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HATCH
08-04-2015, 05:13 PM
Figured I would start a new one.
What is your Current age

Butler Ford
08-04-2015, 06:22 PM
I started casting late in life, was late 40'-early 50's, needed a lot of lead bullets for cowboy action shooting. Found that I enjoyed casting and loading more than the cowboy action so am still at it @ 64.

BF

tdoor4570
08-04-2015, 06:31 PM
started casting for my muzzleloader in 1972 still at it now I'm 68

azrednek
08-04-2015, 06:53 PM
I started strictly for muzzle loaders using a Coleman stove. Then by luck I hit a yard sale in the mid-80's. Seller was desperately trying to raise money to bail his wife out of jail on drug and check kiting charges. I got a RCBS pot, sizer with two dies, about a dozen tubes of lube, solder bars, 9MM and 38 Special Lee molds for $65.00. I was going to give him his asking price of a hundred but after my then wife offered 50. He countered with 65 I couldn't get the money out fast enough. If I had the money the seller also had a Class 3 Mac-10. The rest of his guns along with his pick-up were gone before I arrived.

After casting some 38's, shooting them, hitting the target and not seeing all the terrible barrel leading I feared. I knew I was hooked. If I only knew then how much I would spend on casting the next 25 or so years. I may have passed but glad I didn't.

FISH4BUGS
08-04-2015, 08:16 PM
I started casting when I got into machine guns in the late 70's. Ammo was cheap then but I really didn't get heavy into casting until 20 or so years ago. Now ammo is expensive and I shoot all my subguns with cast bullets unless they are subsonic loads.
NO LEAD THROUGH THE CAN!
The only jacketed bullets I buy now are 147gr 9mm, 380 and 45 auto for the subguns with supressors. Cast without supressor use.

whisler
08-04-2015, 09:54 PM
I started casting for muzzleloaders in the mid 90's. Now doing 380 , 38 special/357, & 45 ACP. I'm 73 years old. Wish I had started much sooner.

jeepyj
08-04-2015, 10:01 PM
Started loading in 78 and first started casting in 81. Few years ago really got serious about the casting. Jeepyj

Rattlesnake Charlie
08-04-2015, 10:13 PM
Well, I did get older after responding to the original poll.

I still love casting boolits.

Harter66
08-04-2015, 10:39 PM
Ive only been at this seriously about 5 yrs .
There just weren't any optimal bullets on the shelf for a 45 Colts Blackhawk I had then. I was carrying it for deer season and discovered 2 nights before leaving that I had 8 rounds of factory ammo that shot well. I stopped off to pick up another $19 box ......... $38 for that box . That did it for me , 3 Lee moulds and I was off and running for all the pistols . That went so well I crashed horribly with rifles, I'm better now. I really like having having less $30/100 in the 1st 1000 rounds even with a new mould , brass and dies. Of course the the 45,40,38,9mm moulds along with a couple of the rifle moulds are long since well over the 1000 round pay off . I don't even sweat the payoff on a new NOE anymore, they pay off stupid fast when everything I load for has a $10 to 12/20 difference in price .

JeffG
08-04-2015, 10:47 PM
Started when I was 32, now 56

03fatboy
08-04-2015, 11:08 PM
Just started to cast this year,I'm 44.
I think it was just a natural transition from reloading,why buy bullets,when you can make your own,and "save" all that money.

I'm addicted now and there's no turning back.I love it.

Bad Water Bill
08-05-2015, 03:43 AM
Looks like someone has started ANOTHER casters poll.

No idea what happened but what the heck.[smilie=s:

Started casting boolits in the early 1960s and still enjoying "THE SILVER STREAM" at age 79 so at the moment I am the OLDEST REPROBATE here.:bigsmyl2:

MikeS
08-05-2015, 07:16 AM
I started casting a few years ago, I can't say exactly how many as I don't really remember. Due to health problems I haven't cast any boolits in a couple of years, and just when I was going to get my casting bench back in operation another health issue pops up that will keep me away for at least another 3 months or so! :(

Green Frog
08-05-2015, 09:20 AM
My father and I split the cost of a batch of used casting equipment (pot, lubrisizer, moulds, etc) in about 1973. At 90, he doesn't cast any more, but at 66 I now have time to cast more! Retirement has its advantages. :bigsmyl2:

Froggie

GhostHawk
08-05-2015, 09:31 AM
Started way back in the late 70"s casting frontstuffer balls. Did a lot of sinker casting through the years with just a cast iron pan, lyman dipper mold, and kitchen stove. The last yeae and a half I've been hanging out here has taken my casting to whole new levels. Found a used ladle pot here reasonable and started casting much more often as it was more convenient.

Started casting for a pair of Mosin' and a YUGO Sks, now sitting on about 14 molds, cast everything from .224 Bator to .444 marlin.

Summer and warm temps seems to see a slowdown, a return of cooler weather has me back casting, playing with new molds, new loads.

Can life get any better than this?

mwells72774
08-05-2015, 12:01 PM
Started around 25, 29 now

WHITETAIL
08-05-2015, 12:44 PM
I started about 25 years ago.
I am now 60.:cbpour:

10 ga
08-05-2015, 02:16 PM
I'm 65 now and have been casting boolits since 1964, that's well 50+ years. first bullets cast were .69 cal "skirt" based Minnie boolits in soft lead for a 69 smooth musket. If I'm casting and the daughters and/or sons in law are around they help. Have grand kids but at 4 and 2 they are too young to have close up casting experience. Eventually the kids will inherit all and can use or sell the tools and "silver" hoard as they see fit. 10

izzyjoe
08-05-2015, 08:26 PM
I started out in my teens casting RB's for me and my friends 45 cal. hawken rifles, we used a camp fire, cast iron skillet, and a old military spoon. That was the late 80's, every now and then I build a camp fire, and cast some RB's, and think of my ole buddy!

NoZombies
08-05-2015, 11:39 PM
NO LEAD THROUGH THE CAN!


I just buy cans that I can clean. :)

tigweldit
08-06-2015, 12:36 AM
I am 60. Dad taught me how to cast in 1962, when I was 7 years old. I still use the 4 gang Lyman 452460, 356420 and a Modern Bond RN 357 that I learned with. I also have come by several more through the years. Take care of your molds and they will last a lifetime. Isn't this a great hobby?

gnoahhh
08-06-2015, 09:58 AM
I'm 62 and started casting in '68. Women, beer, cars, and rock and roll competed for attention but I stuck with it!

destrux
08-06-2015, 02:45 PM
I started in my late 20's but am currently 32.

L Erie Caster
08-06-2015, 07:22 PM
I started at 31 now 56. I enjoyed every minute.
I like to see so many of the young ones are into casting. It sometimes seams that today few are willing to do it themselves.

Moonie
08-07-2015, 08:28 AM
I started at 22 to feed a DW 445 SuperMagnum, still pouring the silver stream at 47.

Ihsarah
08-07-2015, 10:46 AM
I'm still a spry youth without much lead flowing through my blood yet. I'm 24, 25? I have a hard time keeping track, maybe I do have too much lead poisoning...

Eddie789
08-07-2015, 11:30 AM
I've been reloading metallic since i was about twelve years old. I was taught at an early age, i would watch dad for hours and got the bug! I am new to bullet casting this year and i want to start giving that a try as soon as i get all my gear ready. I just need a few more things to get started. I am in search of a whole lot of wheel weights but no luck yet. They are hard to come by here. Can't wait to start producing boolits!

PbHurler
08-07-2015, 12:54 PM
54, Been pouring for 37 years

twidget
08-07-2015, 01:02 PM
Figured I would start a new one.
What is your Current age

Older than last time.

Bouv
08-07-2015, 02:54 PM
Reload since 1995, started CAS 2012 and it was the reason to become a caster :-)
My first molds were Lee, prefer Accurate molds now!
Cast for. 357, .44-40, .45 ACP, .45 Colt, .454 Casull and .45-70 Gov.
I'm 51.

