Ahhh yeah... you always remember your first...

[1KPerDay]

Ladies and gentlemen, I hereby present to you, my first reload ever! I'm so proud of myself. LOL





.40 S&W, berry's 180gr double struck plated, 4.0 gr of red dot, CCI spp. OAL 1.125". Loaded on Lee classic turret with Lee deluxe 4-die set. How's the crimp look? I understand you don't want to crimp too heavy with plated lead because it's relatively soft or whatever.

It was a lonnnng time coming and I thank you again for all your patience and advice.

I don't think I can bear to shoot it... it cost me like 500 bucks and 8 hours work.

Can you have ammo bronzed?

 

[Minnesota Wild]

Sounds suspiciously like my first reload. Same caliber/bullet/OAL.

For the crimp, it's really tough to tell with taper crimped ammo. Unlike a roll crimp, with a taper the "crimp" is simply supposed to remove any belling and set the mouth of the cartridge for headspacing. Mine tend to look like what you have there, with a very fine line of shiny material at the very rim of the cartridge.

Congrats on the first round. Fortunately, the disease is incurable and leads to more calibers.

 

[ljnowell]

Congrats 1kperday!! I can still remember mine. 45acp, win brass, 200gr Ranier HP, 4.4 gr of 700x, OAL 1.260".

You will soon start branching out. You can find that one load, but bullets will be your new vice. I see something new and I have to have it. Then you get the joy of using multiple powders to find your perfect load for it. Its very addictive.

I am looking forward to the range report, dont forget a pic of yourself with the target, so we can all see the big ol' grin on your face!

 

[jcwit]

My first reload do I remember, not hardly. Loaded it up way back in 1960 something with the Lee Loaders available then for $9.95, stickers still on the box from the sporting goods store I bought it from, stores long since gone. Still have some powder from that era, $4.79 a lb., no idea about the primers.

Got a few bucks over the years with reloads from that Lee Loader, the kind you use with a mallet.

Still use the Lee Loader once in a while for old times sake.

 

[1SOW]

Darn good feeling isn't it!

That cartridge looks good. I'd bet it'll (or if you 'save' the first one--the second one will) shoot fine. Be careful with your aim and photo the target.

Congrats!

 

[ljnowell]

My first reload do I remember, not hardly. Loaded it up way back in 1960 something with the Lee Loaders available then for $9.95, stickers still on the box from the sporting goods store I bought it from, stores long since gone. Still have some powder from that era, $4.79 a lb., no idea about the primers.

Got a few bucks over the years with reloads from that Lee Loader, the kind you use with a mallet.

Still use the Lee Loader once in a while for old times sake.

Thats awesome. My first reloads were on one of the 25 dollar lee C press mounted in my parents garage. Lee dippers and a hand me down used Dillon Eliminator scale. Had a hand me down Lee Autoprime hand primer. I look at what I have now and just shake my head.

 

[Sunray]

"...Can you have ammo bronzed..." Sure, but you'll lose the shine.
"...How's the crimp look?..." The best guage is the chamber of your pistol. If it drops in and sits right, it'll be fine.
"...the kind you use with a mallet..." Mine was a .243. Don't remember what I paid for it. Wasn't far off $10Cdn though. I'd like to know what possessed 'em to make the silly scoops in CC's.

 

[BigBob3006]

Beautiful, just beautiful!

 

[LiveLife]

it cost me like 500 bucks and 8 hours work.

But the feeling of accomplishment is PRICELESS!

Congrats!

Now, we want to hear the range report on reload round #2, 3, 4, etc ...

I shot my first reload, I think, with my eyes closed and hand over my eyes. When the pistol fired and shot a hole in the target, I jumped up and down screaming ... other shooters at the range thought I caught a ricochet.

 

[fractal7]

Just wait till you fire it, I know my first reloads, 357 mags, I pointed the gun down range and kind of shielded my face as I pulled the trigger...I've gained a little bit of confidence since then.

 

[1KPerDay]

But the feeling of accomplishment is PRICELESS!

Congrats!

Now, we want to hear the range report on reload round #2, 3, 4, etc ...

I shot my first reload, I think, with my eyes closed and hand over my eyes. When the pistol fired and shot a hole in the target, I jumped up and down screaming ... other shooters at the range thought I caught a ricochet.

ha haaaa!

 

[REL1203]

I too still have my first Rifle and Handgun reload. My VERY first was 308, Varget, 169g SMK.... My first Handgun was 180g Berry 40cal with WST i believe. Got them both on my bench

 

[TGReaper]

Unfortunately what you have just done leads to an incurable addiction.Sorry.

