First reloads. Had a blast and they worked awesome.

egmonster

egmonster

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Hey everyone, after much reading and studies I reloaded my first ammo.

Used a Lee 50th Kit with Lee Deluxe Dies. It all took a bit longer than I expected and I was very surprised at how long some of the cases were.

Went to the range and shot some great groups with them. What a tremendous sense of satisfaction! I am hooked!

70+ rounds of .308 with 155 Sierra Palma Matchkings

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Congrats!
You'll find the procedure will get a little faster as you ecome more familiar with it all.
Take your time for safety's sake, and you'll prolly find reloading itself can be almost as much fun as shooting
 
egmonster said:
I was SUPER paranoid. Better safe than sorry eh? :D
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I was too. First rnds I ever reloaded was for my .40 cal handgun. I was VERY nervous firing my first rnd. I loaded only one and held my breath as I pulled the trigger (probably had a good safety squint going on too) and was relieved when it fired as expected. Got more bold and loaded up a full clip and was very happy with the performance. I wasn't really aiming but all of them landed around the bullseye. Man that will get you hooked quick. I have since fired 400 rnds of hand loaded .40 and the difference compared to the factory realoaded bulk ammo I was buying was noticeable. I could never go back to buying that stuff or paying full price for new factory ammo.

The experience was even better when I fired my first hand loaded .30-30 It is so much damn fun!

If I HAD to come up with one thing I don't like about reloading, it's the running around and picking up brass from semi-autos. Brass flies everywhere and there is always some noob wondering what the hell I'm doing.
 
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Great Crouton said:
If I HAD to come up with one thing I don't like about reloading, it's the running around and picking up brass from semi-autos. Brass flies everywhere and there is always some noob wondering what the hell I'm doing.[/QUO


hahaha, welcome to the range chicken club!! next time, bring your kid and their friends shooting so they can run around picking up the brass......
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Congrats! Yup, first time shooting your first reloads is a bit nerve racking, praying you don't get hurt if your gun goes kaboom! Now you can shoot match grade ammo cheaper than factory ammo. :)

I'm a rookie as well and 308 was my first reloads. Got the same kit but also added some extra tools. I picked up a Hornady LNL Bench scale (can't hurt to have a digital scale) to verify the balance beam scale that came in the kit. Turns out the LEE scale was +0.3 to +0.8 grain off. I know +0.2 to +0.3 doesn't make a whole difference but +0.8 was an eye opener. My original 41.5gr of H4895 turned out to be closer to 42.3gr. I had some 43gr (max for H4895 behind a 168g SMK) made up but didn't shoot them. I pulled the bullets and reweighed the powder and they were came at 43.4gr. I think I'll eventually pickup a RCBS 505 scale as a backup.
 
Wow. Good tip on the lee scale. It looked pretty cheesy so I have plans to upgrade soon. I used H4895 and only a minimum load so I was pretty sure it would be ok.

It's funny how different manuals have different numbers. Also I was worried about overall length from round to round. But it's just that digital calipers give too much information at times.

I am totally hooked. It was very cool to shoot my own ammo. This looks to be the start of yet ANOTHER expensive addiction. But so far I have managed to present it to my wife as a good way to save money.

Ya right! Hehe
 
egmonster said:
Wow. Good tip on the lee scale. It looked pretty cheesy so I have plans to upgrade soon. I used H4895 and only a minimum load so I was pretty sure it would be ok.
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There is nothing wrong with the Lee Scales (with the exception of how the pan hangs). Just make sure you zero it before each session. I have one too and it's usually more accurate than the Hornady digital scale I bought. That being said, I've heard good things about the 505 scale.
 
Maximum said:
I think this prevents many people from reloading. They are unduly intimidated by the knowledge/experience/skill required. It's so easy LOL, a chimp could do it.
Grats on your success, and welcome to enjoying shooting a LOT more.
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I don't know about a chimp but I've met some pretty low information humans that do it successfully so maybe. :D It is pretty easy to get started. I think some people on CGN must reload from behind armoured glass based on some of the things I've read on here.
 
