Who taught you?

[sewerman68]

I have been kind of a gun nut all my life, we have a very strong shooting tradition in the south and my family has documented living through 2 revolutions here in Georgia. I grew up hunting, shooting skeet and target shooting with black powder. I have a rifle hanging over my fire place that was used in the Revolutionary war. But I had never learned to reload my own. I grew up in the country outside Atlanta, by the time I was 20 the city had moved out to us. When I got married i moved back out to the country. Found a house at the end of a dirt road and set to raising kids and building a plumbing business.
About ten years ago all of a sudden one day tractors got busy clearing a lot about 200 yards from my house. "Oh great, neighbors" I thought , rolling my eyes, They will probably bitch about my chickens and want to start a neighborhood association. Well someone moved in about 4 months later and we never heard a thing from them, hardly even saw them. About two years later I get home from work early one day and my neighbors truck pulls in my drive way, a fellow looked about 60 says I am Steve your neighbor, Sorry we haven't really met yet, but I just bought a machine gun, you want to come shoot it?

Ya'll probably all know the answer to THAT.

Any way , we went and completely wasted about 2000 rounds of ammo that afternoon and soon became the best of friends. He taught me how to shoot, I mean REALLY shoot. Built a 80 yard range in the back yard. Showed me how to cast bullets out of all the lead i cut out of old houses mixed with a little wheel wieght and bake in the oven to make em hard. Coached me in the fine art of double action revolver shooting til I could knock 5 bowlin pins off a table in about 2 seconds with a rossi .38.

Steve is about 70 now and cant see the front sight of a pistol any more, but can still out shoot me without even trying very hard. I just wanted to share how I came to cast and reload. A small tribute to a great man, His lessons to me have been a great joy to me. I would love to hear about how some of ya'll came down this road as well. Thanks for listening, Todd the sewerman.

[btroj]

I learned to cast and reload from my then future father in law.

I learned to really short when I took up NRA high-power. I had pulled a trigger before then but had not learned to SHOOT!

Brad

[RobS]

Like you hunting was a norm and something my Dad introduced me to at a young age. We did shot gun shell reloading and hunted a lot of pheasant, but never loaded for handguns or rifles even though we shot them. It was later in my life after leaving home and having my own family that I started to get into shooting handguns and rifles more. The expense drove me to casting as I really enjoyed shooting. Now I shoot so I can cast, funny how things change. Anyway I learned the hard way of trial and error on my own at first and came full circle with time. Later on I found this forum which provided a wealth of knowledge that I used to strengthen my knowledge of the hobby. I only wished I would have stumbled on the site earlier, but I wasn't as computer literate then either :).

[kywilber]

For me i was always a hunter. As for reloading and casting i am learning from my family here. Sometimes i wish i had someone here that i could pester and bounce ideas off but i have a couple of good people from my family here that are more than ready to help and just a phonecall away.

kywilber

[skeet1]

Unfortunately my family are not enthusiastic about guns but not opposed to them either. In my case about 40 years ago I purchased a Mosin for $7.00 and taught myself how to reload for it by reading. Years later had a friend show me how to cast for a .38 spl. I had at the time and have been casting ever since.

Ken

[10 ga]

Well, learned to shoot from dad, learned to rabbit and squirrel hunt from dad, cast 1st boolits with dad. Really learned casting from Ed Harris, creator of Ed's Red, when a student at VA Tech. Learned rifle shooting from Ken Bost college roommate. Learned shotgun from both of my grandfathers. Learned a lot of stuff from a lot of people. Now I'm trying to pass as much along as I can. 10 ga

[mooman76]

My dad taught me how to shoot a rifle starting with a bb gun in the back yard. He didn't shoot allot but grew up a farmer and they shot for hunting to get meat more than sport but he still liked shooting. My uncle taught me to shoot a bow, he owned a archery shop and hunted allot with that. My brother-in-law taught me the shotgun and gave me a single shot when I was a teenager. I learned to cast mostly through trial and error with a slingshot mould but a friend of the family was a plummer and he explained to me what to do and I learned the rest on my own. Later of coarse coming here I learned allot more, things I never even considered.

