Simonson Bullets - Reboot

B

bobsimo

Guest
Greetings,

My name is Bob Simonson, Jr. Some may recall my Father, Bob Simonson, and the manufacture of custom bullet dies for the bench rest game. Ferris Pindel, a Bench Rest Shooting legend from days gone by once said my Father was one of the three best bullet die makers in the world. Well Ferris, thank you.

When my my father passed away in December of 2014, it was not only a grave loss to my family but to the bench rest shooting sport as well. I came to this forum in 2008 to discuss making dies and/or bullets and there was some interest. However life has a way of sidetracking things. I closed my personal business at the time and a year later return to an old career of security alarm and related services, starting my current business venture, a security and low voltage integration company in 2011. Now with a son in college and moving into my parents old home, I was face with a daunting task of going into the reloading area in the basement, much of it untouched since December 2007. As I began to take stock of the situation, I revisited the idea of rebooting the Simonson Bullet brand.

I make no claims. I haven't shot a bench rest rife in a competition situation since 1981. While I shot with my dad at many a match, even beating him a couple of times (non-sanctioned match, damn it) my pursuits lied elsewhere. I did not pursue the family business of Tool & Die but rather radio broadcasting and technical support of alarms, video surveillance, access control, telephone systems and AV systems were my career. That doesn't mean I lack the skills and resources to build dies and produce match grade bullets, but being out of the game, I have no idea the caliber and design needs of the jacked hand swagged bullets today.

BEFORE I invest time, energy, logistics and external resources in the assembly of existing dies and building new ones, I have ask the blunt question along with the fact finding ones...

DO YOU WANT SIMONSON BULLETS?

And if so, what calibers, designs, quantities and price points?

As for dies, building custom dies is an expensive proposition. My father did it as a labor of love. He had the shop and the machine resources to do it. I would have to use outside resources to build the dies. A little bit more expensive to do. HOWEVER, replacement parts would be accessible from the beginning, if I proceed with the reboot.

If you have ANY suggestions, input or even conceptional ideas, PLEASE, feel free to contact me at bob at millenniumintegrated dot com. I will make every endeavor to respond to your e-mails..... or you can post further comments here. I will attempt to answer as quickly and forthright as I can.

Regards,

Bob Simonson, Jr.
Kalamazoo, Michigan USA
 
Why not just make a few bullets and see how it goes? I'd think you would sell all the bullets you are willing to make to begin with. If they shoot well, you're in the bullet business. Keep in mind that bullets ain't what I'd call fun to make. Think about it before you do it....bullet orders come pretty fast!
 
Why not just make a few bullets and see how it goes? I'd think you would sell all the bullets you are willing to make to begin with. If they shoot well, you're in the bullet business. Keep in mind that bullets ain't what I'd call fun to make. Think about it before you do it....bullet orders come pretty fast!

Wilbur,

You bring up extremely valuable points.

1- Business plan. I am a systems - logistics kind of guy. I am more of a troubleshooter by trade. So unless I have a team in place and back up plans, it won't go much further than social media.

2- My plan was use existing inventory and if the interest is further, then it's a go.

3- Having my primary business at home, with a home office, makes it easier to execute.

Thanks for the input, we're on the same page brother.

B
 
Since you have the infrastructure- presses and punches and what-not- you should call george ulrich and get a new set of dies with the latest modern design especially thats compatible with the jackets and cores of today. Things change over time. Just look at the aggs from when he was selling bullets to todays aggs. The equipment itself is way better no doubt but the bullets have changed as well. Everybody wants the latest and greatest design thats winning. Even the most popular bullets of 5yrs ago are collecting dust on shelves now. Some may disagree of course and thats ok. Im close enough to the inside i see trends.
 
Bob,

If you want to make Bullets jump on in! You're not going to get the answers by asking here. You are going to have to make a few bullets and just get out there. If you need help with jackets let me know ill help you out. I'd recommend you focus on calibers that you plan on shooting and competing with. If you're not going to shoot, then forget about it because it probably won't work. The Simonson name helps, but it's not going to get you very far unless you get out there with the shooters. That is the bottom line!

Bart
 
Dusty - Concerning bullets, are you talking about shooting better or rather what folks will buy given the current line of thought? There's nothing behind this question....:)
 
Thanks for the input everyone.

I will be producing bullets in 2016. Details will be on the website millenniumintegrated.com
 
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