Anyone ever get into a hobby....

[xman777]

Spend lots of money and suddenly lose free time? Or perhaps lose interest?

I reckon this happens a lot, but maybe its just me.

This is what has happened to my swaging. Someone please slap me.

My problem is I either have time to swage em' or shoot em' I need to organize my setup/order of operations in order to make more efficient use of my time. This would be the post where I ask all those that swage to spill their tips/tricks for quality made efficient jwords. My mind keeps telling me to buy more presses and leave the dies in them for a full time 4 step process(22 cal) but it seems counter-intuitive to spend even more money on a hobby that I am not sure is being done enough to justify the costs I've already sunk in.

Let me know what ya'll think.

[Theditchman]

I know what you mean..I bought half the equiptment and the wait for the rest was so long by the tme it was starting to show up I had lost interest..I suddenley thought whats the point of having hundreds of home made boolits around and no time to shoot them....especially when you cant even sell them anymore..However I do know that the actual act of making them can be very interesting and theroputic to some....I eventually went in to Black powder shooting and discovered it was much more interesting and less expensive with no wait for equiptment..now I have cast hundreds of lead balls and boolits that I will shoot..but each to his own

[bangerjim]

That is why I have at least 4 or so serious hobbies! Metalworking, woodworking, firearms/casting/loading, MIDI keyboard music just to name three major ones. That way, when I get burned out on one, I can move to the other and not allow my "engineering brain" to turn to mulch!

And the nice thing - - - at least three of them work hand in hand! And I can listen to the instrumental pieces I have composed and recorded while I am doing the other three!!!!

Right now I am working on Christmas music for my 4th Holiday album. Not much time to cast or load.

Best of all worlds,

bangerjim

[Garyshome]

Automate your swaging set up?

[Mozz]

I am in the same boat, and thinking about selling my 308, and 243 set up -Corbin, RN 6 Ogive, VLD with flat and boat tail base...

Just can't make my mind up...

[bullet maker 57]

All you guys get out of staging and get your bullets from me. I'm just saying.

[leeggen]

Huh try model airplanes and remote controls. Your building, flying, and buying more. Just like casting.
Cd

[USAFrox]

Yeah, you should definitely just give your swaging stuff to me. It's definitely not worth your time. :0)

[beroen]

Huh try model airplanes and remote controls. Your building, flying, and buying more. Just like casting.
Cd

I have been selling all my neglected airplanes and stuff to fund reloading equipment lol..


You can't legally sell cast boolets anymore ? Or swaged jacketed ?

[wonderwolf]

I'm 28...work full time about 3 months of the year and part time during the rest....I do all sorts of volunteer work at our range working various programs and such. Recently I moved and have found I have time to actually reload and experiment again (moved out of the city FINALLY). With all things in life you have to plan a little ahead, I have no kids and a understanding girlfriend. I plan for a few hours each night after dishes are done to either read,reload or get online (for a few min). 50 rounds a night or more if I use the loadmaster and loaded ammo or swaged bullets pile up fast.

[fredj338]

Isnt the point of a hobby to do something with your "free" time?? If I don't have the time for a hobby, then I don't have the hobby. There is sleeping & eating, home maint, work & family. The rest is "free" time. How one fills it is up to them.
I reload because I can't afford factory ammo or load for calibers that factory ammo isn't available. Swaging is a hobby, I can buy factory bullets cheaper than the die set for making 223 from 22lr, but I enjoy learning something new & have the tools & ability should something catastrophic happen to the reloading supplies I rely on. Same reason I cast my own handgun bullets. The 10hrs it takes me to swage 1000 bullets, well I could just work 3hrs & buy 1K 55gr FMJ, but I don't like work that much!

[leeggen]

Fredj338, there you go saying that 4 letter word. w--k now cast, load and words like that make us all feel better. LOL
CD

[JRPVT]

I went the dedicated press route. Presses can be had at yard sales, or for the asking among friends...I have a stable of rock chuckers set up for .224, .243, .308, .458 and 9mm....that way when the buds want to go shoot, I can walk away...I'm not always setting up, I'm always set up. If my fingers get tired of playing with .224, I go do some .458 or whatever, to me, it's just more convenient. I have thought about thinning out the herd a few times, but then I get over it. Think on it. Dave

[myg30]

Plus +1 fer Fredj338
I said the same a while ago when I started casting Boolits. It takes time away from shooting. Then I said well, I also can't afford to shoot factory ammo so casting stays. Then the next hobby is collecting lead,tin,pewter on a days outing ! I call it a hobbie because I make a day or half day out of it when I set my time to do it.( like hunting which I don't do).
Now looking into swaging so my casting has to stay so I have cores! Humm...

