40 years ago as a kid, I reloaded pistol and rifle ammunition for my Uncle in his well-equipped farm-yard workshop. Back in the corner, he had some dusty, old-fashioned hand tools that were designed for the pioneers to reload while on the road and far from the luxury of a heated workshop. Uncle Charles said in the old days, the pioneers commonly reloaded their cartridges with nothing more than a few hand tools and a bullet mold. My Uncle told me that I should learn the skills of the pioneer days just in case, but I never did, since the new way of doing things was less tedious and more precise.
Since then, I've become spoiled and lazy, since it was nothing to just run to the TG&Y or WalMart to buy a few boxes for that weekend of shooting. I could always count on fresh, new cartridges being on the shelf whenever I wanted them. Times change and we just can't run into the store for a few boxes anymore. The time might come where ammunition is taxed out of existence or banned, so I've taken a new interest to a pass-time of my childhood years.
Are modern reloading techniques and tools available that allow reasonably efficient and precise center-fire reloading in the field that doesn't weigh very much, would fit in a shoebox and get the job done under difficult and primitive conditions? In other words, what would the 'pioneer' of 2013 want in his kit to reload rounds such as .45ACP and .30-06?
Since then, I've become spoiled and lazy, since it was nothing to just run to the TG&Y or WalMart to buy a few boxes for that weekend of shooting. I could always count on fresh, new cartridges being on the shelf whenever I wanted them. Times change and we just can't run into the store for a few boxes anymore. The time might come where ammunition is taxed out of existence or banned, so I've taken a new interest to a pass-time of my childhood years.
Are modern reloading techniques and tools available that allow reasonably efficient and precise center-fire reloading in the field that doesn't weigh very much, would fit in a shoebox and get the job done under difficult and primitive conditions? In other words, what would the 'pioneer' of 2013 want in his kit to reload rounds such as .45ACP and .30-06?
