just fired my first reloaded round

Congrats, now you will be hooked, soon you will start shooting just to reload more

It's a good feeling, isn't it?

I've probably got about 1000 reloads under my belt and I still like doing it and I love shooting them and knowing I made it myself. And it's cheaper.

I'm not saving any money though, just shooting more. Don't tell my wife.

I remember my first reloads about 30 years ago now. I reloaded .270 with IMR 4350 and Hornady 130 grain soft point spires. I loaded a plastic box of 20 and my gun just happened to really like the load which was kind of middle of the road, power-wise.

I think back to that time, and everything I have learned in between, it has been a rewarding hobby for me, in more ways than just monetary!

Tell us the truth; you were wondering if your gun would blow up when you pulled the trigger the first time......

gpwelding1 - Nice job!

I remember years ago when I started flying, my instructor would ask a question on how would I do this or do that.... The only acceptable answer was.... BY THE BOOK..... Handloading is no different.

Yep, you're right. It's a good feeling.
If you're a hunter, just wait until you take your first game animal with a handload.

MtnCreek
Of course he was - put glove on hand, aim, move head from behind gun, cross finger, pull trigger -- happy dance.

I admit I did this one:

move head from behind gun

Click to expand...

I refer to it as the "Pucker Factor". That tight butt feeling you get with the uncertainty of touching off that first load. For me it was a 300 Win Mag. I checked and double checked and triple checked my load. It didn't help at the time that people threw around the term - face grenade - when talking about mishaps. Still, it was an experience I will not forget.

Ok, so you are no longer a virgin. Now, in your head, you will rationalize that since it is cheaper to load I can shoot a lot more because it cheaper. The addiction has begun.

Congrats on your first reload firing.

Glad to hear i'm not the only on who shot his first few reloads without keeping a sight picture for fear of having the slide come charging back at me! Come to think of it, that was the only time I ever wore gloves while shooting as well.

Keep a loading journal that has entries for the load data as you develop more ammunition. After thirty years of loading, it is hard to remember it all, but I can go back and find old stuff easily. Each batch has it's very own lot number that is written on a small card kept with that batch. That way, when you discover a box of ammo in a closet from ten years earlier, there will be no mystery as to what it is. On the bottom of each page in the journal, is a total of the number of rounds loaded for all entries on that page. You will be surprised at how much you shoot in a decade. It ads up fast.
I remember my first loaded round: 38 special, Frontier case, Speer 148 HBWC, 2.8 Bullesye, CCI-500 primer. Fired out of a S&W 6" 28 Highway Patrolman. An easy load for sure, but also the start of a long-lived hobby.

It is definetly an addicting hobby, and i agree, it does feel good loading your own ammo and shooting it and seeing the results.

Congrats GP on your first one. I'm glad to have been able to help out a bit in your getting started. Now that your questions are inevatibly going to get a bit more technical, you'll likely have to lean on some of the real experts this board has.

Hopefully when the weather cools down we can meet up at the Cedar Creek range to make some noise. Again, if you ever make it by Greenville way, we can look over my setup and/or go make some noise at the indoor range.

Woo-hoo!

On my first reloads, I think I prayed all the way to the range LOL!

Congrats & welcome to the addictio--- I mean hobby

Welcome to the brotherhood!

This is funny. I truly thought i was the only one that had those feelings about the first round fired.
Pun Intended, i was sweating bullets on that first trigger pull.
I didn't move my head out from behind my slide, but i closed my eyes and hoped for the best.
What's the next thing i did.... Broke the gun down because i missed the target completely due to my eyes being closed. Only after i saw that the barrel was clear did i do the happy dance.
Picture that.... Guy at the range, gun in pieces, chair dancing.

Grats on your first reload! Hope every round you load brings you as much enjoyment as that first one.

-Rad

popper said:

MtnCreek
Of course he was - put glove on hand, aim, move head from behind gun, cross finger, pull trigger -- happy dance.

Click to expand...

I still do that with new loads and I've got about 800 rounds so far.

Congratulations. You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile.

Why am I sitting here reading about all this fun when I could be in the man cave rollin' some more of my own?