Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Midway USA Customer

80's when single with more time than money then dropped it when I got married, kids, career by 91'

Big time for birds and trap mostly. Steel only laws fugged it up and wasn't worth time or cost savings anymore when I had more money than time going into 90's.

Didn't need mail order back then everyone was stocking deep and cheap components at least here in the Central Valley Pacific Flyway of Kommiefornia.

This was the HS Pard on the right that got me into it as Dad a longtime hunter but was never into rolling his own. We both were married by this time.

started in 05 after picking up a 257 Roberts and 280 remington. Remember thinking I'd never pay 27.99 for a box of 257 rounds. My grandpa's Lyman Spartan press and Redding powder measure was left behind. I picked up all I needed to get started reloading from Midway if I remember right.

This is a very enjoyable thread. Please keep it going if you haven't posted in it yet.

50 to 60 years ago, along side my dad.

Started loading at age 12 in 1970 right after my father’s welcomed death. Been at it since.

My loading was very rudimentary & basic. Started losing interest due to cheap loading tools. I picked up a Precision Reloading DVD by John Barsness and it was the impetus I seriously needed. Now I am ever fascinated with the accuracy obtained due to precision load tools. It was some extra $$, but it surely made all the difference.

Details on the old Ford?

I bought my first LEE shotshell loader when I was 15 or thereabouts, from a K-Mart in Olathe KS. I puttered around with Lee stuff for about four more years, until I bought a used RCBS Jr. press and started loading pistol ammo for my new-found addiction to handguns. Speer's #9 manual provided all my instruction, I'd c-clamp that press to my barracks room desk and load away for shooting on the weekends. After a few years of that, I bought a Dillon Square Deal, and later, a 550B. That was a long time ago, maybe around 1974 or thereabouts. That makes it 49 years, I guess.
Midway says I've been a customer for 17 years, but I was buying their stuff at gunshows locally long before then. Along with all the other purveyors of gun stuff.

Just before my second daughter was born in 1965. A friend and I went in partnership to load 38-357 shells. We bought a RCBS jr press and dies. Hasbeen

Started right close to 1973.......ole fugger here

S&W M27 in 357.......44 mag in M29

Still loading away....not sure when I started buying from Larry

Started reloading ~1967, been a Midway customer since 1992.

I started about age 12 too and started with a partner kit as well. I still have the partner press stored somewhere but my 502 scale was stolen when our house was robbed.

My dad wasn't into it either so I taught myself. I started loading shotshells on a lee load all at age 11. I now have a large room full of loading equipment. I have several presses, multiple scales, and 5 or 6 powder measures, timer and everything else. I got into loading to save money but I've spent tens of thousands on loading over the years. I just got back into casting as well.

Bb

I started around 18-19 with a Lee loader sitting on the concrete floor in the basement. How I never blew anything up while pounding on those things I'll never know.

I had a hundred 357 mags loaded a week before I bought the Security-Six the day I turned twenty one.

Unsure of the exact year. Around '82 or 83. Bought a rifle from a guy I worked next to for most of the '80s. It was a 6.5 Jap rechambered to 6.5x257, so I had to start reloading if I wanted to shoot it. Was just starting pistol shooting around then too so did 9mm, 38/357, & 45ACP. He kind of mentored me in the beginning & we started shooting every Sunday... for years... decades... Plinking, developing loads, Hi-power, 22 silhouette, indoor NRA 22 pistol in the basement of the police station Friday nights, got into benchrest a little after that car wreck when I couldn't do the hi-power positions comfortably anymore. All this was way pre-internet so met & talked with a lot of outstanding shooters & great people over the years; a few curmudgeons (not always a bad thing), & some bleeding idiots too.

The "arsenal" has been updated a few times over the years, but still have a few of the oldies. The loading equipment started out being whatever was around used & cheap, mostly RCBS & Lyman, with a little Redding thrown in. The 1st press was either an RCBS Partner or a Junior. The world got a whole lot easier when I discovered compound linkage & the pursuit of gadgetry was on growing to ridiculous amounts of "stuff" due to experimenting before being downsized to a more reasonable amount about 20 years ago.

The hobby also morphed into a part-time small, but steadily growing, mail order & local business for a few FFL cycles before the gub'mint started passing way too many regs & jacked the FFL fee too much during the Klintoon years.

Oh, I never bothered much with Midway. Still dont. There are better options.

I started reloading around 30 years ago. I wanted to get started and always saved my brass. Then became friends with someone that reloaded and started reloading with him.

Off and on for about 43 years. Me and a buddy went together and bought a fellows entire reloading set up and a whole bunch of odds and ends. I'm still using them.

I started reloading in 1973 with RCBS equipment that I bought from a co-worker, I now use Ponsness Warren and Hornady Loc-N-Load presses for my rifle and handgun loading. When I was loading a high volume of handgun ammo I built a motorized press from plans in an old American Rifleman magazine. Every head of big game that I've harvested has been taken with a handload. I've used loading manuals from most of the major manufacturers but rely on Ken Waters' Pet Loads for much of my loading info.

Back when Shotgun News was my internet.

I learned from the BJ Bill episode to always stock primers and powder. Favorite bullets too, though I do cast for some handguns and a couple rifle cartridges.

My dad was always interested in hunting, shooting, firearms, gun smithing and reloading as long as I remember. I started reloading with him about 1960. Don’t remember much about Midway but there was a company called Herters.

1976-77. RCBS jr press, the guys running the shop I hung around let me copy load data out of their books until I could afford one. 30-30, 44mag, .308 and 30-06. A few years later I started in IPSC and bought a Lee 1000 in .45acp. Then about 1992 I got interested in High Power rifle. Bought 2 used Hornady Projectors, use one to prep rifle brass and the other to load. Tried other stuff, had a early Lee loadmaster, it went away quick. Tried a RCBS ammomaster, it worked but not well. I give most stuff that don't work for me to someone just starting out. Got several guys at work hooked over the years.

Now I have a RCBS RC (yard sale find), 1 Dillon Super 1050, 1 Hornady LnL, 1 Hornady Projector, and a Ponsness Warren Metallic II.

Thinking about another Dillon 1050 or 1100 and gifting the 2 Hornady's to my nephews.

I pretty much learned on my own. Some of the guys at the LGS back then helped me a bit. Believe it or not the public library was a great help until I could afford to buy books.

Jim, I love the pics of you and your boys loading!