Remembering the Older Days of Reloading/Shooting

[GUNNNN]

While taking count of the remaining bricks of LR and LRM primers on my shelves, I began to pay extra attention to various price labels on some of my older supplies, and while we all know how much our sport has inflated in recent years, these old price tags brought back memories and a sting of the current state of things. The box of 215 magnum primers I bought several years back from the LGS in a clearance sale, and yes, I paid $3 for 1,000 (original was $7.99) and it is still full. I bought similar bricks of older primers in SP, SR and LR, and they were all like new and have worked without issue. However, I decided to save several of those to keep in my collection.

There were many, many more items with price stickers that today make me laugh, so I thought I would just post a few so the younger crowd can see how it used to be once.

Part 2: Added a few powders and 338 bullets. The $5 can is an unopened 1lb of WW 540 and the $7.95 is a can of W 452AA. The Sierra 338 bullets really made me laugh at $5.69. Was I ever that young?

I can remember buying shot for less than $5 a bag wads were 1.25 and Bluetooth powder was was less than 5 dollars we loaded all magnum loads to hunt with for everything from doves to ducks we loaded magnum shells for about 1 dollar a box. In 1968 before they changed the law and you couldn't mail order a gun my dad bought a couple of herters rifles with scopes for less than 75 dollars a piece they bought loaders, primers, and all the other supplies from herters delivered to the house in the mail those were the days

 

[fmuguira]

$1.25 an hour pumping gas at the none child labor law age of 12 !! People had work ethics back in the day; a lot because they liked to eat and sleep inside a structure of some type each night.

Guy who taught me to load my 270 Win bought surplus 4831, before H4831 or IMR4831, in 20 # kegs and when I needed powder he'd fill a 3# coffee can and charge me $1.50!! ( 0.50 per lb). My first 788 cost $99 and when I finally saved enough for a 700 BDL it was a whopping $150. Yes, I m as old as dirt but can tell you I liked the simpler times much better than our supposed quality of life now a days!

 

[fmuguira]

GUNNNN, thanks for mentioning Herters! Got my press, scale and first set of dies from them … $20 for the order. BTW, still loading on that Super Model 3

 

[C-130 Dude]

Started at age 13 for $0.60 and hour working on the farm hoeing weeds, cutting and splitting firewood. What ever needed to be done. The old man would keep track and paid me to the minutes worked. He also provided a generous lunch.

It's all about the lunch.

 

[memtb]

Yeah but you were lucky to see $2.00 an hour.

I started @ $1/hr….I think I was making $1.40/hr (it may have been $1.60) when I got married! My first $100/week paycheck came around 1972 or 1973! Memtb

 

[model 700]

Ain't that the truth! But there's still the satisfaction of "rolling your own" and being able to tailor each round to the individual weapon that you have or for results at the target. Some need more than others but I have never hunted without my own reloads.

I'm the same way I can spend all day in my shop and a lot of the time I do.No distractions great way to relax and turn out some good loads too

 

[C-130 Dude]

$1.25 an hour pumping gas at the none child labor law age of 12 !! People had work ethics back in the day; a lot because they liked to eat and sleep inside a structure of some type each night.

Guy who taught me to load my 270 Win bought surplus 4831, before H4831 or IMR4831, in 20 # kegs and when I needed powder he'd fill a 3# coffee can and charge me $1.50!! ( 0.50 per lb). My first 788 cost $99 and when I finally saved enough for a 700 BDL it was a whopping $150. Yes, I m as old as dirt but can tell you I liked the simpler times much better than our supposed quality of life now a days!

Not old, aged and refined like fine wine! Days gone by.

 

[C-130 Dude]

I started @ $1/hr….I think I was making $1.40/hr (it may have been $1.60) when I got married! My first $100/week paycheck came around 1972 or 1973! Memtb

When I made $100 in a week, what a weekend it was!!! Can't remember a thing.

 

[memtb]

When I made $100 in a week, what a weekend it was!!! Can't remember a thing.

I celebrated with my wife and son, I don't remember what was done….probably a trip to Tasty Freeze! memtb

 

[tomsd]

When I was a 19 year old Lad, and enlisted in the USCG, I had a part time job at a gun club pulling trap and skeet. All the guys there were also hunters and reloaders of shotgun and rifles. My wife bought me a Rem 700 BDL in 7 RM (best wife ever, still have it, and still have her). My excitement to have the rifle was fairly quickly extinguished when I realized that it was almost $15.00 box to shoot it. When I told the guys at the club that I wasnt really able to shoot much, (enlisted wages) they were quick to invite me over to reload the 7mm. The components were so cheap that the nice guy actually let me reload a box of 7mm RM, for every box of 25 Winch AA shotgun hulls I picked up for him. Once he had a good inventory of hulls that I picked up, the deal moved to I can load one box of 7mm for every box of 12 gauge shotgun shells I loaded for him. They were all his components. They were all readily available, and they were all cheap.
I eventually reshingled his roof in trade for his rock chucker kit and the small balance of components he had for my 7mm. I was the great deal that week. I still load on that press today and I think of the old guy, still, everything I use it. If he was alive and knew how much it cost me to reload for that rifle , he would roll over in his grave.

Great Story

 

[tomsd]

Yeah...the good old days. But you had to walk several miles to & from school...uphill both ways...in the snow. So there's that...

When I grew up in the 50's - Ammo was free. Dad bought it. But I had to mow our big lawn every Saturday morning - it went all around the house - and had other chores - such helping take care of our horse, cow and calf, some sheep, goats, chickens and geese. While dad was a Doc - both he and mom grew up on large ranches/farms - so we had a couple acres in the suburbs of beautiful Klamath Falls, Oregon. And hunting as good as it gets? - especially for a combo of Big Mule Deer - and being on the Pacific Flyway - with 30 mile long Klamath Lake -- Big Honkers too - Ducks all over - and plenty of Pheasants in the hay fields.

As for Dad - the ole
saying still applied: You can take the boy out of the farm - but not the farm out of the boy.

 

[FarmerMatt]

I remember buying powder and primers from a local gas station…

 

[GUNNNN]

GUNNNN, thanks for mentioning Herters! Got my press, scale and first set of dies from them … $20 for the order. BTW, still loading on that Super Model 3

I still use dad's old Herters press it does really well for the stuff that's not as stubborn for that I have rock chucker that I bought off ebay fo 50 dollars

 

[Mmac52280]

Heart warming that as we share our trips down memory lane, we can all relate....