Ivan the Butcher
Member
The last time I counted, I have loading ability for 117 cartridges. But we all started somewhere; what was the round that started you down the slippery slope?
I'll go first. 303 British! I had a sporterized No 4. I reworked the front wood and installed a No III end cap/bayonet lug. I started loading with a Lee Loader and 20 Virgin Winchester brass, Hornady bullets and IMR 3031.
We lived in a rental house and I had no bench so I loaded on the basement floor. I used my framing hammer and about the sixth primer I seated went off. After I changed my pants, I finished loading the 20, Went that evening to my folks house and shot them up. It shot better than any surplus I had used! So, I filled them up again. By Friday I was out of primers and bullets. I went and bought two boxes of Hornady bullets and 200 primers and 80 factory brass.
That was the Spring of 1979, powder was about $8.79 a pound, Primers were $.89/100 and bullets were $5.77/100.
In a few weeks I built my first loading bench and installed a Lyman T-Spar turret press that my best friend loaned me. He had 38 Special & 45 ACP dies. I bought 303 British, and 9mm Lugar. THE ARMS RACE had begun!
I buy Lyman 310 sets and Lee Loaders in anything I don't have. I have 17 Lee Loaders and in 310 I have 3 tongs and about 30 sets of dies. The only lee Loader I ever let go of was a 410 2 1/2" model I let a friends son buy for $10, that included a few hundred hulls and three partial bags of wads (maybe 400 total) While I miss having that loaded, I got another reloader started.
I moved to a condo about 8 years ago. My current bench is only 5' and has a RCBS Rock Chucker II, a Dillon 550b and a Redding T-7 turret. Before the move I had 17' of loading bench, 2 Rock Chuckers, the Dillon 550, a L-N-L AP, The T-7 and a Lyman Big Orange turret. Plus two bullet sizing stations. And two places for shotgun reloaders (I have 11 mounted on movable boards!
Let us in on how you reloading is "Maturing".
Ivan
I'll go first. 303 British! I had a sporterized No 4. I reworked the front wood and installed a No III end cap/bayonet lug. I started loading with a Lee Loader and 20 Virgin Winchester brass, Hornady bullets and IMR 3031.
We lived in a rental house and I had no bench so I loaded on the basement floor. I used my framing hammer and about the sixth primer I seated went off. After I changed my pants, I finished loading the 20, Went that evening to my folks house and shot them up. It shot better than any surplus I had used! So, I filled them up again. By Friday I was out of primers and bullets. I went and bought two boxes of Hornady bullets and 200 primers and 80 factory brass.
That was the Spring of 1979, powder was about $8.79 a pound, Primers were $.89/100 and bullets were $5.77/100.
In a few weeks I built my first loading bench and installed a Lyman T-Spar turret press that my best friend loaned me. He had 38 Special & 45 ACP dies. I bought 303 British, and 9mm Lugar. THE ARMS RACE had begun!
I buy Lyman 310 sets and Lee Loaders in anything I don't have. I have 17 Lee Loaders and in 310 I have 3 tongs and about 30 sets of dies. The only lee Loader I ever let go of was a 410 2 1/2" model I let a friends son buy for $10, that included a few hundred hulls and three partial bags of wads (maybe 400 total) While I miss having that loaded, I got another reloader started.
I moved to a condo about 8 years ago. My current bench is only 5' and has a RCBS Rock Chucker II, a Dillon 550b and a Redding T-7 turret. Before the move I had 17' of loading bench, 2 Rock Chuckers, the Dillon 550, a L-N-L AP, The T-7 and a Lyman Big Orange turret. Plus two bullet sizing stations. And two places for shotgun reloaders (I have 11 mounted on movable boards!
Let us in on how you reloading is "Maturing".
Ivan
and dies too.
