Casters' ages with a more uniform scale

[Maven]

In 1969 I began casting .375" round balls for a 1851 Colt cap & ball revolver I bought new. Casting for CF rifles didn't begin until ~1985 or so.

[Shuz]

I began casting in 1962 under the tut ledge of a Staff Sargent when I was in the USAF, stationed up in northern Maine. Our first and only .44 mag mould then was a Lyman 429360. Imagine this.... that we could never get it to drop boolits that would shoot as well as we thought they should! Both of us had Ruger 6-1/2" Blackhawk flat tops that we bought on base for about $75.00! I still have mine, but I lost track of old Sgt John Mong, and don't know if he is still even with us, but I will be eternally grateful for his time and patience with my learning curve(that I'm still on!)

[9.3X62AL]

My casting bit began in 1981 at age 26, to create bullets to reload my 32 caliber handguns with. Commercially-available bullets for those calibers were largely unobtainium at that time. I did a bit of reading, met with one of my mentors who I knew did some bullet casting and got some pointers on how to proceed in the real world (and not just from book texts), and concluded that the hobby was worthy of pursuit--and not just for the 32 revolvers.

Very few local places stocked bullet moulds. Jerry Berman & Sons in San Bernardino did, and I went there one payday and scored Lyman a 10# cast iron pot--a Lyman dipper--a Lyman mold handle set--and 3 moulds, #311291, #313492, and #358430. A few months later, I bought Lyman #358432 and #452488. The rest--as they say--is history. I now reload 35+ calibers, and have moulds for every one of those chamberings--80+ tools from most of the major makers and as time goes on most moulds come from the semi-custom small makers. 36 years of casting, 47 years of reloading at age 62.

[gandydancer]

I started casting & reloading in 1951 (11 years old) George Hayden an old weir fisherman used to let me help him. when I turned 15 years old he gave me a Winchester model 23B in 25-20 I killed a ton of partrage with it, I would love to be that boy again,

[TexasGrunt]

I'll be 57 next month. I've been casting jigs and sinkers since 1983. Just got into boolit casting in December of 2016.

It was always something I thought I should get into but I just didn't have the time.

My back decided I needed to retire just before I turned 52. Then a few months later I found I had prostate cancer. In 2014 we made the move from Oregon to Texas. I too thought it would be a lot more expensive to start than it was. I figured out that PC or Hi-Tek wasn't all that hard or involved. I already had lots of powder paint for jigs and fishing lures.

I started with a Lee 6 banger in the 200 gr SWC. I've now got a few dozen molds.

To tell the truth casting boolits has been a life saver for me. Health problems have kept me from fishing for the past year and I was quickly going nuts. One can only make so many fishing lures and jig heads before you sink the boat.

I try and get out into the garage and cast/reload for a few hours every day. It's been the most fun I've had in years.

[Hickok]

62 years old now. Been at it for about 44 years.

But I learned more on this site than I did trying to figure it out on my own during those "pre-internet years."

Thanks to all of you!

[mold maker]

Hickory said it like it was. In "63, when I graduated from sinkers to boolits, there was no internet and very little in print, that I had access to. It was all trial and error, mostly error.
Now as age takes its toll, I'm doing less, but learning more. I still try to spend an hr or so a day in the basement. Trips up and down the stairs are hard so I make the time spent worth while. For instance, I have to schedule citric acid cleaning around the weather and Dr appointments, because once the citric acid is added to the brass, the 2+ hr. finishing of the process can't be put off.
My tip for today is to keep a note pad handy and put a note in each container stating its condition.
Ex. 223 com., de-primed and citric washed, ready to size. Or 5.56 Mil., de-primed, citric cleaned, pocket swaged. It's easy to forget when there are several processes going at the same time, such as working with range pickup.

[Brad Cayton]

I started casting in 1980 when I was 19 and I'm now 56. Started with round balls for my muzzle loader and then for a 44 mag Super Blackhawk. I didn't know anyone who cast and like some of you have said, it was before the internet. I read all I could and went at it on my own. This site would have made it a lot easier and I still learn something just about every time I log on.
I haven't shot anything but cast for years, hunting and plinking. I have many firearms that have never seen a j-word bullet since they left the factory as many of you I'm sure. I powder coat mostly now but still use Felix lube in my old 450 from time to time.

