New to Reloading (and just did 5 cartridges)

R

RassilonMonk

New member
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Location
Ontario, Durham Region
Hi All,

Just wanted to do a quick intro. I'm new to reloading but have been shooting on and off for awhile. I got myself a Dillon 550b after reading a lot of the threads on the forum here. I'm set up for 9mm to start but I'll eventually want to load .223 and .243 for my rifles. I spent today setting up, made 5 full cartridges and I'm off to the range tomorrow to try them out (amongst other shooting). After today's experience I definitely want to get my hands on a set of digital calipers and realising I had a "gr" setting on the Hornady digital scale made me kick myself since I'd done the conversion to grams. On the plus side when I re-tested the powder load it was happily in the correct range.

Definitely have some nerves about it being a first-timer. Depth of the bullet matches my other 9mm Luger and in the range from the Lee Loading book... I think the thing I keep second guessing is the crimp. :eek:

-W.
 
I recall shooting my first reloads. Fingers and toes were crossed and I said a little prayer before pulling the trigger. lol

Welcome to the forum and a great new hobby.
 
Trinimon said:
I recall shooting my first reloads. Fingers and toes were crossed and I said a little prayer before pulling the trigger. lol

Welcome to the forum and a great new hobby.
Click to expand...

My first went about the same. My heart was definitely pounding. Don't think I even got on paper because I probably had my eyes closed.

Great choice in your first press. Have fun!
 
RassilonMonk said:
I think the thing I keep second guessing is the crimp. :eek:
-W.
Click to expand...

did you try and drop one in the barrel?
when the powder goes in the brass it will flare it, the crimp only need to be enough to return that flare back to a straight wall. You don't have to crimp the hell out of it.
if its not crimped enough, it may not fit in the chamber.
 
Hi all,

Thanks for the tips guys. So I'm happy to report all went well.

They certainly felt a bit stronger than the usual ammo I use but 4 in the black and one pulled round had me feeling pretty good about it. I was using Hodgson HS-6 powder. So I think the next step is upping the amount made and running through a bunch more of it to see how it performs with more rounds.

-W.
 
Welcome and the nerves are always there at first but the joy is when it goes bang like it should and comes close to the target .. congrats
 
Congrats on the reloads!
I learned last week how addicting it is. Loaded my first 50 rounds of .308 and 33 rounds of .30-06, my first time reloading, and decided I loved doing it so much that I needed more components ASAP. Then realized the thirty cals get expensive for higher end components and volume shooting and talked myself into buying a .223 rifle just because components are so much cheaper. It somehow made sense to me at the time hahahahaha. So now I have a new stainless rifle and enough components for 500 reloads coming next week hahahaha. It's a good thing I have a good woman that puts up with my shenanigans.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom