Addiction

[Gibson]

This "hobby" is akin to a psychological addiction.

For a long while I thought that these guys are so freakin' pedantic, it's pathetic. But after a phone conversation with "goodsteel" my thinking has altered. He said basically the following:

'If I have an inquiry, I know I can post it and it'll get kicked and beaten around back and forth until finally some sort of consensus is reached.'

This contributed to a realization; I grasp why the pages and pages of commentary about the occasional seemingly small and not extremely significant detail have value. It is because, while the germ may not be of great consequence, the discussion itself has value, even if only in what other issues get dragged into the discourse.

This hobby has become more and more a part of my life. It relaxes my mind. The only issue is spending all my spare cash on it. Well, so be it.

Andy went on Wednesday this week and just got home. Counts are coming up and he's on target! 10 more months of this poison and he's home free, I pray.

I also got another order from Midway in today: 45-70 Dies, 45-70 FCD, Universal Case Expanding Die, 45-70 mold (459-500-3R), 100 count *_ reloading brass (nickel plated), Lee Classic Cast. Getting ready to roll on the 45-70, just have to get some 3031, as after much consideration I decided against my original powder notion, it just wasn't proper for my application.

I now wonder why I bought the Classic Cast. It is, of course, a single stage press, and I already have a Lee Classic Cast turret press. (I also have a Lee Load-All II, yeah, I'm poh! Hell, I even bought a 1/2 ton HF [cheap, again] Arbor Press to use for making GCs and have yet to buy the appropriate FreeChex tool/s.) Yup, an addiction.

I suppose it stops when one is dismissed :)

Thank you all for the "enabling".

Well. . . just thought I'd share.

[kir_kenix]

Yeah, its easy to get in deep in any hobby. Casting is especially addicting because there are so many facets. We cast to shoot, shoot to cast.

I know I started because my old man and grandfather have always been casters and shooters. Initially for me it was about producing inexpensive ammo for practice. It has become so much more then that now. Now I buy molds for guns I don't have, and buy guns simply to experiment with boolits. You are not alone!

Heck, I'll bet the average person on this board has over five 38 caliber molds. I know I have at least 5 different flavors of wadcutters to feed my various .38's and .357's.

It is an expensive hobby but I justify by saying it is several hobbies all rolled up into one. I love casting, love reloading, love shooting, and love hunting with boolits I've casted up myself. I even enjoy scrounging for brass and lead. Pretty much any hobby can and will become expensive if you really get into it, and I don't see it as any different than restoring a classic car or collecting motorcycles (2 of my other hobbies).

At the end of the day it makes me happy, and this board is just another facet that adds to the enjoyment/addication. At least this part of it is free (excluding all the good deals i find in swapping and selling...).

[Gibson]

Very well put.

[ratboy]

first step is to admit you have a problem.



my only problem is i dont think i have enough lead.

[smilie=1:

[jmort]

I have a lot to learn and not much $$$ to spend on casting right now. So I am thankful for this site as I will have a veneer of knowledge when I crank it up. Nothing like good news on the serious medical issue with your son. Hard to enjoy any hobby under those circumstances.

[Gibson]

jmortimer:

Thanks buddy! I appreciate your thoughts. I also appreciate your encouragement in my Old West thread.

Same to you, ratboy.

I think it's time for a dose of humility. Folks here still believe in the quaint old notion of giving thanks, so do I. So, for me, thank you all for being here.

May God bless and keep you. It is my sincere hope that you all have a great Thanksgiving, a joyous Christmas, and a prosperous New Year.

Jay Gibson

[Mal Paso]

first step is to admit you have a problem.



my only problem is i dont think i have enough lead.

[smilie=1:

No Problem. You can get lead here too!:wink:

[MBTcustom]