John Guedry
08-07-2015, 05:03 PM
Started at 52, just turned 72.[smilie=w:

lobowolf761
08-07-2015, 06:36 PM
I started reloading and casting when I was 26 in the mid 80's when I was stationed in Germany. I'm still using some of the old molds I started with. Holy blackpowder roundball and conical. Plus a couple of others in 38/357.

gwpercle
08-07-2015, 06:43 PM
I started in 1967, a single cavity Lyman mould #358157, a Lyman ladle and cast iron pot that my mom let me use on top of her gas stove. My best friend's daddy owned a tire business, unlimited free clip on wheel weights, those were good days. A senior in high with a 1955 Ford to drive.
I'm going to be 66 in a few days..... I can't believe that's 48 years ago. When you're having fun time sure flies! I still got that first mould too!

Gary

starnbar
08-07-2015, 07:57 PM
As far as bullets that was 72 as far as casting lead for sinkers and lead soldiers 1960

Roy Acuffff
08-08-2015, 12:11 AM
I cast my first bollits in 1964. Cast for a 30-06 that I purchased from Sears for $24.95. This rifle was in a trash barrel along with a couple of dozen or more, just take your choice. Also paid .25 cents for surplus 4831 placed in a paper sack. That been a while...............

Roy

jeep421
08-08-2015, 08:45 PM
Well I started reloading in February of this year at age 16. I recently aquired a japanese type 99 arisaka. After I was struck with reality about the ammo scarceness, I knew that I had to start reloading and figure out how to cast. I am pretty good at it and feel proud of my cast loads at the range. I have now become a frequent reloader and have started casting for other milsurps.[emoji4][emoji4][emoji4].

BobT
08-09-2015, 07:02 AM
I started casting sinkers back in the late '70s then in 1982 I started casting boolits to feed a Dan Wesson .357. I layed off for a long time then a couple of years ago I bought out a friend who was getting out of casting, got a LAMII a couple of Lee 20lb. pots and a few other things and started casting again to feed my TC Contenders. I joined Cast Boolits a few years ago and have been trying to soak up everything I can. I belong to several other forums but this is by far the most informative, I sincerely appreciate all the knowledge and experience shared so freely by you veteran casters, thank you one and all!

mrdante
08-09-2015, 12:38 PM
Started when I was 20 now I just turned 30. I cast for everything I shoot.

mold maker
08-10-2015, 02:05 PM
When I got married (1962) and moved out on my own, Dads ammo was no more. It was an economic necessity for me to reload or give up shooting.
Still have my first pot and mould, along with several tons of lead and a fortune in tools. I'm sure I could have bought J words, but look at the life time of fun I'd have missed.

avogunner
08-11-2015, 03:57 PM
I started reloading in 1981 to finance my rec shooting as my budget was kinda tight in those days (USMC Cpl). Got introduced to casting a few years later by a Gunny in my unit and the rest is history. I'm 54 now so I guess it's close to 30 years I've cast my own. I'm at the point in my life that I don't do it for financial reasons but now purely for pleasure (and to be immune to the whims of crazy politicians). Without a doubt over 90% of all my shooting is home cast but could be 100% without if need be.
Semper Fi

Motor
08-13-2015, 01:27 AM
Why can you see the user names of the people who voted but after you vote you can no longer see them only the results?

Motor

Pellethuntr
08-13-2015, 08:33 AM
I am 23, I started casting for big bore airguns a few years ago and it slowly progressed into casting for I think 8 different calibers now. I went all in and bought the powder coating set up and oven. It's been a down hill battel since! I want to get into casting full bore shotgun slugs in the next month or so.

Hickory
08-13-2015, 09:36 AM
I started in early 1972 I was 21 at the time.
I had to start casting to feed the 44 mag flat top I'd bought the year before.
Was about to buy a S&W model 29 a year or so later, but after the "Dirty Harry Movie" came out there was none to be found at a decent price.
I like going the gun stores and looking at the price of ammo and know I can produce it cheaper at home.

alamogunr
08-13-2015, 11:25 AM
Just turned 73 last month. Started casting and reloading at the same time about 25 years ago.

BaconStrips
08-14-2015, 05:20 AM
Started reloading in the late 70's but always had a cheap supply of lead pistol bullets locally to keep the handguns fed. Got away from it around the turn of the century, then my cousin started reloading so while helping him I got interested in it again. A couple years ago I came across this site and now, a dozen or so molds later......
Hello, my name is Terry and I am a 62 year old galenaholic.

trapper9260
08-14-2015, 05:40 AM
I started casting with my dad and brother back in the mid 60's for sinkers for fishing and duck decoys.Then after I got out of the navy in 83 I started to cast for boolits about 85 to 93 and had a break till about 2004. and got into it more.and still at it now.

mazo kid
08-15-2015, 01:30 PM
.........Started casting boolits in the early 1960s and still enjoying "THE SILVER STREAM" at age 79 so at the moment I am the OLDEST REPROBATE here.:bigsmyl2:
Hey Bill, I'm right up there with you.....will be 80 at Thankgsgiveng time (was born on Thanksgiving day). I started casting in '72, making round balls for my muzzleloading rifles and revolvers. Branched out into boolits later on for BPCR guns and now cast for virtually every gun I have, rifles, revolvers, and pistols.

jiandawg
08-15-2015, 06:38 PM
Started casting a few years ago after I won a M&P 40 at a NRA banquet. The pistol sat around for a year or so because I thought the price of 40 cal ammo was outrageous. Finally got to a point that I couldn't stand the idea of a gun not being shot. Did some reading online, bought a pot, a Lee 401175 6 banger and haven't looked back since. At 30, I now cast for about 10 different cartridges and have even gotten into blackpowder muzzleloaders (with homemade BP no less).

Bad Water Bill
08-15-2015, 08:31 PM
Hey Bill, I'm right up there with you.....will be 80 at Thankgsgiving time (was born on Thanksgiving day).

YIPPIE i ain't the "OLD REPROBATE" no more.

I have to wait till the end of May to hit 80.

The ONLY cartridge rifle I own that I do not cast for is a 20 Var Targ.

A man must learn his limits but I do cast for my Savage smokeless and she makes nice 1" patterns at 100 yaeds.[smilie=s:

Fishman
08-15-2015, 11:29 PM
I started casting as a teenager with my dad. I'm 45 now.

1_Ogre
08-17-2015, 07:22 PM
I just started casting a few years ago and time sure goes fast when you're doing something you enjoy. Age? I remember Noah, does that help?

Bad Water Bill
08-17-2015, 08:06 PM
I just started casting a few years ago and time sure goes fast when you're doing something you enjoy. Age? I remember Noah, does that help?

I was the executive ossifer on that one till Noah grounded her.[smilie=s:

fivegunner
08-17-2015, 08:17 PM
1972 is when I cast my first Boolit. no one to help me had to learn from a book. Did everything wrong . I cast .45 ACP boolets out of Linotype nice looking , but leaded up very fast . cheap soft lead worked great. then I learned about fitting the boolit to the bore, Fit is King!! Then I found a add for LBT when they first started out. Talked to Vearl a lot on the phone, bought some of his molds and his book . I learned a lot more about this casting stuff. Then I found this place in I think 1999-2000 and it has opened my mind a bunch and made a lot of Friends :bigsmyl2::lovebooli:cbpour::Fire::Fire::Fire:

rosewood
08-18-2015, 07:22 AM
Been reloading for about 12 years, just started casting this time last year. Couldn't find the 7mm bullets I wanted to load so figured I could make my own. Still learning, but have learned a lot and are getting good results. I am hooked for sure.

Southerngunner
08-18-2015, 04:55 PM
I started casting about 15 years ago and I turned 62 this year

onehousecat
08-20-2015, 12:28 AM
I started casting in the 1970s, when I was in my 20s. Made the usual progression of buying jacketed bullets, then ran across some hard cast bullets for sale. Since I could get lead free back then, I just cut out the middlemen and cast my own. That was was some seriously inexpensive shooting.

Pumpkinheaver
08-24-2015, 08:22 PM
I am 41 and have been casting for close to 20 years.

michaelcopeland2
08-24-2015, 09:53 PM
32 and just got in to casting and reloading

robertsm53
08-26-2015, 02:00 PM
62, and I've been casting for 40 or so years, but learned 90% of what little I do know now in the past few years lurking around on this site. Still have a lot to learn and am trying to participate a bit more on here. Thanks to all you folks for a great and very informative site!

