Ken and a New Toy

OK, this is MY blog, so I'm posting MY version of this story to it!


Ken and I have spent months watching the local stores get less and less ammunition on the shelves.  We will go to these stores right after delivery, and yet, there is still not enough ammo to make it worth while for us to go to the range in order to practice and have fun.


Then, when you CAN find the ammo, you have to pay so much for a box of 20 (because it's almost impossible to find boxes of 50 or 100), that it's not worth buying it let alone shooting it.


So, we discussed and debated the gun laws with friends, checked online to see what the hell was going on - turns out there were tons of rumors about Omaba getting rid of guns, etc.  Now, we were faced with the question, Where are we going to get ammo from so we can practice and teach the girls?


We found a couple of distributors that would work with us, and that helped, but it was a long drive and costly.  


The only decision to make was to reload our own.  With Ken being Ken, this took a long time to make a decision.  Is it worth the cost of the press and all of the components for us to do this?  Will we shoot enough to have the press pay for itself?  Which is the best press to purchase?  What components are best?


OK, while I am a gun enthusiast, even I reached my limit of talking about everything.  It has dominated all of our conversations for the last two months, and my head has actually hurt.  Being the "girl" that I am, I talked to some friends, researched some stuff online, and told Ken to buy the Dillon XL 650.  It is a lot more money up front, but their warranty cannot be matched by any other company.  I was happy with what I heard and read, so I made my decision.  Sadly, for me, it took Ken two more months to reach the same conclusion.


We started combing the various stores for components after Ken placed his order.  We found powder at Bass Pro for far cheaper than anywhere else.  He found primers, but they weren't the ones he was looking for.  Of all the reloading components, primers are the hardest to find.  He was able to find a guy who handles San Diego County Sheriff's Department, so he has an order for small pistol primers that he prefers.


The Dillon press arrived on Thursday, so Ken got busy making the best bench he could design quickly so he could assemble the Press.  Here's what happened in our garage:

Ken rearranged the entire garage in order to get a spot perfect for his bench and press.  

I made him get out of the way of the new pride and joy, and he couldn't contain himself.  As you can see, Ken also installed some new lighting so he will have perfection while he reloads.  

Ken didn't even notice that I went out and took this picture of him playing with new toys.  He was very involved.

I had to take this picture.  Only in my house would ammo cans be used for bookends!  I've always meant to get bookends, but never thought I should spend the money - I have a bookshelf, that should suffice.  OK, I have many bookshelves!


When everything was said and done, Ken said that he was very happy with his decision to buy the Dillon.  He has had no trouble getting replacement parts for the casualties of his set-up process, and he loves that he came up with the idea to go for the Dillon.


Yes, he's still breathing and we're still married.  I believe I had a moment of tantrum, but that was all!