No man is an island.
I experimented with cast boolits for years before I found Castboolits.com
I have been casting since I was a kid, and my process was sloppy, and my molds were masked over with lead. However, this was because of ignorance on my part and never reading the materials that I had at hand. (I have a pile of lyman books, but I only ever looked at the load data) I mean seriously, you melt the lead and pour it into the mold, lube 'em up by ramming them into the 450 with RCBS green lube, and stuff 'em into the brass. Why complicate things? However, there were several little problems with cast boolits that I didn't like (like leading my rifles, and any pistol that shot faster than 900 FPS) I came here to learn how to paper patch my boolits because I figured that might stop all the leading problems. I was amazed at the answers I recieved and how just some simple tweaks to my process made the experience so much more enjoyable, effective, and accurate; especially with rifle, which has been my passion since the beginning. Now I am rockin and rollin pushing cast lead well in excess of 2000fps and getting surprizingly good accuracy and precision out of these homemade boolits.
I learned more in the first year here, than I had in the previous 15 on my own. Further more, I have seen rank newbies get to the point that they are cutting nice groups and helping others do the same in a matter of months. Considering how long it took me to work up accurate pistol loads in my 45s and 357s, I think that is nothing short of amazing.
I am sold on castboolits.com and the system that we have here. There is a code here. A formula for success. If we can't get somebody shooting well in a month, then there is usually something wrong with the equipment that is not being said. Don't get me wrong, there have been a few mysteries that have popped up every now and again, but they are few and far between. Most of the time, the problems and solutions are obvious if you know what to look for.
Add to all that, that an armed society is a polite society, and therefore cast boolits is a great group of fellers that are, for the most part, good people.

[smoked turkey]

OK I too admit that I am addicted to this site. I also have been a "reloader" for years. I did it mostly in ignorance like you goodsteel. After coming to this site I realized that I didn't know anything about the techniques of "handloading". To me there is a difference in reloading and handloading. I know as I look at what I have just typed that a lot of people will not understand the differences I see. I can now see that handloading IS rocket science if you do it with the understanding and knowledge of the various parameters involved in a successful handloaded cartridge. I still have to rely on others here who have developed the knowledge to apply everything involved in the process. I thank everyone who have given me bits and pieces of information on twist rates, powder burn rates, velocities, psi, seating depth as it relates to it all, boolit diameters. how to properly set up the FL die when resizing, etc, etc. I even thank those enablers who have helped me flatten my wallet a little more from time to time. I'll stop as this is getting out of hand.

[Gibson]

+1 Tim!

I just thought it was a time to give thanks. It seems others think the same way.

Back to being an SOB in 25 hrs. :)

[quasi]

copied from goodsteel;
I learned more in the first year here, than I had in the previous 15 on my own.

That is my experiencence as well.

[Von Dingo]

:bigsmyl2:Good that Andy is doing well. Hope y'uns have a good holiday, and you don't get any more strange text messages at 3AM:razz:!

Marc

[Gibson]

Von Dingo, eh :)

Y'uns have a wonderful Thanksgiving as well.

Many years ago, in my youth, I used to go 'white water rafting' on the Current River. Those Ozark folks that drove us up the mountain always said "you'uns" and "we'uns". Salt of the earth VOLK. God's people. Being from backwoods Muhlenberg County Kentucky, I related to them. . . Uh, sorry, I was rambling, wasn't I?

Gotta stay up, going to walk over and try, AGAIN, to murder a deer. Need some venison! :)

[GP100man]

Well I`ll have to admit I found :cbpour: by accident also .

I had cast on my own for many yrs & as Goodsteel had meadeoker results so I first experimented with lubes (store bought) & realized I was on the rite track & stumbled humbly here to learn stuff ya just don`t find in a manual !!!!

Within months or as I dedicated time to this aspect of the shooting sport/hobby/therapy I was shooting straighter (well for me anyways) & keepin bores shinyer than ever before !!

I try to help when I can , try not to hender .
Addicted YES , problem NO , I still have uncast lead !!

Had a nitemare the other nite , I dreamed we all ran out of lead !!
Yes , I`m going to therapy to day !!! 358429s or NOE 360-180s ,hhhmm , decision decisions !!!


To all a SAFE ThanksGiving !!!!!

[youngda9]

I can't remember how I found this site. I started to get interested in casting to help offset the cost of high volume pistol shooting. Now I am working with 4 different molds and am starting on rifle cartridges. Working on my first gas checked mold now, can't wait to get to the range to see how they shoot. Constant experementation and projects come with casting...the most fun you can have in an upright position.

I have learned a lot from being here...there is SO much knowledge on this site, it's truly amazing. People willing to share knowledge and help a brother out with advice, bullets, etc.

