Christmas Morning, in 1962...
I was 16, and I had no idea what would be under the tree. My Dad had gone out and bought me a Pacific 'C' press, a pound of 2400, a deck of primers, a set of Pacific .22 Hornet dies, a powder scale, case mouth reamer, and a box of Hornady 45 gr. bullets.
I had saved my brass for 2 years, for no good reason other than it seemed a shame to throw it away. During the past 2 summers I had roamed the fields of two farmers, keeping them free of woodchucks with my Savage 340.
Within a week of that Christmas I had bolted the press to a 2x8 and clamped it to a table. I washed out some empties and very carefully sized and primed them, loaded them with powder, and seated bullets. I started with 10 rounds. After about 5 days, I took the rifle out back of the house and set up a tin can. I didn't want to shoot too many - might disturb the neighbors, who weren't close by, but I didn't want anyone to call the cops. I fired a couple of rounds, and the can had a couple holes in it. I can remember the great feeling - knowing I could make my own ammo! I still have the Hornet die set, and I used it a couple months ago. My Dad never reloaded, and I don't know what possessed him to start me on it. Two years later when I graduated high school, he gave me a Remington 760 in .270 cal. as a deer rifle. I immediately used my summer job money to buy dies, powder, primers, and bullets. I was hooked early, and well. I look behind me now at my reloading bench, and there are 16 calibers on the die shelf, a Dillon 550B, and a Redding Big Boss next to it. Two years ago, I donated my Pacific press, a set of dies, scale, etc. to a young man with a passion for .45 ACP.
