How old were you?

[remingtonman_25_06]

Started loading at age 13 for my winchester model 70 7 RM, my uncle taught me how down in his basement. Dont think I've bought a box of factory since!! Ever since then, I"ve been hooked. The more I loaded, and read on this site, and the more animals that got away at 400-500 yards, the more interested I became in LR shooting/hunting. I guess you could say I got real interested in LR shooting/hunting when I was 15 (22 now), That was with my first 25-06. Shot a few coyotes/deer with it out to 600. I started practicing on milk jugs at 300, then 400, then 500, then 600, then few years back started setting up steel from 500-1150 cuz I couldn't find enough milk jugs. Plus I love hearing that "smack" from bullet hitting steel, aint nothing like it!!!

 

[6.5x300]

New to long range hunting. Matter of fact I have not had to take a shot at a game animal over 75 yards. I do like shooting at rock chucks at what I call long range 300-500 yrds. Sure might not be that far but add spring weather and gusty 30 knot winds in eastern OR. and the rock chucks had a farly safe day.
Got the crazy idea a few years ago to split the cost of a .50 cal with my dad. I liked the idea of having something that would make a very BIG BOOM! His idea was to hunt elk from any range sitting on a stand. A worthy idea but I felt the wrong reason to buy a .50 cal. So I studied long range accurate riffles. Came across this sight and got a .338 edge instead.
As for reloading. 20 years ago my first hunting riffle was a Sweedish M94 6.5x55. the only company to provide loaded amo was Norma. It was over $30 a box when every thing else seemed like it was less than $10. To a 14 year old with no cash reloading was the only option. I have never bought a box af factory loaded amo and feel reloading has been a great hobby of mine ever since.
So relading at 17 give it a try, buy a relading manual from one of the name brands and take a look, ask questions from those that have. I'm sure most are more than willing to help out and talk your ear of about the amazing shot they made at the monster running wide open threw a pole thicket.

Good shooting

 

[jeff 300]

i started shooting about 4-5 shot me first deer at 5. i got my first reloading stuff for a 3006 that i had picked up around 10. i loved to try and shoot at longer ranges like 300-400 but i never know what i was doing but it was fun. at that time that was a long ways around south texas when every one was still shooting 30-30 are 22lrs to hunt with. most ever body gave me hell for buying a "big gun" like a 30-06. with the beginning of the internet and every one be able to talk and learn what every one else in the world was doing. thats when i was able to start to see the light and had the money to do it right. so i guess i was in my late 20's when i started to realy learn about lrh and 25,000.00 later i still can't shoot that good but i'm still having fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! just with a lot more gear to carry around!!!!!!!!!

 

[yobuck]

at 73, im probably much older than most here. in my home state of pa. age 12 is minimum age. 1947 was my first year deer hunting. ww2 had only been over for 2 years. the hunting scene was much different then. scopes for example were almost non existant. the popular rifles were 94 win. 99 savage, mod.14 rem. pump, as well as some 8 mm mausers, 06 springfields, and the like. much of the hunting was by way of organized drives. my first rifle was a mod.94 win. 30/30. i later got a rem.mod.141 pump in 35rem. first 5 years i hunted in lycoming co. in early 50s we moved to the sinnemahoning area of cameron co. ( n/c pa.) it was there that i first wittnessed long range hunting. primative by todays standards. i could go on for hours with stories of what ive seen. in the late 50s i bought a savage mod.110 left hand, in 30/06. i installed a b & l balvar 2.5/8 scope on it. savage was first with the lefty bolt in this country. we knew nothing about rangefinders, changing scope settings etc. we used hand held binnocs. and a spotting scope. we didnt even know about using a spotter. we just shot, if it dropped we got it, if it didnt, we assumed we missed. of course we were only shooting to about 500yds. max. and that was a guess. in about 1970, or 71 a group of guys moved into the area, that changed everything for us. they had all the equiptment, and knew how to use it. 1000 yd. shots were easy for them. i wasted no time befriending them. they taught me most of what i know about longrange hunting. many others also, although some wont admitt it. we are still very close friends. they were prodigys of alex hoyer of 6.5x300 fame. he was also a very early long range hunter in pa. quite possibly the earliest, at least with big equiptment. he was not however the originater of the 6.5x300, but thats another story. i never met al hoyer, he died in around 1974, im sure i would have enjoyed knowing him. im fortunate however in that i know, have known, and hunted with, many of the early ones associated with both long range hunting, and 1000yd. competition.

 

[MTNRaine]

I first started shooting when i was 7. my dad an i would go out on the weekends an shoot gophers. at 9 i joined 4-H and was in shooting sports. At that time long range was 100yds on gophers with a 22 an 25yds on birds with my air rifle. at 12(legal age in Mt) i started hunting and i shot my first deer a little 3x4 at 300yds. By 14 longrange was 450yds. 15 i started reloading for my 270win and i ordered my first custom longrange rig a 270AM. 16 was when i got my 270AM an ive been hooked LRH ever since. Now im almost 18

 

[silvertip-co]

LRH- 15yo... with my LH Sav 110DL 264 WinMag 26" that I bought thru the mail from a catalog(showing my age).

Handloading- 21yo... Same as when I got my FFL. I got all my reloading stuff from Herter's of Waseca MN. I used to buy wholesale from Herter's back then.

 

[joecool]

Long range that would be in my mid twenties when… believe it or not my big game rifle before that was a model 9422 mag that my grandpa gave me the first years they came out.

I live on a ranch and dad said I didn't need anything else get close and shoot them between the eyes. I know it's not legal but it did teach me how to hunt and make good shots never lost an animal they dropped on the spot.

He looks at my Kirby built rifles and how far I shoot now and just shakes his head and says there isn't much hunting to that but it's a hell of a meat getter.

 

[Wayne Richards]

Started reloading at age 26 in 1974, hunting age 12 1960! Long range shooting 2002, have not shot anything live beyond 400yds ,still hoping!
Wayne

 

[shootinfool]

I have been reloading all my life. My dad did it when I was little and I would have to say that, with his supervision and help, it was probably 11 or 12 yrs old when I started reloading for my 22-250 and actually doing hands on stuff. as for long range shooting, I started getting into this when I was 16 or 17. I was getting into wanting the best possible accuracy and looking at what all I could do to improve accuracy and just stumbled into it and never looked back. I am only 27 now so it's only been 10 years, but time has flown by quickly.

 

[generaldoeboy]

i started goin hunting with my grandpa and uncles at about 6 or 7 just sittin in the tree stand i thought it was so cool. Then came my 12th birthday and dad was in iraq so i went out with my grandpa and sat for one more year waitin for my dad to hunt with him, the next yr i shot my first deer with a 3006 mauser. it was great. then came the water foul hunting. I just got my .243 and some of my grandpas reloading stuff so im startin that too. o im 17 too so ill learn along with ya.

 

[TracySes23]

Started handloading when I was 28 in 1969. I couldn't afford to shoot centerfire ammo unless I handloaded my own. It became an addiction for me.

 

[emn83]

Just got into both hand loading and long range shooting last spring, was 29 then

 

[WildRose]

Just was a little curious to know how old most of you were when you started into "long range hunting" or even hand loading your own stuff ?

The reason i ask is most people i talk to about this or in there 30s or older and i just wanted to know if you guys were doing this stuff at my age of 17.

Not a serious matter , just curious.

Man this is an old thread!

I was 12 when I got my first 700bdl 7mm Rem Mag and found out you could actually hit things at 400yds open sight and at over 600yds with a scope.

Been hooked every since.