[Von Gruff]

I guess I was self tought inall aspects of my shooting. My dad had a 22LR and a 303 in the cupboard and on the oddest occasion he might go out for a rabbit but I only remember going with him once. Uncles were hunters but never took me with them.
I bought my own rifles then got into reloading. Fortunately I was a reader so a lot of my initial learning came from those. Again with casting it was selftought.

Von Gruff.

[midnight]

Dad used to take me pheasant hunting a few times . We got about ten guys , a few kids and some dogs and we would drive all the fields until most of the pheasants were in a field boardered by a big drainage ditch. We then drove that field til the birds got to the ditch and then it sounded like WWII. All was done with borrowed guns. Mine was an old Crescent Arms side x side. The Dominion paper shells were old and only half of them fired on the first try. Each got at least three tries before I tossed it. I could hunt every day after school & weekends by walking downd the KD tracks. Rabbits and pheasants fed us in the fall. Never owned a gun of my own til I was 25. It was a 3in 20ga Stevens 311. When I was 30 I got a 30-06 from Herters. With two kids, college, med school , and an expensive wife that was it til I was 53, got divorced, and started to live. Now Iv'e got more invested in guns, tools, & reloading supplies than in my house and I love every minute of it. Now hunting and fishing supply almost all of my protein needs.
I guess Dad planted the seed and it found fertile ground. I guess I went on a little long but I don't think I really thought about it much until I started typing. It feels good.

Bob

[Lead Fred]

I walked into my Dads special room when I was nine. I asked him what he was doing.
He said, sit, and Ill show you. That was over 40 years ago. Been sitting at the bench ever since.

[thehouseproduct]

I taught myself on the internet. I wanted to make handloads for my
Precision 308 cheaper. 13 calibers, 9 presses, 10 molds later, reloading is almost as much hobby as the shooting.

[Muddy Creek Sam]

GP100man

[dpunch]

I started loading when I was probably 11 with my dad with shotgun. We hunted with the loads and I thought that was the way everyone did it. When I hit 15 the hunting pretty much quit all together and I bought my own ammo for my own hunting. Now I started getting older and I got tired of hunting for ammo and paying the price. I am now to the point of casting for all my guns. I have him looking for a 357 like we used to shoot at the indoor range when I was 10. I will try to find him his old 357 or at least something near.

[noylj]

I learned on my own back in the early '70s. It felt like there were maybe 3 handloaders in the state of CA.
Manuals and taking your time are all that is needed.
Would have been nice to learn with someone.

[Charlie Two Tracks]

I learned to shoot with a BB gun when I was quite young. The most instruction I got was" Don't shoot your eyes out" and later I bought a .22 rifle. I got into hunting after I got out of the Army and just recently started to cast. All of my information about casting has been from this site.

[sav300]

Self taught,started casting for handguns then rifles. Had a few tips and hints off older shooters.That was 30 odd years ago.

[nicholst55]

My father - a child of the depression and WWII vet - taught me the fundamentals of shooting when I was a youngster. He didn't reload, so I had to learn that and bullet casting on my own. I had a few good 'teachers' along the way, though - Skeeter Skelton, Elmer Keith, Jack O'Connor, Dean Grennell, Bob Milek, Mike Venturino, and others of the sort.

This was all in the days before the Internet, back when you had to know how to read. You know, books and such. Seems like kids these days don't know how to do that.

I probably read every gun rag that I came across for several years, and I learned a tremendous amount from them. I think the days of finding much really useful information in gun rags are gone though; they're just advertisements now.

[bobthenailer]

I mostley taught myself how to shoot, reload and cast bullets. I had some help but not to much !
did alot of reading on the subject .
Most if not all of my casting buddies are gone now! its a rare occasion to find someone who still or ever cast bullets. ive been casting bullets for 45 years , and im now 62 . I really enjoy this fourm as i now have someone to talk to about casting ect and also pick up or pass on some usefull info ! You continue learning untill you die

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I learned to cast and reload from my then future father in law.

I learned to really short when I took up NRA high-power. I had pulled a trigger before then but had not learned to SHOOT! Brad

ME TOO...but Rifle league and Pistol League as apposed to NRA high-power.
Lots of great guys in those Leagues that would share valuable information.

also, I Learned to cast right Here !
Jon

[**oneshot**]

Here is my list:
Shooting/gun interest ------ My Dad
Hunting/fishing ------ My Dad and Grandfather
Reloading ------ My Dad
Casting ------ CASTBOOLITS members
Competition shooting ------ My freind

A big thank you to all the above.

