My Dad, when I was a little I would watch him reload. When it was time for me to start shooting/hunting I had to reload my own. Been at it ever since.
Have only bought a few boxes of factory shells as the loaded shells were cheaper than one could buy the brass.
When I started, it was a chore assigned by the old man...
^^These^^
Except I don't know that my dad ever bought a metallic cartridge that I can recall other than rimfire. We had loads of mil surp '06 brass and powder, and would make most of our cases from LC Match brass, including .243 Win., all on a Herter's turret press. We also had a Lyman TruLine Jr. for neck sizing.
My first job was to iron shotgun shells, which led to my first reloading injury about the age of 5 when I grabbed the shotgun shell iron to see if it was hot. It was.
I think the first box of factory ammo I bought was .44 Mag after I got my M29 in the late '70's, and that was to get the brass. Well, also so I could shoot the thing as soon as possible. Same goes for a few other calibers, although I've resorted to a box or two of factory ammo recently for various reasons.
Dad gave up on shotgun shells when shells got cheap enough, we were shooting a lot, and the old Texan couldn't keep up. I've given up shotgun shells for the same reason, that and I don't shoot shotguns all that much now.
Casting became necessary given the amount of shooting I was doing when I started.
I've ended up with more reloading stuff than necessary as I can't pass up good deals whether I need them or not.
