After conversations with a friend and fellow PGCA member regarding all the benefits of loading your own I took the plunge and bought a used MEC 650 and various other items I would need to begin this relaxing and enjoyable new hobby.
After being publicly ridiculed on this site and possibly others for barrel diving for empties at our Addieville shoot last weekend I finally had everything I needed to get started except for the lead shot. After checking many websites and several phone calls I located what may have been the only two bags of #8 shot in the state of CT. After driving half way across the state and back I now had everything I needed to get started. I put the two 25# bags just inside the house as there were lawns to mow and other chores to be completed before getting things set up. Around 8:00 I picked up the first bag and put it on my shoulder to bring down to my gun room and that’s when it happened.
My first thought was man it's really raining outside. Wrong, #8 was hitting the hardwood flooring from almost six feet high and was on the move. Now I am sure using math and physics there is easy explanation as to how those little pellets were able to travel from room to room, under furniture, into closets, down the stairs, literally covering every square foot of flooring and all in a matter of seconds.
Anyone who has tried to sweep up shot on a smooth surface knows what I went through for the next two hours. At that point the PGCA was very close to loosing longtime member #800 who shall remain nameless. This was a painful lesson to learn but I am now over it now and ready to start relaxing and realizing the joy's of reloading.