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View Full Version : Milestones, 5 years of Cast Boolits today.



45nut
08-26-2008, 09:20 AM
Members: 6,256, Threads: 34,377, Posts: 375,471

We have crossed several milestones in the 5 years since I started this forum, from humble and shaky steps back on the old aimoo forum to the solid foundation we have achieved here on the Gunloads domain.

In the two years we were at aimoo we gathered some 700 members, we now sit well over 6,200 and increasing by the minute. Unfortunately, we have lost members and we honor their memories with our "In Remembrance" area. We have seen challenges and competed at events such as the Nevada Cast Boolit Shoot and lost track of the number of ways we could spread the word of a forum dedicated to casting our own.

From nation to nation, continent to continent we have gained members and spread the word of the "Silver Stream". We gather lead and beeswax and other artifacts from days gone by and restored the crafts and skills necessary to not only continue our own hobby but to introduce many newcomers to our hobbies.

We fight amongst ourselves also, and call a spade a spade when goods are subpar and attempt to make things right. We continue this path of free will and independent thinking despite the obvious attempts to curtail our spirits and outright assaults on our rights not only to exist, but to have a say on our own lives and activities.

There are members and visitors from across this Earth that have come to this place to gain independence from tyrants and inflation that threaten our ability to remain armed and free. The continued battle to remain able to defend our lives and liberty rests squarely in those able to remove those threats with our actions and sometimes with the cartridge box instead of the ballot box. Our craft, our ability to feed those firearms with ammunition crafted by our own hands may decide the fate
of us all.

We all have information we seek, or information we can share, that drive for knowledge is why this forum has thrived, we have teachers and students here looking to share this independent thinking.

With all those points, we have also seen the tremendous support given to keep this forum alive and thriving. Countless donations from our members and sponsorships from member's companies have done that from the very beginning. Without that support this forum could not be, the membership has given time and time again to keep us viable and able to continue the path.

The dividend paid to the membership for that support has been a lot of insight into casting related topics, and a wide variety of mold designs and other products available through group buys that either haven't ever been available commercially or have been difficult and/or expensive to find elsewhere.

It could easily be argued that we've had a partner in Lee precision since the first mold group buy began years ago. We have had countless 6 cavity molds exchanged between board members. We have sworn by and occasionally sworn at their products since the boards inception. (A habit I'm sure won't change)

In recent talks with John Lee, I addressed this forums buying power and the fact that Lee had been the beneficiary of our proclivity to design and buy molds.
He agreed with my view that his company has gained substantial sales from this forum and agreed that sponsoring our community was in his companies interests. We would like to welcome Lee Precision to cast boolits as a financial sponsor. We will be proudly displaying a Lee Banner Link in exchange for this support.

This marks a new milestone but does not diminish or preclude the support we have always been blessed by from our membership. The membership IS the forum, without a active membership a forum withers and dies and I have always respected and known that. This community is and will remain true first and foremost to our members.

Vendor support however lends a consistency of support that is helpful in growing our forum (New Servers get expensive and bandwidth needs are continually growing). I believe it is fair and just to bring in related sponsors in the light of the impact we make to these companies with our wallets. Lee Precision has benefited by our group buys and the other products they offer we purchase in pursuit of our "hobby" and certainly will continue to do so.

I welcome them aboard as official sponsors and am proud to have been able to help this forum become the de facto location for cast bullet information and to make it an obvious choice for Lee to help us out.

I hope you will join me in welcoming John Lee and Lee Precision to the CB fold.

cattleskinner
08-26-2008, 09:41 AM
HAPPY BIRTHDAY CAST BOOLITS!!!! :drinks:

~Amos

Maineboy
08-26-2008, 09:48 AM
Wow, five years already. Time sure flies when your getting old!
Thanks for all your efforts 45nut. This is a great place to learn and exchange. While I don't post much, I do visit just about everytime I turn on a computer. Logging on is like coming home.

Doc Highwall
08-26-2008, 09:55 AM
Well said 45nut.

docone31
08-26-2008, 10:57 AM
Five years, wow. Time flies.
I am glad Lee is coming aboard. I exclusively use their products. I have since day one.
I hope they surf this site. It will help them with feedback.
I have gotten some mistakes on their products. I have always gotten complete satisfaction from them with their stuff.
This forum took some serious dedication to start and operate. I tried casting years ago, and went nowhere. It wasn't untill I got on board here that I was able to break through. The whole thing, homemade lubes, casting, sizing, paper patching. I have met some great folks here. A lot of people have reached out and given assistance.
Great place to hang out!