Tom

[Bret4207]

My Dad was one of the "you'll learn more by reading than asking questions" type. He showed me the basics and I learned the rest from Elmer Keith, Skeeter Skelton, CS Landis, John Wooters, Bob Milek, Bob Hagel, Maurice Decker, Jack O'Connor, John Jobson, Joe Brooks, Tom McNally, Clyde Ormand, Phil Sharpe, Ray Bergman, Homer Circle and a whole bunch of other hunting, shooting, fishing, trapping writers whose names escape me.

[XWrench3]

unfortunatly, i learned on my own. with the help of a few boards like this one. the big problem with doing it this way is there is no one to stop you from doing stupid things as you are about to do them. you have to learn everything the hard way. it is a lot less costly, and you can learn a lot more, in a shorter time with a good mentor.

[winelover]

Self taught in all aspects of shooting, hunting, reloading and casting. This was well before the internet was invented. Even though my father was a turret tail gunner in WWII, he had no interest in the shooting sports. He didn't even own a firearm. I read everything I could find and then expermented by trial and error. As far as reloading and casting is concerned, I started off using mostly RCBS equipment and adhered to their recommendations and pretty much stayed out of trouble. Most of my first moulds were gas checked and even though boolets were sized to j-word dimensions I had excellent results and, to this day, never slugged a barrel. My Marlin 1894 (44Mag) is the only one I had to feed fat boolets to in order get it to shoot up to my expectations.

Winelover

[Mustangpalmer1911]

My dad and Uncles on my mom side got me into hunting then it exploded from there. Casting I leaned on my own from youtube, another forum and then tons here.

[selmerfan]

I learned how to reload from my father, but I learned how to cast from all of you guys! Lloyd Smale was my inspiration for casting - he and I traded linotype for finished boolits for my .454 Casull that killed plenty of Iowa whitetails. I liked them so much that when i bought a .357 Max barrel I wanted to cast my own and it's been an addiction since! Thanks!!!

[Jim]

My father taught me how to shoot.
My Great Uncle taught me how to hunt and fish.
I learned how to load from reading a manual.
I learned how to cast right here on Cast Boolits.

Oh, God bless the patient and tolerant men that put up with me.

[peerlesscowboy]

Glad to hear you finally met your neighbor..........I can't imagine living only 200 yards from somebody and not meeting them for 2 years? Dare say, I know everybody within 25 miles and at least half the neighbors within 50 miles. Of course out here in northeast Montana there aren't that many of 'em [smilie=s:
Anyway, my father taught me to shoot & hunt. I'm pretty much self taught on reloading and bullet casting.

John C. Saubak

[Boondocker]

I learned to shoot from my dad. He sure could shoot and I only wish I could someday shoot like him. His older brother Uncle Bob told me during the depression him and dad traveled from Philly and camped outside Albany and worked 8 months to send money home to grandma. They ate quite alot of rabbit and squirrel and dad even plinked some game birds for supper. He did every thing with his 22 pump Winchester octagon barrel (stolen) later on. Uncle Bob told me he would shoot flying crows with the 22 and would get four out of five and I had know reason to doubt him and dad never bragged. I could tell by the way he shot freehand he could do it. Uncle Bob told me dad was banned from a shooting gallery on Coney Island. We had a small range behind the house and dad would tack 10 playing cards up and nail them rapid fire with my pump Remington free hand at about 50 yrds. at I miss him and still remember the smile on his face when shooting. The loading casting I picked up on my own and learned a great deal here and I am still learning as I got a habit of tinkering.:castmine:

[casterofboolits]

My father - a child of the depression and WWII vet - taught me the fundamentals of shooting when I was a youngster. He didn't reload, so I had to learn that and bullet casting on my own. I had a few good 'teachers' along the way, though - Skeeter Skelton, Elmer Keith, Jack O'Connor, Dean Grennell, Bob Milek, Mike Venturino, and others of the sort.

This was all in the days before the Internet, back when you had to know how to read. You know, books and such. Seems like kids these days don't know how to do that.

I probably read every gun rag that I came across for several years, and I learned a tremendous amount from them. I think the days of finding much really useful information in gun rags are gone though; they're just advertisements now.

