinker. And then there was the 32 gauge which I tell about in the article linked below.

http://www.sixshootercommunity.com/arti ... -way1.html

And as I grew and eventually obtained centerfire guns I kept on loading for the same reasons - economics and tinkering with economics being the leading factor. I'd trade a loaded 38 round for six rounds of brass and built up my supply that way. At one time I had a collection of over 50 different headstamps with balloonhead, semi-balloonhead and solid head cases all represented. The only "legal" ones were the CBC branded ones, but it was amazing how many other headstamps showed up - in spite of the strict gun laws.

[AmBraCol]

I got the chronology out of order in the articles. At the end of this one is where I mention reloading the 22...


http://www.sixshootercommunity.com/arti ... -way2.html