The Accurate Reloading Forums
JUST FOR FUN..WHAT YEAR DID YOU.??
07 December 2016, 18:00
vinesJUST FOR FUN..WHAT YEAR DID YOU.??
what year did you start reloading. and what was the first 'rifle cartridge' you loaded..
I started in 1982.. it was for my 30-06
49 grains IMR 3031 with a 150 sierra s.p.
07 December 2016, 18:05
the jigger1976
250/3000
36gr RL15
100gr Partition
GOOD LUCK and GOOD SHOOTING!!!
IF YOU'RE GONNA GET OLD,YOU BETTER BE TOUGH!! GETTIN' OLD AIN'T FOR SISSIES!!
07 December 2016, 18:12
zeeriverrat11972...44Magnum for the Ruger Carbine...
07 December 2016, 18:12
snowmanThe summer of 1967 and I was 14 years old. I was going through 12 ga shells far faster than I could afford to.Bought a Lee hand tool and kept my old Stevens 311 fed for quite some time.Later that fall/ early winter picked up a Bair press and a set of 30-06 dies. I now have dies in over 100 calibres , along with shotshell presses in 10 ga 3 1/2 & 2 7/8, 12 ga 16 ga 20 ga 28 ga and 410. I found this stuff grows on you.
07 December 2016, 18:15
LawdogAround 1965 for .30 Carbine for a surplus M1 Carbine that I got from the CMP.
"Suppose you were an idiot and suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself."
Mark Twain
07 December 2016, 18:46
p dog shooterI remember helping dad reloading for his 300sav around 1961. Bal-C was the powder and 150gr hornaday RN bullets that model 99 killed lots of deer.
Started turning out my own shot and rifle rounds around 68. Now days Some people would have a fit that a 12yoa would be reloading by himself.
Started heavy into rifle and pistol about 1970
Many tens of thousands of rounds later I still like doing it.
07 December 2016, 18:53
df0612 ga shotgun in 1966, with a hand tools Lee loader
25-06 1974, also with a hand tool Lee loader
NRA Patron member
07 December 2016, 18:53
H471967. .222 Remington Magnum. A Sako L461 and I still have it.

A good job is sometimes just a series of expertly fixed fark-ups.
Let's see.... is it 20 years experience or is it 1 years experience 20 times?
And I will have you know that I am not an old fart. I am a curmudgeon. A curmudgeon is an old fart with an extensive vocabulary and a really bad attitude.
07 December 2016, 18:56
Rapidrob1964. Lee Loader in 8x57 Mauser. It started the sickness that still goes on today.
Gulf of Tonkin Yacht Club
NRA Endowment Member
President NM MILSURPS
07 December 2016, 19:10
ramrod3401967 using a Lee Loader in 6.5Jap for a Carbine my dad brought back from WWII.
Went to RCBS around 1974 and have been using the same tools since.
As usual just my $.02
Paul K
07 December 2016, 19:12
ted thornI was born August 5th 1969 into a handloading family.....no idea when I did my first but I'm betting it was before I could read the loading manuals.
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07 December 2016, 19:53
nopride21960, 270 Winchester.
Dave
07 December 2016, 19:58
dpcd1967, on a Lee Loader for my Winchester 94. I loaded over a thousand rounds on it.
07 December 2016, 20:01
craigster1966, 32 Special. Still have (and use) the rifle and the Lee Loader.
07 December 2016, 20:37
npd3451972 30-06 was the cartridge!
Still use the same scale Ohaus 505
07 December 2016, 21:27
KimR1954,220 Swift,37.5g 4064,55 gr Sisk Express
07 December 2016, 21:40
Terry Blauwkamp1960 30-06 pump.
Remember, forgivness is easier to get than permission.
07 December 2016, 21:46
BlacktailerMy dad reloaded as long as I can remember. Started "helping" him and then my older brother about 1967. Loaded my first 30-06 all by myself about 1969. 180gr Sierra with 50.gr IMR4320.
Have gun- Will travel
The value of a trophy is computed directly in terms of personal investment in its acquisition. Robert Ruark
07 December 2016, 21:51
BNagel1987
.280 Remington 700 Mountain Rifle
30 years (soon)
_______________________
07 December 2016, 23:26
impala#031966, 3006.