I went the same route and started casting for pistol in the early 70's. I really got into casting big time when I started IPSC. Ended up selling a lot of boolits to other IPSC shooters which paid for my hobby.

I read the Lyman manual on casting at least twenty times before trying to cast my own. Started with Lee pots and moulds and now have three Magma Mastercasters, three RCBS 10 Kilo pots, H&G eight, six and four cavity moulds, Saeco eight and four cavity, and a large pile of Lyman four cavity moulds. A Magma Lubemaster and three Stars.

Casting your own can sure get addictive! :bigsmyl2::cbpour:

[Grasshopper]

Thinking about the subject of this thread, sure brings back some memories...

Sometime about 30 some odd years ago, (or so) :? I stopped by my buddy's farm just to shoot the bull. I found him in the fencerow. I asked him what he was doing? He replied: "Shootin' blackbirds". I asked: "Why"? He replied that his dad had bought a couple of cases of cheap 1 oz 12 ga. shells at an auction. He was shooting them up for the hulls to load for duck hunting... "Wanna try some?" he asked... Well, from that moment on, I was hooked on shooting. :) I was maybe 20 at the time....

He helped me get a Pacific DL-105 shotgun loader and a RCBS Jr metallic press and helped me get them set up for loading.... About 5 years later, I upgraded to an RCBS Rockchucker which I still have, and still use... A couple of years later, his older brother borrowed a Lead pot and a couple of moulds and cast a few bullets. My buddy and I decided to try our hand at that. Well, we went together on a lead pot, and a bunch of handgun moulds. He and his brother shared a luber, which I borrowed on occasion. I finally purchased my own. For the next 15 years, I bought, sold and traded about 50 or 60 handguns... And litterally shot a BUNCH! Finally, I gravitated into rifles, and sold most of the handguns... The only handguns I shoot anymore are 22's and my 45's... :) (A couple of Dillon RL-550's take care of the pistol shooting duties...)

About 25 years ago, I joined a rifle team. I learned to shoot indoors four position smallbore rifle. Then I REALLY learned the basics of rifle shooting! I participated in that for a goodly number of years, until my eyes got to where I really can't see iron sights very good anymore... :) I went from that to shooting Hi-Power rifle silhouette, and then into BPCR Silhouette. Never was competitive at either. But now just shoot for the fun and comradarie of the sport. :)

I don't shoot with my buddy much anymore... He collects shotguns... mostly old Winchester M-12's and sxs doubles... He has diabetes a lot worse than I and he can't see to shoot hardly at all. (But still manages to deer hunt) His dad mentored me in the art and philsophy of hunting. The reasons for doing it and enjoying it. :) He taught me to enjoy the hunt more than the killing of animals... But also taught me to appreciate the food that it brings to the table. I owe him a debt that I can never repay. He taught me much more about being a responsible sportsman than my dad ever knew! Of course, he had gone on the the "Happy Hunting Ground", long since, but I truly hope I honor his memory. :)

My buddy and I are both 60 now, and both retired. Our health causes us not to shoot as much any more. But I still enjoy my bullet casting and reloading. Over the years, I have collected about 75 or so bullet moulds, mostly rifle. I promised myself, that now that I am retired, I am going to shoot 1000 rounds of cast bullets in practice this summer.

I think it will be a good year... [smilie=w:

Edw

[blackthorn]

Learned on my own. Dad had an old Winchester "rabbit" rifle, single shot, that had been run over with the wagon and wired back together. Because of the wire it had a "hair " trigger. I pestered him to let me use it to shoot gophers and at age ten he finally gave in. All the "training" I got was---"be careful, you could kill somebody with that". Learned to reload in the mid sixtys when I finally saved enough to buy a 300 Weatherby and found out the cartridges were $1 each!! Lucked onto a bunch of .300 H&H ammunition and shot those in my Wby to get the cases to load. Started casting about 7 years ago when I retired learned what little I know about casting here and from reading.

[Wayne Smith]

My dad was a reluctant hunter - shot deer year around on a depredation permit to keep them out of the beans. We always had a deer or two in the freezer as long as we lived in Maine. I started reloading for his 30-30 and my brother's 30-30 and my 16ga in 1969 and learned from reading the gun rags, Herter's catalog, and reloading manuals. I was 16. Had a Lee Loader for the 30-30 and for the 16ga. Was hunting wth a .22 at age 10 or 12.