Bret4207
08-26-2008, 11:10 AM
Thanks for the site Ken and Willy. Doesn't seem like 5 years already.

Fleataxi
08-26-2008, 11:46 AM
45nut: Bravo Zulu on 5 years!

However, I did think the comment about "Tyrrany and Inflation" was a bit over the top - I could understand "Tyranny and Oppression" however! :lol:

Fleataxi

cbrick
08-26-2008, 12:44 PM
http://www.lasc.us/smiley.gif

WOW . . . Five years. Thanks Ken, you done good, really, really good.

Rick

45nut
08-26-2008, 01:21 PM
Fleataxi, the inflation and devaluation of the dollar has had a direct impact on the numbers of the membership, plinking with factory ammo, even factory jacketed bullets has become expensive, very expensive. Casting and reloading offers us the option to maintain our abilities and proficient
manual of arms without going bankrupt, a simple hour at the bench can produce ammo for the day or for the week, just ask some of our overseas members how difficult it is to get ammo.

Casting is by it's very nature a frugal and independent activity, recycling lead into usable boolits, recycling the brass, or even just casting a few roundballs for a muzzleloader vs relying upon swaged roundballs from hornady or speer is much more viable than it ever has been. For every dollar not spent on a box of shells from walmart and spent on a new mold or other accoutrement in our hobby means we maintain control on our arms.

The gun without ammo is merely a bluff, the road I fear ahead is full of uncertainties about our right to keep and bear arms, one such strategy is control of the ammo by way of excessive taxation or bans. We as reloaders can maintain our stocks in spite of bans or outright denial of ammo through commercial outlets, taking that a bit further as casters we can sidestep some shortages.

Inflation impacts most of us directly, only a stop at the gas pumps can show you, a stop at the grocery is another very visible indicator, shopped for Noslers or Sierra's lately?

I do not speak for everyone, but I cannot waste dollars, I must be aware.

Those that are biting the bullet and buying casting equipment now, free themselves for the future. Inflation, oppression and tyranny are key indicators, disarm the people, drive prices on commodities vital to life up and make desperation and reliance on government exist and you have sheep not men. Sheep are slaughtered.
We gather on this site to gain the ability and share the knowledge of independence. If only one boolit in your gun decided the difference between life and death and you cast it yourself, every tribulation ever on this board will have been worth it.

wiljen
08-26-2008, 02:07 PM
Happy Birthday Cast Boolits and thanks to all of you who make it what it is. Here's to 5 more years and breaking the 10,000 member mark.

handyrandyrc
08-26-2008, 02:07 PM
Thanks for the site, guys. It's really a nice place to visit and learn from each other.

WELCOME TO LEE PRECISION! I love you guys -- being such a frugal squirrel, all of my equipment is Lee. And it does a DARN GOOD JOB at what I need it to do. I can't get enough of my Classic Turret press, and your dies are wonderful.

Calamity Jake
08-26-2008, 02:13 PM
HAPPY BIRTHDAY CASTBOOLETS [smilie=w:[smilie=w:

jameslovesjammie
08-26-2008, 02:35 PM
I'd like to thank everyone on here for the wonderful forum. I bought my first mould almost seven years ago, but never cast until a few months ago. I had no one to teach me, and the few articles I read on the subject always seemed like they left something out. I always had questions and no one to ask. This site has given me that opportunity.

Thank you all, especially 45nut. The attitude, atmosphere, and courteousness of this site has always been encouraging. I'm never afraid to ask a question.

copdills
08-26-2008, 03:18 PM
HAPPY BIRTHDAY CAST BOOLITS & WELCOME LEE PRECISION INC.

copdills :castmine: with the help of LEE PRECISION INC.

HABCAN
08-26-2008, 05:05 PM
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO 'US', and a huge Thank You to Ken for this site!

(Note to John Lee: I've been a customer of your products since you first offered them decades ago. While keeping my older expensive molds, all my NEW ones are LEEs and will continue to be, especially if you'd cut them a tad bigger, LOL. Those 6-bangers are marvellous. 'Nuther thing, I am replacing ALL my 'other' die sets with LEEs. Those deluxe/collet die sets are superb. Now, can we have a revised Handbook which includes loads for all the LEE boolits, please? And, Thank You for your support of this forum.)

Jim
08-26-2008, 05:15 PM
Well done, Nut. Well done, Sir.

dromia
08-26-2008, 05:27 PM
5 years old, I feel young again. :-D

Happy burffday to us all and a special toast to Ken for his vision and persistence and Willy for the home. :drinks:

dwtim
08-26-2008, 06:42 PM
I've found that this forum is nothing short of encyclopedic in its scope and detail--with respect to casting, loading and shooting.

I'll buy a couple Lee molds tonight in celebration.

Maven
08-26-2008, 07:14 PM
It is truly a delight and a privilege to participate in this forum. Congratulations Ken on a job well done!

Fleataxi
08-26-2008, 07:32 PM
45Nut: I think you missed the mark - the whole comment was a tongue-in-cheek comment about a cliche "Tyranny and Opression" - it's kind of like "bacon and eggs".

You wouldn't normally say "bacon and pancakes" - right?

Just ignore the whole silly comment if you like.

Happy Birthday!

Fleataxi

missionary5155
08-26-2008, 07:48 PM
HAPPY BIRTHDAY and a BIG thanks to EVERYONE who suggests, shares ideas, and makes this site the joy it is to read each day. Thank you for making it accessable to "ourseas casters".

Bigjohn
08-26-2008, 08:16 PM
What's a birthday party without a cake. Where's the cake? :kidding:

Many thanks for your hard work to keep us on the net.

And another Welcome to the board for LEE Precision. I have been buy their products since I started casting. I have the green, black, gray, orange and a lot of red product on my reloading bench. These days I find John LEE's product offer as good if not better service than the others.

Willy & Ken; a question; "If we use the link at the top of the site to access LEE, will our purchases be logged as being purchased by a member of this site?"

John.

waksupi
08-26-2008, 08:39 PM
Very eloquently stated, Ken. Welcome aboard Lee, and happy birthday, to all of us!

:drinks:

runfiveswife
08-27-2008, 07:40 PM
Happy Birthday Cast Boolits, Thanks For The Great Site And Alll Of You Welcomed Me When I Came Aboard, I Love You All, Alice

357maximum
08-27-2008, 08:44 PM
Happy Birthday Castboolits, and a personal thank you to Ken, Willy and all the modrators as well as any others that make this "Home away from Home" possible...much greatly appreciated.

Boerrancher
08-28-2008, 12:23 AM
Well done Ken and thank you for creating such a wonderful site. I found this place by accident almost a year ago. I was never interested in message boards as all of the other ones I had visited were full of folks on ego trips. I lurked here for months and noticed that this one was different. The people here were real, and tried to present the best information available. I had been casting for since I was a young boy, and had learned a good deal through trial and error mostly error. Since I found this site there have been a lot less errors.

To each member who reads this I say, "Thank you," to you as well for being willing to share your successes along with your failures. If it wasn't for you the members taking the time to write your thoughts, ideas, and observations, we would not be conversing about this topic now.

Best wishes from the Boer Ranch,

Joe

MtGun44
08-28-2008, 01:08 AM
Happy birthday to a most civil and educational place to share and
learn.

Well Done!

Bill

Bass Ackward
08-28-2008, 07:23 AM
There has to be little reward to go around for running and controlling something like this.

Enjoy the milestones for as much as you can and as long as it lasts for tomorrow there will always be a challenge.

Congratulations on a job well done.

bullshot
08-28-2008, 07:47 AM
Thanks Ken-- This is a great place to hang out. Happy Birthday to us.:drinks:

BBA
08-29-2008, 09:08 AM
Congratulations!! Thanks for your hard work keeping it running so smooth and the wealth of info that comes from the members.

tanstafl10
08-29-2008, 11:29 AM
Haven't been here all 5 years, but this place has really helped me!!!

Thanks to all, especially 45Nut for starting it.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

MakeMineA10mm
08-29-2008, 03:57 PM
Thank you Ken and Wil for getting this going and keeping it breathing for five years. Getting in on the front end of a site like this is the best, I think. I got in on GlockTalk when it was only a few hundred members. It's over 40,000 now, I think. As much as I know it helps the site financially, I hope we don't get too big. It costs something in community and growing pains. I like this place being a gathering spot for serious reloading and casting junkies. :drinks:

45nut
08-29-2008, 06:48 PM
I would like to thank all of the members here for the support shown to the site, to myself and the thanks to Lee Precision for helping us out.

Shiloh
08-30-2008, 09:02 AM
It's nice to be part of the forum. There are LOTS of knowledgeable folks here who are happy to help. Nice post 45Nut!!

Shiloh