Just shot my first reloads
I put 230 grain jacketed bullets on top of 4.3 grains of once fired brass with Winchester large pistol primers.
I've been sorting, tumbling, resizing, decapping, cleaning primer pockets, assembling tools and components for a couple of months.
But I decided that this morning, I'd actually finish some rounds and take them to the range and try them out.
50 rounds- so I could get the feel of it.
I measured out five throws of powder after I zeroed my scale.
Returned them all to the hopper(as I have been advised) and weighed every fifth charge. No variation worth noting. I'm surprised at how accurate the powder dispenser is. But I'm frequently surprised by stuff. (Like how much room is left over in a .45 acp case)
Quickly noted that my current location and bench is too tall for working seated. And too short for working standing. I'll have to figure that out after a bit.
Charged all my primed, clean brass. I visually inspected each for zero or double charge. No issues noted.
Bullet seating gave me a little bit of trouble. Not much. But a lot of trial and error playing the "don't want to seat it too deep" game.
Then I took every tenth round and loaded a magazine. Confirmed that everything cycled through my 1911 without hiccups or hangups.
And then off to the range!!
You know what?
It's better than the cheap bulk stuff.
As I was advised here, a little snappy compared to factory loads.
2 Failure to feeds in my batch of 50. Cool thing is, I know why. And how to fix it in the next batch. (taper was a bit light- I suspected it might be. That's why I checked 10% of the batch to begin with)
I really didn't think it would be more accurate than factory bulk. But it did better for me than the first 16 factory loads I shot. Maybe I just cared more since they were mine. But I shot quite well.
Very enjoyable.
Until the blood. Lots of blood.
(Still not sure how I caught meat from my left index finger between mag floor-plate and mag-well.) But I did. I've never done that with factory ammo.[;)][:I][:I]
It looks like I was able to successfully scavenge about 40 pieces out of 48 fired.
I'm learning!! What a fun thing to do!!!
I need to order up some .308 and 9mm dies soon.
I have a horrible feeling I'm going to be shooting more this summer than in the past.[:D][:D][:D][:D][:D][:D][:D]
Thank you for all your quick answers and informed opinions. I really appreciate you all.
I've been sorting, tumbling, resizing, decapping, cleaning primer pockets, assembling tools and components for a couple of months.
But I decided that this morning, I'd actually finish some rounds and take them to the range and try them out.
50 rounds- so I could get the feel of it.
I measured out five throws of powder after I zeroed my scale.
Returned them all to the hopper(as I have been advised) and weighed every fifth charge. No variation worth noting. I'm surprised at how accurate the powder dispenser is. But I'm frequently surprised by stuff. (Like how much room is left over in a .45 acp case)
Quickly noted that my current location and bench is too tall for working seated. And too short for working standing. I'll have to figure that out after a bit.
Charged all my primed, clean brass. I visually inspected each for zero or double charge. No issues noted.
Bullet seating gave me a little bit of trouble. Not much. But a lot of trial and error playing the "don't want to seat it too deep" game.
Then I took every tenth round and loaded a magazine. Confirmed that everything cycled through my 1911 without hiccups or hangups.
And then off to the range!!
You know what?
It's better than the cheap bulk stuff.
As I was advised here, a little snappy compared to factory loads.
2 Failure to feeds in my batch of 50. Cool thing is, I know why. And how to fix it in the next batch. (taper was a bit light- I suspected it might be. That's why I checked 10% of the batch to begin with)
I really didn't think it would be more accurate than factory bulk. But it did better for me than the first 16 factory loads I shot. Maybe I just cared more since they were mine. But I shot quite well.
Very enjoyable.
Until the blood. Lots of blood.
(Still not sure how I caught meat from my left index finger between mag floor-plate and mag-well.) But I did. I've never done that with factory ammo.[;)][:I][:I]
It looks like I was able to successfully scavenge about 40 pieces out of 48 fired.
I'm learning!! What a fun thing to do!!!
I need to order up some .308 and 9mm dies soon.
I have a horrible feeling I'm going to be shooting more this summer than in the past.[:D][:D][:D][:D][:D][:D][:D]
Thank you for all your quick answers and informed opinions. I really appreciate you all.
