What cartridge made you take the plunge into reloading?

[A & P]

I've always held the same opinion. What concerned me was the Vortex was $250, and the Nikon I ended up buying was $170 with better glass. Not ragging on your line, just curious if you had heard similar comments elsewhere.

Not that exactly that comment, but I don't doubt it. Some is in the eye of the beholder. Most people probably don't/can't do side by side comparisons. But I wouldn't doubt that Vortex wants all of the pieces of the pie. You won't find an entry level USO, NF, S&B, etc, but Leupold and Vortex seem to span the gamut. I will say that I'm not impressed with my Vortex spotting scope. I think it's the entry level 20-60x. I can see better through my SWFA 10x42 HD (~$800) and much better through my NF NXS 3.5-15 (~$2000). Imagine that. I do like my Vortex AR scope (PST 1-4x I think, $500)

We (and all FFLs) can get Nikons, Bushnell, Burris, and Leupolds all day. Vortex and especially Steiner and the other higher end brands require buy ins and acceptance. Of course, then they let these online Walmarts carry them (OpticsPlanet, Midway, etc) so it kind of defeats the concept of "we want our dealers to promote and push our products". I also want an excuse to buy a couple of top end scopes for myself as an entry into those lines, so I need to pick a line that customers will want too. If I get a Vortex Razor HD Gen II 4.5-27 for myself, that'll allow me into the Vortex world (should they accept me and let me suck up to them), or maybe the Steiner T5X or M5X scope as part of my opening Steiner order. Leaning toward Vortex just because of the vertical customer range they cover.

 

[Bowyer]

I first started with 308, quickly followed by 25-06, 243, 357, 38sp, 45acp and now a bunch more.

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[Kosh75287]

ALL OF THEM! The first one was .45 ACP, followed by .38/.357, The one that CURRENTLY makes me GLAD that I'm a reloader is a Vz24 bolt action in 8x57mm.

 

[Reinz]

I started with 44 mag using the Lee whack a mole before getting a Rock Chucker a few years later. Then bought a Dillon 550 about 10 years after that. I sure was a dummy to wait so long on getting that Dillon.

 

[Winterborn]

No specific cartridge, although I load for almost everything I own. I'm a "tinkerer" and I like the process of reloading. The $$ savings don't hurt either.

Same reasoning got me into casting and powder coating.

 

[rp-]

No specific cartridge, although I load for almost everything I own. I'm a "tinkerer" and I like the process of reloading. The $$ savings don't hurt either.

Same reasoning got me into casting and powder coating.

+1 casting and powder coating too


Careful, there's a guy on here making his own black powder...

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[fishingsetx]

+1 casting and powder coating too


Careful, there's a guy on here making his own black powder...

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Hey now, I resemble that remark!!!

No specific cartridge got me into reloading. I was introduced to it at a very early age and I guess you could say it runs in the family. My dad is a very avid reloader, although I didn't meet him till I was 23 years old. My grandfather was also an avid reloader and I can still remember sitting at the kitchen counter and watching, "helping" him reload when I was almost too small to climb into the bar stool. He died when I was 15 and being young and dumb, I declined inheriting his equipment. Looking back, I passed up at least $10k worth of gear not including 10's of thousands of brass, bullets, etc. He was a deputy for over 15 years and all the other deputies would bring him their used brass. As I got older, I caught the bug to save money on ammo and never looked back!

The few items of my grandfather's I still have:

Passing down the legacy!

Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting "Holy shoot....what a ride!"

 

[jrbfishn]

Now that's good stuff right there.

sent from an idgit coffeeholic

 

[Winterborn]

Good stuff. My 11yo daughter loves to help me reload, especially shotgun shells for some reason. Except after about 2 boxes worth she gets bored....

 

[deemus]

Love the pics with the kid. My son was really young when I introduced him to it. Now I am teaching my grandson how to do it. He is a bit young, but he loves to pull that lever.

