When/how did YOU get into reloading?

[Exodus343]

I'll start
I got into reloading last year in dec, started it because I realize ammo was getting too expensive on my budget and good ammo was 2x in price

I did not start reloading with super OCD and consistency until the previous summer

To conclude, I started with a single stage press, learned everything online through multiple videos, and had another calgunner (you know who you are ) come over and made sure i was doing things right


Lets hear your guys stories!

[stilly]

I bought a Desert Eagle at Bright Spot Pawn (to replace my freshly sold Colt Kodiak revolver) for $850 + dros/tax- Like 907.xx I think out the door in November of 2010. Then a box of 50 rounds at Walmart for $38.00 - $42.xx after tax. At that point I said, DAMN there HAS to be a cheaper way. SO I sent my gun back east to get it dual toned Birdsong OD/Black-T and while it was being coated I started learning how to reload in an effort to cut the cost of shooting down.

Now I reload for $9.87 per 50 rounds of .44 mag and my 240gr H110 (24.8gr) loads SMOKE those fiochi rounds from wallyworld, not to mention they scare the **** out of the others at the range...

I only own a turret that I load on, but I have a single stage for odd things and a progressive that has not yet been plugged in. (Lee Loadmaster) Not to mention my nunchuckas Lee hand press for decapping.

[the86d]

2 years ago, after the UK blew-up with riots the lady finally said I was right and we should have some protection in case of scumbags trying to hurt us or the kids. Being a prior Cub Scout and then Boy Scout, they have a motto: "Be prepared".

I have not run out of ammo since I got my press ~2 years ago, and still have a few-ammo-can-stash of factory ammo that I never touch. If I run low on primers, projectiles, or powder, I wait until I find some more before loading so I ALWAYS have at least a LB in reserve... when most-everybody else is beachin' about Walmart and gun shops being dry. I actually didn't know that the shelves would dry-up, but it all worked out perfectly.

Doing the calculations on a spreadsheet I COULD have pressed ammo at about 33% of factory Walmart ammo prices, but at NATO velocities. Now that you can't get surplus-powder I am stuck at about retail prices for powder, but still save 25-50% (depending on caliber) over even Walmart ammo prices, and that is with current data. In QTY of ammo the press has equated to about 75% paid-off in this 2-year stretch, mainly because I am never out of ammo, and saving a bit too.

A Coworker convinced me that the Dillon was the way to go, and seeing the XL 650 in action via Youtube I couldn't be happier with that choice, especially after seeing how wobbly the lee shell-plates look on their progressives in videos.

[Seaweed02]

I'm so new.....

I'm so new to reloading that I haven't even reloaded a single round yet!!!! But I have a brand spanking new Redding Big Boss II reloading press under the Xmas Tree, and a good used RCBS Rock Chucker Supreme reloading kit that I bought from a Calguns member. The kit is actually down in SoCal at my son's house. I paid for it, and he picked it up and is holding it for me until we visit him or he visits us, which ever comes first. And I decided to start the reloading habit because I wanted a nice hobby to keep me busy in my garage. So I bought the used RCBS kit first, and then built the reloading bench, then bought the Big Boss II reloading press. And still haven't reloaded a single round yet.

[BigBronco]

Jeez it was back in 1980 I bought my first revolver. 6" Smith model 19 target. I was just too damn broke, frugal to afford factory ammo. A friend bought a press and I would go to his place. Then a year or so later a friend/mentor at work gave me all his reloading gear. A Rockchucker a 10-1- scale and the rest of the basics. Oh he also gave me a 4 cavity mold and the stuff to cast also. I was loading 158 gr .38 special for about $1.50 per box.

[epic1856]

About 2 yrs ago, but got serious about a year ago when I started shooting registered skeet events. Needed to find a way to reduce the expense of the ammunition as much as possible so I could shoot more. I reload 12g, 20g, 28g, and .410.

I have all MEC presses, learned by reading book, online material, and talking to folks who know what they are doing.

[FLIGHT762]

1970. Started off reloading 8MM Mauser and .223 Remington for AR-15's and expanded to about 20 other calibers.

[gemoose23]

Started Back in 2003 with a Hornady LNL AP. It was pure economics of it at the time, allowed me to shoot my 1911 more.

My fiancee was shooting with me, so it allowed us to shoot twice as much than not reloading. From there it just snowballed and has recently become a great downtime hobby. (I now reload after my toddler girls are asleep and the wife goes to bed. Quiet time for me.)

My presses have been mating and are multiplying like bunnies.

[Broccoli Killer]

I started reloading about two years ago before the panic struck. I needed a cheaper way to feed my Ar15 and my Springfield XD. My timing really couldn't have been better.

I'd have to say that my first introduction into reloading was in 2010 in the game Fallout: New Vegas.
In that game you could create handloads for your weapons and it really blew my mind that reloading was even possible.

Fast forward to mid 2011, I started buying reloading equipment piece by piece and building up my knowledge base here on the forum. I now load for at least six different calibers and can now enjoy some independence in case another shortage occurs.

[BajaJames83]

It was in 2005 my uncle asked me what caliber I shoot the most and out of the blue a box from midway sjowed up at my door with 100 peices of new brass, bullets a lee loader a loading block and the manual.
Fast foward to today I have a dillon 550, and. 1050 I load thousands of roumds a month.

[Full Clip]

I stated reloading when I realized how much money I could "save" on my weakly .45ACP habit. Then I started getting into C&R rifles and bought my first Enfield .303 Brit. That pushed me to ramp up production, and I now reload those plus .38 Special, .50 Beowulf, .223, 30-06, 7.62x39, 7.62x54r, .30 Carbine and 6.5 Rem Mag, all just using my RCBS turret press. Once you get over the hump for the press, tumbler, etc, adding a new caliber is just another set of dies and new components. Easy peasy.

[the86d]

...I'd have to say that my first introduction into reloading was in 2010 in the game Fallout: New Vegas.
In that game you could create handloads for your weapons and it really blew my mind that reloading was even possible...

SO, you got a Red Press?:


Come to think of it, just after the New Vegas release is when I got my press.

[SWalt]

40+ yrs ago. Learned from helping the old man reload while asking questions.

[nothing4u]

In the last 7 years the prices of copper plated bullets have gone up about 10% every year. I payed $68/k for rainier 165 rnfp now they're $115/k. Back then lead cast bullets were $40ish/k. What do you think the trend will be for the next 7 years?

[desertjosh]

I started reloading about two years ago before the panic struck. I needed a cheaper way to feed my Ar15 and my Springfield XD. My timing really couldn't have been better.

I'd have to say that my first introduction into reloading was in 2010 in the game Fallout: New Vegas.
In that game you could create handloads for your weapons and it really blew my mind that reloading was even possible.

Fast forward to mid 2011, I started buying reloading equipment piece by piece and building up my knowledge base here on the forum. I now load for at least six different calibers and some independence in case another shortage occurs.

Nice! I just started playing NV and didnt know you can reload in it. Awesome!