First loads for my 9mm, puckered primers

[lordpaxman]

One thing but not sure if it matters these are CCI 500s that are old, they have the tan sleeve. Thank you for any guidance.

First off, congratulations on your reloading accomplishment! You survived your reloads. It’s good to be cautious but as others have pointed out it’s difficult to read high pressure signs on primers. Now you have to finish the ladders and post your results.

 

[GeoDudeFlorida]

I've told this story before, but...

Back in the late 80s, when I loaded my very first rounds. I held the pistol in my left hand (I'm a righty), turned my head around so my eyes wouldn't get exploded, and held a short piece of board betwixt my face and the gun.

Rounds fired off without a hitch.

You gotta remember; there was very little info available back then. AlGore had not yet invented the internet, and the old grouches at the LGS (which wasn't called that then) had no time for a long-haired young man who rode up on a Harley.

LOL!!! You shoulda growed up where I did. In Titusville, back in the 70's, it was us short hair, jazz playing, bicycle-riding, country & western dancing folks who the locals at the gunstore had no time for. If you'da rode up on a Harley wearing a Jimmy Hendrix t-shirt and sporting a pony tail you'da been invited to stay for dinner.

 

[mdi]

You gotta remember; there was very little info available back then. AlGore had not yet invented the internet, and the old grouches at the LGS (which wasn't called that then) had no time for a long-haired young man who rode up on a Harley.

Yep, BTDT! I was lucky to have a library close by and spent time there checking reloading texts and manuals. Then I started buying my own (1971). I stopped listening to the "gun shop gurus", and "Range Rats" after I realize they were like "The Old Men and the Sea" fishermen; velocities got higher, groups got smaller, game kills got quicker with each story about a load they assembled...

 

[GeoDudeFlorida]

You're right, I started at the very low end as you saw. I guess I had a little fear of too hot a load but I thought this "ladder" was best. I was so nervous shooting these, I prayed and had my phone handy.

Well, now that you've got past that first hurdle - congrats, BTW! - if I had any advice it would be to stay nervous. Always. This is pretty simple mechanics we're dealing with, everything written down in books and tested by experts, consumer-grade powders, primers and bullets, nothing really fancy or extravagant, but reloading is kind of like keeping a Mako shark as a pet: no matter how friendly it is and how close you two are or how much you trust it, it could still bite your hand off just playing around, without any malice or thought at all. So be careful and stay nervous. Fear is your cave-man mind's way of protecting you from irreversible death.

And, yes, I am always nervous when I try out a new load, no matter how well I've researched it.