[Crawlin]

Shot my first batch of reloads Saturday. Sorry, no pictures but all were very accurate.


Press: Lee Classic Turret Press
Bullet: Rainier .40 S&W 200grain Plated
Primer: CCI 500
Powder: Accurate #7
OAL: 1.125
Pistol: HK P2000SK



I started out with very light loads. These felt more like a 9mm than a 40. very light.

5 Rounds
6.1 Grains


Next I moved up the scale a bit.

5 Rounds
6.2 Grains


These were by far the best rounds I shot.

20 Rounds
6.3 Grains


I also loaded a few hot rounds, just to see the difference. It was huge but still well within the limits. (I also loaded a few inbetween 6.3 and 6.7. I did not just jump up that high.

2 Rounds
6.7 Grains



Summary:
I can say I have found my new addiction. I had an unexplained happyness about me. Maybe it was that something I put togeather had worked flawlessly I don't know, but it was great. I went home that night, made a few hundred rounds (6.3 grains), went to the range the next day and only had one failure. One failure out of 300+ rounds. And that failure was my fault, one failure to chamber because I didn't seat the primer all the way. Not too bad if I do say so my self.

Also, any tips on powder or anything, let me know. I used lead data for the bullets and verified two seperate manuals for the loads.

[WayneConrad]

Another addict! This is great!

Maybe it's like the difference between dating and marriage. Shooting factory ammo, well, you like guns. But the commitment in time, money, and learning to make your own ammo, that's something more than just "like."

Be careful with high primers. If I recall, one of my loading books warns that in autoloaders, a round with a high primer could be set off before it's chambered. Take apart your pistol and look at the part of the slide that moves the cartridge from the magazine to the chamber and you'll see what the concern is.

As I am removing each primed case from my press, I swipe the bottom of it with the pad of my index finger. It's easy to feel whether a primer is high, flush, or inset. You want a few thousandths inset, I think.

(I also loaded a few inbetween 6.3 and 6.7. I did not just jump up that high.

Do you really jump up and down while loading? ;) Just being a smarty pants, but I didn't really get what you meant.

[Crawlin]

Do you really jump up and down while loading? Just being a smarty pants, but I didn't really get what you meant.


HAHA, no... what I meant was that I did not just jump from 6.3 to 6.7/8 grains, that I worked my way up. I think I would get kicked out of my range if I was really jumping up and down, and get some weird looks. :what:

[RustyFN]

Congrats Crawlin. I get that feeling everytime I shoot my own loads. I do the same sort of thing as WC. I put my loads in the box primer up. I look at every primer as it take it out of the press to make sure the primer is seated all the way. I have only shot Berry's bullets so far, 115 and 124 gr. I am going to shoot some Rainier 147gr that I loaded the other day in a little while. Good shooting and stay safe.
Rusty

[WayneConrad]

Re jumping up and down:

I hate to admit this, but when I first started shooting the surprise and shock of the noise caused me to jump with every shot.

No, really.

At least I didn't scream like a schoolgirl. That I saved for the first time sweetie loaded her lightweight revolver for me to shoot but didn't tell me it had 357's in it.

I'm just tickled pink that you get the same enjoyment out of shooting handloads that I do.

[benedict1]

Pretty soon you'll be watching the guy shooting next to you to see if a.) he's shooting .40 cal and b.) if he's picking up the empties! I have met more nice guys this way--most of them just throw them away, especially if you're at a range where some law enforcement types have to qualify. Might be a blizzard of .40s!

Glad you are on line and happy with your Lee Classic Turret. You will be loading with it for many happy years.

[spencerhut]

Do yourself a favor and get an L.E. Wilson (or similar) Max Cartridge Gauge for every caliber you reload. I not only check each cartridge for correct diminsions, I also run my finger over each primer as they seat into the gauge. ~$12 from Midway is really cheap insurance.

[benedict1]

If you use your Lee Factory Crimp die you won't need a case gauge. It post sizes the rounds as well as finishing the crimp.

[Jet22]

Pretty soon you'll be watching the guy shooting next to you to see if a.) he's shooting .40 cal and b.) if he's picking up the empties!

It gets worst...won't be long you'll be picking up everything. Then you will have to buy a 45 cause you got all that 45 brass and it would be a waste to just let it sit...then a 9mm, then a 49 thumblicker, etc, etc, etc. It never ends. Some say its a sickness but we know better...don't we???:D

[armoredman]

Ditto on the Lee FCD, great device! it will resize, but not OAL, so get a decent caliper, if you don't have one. Midway has the Frankford Arsenal one for $20 or so, good equipment.
Go online to all powder manufacturers, and ask them to send you thier free manuals.
Have fun! I love it.:cool:

[WayneConrad]

I'd still get the max case gauge. There are problems that the Lee FCD won't fix.

[Crawlin]

Yea but for 40 and 45 rounds, cases rarely need to be trimmed, correct?


Trimmed, sorry, trimmed! GRRRRRRR

[WayneConrad]

Many reloaders say they rarely need to be trimmed. Resized, always.

When you fire the cartridge, it expands to the dimensions of the chamber, and then relaxes slightly allowing extraction. It does not return to its unfired size, however. If you were to seat a bullet in an unsized case, you would find that it would either fall right into the case, or would fit so loosely that it would not reliably stay put.

Resizing squishes the brass back to a size that will securely hold a bullet in place.

[Smokey Joe]

Crawlin--There is nothing, NOTHING, NOTHING quite like firing your own very first reloads, having 'em all go bang, and I did it all my very own self!!! Good on you!

The others are right, you'll just do more of it from now on. And the downside to that is???

Re: yr last question:for 40 and 45 rounds, cases rarely need to be resized, correct? ALL cases need resizing before reuse. Bottleneck cases sometimes get neck-sized-only, but they all need some resizing. I think you mean trimming to length on .40's and .45's.

No experience on .40's, tho' I suppose it's the same. "Nobody" trims .45ACP cases--they mostly come shorter than standard, and being straightwalls they don't stretch. They are supposed to headspace on the case mouth but I suspect they headspace on the bullet shoulder because the cases are usually too short--however, be that as it may, they work just fine anyhow.

[Luggernut]

Giddy is a great way to describe it. I completely understand and felt the same way when I shot my first 9mm reloads.