Did low level reloading for years, in Grad School I got the .44 Mag. Ruger SBH and an RCBS Jr3 press and dies that I still have. Learned to cast from the BPCR guys on Shooters.com and then came here when that folded. Started casting when I got a Sharps 40-70BN and had some C&B pistols as well. Since then I think I have molds for every caliber I have, and have designed a boolit for one rifle.

[Bwana]

Long story short, I am self taught. In the spring of '69, while Dad, Mom, my little brother and I were on a weekend trip, I found a cartridge case, 9mm, along a long abandoned railroad line in the Alaska Range. This case was different in that it had two small flashholes. That set me off on a life long quest for knowledge concerning firearms and munitions. Dad, as in all of us six kids dealings with life, let me do what I wanted as long as it wasn't obviously dangerous. I had already bought, a year earlier, a H&R 929. I didn't have a centerfire yet so Dad let me use his 30-40 Krag and Colt Troopers (2). Mom did not volunteer her Savage 99 in 300 Sav however. First reload was for the Trooper: 125gr 9mm bullet (Norma JSP) and CCI primers and Red Dot powder. It has been a very rewarding hobby that has a very practical side. Like anything else, it can be as intriguing as you wish it to be.

[dverna]

Self taught at reloading and casting.

Read everything I could find as a boy/teenager and started with a Lee Target Loader for the .222 Rem. Learned to always buy a better machine than I could afford. Still have a Bonanza Co-Ax from the early 1970's I paid $70 for.

I have two rooms of reloading equipment and find it a separate but complimentary hobby to shooting. 5 progressive metallics, 2 progressive shotshell, 5 single stage shotshell and the above Co-Ax.

Started casting with a Lyman .30 mold for the .308 and an H&G 10 cavity for the .38 as I could not afford factory bullets. I buy bullets now but think I may start casting for the 38/55 and 45/70 I have. I do not enjoy casting but believe it is a useful skill - just in case. Only reason go cast for the .38/55 and .45/70 is to produce better bullets than I can purchase if commercial cast bullets will not give desired accuracy.

Don Verna

[bbqncigars]

Dad was a deadly wing shot with his 16ga Ithaca pump, but didn't have any other gun-related interests other than upland bird shooting. One of his hunting buddies (Rud Lubsen R.I.P.) took a shine to me for some reason. Rud took me under his wing and taught me reloading. One of his friends was a conservation officer who used his discount with Bonanza to get me a Co-Ax press at a measly $58. That was a lot of money in the late sixties, especially to a paperboy. I still use that press. Thanks Rud. I'm self taught as far as casting.


Wayne

[Walter Laich]

Like many above I learned from my father. Got the basics down and have been casting, reloading and shooting ever since.

[sisiphunter]

For me shooting basics and reloading and hunting was my Dad. More advanced shooting from my work at the Police Force. Casting I learned on my own with alot of help from this site and the Lyman cast boolit handbook 3rd edition.

[buyobuyo]

I've always had a lot of interest in guns and shooting. Unfortunately, growing up, my dad only took my older brother and I out once to shoot his old .380 pistol. Now, we usually go out whenever we're all together.

I learned rifle shooting, reloading and casting from one of the guys in the local gun club and reading books/forums. He runs the club's CMP schools and teaches a reloading class through the university. I learned pistol shooting from a friend and through club matches. I figured out skeet/trap from what I knew of rifle shooting with pointers from friends.

[Flash]

My father, who was a machine gunner on a PT boat during WWII had a passion for guns and taught me about guns. Actually all my uncles and cousins were shooters so it was a natural progression to go from BB guns to rim fire/center fire guns. I taught myself casting.

[oscarflytyer]

shoot: my dad and my HS ROTC instructor - a retired USMC MGSGT. And I was taught VERY WELL!

Reload: self taught

Casting bullets (last 6-8 weeks): again - self taught and school of hard knocks!

With all the above disciplines - a TON of reading and research. I have also had many what I will call "mini-mentors" that have been immensely helpful in specific aspects of each and every disciplines of shooting, loading and casting. I have also been one of those mini-mentors to many, passing along what I have learned to others.