07 December 2016, 23:54
Rockdoc1980. .357 Magnum (S&W Mod 28). Followed closely by a .270 Sako.
Bought an RCBS Rockchucker combo that had everything I needed.
DRSS
08 December 2016, 02:55
crbutler1980, with 12 and 20 ga shotgun.
08 December 2016, 04:01
enfieldspares1978 I'd guess for rifle. .303 British. But I had been reloading since 1976 in .38/.357 and .45 ACP.
08 December 2016, 04:26
StonecreekUghh. It was so long ago that it hurts to think about it. 1965, and the cartridge was a reloader's Baptism by Fire: .264 Winchester Magnum. Still have the Sako Finnbear with the same Leupold sitting on it. It didn't like the Hornady 129's I first tried, so I switched to some Speer 120's. The surplus 4831 I propelled them with was a dollar a pound, dipped from a 100-keg into pint ice cream cartons. Later went to Speer 140's for a bit, then found that Nosler 140 Partitions shot well in the gun and that's what it has been fed exclusively ever since.
08 December 2016, 05:04
Fjold1981
I started loading 308 Win, 44 Mag and 45 ACP at the same time.
When I think of all the stupid thing that I did back then, I'm amazed that I still have all ten fingers and both eyes.
Frank
"I don't know what there is about buffalo that frightens me so.....He looks like he hates you personally. He looks like you owe him money."
- Robert Ruark, Horn of the Hunter, 1953
NRA Life, SAF Life, CRPA Life, DRSS lite
08 December 2016, 05:09
Mike_DettorreAbout 1979, 12 ga on a Lee Load All
MikeLegistine actu quod scripsi?
Never under estimate the internet community's ability to reply to your post with their personal rant about their tangentially related, single occurrence issue.
What I have learned on AR, since 2001:
1. The proper answer to: Where is the best place in town to get a steak dinner? is…You should go to Mel's Diner and get the fried chicken.
2. Big game animals can tell the difference between .015 of an inch in diameter, 15 grains of bullet weight, and 150 fps.
3. There is a difference in the performance of two identical projectiles launched at the same velocity if they came from different cartridges.
4. While a double rifle is the perfect DGR, every 375HH bolt gun needs to be modified to carry at least 5 down.
5. While a floor plate and detachable box magazine both use a mechanical latch, only the floor plate latch is reliable. Disregard the fact that every modern military rifle uses a detachable box magazine.
6. The Remington 700 is unreliable regardless of the fact it is the basis of the USMC M40 sniper rifle for 40+ years with no changes to the receiver or extractor and is the choice of more military and law enforcement sniper units than any other rifle.
7. PF actions are not suitable for a DGR and it is irrelevant that the M1, M14, M16, & AK47 which were designed for hunting men that can shoot back are all PF actions.
8. 95 deg F in Africa is different than 95 deg F in TX or CA and that is why you must worry about ammunition temperature in Africa (even though most safaris take place in winter) but not in TX or in CA.
9. The size of a ding in a gun's finish doesn't matter, what matters is whether it’s a safe ding or not.
10. 1 in a row is a trend, 2 in a row is statistically significant, and 3 in a row is an irrefutable fact.
11. Never buy a WSM or RCM cartridge for a safari rifle or your go to rifle in the USA because if they lose your ammo you can't find replacement ammo but don't worry 280 Rem, 338-06, 35 Whelen, and all Weatherby cartridges abound in Africa and back country stores.
12. A well hit animal can run 75 yds. in the open and suddenly drop with no initial blood trail, but the one I shot from 200 yds. away that ran 10 yds. and disappeared into a thicket and was not found was lost because the bullet penciled thru. I am 100% certain of this even though I have no physical evidence.
13. A 300 Win Mag is a 500 yard elk cartridge but a 308 Win is not a 300 yard elk cartridge even though the same bullet is travelling at the same velocity at those respective distances.
08 December 2016, 05:20
matt salm1984, 30-06. Started when I was 15 or 16. My dad never reloaded so I started on my own with a RCBS Master rReloading Kit I bought for $220 or so.
Shoot straight, shoot often.
