Slightly O.T...I'm not intimidated anymore

[petemi]

I'm handloading only for my Handis just now, that's why I'm posting here.  For years, I was scared to death to try to reload ammo.  I was still afraid to tackle it even after years of muzzleloader shooting.  Well, Patty broke the deadlock in April by getting me the Lee Anniversary Kit for my birthday.  I added my dies, case trimmers, etc. as I went along.  I started simply with .38 specials.  I read the manuals, double checked my Ps and Qs and now am comfortable with just about anything I try.  I still have a lot to learn, but I keep my experimenting within the limits of my knowledge.  I waited until old age to get into it, and I strongly recommend the rest of you younger folks don't delay if you shoot.  I can reload the .38s for a small fraction the cost of a box of ammo......and it is fun and rewarding.  There's a special high in busting a 300 yard target with a great big load you built.  

Get into it!

Pete

[spikehorn]

Thanks Pete! I'm in the hemming & hawwing stage right now. Getting closer to it after the addition of two 45-70s and the cost of factory ammo. My birthday is comming up in October, think I'll start dropping some not so subtle hints.

[fredster22]

 Good for you Pete. Enjoy and learn more as you go, but listen to others, read all you can &
most of all practice all safety things learned. I did a lot of reloading in my younger years and
gave it up until I retired before I started again and believe me it is rewarding in both pleasure
& accomplishment. Enjoy!  Fred

[Frank V]

I'm handloading only for my Handis just now, that's why I'm posting here.  For years, I was scared to death to try to reload ammo.  I was still afraid to tackle it even after years of muzzleloader shooting.  Well, Patty broke the deadlock in April by getting me the Lee Anniversary Kit for my birthday.  I added my dies, case trimmers, etc. as I went along.  I started simply with .38 specials.  I read the manuals, double checked my Ps and Qs and now am comfortable with just about anything I try.  I still have a lot to learn, but I keep my experimenting within the limits of my knowledge.  I waited until old age to get into it, and I strongly recommend the rest of you younger folks don't delay if you shoot.  I can reload the .38s for a small fraction the cost of a box of ammo......and it is fun and rewarding.  There's a special high in busting a 300 yard target with a great big load you built.  

Get into it!

Pete



All I can add to this is get a good manual & follow it, two are better. I've been reloading for over 50 years. It's fun, rewarding, & economical. Your loading equipment will be paid for in a year if you shoot much. 
Frank

[jeepmann1948]

Funny you should start this topic Pete as I am sitting in the Mann Cave right now watching my 7 year old Grandson and 5 year old Granddaughter load some 38 specials.It is a great way to spend the Hot Saturday in Texas .They came down from Ft Sill for a visit so Grandpa put them to work . If it cools down before dark we will try them out.

[petemi]

Spikehorn, "the special High" came the other day shooting a 405 gr. handload out of the .45-70 to chrony a load for a member and busted the 300 yard gong offhand.....the smile won't go away

There's pros and cons with the Anniversary kit.  I've got a RCBS scale left over from my muzzle loading days that I like a lot better.  But, all in all, it got me going.  Don't hem and haw, just go do it, you won't be sorry.  All the serious shooters here on this forum reload.  If we didn't, we couldn't afford to shoot what we do, or have the satisfaction of creating a superior load.

The manuals are the key as Frank stated.  I have Lee, Lyman, Speer, Hornady, and a whole bunch of literature collected by myself and a buddy over the years.

Hey Jeep, that's the most satisfying thing I've heard all day.....It's super special....just keep an eye on em

Pete

[jeepmann1948]

Don't worry Pete I keep the eye on them . They only do on process at a time and an RCBS Little Dandy powder measure so the loads are very consistent.Takes them a lot longer to reload than it does to shoot them though . . All my kids have been exposed to reloading since they were big enough to do it, even if it took a box for them to stand on!

[bikerbeans]

Pete,

You got to bring your 45/70 to Grayling.  If you run out of Black Bear 405s at the shoot, I have a few special 45/70 rounds I can let you have for Yogi.   Are you using the Remington 405 gr. SPs for your 45/70?  I am going to bring some 45/120 rounds that I loaded with the Remington 405s.   Fast & fun.  I will save you a couple.

BB

[petemi]

Tom, I'm not bringing the .45-70 to the shoot.  I've got too many other guns going, and the Rem 405s are on hold for yogi.  It's a long shooting 2 days, and I get a lot less scrunch out of smaller calibers.  Besides, I want to work with my .30-30, 7.62X39, .223, .445, .45LC and maxis.

I appreciate your offer.

See ya there.

Pete

[geezer56]

I was 19 when I got started reloading.  An older guy I worked with introduced me to the fun and frustration of reloading.  I bought a RCBS rockchucker press and 505 scale then, and a set of 223 and 30-06 dies.  I am now 59, still using the press and scale.  Dies too, for that matter.  I now load for about 30 different calibers, and have recently started casting my own bullets.  Moral of the history lesson-If you are a reloader, TEACH SOMEONE!  Some one in deer camp, somebody you meet at the range, a younger relative, or a co-worker.  If we all teach one or two before we shuffle off this mortal coil, our sport will keep going.  If we don't, it will die off when we do.

