[Deadman]

That cartridge being a 7.62x39 round comprising of a Sierra 125grn bullet, 24 grains of Aus. ADI AR2207 powder, once fired Win. SuperX brass and Win large rifle primer. Reloaded using a Lee Anniversary set and Lee Pacesetter dies.

Now while I never could understand why people said reloading is fun beforehand, and I didn't have 'fun' as such with this 1st round as I was too busy making sure I conducted the reloading process properly, I now have a slightly greater appreciation for the 'fun' factor.

And now all I have to do is reload a few hundred more spent cases to make the whole endeavour cost effective. :p

[mwithers72]

I reloaded my first 280 rounds of 9MM this weekend. I do understand why you said you did not have fun. After you have all your dies setup correctly and do not have to setup your powder measure, it gets to be more fun. I just started cleaning my cases and love to see them shine like new again. It will make me feel good when someone will not be able to tell my reloads from a factory load. It gets to be more fun as you get used to how everything works and you find that your arm can get tired fast also. I have the lee kit also.

later


mark

[Jim Watson]

I've been reloading for over 30 years and I haven't gotten to the fun part yet. It is just something I do to get ready to go shooting. I will occasionally have a fit of experimentalism, looking for the better mousetrap, but it doesn't last.

[SDC]

I remember when I started reloading, and had to QUADRUPLE-CHECK everything I did to make sure I did it right; despite all of that, I'm sure I still had a world-class flinch when I fired my first "all-mine" reload, just because I wasn't 100% sure that I wouldn't blow myself up :rolleyes:

[mwithers72]

I had two rounds out of 280 that I did not put powder in. What a pain in the a$$ to get the lead out. I was amaized to find that the primer was enough to push the bullet into the barrel as far as it did. The first shot was a single shot. I dropped one into the chamber and fired. I used my left hand to test the shot with so if something was to happen I wolud still have my good hand. (im am right handed) not that I would like to lose either !!, It is wise to be respectfull to the hand loads.

[Smokey Joe]

I know not what course others may take, but as for me, the reloading fun began with my first rounds (from a Lee hammer-it-in Loader kit) and hasn't stopped yet. Along the way I've learned a lot, spent a lot of $$, met people I otherwise wouldn't have, shot A LOT more than I'd have done otherwise, and added cartridges and equipment over the years.

It's a lifelong study. Being human, you have to assume that you will screw up, so always re-check everything to catch it. I have liked every aspect of reloading except when I couldn't get a piece of equipment or tool I "desperately" needed like yesterday. Oh, and when a load that is supposed to be the greatest thing since sliced bread performs miserably in my gun and I can't figure why. But that's just another challenge. If it was all easy it'd be boring.

If you think you might have missed putting powder in some rounds, just weigh each one. Or shake each one next to your ear, if it's not a compressed-powder load. Either method will catch a powderless round. I visually check the powder level in each round in my loading block after metering powder and before seating bullets. With tiny pistol charges I'll drop the back end of a pencil into one carefully charged round, mark on the pencil how far it goes into the case, and then use it as a checker on all the other cases in the loading block.

If reloading weren't fun I wouldn't do it.

[WhoKnowsWho]

I'm having fun just reading about it! :)

I know it is going to be kinda tedious to get everything set up correctly, and then to find a load that works, but it all pays off in the end and I think it will feel very gratifying to have worked to that point.

As long as I don't think to myself that "I have to make some rounds" but that "I would like to make some rounds" I think I will have fun.

Too bad I haven't gotten the clamps for my press to the bench yet... couple hours 'till I can go get them...

[Neal Bloom]

First time was fun for me. I love the detail involved and re-checking and re-checking everything was and is part of the fun. First time I shot my own reload was tense. Once the first round fired I was more comfortable. For me once it stops being fun, I'll stop doing it. Haven't done much this summer with this heat in the SW. Too hot to go shooting and no indoor ranges.

Have fun and be safe while having fun.

[Standing Wolf]

I've always enjoyed loading my own ammunition. Parts of the process get tedious after awhile, especially with arthritis, but I've always taken a fair amount of pride in my workmanship, and of course, reloading is the perfect excuse to acquire more gadgetry.

[Deadman]

Well yesterday I shot my first reloads, and thankfully no major problems occured (all fingers intact). :cool:

Although it did seem strange to me that my reloads (125grn bullet, 24 grns of powder) were hitting 3 inches higher than the Win. SuperX round (123grn bullet, 26.5grns of powder).

[Hal]

Ditto everything Joe said,,,even to the go/no go gauge.
bulky powders are your friend :D

[newfalguy101]

I have been reloading for the better part of the last 12 years and I dont think I would call it "fun"

I do think of it as enjoyable, but "fun"??? Naw I dont think so, in fact it can get down right frustrating when you are looking at a particular gun in a caliber you dont already own and start figuring costs involved with setting up to load.

BUT I still do it, and I do enjoy it, mostly

[Father Knows Best]

I like reloading. It may not be "fun" in the same way plinking with your buddies is, but it is rewarding and relaxing.

[armoredman]

Reloading is a productive and relaxing hobby for me. I triple check everything, (flashlight used to check for powderfilled cases), and have had the occaisional distraction screw me up - my son wouldn't leave me alone one day, and I filled 10 303 cases with powder before I realized none of them were primed. Threw the powder back, and stood down, before I made another mistake.
Press faces a blank wall, too, to help minimize distractions.

[bobaloo]

I find reloading to be enjoyable. My work is very stressful and involves lots of thinking. Reloading for me required total concentration but little thinking, once everything is set up. Pop in brass, drop bullet on top of case, pull handle, handle back up, feel for primer seat, repeat as needed. Kind of like Vipassana meditation plus ammo when you're done.

[SiG Lady]

I find reloading to be a relaxing distraction from daily stuff--a focused, simple, precise little production activity that fulfills an ammo need, saves money on ammo and allows me to use a lighter-than-factory powder charge in .45ACP cartridges.

My Blue SDB has long since paid for itself, I've saved a TON of money on .45ACP ammo and I value the learning experience of "rolling my own" and troubleshooting minor repairs to the press on occasion.

Reloading also added one more conversational shooting topic to the chatter at the range once I started doing it, too. Yep, reloading has been VERY good to me.:cool:

[Seismic Sam]

It was 1971, I had just turned 21, and bought my first pistol, a Browning Hi-Power NIB for $114.50. Back then 9mm ammo was $8 a box, and I was poor, so I bought a Lee 9mm reloading kit for the grand sum of $7.56. You had to hammer the case into the die with a wooden mallet and hammer it out with a metal punch that was included with the kit, but you could reload ammo, and I used that kit until I could afford a Lyman Spart-T press a few years later. That was 35 years ago, and I still reload, and it's a very satisfying hobby. :D Addictive as hell, but satisfying...:evil: