took a break from the casting

[Lloyd Smale]

started loading yesterday. did 500 40s. i have 2k 40 and 2k 9mm to do and about 500 45acp brass. finished all the 556 over the weekend. think ill load it all up and then see what cast bullets i need to replenish. i already have a s--- pile of every caliber of ammo but need a stash for the second house we bought. still need some more 556 brass but the gun money needs to be replenished first

[Drilling Man]

  I took a break away from casting too, about 25 years ago...  lol

  DM

[Graybeard]

Prolly not 25 years since I last cast but might have been 20 or close to it.

[Drilling Man]

  I have been thinking about "swaging" some copper jacket 9.3 bullets, not sure I'll even do that though.

  I have a 9.3x74R "imp" that I came up with and then never wrung it out.  I was thinking about coming up with a good 250 grain bullet and shoot a deer or two with it.

  You can see the std. 9.3x74R compared to my "improved" case, in this picture,



  DM

[Lloyd Smale]

this winter is actually the first time ive casted in 4 years. bullet stash was about dry and i had no choice. couldnt afford to feed my addiction with jacketed. heck i just paid twice what i paid 5 years ago for a 5k box of primers. luckily i still have lots of surplus powder from back when it was 60-80 bucks a keg. with the prices at level they are today if i were young id probably find a cheaper hobby!!  what i found is casting is no longer fun . its WORK! and i thinking cranking them out on a dillion is even less fun. ive been wearing my back brace for about a week now and yesterday it didnt even help. going to have to take a day or two rest

[Drilling Man]

  Yeaa, getting old sucks, winter sucks, and like you I'm experiencing both too.  lol

  I used to have an ammo mfg. license, so I cast and sold a lot of bullets and hand loaded ammo.  I also designed some bonded core, copper jacketed bullets and also a few rimmed cartridges for Valmet double rifles and combo guns.

  I then formed the brass for them out of new "basic" cases and loaded "factory ammo" with my "bonded core" bullets, for those guns that I had chambered in those cartridges.  It was all just a lot of work!

  I guess I just got tired of all of that and I'm glad it's in my past!

  I'm not in Mi. right now as we have a second home in another state, but I am still where it's winter, although a bit less of it here right now, than in Mi..

  At least there's a lot less work to do here so I'm kickin back and just hanging out.

  DM