Pee Wee
08-26-2015, 02:08 PM
Started last year at 66

cajun shooter
08-28-2015, 07:28 AM
I started reloading in 1968 after returning home from my tour of duty. Took a job in a Gun Store in 1970 and the owner who became my mentor, started me in casting. I'm now 68 Later David

kryogen
08-28-2015, 07:27 PM
31 years old

Big Tom
08-29-2015, 08:46 AM
Looks like with age 52, I am one of the young kids on the block here :-) Well, started casting about 10 years ago, but still mix it up with FMJs for some loads where I do not have gas check molds.

Shuz
08-29-2015, 09:53 AM
Wow! Over 40% of us casters are between 61 and 75! As for me, I'm 74 and have been casting since 1962, when I was 21, in the USAF, and poor as a church mouse!

LAKEMASTER
08-30-2015, 08:52 AM
My first set of 40 cal bullets fell into water at the age of 22, that was only a year ago.

I'll keep doing it until lead it's extinct

Bill*B
09-11-2015, 08:26 PM
Still have a couple hundred 311291 bullets that my dad cast back about '65, over a wood fire! It was just a way to save money back then. 50 years later it's formed into a habit, and I roll my own even though I can afford "factory" now.

DRSLYR
09-25-2015, 08:42 PM
I'm 63, new to Cast Boolits, and have cast bullets for the first time at my buddy's house a few weeks ago. I'm hooked, and I'm slowly acquiring equipment so I can cast my own. I have lead, an electric hot plate, a cast iron pot & a ladle. My next purchase is a Lee .358 mould & Lee push-through sizer. To be followed by a .430 240 grain mould & sizer.

DRSLYR

1989toddm
09-25-2015, 08:54 PM
I started almost 2 years ago, am now 26. Best hobby yet! (Yes better than shooting and loading) Finally got everything in the basement, just don't have the exhaust hood and fan in place to carry smoke and fumes outside. Soon, cause I'm ready to start winter casting!

downunderrunner
09-27-2015, 06:37 AM
i've been casting on and off, for 25 of my 30 years! dad taught me alot about it, as he cast boolits for his .38spl target loads in the 90's, i currently cast for 25-20, 25-35,8x60 krop, 30-40, .577, 577-450, 11mm for the chassepot, 11x60, 10.4x38 and do some casting for friends as well

Recruit
10-02-2015, 05:08 AM
Interesting poll and good stories.

Only wish the age increments for the bar graph were the same. 20-30 is 11 years; 31-40 is 10 years and subsequent increments are 5 years. Skewed graphically for the 40 and under crowd but then again, I'm being a real funsucker here aren't I? 😁

Anyway, glad to see so many enjoy casting. I'm just getting started myself.

njc110381
10-04-2015, 02:51 AM
NO LEAD THROUGH THE CAN!
The only jacketed bullets I buy now are 147gr 9mm, 380 and 45 auto for the subguns with supressors. Cast without supressor use.

What's the reason for that decision? Subsonic .22lr works fantastic through them and they're lead bullets. I was hoping to add one to my .45-70 when I manage to find one with the right thread and bore size

Regarding age. I'm 34 and have just started casting.

shoot-n-lead
10-04-2015, 02:56 AM
I started in my 40's...I am 55, now.

Shiloh
10-05-2015, 05:39 PM
59 and casting about 12-13 years.

Pumpkin
10-06-2015, 06:07 PM
In my eighth decade---casting near 50 yrs

gunarea
10-09-2015, 07:31 AM
Started casting at 13 1/2 years old. I'm now retired. Literally have cast millions of them.

Pumpkinheaver
10-17-2015, 10:57 PM
I'm 41 and been casting since I was 20 or 21.

Littleton Shot Maker
10-19-2015, 02:41 PM
Started at 17-
Had co. running 4/5 caster- 4 sizers - some time two shifts- 14-18Hour days by 19-
Millions and millions of bullets later I am done doing it for others now- never again...too much Govt. Bs to be that big now
Now 45 doing the lead thing for me only- and family

pworley1
10-19-2015, 08:58 PM
I started casting in high school. I am 61 now.

sharpshooter3040
10-20-2015, 04:39 PM
Started at 6 I'm 57 now

cak
10-25-2015, 08:24 AM
I started about 4 yrs. ago I am 59

dot6
10-25-2015, 02:06 PM
46 now, but started before I was 20. Feeding my toys Ballistic Tips and XTPs got expensive.....

jrmartin1964
10-25-2015, 05:15 PM
I'm 51, and have been around casting, literally, all of my life. My dad was a devoted caster, and I inherited his enthusiasm for pouring lead. I was probably 12 when I cast my first - from a single-cavity No.429421 Lyman, with wooden-handled pins for hollow and solid point.

hydraulic
10-27-2015, 09:43 PM
77. Started casting 40 years ago with muzzle loaders, went to smokeless to save money, now I cast just for the fun of it.

srk468
10-28-2015, 11:04 AM
39 but will be 40 next month, been doing it for about 4 years now. It was a super sweet deal when I got in to it because my best friend worked for Hoosier racing tire so he got me all kinds of free lead, unfortunately those days are over.

tmanbuckhunter
10-30-2015, 11:02 AM
Started officially reloading at 16 or so, and started casting boolits at 18; 23 now.

jabo52521
10-30-2015, 11:31 AM
63 years old. Was 23 years old stationed at Campion Air Base, Alaska 1975. Started reloading then as there was no place to buy ammo for my Ruger 357 single action. Started casting in 1978 at Little Rock AFB, Ark. Price of magnum ammo went up at K-Mart. Was only a 2 striper. Had little money then.

rintinglen
10-30-2015, 03:11 PM
There is no space for voting "too darned old."

Cast my first boolits under the tutelage of my friend's Dad, circa 1966 but didn't really get the bug until about 1975. I dare say I have cast well over a ton of 38 wadcutters-I smelted and cast a 33 gallon garbage can of wheel weights during 1978 and 1979, and a fair few since then.

6622729
11-02-2015, 09:32 AM
I'm 52. I just discovered this entire hobby of reloading and casting earlier this Summer. Thanks to Obama I'm all in. I wasn't even a gun person until about a year ago. When they killed the 7N6 ammo for an AK74 I was shooting and then threatened to kill the M855 ammo, I built my first AR-15 and bought a bunch of genuine Nato M-855. On the heels of that I decided to buy SS109 projectiles and start reloading so they couldn't neuter my AR by taking away ammo. That of course lead me even deeper into the hobby so now I'm also casting. I bought a chrono, have a single stage and turret press and am enjoying working up loads for 9mm. I also cast a few hundred bullets to put aside for a future 300AAC build. All of this is thanks to the anti-gun lobby. They pushed too hard and now I'm in.

tarbe
11-02-2015, 09:23 PM
Started casting at 17. Turn 58 next month.

First cast boolit was a 130gr 7mm out of a Lee mould. Shot more than a few of those boolits out of my 7mm Rem Mag with a few grains of Green Dot...in my parent's basement (when it was too cold to go shoot outside).

This is why I am a little crazy and brain-dead today! haha

michael.birdsley
11-02-2015, 09:30 PM
Just getting into casting for my .50 cal T/C triumph. Turned 30 last July. Hopefully once I figure it out for my muzzle loader I want to start casting and reloading for my center fire

Latheman
11-03-2015, 12:22 AM
Started casting at 20. Im now 36 years old. Its was a 158gr lee tumble lubed rn. Since than ive made many thousands of them.

kywoodwrkr
11-03-2015, 07:38 PM
I graduated from high school in 1959. I was casting for a S&W M&P 38 Special while in HS.
'Rented' molds from a gentleman in Minnesota I believe.
Don't remember how I sized or lubed.
My word, that was 56 years ago.
As Kermit says, 'Times fun when you're having flies'.:bigsmyl2:
Thanks.

bruce drake
11-04-2015, 11:23 AM
Been casting for almost 20 years. got into it as a means of saving money and affording to shoot...little did I know that it would mean shooting more...sort of a break even. more ammo - more shooting...

clum553946
11-05-2015, 05:21 AM
Just turned 60, started casting a year ago & making all kinds of errors! lol

augercreek
11-05-2015, 05:58 PM
I started in Sept 1963 one week after I got out of the Navy. Have not shot a jacketed bullet since.

thursdaymike
11-06-2015, 04:58 PM
28 years old

Roy Acuffff
11-07-2015, 03:31 PM
I am 72 years old. Cast my first bollits is 1963. Don't remember the bullet mold # but it was 220 gr. 30 cal. It was for the SM what I purchased at Sears in Odessa Texas for $24.95. Was paying 25 cent a pound for surplus 4895 from a friend who purchased a 50 something pound metal keg. Sure had fun, those were the days when I made $1.50hour. I was 20 years old.

