What made you start reloading?

I have done centrefire rifle handloading for a few years, and really enjoyed it as a hobby! When I took up competition trap shooting, I thought, what the heck, I'll save money, and have fun, so I bought a reloader.

I have found there is a sort of comradre, amongst the handloaders at the club. We all like to share ideas for loads, tricks, hull hints, best buys on components, etc. Its been great.

I was suprised once, when someone made some crack about me digging through the discarded hulls after a shoot. He said, "I suppose you pick up cans and bottles too eh?" A few people with him chuckled a bit. I said, "as a matter of fact I do, it makes sense dosen't it?" He didn't know what to say....

A few of the other handloaders, who where standing next to me, seemed a bit put off, but I brushed the comment aside. In a shoot a few weeks later, I was squaded with the same loudmouth. I managed my first 25 straight. As the shooters were standing by the scorer, I saw I was the only one to get the 25. I said, " Not bad for some handloads" as I walked away. Nice to get the last word in sometimes 8) 8)

I love responding to this one. It brings back the excitement of "the first time".
I was 12 years old. 1966. My uncle was a trapshooter. I got my first shotgun from him. After shooting up several boxes of shells in a month, my dad decided he had better find a cheaper alternative than running to K-Mart every payday. My uncle came over with a half a bag of shot, a butter tub full of Red Dot, one pack of primers, some empty Remington ShurSHot hulls, and a Lee Load All hand loader (I still have the Load All). Uncle sat down at the table with me and dad and showed how to load a shotgun shell. I couldn't believe it! " Wow, making my own bullets. Wait til the kids at school hear about this!" One day each week, dad and I sat at the kitchen table, he watched and I loaded. He never once did the loading. I loaded not just for us, but for grandad's rabbit hunting shells too. What an honor.
When I taught my wife how to reload, her first reaction was the same as mine: "Wow, making my own bullets!" There is just something magical, mystical, and powerful about reloading.

I had been out of the shotgun sports for years and when my sons came to the age of wanting to be exposed to firearms I took them out and did my best to indoctrinate them in gun safety and respect in what a firearm can do. After they attended our states hunter safety course and a few hunting outings we decided to try our local trap club. Soon we were trying to shoot twice a week and buying shells for 3 got very expensive. My father had an old MEC 650 from the early 60's that we started with but soon had to add a Grabber to the bench to keep up with demand. Both the boys have grown and left the nest but the shot gunning habit was unshakeable for me. I still shoot 600-1000 shells a week and enjoy my reloading sessions of a couple of hours a week. My loading bench now has 3 presses mounted on it, with holes where several others used to be, and yes the old Mec650 still works but I only use it for deprimeing of an occasional mistake.

In '85 I got a .44 Mag for my birthday. That got me hooked on shooting, but I was about to go bankrupt trying to feed that beast! I got a Dillon RL550 for Christmas of '85 from my Daddy. It was his last Christmas, but we shared a lot of good times loading (and unloading) those .44's! At the time, I could get 100 bullets for $9, deck of primers for $1.25, and a pound of 2400 for $12. vs. $9 for a box of 20. I was astounded at the savings, plus I discovered that my Redhawk liked the Hornady 200 grain hollow point which wasn't and still isn't available around here unless you make your own.

Over the years, I added a Rock Chucker (used), a Lee Load All II in 12 ga, and a MEC 9000G in 12 ga to the bench. If I shoot it, I load it!

Last time I figured it up, I load 12 ga for $2.77 per box vs $4.97 for AA's at Wal-Mart. I shoot about 300 per week, so I save ~$26.40/week by rolling my own. (Since I load AA hulls with magnum shot, I base my comparison with quality target ammo, not the "Sparrow & Coot" loads that sell for $30/flat) At that pace, $300 for a 9000G gets paid off in less than 12 weeks.

I save some money, but I also gain a lot more enjoyment from my hobby by making them myself.

Rawhyde