I started in 1966, loading 45 ACP. Friend's dad had a 1911 AND a genuine "Chicago Typewriter". He'd let us shoot them (with adult supervision), but we had to provide our own ammo, so he taught us how to reload. Sometimes one of our dads would take us to buy components at a couple of LGS's, but other times we rode our bicycles. Imagine 11 and 12 y/o kids doing that today. We usually did our reloading on Friday nights, and my friend and I would load for hours, sometimes all night, on a Rockchucker. The sizer was a standard non-carbide, so it took a lot of time cleaning lube off the brass with old rags. Then on the appointed Saturday, one or both of our dads would take us somewhere (often our farm) where we'd shoot it all up in a couple of hours. Then we'd go home and clean them thoroughly. We burned a lot of HP-38, Unique, and Bullseye through those two weapons.
Our parents didn't give us money to buy components with, we had to earn it ourselves. Both of us had multiple side-jobs, besides normal chores. Bought my own tools in 1969.
Last edited by Skeezix; 02/14/24. Reason: clarity