Matt
08 December 2016, 05:36
richjWith pop's, 1968, probably 243 or 30/06
08 December 2016, 05:40
WstrnhuntrLate 70's. 7mm RM. Got a crash course from my brother in law (Dad was always a hunter but never reloaded) and was instantly, hopelessly addicted. Picked up a Lyman press, a set of dies and lee dippers and was off to the races, Lol.
08 December 2016, 05:43
Wstrnhuntrquote:
Originally posted by Fjold:
When I think of all the stupid thing that I did back then, I'm amazed that I still have all ten fingers and both eyes.
+1.
Sure could have used an AR forum back then..
AK-47
The only Communist Idea that Liberals don't like.
08 December 2016, 05:53
thecanadianIn 1997 I saved up money from my paper route and bought a MEC 600jr reloader for my 20 gauge. Since no one in my family reloaded, my parents were a little leery of letting a 14 year old make his own shells. Miraculously, I somehow survived my youth.
"though the will of the majority is in all cases to prevail, that will to be rightful must be reasonable; that the minority possess their equal rights, which equal law must protect, and to violate would be oppression."
---Thomas Jefferson
08 December 2016, 06:02
SnellstromI was 14 years old in 1975 when my parents gave me and my 2 younger brothers an RCBS JR press and starter set up. Started right off with 30/06, 30/30 and the next year started loading for .284, 22/250 and 300 Weatherby.
I've been severely hooked ever since. I think I'm reloading 2 dozen different calibers/cartridges currently. Best gift I think I ever received at least the most influence a gift has ever had on me.
08 December 2016, 07:10
Ackley Improved UserMy dad started me reloading a 30-06 in late grade school and junior high - circa 1960.
Shot my first deer with my first high-powered rifle in 7th grade, a 257 Roberts using 100 gr bullets behind H4895.
Shot some factory ammo to get the cases, otherwise I've never used factory ammo.
08 December 2016, 09:05
bartsche
1957. 8x57 for my G43.

roger
Old age is a high price to pay for maturity!!! Some never pay and some pay and never reap the reward. Wisdom comes with age! Sometimes age comes alone..
08 December 2016, 11:23
MuttlyGood Lord, Rorge!!! I dinna know I was a short timer till today! Started in 2009, lost my marbles and bought a rifle I couldn't find ammo for. A 9.3x62 CZ that I just had to have. And still have it! Turned out to be a pretty good start. The Missus got me a Barnes manual, some powder, 250 grains Barnes bullets, and that was all she wrote!!
Bit of a silly sentimental fool, I guess, read that manual front to back, tried a whole lotta different bullets, still have that first box of bullets, use em pretty sparingly. And that first jug of powder gets dipped into only a little bit.
Think that makes it about 21 years, in dog years!!..
08 December 2016, 12:26
ForrestBChristmas Day 1976. Found a Rockchucker kit and some 6mmRem dies under the tree. I hit the ground running. I read a couple of manuals and endlessness pestered John Wooters.
______________________________
"Truth is the daughter of time."
Francis Bacon
09 December 2016, 02:49
B L O'ConnorI started in 1956 (I was 12), and I loaded for a sporterized 8mm Mauser. I used a Lyman 310 Tong tool and an old, oil-dampened Pacific scale.
Taught myself by reading all the reloading manuals I could get hold of. I was pretty careful, but there was so much I didn't know that I didn't know I didn't know.
09 December 2016, 03:21
MARK H. YOUNG1981 I believe. Started loading for an '06 with a lee Loader. It took me very little time to grow out of that.
Mark
MARK H. YOUNG
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https://www.facebook.com/pages...ures/627027353990716 09 December 2016, 03:31
Sam97 or 98, right about the same time I joined here. Started with a RockChucker and .45 ACP, first rifle rounds were .222 Remington.
A bad day at the range is better than a good day at work.
09 December 2016, 05:05
miles58I started in '56. It was more or less simultaneous with .243 and .410 shotgun. My father never reloaded. Ever. But, he was very interested in what I could do. It was a crazy uncle that got me started and taught me how not to get hurt.
Now, I have a son who's very interested in what I can do with a press, but doesn't seem oriented toward doing it himself.