Roy

drfroglegs
11-07-2015, 03:36 PM
Started casting at age 27, just turned 30. I'll do it till I die, I'm obsessed.

johnjackson1789
11-08-2015, 03:39 PM
I am56 now .Have been reloading for 20 yrs .I have been casting for about 2 yrs . shooting got to be costly So now I have more fun than ever.THANK YOU MR PRESIDENT

Gastero
11-10-2015, 03:47 AM
I stated casting in December....of 1974. Was casting boolits 2 weeks before I bought my first gun (a S&W 28). Still have the mold (Lyman 358156) but not the gun (dummy me).

slohunter
11-10-2015, 04:23 AM
Hey, I'm in with the majority for once(20.73%). Great, because all the guys I load and shoot with are much younger and I'm constantly told I'm the dinosaur and don't know squat!

lobogunleather
11-13-2015, 04:32 PM
Another interesting question would be years of experience in casting and shooting cast bullets. I am 65 and have been doing this since I was 21 years old.

gunguychuck
11-20-2015, 11:53 PM
Started reloading when I was 15. Started casting at age 23 now 69 years of age.

chrisstophere
11-21-2015, 09:21 AM
Started shooting when I was about 39. Reloading at 40 and casting at the tail end of 40. I'm 41 now. Haven't regretted anything but starting to late.

Steyr47
11-26-2015, 10:57 AM
started shooting as a kid (61 now). My dad kept me in reloads thru my 30s, then I got serious about it ~20yrs ago. Been casting for about 15yrs.

trixter
11-27-2015, 10:36 AM
Every year I just keep getting older, can't seem to get it to stop?

BaconStrips
11-27-2015, 01:15 PM
Every year I just keep getting older, can't seem to get it to stop?

Not getting older is a very simple process. Careful what you ask for......

tmag97
11-27-2015, 02:59 PM
54 here Started later in life. Cast pistol only now.

DerekP Houston
11-28-2015, 12:41 PM
32, been shooting for 4-5 years just started reloading and casting recently.

Budzilla 19
11-30-2015, 10:41 AM
60 in January, been shooting since I was ten, started reloading in1972 with my dad as my teacher (RIP Baldy) we started making our own shot in the mid'80's, casting for pistol all long, just started casting rifle bullets seriously 2 years ago. Lead scrounger for 40+ years! Teaching my grandkids now,so this is not lost in the future.

Floydster
12-03-2015, 09:08 PM
Started casting when I turned 19, I'll be 80 this Jan.
My first mold was a Lyman 311413, for my 30-06, still have it and use it.
Floydster

Brotherbadger
12-04-2015, 08:23 AM
32 here. Pretty new at it as well

Jtarm
12-06-2015, 08:26 PM
56. Started casting 30 years ago, but just retuned after a decade-long hiatus.

gwpercle
12-07-2015, 02:04 PM
Surprised to see the most casters are in the 61 - 65 group , thought it would be younger.
Or is it us old guys are the only ones who fool around answering dumb polls !
I started in 1967 and just never stopped....holey smokes that's like 48 years, time sure flies when you're having fun !
Gary

hunter74
12-07-2015, 02:45 PM
42. Have shot lead boolits in handguns for 20+ years but only casted my own for about 3 years. Started up a small casting business last year.

OS OK
12-10-2015, 12:20 AM
Started in 1976 @ 26 years old…taught my three kids then…taught my two grandsons last year…taught several good friends in between.
haven't aged 1 day since. Lost my pants a few times, can't remember what I just came in the room to get, so I just found something else, my wife says my brain resembles a chunk of swiss cheese and I'm not sure which of my kids I named what…so I just call them 1, 2 & 3 in random order…I don't think these lead fumes had anything to do with any of this.

But I've had a helluva time making my own boolits ! If I could find my guns I'd shootem !

Just think…if somebody would give you a nickel for every round you ever made….how much would you be worth?
Nothing goof…cause you already shot them all! Nothing wrong with my mathematician skills !

dagger dog
12-12-2015, 07:07 PM
68 years, started 1978 casting round balls for a muzzleloader, 35 years busting knuckles in the auto trade made it easy to stockpile lead, cast for 22 Hornet, 45-70, 58 caliber minies and several hand gun calibers.

bigtee
12-12-2015, 11:08 PM
54, been reloading for over 25 years, just started casting about 3 years ago.

bdbruce
12-13-2015, 08:11 PM
I cast my 1st boolits in 1969, a Lyman 311359 for my M1 carbine. Then other things took me away from shooting, reloading and casting. In the last 5 years, my wife and I are shooting and casting, I've got about a dozen molds now a mix of Lee and Lyman. Looks like my age group has alot of casters, keep the Silver stream going............Big Daddy Bruce

Orchard6
12-13-2015, 11:29 PM
I'm 32 and started casting about 3 years ago. I'm still only playing around with .357 magnum/38 special for 3 revolvers and a Rossi 92. I haven't found the need to jump into anything else yet as the .357 is just so versitle and does 99% of what I need a gun and cartridge to do. Just this past year I started PC'ing and that in itself has opened up a whole new realm to me and the things I can do with the .357. I'm really glad there is a site like this where guys can bounce ideas around and come up with some awesome ideas that are readily shared! Thanks so much!

robg
12-15-2015, 11:17 AM
im in the old guys group ,what happened.one minute i was 19 now im 61 its all been a blur

PBSmith
12-17-2015, 07:11 PM
Merry Christmas from the long side of three score and ten.

Advise quit counting past that mark and keep on shooting.

Putz
12-18-2015, 10:52 AM
Merry Christmas to all, and may all your Future Boolits come out looking like a prom queen.

facetious
12-20-2015, 05:19 AM
I started around 23 when I got my first .357. A guy that lived in the same apartment building as me that i had gone shooting with a few times started to make fun of me telling me that i would never learn to shot it because I didn't make enough money pay for all that ammo. Then he sat me down and showed me how to reload and how to cast. He was about 62 at that time, I will be 59 I July.

A fun fact: After all this time I have only bought twenty factory rounds of .357 and five or six are still around here some were.

Dakooz
12-20-2015, 10:35 AM
Started at 53 because I like learning new skills. Merry Christmas to all!

Tyguy95
02-05-2018, 10:09 PM
22

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rdwarrior
02-05-2018, 10:56 PM
I did a little casting back in early 70's helping a colleague who cast and reloaded my rounds for me. Then a 45+ year break due to military life etc, and here I am at 65 just starting to cast for myself now.

Flailguy
02-06-2018, 02:02 AM
Started castin round balls aroun 16 for a cap and ball revolver I bought online (don't tell anyone I was under 18) started casting for my new to me 45-70 about a year ago now casting for 357/38 44mag and 45acp.

gandydancer
02-06-2018, 04:42 AM
started learning from my uncle in 1950 at 10 years old a year later at 11 years old I was casting RB for a original Remington 44 caliber revolver my uncle had. And at 68 years later I'm still at it. I am now 78 years and holding. GD

nightowl
02-10-2018, 01:07 PM
22 I was using a 38 leeloader started with a 10 pounder Lee and a dipper. I was working in a family owned department store that went heavy on sporting goods and a 10% employee discount. wouldn't have missed it for the world.

GEOMETRIC
02-11-2018, 02:09 PM
I started reloading rifle & shotgun ammo in the 60's & started casting rifle bullets when I got back from Vietnam in the early 70's. I will be 72 this October.