[Dale53]

My father was a real gunny. He grew up in very lean times (through the depression) and money was VERY tight. We lived on a farm during WW II and my father bought me a 22/410 Savage over/under when I was nine years old. I hunted by myself for several years. After the war, we moved back to town and my father encouraged me to start casting bullets and reloading when I was fourteen. He didn't do any casting but encouraged me to do so (and he shot our reloads with me). He got me Elmer Keith's "little blue book" (Sixgun Cartridges and Loads). That was my textbook. I worked at it and worked at it. When I was 19 years of age, I joined a local gun club smallbore rifle team. That is where I really learned to shoot. We did three position indoors and four position outdoors. I shot PPC in the sixties and then IPSC in the seventies. I also shot NRA Bullseye. I shot my share of Big Bore rifle (still hold the club record for the Short National Match Course). Of course, I had a military stint (most of us did in those days) and I spent five years in the National Guard (Infantry). I believe I became a man in the military.

I lost my father when he was only age 49 (I was age 23) but I still remember him fondly. He was a really good person, hard worker, who had very high ideals and taught them to his children. I have been blessed.

I have taught three children to shoot and all three are more than competent shooters. My wife has never been interested in shooting but she has been extremely supportive in every way for every day of our marriage of 53+ years.

Dale53

[sewerman68]

A lot of blessed folks here. I too feel blessed by the knowledge passed on to me. This forum has been one of the greatest blessings of them all.

[gnoahhh]

It seems that 1969 was a watershed year for a few of the guys who've posted here. It was for me too. After years of shooting .22 Target rifles , solo and on a couple of teams, and a really bastardized 7mm Mauser, I came into a dandy .30/40 Krag carbine at age 16, in '69. I immediately bought a Lyman 311241 mould and had at it. I won't repeat the horrible mistakes I made in working up loads for that gun, as I didn't have a mentor. Reading, reading, and more reading (primarily Phil Sharpe's Handloading book) got me on the right track. My pop, rest his soul, was an avid hunter but not a hand loader. I remember his bemused expression while watching me melt wheel weights in a tin can and struggling to get nice bullets. He put his machinist background to work and made me things like push through dies, nose punches, etc., and tolerated my filling the house with fluxing smoke from down in the basement. We would often cook up a new alloy, load a handful of bullets into cases, and run out to the backyard to test them. I know now that his main contribution was running interference with my mom and our neighbors. As years progressed he kept encouraging me in my shooting pursuits and even came over to the "dark side" a few times himself. God, how I miss him!

[Echo]

I started shooting before grade school - my parents would take me out on a trestle and we would shot at turtles in the bayou with our Rem 12 & 22 Shorts. They would bounce off the turtle's back, and I doubt if I ever even hit one. Wish I still had that old pump. And we would occasionally go out later shooting tin cans.
Joined the USAF and qualified with the 30 Carbine, went to missile school, and one of the instructors (I stayed on as an instructor) was a competitive HP shooter and made a presentation on reloading, and got me interested. There was a rifle club there, and we could check out an M1 Garand and a case of ammo and go out in the plains east of Denver and shoot jackrabbits. Could also get (corrosive) 45 ammo, so I bought a 45 downtown (paid $35 for it! Still have it.) and shot it some. Also shot a H-S 22 in the indoor range, and kind of got hooked into the competitive thing. But little coaching.
Later went through OCS & won the Marksmanship Award, and was invited to join the USAF Competitive Marksmanship Team that was getting started. Chose not to accept, probably a good choice, but started shooting on the Base Pistol Team when I finished school. Had some good instructors in service, and made the acquaintance of Jim Clark, Dick Shocky, Bob Day, and other gurus, and shot with some great folks, and learned from them. And started casting with a cheap Lee setup, 4-lb pot of WW's on the stove, Lee ladle, SC Lee 140 gr 38 SWC's pan-lubed that I took to a team member's place to reload. As I was shooting on the team, I had all the 22/38/45 ammo I wanted, so reloading and casting were low on the priority scale at that time.
After a SEA tour (Thailand - didn't have to worry about anything except getting drunk and falling in a Klong, and I never did those two things together) and another school, started getting into more reloading while still shooting competitively. I didn't really get into casting until after I had retired (no more free ammo!) when I bought a rig from a shop that was going out of business - SAECO pot, H&G #39 6-banger, box of solder snippets, all for $35. Well it WAS 35 years ago! Found a local guru who taught me a lot, and started doing more. Got a Star lube-sizer, had my SAECO, and my Rock-Chucker that I had bought back when, and have kept on keepin' on.
And have learned more in the few years I have been on this forum (re casting) than in the preceding 40 years. I have between 50 & 100 molds, 6 furnaces, my Star and 5 LAM/RCBS/Lyman Lube/sizers, and over a TON of alloy! I have molds I haven't used and guns I have never shot - there have been some health issues around the house for a while that have kept me distracted. But I'll try to be good, and start casting, and shooting, more.