[44man]

Money is a problem but most of what I have was from when I worked overtime and did side jobs. I use a lot of Lee stuff now and make my own molds from scrap. When I want a new gun, I sell some. I have a lot of stuff but it was paid for long ago.
Once a fellow learns he can shoot cast even more accurate then store bought and even a large bore can be shot for a dime a shot, he is hooked. Yes, new fellows need to spend to get started but it will pay for itself quick.
Lay a box of ammo on the bench, hand a friend your gun and tell him to shoot. 10 shots for a buck, just how much better can it get?
I don't remember how I found Cast Boolits, even got in trouble for a time, been a hard headed gunsmith on the side too long. I am still learning about cast myself, mostly for hunting deer. The people here are doers, not quoting from books or rags.
Nightmares? :veryconfu They are always about work at airports. I have no ID and sneak in doors or climb a fence to get to work. I find myself a part timer at times, going to work again after retiring. All the years of stress haunt me but dreams of casting and shooting are pleasant. Problems can be solved as you fall asleep but the job nightmares suck.

[Grandpas50AE]

I found this site while trying to find some casting information on another site, and don't remember who had posted a link to this site. This is the best forum site on the net I think, with really the best folks anyone could hope to know. I think Tim probably explained it as well as can be, and I had a similar route in casting as he. It has always been my primary hobby - shooting/hunting/reloading/casting/swaging.

Gibson - very glad to hear your child is improving, keep the faith and you will always have support here. God bless, and have a joyous Thanksgiving.

[Wayne Smith]

I have no memory of how I found Shooters.com years ago. I first learned to cast there, and Rick and the good folks from there who started Castboolits invited me to join, and I did. I am continually amazed by the knowledge and experience here. Yes, thread drift is a valuable asset and needs to continue, ideas get tossed around and piled up on one another and everyone has a slightly different take or understanding that adds to the total. Often the whole becomes more than the sum of its parts.

[Bullet Caster]

I found this site last year at about this time. I joined in November, 2011. The wealth of information took be aback since it was so overwhelming at the start. I wondered if I could ever get the hang of casting and reloading. I had wanted to reload since getting out of the USMC, but never had the desire strong enough till last year. Someone had given me a great big hunk 'o' lead and I'd saved it for all these years knowing that I wanted to melt it and turn it into boolits. Somewhere along the line I got hooked into this hobby, addicted or whatever you may call it. My initial desire was to make boolits that I could shoot out of my muzzleloader, the idea of making something useful to send downrange enthralled me. My first castings were for my .45 acp and after reloading a few I went to try them out. Wow. They all went bang and with good accuracy to boot. So there's no turning back now. I looked into the silvery stream and all the notions about casting bit me in the butt. Now I can call it an addiction.

You'uns all have a blessed and Happy Thanksgiving. I know I'll be giving thanks for all the things I've learned on the best danged site on the internet. Take care each and everyone, stay safe and have fun. BC

[hiram1]

Well said goodsteel.have a good one bro

[MtGun44]

I have some unknown number of molds, well north of 75. But I can stop ANYTIME!

:bigsmyl2:


Besh wishes for your son.
Bill

[Gibson]

Thank you, Bill. We are obliged to you.

[1Shirt]

Dont' mind addictions to cast boolits in any way form or manner, and just go to the degree that I can afford. Beats the He!! out of addictions that ya smoke, stuff in your mouth, or shoot in your arm for sure.
1Shirt!

[dragonrider]

Gibson wrote>>>>"Muhlenberg County"

"Daddy won't you take me back to Mulenberg County
Down by the Green River where Paradise lay,
I'm sorry my son but your too late in askin
Mr Peabody's coal train has hauled it away."

Was it that ^ Mulenberg County???

As to the addiction, yes I am also, have been for 25 years or more. As addicitons go it is the best one could have.
Hoping for the best for your son.

[waksupi]

Gibson wrote>>>>"Muhlenberg County"

"Daddy won't you take me back to Mulenberg County
Down by the Green River where Paradise lay,
I'm sorry my son but your too late in askin
Mr Peabody's coal train has hauled it away."

Was it that ^ Mulenberg County???

As to the addiction, yes I am also, have been for 25 years or more. As addicitons go it is the best one could have.
Hoping for the best for your son.

That is Paradise, by John Prine.

[Gibson]

Born and raised there. All my people for generations were coal miners.

Prine and Kristofferson


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yNrPYinIrw