Dirtjumper895
02-12-2018, 08:27 PM
29 here, barely made it into the 20-30 group. I started reloading at 23, casting at 27 and have been enjoying it ever since.

alamogunr
02-12-2018, 09:05 PM
29 here, barely made it into the 20-30 group. I started reloading at 23, casting at 27 and have been enjoying it ever since.

I like that!

lightman
02-15-2018, 04:42 PM
I'm 60. Started casting in Junior High School as a very young teenager. Like a few others, had a few years that I did not do much casting. And a few others that I did a lot!

Mxrick55555
02-16-2018, 02:09 PM
I started casting about 2 years ago I am now 29, I remember dabbling in casting fishing sinkers with my dad when I was about 13 he picked up some stuff at a yard sale but we never really got into it. 2 years ago when I started casting boolets I found the little cast iron crucible full of lead in his shed that he had bought at that yard sale and made my first boolets with that lead.

jessdigs
02-16-2018, 06:56 PM
37 years old. I have been reloading for three years and casting and powder coating for one year. I really enjoy it and have gotten my cost down significantly.


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wolf3006
02-17-2018, 10:24 AM
61 years old. Been casting about five years.

oldhenry
02-17-2018, 10:06 PM
78 years old & have been casting since 1960.

Steppapajon
02-17-2018, 11:10 PM
I stated casting in 2015 so I could shoot more with my Brother and my Son. Sadly both of them are gone now. Casting has become almost spiritual for me. I sure do miss them both.
SPJ

Krag1902
02-18-2018, 09:32 PM
68 years old, began casting in 1972. I have about 70 molds.

Fastleo
02-19-2018, 04:09 AM
I’m 27, there’s very few young people getting in to cast bullets because all the old casters want all the lead for them selves.

JBinMN
02-19-2018, 02:15 PM
I’m 27, there’s very few young people getting in to cast bullets because all the old casters want all the lead for them selves.

LOL... Funny! Should have put that in the "purple font"...
:)

Fastleo
02-21-2018, 05:10 PM
LOL... Funny! Should have put that in the "purple font"...
:)

Didn’t know you could change colors, my mind is blown lol. It will now be the same struggle to decide what color to powder coat my bullets... haha

JBinMN
02-21-2018, 11:16 PM
Didn’t know you could change colors, my mind is blown lol. It will now be the same struggle to decide what color to powder coat my bullets... haha

;)

Look at the row of "choices", or "buttons" at the top of the "REPLY" & you will see a CAPITAL " A". That button is where ya choose the color of your "font". Just "highlite" what ya want to make a different color by holding down the left mouse button, slide the cursor over the words ya wish to "color" & then choose the color in the little drop down "menu" ( choice of colors) that is inside of the CAPITAL "A" in the line menu, and the color of your highlited choice will be put into brackets ( Like these>> "[", & "]" .)saying {(COLOR= "whatever the color is") & at the end, a backslash "/" and the same color #(/COLOR)}
& then return to the main "REPLY" area & left click there to continue with the regular "black" words..

G'Luck!
;)

And Now....Back to your regular program...
;)

rescue_171
03-10-2018, 12:40 AM
36 here and have casted several. But I find myself casting less and less as lead gets harder to find.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

RichardF
03-10-2018, 02:57 PM
65, barely started [emoji16]

shortlegs
03-10-2018, 04:36 PM
Started at age 27 now am 65. Melted lots of lead. Still learning!

redhawk0
03-10-2018, 05:15 PM
55 this year...been casting for almost 30. Fun hobby...learn something new every time I fire up the pot and pour a new batch. I find it VERY relaxing. Always a need for concentration...but still relaxing to do a repetitive task.

redhawk

Walks
03-11-2018, 02:11 AM
Started priming .38spl brass while sitting in a corner of the garage, amidst all the male member's of my family doing other reloading chores.

Wasn't allowed to start casting until I was 8yrs old. Pouring Lead balls for my Dad's ORIGINAL NAVY 36, using a dipper & a single cav mold and a pot over a Coleman stove.

Been pouring Lead ever since. 56yrs come this Thursday.

parkerhale1200
03-11-2018, 06:39 AM
41 now, started at 8, with a very good teacher, rip....

leebuilder
03-11-2018, 09:14 AM
Will turn 50 this year. Started pouring tin soldiers with my Opi (grandfather) was around eight then. Started reloading when I was 19. Didnt have much for teaching had to learn it my self by reading books and a bit of trial and terror. Been an casting addict for ten years or so.
Be safe

hpeach
03-11-2018, 10:11 AM
86 and still going

PapaG
03-12-2018, 10:17 PM
Age 73, started at age 12 with a two cavity .357446 mould. We, dad and I, ran a summer competition for the Warren County Prime Beef Festival. I'd cast, size and lube, and load .38 specials for the pair of SAAs loaned to us by Colt. Best three scores for the summer would claim the Grand Marshall title for the festival and parade. What little profit we made went into better equipment. In a few years we were supplying about ten police departments with practice ammo.
Side note, my little brother and I shot our Navy Arms 1851 .36 one night during the contest and our two scores were hi g h for the summer.
This was when Wyatt Earp was on TV but Hugh O'Brien wanted too much money to come be the "Marshall". Earl was born there in Monmouth where this all happened.

Arkansas Paul
03-15-2018, 12:07 AM
I'm 37 and have been at it for about 6-7 years now.

I do lots of things that most my age don't though. I'm sitting on my balcony smoking a pipe as I type this. lol

mpkunz
03-16-2018, 07:24 AM
Age 59, cast my first bullet from solder at the age of 13 using a homemade mould for a homemade BP pistol, using homemade gunpowder. Of course if my parents knew about it I woulda been shut down right away, but I had the run of the shop and a little bit of knowledge, and the rest was about what you would expect from a teenage boy with time and resources on his hands. :o)

cavhasbeen
03-17-2018, 12:19 PM
68 here. Started casting 35-40 years ago but got away from it for years. Life you know. I am currently casting mainly 41 and 44 for handgun, and .30 subsonics.

stubshaft
03-17-2018, 12:49 PM
I started in the late 60's using a tuna can on my stove and a tablespoon tied to a slotted broomstick. The mold was a single cavity Lee 30 cal 150 fp. Still have it and it still casts good boolits.

OTShooter
05-20-2018, 04:44 PM
I am in the 56-60 range. I’m just getting started in this, partly due to the kind of shooting I want to do more of and the costs associated with buying bullets for some particular calibers I load for. Casting gives me options that I wouldn’t have otherwise.

And it’s fascinating!

DirtyGP100
05-22-2018, 12:36 PM
30 here. A good friend introduced me to reloading/casting/and this forum a few years back.

Kuato
05-22-2018, 07:15 PM
40 ish... been casting since I was 23. started by the seat of my pants casting for muzzleloaders and surprised I made it this far without blowing myself up in hindsight. I'm VERY thankful for this community as I've learned SO much since joining.

hpeach
05-23-2018, 09:08 PM
86 still shooting paper, and loving it!

glockfan
05-24-2018, 11:42 PM
55...still up and running .

1911aug
05-29-2018, 02:58 PM
55.. started with my dad's Lyman mold master xx after he passed away in '97. Then got a lee 4-20 a few years ago.
After reading about the PID controllers here, I built myself one and boy oh boy it sure has improved my bullet casting.

retread
06-06-2018, 03:08 PM
72 and still hunting and punching paper! Going to be a dark day when I no longer can. :sad:

Oldbrowngun
06-14-2018, 01:17 PM
friend of mine and me decided to get into reloading. he bought a single cavity mold and cheap lee pot i thought he was crazy until i did the math on the savings.

fordwannabe
06-16-2018, 08:52 AM
53- I shoot alot of calibers that until the last 20 years were considered obsolete so started casting. Then when a certain political party was making noise about taxing bullets to make them hard to get. I stepped up production for more readily available calibers. Going elk, and mulie hunting in Colorado in October gonna take an original 86 in 33wcf. My doe gun this year in Pa will be a 86 SRC made in 1892 in 45-70. A casting I do go, a casting I do go.

robg
06-16-2018, 09:49 AM
63 now ,the older I get the more I enjoy shooting my own cast boolits and the whole loading process .

davek8s
06-17-2018, 11:19 PM
I’m 41 and I just started casting a month ago.