I LOVE this place!

[The Dove]

My history is as follows:

Shooting - Dad taught me early and FLETC tweeked me.
Gun Interest - Definitely my Dad
Hunting and Fishing - Dad again
Reloading - Friend in Farmington, NM got me started and Bwana fine tunes.
Casting - Friend in Farmington, NM got me started and Bwana fine tunes.

Now with all that said, I have picked a bunch of info up from alot of people through this site and a few others. Everyone can learn something from just about anybody (whether good or bad).

The Dove

[frkelly74]

A guy named Harris and another one named Lyman and a " cast " of thousands.

[Crash_Corrigan]

Dad gave me a BB gun when I was 7 yrs old. The BB gun was only allowed to be touched when he was with me until he was satisified that I had good and safe gun handling techniques down pat. He let me use his Savage Model 23 Rifle in .22 LR after he had taught me the secrets of sight alighnment etc. I was about 9 when I got to use the .22 and the next year I graduated to his Baker sxs 12 Gauge. From then to about age 15 I spent all my money on feeding that .22. I remember buy boxes of 50 rounds of Winchester LR ammo for 50 cents back in the day.

At about 15 I got into fishing and pretty much devoted myself to that sport. A few years later I discovered girls and I wasted my time and money on them for a while.

In 1964 I joined the NYC Police Department and I was fortunate to have as my Firearms Instructors three great compitetors and teachers. Al Syage, Frankie May and Jim Cirillo. They taught me trigger control, grip, stance, sight alighnment and tactics. I had to buy a Smith Model 10 4" tubed .38 Special and I remember the cost $43.16.

I loved to shoot that gun and I made sure that I got the maximum amount of free ammo and shot that revolver at every opportunity on their dime. During the remainder of my 20 year stint I got involved in 5 shootings where that gun saved my bacon every time and it always worked.

I retired in '84 and eventually moved to Vermont in '86 where I carried my Smith 2" Model 10 every day for critter protection. There were some nasty critters up there in the mountains where I lived for two years. In '89 we moved to New Mexico where I resumed my police career with a stint in a small police department as a Lieutenant where I was on Patrol mostly in a cruiser. Not too much paper work in a department of less than 15 people. After I had a bellyfull of local politics and meddlesome politicians I left that job and drove a cab for two years and carried a revolver for self protection. I learned that shooting a .357 Magnum inside a cab during the winter will cause severe pain in the ears for me and ringing in the ears for days.

In '93 we moved further West to Las Vegas and I spent some time working for an Armored Car company where I carried my beloved Smith 586 6" tubed .357 Mag and a stint for a Slot Machine company where I carried a .45 ACP Ruger P 90.

In '93 I got tired of paying high prices for .38 ammo and I bought a complete casting and reloading outfit. I read the Lyman casting manual and I went to town. Not knowing any better I used a Lee six banger for years without a set of handles. Heavy leather gloves and pain were my partners when casting until one day at a gun show I saw a Lee six banger with handles. Right then I bought a set and I have not looked back since.

Some years later I stumbled upon this site and I learned more thereafter than I ever knew about casting and reloading. I gave up golf and playing the guitar because I was having too much fun in shooting. My little tin trailer is festooned with shooting equipment and smelting and casting stuff. I must have over $15,000 invested in shooting, reloading and casting stuff. Not to mention a safe full of 22 weapons of every sort including a BPCR 50-90 Sharps. I have a few auto pistols but I have a soft spot for revolvers. Smiths, Rugers and Charter Arms are well represented and I reload for them all.

Anybody know where I can find some new brass for a 327 Federal Magnum....nobody has that stuff?

