Posted on 11/25/2014 10:56:15 AM PST by marktwain
A reader sent this picture of his daughter assisting him in reloading cartridges. On a single stage press, such as the RCBS pictured, there is plenty to do. A young child can easily and safely deprime cases, such as this young girl is doing. She deprimed 500 of them for her father, and was very pleased with herself. It reminds me of pleasant times when my daughter was about five. She loved to help me reload ammunition.
My own first experiences with reloading were when I was much older, perhaps eight, or nine. My father reloaded hunting ammunition for his model 99 .300 Savage. He was deadly with that rifle in the woods. I helped, or at least watched and handed over bullets. He used a Lyman 310 tool and an Ideal reloading manual. The 310 tool works just fine if you use the same rifle and do not have to full length resize the cases.
We only loaded a couple of boxes at a time. The rifle was not shot that much, mostly sighting in from a bench on our property a quarter mile away, across the Namekagon river, where there was a good backstop, and while hunting. More shots were fired in sighting in and in small amounts of practice, than were fired while hunting, even if my father routinely shot one or two deer a year. I shot my first deer with that rifle, at age 13.
Reloading cartridges, and shooting a few of them, is an experience a child will remember forever. It imprints the brain with the possibilities of being productive and of having some control over the material world. I recall the experience as being empowering. It is a great building block for responsibility. To be trusted with real involvement in a powerful activity that requires responsibility, shows a child that they are loved, trusted, and respected.
©2014 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
Link to Gun Watch
Not to mention, attention to detail.
:) That beings back really good memories when my youngest son and I would do the same. Its still a sweet memory for both of us. I love being a dad, I was built for that!!!
My kids have helped since they were quite young... reloading primer tubes and putting the loaded cartridges into boxes.
my three boys are all grown...but they all did the same kind of chores from a very young age. made them make complete rounds at my very close observation. They also were required to crawl under the car with me to do repairs...
it’s good to make kids do chores no mater what kind. My brother allowed his boy to do ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. and that’s is pretty much his abilities are and he is in constant trouble as a high schooler.
What a confidence builder and she gets to hang out with dad.
Teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime.
My 12 year old reloaded all his 6.5 Swedes this summer then killed his first mulie buck with one this fall.
Wow, does that ever bring back memories for me as well! My father and I did this together often all my years growing up. Nice.
Oh, and I might add my father used to call me Annie Oakley. ;-)
“ My father reloaded hunting ammunition for his model 99 .300 Savage. ”
I actually have a box of .300 Savage cartridges in the back of my closet. Wish I’d bought the rifle to go with it when I had the chance. Handy little rifle that one.
L
Great point. Sometimes a task takes longer to do with ‘help’ but it is well worth it. For them and you, but mostly them. My brother-in-law had a dad like your brother, who never had him help with various ‘handy’ activities. After the guy married my sister my dad (and my sister) had to teach him many house maintenance type chores.
I hate to be a stick in the mud but primer compound is lead based. There is lead or lead residue involved with every stage of reloading even depriming. Young brains are even more sensitive to lead that adult brains.
bought my middle boy a 722 Remington in .300 savage(about a decade or more back)....nice shooter. Wish I could have gotten that caliber in the model 99 Savage though. nice classic lever gun....but the gun I got was used and I got it through a friend at a good price...
That’s a major, major difference between a Leftist and a Conservative.
Conservative: Several or more children, requires them to do chores, teaches them skills. Children grow up more or less successful and are law-abiding.
Leftist: One (or none) child, requires them to do no chores, teaches no skills. Children grow up as losers who can only mooch off the system or others and cause incessant trouble.
“I hate to be a stick in the mud but primer compound is lead based. There is lead or lead residue involved with every stage of reloading even depriming. Young brains are even more sensitive to lead that adult brains.”
Okay. So make the child wear some nitrile or latex gloves and a respirator mask so he looks like Darth Vader or an Ebola health worker!
LOL!
“I hate to be a stick in the mud”
Then don’t be.
L
I calls them as I sees them.
I used to be in charge of the lead program at a battery plant. The guys had gloves, suits and respirators, even with all that, there were always a couple than managed to get their levels up into the danger zone.
Here I am posing for my Publicity Photo.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.