Reloading is inside hobby on nasty days, nights when nothing else needs to be done.
Good weather is yard work,car,truck,tractor or mower repairs or smelting, casting if time permits.

If you don't have time.... Or , If you don't enjoy it, don't do it !

Remember always, PUT OFF TILL TOMORROW WHAT YOU DONT WANT TO DO TODAY !

Mike

[xman777]

I went the dedicated press route. Presses can be had at yard sales, or for the asking among friends...I have a stable of rock chuckers set up for .224, .243, .308, .458 and 9mm....that way when the buds want to go shoot, I can walk away...I'm not always setting up, I'm always set up. If my fingers get tired of playing with .224, I go do some .458 or whatever, to me, it's just more convenient. I have thought about thinning out the herd a few times, but then I get over it. Think on it. Dave

This is the type of wisdom I was looking for.

Plus +1 fer Fredj338
I said the same a while ago when I started casting Boolits. It takes time away from shooting. Then I said well, I also can't afford to shoot factory ammo so casting stays. Then the next hobby is collecting lead,tin,pewter on a days outing ! I call it a hobbie because I make a day or half day out of it when I set my time to do it.( like hunting which I don't do).
Now looking into swaging so my casting has to stay so I have cores! Humm...

Reloading is inside hobby on nasty days, nights when nothing else needs to be done.
Good weather is yard work,car,truck,tractor or mower repairs or smelting, casting if time permits.

If you don't have time.... Or , If you don't enjoy it, don't do it !

Remember always, PUT OFF TILL TOMORROW WHAT YOU DONT WANT TO DO TODAY !

Mike

I like the Idea of setting the good days for outside work and car washing etc... Another helpful post.

Thanks all for the responses.

[257]

shoot in good weather, swage and reload in bad weather. myself I do a lot of swaging reloading casting in the winter also woodworking, metalworking, gunsmithing repairing clocks and pocket watch's and now I'm thinking about building a drill,ream,rifleing set up in my spare time I take care of the yard thank god I don't work a full time job any more

[koehlerrk]

I cast, reload, hunt, target shoot, teach kids to shoot, am the assistant scoutmaster for my sons' troop, work on cars, and just got my first motorcycle. I also research history, teach my children everything I know, help my wife around the house, bake, cook, can food, veggie garden, flower garden, landscape, build water fountains in the yard, and made a flame-throwing pumpkin for Halloween. I also work full-time designing industrial machinery, program computers, design cell phone apps... that's just what I can think of that I've done in the past two months or so.

So, yeah, when I get bored with one thing, I switch to another...

[257]

what do you do with your free time?

[Muddydogs]

I have been reloading off and on since I was 12 years old, when I am in a reloading phase I purchase some new equipment and have fun until I get burned out once burned out the equipment sets on my bench for upwards of a year until I need the space for something else. At that time I box everything up and put it away until the fancy strikes me again. My longest time away from reloading was about 10 years and I have to say it was like X-mas opening the boxes and finding stuff I had forgot I had. I probably would not have gotten back into reloading if I would have had to start buying gear from scratch and I'm glad that I never sold a thing. It might be hard for some of you young wipper snappers to think about but eventually your life will start to slow down, you will realize that the TV is sucking the life out of you and you really need to keep your hands busy. I am starting to think about retirement and all the free time I will have to do my hobbys, I have leather working tool that I haven't touched in 15 years that just might see some use.

[goblism]

I am currently in the spot where I am thinking about getting more swaging items. I have a corbin setup for 223 and a fair amount of money that i could put towards some nice swaging dies but not sure if i will have the time for it. Working full time (50 hours+), going to grad school, and raising a family leaves a little spare time here and there but don't know if I have enough to stay focused on swaging. I am a guy who enjoys the process of doing something the detailed way (for example all grain beer brewing) but lose a little interest once I get it figured out. My brewing has been on stand still after building a nice setup but I know I will get the itch to dig it all out 3-4 times a year and have fun with it.

Part of me hopes to pick up a nice used set for 45, 44, or 475 and get started a little here and there. I am young yet and figure I have 40-50 years to get my money back, just hard to know if i will be that interested long enough to keep it up