first caliber reloaded for

.338 Win Mag. The friend that got me into it said just dip the case I H4831, fill it up.

I bought a Rockchucker and a manual.

I settled on RL22.

 

Does your friend still have both eyes and all 10 fingers?

 

1st was 45acp, in 1978 at age 15, learned alot from that. 2nd was 30 Carbine for my Blackhawk. Still have and use both those sets of dies, Lyman.

 

The very first cartridge I reloaded is the .38 Special. After that, soon after, I started on the .357 Magnum.

 

Started with a MEC 600 jr in 20 ga. when I was in high school. Bought a used Herter's double ram press when I was in my early 20's and loaded 38/357 and 270 Win. It is a great C style press with 2 rams and holds 2 dies. Now after 50 years I till use the old Herter's but added a Rock Chucker. When we started shooting IDPA I used a friends Dillon to load 40 S&W.

 

My first reloads that went down range were on the same day, they were .44mag and .454Casull.

 

First was 38 special. But hand loading really started occupying a lot of my time when I started shooting 32 H&R regularly.

 

30-06. I was 18. My uncle loaned me his original Rock Chucker press and balance beam scale and taught me how to use them. The bug bit me and I bought my own RCBS press a few years later and have steadily added to my reloading gadgets over the years. I now reload for every centerfire I shoot, though I have probably reloaded more rounds of 30-06 than anything else.

 

.44 Russian...in 2021.

 

Almost 30 years ago, 45ACP and 9mm to meet USPSA major and minor power factors then switched to 40S&W to meet both readily with a single caliber.

And reloaded close to 700,000 pistol rounds since ... Happy memories ... and over $160,000 spent on components and reloading equipment. (Yeah, wife got a kick out of that number and since had to increase her "slush fund no questions asked" money to $15,000 ). And I just got another press (This will be press #16) for more reloading fun - https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...oxing-and-testing-for-oal-consistency.911743/

 

,308 Winchester, back in early 70's. I mail ordered a Rock Chucker press a set of dies and a shell holder for 42.00 bucks. My buddy ordered a set in 30-06, by ordering two sets we got free shipping.

 

44mag and 2nd was 264wm, but both were within 2 months of each other.

 

8X57 Mauser.

 

Funnily enough, 460 weatherby magnum. I was about 19, loved high capacity shotguns and SKS/SKK, didnt know a lot about hunting rifles. Read a 1993 Petersens hunting annual one day and saw the ballistics tables at the back with 460 wby right at the top. New I had to have one, saved up and ordered myself a second hand MkV lazermark!. Ammo was a few bucks a shot even back then so I learnt to reload it. Ended up selling the gun the same year due to other financial issues, kept those reloading skills though.

 

45 Colt’s what got me started.

 

12 gauge, on a MEC progressive.

 

Way back in the 70's I "helped" my older brother reload 12 ga. shot shells for an ancient side by side he'd inherited.
But the real start was 7mm Remington Mag back in the mid 80's for a Rem 700 ADL on a RCBS Rock Chucker (still have all the original hardware) and RCBS dies. Geez, I loved that rifle with its Leupold VariX II 3.5x10. Still have the flinch I developed. Used to shoot my ex-wife's stuffed animals out to 400 yards, back when 400 yards was a long way. It wasn't about ammo prices, it was about being able to make my own ammo.

 

.38 special. Only way I could afford to shoot my newly acquired model 15.Started casting 'bout 2 weeks later.

 

My first solo reloading was a 20 gauge (I’d pulled the levers on some 12 or 20 with my grandfather as a kid, but I mostly remember seeing how many shot pellets my sister and I could pick out of the shag carpet with tweezers).

For metallic cartridges it would be 38 special. I moved on to 9 mm after that and have just recently come back to shooting some of these early loads. Light loads of powders that are too slow-burning (shotshell powders that I already had lying around) inconsistent oal, and crimping all over the place. They work, but I do realize how much I’ve learned.

 

.223 then 9mm. When I started people told me it wasn't worth reloading for these because it was so plentiful and cheap. Sure was glad I reloaded those during the last shortage. My shooting didn't slow down at all.

 

.45 ACP in 1976.

post Navy and the only way I could afford to shoot.

RCBS rock chucker and RCBS carbide dies.