I started reloading in 1967 for a Herter's Model U-9 .30-06 barreled Action and semi-finished stock that I ordered from Herter's.

I also bought a Herter's "C" press and much of my other "starter" reloading stuff came form Herter's.

9x19, 45ACP, 223, 303, 30 carbine, 308, 30-06, 38spl, 357mag in 2000/2001 (I forget it I was 13 or 14) with a friend of my dad's who really got me into shooting. Finally got my own press and started loading my own rounds (initially for a 300 win mag, 358 win, and 375H&H) in 2013. It's taken off exponentially from there. 25 metallic cartridges and 2 shotgun gauges currently.

quote:

Herter's.

Man I would spend HOURS looking through the Herter's catalog.

Brandon you are making us feel old.

Summer of 1964. Rode a tractor for 90-cents an hour, and bought a sporterized Krag from the old guy who worked there for $35. It included a Lyman tong tool and dies, a lead pot, and a Kake-Kutter.

Wildcat, 25 Krag FL.

1975 30-06 on a rock chucked which I still have.

1980: RCBS Master Reloading Kit, and dies for the venerable .270 WCF.

I think it was 1976. That would make me 26.

Started with a Lee Loader for the 222 Remington.

Then my father gave me my grandad's .244 H&H Magnum rifle built by Holland & Holland.

No ammo.

I did some research, and found that I can make cases for it by necking down the 300 Weatherby Magnum brass.

One cannot have a rifle one cannot shoot!


I made some and loaded 243 caliber bullets in it - factory are loaded with 245 caliber bullets.

It made no difference, teh rifle shot just as well, except the point of impact moved a few inches to the side.

I used to take it to the creeks and shoot sea birds with it

It got pretty serious after that.

We load for everything from the 17s to the 700 now.

Designed and made our own rifles and bullets

My daughter loads her own ammo, puts scopes on her own rifle, and sometimes beats me at shooting!

She is only 14, and a bit proud of her

In 1969, I started loading .38 Spl WC.

Andre...that .38 Spl WC is in danger, now, of becoming an endangered species. When I started pistol shooting in 1976 it was probably more than half the ammunition, two thirds even, sold on our range. When pistol shooting was banned here in UK in 1996 it was barely seen on ranges in the UK. I'm guessing that is similar in the Kingdom of Belgium?

quote:

When pistol shooting was banned

More likely the reason then the cartridge. The 38spl is alive and well in the states.

quote:

Man I would spend HOURS looking through the Herter's catalog

For sure George had awesome ads. Most them heavy with BS. But for budding outdoorsmen's they made interesting reading.

quote:

More likely the reason then the cartridge. The 38spl is alive and well in the states.

No P Dog. It had started ten years easily before that.

It wasn't so much a change from the old slow fire UIT based disciplines to things like "Police Pistol" (a sort of UK 1500) and "Service Pistol" disciplines and later on IPSC that saw off the .38 Spl HBWC here BUT it sort of happened when the supply of CIL Dominion .38 SPL HBWC dried up.

.38 Spl still reamined popular for sure but the full WC and HBWC bullet styles faded away.

Maybe Remington and Winchester cartridges were just cheaper in .38 Spl in RNL loadings? Because it came in on the back of the large volume used by the police market?

I don't know. But you scarcely saw any Winchester of Remington factory .38 HBWC ammunition on the range it was all 158 grn RNL.

I think also that for homeloaders, and God knows why, SWC and RNL style bullets were just more widespread.

1962 30-30

vines, I was a little kid, only 6 or 7 ( and a bona fide gun but ), and watched my uncle reloading for a 30-06. It was the most fascinating thing that I'd ever seen! I think is was the summer of 1967 (I was 14 ), that I started handloading. I used a $9.95, Lee Loaded for my Win. Model 88 in .308 Win. , that I bought at age 13 ( picked-up a lot of pecans at $ 0.28 / lb. to finance it ). Bullets were probably 180's, primers were probably CCI's, powder was "whatever" the Lee dip measure showed as best. I started loading for my new S&W Model 28 with a Lee Loader right after I bought it at age 16 ( my mother signed for it ). I started casting for the Smith at around 18 or 19, as with free wheelweights, I could shoot light load .38 Special cheaper than I could buy 22 LR's. Casting for the .308 Win. started in my early 20's! memtb

It was the summer of 2007...

