Grandkid ruins 100 rounds of 25/20. My fault!

[earlmck]

My three oldest grandkids are hitting their 40's now and after flirting with various bolt guns and black guns are now getting interested in Gpa's guns -- old singles, pumps, and levers. And reloading for them. Youngest of these has been shooting one of my 25/20's in the "quarter bore" match at our monthly club shoot. And he just recently finished getting set up with his own loading gear. So after this last shoot I sent him home with the 25/20 empties to reload with his new stuff. Forgot to warn him not to totally Full-length size as these are made from 32/20 brass to fit an old excess headspace rifle. Ooops! 100 rounds F.L. sized right down to the minimum.

When I 'splained the situation to him he reminded me that although he's been reloading with me for 25 years, until recently it was a once or twice a year deal and anything I taught him at a session was forgotten by the next time. And knowing this I usually just set up a process such as sizing and then got out of the loading chair and turned it over to him with the dies set for whatever and he just did the repetitive part.

Us olde pharts who have been doing this for over 60 years are bad to forget that there are lots of "tricks of the trade" that we have forgot that not everybody knows. I gotta' remember that! And take more time to impart knowledge that may now have a chance of getting remembered.

32/20 brass is one of the cheapest out there. Just ordered a bag from Graf's and we'll spend a session where I show him the little tricks of the trade on making 25/20's to fit. (start out by making sure the neck is perfectly round!) Then we just won't save the brass of this "over-resized" bunch and start new next time. I've fished enough head-separated brass out of this old gun over the years that we really don't need to do any more of that.

[GunnyMack]

What a shame Earl, I know all too well how prescious 25-20 brass is! I crumpled a few yesterday, cussing myself the whole time!
I found a 100 Starline 32-20 already formed to 25-20 online this morning and got the last bag in stock.

[Griff]

I'm sure your kids are startin' out with a better foundation than I had. I got my first reloading experience from my wife's younger brother (5 years my junior), just before I got out of the Navy in the summer of '73. And that was just a couple hundred rounds of .30-30 before I left on another WestPac. That & my first reloading manual, a Lyman #45, saw me studying hard that trip. By the time I got out in late Dec '73 and bought the rest of what I needed to reload .30-30 & 44RemMag. My B-I-L had gifted me a RCBS Jr. press & dies for .30-30, 44 RemMag & 7mmRemMag. In the late '70s I started reloading shotshells to feed a new skeet addiction. Pretty much self-taught... But the greatest lesson was from my dad... keep your mouth shut and ears open and you'll be surprised what you'll learn without trying. At 75, I'm still learning... long ago recognizing that what I didn't know was dangerous!

[Bill in Oregon]

I never had a mentor, Earl. Your grandkids are very fortunate.

[Ysabel Kid]

I never had a mentor, Earl. Your grandkids are very fortunate.

Me either. I started reloading after my Dad died, when I was 16. His father, my father, passed away before I was born. Neither grandfather was into shooting anyway.

I need to start reloading with Y2K again. Did some when he was younger and still at home.

[earlmck]

I actually had a mentor -- a college roommate whose dad had taught him the ropes. We mounted the press to the window sill in our dorm in the middle of Oregon State University campus. Might not have got permission if we'd asked, but we didn't get raided by ATF swat either. Different world back then.

Had a mailorder '06 delivered to the dorm mailroom and promptly started loading for it with the surplus 4831 we got for 50 cents a pound. Can't remember what the primers cost.

Anyway, bag of Starlline 32/20 runs about $35 these days, so pretty cheap lesson for us two boys...