I’ve been lurking here for about 3 months and decided that I might as well post something.

Right now I only cast 9mm, but I’m gearing up for 38 and 45 acp.


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kcajeel
06-25-2018, 09:28 PM
I started casting about 8 years ago after my father-in-law passed away. He supplied me with everything I needed because he did custom casting and reloading. So I ended up with a lot of moulds and supplies that didn't sell. I'm 73 now and been casting and reloading for 8 years.

Kcajeel

engineer401
08-05-2018, 11:48 PM
I’ve been casting for close to 7 years when it was difficult to find a good supply of bullets. I’m 53 now and have enough lead to last several years.

Texas by God
08-06-2018, 09:28 PM
59 and an old soul[emoji16]
Casting since 1979 or so.

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Yooper003
08-17-2018, 10:27 AM
I started about the same time, mostly pure lead for muzzle loading. Into it more now , mostly for 45/70 . Am now I to powder coating. I will be 81 in less than a month.

bigdog454
08-18-2018, 11:07 AM
started reloading in 1960 (or there abouts) was still in high school, started casting about 64 or 1965 (can't remember for sure that far back). still at it, rumitiz has slowed dow my shooting some now. Ammo, 22lr was 43cents a box. $0.43 was hard to come by!
BD

nhyrum
08-28-2018, 08:58 PM
I'm half the age(1/3 of some) of most, 27, to be 28 in a few weeks. I wish more people from my generation would put down the screens and make something with their hands

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Bad Water Bill
08-28-2018, 09:30 PM
Looks like I am one of the OLD folks at 82 and still chuggin along with my best gal GIRTY.

DK'dUranium
09-01-2018, 05:49 PM
Now 57, I began casting in 1976 as a very motivated 15 year old trying to craft ammo for a .32-20 my father had given me. I introduced three friends to the hobby in my early 20's. Good times were had then, all furiously casting away together, in one friend's fathers barn: Talking smack, telling truths and lies as the lead flowed freely. I've enjoyed explaining to other non-casting gun friends how I can create unlimited ammo for a nickel a round.

Dieselhorses
09-20-2018, 05:08 PM
Just started to cast this year,I'm 44.
I think it was just a natural transition from reloading,why buy bullets,when you can make your own,and "save" all that money.

I'm addicted now and there's no turning back.I love it.

I just started last year (casting that is). It is addictive but this seems like the perfect support group for the addiction.

Bazoo
10-09-2019, 09:37 PM
35 here. Been casting and reloading for 8 years or so. I started at the same time. Really didn't have anything to do with the shortages. Mostly cause I love firearms and their history so reloading and casting is a natural progression of that. I like learning and being self sufficient as well.

Winger Ed.
10-09-2019, 10:07 PM
Started reloading in the early 80's to afford shooting rifles several hundred rounds a year,
and factory ammo of the day was not especially accurate.

In the late 80's I got into shooting handguns.
Reloaded to be able to afford feeding them 3-5,000 rounds a year.

Soon after, I got into casting for the same reason, and to save wear & tear on the weapons.

In the late 90's, I got into .45-70. Couldn't hardly afford to shoot much it without casting the boolits.

Now, at 64, I still shoot a lot, but can't see myself buying J-words.

FerricOxide
10-10-2019, 01:04 AM
Late 20's. Started casting 2 years ago when I bought a muzzleloader. Pretty much only do BP muzzle loader conicals/balls for my CB pistols and rifles. but I'm thinking of starting on 45 colt and 45-70 when I get some guns for it. Don't bother with small bore as of now as I made some amazing buys on bulk copper unmentionables with good Ballistic coefficients for my modern rifles but big hunks of lead cost too much to buy prerolled for the old stuff where ballistics even in the best case are poor.

Pete44mag
10-10-2019, 08:58 PM
Started reloading about 4 years ago just turned 60. Found this web site about a year ago, lurked for awhile. Used to cast sinkers for fishing. I haven't cast any boolits yet but plan to very soon. I have collected and cast into ingots about 500# of range scrap and COWW's. I plan on getting a Lee bottom pour pot and a few molds to start over the long Thanksgiving weekend. Will probably be asking for help soon!

alamogunr
10-10-2019, 09:45 PM
There should be some way to update the poll. I posted that I was 73 when I voted into the 71-75 category. I'm now 77 and I'm sure there are a lot of others that have jumped to a different slot. Hopefully, enough young casters have come along to keep the hobby going.

Valornor
10-10-2019, 10:59 PM
I started casting when I was 22-23. Being a poor college student I needed a way to feed my new pistol.

I’m 32 now. Ten years...time flies.


Check out my website www.theballisticassistant.com

Sig556r
10-11-2019, 07:30 AM
55yo...started late 10 years ago...

lightman
10-11-2019, 10:01 AM
I don't remember when I voted on this poll but I'm proudly a member of the largest group! I started as a teenager but had a few gaps along the way due to life, family or work. Making up for it now!

mule1
10-11-2019, 01:48 PM
I'm with you. I started in my teens on a woodstove in my Dad's shop (converted dairy barn). He would burn pine and have the stove nearly glowing. I'm 31, and haven't cast anything for a long time now, but my son is getting old enough to be interested. Gotta start em young!

shortlegs
10-11-2019, 09:24 PM
Started when i was 26........66 now.

CastingFool
10-14-2019, 09:21 AM
I learned how to melt lead when I was 9 yrs old. My dad had a friend who was an avid fisherman, and cast his own sinkers. I wanted to do the same. My dad took a piece of heavy sheet metal and pounded into a ladle like thing, to melt lead, on the kitchen stove. We didn't know any better back then. The ladle held maybe 2 lbs. When my parents would have to go somewhere, I would get the ladle out and start melting all the wheelweights I had picked up and the odd pieces of lead I could find by the power poles. I had been warned not to melt lead while alone, but I was a little bit of a rebel, and did it anyway. I was always careful, never got burned or spilled molten lead. Never did cast any sinkers, just melted the lead, let it harden in the ladle, dumped the "ingot", and melted more lead. Of course, my parents could always tell, by the smell in the house when they returned. Never got more than a slight scolding.

Divil
10-14-2019, 10:52 AM
45 years old until next March. Only been actively casting 6 months.

Petander
10-18-2019, 10:33 AM
This was interesting.

I'm 56 and started around 35. Don't know much yet - but I'm working on it. Discovering Hi Tek coating got me back into casting big time. And big boolits,that's where most of the fun is for me.

jessdigs
10-20-2019, 03:06 AM
I'm 38. I started reloading about 4 years ago, and casting and powder coating about 2 years ago. What's next? Swaging? The way I do hobbies I'll have a full lineup of BT Sniper products two months after I swage my fist bullet.

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

vtech26
10-21-2019, 04:04 PM
I am 47 and my first press was a Dillon 550B when I was 39. Starting collecting lead and casting soon after. Sure wish I would have gotten into this years ago. It is addictive for sure!

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Iron369
10-21-2019, 04:58 PM
I’m 43. I started this adventure really about 2 years ago.

TJF1
10-21-2019, 05:03 PM
I begin casting in 1960. I will be 81 in January.

charlie b
10-21-2019, 10:31 PM
I started when I was stationed in Germany, shooting a cap and ball revolver. 23yrs old. Had about 20 year break in shooting and casting, then back at it again. So only about 20 years casting experience. :)

Gatch
10-21-2019, 11:05 PM
I'm 33, just started this year. I got interested because I'd like to keep ammo cost for shooting ipsc down. But now that I've gotten into shooting, I can't wait to purchase some bigger calibers to cast for and shoot..