I started with a lee hand press and some cheap electronic scales, upgraded to proper kit within 100 rounds...

i think 1974 ... pulling the lever for my dad and a 30 carbine -- that shot minute of 55 gallon drum WITH handloads

then "customlized" 8x57 with bolt cutters -- again, under dad's direction...

for myself? 257 roberts with a hand tool kit

Holy smokes! Some of you guys started before I was born in 1966!

6.5x54 MS in 2012

circa 1965 243 Winchester.

My dad never reloaded but a brother-in-law and I got into it, or I should say, he got into it and I bought dies and loaded at his house.

I honestly can't remember shooting any factory ammo in a CF rifle since then. I now load for about 27 different cartridges. I'm the ammo producer for my whole family except for one son-in-law who likes to roll his own. I fear I've made it too easy for my son and my knowledge and experience will likely be lost upon my passing.

Zeke

quote:

Originally posted by ZekeShikar:
circa 1965 243 Winchester.

My dad never reloaded but a brother-in-law and I got into it, or I should say, he got into it and I bought dies and loaded at his house.

I honestly can't remember shooting any factory ammo in a CF rifle since then. I now load for about 27 different cartridges. I'm the ammo producer for my whole family except for one son-in-law who likes to roll his own. I fear I've made it too easy for my son and my knowledge and experience will likely be lost upon my passing.

Zeke

I don't reload for that many rounds (22 different loadings for 15 cartridges) but I am the ammo factory for my family and close friends. I love the reloading aspect and load development; I loathe all the brass prep - I take it to the extreme: deprime, ultrasonic clean, rinse, dry each round with compressed air, let air dry in hot room for a while, clean/uniform primer pocket, FL resize, trim to min length each time, chamfer, debur, ultrasonic clean with heat, dry each round with compressed air, let air dry in hot room for a while. For new brass, debur primer pocket on the inside and for belted mags, I run the Willis collet die as needed.

Started in 1978 reloading for my .45 Colt Ruger Blackhawk Convertible with a Lee Loader and about 6 months after that I started reloading for my Marlin 336 in 35 Remington. Man some of the guys started reloading before I was born. Hope the good Lord lets me reload and shoot as long as some of these guys.

Steve.........

4 years ago - 375 H&H

quote:

Originally posted by Austin Hunter:

quote:

Originally posted by ZekeShikar:
circa 1965 243 Winchester.

My dad never reloaded but a brother-in-law and I got into it, or I should say, he got into it and I bought dies and loaded at his house.

I honestly can't remember shooting any factory ammo in a CF rifle since then. I now load for about 27 different cartridges. I'm the ammo producer for my whole family except for one son-in-law who likes to roll his own. I fear I've made it too easy for my son and my knowledge and experience will likely be lost upon my passing.

Zeke

I don't reload for that many rounds (22 different loadings for 15 cartridges) but I am the ammo factory for my family and close friends. I love the reloading aspect and load development; I loathe all the brass prep - I take it to the extreme: deprime, ultrasonic clean, rinse, dry each round with compressed air, let air dry in hot room for a while, clean/uniform primer pocket, FL resize, trim to min length each time, chamfer, debur, ultrasonic clean with heat, dry each round with compressed air, let air dry in hot room for a while. For new brass, debur primer pocket on the inside and for belted mags, I run the Willis collet die as needed.

No wonder you loathe the prep. Hey, it's your time, not mine.

quote:

Originally posted by Austin Hunter:

quote:

Originally posted by ZekeShikar:
circa 1965 243 Winchester.

My dad never reloaded but a brother-in-law and I got into it, or I should say, he got into it and I bought dies and loaded at his house.

