Who are we

[CMBTshooter]

I joined the Army when I was 17 and I'm still here after six years. Had a great first five but this last one has been getting to me. I started handloading in 2010 while I was in 10th SFG in Fort Carson, CO.

 

[SJB358]

I joined the Army when I was 17 and I'm still here after six years. Had a great first five but this last one has been getting to me. I started handloading in 2010 while I was in 10th SFG in Fort Carson, CO.

No kidding! 10 Grouper!!!! Nice. How long have you been with group?

 

[Oldtrader3]

I joined the Army when I was 17 and I'm still here after six years. Had a great first five but this last one has been getting to me. I started handloading in 2010 while I was in 10th SFG in Fort Carson, CO.

Interesting, 10 SFG helped train us (8th Inf, 4th Inf Div) in 1964 before we went to Viet Nam in 1965. I was out of the Army by then but got the training in 1964, before I got out anyway.

 

[AzDak42]

Graduated with a BBA major in Accounting and spent the first part of my career realizing how much it sucks to be an accountant. I woke up one day, quit my job, and decided to find something that sucked less. I found my niche in IT. I'm currently a technology manager, for a group of app engineers/developers and analysts, supporting the internal HR applications used by a financial services company of just under 300k people. I'm one blessed folks out there, in that I actually love the company I work for, love my team and greatly enjoy what I do. Hell, my boss is even a great guy. It drives my wife batty that I wake up excited to go to work every day. (Not to mention, I met my wife at work and we still sit a whopping 6' apart all day!)

I grew up in North Dakota, smack dab in the middle of the northern great planes. I chased my share of grouse and pheasant around in high school and sort of fell out of the shooting sports early in my job life. I picked it back up about a decade ago, and have been a shooting nut ever since. Although my reloading time only a small fraction of that.

If the planets align, I'm going to go back for my masters in History next year, just because I always swore I'd go back and get a degree in something I loved, rather than in a degree that I took to find a job.


Edited to add a few pic of one of my hobbies.. aside from reloading, I like custom rifle builds. This one was done by ARS in Arizona.

 

[.280 Remington]

And an awesome wife of 10 years..

Also Scotty, have to commend you on your wife's knowledge of the "green monster"......Keep your finger straight and off the trigger...........

 

[SJB358]

Also Scotty, have to commend you on your wife's knowledge of the "green monster"......Keep your finger straight and off the trigger...........

I try.. Although, all I can do is mention, but she does excellent... Can't wait to see her get on the long range and start putting bullets in steel.

 

[sask boy]

Scotty you have a great looking family
Thank you from a Canuck, I believe that protect more than just your own country.

Blessings,
Dan

 

[Oldtrader3]

We already know that you have a great wife because of the Anniversary appearance of the Alaskan Model 70 .338 WM! That act gets her lot of cred around here and the fact that she will be shooting steel just adds to her cred, Scotty. Your wife and Aleena have a lot of fans on this site. Nice to see that!

 

[longwinters]

I graduated with a BA in Psychology and a minor in Biblical Studies. My Sr. year I came to the conclusion that I disagreed with much of Psychology as far as really being able to help people change. It was a difficult decision because I had worked hard and graduated with high honors and had also been inducted into a Psych National Honor Society. So after graduation I did a few different things until I was hired by a public utility co in 1982 where I still work.

My wife, of almost 32 years, and I are heavily involved in our church where we have been for about 22 years and in which I have been an Elder for the last 17 years. We have 3 children, married, 2 of which are in the medical field and one is doing an internship to be a Pastor.

Long

 

[AzDak42]

Sort of interesting to find so many people of faith on this forum.

 

[Oldtrader3]

A pretty large percentage of people on this forum are Christians. I think that this forum supports Christian values and faith in a largely secular world. A good thing in my opinion!

 

[RiverRider]

"Who we are" is an interesting title for a thread. Without meaning to barf all over anyone, I'll give a candid account of how I became who I am.

I was blessed to be born in trans-Pecos Texas and that's where I grew up.

I think my first shot fired was with an old Winchester Model 47 which was my grandfather's, became mine, and now resides in my great nephew's closet. I got hooked young. I was around reloading from the time I was eleven, and I really don't remember the first time I pulled the handle myself. My departed uncle who was six years my senior and like a brother to me was my mentor. I was out of the Navy before I loaded my first round unsupervised in 1981.

After the Navy I worked in electronics for a while and then went to college and earned a BS in Range Management. I never gave much thought as to where I'd end up working...I just figured things would work out if I was tops (or near it) in my class and I'd end up managing a large cattle producing enterprise. Little did I know! I ended up working for the BLM in Ely, Nevada. What was nice about that job was a government supplied 4WD pickup and the million and a half acres which was assigned to me to manage. I had a hard time adjusting to certain aspects of the job but had begun to acclimate when my mom committed suicide about six months after I started. I could not carry on and I left Nevada and my life proceeded to fall apart. To say I was devastated would not begin to come close to describing what I went through, and it was not until six years later that I realized I had been trying to ditch my own identity.

What I finally learned to know was "it just is" and there's no running from it.

