The UK's Finest Independent Forum for Shooters and Gun Owners. Est 2010.

First CF gun was a S&W 686, 6'' barrel, back in the late 80s.....As a member of the reserve forces I was able to shoot with the RAF Pistol club and started shooting police and service pistol comps.

I bought a Lee Pro 1000 to load .38, then .45, then 9mm as my pistol collection grew. Most of my learning was from listening to other members of the various clubs I belonged to, and from reloading manuals.
After '97 I kept the press and the .38 dies, bought a Marlin with some of my compensation money and started reloading for that, and more recently for my LBR.

The Pro 1000 is still going strong after nearly 30 years and probably 75,000 rounds.

I did buy a Lee Challenger single stage press a couple of years ago when i went through a phase of reloading .223, but then sold the rifle so thats sitting unused at the moment.

I attended a weekend pistol reloading course in about 1983 organised by the NRA at Bisley and run by Gillie Howe and a couple of others. They went through everything - theory and practical -and it was an excellent introduction to safe reloading.
I don't know if the NRA still run them.
I still have and use the Wamadet press I bought following the course and the 357 dies I bought from NDFS.
More recently I moved on to 308 rifle reloading in addition to my 357 and picked up relevant differences from fellow shooters.

In the late 80's I was shooting around 500 rounds per week of my own ammo and a fair few of the Army's as well! Bought a Dillon 550 and a manual and got to loading mine. When I left the military on the mid 90s, bought a second Dillon. One was set for 9mm and the other .45 ACP. The 9mm set up then alternated between that and .357. At my most "busy", I was probably doing close to 1500 rounds a week.

Still got the original Dillon that loads my carbine ammo. Saddler "stole" the second Dillon from me. Bought a Lyman crusher for rifle calibres as the Dillon just not accurate enough. But now got a real affliation for the Lee hand press...

I started when shooting Clays - a large number of 12b cartridges to provode whilst having three young children to feed and a large mortgage meant reloading was the way to go.
I recall getting my first batch of Red Dot (the first in the country) from the Gun Shop in Rugby; it was weighed out on the neighbouring greengrocers scales and I took it away in a carrier bag. Times change eh!

dodgyrog wrote:Times change eh!

Indeed they do, you'd have to pay for that carrier bag now :)

Jeff - it had to be you!

I have a very empty life and nothing better to do on a Saturday afternoon

I started out on 12 bore and used some club equipment for pistol however it was as cheap to but club loaded ammunition as make your own as they had better purchase powder. First centrefire I loaded for was a No1 Mk3* and the first press I purchased new was a Lee cast Classic as a stop gap until something better came along, I still own and use it to this day.

I am for the most self taught through books and I do remember my trepidation at seating the first primer and pulling the trigger on my fist rifle round. I went through a fair amount of kit trying to find an ideal and I eventually started making my own kit and I have made just about everything at some point with the exception of consumables and scales however I have tuned my own in the past. Some of my own items are in daily/weekly use and some have gone to new homes however I still have hoards of drawings for future own projects, certainly enough to keep me going for the next few years.

Perhaps the most important reloading asset I have is the opportunity to share and discuss the process with fellow shooter this applies to new processes and new ideas and without this I would definitely struggle on occasion.

As an infant I can remember my Dad sitting at a bench pulling a lever on a red machine.... he reloaded 12 bore and various centerfire ammunition, mainly for his handguns. I used to help him sometimes. When I got into reloading for my own guns around 2004, he gave me some help and I also watched various u-tube videos. I started reloading mainly to save money as one of the fist rifles I bought was chambered in .375 H&H which is expensive to buy as factory rounds. I currently only reload .38/357, .308, and 45/70. I should be adding 9mm soon. I started with an RCBS single stage press but then switched to a Lee 4-hole classic turret press which has worked well... though I am considering a new Lee progressive press as one pull of the lever gives you one completed round rather than 4 pulls per round on the turret press. I much prefer straight-wall cases as they are quicker to prepare. I use the website reloading data and generally use Hodgdons, IMR or Alliant powder.