A Man, A Plan, A Handloader: Dillon - Brief Article

Guns Magazine, Dec, 1999 by Charles E. Petty

Handloading has had its share of entrepreneurs who have shaped the industry. Most were shooters who loaded to make their lives easier, or accomplished a goal and them went on to sell it to the masses. One of the people who has changed handloading in the late 20th century is Mike Dillon. He did it by bringing progressive loaders to the average shooter.

He didn't invent them -- he just made them affordable, making it possible for more people to afford the high volumes of ammo needed to engage in practical shooting disciplines and hugely popular cowboy games. Shooters who couldn't afford the hundreds or thousands of rounds a month of factory ammo required to compete, could, with the 25 to 50 percent savings possible with reloads. Dillon built a tidy little empire. That's fine ... it's the American way.

I've been handloading over 40 years and most of the changes I've talked about came within that time. I started handloading so I could afford to shoot in those late teenage years when money was a scarce commodity. First with .38 Special and then the wildcat .22 Varminter -- we know it better now as the .22-250--then the .45 ACP and gradually the list grew. I lost count long ago.

Today, reloading is a little different for me. Trying to find better loads is both fun and challenging. It gets in your blood.