Binky
10-23-2019, 01:01 PM
I started in my mid-teens in the mid-60s. (Back room of the local gun shop. He taught me how to reload and cast) My most active period was my mid-20 to late 30s when I was involved in PPC shooting as a LEO. I do cast some for rifles but mostly for pistols and revolvers. Been a few years when the volume was very low due to life getting in the way. When I retired a few years ago, I got back into it and for a year or so cast and reloaded a whole bunch. I am sitting on a pile of bullets for most of my cast bullet shooters so I have slowed down on the casting and tried to pick up on the shooting part. Again life (read: Old Age) gets in the way and I don't shoot as much as I would like! In the future, some one is going to get a heck of a deal on my casting empire (and everything else). Where I live now I don't know anyone that casts. Most of the young guys are only interested in blazing away with ARs or shooting into the next time zone at steel plates.(I do those things also but not to the exclusion of all other types of shooting.) As you can probably tell, by my rambling, I am racing head long, into geezerhood. I am 70

dverna
11-04-2019, 11:30 AM
In my late 60's. Started reloading when I was 17 and casting at 22.

I will always reload. Casting is not fun for me...it is a chore to get inexpensive bullets to shoot my pistols and pistol caliber rifles.

For the hunting I do, jacketed bullets are superior and easier to get accurate loads for. I have about 10,000 jacketed bullets for the AR's and .30 caliber rifles. I have molds for rifle calibers but just in case the SHTF and bullets are not available.

andre3k
11-05-2019, 03:33 PM
39 now, started casting when I was 35.

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tunnug
11-12-2019, 10:02 AM
60, Been collecting what I need but have not made the jump yet, still need a good burner and I'm too cheap to buy new, used prices around here run close to the new ones, anytime now I'll make the jump.
Been reloading for about 30 yrs now, I've got a drawerfull of dies and multiple single and progressive presses mounted.

onelight
11-19-2019, 08:52 PM
Started casting with RB and bullets for cap and ball revolvers and rifles in about 1974 on the kitchen stove with a spoon for a ladle and a small skillet for a pot. My bride new at the time tolerated it for 5 or 6 sessions before she moved me and the stinking smoking lead outside .

Ring3
11-21-2019, 09:25 AM
I’m 53. Have been a “scrapper” since I can remember. Copper, aluminum, steel, mercury, etc..., and of course lead. Been a source of extra income in good and bad times through the years. Until recently I had only casted fishing sinkers and round balls. With the help of people here and elsewhere I’ve gotten into casting for pistols and really like the experience.

rintinglen
11-21-2019, 11:05 AM
Older now,darn it.

Hanzy4200
11-22-2019, 08:32 PM
I am 34 and have been sweating over a pot for around 7 years now. Still learning.

Misery-Whip
11-22-2019, 10:07 PM
Just turned 34 too. Casting the last 6 years all lee 2 cavity molds except 2 are the lee 6 cavity. In all ive been reloading for 11 years. My uncle got me started.

30coupe
11-23-2019, 03:18 PM
Looks like a lot of us old farts pouring our own, lol! I'm on the downhill side of 66. I don't recall the exact age I started casting my own, but I started helping my uncle when I was probably 10...sorting out the wrinkled ones, collecting the sprue chunks, etc.

Butler Ford
12-16-2019, 05:50 PM
Older now,darn it.

LOL! Me too, went up and age group to a smaller percentage.

GONRA
12-16-2019, 06:42 PM
For wot its worth, GONRA's 82....

Hossfly
12-19-2019, 03:49 PM
Hossfly just past 70 and headed toward 71, been blessed with good health so far, except for a couple broken ribs last March in a horse wreck.

DanishM1Garand
12-19-2019, 04:20 PM
I started at 12-13 for shotgun. My dad would only buy #7 shot shells. I wanted to reach out ant touch stuff with my 20 gauge. At first I hit the township dump and used the 00 buck out of spray paint cans. When they switched to rivets I then started drilling into oak boards melting the 7’s and recasting them as boolit shaped buckshot. I’d drill a bunch of holes then split the boards. Not real efficient but it deaded groundhogs.

Rcmaveric
12-23-2019, 06:55 PM
I started reloading 6 years ago and I started casting 4 or 5 years ago. I am 33 now. I cast and reload for everything I shoot.

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RickF
12-23-2019, 07:14 PM
62 here, was a scrappy 15 year old not that long ago ... I have no idea what ever happened?

The Dar
12-28-2019, 10:40 PM
62 here, was a scrappy 15 year old not that long ago ... I have no idea what ever happened?

I know the feeling, I just turned 59. I have no idea who that old man is in the mirror.

Jal5
12-29-2019, 05:52 PM
68 where did the time go???

Rescue1008
12-29-2019, 08:36 PM
I'm am still a young pup according to the poll at 30. No one in my family has ever cast nor has anyone ever reloaded. I got into reloading about 12 years ago just for the accuracy increase. The casting I got into about a year ago just so I could shoot more and to be able to take a deer with something that I cast, loaded, and then shot means so much more to me. Plus it's my relaxing time and I feel that I understand how everything works in my rifle this way.

RP
01-05-2020, 08:03 PM
I been casting for around 30 years I wonder how many tons I have poured over the years after finding this site and saving so much money lol the amount of moulds and shot I have cast along with the swage bullets I think I moved up to bullet caster expert lol

max it
01-05-2020, 09:22 PM
Casting for 10 years: lead in blood count?
As high as 19dl-mg. Now 11. Striving to get under the new limit of 10.
Friends have neuropathy.
Stay safe!


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pierced_primer
01-06-2020, 10:16 AM
I started in about 1977. Had a FFL and did gunsmithing. Liked to shoot but couldn’t afford each trigger pull. Started scrounging lead at the range and finally bought casting equipment. Am now 74 and still going strong casting.

mdi
01-06-2020, 05:05 PM
I'm 5 years older than when I saw this "poll" for the first time...

robbyPGP2014
01-07-2020, 05:55 AM
I will br 64 in Feb and don't really know when I started to cast. I do know that it was 3 or 4 years before I was old enough to get my drivers license. my dad and 2 older brothers were casters and I was always there too.

la5676
02-01-2020, 12:41 AM
Been reloading and casting for close to 45 years off and on, breaks from time to time for life choices. Started as a child with Dad in the late 60's, took a few breaks here and there for college, wife's career moves. Retired from farming 2 years ago, and at 63, trying to catch up on some of the shooting I've missed. Shoot all disciplines, if it makes noise, I do it. Shoot quite a bit of clays, sporting, and some trap, more pistol than rifle, but want to start more PC and loading for my rifles too.

redhawk0
02-15-2020, 04:42 PM
As old as this thread is...its likely that some of us originally voted in an age bracket that is no longer valid...bump me up one age bracket from 51-55 to 56-60

hahahaha

redhawk

SubPir8
02-16-2020, 03:10 AM
Reloading age = 7yrs. Current phase of civilian life, 5yrs old. 20 years of service life prior to that. 18 years of childhood prior to that. Emotional maturity of a 12 year old. Somehow, I’ve accumulated 20 years of spousal companionship to this date.


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dbmjr1
02-16-2020, 08:45 PM
As old as this thread is...its likely that some of us originally voted in an age bracket that is no longer valid...bump me up one age bracket from 51-55 to 56-60

hahahaha

redhawk

Same here.

Ray1946
02-17-2020, 03:21 PM
Been at it off and on since 74' when I bought a surplus Mosin-Nagant for $15.00. First mold was a 160 gr. Lee mold; I think $6.85 back then and shortly after a Lee loader. Made a mistake back in the early 90's and fooled with a scatter-gun for 12 years; 12 good years down the tube!..................

Redleg13a
02-19-2020, 07:30 PM
Just started this week actually. I did help my buddy a few months ago so I was familiar with the process but now that I did everything myself, I'm hooked! It was actually pretty enjoyable.

PapaG
02-27-2020, 06:00 PM
Started at age 12 in 1956 with 454190 and a 357446 double cavity moulds. Still at it 63 years later and have about 85 moulds, only ten or so I still use. Gonna have a sale one day.

Tar Heel
03-08-2020, 10:30 AM
I figure we did it off and on for 20 years to make round balls or 38 Special wad-cutters, then as we got older we put more effort into the craft to begin turning out real nice bullets for many calibers. We read the literature (before the "net") to educate ourselves, read all the manuals which had correct information compiled by industry experts and was vetted. Off we went and learned the craft.

