Do you remember your first handload firing?

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beatledog7

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The first rounds I ever handloaded were some relatively tame .38SPL 158-gr LRNs. I had built a batch of fifty, before I knew better.

The first chance I got, I hit the range. I had Lane 7 of 7, and the closest shooter was way down in 2 or 3.

I loaded five into my 642. The first trigger pull with one of these was bound to be a tense moment, kind of like my first time diving from 40', but I knew from that experience that the way to do it was to just do it. I'd done everything by the book, so I took aim and without hesitating squeezed off a round.

Bang! Not KABOOM! Not a lot of perceived recoil. Four more squeezes, and four more bangs. More smoke than I expected, but that's the lube, I had read. Then it hit me, and I probably grinned a mile. I just fired my own handloads and survived! A very memorable moment.

I hauled in the target and looked at the group: five into <3" at 7 yards. Not anything stellar, but as good a group as I had been getting with factory reloaded 158-gr SWCs.

I was hooked.
 
I remember mine was with a Glock, and I was using Unique. I don't remember the caliber or the bullet. I held the gun off axis, thinking in case the slide came off the rails and flew back at me, at least it wouldn't hit me in the forehead. And I covered by face with my left arm. I wasn't exactly concerned with accuracy at that point. What with holding the gun sideways and having my eyes closed! I intended to hit the side of a mountain and not get seriously injured, and I succeeded.
 
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My first was 12 ga. on a Mec 600 Jr. Don't remember the specifics of the load, but it was a good feeling none the less.

I then went from shot shell to high powered rifle, .270 win.. And that was a pretty tense moment, but it turned out to be the best groups that rifle had ever shot previously with factory. I do however remember the apprehension I had when it came down to the first trigger pull.

GS
 
Yep. It was about this time last year when I shot my first handload: 7mm-08 at a 100 yard water bottle.
 
I remember it well. It was a sunny day in 1975. (Well, it was Arizona. They are almost ALL sunny.)

I loaded up my brand-new Dan Wesson .357 (my first privately owned firearm) with 6 .357 Magnums and fired away. I don't know which of the 6 were mine, though. My mentor had loaded 3 while I watched and he narrated. Then I loaded 3 while he observed and answered questions.

They went into the gun case and 50 rounds of factory ammo, my brand-new press, scale, dies, etc, went out to the desert and had some fun.

My 57th round was also a handload, and every one since then (except rimfire and when I needed to expand my inventory of brass.

I may be naive, but the trepidation some loaders feel when they fire off their first handloaded ammunition puzzles me. If I was less than 100% confident of the safety of what I had loaded, I would not shoot it. Same rule applies to my parachute (if I should ever take up skydiving). I am a cautious sort, but once all the precautions had been observed, I felt as safe firing my handloads as factory ammo.

I do understand the unease anyone feels when they are uncertain about what they DON'T KNOW. That is what scares me. The known unknowns can be guarded against. The unknown unknowns can bite you badly.

I think many (not all, of course) anti-gunners feel the same way about firearms as non-loaders (and beginning loaders) feel about handloaded ammo. It is new to them, so they are nervous around it. So, do an anti-gunner a favor and invite them shooting. After they enjoy the sport, THEN tell them you made the ammo yourself.

I guess I am one of the few whose first handgun rounds were also handloaded rounds and fired out of the first handgun he ever fired (and owned). And a brand-new gun at that!

Lost Sheep
 
Yep. LOL. My first one was a 45 ACP, which I fired left handed, and off axis. Actually, I still have the very first one I ever loaded in a box on my dresser. But from that same batch, I fired that first round. I remember weighing each charge of Unique powder into those cases. What a pain that was.

I never was able to get that Lyman powder measure to work the way I wanted it to do... Although years later I bought one nearly identical for loading BPCR.
 
...but the trepidation some loaders feel when they fire off their first handloaded ammunition puzzles me. If I was less than 100% confident of the safety of what I had loaded, I would not shoot it.
Click to expand...

