Aaron
posted this
18 September 2022
I don't know that we can anymore. We have been branded and labeled by a socialist media as domestic terrorists, gun loving murderers, rednecks, racists, and other vile things - all of which are not true. Look at the advertising alone in the American Rifleman. What used to be a father and son at the reloading bench promoting the hobby has been replaced by the tattooed, bearded, "operator" promoting firepower and machismo.
The younger generation has no time for hobby. They want immediate gratification through an online purchase on Amazon. Have the bullets shipped. No casting for them. Those that decided to try to cast gave up when they boogered something up and leaded their barrels horribly with an incorrect alloy. They learned their hobby through online "experts" whilst doing the TicToc dance.
At the range, I am a dinosaur. When I load cast bullets into my M44 Moisin Nagant, I can see the other shooters grinning and cringing. Those who do ask and I inform them that with a proper alloy and reduced pressure, the barrel will not be leaded, smile and walk away in apparent disbelief.
We no longer have any prime time sportsman shows on national television. The Olympic shooting events are NEVER televised. There are no more intramural school shooting teams or leagues. Shooting and all things shooting related are now classified as terrorist activity engaged in only by domestic terrorists or radical right wing supporters.
Tools of the trade are only now becoming available again on the market but at significantly higher prices. Reloading now, like SCUBA, is becoming an upper middle-class activity. My LGS used to carry all kinds of reloading powders. My last can of Unique was purchased for $15.99 at Scheels. The other day I ordered 2 pounds of Unique from MidwayUSA, one of the only online places to get it. At $119.45 for two pounds, that works out to $60 per pound. Online purchases mean shipping, hazmat fee, tax, and of course the product charge. You can safely assume those will be the last two pounds of powder I buy online.
Prices like these will SEVERELY restrict who can reload. The loss of wheel weight lead will restrict those who cast bullets. I have no desire to cast zinc bullets or pay exorbitant prices for bullet alloy shipped to my doorstep. If you are one of the few fortunate people who live next to a powder factory or a lead mine, good for you. Most of us have to have it shipped to our country estate.
The cost of goods is one thing but I do not sense the willingness to "roll your own" in the younger generations. They want to buy it and they want it right now.
Now I will relate something funny. I have decided to roll my own English cartridges like those highlighted in Brett Gibbons book The English Cartridge. I had to order 100% rag paper online and did so. The description on the paper never mentioned the fact that this very expensive paper was graph paper. Now my 1853 Enfield paper cartridges are made with 100% rag graph paper. I can't wait to get these on the range and explain to those that are interested that in 1860, the English used graph paper for their cartridges! 

With rifle in hand, I confidently go forth into the darkness.