Howdy, folks! I write from Alabama without a banjo on my knee... I reload for lots of different calibers and guns, both short and long--but I do not reload for smoothbore guns. I used to, but don't do it any longer. I reloaded shotgun shells when I lived in Italy, where in those days I mostly shot small birds. I began hunting legally in 1964, at 16, the minimum age then to get a license--now it's 18--and left Italy in 1975. I soon found out that commercial shells in the States are way better than their Italian counterpart, and I quit reloading. I lived in California for a couple of years, in Stockton, with my Californian wife. We then moved to Montana, where we spent seven years. It was in Montana that I began reloading for pistols (.357 Magnum and .44 Magnum) and for my Remington 700 .30-06 and my wife's Remington 788 in .243. From Montana we moved to Kodiak, Alaska, where we spent 29 years. There I acquired all kinds of guns and really got into reloading. There were two great ranges in Kodiak, an outdoor rifle range with targets up to 500 yards from the benches, and an indoor range, heated, with fancy mechanized targets that could be positioned up to 25 yards from the shooting stalls. My wife and I shot pistols there every Friday night, and at times at weekend matches. That's when I bought a progressive press (a Dillon Square Deal) that worked great and fed our .45 ACP's large doses of target ammo. I also reloaded for my favorite hunting rifle, a Ruger M77 in .338 WM, a .22 Hornet, a Marlin .450, the old .30-06, a Garand, an SMLE in .303 Brit, a Winchester M. 94 .30-30, three Beto O'Rourke Specials (AR 15's), a Ruger Mini-14 Ranch Rifle, and my new toy, a .50 Beowulf (the upper from Alexander Arms, the lower a S&W M&P) Last week I completed about twenty rounds of .50 Beowulf but I haven't had a chance to try them out for impeccable functioning first and accuracy second. I don't expect superior accuracy to be satisfied. Here 99% of shots at game are within 70 yards. Alexander Arms cartridges do not cause any stoppages, feed and eject flawlessly. But I like to shoot my reloads at game. I haven't killed an animal in the past 40 years with commercial loads. And I have quite a few deer and other hairy critters on my conscience.
I haven't navigated through this forum yet, and I wonder if there are any .338 WM, .22 Hornet, and .50 Beowulf aficionados with whom to exchange info, experiences and knowledge (though of this I have very little, so I expect to learn from anyone who possesses more of it than I.)