I honestly can't remember shooting any factory ammo in a CF rifle since then. I now load for about 27 different cartridges. I'm the ammo producer for my whole family except for one son-in-law who likes to roll his own. I fear I've made it too easy for my son and my knowledge and experience will likely be lost upon my passing.

Zeke

I don't reload for that many rounds (22 different loadings for 15 cartridges) but I am the ammo factory for my family and close friends. I love the reloading aspect and load development; I loathe all the brass prep - I take it to the extreme: deprime, ultrasonic clean, rinse, dry each round with compressed air, let air dry in hot room for a while, clean/uniform primer pocket, FL resize, trim to min length each time, chamfer, debur, ultrasonic clean with heat, dry each round with compressed air, let air dry in hot room for a while. For new brass, debur primer pocket on the inside and for belted mags, I run the Willis collet die as needed.

I agree! Case prep is the time consuming part of reloading but I don't do what you do every time. Records and measurements tell the tale and dictate the job required.
I'd still rather do case prep than watch TV and that's what most of us are doing right nowif we're honest.
No one is too busy to do a good job the first time.

Zeke

1975

243 Win

quote:

Originally posted by craigster:

quote:

Originally posted by Austin Hunter:

quote:

Originally posted by ZekeShikar:
circa 1965 243 Winchester.

My dad never reloaded but a brother-in-law and I got into it, or I should say, he got into it and I bought dies and loaded at his house.

I honestly can't remember shooting any factory ammo in a CF rifle since then. I now load for about 27 different cartridges. I'm the ammo producer for my whole family except for one son-in-law who likes to roll his own. I fear I've made it too easy for my son and my knowledge and experience will likely be lost upon my passing.

Zeke

I don't reload for that many rounds (22 different loadings for 15 cartridges) but I am the ammo factory for my family and close friends. I love the reloading aspect and load development; I loathe all the brass prep - I take it to the extreme: deprime, ultrasonic clean, rinse, dry each round with compressed air, let air dry in hot room for a while, clean/uniform primer pocket, FL resize, trim to min length each time, chamfer, debur, ultrasonic clean with heat, dry each round with compressed air, let air dry in hot room for a while. For new brass, debur primer pocket on the inside and for belted mags, I run the Willis collet die as needed.

No wonder you loathe the prep. Hey, it's your time, not mine.

And I use a digital scale for each load. For high capacity loads - 300 WBY, 375, 404, etc i use a powder thrower and then check each load.

1990

Started loading for a Contender in .221 Fireball on an inherited Herters C frame press using Pacific dies. Still have the press and use it a lot for bullet sizing, and wildcat forming.

I don't think that I have purchased more than 5 boxes of factory ammo since 1990 excluding rimfire ammo.


Jeremy

quote:

I don't reload for that many rounds (22 different loadings for 15 cartridges) but I am the ammo factory for my family and close friends. I love the reloading aspect and load development; I loathe all the brass prep - I take it to the extreme: deprime, ultrasonic clean, rinse, dry each round with compressed air, let air dry in hot room for a while, clean/uniform primer pocket, FL resize, trim to min length each time, chamfer, debur, ultrasonic clean with heat, dry each round with compressed air, let air dry in hot room for a while. For new brass, debur primer pocket on the inside and for belted mags, I run the Willis collet die as needed.

To each his own.

No way in he!! I would do that form my reloads much less family or friends.

Christmas 1963. Mom & Dad gave me a 12ga Lee Loader. Following year I got a 222 Lee Loader. Joined the army in late 66 and got home June 1969. That fall I ordered a Lyman Spartan kit from Gander Mountain when they were mail order. I still have all the stuff Including the wife from 1969.

quote:

I think also that for homeloaders, and God knows why, SWC and RNL style bullets were just more widespread

Well speed loaders became prevalent from the mid 70's on. RNs and SWCs work better with them then true WCs.

Having loaded 10s of thousands of rounds of 38spl for competition I also found they are a little bit easier to work with.

That saying a 38wc shot out of a accurate revolver are a joy to shoot. I have 4000 rounds of WW 148gr wc factory sitting in the basement.

Looking at them makes me think I should take up competition again.

