Does anyone have information or HAVE a Ljutic shotgun shell reloading machine made in the 1950's/early1960's? The folks at the factory do not have any manuals. I believe Al Ljutic made very few of them as they were all hand made/machined. It appears it is set up to only use card wads. More photos of early Ljutic products can be seen on the Ljutic Facebook page.
In Arnold Riegger's book "Trapshooting" he refers that he was the factory rep for the loader in the 1950's. Ljutic also made fiber wads that had to be used to fit the loader. He took it with him to many shoots and was one of the first to use reloads.
What a great observation! Soviet Russia... yes! I remember the first time I saw a Ljutic shotgun in the late 60's/early 1970's. It reminded me of something I might see in a Russian science fiction film. I was mesmerized! Indeed, the Ljutic Mono-Gun IS built like a tank. In a fresh way, it really stood out from the Winchester Mdl. 12, Browning Superposed, and other popular guns from that time. Other manufacturers would later copy the Ljutic raised rib, but still have not caught on with simplicity of design and unmatched durability.
The pictured reloader was hand-built by a wacky, eccentric, brilliant, and lovable Croatian innovator, Al Ljutic.
First time I saw a Ljutic was about 1977 and it was an X73.....had never seen anything like it before and knew nothing about trapshooting then either. Never thought then that I'd own one 6 years later and be addicted to trapshooting.
Al Ljutic was born in Nevada. At at one point in his life he (tongue-in-cheek) described himself as, "... a dumb Slavonian." Al's father came from Serbia. I'll have to check on my reference of "Croatian." Ethnic Croatians lived in Serbia, and ethnic Serbs lived in Croatia.
I haven't tried reloading as it seems complicated to me. I have some of the Ljutic flat wads and a manual which is VERY complicated to me. The first pictured reloader (with lots of patina), has a tube to stack empty cases. Once that machine is set up, it loads as fast as you can pull the handle. The newer (second pictured) machine appears to need shells placed in each time by hand. This machine has parts to adjust desired powder and shot loads.
I would welcome any knowledgeable person to come over and set me up!
I will call the ATA Museum to find out if they have a Ljutic Reloader. I would be surprised if they do have one. Most people don't know they were made.
A number of years ago My father had one sitting around his shop collecting dust. He eventually donated it to the HOF museum at the Kingsburg gun club. Last I heard it was still there. I'm fairly certain that it did not have a manual with it though. Kim, IIRC it looked more like the second one you pictured than the first. Mike
Th LJUTIC wads were punched out of a cardboard/fiberboard material that was extremely flammable. The scraps left over from the wad punching operation were sold as a wood stove and fireplace starter called "INSTA-BLAZE"! I had dinner with Nadine & Al about 20 years ago and Al told the story. He said "We lost money on the wads...but we made a killing on the fire starters!"
I'd like to talk to anyone out there who has a Ljutic Reloader. I'm trying to document variations and collect serial numbers in order to determine how many were made. The folks at Ljutic don't remember, as they were made a long time ago.
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