So...after six years of I-don't-know-what, I began to pull up out of my nosedive. I ended up in the DFW area and went back to work in electronic manufacturing, and I began to thrive once again. But I still found myself missing aviation and wanting back into the field---largely because of the level of competence and professionalism demanded to survive and succeed. Today I hold an FAA Repairman certificate and I am the only man in the world (outside the factory in Europe) qualified to test, repair, and certify a certain manufacturer's Fiber-Optic Gyro system used in helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft---with the exception of an understudy who's really only able to put out fires in my absence and do some limited troubleshooting and repairs. I love my job and my employer is great.

My health is great. I get to shoot (but not hunt, unfortunately) all I want. I have a lifetime supply of loading components. :mrgreen: I love my wife and our dog and our cat and I have a great life, everything is as it should be. My wife and I celebrated our tenth wedding anniversary Monday.

I am blessed beyond measure!

 

[onesonek]

Thanks Scotty, and to all those Serving, or have Served in the past. All of you are the Greatest!!!!

 

[CMBTshooter]

I joined the Army when I was 17 and I'm still here after six years. Had a great first five but this last one has been getting to me. I started handloading in 2010 while I was in 10th SFG in Fort Carson, CO.

No kidding! 10 Grouper!!!! Nice. How long have you been with group?

I was there just shy of three years and I never had a bad day. I learned so much and the people I've met and worked with there were incredibly professional and dedicated.

 

[FOTIS]

Let's see.

Besides being a crazy Greek I am a retired Master Sergeant from the USAF. I was a cop in the military specializing in nuclear security. I retired in 2007 and now I fly satellites for Echostar/ Dish Network.

 

[hubcap]

Retired in 2007 after 39 years in civil service. Mostly worked on naval nuclear reactors aboard our subs and carriers. Talk about rocket science. I purchased reloading gear and a chrony in 1983. Even though I enjoy reloading several other calibers the .270 Win. is my passion. Still use Nosler reloading manual # 1 more than any other. I will admit that I learned more about reloading after joining this forum than I ever did on my own.

 

[257 Ackley]

Went into the Marine Corps as a 17 year old kid and had my eyes opened to a much bigger world than the hog farm I grew up on. Did the school thing after and received a degree in marketing and beer consumption... :roll: Spent most of my adult life working in the coprporate world climbing the ladder and realizing that it doesn't really matter and politics happen in that world, and make about as much sense as what we are experiencing on a national level now. Left that world in 2009 and started my own manufacturing company for a product in the industry I worked in for 28 years.

Been reloading since 1981 when I bought a .280 Ruger model 77 and couldn't find anything except 165 grain Remington factory loads that basicly fell out of the end of the barrel. Have started competing in F-Class competitions this past year which has forced me to improve my reloading skills and evaluation of barrels, optics, triggers and bullets. I am mentoring a 17 year old guy (and his dad) on reloading for competition and am thinking when I retire (again) that I will find my calling doing this for others.

I have met several of the members on this site and have yet to find one that I wouldn't share a foxhole with. Looking forward to meeting other members as I travel around North America for my job and shared hunting experiences.

 

[Hegland]

An Iowa farm boy of Viking heritage. Undergraduate engineering degree in 2005 and this spring completed an MBA. Employed as a test engineer by John Deere, working with GPS, automated steering and other intelligent control systems. Active in the Lutheran church built on my great-great-grandfather's land, steeped in the liturgy and theology of the Norwegian state church. I've been reloading for about 10 years and I enjoy shooting, hunting, fishing, guitars, keyboards, saxophones, and being around friends.

That about covers it.

 

[Wincheringen]

After HS I went to Unity College in Maine and studied Wildlife Biology. That didn't pan out so transferred to Montana State University and I finished with a BS in Environmental Law. I started my first career building maps & working with biocontrol insects for the USDA. I grew tired of the waste and moved on to planning utilities and building maps for a large utility company. I enjoyed my job but the wages were not going to get me anywhere. It was the end of October and I was looking at spending the next few months laid off when I saw and advertisement for the railroad and I applied. It certainly wasn't an occupation I ever saw myself working in, but I'm comfortable and I was just promoted to Locomotive Engineer at the end of August.

I started reloading when I got my first handgun, a 357 Magnum. Now I reload for at least 30 different cartridges. I started shooting pistols competitively and that quickly accelerated to skeet, sporting clays, & trap. I also shoot informal long range rifle.

I am a Hunter Safety Instructor, NROI certified Range Officer, and serve on my church council, and board of directors for my local rifle range.

 

[DaveA37]

Looks like there is a lot of talent on here..

Me, I'm just a farm kid originally from Minnesota. Went into the U.S. Navy right out of highschool. After serving in the Navy (Radioman 1st) attended Univ. Wisconsin and received my BA in Mechanical Design Engineering. Married to the same gal for 53 years with two sons, 5 grandkids. Retired after 42 years in a variety of manufacturing industry fields. Started, owned and operated two small manufacturing companies. Now serving as an elected County Supervisor (Commissioner) here in Wisconsin for the past 16 years.

Started reloading way back when (?). Got my first rifle (a .22 cal Remington "Targetmaster") which I still own and shoot to this day. Reload for a variety of my own rifles (.300 Win mag, .300 H&H, .308, .222, and most recently the .280 Remington). At 75, I'm currently planning another annual trip to the mountains of Wyoming with elk, deer and antelope tags in my pocket. It isn't over yet and I plan to keep going as long as I can. :grin:

And most importantly, I too am a Christian.