Great Crouton said:
I was too. First rnds I ever reloaded was for my .40 cal handgun. I was VERY nervous firing my first rnd. I loaded only one and held my breath as I pulled the trigger (probably had a good safety squint going on too) and was relieved when it fired as expected. Got more bold and loaded up a full clip and was very happy with the performance. I wasn't really aiming but all of them landed around the bullseye. Man that will get you hooked quick. I have since fired 400 rnds of hand loaded .40 and the difference compared to the factory realoaded bulk ammo I was buying was noticeable. I could never go back to buying that stuff or paying full price for new factory ammo.

The experience was even better when I fired my first hand loaded .30-30 It is so much damn fun!

If I HAD to come up with one thing I don't like about reloading, it's the running around and picking up brass from semi-autos. Brass flies everywhere and there is always some noob wondering what the hell I'm doing.
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lol, you said clip....


congrats on the new addiction, your rounds look pretty bad ass i must say! i've been reloading pistol for 2 years now but i just started reloading for my mosin nagant, just haven't had time to shoot them :(
 
egmonster said:
Wow. Good tip on the lee scale. It looked pretty cheesy so I have plans to upgrade soon. I used H4895 and only a minimum load so I was pretty sure it would be ok.

It's funny how different manuals have different numbers. Also I was worried about overall length from round to round. But it's just that digital calipers give too much information at times.

I am totally hooked. It was very cool to shoot my own ammo. This looks to be the start of yet ANOTHER expensive addiction. But so far I have managed to present it to my wife as a good way to save money.

Ya right! Hehe
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Did you make up all 70rnds the same powder weight? Was that optimal for the accuracy out of your rifle? I started off making 5rnd batches from the recommended low end up to the max load in 0.5gr increments.

You can give your wife the breakdown:

1lb (or 7000gr) H4895 Powder $31. - avg 42gr per round = 16¢/rnd
100 match grade bullets $44. = 44¢/rnd
100 Primers $4.95 = 5¢/rnd
Brass - almost free from the range or other spent rounds
Total= 65¢/rnd match grade

Box of Hornady 168gr HPBT Match ammo $32./20rnds = $1.60/rnd

Even if you have to buy 1st fired brass at 30¢ per brass on the high side, you're still under a buck a round! :)
 
Oh it is certainly cheaper when you are just talking raw materials. Also makes for better ammo. BUT..... now I am thinking RCBS Chargemaster, some nice new brass, better case trimming options, someday maybe a progressive press once I get good with the single stage, case gauges, and so on and so on, oh and SS pin tumbling. hehehe! So much cool stuffs! It would probably take 10 years of making my own ammo to pay for everything. But that is not really the point for me. Its the fun of it all. :)

As for the load I used, I just split the difference between all the various minimum load figures I found and loaded 41 grains.

I just wanted something to go bang and make me smile. I will spend time developing loads in the future.

So I went to the range and fed the ammo to my M305 and my nice Savage 10FP precision rig. The Savage really seemed to like them and the M305 didn't disappoint either. All and all a wicked day!

Thanks everyone for the kind words.
 
egmonster,

Congrats, I remember loading my very first rounds .223 & .357, there was no internet then. If you have any questions be sure to ask us! 30years reloading and never had an issue.
 
rshew said:
egmonster,

Congrats, I remember loading my very first rounds .223 & .357, there was no internet then. If you have any questions be sure to ask us! 30years reloading and never had an issue.
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I remember my first reloads too,was I ever nervous when it came time to touch them off but that sure changed fast to elation.The only issue I have had with handloading is I can never seem to get enough of it,a true addiction.
To the OP,welcome to the club and many good years of what has to be one of the all time best hobbies out there!!
 
Great Crouton said:
/\/\

Haha, that's awesome!

Please don't nail me to a cross, I just made one mistake! Forgive me!

\throws himself at the mercy of the court
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I've gotten good at saying magazine over clip, but I still can't call it a cartridge instead of bullet. I love seeing ads in the EE about bullet tips for sale. :)
 
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