 

[1Kennygee]

It was the 7.65 Belgian The 1909 Argentine Mauser I bought was re-chambered to 30/06 and accuracy with factory ammo left a lot to be desired. With .311-312 bullets it shoots sub MOA groups to this day. Then came the S&W 25-9 in .45 colt and the .357 and the 1896 swede in 6.5x55 and then the Contender in 7x30 Waters and now the .40 S&W. Along the way I have dies I found at garage sales that one day I might get some thing to use them on!!

 

[SQLGeek]

I figure this thread hasn't been updated in a while so why not?

I'm just getting started and I have a few calibers pushing me into it but I also am getting into the world of SASS and appropriate ammo for that in .38/.357/.45 Colt isn't cheap.

Also surplus .30-06 for the M1 Rifle is getting scarce and is expensive. I want to work up an appropriate round so I can keep feeding the beast. Man I should have bought as much surplus as I could afford...kicking myself for that now.

My inclination is toward older military firearms in general so reloading just seems to make sense.

But perhaps more importantly, I have wanted to get into reloading for ages but haven't. When I was little, I used to help my grandfather load .38 target rounds in his garage. I think it was with a Lee Loader but I am not sure. Also as a kid, my neighbor was a competitive skeet shooter and he reloaded his own shells. He had mountains of hulls in his garage and that planted the seed. I work at a computer all day so getting to do something mechanical and precise for fun is a nice change of pace.

 

[skfullgun]

I started in 1979 with a Lee Loader in .38/.357. My youngest uncle was a police officer and got me started. At the time, you could buy a handgun at 18. He steered me toward a Ruger Security Six in .357 with a 4" barrel. I still have it.

 

[skfullgun]

With the Lee Loader, a box of 148 gr wadcutters, and a lb of Unique,I got started. After college, I started loading for 30/06, .243, and 25/06. By then I was using dies and a bench mounted press.

 

[satx78247]

To All,

Ran into an old college friend this PM & he reminded me that the FIRST reloading that I did was for a really "Plain Jane" Model 760 Remington pump-rifle in .244REM, as I couldn't buy shells for it in the college town where I then was living.
(My 2nd cousin, Tom, still has that rifle, topped with a 4X Leopold & has killed any number of WT/pigs/coyotes/etc. with it using the Speer 90grain HP @ about 3,000FPS.)

Note: IF I remember correctly, I paid 75.oo for the little pump-gun from a Hot Springs, AR pawn shop. = Prices have really changed over these nearly 50 years!!!!

yours, satx

 

[Reinz]

Started with 44 mag using a Lee Loader when I was 17. Started loading 20 ga with a Mec 600 JR when I was 14.

 

[skfullgun]

I wish I had kept that original Lee Loader. Times have really changed. I could sit and load a box of 50 .38's in about an hour. I had more time, then, than money. Now, there seems to be SOOOO little time to do the things I like.

 

[Steven Walker]

.357 Magnum.
Dad taught me to shoot on an old Sears Roebuck bolt action .22 rifle.
Then came a Marlin .30-30 Lever.
Then worked all summer for a Ruger Single Six.
I had the bug bad then.
Worked and saved for a Colt Trooper MKIII .357
I was quite a book worm and learned what I needed to get started. No you tube videos back then.

I now have a couple hornady progressive presses, couple “C” presses and a couple of the “O” style.
Bought dies and brass for .445 Supermag before I could find the barrel.

My job is in front of a computer too, it’s great to relax and reload. Very refreshing and mind clearing.

Use progressive for .40, .10mm, .44 Magnum, 9mm and .357 Magnum.
Still load single stage for my rifle rounds and my heavy stuff. .445 Supermag, .460 S&W, .500 S&W, .308, .357 Maximum.

I don’t save any money, just get to shoot more.

 

[tireless]

I started with 5.7x28 and went on to 9mm, 38 Special, 308, 30-30 and 7mm mag.

 

[oldgreyguy]

7.5 Swiss, bought a surplus 1911 Schmidt Ruben for $39 or so dollars (yes, it was in the wayback machine), bought a couple boxes of Norma brass, tore down some 30.06 found in the back of Bragg, bought a Lee Loader (still have it somewhere), and began to beat rounds into shape... got me hooked, I now reload about 25 different calibers... kept me off the street thru the years.