ABOUT US
WHO WE ARE
Chuck and Garrett are two friends who met and bonded over shooting sports. Having first met in middle school in a small 4-H shooting club, they instantly became friends and spent most of their time together shooting, talking about shooting, or planning what to do for the next trip to the range. They remained friends over the years and still continue to shoot together. After Garrett approached Chuck about learning to reload, Chuck would reference a lot of the great gun writers, many of them who have passed on. After some thought, Chuck sparked the idea to try his hand at writing. And thus the Practical Marksmanship Reloaded project was born. Many of the “greats” learned through others, and by trail and error, which is exactly the goal of the project. For us all to learn together, and for the communal knowledge to be shared in a public format to encourage the growth and furtherance of one another in our shooting endeavors.
Chuck Milstead
I still remember it vividly. Christmas morning when I was 10. My father handed me a long rectangular package, and as I tore into it I couldn’t have been more thrilled. Inside that box was a Savage bolt action 22LR. I was so excited to shoot that rifle I could barley contain myself. From that day on if I could shoot my rifle, I did. And if it could be shot with my rifle, then it was. It wasn’t long after before I got into shotguns, then revolvers, and finally centerfire rifles. I did everything I could to shoot wether it was competitions, hunting. plinking, or some of the shooting clubs I was in. It was in one of those clubs that I happened to meet a great friend, and now a partner of mine in this project, Garrett. Garrett and I instantly became friends over shooting, and have stayed that way ever since. Some years after I first met Garrett came the special day that I was given an old box by my uncle. When I opened the box I found a Lee single stage press. And from then on I fell just as in love with reloading as I did with shooting.
When Garrett approached me about wanting to learn to reload, I could not have been more thrilled. As I pulled together everything I had to teach him, he and I kept talking about the next greatest thing. One thing let to another, and then the Practical Marksmanship Reloaded project was born. My goal here is to take my years of trail and error, along with what I have learned along the way and show you what has worked for me. If it works for you, I would love to know. If it doesn’t work for you, I would love to know what does work for you.
Garrett Speakman
A number of years ago when I was 7 years old came that special morning that all kids dream of, Christmas morning. My father handed me a package. I opened it and was elated to see a Marlin Bolt Action Youth Model 22LR. My father is the one who instilled my initial love for shooting and hunting. Many of my initial years of shooting were with my father on hunting trips for whitetail deer. I used a CVA Wolf 50 caliber Muzzleloader that was given to me when I was around 10 years old. I cherish all those seasons spent with my father hunting deer. Some years went on and my father began to relax on hunting, but I had not even come close to getting my fill. I continued to hunt deer on my own. When I was around 13 I joined a small 4-H club where Chuck and I met. That first year we shot air rifles and 22s, learning the foundational principles of marksmanship and firearm safety. But it wasn’t until our second year in the club that we reached the coveted day of stepping up to the trap range. This is where my fondness of shooting shotguns was forged. It wasn’t long before I wanted to take the skills I had learned on the trap range out to the field. That next Pheasant season I walked into the fields ready to harvest my first bird. On my first hunt I killed 2 roosters. Instantly I was hooked.
Through the years of my time in that 4-H club, Chuck and I continued to be friends and find new ways to enjoy our fondness of firearms. While Chuck continued to expand his knowledge of firearms with reloading and target practice, I stayed in the hunting fields. I was hunting mostly for pheasants, deer, and squirrels. Over the years I continued to refine my marksmanship through hunting. Later on I eventually began to expand to hunting doves, turkey and rabbits. While I had plenty adequate marksmanship for hunting, I continued to seek more. I approached Chuck about learning to shoot handguns. After a range trip with his Gen 5 Glock 17, I new I had made the right choice with expanding my knowledge. Just recently Chuck and I began to devise a project to see how much accuracy we could get from a traditional lever action rifle. And of course one cannot carry a lever gun afield without a revolver. While there was a learning curve with the revolver, it is one I have openly embraced. I bring to the project my years of hunting experience, as well as a strong desire to try new forms of shooting to further my experience.