1964
Lyman Spar - T press
Started loading for a 1948 era Model 70 in 270 Winchester. Still use Spar - T for handgun hand loads.

In the fall of 1958 I bought a Japanese Arisaka Model 38 rifle in 6.5X50, which I took to a gunsmith to examine. It was my first encounter with Harry Creighton, later to become a lifelong friend and business partner. He pronounced the rifle safe and suggested some ways to make it more useable, including shortening the barrel. installing sights and altering the bolt to accommodate a scope. He also suggested rechambering to 6.5X.308, the wildcat cartridge which would become tamed as the .260 Remington. I went along with all his suggestions, and when he suggested a Belding & Mull loading tool and powder measure, I went along with that as well.

I loaded 90 grain bullets for varmint hunting and 140 grain bullets for deer hunting: hunting only, since I never killed a deer with it. I later gave it to a friend, and when he died, his widow insisted that I have it back. I may take it out to the deer stand one of these days, just for old times sake.

Since then I have amassed around a hundred sets of dies, mostly RCBS, and about a dozen presses, again mostly RCBS, and have loaded everything from the .17 Hornet to the .577 VSRE (a wildcat cartridge of my own design). As a former competitive shooter, I loaded thousands of rounds of match ammunition every year for many years. I have introduced a great many friends to reloading and it has become an important part of my life.

1989 Bought a RCBS kit and started to learn The Dark Art. I was so innocent. :-)
First load I stuck with for a while: 270 Win, 54.0 g IMR4350 pushing 130 g Nosler Partitions.

Gradually slid down the slope into addiction. Now load the above, plus 30-06, 300 Savage, and 7 x 57.
Turns out I need only 1 shell holder. Use CCI 200 primers only. Remington cases when I can be picky.

Use only IMR 4350 and IMR 4320. OTher labels on my bench are Nosler, Hornady, and Sierra.

happiness is a cluttered loading bench.

In 1967, at the tender age of 14, the owner of the local gunshop put me to work as his "reload boy". Customers brought their empty .30-06 cases in and we reloaded them for a couple bucks a box. Resize, re-prime, dip into a keg of surplus 4831 (strike the excess level with the case mouth with a butter knife), crunch a 150 grain spitzer in on top of it (Usually Zero brand bullets, or anything else the owner could get cheaply). The idea was you couldn't get enough surplus 4831 in an '06 case to cause trouble. All we did was .30-06- everybody owned at least one of them back then, or so it seemed. Those loads had a reputation around town as being accurate and really killer-diller, so business was brisk the month before hunting season.

Equipment: all Herter's. My pay: enough components to keep my Krag fed and .22 ammo to keep the backyard clear of empty soup cans and blackbirds.

friend of my dads let me help load 12 ga on a mec loader,,, I bought a Texan FW from cabelas when it was only mail order,,, like 1972...for my sears, roebuck 20 ga pump...then I bought a rcbs jr kit for ,243 a Montgomery ward... (Mossberg)...and a '93 mauser in 7x57,,, for a novelty I made ,243 from 30-06 headstamped brass... I started loading at age 14,,,

Started in 1962 with a 30-06 and IMR 3031.

'98 with 7mm STW. Very theraputic hobby

1965
30-30 for myself
30-40 for my dad
30-06 for my uncle

Barstooler

quote:

Originally posted by vines:
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.

1972, 45/70 and IMR 3031 and a 350 grain Hornady RN.

1961 at the ripe old age of 8, helping Dad load 16 bore shotshells for his Marlin, bolt action shotgun with a Lee "whack a mole" hand loader. I still have it. Before the year was out I was loading on my own. First rifle was 30-30 with the same kind of loader in the late 60's. First press, a Lyman Spartan, followed a couple years later....and it's only gotten worse. Bullet casting, case forming, a lathe added a few years back and a mill on the wish list.

1966
.22-250

Pop told my brother and I that we could use his new Rem788 for prairie
dog hunting, that he would furnish reloading components, but no way was
he going to buy store bought ammo for P-dog hunting!