[tacklebury]

Here here!  I am currently setting up my Dad's best friend (age 70) and helping him learn to reload for his Kimber .45 auto to start with.  All these years he's had the gun, he's never allowed reloads to be shot, because when he bought it, Kimber said no lead bullets and no reloads.  They stated so far as to say the gun wouldn't function and would have no accuracy.  Well, After about 6 months of me coming over with my New Model Blackhawk shooting .45acp & colts, he started wondering and 2 weeks ago finally let me put a set through his Kimber.  We shot about 50 of my RNFPBBL loads over 5 gr. Unique and had exactly 0 misfires and we were grouping in the 2-3" range at 30 yards, which is better than he gets with his Winchester and Magtec's.  I was thrilled to say the least and he's buying the Lee Breechlock Press kit, because I wanted to get him the primer to be able to do it off the press.  He was sold once he saw how quickly he would recoup his expenditure.  He already has like 5k .45 acp brass even after giving me 1k when I started that caliber.  We're averaging around $0.13 per round, that's on the high side, because I priced it with 100 round bullet boxes.  If you buy the 1k box of the bullets, that drops to about $0.09 per round.  Never too old to learn something new! 

[gcrank1]

Yep.......you become a minature factory, with you in charge of every step, including quality control. Just cant get any better than that! Anybody who can follow instructions and cares about what they do can do it.
I've been at it over 30yrs. and especially like that I am not at the mercy of factory loads for availability and/or the option of different components or power levels. I cant even remember when I last shot a factory load......guess I dont miss them.

[briannmilewis]

At age 54 I bought a H&R 22 Hornet (So I could get 700 reloads out of 1lb of powder...I am a cheap bast..d) and knowing the cost of factory ammo, bought a reloading kit, and my two sons and I jumped right in.

I kick myself for not doing this 30 years ago. And yes, all for the same reasons as have been mentioned. It is very important to have good manuals, but just as important, the Reloading forum on GBO, don't leave home without it!

[tony212]

I have reloaded shotgun shells since I was 16 years old.  I didn't start reloading for rifles and handguns until I was 45.  It was time consuming at first, you double and triple check everything, but you learn as you go. I too wish I had started loading everything back in my teens.
Tonny212

[myarmor]

I am almost 30 now and have been reloading for the past few years and never regreted it 1 second!, I love it almost as much as shooting them, oddly enough it's like cooking which I also like to do. 
Everyone who loves to shoot should reload, read up on a manuel or 2 (check out your local Library they may just have a reloading manuel depending on the area) and then buy a starter kit...if ya don't like it trade it off.




-Aaron

[Land_Owner]

..."the special High" came the other day shooting a 405 gr. handload out of the .45-70 to chrony a load for a member and busted the 300 yard gong offhand.....the smile won't go away
Pete

Want to make it a semi-permanent smile?  DO IT AGAIN!

[petemi]

..."the special High" came the other day shooting a 405 gr. handload out of the .45-70 to chrony a load for a member and busted the 300 yard gong offhand.....the smile won't go away
Pete

Want to make it a semi-permanent smile?  DO IT AGAIN!

No thanks, I'd miss and turn the smile to a frown

Pete

[gcrank1]

Similar circumstances with a friends rifle, and him a-watchin', I nailed it. Says he," once is luck, twice is skill", so I threw it up again and rocked it (oh, that felt good!), reloaded and did it again, handed it back and said,"your turn". Ha!, it was fine! Sometimes the magic works.......sometimes I cant seem to hit my butt with my hat.

[Texbguy]

My Dad used to reload his shotgun shells mostly for duck hunting. He retired onto a lake at 57 and hunted a lot of ducks.. I guess once you get the process figured out, its just experimenting with what results you want.

[guns-o-fun]

Congratulations Pete!  Now you have also opened up the door to the wonderful world of wildcats - the AIs, etc.  But the biggest payoff IMHO is in getting that pesky finicky rifle that's the black sheep of the gun safe to finally shoot up to its potential.  The money saved is a real motivation too, for those of us that are looking at retirement right around the corner and the prospect of living on reduced resources.

[petemi]

Patty's still working for a few more months.  I'm on SS.  We are learning limited resources pretty well.   I've got a Handi .22-250 lurking in the back room that needs work.  I have not EVER hit didly squat with it.  The .223, on the other hand, climbed out of the box hitting everything in sight with junk Russian ammo.  The 250'll do it too, just a matter of tinkering and trying loads.

When I get back from the shoot Monday, that'll be one of my early projects.  I just got a Handi .45-70/.30-30 combo that are duplicates to what I have and I need to decide what to do with them.  44 man has a frame which I'll get from him Saturday in Lower MI, and I got a new Syn MC stock from gendoc, so the spare barrel will be a rifle too.

The devil on my left shoulder keeps shouting in my ear ".45-120, 30-40 Kraig".  Ya know, I give in to that SOB too often......Don't believe me, ask Patty.  I started this Handi thing thinking I'd buy and sell parts and guns and make a few nickles here and there......Well, that devil guy has arranged it so I keep everything I buy......not too profitable

Pete