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quote:Originally posted by bigoutside
I put 230 grain jacketed bullets on top of 4.3 grains of once fired brass with Winchester large pistol primers.
I've been sorting, tumbling, resizing, decapping, cleaning primer pockets, assembling tools and components for a couple of months.
But I decided that this morning, I'd actually finish some rounds and take them to the range and try them out.
50 rounds- so I could get the feel of it.
I measured out five throws of powder after I zeroed my scale.
Returned them all to the hopper(as I have been advised) and weighed every fifth charge. No variation worth noting. I'm surprised at how accurate the powder dispenser is. But I'm frequently surprised by stuff. (Like how much room is left over in a .45 acp case)
Quickly noted that my current location and bench is too tall for working seated. And too short for working standing. I'll have to figure that out after a bit.
Charged all my primed, clean brass. I visually inspected each for zero or double charge. No issues noted.
Bullet seating gave me a little bit of trouble. Not much. But a lot of trial and error playing the "don't want to seat it too deep" game.
Then I took every tenth round and loaded a magazine. Confirmed that everything cycled through my 1911 without hiccups or hangups.
And then off to the range!!
You know what?
It's better than the cheap bulk stuff.
As I was advised here, a little snappy compared to factory loads.
2 Failure to feeds in my batch of 50. Cool thing is, I know why. And how to fix it in the next batch. (taper was a bit light- I suspected it might be. That's why I checked 10% of the batch to begin with)
I really didn't think it would be more accurate than factory bulk. But it did better for me than the first 16 factory loads I shot. Maybe I just cared more since they were mine. But I shot quite well.
Very enjoyable.
Until the blood. Lots of blood.
(Still not sure how I caught meat from my left index finger between mag floor-plate and mag-well.) But I did. I've never done that with factory ammo.[;)][:I][:I]
It looks like I was able to successfully scavenge about 40 pieces out of 48 fired.
I'm learning!! What a fun thing to do!!!
I need to order up some .308 and 9mm dies soon.
I have a horrible feeling I'm going to be shooting more this summer than in the past.[:D][:D][:D][:D][:D][:D][:D]
Thank you for all your quick answers and informed opinions. I really appreciate you all.
My bench is a little too high too. If you end up sitting, it's not all bad. You can see the cases enter the dies. I just switched over to a progressive set up and haven't perfected it yet. It's a Lee 1000 and the case is often a bit off of lining up with the sizing die. Sitting helps for now but I really need to find out what's wrong and correct it.
For the failure to feed issue, search the usual auction sights using "case gage -Lee -Hornady" and "case gauge -Lee -Hornady" and look for the cartridge you want.0 -
You gonna be crawling around on your hand and knees picking up brass if you don't build a brass catcher.
I used a stiff wire (make a loop), with netting (walmarts) and stick the ends of the wire into two small holes in a block of wood.
Sure saves the knees.
Congrats on your first, I'm still in the very early stages of handloading.0 -
I bought a mechanic's bench stool from Griot's Garage, but a barstool would do as well for raising my position while sitting.
Enjoy your new hobby.0 -
I have the same issue with a mid-height bench, I use a bar stool, works perfectly
Congrats on getting out and shooting your own loads, now you need to decide what type you are, are you going to reload so you can shoot more or are you going to shoot so you can reload more?0 -
Glad your off to a good start with no apparent bad habits. BTW Start hording powder for your 308 now! Varget is a great choice get an 8lbs jug the 1 lbs are very expensive. 0 -
Oddly, this appeared in today's mail[;)]
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I'm going to TRY to be in the 'loading to shoot' rather than 'shooting to load' group. I know a fella in the second group. He shoots very few rounds per year. But he makes quality holes in paper at very long distances.
Me, I just like to hear the bang.[:D][:D] And maybe a LITTLE bit of seeing if I can improve on certain things over time.0 -
It sure sounds like you are off to a good start. It has probably been mentioned but I don't let anyone in the reloading room with me because I lose track of what I'm doing. Sounds like you are going to be shooting a lot more and building quality ammo. Congrats[;)] 0
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