Mine was a Lyman Turret that I got in a kit in the late 70's. Soon thereafter upgraded to a Rock Chucker.
Mine was a Lyman Turret that I got in a kit in the late 70's. Soon thereafter upgraded to a Rock Chucker.
Wamadet ,still use it 35 years later.
LYMAN Comet, bought at gun show 1967-8. $8 BUCKS I think. Replaced it with a LYMAN Spartan and then a RCBS RockChucker. Gave the Comet to a friend to get him started.
I started with a Lee Challenger press in the early 90's. Sold it a couple years later when I upgraded to a Hornady Projector. Still have the Hornady in storage.
Lee Challenger, it is my dedicated depriming press now.
lee load all 12ga
Within a couple of years of each other I learned shotshell loading on a MEC 600 Jr (20 ga) at the home of a friend and metallic on a TruLine Jr (38 Spl) given to my dad and me by his brother in law. I still have the TL Jr and inherited the MEC on the passing of my friend. I still load 20 ga on the MEC, and the TL Jr still gets used for a variety of calibers for which I have those special little dies. I own about a dozen plus other presses, but neither of those is likely to be going anywhere else any time soon. :-)
Froggie
RCBS Rockchucker circa 1972 and still going strong.
Lyman Spar T 1968 or there abouts ,(can't remember exact year)
Hornady 5 Station Progressive and I still use Hornady.
I agree with Reddirt62, better off starting at the top. Saves money & time.
Pacfic "C",blue one,early 60's.
Later,,,,Hootmix.
RCBS partner press, the package deal with manual, 505 scale and a few tools.
back in the 80's it was a RCBS Rock chucker or crusher one of the two LOL , I'm too old to remember
Redding #7 c frame bought new in the 60's for under $15 new. Still my favorite press. One stroke of the handle either up or down completes the stroke of the ram.
Early 60's on a Tru Line Jr . Still using it and 4 more like it .
Eddie
RCBS Rockchucker bought in 1974 I still use it today, it is as good now as it was then.
Rockchucker 1977 and just up graded to a Redding T-7
A Lee Loader in .30-30. It was bought by my Dad for my younger brother and me when we were around 12 and 13 years old, around 1965 or so.
Then about 1969 I walked out of a gun store with a new Remington 700ADL in .270, a Leupold 4X scope, a couple boxes of ammo, a new RCBS Jr. press, a Redding powder scale, RCBS dies in .270, a few extras like lube pads and a shell holder, a pound of DuPont IMR 4831, some primers, a box of bullets (disremember the brand), and a lighter wallet. My older brother was with me, he might have had to sign for the 700ADL, I don't remember, since I was only about 17 then. He walked out with a Remington 700BDL in 7MM Rem. Magnum, a Redfield 3-9X scope, RCBS dies for 7MM Magnum, a pound of powder and some bullets in case I got bored with loading for that "whimpy little .270".
I can't remember what I had for breakfast this morning but I can remember that day in '69, summer's worth of hay-hauling wages burning a hole in my pocket and all those articles in gun magazines tumbling around in my head.
Lyman Spartan, 50 years ago and still my primary. 2 Lyman turrets of the same vintage and a Rockchucker are secondaries. My older brother started a year or so before me with a Lyman 310 tool in 30-30. I bought the Spartan, 2 primer pocket reamers and a couple of other small items for 25 bucks. I haven't bought a factory CF rifle round since then that I can remember other than a can of 30 carbine ammo that I bought from the DCM.
It's amazing how simply some of us started. My little Lee Loader loaded quite a bit of ammo during my high school years. Another kid and I in wood shop class made us a couple of wooden hammers for thumping on our Lee Loaders. I still have mine, it got converted to a mold whacker somewhere along the line and is still used for that.
After I got a real press, the RCBS Jr., I loaded a lot of ammo by weighing every charge, using a tea spoon and shallow bowl to dispense powder. I didn't even have a trickler for several years. Now I look around at all the gear I've accumulated over the years and wonder where it all came from.