How did you learn to reload?

[imashooter2]

My curiosity peaked from a post in the ABCs of Reloading thread. So… how did you learn starting out?

[rockrat]

Neighbor when I was about 8, loaded shotshells. Heard he was a pretty good shot on the trap and skeet fields and had many a trophy. Was fascinated by it. Fast forward 10 years got a Lee loader and a lyman manual. Learned quickly that I wanted more than a Lee loader

[samari46]

Back then no computers or internet. Books and loading manuals. Frank

[Minerat]

Decided to just start because I was shooting a lot of 20ga shells at the time. So in 1971 when I was a Jr in HS I ask my dad for a Baer shotshell reloader for Christmas and a lyman shotshell reloading manual and went at it.

Started metallic in 1984 the same way but was feeding a SBH 44 mag and a .308. My mother worked for CCI/Speer at the time and got me a deal on a RCBS Partner Reloader Kit. I got the Speer manual read the directions and went to it.

Same with casting in 2006 when a friend walked into my office and dropped a box with a Seaco pot and 8 lyman and Ideal molds on my desk and ask "You want these?" CB got me going but mostly just went to it and muddled my way thru. (Still am).

[gc45]

Began by reading the Lyman casting manual and any old reloading books I could find; then began casting 32 Special lead bullets at age 16 using an old cast iron pot I found at the dump. My Grandad showed some things as well but mostly I did things on my own making lots of mistakes, trial and error.

[stubshaft]

I started with a Lee Loader when I was 8 years old back in the 60's. The closest thing I had to load data was the little sheet that came with it.

[Jimmynostars]

Brought a Lee anniversary kit, dies and watched YouTube was nervous as heck was going to blow my face off. My supervisor at wk invited me to bring my gear round to his place, 2hrs later and most of the mystery was removed with simple explanations.

I was lucky

[Jedman]

My first reloading was 12 ga. shot shells. I bought a Lee loader kit and at the time around 1971 there was a Marathon gas station that the owner converted more than half of the interior space to a gun shop that sold new and used guns and reloading components. If you bought in small quantities like me the components cost a little more such as .99 per 100 primers, powder by the pound was sold weighed on a old grocery store scale from a 15 lb. Cardboard keg and packaged in a double brown paper bag for about $ 3 a pound, shot was only sold in 25 lb. bags for $ 4.50 ea. and plastic one piece wads were $ 1.75 per bag of 250.
Within a year or two I got to know other shooters/ handloaders and started to buy components by the 1000 and they were about 30% less that way and we would split up what we wanted at the lower cost.
Next was 38 special and again it was a Lee reloading kit. By the time I was 18 and working full time and making a little more money I bought Mec 600 jr. loaders for shotshells and I had a Herters single press for rifle and pistol ammo loading.
It all came very quickly after that, I was shooting skeet in all 4 gauges and had separate loaders for all of them all and a turret press for centerfire cartridges. I belonged to several local gun clubs and shot every weekend year round except during hunting seasons.

Jedman

[Land Owner]

In the Fall of '89 I purchased land and after Christmas a used Winchester Model '94. From the first box of Remington factory 150 grain ammo that 30-30 had no better than "minute of pig" accuracy at 100 yards.

I asked questions of an older reloading co-worker. He suggested I get my feet wet with a Lee Loader. So, I voted mentor. My co-worker helped me make sense out of the reloading clutter when I needed answers.

[imashooter2]

My own story… Pop was a reloader and a caster. Far more utilitarian than I am, it was a means to keep shooting competitive Bullseye with 4 kids on a telephone man’s salary. I learned to reload and cast at his knee. I have a hard time calling it mentoring… it was simply something we did. There were no lessons, same as there was no lesson in swinging a hammer or pitching a tent. We just set off to camp or build or reload and I was expected to help. Over the years, it progressed to where I was autonomous.

Such is the circle of life. I guess at the root of it all, it was mentoring as well as the job can be done.

[GregLaROCHE]

My cousin had been reloading and told me about it. When I said I wanted to start, he suggested my buying the Lyman kit which I did. He gave me his old Lyman reloading guide, but never showed me anything. He did answer my questions though. I started loading .222s and went up from there as I acquired more guns. Boy, everything was so much cheaper back then.

[Czech_too]

Books & manuals. There was no internet or video's in the '70s that I knew of.
Had to feed the first milsurp somehow.

[Dio]

I've been reloading since the early 80s....self taught.

[Shawlerbrook]

Had a cousin that reloaded but I learned mostly from reading. It was the early 70’s.

[Gewehr-Guy]

Learned of reloading by reading about it in old gun books and magazines. I bought a Lee Loader, a pound of 2400 powder, and Hornady 100 gr short jacket bullets and started loading, using Lee's instructions. It was for my first centerfire rifle, a cut down Mosin Nagant Finn Cub, as sold by one of the old time surplus dealers like Century Arms or Hunter's Lodge.

I was 14, and that was close to 50 years ago, and I still like an old Lee Loader!

[buckwheatpaul]

I learned on a Lee Hand Loader Kits (38 Spl and 243 Win) and then onto a Texan Shotgun loader. I progressed to RCBS press and finally to Dillons.....along the way I learned to cast and size and had a mentor along the way....it was a wonderful path!

[missionary5155]

Since I was 4 I was with my dad and his Navy buddy as they cast ad loaded 38 Special. Got my first lead burn that year.
In 74 after the "green machine" turned me loose started on my own.

[Wag]

Bought the Lee Anniversary Kit in about 97-ish. It came with a Speer manual so I read it. Then I bought a couple of other manuals and read those too, just to be sure. Bought Lee dies in 9mm, 44 magnum and 30-30 and went after it. In short order, I got a feel for what the press feels like when seating primers and seating bullets. I made my share of mistakes along the way but it never did cause me any grief.

Been loading ever since.

Casting, I was given a Lyman 10-lb pot and nothing else so I bout the Lyman manual and pored over it learning a bare smidge of lead metallurgy and figured out how I wanted to do it. I read a lot on this forum and got some great advice in the process (Thank you very much!)

At this point, I think I know enough to be really dangerous but I have fun with it and I've done a lot of shooting.

--Wag--

[pworley1]

I started loading in the late 1960's and I am still learning.

[Scrounge]

My curiosity peaked from a post in the ABCs of Reloading thread. So… how did you learn starting out?

I learned "at my father's knee." Dad was an avid shooter, and infected me. I fired my first handgun at age 4. SAA Colt in .45 Long. Got knocked on my tail section, been hooked ever since. Was "helping" my dad reload at age 6, and actually learning to do it myself by age 10, closing on 58 years ago.

Still have the early model Stevens Favorite that was the first rifle I ever fired. Recently(couple years ago) replaced a pair of screws in it, and got it shooting again, too.

Bill