I agree, but it was not about that for me. It wasn't trepidation; it was just the newness of it, like my first 40' plunge even though I knew the depth of the water was sufficient and was confident in my technique. That's why I sighted normally and just fired that round.
 
45 Colt revolver with my neighbor in Farmington, NM. He got me started in reloading and I still remember it like yesterday!!!! That was over 20 years ago.

The Dove
 
.45acp, 230gr Rainier plated RN, Federal once fire brass, 4.2gr Bullseye, CCI 300, 1.26" COL. I wore all the normal shooting safety gear and a leather welding jacket and a MIG welding glove. If I hadn't seen the hole on the target I would have thought it was a dud. It didn't cycle my SA 1911 enough to even stove pipe the brass. I soon learned that with that combination, anything less than 5.2gr of Bullseye was a waste of components. 5.4gr was the sweet spot for me.
 
Oh yeah! About 30 years ago. Using a Lee Loader kit for 45 acp in an old 1911. It was a pain to lube and size the cases and I weighed each charge 'just in case'. I don't recall the accuracy but they all went bang. The pistol survived better than my nerves. Those were the first of many thousands of reloads in many calibers.

Fortunately, the Lee factory and store was a short drive from my in-law's house. On the next visit I picked up a turret press (cosmetic second at a big discount), dies and all the other gear needed for reloading. I'm still using most of it. But I keep that Lee Loader kit as a reminder of how I got started.

Jeff
 
.357 with bullseye and a 158 grn. swc on a fragile cheap c shaped press.
 
It was only about four years ago, loaded up .357 Magnum rounds with 6.8 grains of TiteGroup, 125 MG JHP's and Federal 200 primers. Been hooked ever since.

I think I set aside the very first three rounds I ever loaded and they are still buried in the bowels of my reloading area.
 
Mine was 45 acp (200gr swc 4.8 gr 231) out of my brand new colt 1911. I held it with my left hand (I'm right handed) with a thick glove on.
I was so excited when the smoke cleared and I still had 10 fingers.
 
I may be naive, but the trepidation some loaders feel when they fire off their first handloaded ammunition puzzles me. If I was less than 100% confident of the safety of what I had loaded, I would not shoot it. Same rule applies to my parachute (if I should ever take up skydiving). I am a cautious sort, but once all the precautions had been observed, I felt as safe firing my handloads as factory ammo.
Click to expand...
So if you learned how to pack your parachute from reading a book, written by someone you never met, you would feel 100% confident in jumping out of a plane with it? :evil:

For me, I know what HAS happened to other reloaders. And the worst case is pretty bad. I also know what it costs me to waste a test bullet without aiming. I'm short one hole in a piece of paper. Big deal! :)
 
.45 ACP for me.

The slight nervousness turned to pure joy when they shot well with no problems.

It's called hooked. :)
 
If I remember correctly it was around 1979. 38 special 148 HBWC over 2.8 gr of Bullseye loaded on the Rock Chucker I still use. I shot them through my Ruger Security Six. The handle on that Rock Chucker has been yanked a lot of times between then and now.
 
yeah, I still remember the first time. I still have my very first reloaded cartridge, too! I wish that I had dated it. It was around 1968 or so. A friend that helped us set up our equipment and get us started told me that I should keep the first one. Its a 30-06, and its still in my keep sake box in the safe. Lightman
 
My first batch of reloads was actually better than my first batch of Home Brew beer and I am starting to gain a little confidence in my reloads. Oh yeah, .45 ACP........
 
Remeber? Sure, I'm not as old as JCWitt, for me it was a piddly 47 years ago.

I was quite confident I'd followed the directions in my Lyman #46 and my high number DCM Smith-Corona Springfield 03-A3 with it's brand new do-it-yourself Bishop stock was plenty strong so there was no anxiety about pulling the trigger. Group was lousy; it was a start but I had a lot to learn.

I put some 1,800 200 gr. cast and about 400 150 gr. jacketed bullets through that rifle and another 500 or so cast stuff through my DCM .30 M1 carbine that first year. I still have a lot to learn about making good ammo but I got much further along before that first winter arrived to curtail my shooting so my range skills improved too.
 
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