 

[J_McLeod]

Congrats! It won't save you any money.

I shot my first reload wearing ballistic eyewear and nomex gloves. The eyewear was standard, but I was the only person on the range wearing gloves.

 

[ghostwriter]

Right on brother... You need to bag it and tag it and save it. Just like the new business owner who saves their "first dollar made" and post it over the bar, you need to hang your first reload over the bench...

 

[wcavasos]

I wish I remembered more about my first reload. It was a 30-06 with a 150 grain speer bullet. The powder was IMR but i don't remember the # designation. Heck I can't believe I remember that much considering I was only 14 years old.Good to you. Enjoy!!!!

 

[Bush Pilot]

Seems like 37 years ago, oh yeah, it was, Remington 700 in .30/06. Did anybody NOT turn their head and put as much of their body behind something on the first round or two?

 

[jhansman]

I just smile when I see guys show up at the range with plastic bags full of factory ammo from Wally World, or wherever. Like you, I knew the first time I made a shootable round, I was in deep.

 

[788Ham]

You did a super job, congratulations! My first reload was a .380 for a Browning BDA back in the early 70's, wish I still had that Browning! I'll bet I spent 8 hrs. doing my first cartridge, didn't want to screw things up. That was years ago, glad to have you aboard for the rest of your shooting days, it does get better!

 

[1KPerDay]

Thanks guys! I've got about 40 or so 'work up' loads built... I'm triple measuring the powder and it's time consuming and frustrating (I can't get my measures to meter red dot consistently, nor my scales to weigh super consistently... I re-weigh 2 or 3 times on each scale until I get the same measurement on both... it seems both the digital and the 5-10 have their advantages). I have a powder trickler on the way from a kind THRer so that will help at least for this workup process.

I have a question re: the factory crimp die. I notice when lowering the ram after crimping I get a 'bang' as the round exits the die. I initially thought it was the brass momentarily adhering to the rougher texture of the crimp portion of the die and then breaking free, but I just took a good look and it happens after the case is lowered a quarter of an inch or more... now I'm thinking maybe the 'sizing' ring is grabbing on the rim that hasn't been crimped enough and sizing it down.

But then wouldn't it also rub/bang on the way into the die? I've measured the OD of the case and then right at the crimp in accordance with bds' advice and it's two thousandths smaller at the crimp, which I understand is good.

I've also checked them in my pistol barrel and they all go in fine and fit flush, and I've cycled 10 rounds through and re-measured for setback and they are fine... so is this just an issue with my particular FCD or am I maybe not doing something exactly right? There aren't any 'new' rub marks on the case anywhere with the exception of the crimp area, and of course I can't tell whether that brighter area is caused by the crimp or by the post-sizing ring as the case exits the die.

I chose to use the FCD because I had it, and it seemed easier to set up and adjust crimp, and to seat and crimp in two separate operations.

 

[LightningMan]

I'd rather forget my first reloading experence. Back in the eighties I bought a P38 9mm and saved all my brass untill I aquired nearly 1000 rds. of it. Finally I bought the dies & press, bought some lead bullets at a local gun show, got a manual and away I went. But wait, I couldn't find any load data in my manual for 125 RNL bullets, oh well 124 gr. FMJ was close enough in weight, so I used that information. BIG mistake! Lucky I didn't damage my gun, but leaded up the barrel something terriable. I had something like 600 reloads to get rid of. Just soon forget that one LM

 

[cavman]

How's the crimp look?

When I look at the left edge of the second picture, it seems to still have some bell there.

But as Sunray said, if it drops in the barrel and it goes into battery, you should be good to go.

 

[1KPerDay]

Thanks cavman... I've since adjusted for less bell/flare and a bit more crimp.

I still get that weird stuck/bang thing when lowering the ram from the FCD. Only on the way out though.

 

[ljnowell]

I still get that weird stuck/bang thing when lowering the ram from the FCD. Only on the way out though.

That is it post sizing. I have noticed with mine that I will encounter resistance going in, but a "stuck/Bang" is a good way to describe the way out. I think its because when it breaks loose you are pulling down and its a different movement and different noise. The real problem though is that with a jacketed bullet you shouldnt see that much post sizing occuring. If the bullet is in spec you shouldnt be getting that much. Unless you dont have bullets straight in the case when seating or something.

 

[1KPerDay]

Thanks. FYI these are plated, not jacketed, and they are supposed to be "double struck" which means they're sized again after plating. I think I may just not be crimping enough or still flaring too much... the bullets look straight going in and they seat straight.

I guess as long as they work it's fine. That remains to be seen... anyone have some kevlar gloves I can borrow? LOL