[Hickok]

I agree with MoldMaker, about "very little in print." And most of what was written was wrong. At least by my own real world experiences following the directions of many "in the know." The older Lyman manuals were not much better.

You had to use Linotype, or some form of Lyman #2 to cast good boolets,.... any speeds over 800-900fps had to use the aforementioned alloys.... size revolver boolets to barrel groove diameter,.... recommended size .429" for .44 magnum,... all a bunch of horse pucky.

All I had was old lead pipes, and wheel weights, a Coleman stove and a couple of molds.

Did get to read info from Elmer Keith, Skeeter Skelton and Mike Venturino occasionally from G&A, Handloader, American Rifleman, back in the early 70's, and they were a big help.

[trapper9260]

I started to cast sinkers with my dad when I was small and then in the mid 80's I start to cast bullets on my own beside reload handgun and rifle. Was doing shotgun with my dad when I was small also.

[Smk SHoe]

I tried casting in the early 90's when I started reloading. Couldn't make a good bullet to save my life. Really tore up some one and two cavity lee molds. Left casting alone and focused on reloading. Became very experienced in reloading ( the go to guy in my area) but never got back into casting. Found this site a few years ago. Lurked for a year or so and finally joined. I am a casting fool now. Cast for all my stuff and my neighbors stuff. This is not a hobby you can do but just buying the equipment and doing. You HAVE to have a mentor, either in person or a whole forum full that can give pointers, help trouble shoot your problems, and just give advice.

[rking22]

Well , I'm 58 and started casting 311410s to shoot in a friend's Win 94 ( 1895 dob!) In 1974. Been at it ever since, with a few interruptions of a few years here and there when life got in the way. Have a mold,or molds, for everything I shoot, except air guns, bows,and a 40sw. Got a 9mm barrel for the 40, don't plan on loading 40s, if I do then it will be with cast! I love the independence and economy casting provides. I've got ,literally, tons of lead that can become a 45 gr hornet boolit or a 69 call round ball, and most things in between.

[hotbrew]

Started casting in the early 80s for pistol, have boolits cast over the past twenty years that I'm still loading with. All pistol calibers so far - have gone to swaging for rifle. Hope to do more casting after I retire and have more time to shoot them

hotbrew

[Big Boomer]

My age rolled over on 77 this past February. Had parents who thought I could not possibly be responsible enough to handle firearms. So got a late start casting about 1975 at the age of 35. Now cast for all my handguns and rifles. When I got into centerfire, I got rid of all my rimfires. Calibers for which I case include .223/5.56, .243, .30-06, .380, 9mm, .38 Spl./.357 Mag., .41 Mag., .45 Colt, .45 ACP. This site and the old Shooters.com have been a real source of info over the years. Big Boomer

[Green Frog]

I "dipped my toes into the casting waters" at about the age of 24 (back in the mid-'70s.) I get serious about it periodically as time and circumstances allow. Currently I cast for my North-South Skirmish guns and a few modern revolvers, especially 32s for which a good selection of bullets is sometimes challenging to find.

Froggie

[Shiloh]

I shoot on the cheap. My bolts are virtually free.
I did by some super hard alloy and tin from RotoMetals for adjusting alloy and having bootits drop a little bigger.

Shiloh

[buckwheatpaul]

I started casting in 1978....and still enjoy it (65 now) when I need to cast 'em up!

[gwpercle]

In 1967 I was 17, a high school senior , bought Lyman #358156 1-cavity mould, small cast iron pot dipper, and their Cast Bullet Handbook . Then proceeded to teach myself the hard way.
Not one other person I knew reloaded ammo much less cast .
When I asked my Daddy to loan me $9.99 to buy a Lee Loader (whack-A-Mole) so I could reload fired cases and save us money , He gave me that, " have you lost you're mind " look...but my Dad slipped me a twenty and said that was for the "extras" I might need. And Pop was right, it's all them extra's that keep you from saving all that money.
Gary

[Bazoo]

33 here. Been casting bout 4 or 5 years or so.

[Mitch]

Soon to be 56.started casing about 5 or 6 years ago.Been loading for many years.Thank you to all here for the great info and tips.