Just shot my first reloads!

T

trav70

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The southern end of Northern Ontario
Just wanted to say I'm just starting to try out this reloading aspect of the hobby, and today for the first time, I shot some of my own hand-loaded ammunition.
I guess if you've been doing this for a while, it seems kind of unexciting, but it was a bit of a thrill for me to see them actually work, and work not too badly, at that.
I think I am probably now hooked.... more things to spend money on. Oh well, it will help relieve boredom on those cold winter nights.

Here's a pic of my friend trying them out.....

WestNipissing-20121125-00048.jpg




Note that the reloads were for the Tikka, not the SKS!

.308 Win
168gr Barnes TSX, with 41gr Varget. Average Velocity, 2446 FPS. Light load, I know, but I wanted to start slow.....

Anyway, despite the slight chill in the air ( -7 degrees) it was a nice, beautiful sunny day to be out shooting.

Off to load up some more rounds.....
 
Congrats! I still remember the first time I shot my own reloads, and yes, it was very exciting! However it was topped by the first deer, then moose I took with my own, carefully worked up loads. THAT felt great!
 
Haha - I remember sitting at my desk in residence at university a long time ago now, using a Lee Loader to load .243. One by one for my CIL 950C.
When I went to shoot them - it was like magic for me then. Just how well that rifle could shoot with a little care and little adjustments.

It started a great life of obsession to details.
 
Congrats on joining the reloading fraternity. Been at this for 40+ years and still enjoy it and the persuit of better groups and trying new components.
 
Great feeling isn't it!There is a whole new dimension added to shooting once you start cranking out your own loads for target shooting,hunting,plinking or whatever.And you know what,Ive been loading my own ammo now for around 35 years or so and everytime I try out a new load,even in a rifle I've fired many,many times,that great old feeling keeps coming back.I absolutely love this pastime and it never gets stale.And starting out with light loads is absolutely the right way to go.Work up your loads cautiously as you go and learn to recognize increasing pressure signs in your guns,you are definitely on the right track with your approach.Never,ever be afraid to ask questions around here and above all have fun,although it looks like you already are!
 
Hey trav, welcome to the fold. :D

It's been many decades since this 'stuffer' has bought a factory round .... no gain to be found there, eh?.
No man will ever forget his first. ... ;)
Mine was back in '70, still recall the spec's.

.308 Win.
Rem. 600 Mohawk. 18"bbl.
Dominion brass
WW 748
150 Speer
CCI 200
Lee target model loader .... at the kitchen table.

First group was my first ever sub-moa cluster.

The loading is what puts the juice in this sport. Experimenting. Evolving. Tackdriving.
 
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bjmurata said:
Great feeling isn't it!There is a whole new dimension added to shooting once you start cranking out your own loads for target shooting,hunting,plinking or whatever.And you know what,Ive been loading my own ammo now for around 35 years or so and everytime I try out a new load,even in a rifle I've fired many,many times,that great old feeling keeps coming back.I absolutely love this pastime and it never gets stale.And starting out with light loads is absolutely the right way to go.Work up your loads cautiously as you go and learn to recognize increasing pressure signs in your guns,you are definitely on the right track with your approach.Never,ever be afraid to ask questions around here and above all have fun,although it looks like you already are!
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Well said!

Welcome to the dark side, trav70. It's fun in itself. Anybody explained 'ladder loads' yet?
 
This gives me hope. Tonight I went into both wholesale sports and cabelas for some gas checks. One place had none in 30cal and the other didn't know what I was talking about. Both clerks told me that fewer and fewer ppl are reloading these days, and I guess that bullet casters must be a further minority.

Such a shame. Reloading let's you shoot more per dollar, so either everyone has much more money than I do, or else doesn't shoot very much.

Good on you for starting out. Now the fun begins with experimentation with different powders n pills to see what your rifle likes best, and what gives you the most satisfactory experience.
 
Yes, my next task is to try the differing powder loads, slowly working up, to see which seem to give the smallest groups from my rifle, using the bullets I've got... then, maybe different bullets? Ah, but I get ahead of myself.... One step at a time....

Meanwhile, a better powder scale is in the mail, on it's way to me.

Then, something to clean the brass, maybe, since nobody likes dirty brass... I see several toys in my future!
 
spend you down time reading about load development techniques. Benchrest.ca is a good forum for top notch relaoding and accuracy advice. So is accurateshooter.com
 
I was hesitent at first when starting to reload, I've never done it before, it's gunpowder... it blows up! what if I do something wrong!?! I was so nervous building my first batch and even more so firing them... Now I just need to find a way to have time to have fewer components and more built rounds... if only there were more hours in the day
 
trav70 said:
Yes, my next task is to try the differing powder loads, slowly working up, to see which seem to give the smallest groups from my rifle, using the bullets I've got... then, maybe different bullets? Ah, but I get ahead of myself.... One step at a time....

Meanwhile, a better powder scale is in the mail, on it's way to me.

Then, something to clean the brass, maybe, since nobody likes dirty brass... I see several toys in my future!
Click to expand...

It's a real slippery slope isn't it.Never enough gadgets although as with anything let common sense prevail when it comes to buying things.You don't have to bankrupt yourself right off the bat unless of course you have the available funds to do so,in which case fire away!
 
I started reloading about a year ago and started with my pre64 30-30. I was so nervous even though I read a tonne of stuff before starting and have about 3 or 4 manuals and how to books. I shot the the first round with the rifle as far away from my body and head as possibly. Probably not proper safe gun handling but I look back and laugh at that now.

Now I reload pretty much everything except for my .22 rimfire. I even reload for my Dad in calibers I don't even own. Now I can't go into a gun store without buying at least a bag of brass so I have something to do for a week/evening depending on whether the wife is working a night or not.

Thats kinda sad...
 
Congrats trav70. I popped my reloading cherry about six months ago and it was a wonderful feeling! I can still remember it. The feeling of going out to look at a target as you work up a load and see your group size shrink as you work in on the sweet spot is hard to beat! Enjoy.
 
Good Job! Same here, I remember being very excited when my reloads were flying downrange, and even more so once I started dialing them in a bit. Keep it up, its a great aspect to the sport, you will learn a lot as you go.
 
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