Am 59 and wife is pushing me to retire at 60. Did the math and paying health insurance out of pocket for six years is silly so dropped largest client so officially employed but cut way back. Worked six days last week, broke foot on job Saturday and been sitting at home all week reading my Bible, watching sermons on Christian television, working at the reloading bench a lot, inventorying reloading components, ammo (stunned at how much is here) and nursing the foot. Found a dozen projects could do at home with foot propped up.
Did sort through over thirty pieces of body armor and resized 500 count bag of 7.62x54 APIs to 0.308", corrected inconsistent bases (combloc pulls have horrible bases) gave them a mild boat tail shape then trued the tips as will move off center when resized. Now to figure out what I need more API rounds for? Found them organizing projectiles in several can stored in a closet at work (thought all in closet were M80 pulls but one can wasn't) for years so decided to make them useful.
Cutting back amount of work has been great, have indoor range at work so shooting more. Been organizing closets, storage lockers and racks finding a box with seven scopes forgot buying (Leupold's and higher end Vortex's purchased after a model changes), six SIG Romeo 5s, three SIG swing up 3x magnifiers and two Burris Fastfire 2s. Have a locker with enough parts to build another two dozen AR 15s had put pause not wanting to buy optics.
Since stopped chasing my tail at work to keep most needy client happy found enough parts to build another half dozen AR10s (minus barrels but ordered two 2-Fitty Hillbilly tubes as always been a quarter bore addict), two FN FALs and one L1a1 kit didn't realize had most of the parts. Going to "coast" till hit Medicare age making enough to cover the bills, health insurance, hobby parts and small paycheck while finishing all the projects will need to play with if retire.
My pistol smith retired at age 70 and no matter what I offered would not tune three wheel guns for me. Said he had two vaults full of guns he built and never shot, was going to shoot till he couldn't hold a gun and not die with those guns still collecting dust. My turn bolt builder announced would not be accepting new orders (had a two year wait list) and when finished his wait list rifles was retiring. His son, a full time machinist while helped his dad in the rifle shop for decades has decided to pick it up so rifles will just have Jr. on end of name and he is spending the two years of wait list guns to (one is mine) and is already starting a list for when Sr. retires and got me two donor rifles to go on the new list.
My plan had been to work till I die or was unable as Bible says nothing about retiring but this slowing my pace has been a really good thing. Now have five years to decide if I fully retire or just cut back again at 66. Have so many people wanting me to build AR 15s, AR 10s, 10/22s and 1911s might retire and become a gun smith. Have built over 100 AR uppers for people free, they just supply parts or pay the parts bill (have dealer status several suppliers) and when done I send them out but never taken money for labor. Have so much fun bought a machine shop just for wrenching on guns and restoring antique Harley Davidson's.
Have one Harley rode to work, parked needing about a half days work years ago. After 12 months drained fuel from tanks let it idle all fuel outof carb and its just sat. My favorite bike, few weeks ago finally uncovered it and made up a parts list. Have two of the bikes at home ready for service and several basket cases at work want to rebuild and restore. Never worked as much as have last decade but after broke my spine in 2007, again in 2008 then again in 2009 stopped all my adventure hobbies, then when recovered and rehabbed but unable to climb mountains and race bicycles fell into trap of working non stop.
Meantime about to start into rejuvenating a 500 count lot of Berdan primers that have been out of the ultrasonic long enough to be well dried. Have a decade or more primers in inventory but been playing with rejuvenating primers and reloading rimfire for decades. Bought a premium set of rimfire dies for 22 LR and 22 Mag plus some really nice heeled bullet molds.Bought some precision medical equipment compounding pharmacists use for mixing medicine to handle mixing my chemicals and then ensuring amount of priming compound was ultra consistent when re-priming rimfire cases and primer cups.
Last 500 Berdan primers recharged had less than eight that didn't fire first hammer strike. Half fired on second try, and only two refused to fire at all. Last run of 22 LR did 200 rounds and less than ten didn't fire first try but only one didn't fire after repositioning and trying second or third try. Ran my chemistry again, think have formula heated up a tad to be a bit more sensitive and hotter.. Going to increase amount in each cup a tad and goal is better than 99.5% then begin repacking primers on informal range ammo use for shooting steel.
Am a freak about only shooting premium rimfire and don't think I can make it to standard demand but if able to get "Thunderbolt" accuracy and 99.5% or better reliability may have to pull some everyday rimfires and use it if ammo cost doesn't level out. Last formula ran over 98% on rimfire and 308 launching M80 pulls so feel am on cusp of getting another 1% or more and 308 milspec Berdan cases are so common could live with one out of 200 not going bang for ringing steel.
Why I am slowing in steps so can decide if I find a spot where I can afford to keep the building but have plenty of time to enjoy life. Insurance, taxes, licenses, maintenance is not cheap and if not earning something can't afford to keep it which 1/3 is dedicated to building guns and motorcycles plus have a two lane sixty foot indoor range. Will miss that if fully retire.
Hope you enjoy retirement, my dad retired three times and went back to work every time saying he was bored but think I have enough hobbies can keep busy. If you don't like full retirement nothing will stop you from easing back in part time.