[Silent]

Self taught, I read a lot. 9mm ammo was getting hard on the wallet. Forget the 30-30 ammo all together. Now I can shoot either as much as I want :D

[LaPoint]

My dad taught me & my brothers to hunt, mostly with a shotgun. Shotgun reloading naturally came next. A family friend got us started with that. I didn't start reloading for rifle and pistol until I was in my early 20s. Over 30 years ago I met Bill, who was in his late 40s at the time. Bill got me hooked on casting & reloading for everything from a .25acp on up. I laid off for a few years but am back at it again. Bill is 78 and still casting, reloading and shooting regularly. He said he started when he was 15 yrs old.

[randyrat]

First generation caster due to determination to make shooting more affordable, yeh right....

My father (RIP) introduced me to shooting at a ripe age of about 5-6 years old, mostly pistols... At 16 years old I would just grab a few pistols and go shoot, my father would just say; be safe, have fun.
He had ammo and guns all over the house.

I learned how to cast and reload myself, along with a bunch of help form friends here at Cast Boolits.

My father taught me how to shoot and my mother taught me about forgiveness.

Hunting, I pursued on my own after my brother in law introduced me to duck hunting in the Mississippi river bottoms. Deer, Grouse,pheasant,squirrels,coyotes, you name it i hunted it (at least tried to hunt it). I filled the freezer up many times with wild game.

[45-70 Chevroner]

The first gun I ever shot was my dads service revolver. That was about 1948. I was about 7 or 8 years old. I own that revolver now it's a S&W 4" Highway Patrol Model. He was a part time deputy sheriff and a full time cotton farmer in Eloy Arizona. I really did not learn how to shoot from my dad. I was actually self taught with a Daisy Red Rider BB gun and about a million BBs. I probably killed almost that many sparrows too. I taught my self to reload and cast with the help of a Lyman reloading manual, that was back in 1970. I'm still shooting and casting and reloading. I wish I could say that I know it all, and that is not the case. That is why I spend a lot of time here at the computer reading what all you guys write. Thanks for a great web site.

[AZ-JIM]

My dad taught me how to shoot, reload, cast, hunt, camp, survive in the outdoors etc. Many things I am thankfull for. I can remember going into the reloading room when I was 4-5 yrs old and watching dad work, somtimes I would get to pull the handle on the old Rockchucker (which he still uses). Dad has been casting and reloading since the early '70s. I have within the last year and a half been working on my own reloading bench, and collecting pieces for it so I can do most of my own stuff. Hanging out at dad’s place is still better but not always convenient. Within the last year and a half my dad and I have also built our own rifles so we can shoot F-class matches together. I have only been to one match but it was alot of fun. Now that I think I have have the right load for the rifle the next one should be even better. There are lots of good stories and memories to be shared so keep it going for the next generation.

az-jim

[Centaur 1]

About a year ago I was sitting around shooting the breeze with a friend who does a ton of reloading. He has 3 Dillon progressive presses set up for different calibers. We were discussing ammo prices when he started telling me that he uses Berry's plated to keep the cost down. Long story short, I'm on disability with a fixed income and I can't afford to buy 1,000 bullets at a time for each caliber. I mentioned that I had an old Palmer hot pot that I made sinkers with almost 35 years ago, and that I wish I knew how to make my own bullets. Turned out that he had about 700 lbs of range scrap and he said that if I smelt it into ingots that I can keep half. That's when I found this site and you guys. A year later I have a Lee 4-20 pot, 5 molds, another cheap press just for sizing boolits and flaring case mouths, hot plate, crock pot, beeswax, lanolin, etc. etc.. Oh, and best of all I have a really cool new hobby.

[Russ in WY]

A next door neighbor got me started reloading. Then when I was stationed in Alaska .I was Navy , lived on an Army base & worked on an Air Force base. We started a Pistol team & all we could get to shoot was Mil Hard Ball 45 ACP . So the team members pooled some money & I did the casting , when it was all over I ended up with the cast equipment, was self taught on the casting end. Didn't cast for the next 40 yrs & just started again last yr. my 2¢ Russ..

[Char-Gar]

I started over 50 years ago, and learned it all from a Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook. I knew nobody who did it.

[BOOM BOOM]

Hi,
Self taught.
Got better after joining the old aimeo site. Still learning.

One of my early karate students got me into reloading about 1969.