Today it seems, the "craft" is purchasing Super Hard bullets from Amazon and having them delivered yesterday. When I go to the range and show to <40 crowd cast bullet ammo for the 30-30 or the 7.62x39 or the 35 Remington or other calibers, they cringe in disbelief. I showed a guy my 45 ACP barrel after shooting 200+ rounds of cast bullets through it in the last hour and he gave me that "bullsh&t" look. I offered to let him shoot some of the ammo in his 45 and he looked like I slapped him!

Having tried to interest the younger crowd (with notable exceptions), I kind of gave up and am now resolved to continue talking to myself, alone, at smelting and casting sessions. To spend a day casting and working your craft is simply not done in the younger "instant" generation. This is all perhaps cyclic too. With the advent of boxed ammunition readily available at the general store for your 44 or 45, who needed to cast and reload when factory stuff was right there? The decades following the turn of the 20th century through the 60's probably saw grandpa's Ideal molds rusting away in the barn. Then came Gunsmoke and the wealthier post WWII gereration known as the boomers. We had more money, more time, and more inclination. We didn't have to reload and cast, we wanted to reload and cast because we had traits of craftsmanship instilled in us by our parents and grandparents.

Time moves on and me thinketh that the cycle is on its downward (non-interest) direction. Perhaps my grandkids will find my rusty old Lyman and RCBS molds in the work shed next to my bright and shiny Accurate Mold and Lee Aluminum molds. Wait until they see the brass molds!

Man I have tried to interest the younger crowd but it's like shouting at the moon. I am waiting for that one young'n to show an interest but frankly don't hold out much hope for it. Those of you who may have interested friends and family locally to you and can share the craft with are very lucky indeed. I am envious.

Well it's time to bump up the age group for most of us like some have mentioned. Let's all hope the initial age group holds its measure or better yet, starts increasing!

Safe casting and shooting!

Iowa Fox
03-21-2020, 11:02 PM
I've been at it a long time and I find it one of my most fascinating and enjoyable hobbies. I feel fortunate, a lot of great gentlemen that where here before this current forum have passed on. Hope I can hang on as long as I can.

Mitch Harrington
03-23-2020, 07:05 AM
Current age is 49 and I've cast bullets since 2008.

eggwelder
03-28-2020, 09:59 AM
Started casting lead in clay molds when i was about 10, so 1980. Mostly little cannons for ship models and slingshot ammo. Used the garbage fire and home made tools. Ladles made from a coat hanger and a jar lid.....i made lots of those. My mother still has some of them
Made the molds at school, teacher thought it was pretty cool.
Always liked casting, pewter, brass aluminum, pot metal, if it would melt, i`d cast it.
Started casting boolits around 2014 when i got my first muzzleloader, then started for .303.
Made a .32 RB mold from soapstone, still used it, beer did get a “proper” mold. I`ve cast more boolits and round ball than i will ever shoot. I really enjoy the casting process.

Casper29
04-01-2020, 12:30 PM
Been reloading since 1982 but started to cast in 2008 should have done it long before.

jwlegal
04-03-2020, 11:26 PM
Started reloading in the early 70's and casting followed quickly behind as the only way to afford to shoot back then was to make my own. Shudder to think about the number of rounds I have run through the equipment I bought when I first started. Love the fact that the original investment can last so long. Back then I could find all kinds of scrap lead....hard to do these days. I recently found several buckets of wheel weights used by big trucks. So I guess it is still possible to scrounge up the makings of ammunition. But the different companies that sell lead pretty much mixed any way you want it is becoming more common these days. Sort of takes some of the fun out of it but also can find some pretty clean mixtures that don't require near as much work to get ready for use. Still have an old cast iron pot, hot plate, and ingot mold...just in case I run into any more of those wheel weights. Thanks for sharing stories about such a great hobby.

tigweldit
04-18-2020, 06:22 PM
Dad taught me casting and reloading when I was 6 years old. 1961. I'm still using the same moulds, Lyman 45, and many of the dies that I learned on. Dad also taught me to take care of my things that I want to last.

Mule
04-18-2020, 07:19 PM
Started about 1980 pouring round balls. The beginning of a life long addiction. Don't ever start. See you at reloadaholics anonymous meetings.

smithnframe
04-19-2020, 02:55 PM
I started casting bullets and handloading when I was 12 in 1970! I'll be 62 in June and I'm still enjoying both of them!

Yooper003
04-21-2020, 06:38 PM
I have been casting off & on for about 50 yrs. years ago it was just for my muzzle loaders. Last 5 yrs got into it more for center fire .now I have 5 slngle shot rifles in different cal. that I cast for. I am 82.

Targa
04-24-2020, 09:36 PM
Just starting....actually haven't even started yet....preparing to start at 47 years old.

Side by Side
04-25-2020, 06:19 PM
I have been casting since age 15, will be 60 in a few months.


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mikwat
04-25-2020, 08:48 PM
Started casting last summer. I'm 33.

josie wales
04-29-2020, 06:46 AM
I started casting when I joined a pistol club and got serious about Bullseye competition. I was 18 and now I am 69. Casting is a great escape from reality and easy to get into the "zone" and forget about problems. Also saved a ton of money when I was shooting a 1000 rounds a week. .Now I cast for .44, 45ACP, 38 and .357, 9mm, a new "slugs R Us mold, and several black powder molds. I love the old Thompson Center Molds.

444ttd
05-02-2020, 04:02 PM
i started rolling muzzleloader balls at 12yo. i started handloading j-words when i was 20yo. i began to load up cast boolits 8 or 9 years ago. i am 48yo. since my stroke(2011), my shooting has gotten good, but i'll never be a "great shooter" again. (ya know, i was one them of those sub 1/2" j-word great shooter guys:veryconfu:mrgreen:) now its 3" or less at 100 yards will make me happy.

more velocity has no meaning for me now. i'll take my 444 marlin with 300gr fn gc going 1625+/-fps and it will still kill deer if were a 265gr hornady fn going 2300fps. my speedster is a 30-40 krag with 165gr ranch dog going a whopping 1930fps. it kills deer D E D!!!!!![smilie=1: i use CB on all of my rifles(except the 20 vartarg), from the 30-40 krag to the 500 linebaugh. and i use them to be "recoil free". if the load "feels" like a '06 in 180gr factory load, then my shoulder tells me not to load it up more, because if do, my shoulder goes to jelly and the load goes to "i can't hit the inside of barn anymore!" trust me, my shoulder knows!!!!!

i use 4895 and 2400(and dacron) and hs-6 in my rifles. i use unique in my 44 mag/spl.

Rio Grande
05-03-2020, 08:36 PM
Haha. I started casting on the kitchen stove when I was 15.
Then worked a whole summer casting for a commercial caster. Jaro Bullets.
Got paid end of summer w\ a nice Colt 1911.
Those were the days my friends.
Over 45 years ago. Still cast on occasion.

djohns28
05-20-2020, 04:14 PM
I will be 31 in a month or so. I would much rather hang out with a 40 year old than a 20 year old so I put 31-40. I'm not casting bullets yet but working on fishing sinkers and ingots. Plan on dropping shot more than casting bullets. Really wanting to get into front-stuffers..

kcofohio
05-22-2020, 10:05 PM
A lot of interesting post in this here thread. It's great to see the wide range of casting backgrounds. Fascinating. :)

At 57, I have only been reloading since 2011 or early 2012. I just started casting early this spring.

SeabeeMan
07-09-2020, 07:43 AM
Started completely on a whim after stumbling across a bucket of wheel weights...at about age 28. 37 now.

Jsm180
07-09-2020, 08:01 AM
63 now, started reloading with my dad in the late 60's and casting in my teens when I built a CVA mountain rifle. Only cast now for 44 mag and 32-20.

bishopgrandpa
07-09-2020, 08:55 AM
Started in my early thirties and am 81 next month. Slower but still fun and profitable.

Russel A
07-11-2020, 09:43 AM
Helped with some casting but mostly reloading by the time I was 15. Have been reloading since. Just started casting again this year. I will be 49 this year.

Win52D
07-13-2020, 10:43 PM
I started casting back in the early 90's when I first started reloading for handguns. Got away from it fore a while but as retirement looms closer I will have more time to enjoy it. I'm 64.