I've done it, I've joined the reloading crowd.

[OEF_VET]

Well, I finally did it, I reloaded my first rounds last night. Well, I reloaded some rounds years ago on a friends press, but all I really did was pull the lever arm. This time, I bought the press, the dies, the powder and the bullets, and did it all from the beginning.

I've got two presses so far, a Lee Challenger and a Lee Hand-Press, which is what I used last night. I don't have a places to mount the Challenger in my apartment just yet.

Right now my only dies are for 7.7 Japanese. The price of Norma is so high, it just makes more sense to do it myself.

So, last night I put together 20 rounds, using CCI large rifle primers, H380 powder (one 2.8 cc Lee Dippers worth), and Remington Core-Lokt 180 grain round nose soft points. The first round, I seated too far, so I need to pull it once I pick up a puller. The next 19 rounds, I backed off the die and carefully seated the bullets so that the crimp line was just barely showing over the case mouth.

Hopefully, the weather will cooperate and I can try them out next weekend thru my Type 99 Arisaka.

It felt really great to put those rounds together, very relaxing. Next up, dies for .45 ACP and .38/.357. Then, once I get the hang of things and a place to mount it, a Progressive press.

Frank

 

[m1911joe]

Welcome to the dark side. Glad to hear you had fun putting your first
rounds together. Hope those rounds work well in your gun.

 

[Dave R]

Welcome, OEF. Reloading for the 7.7 Japanese will surely be an economic benefit to you. May improve accuracy, too.

Let us know how it goes when you touch those rounds off.

 

[dakotasin]

congrats! many hours of pleasure await you (after the frustration subsides!).

 

[Mike Kerr]

Congratulations,

Its an enjoyable hobby and very rewarding in and of itself. Be careful, follow loading manuals for load development and be safe.

BTW you may not save any money. Most of us just shoot more.

 

[OEF_VET]

Well, I got the chance to try out my rounds today. For the most part, it went well. I don't have a chronograph, so I have no idea what the velocity was. Also, I was shooting with no rest and using iron sights. Given that and my lackluster rifle marksmanship, the groups were less than spectacular. The only problem today related to the reloads was one squib round. After examing the cartridge, I found the primer had ignited, but the powder had somehow become wet. The powder had turned green and was clumped together. The primer sent the bullet part of the way up the barrel, but I was able to remove it using a cleaning rod.

All in all, I'm happy with the results so far. It's nice when the first time you do something like reloading and it turns out well. I will definitly be reloading more and more.

Frank

P.S. I figured out that using brass I already have and not factoring in the price of the dies, I can reload for between 25 - 30 cents per round, compared to $40 per 20 round box of Norma. That's one heck of a savings.

 

[Roadkill]

reloading

Glad you got started, but the wet powder thing bothers me. Must have been moisture in the empty case when you put the powder in. Next time use a cotton tip swab dipped in rubbing alcohol to wipe out the inside of the case, then a dry one to be sure there isn't any moisture left. After loading, I use fingernail polish to seal around the bullet and the primer if it will be hunting ammo and in the weather.

rk

 

[P95Carry]

Good news Frank!! Welcome indeed to the fun world of ''roll-your-own''!

I too would be a tad concerned as to quite how that squib came to be .. mainly to track down where moisture had come from.

Your cartridge choice initially has to be amongst one of the best for savings ....... some difference eh!

Enjoy and .... stay safe.

 

[Desert Eagle]

I've never encountered anything like that in all the time I been reloading? Did you wash your brass before reloading it? Did you possibly get oil in it instead of water somehow? That is really puzzling to me and would want to get to the bottom of that before I shot any more of the reloads. You see if you'd been shooting fast and hadn't realized what had happened and fired another round right after that bullet lodged you probably would have ruined a gun or worse you could have did that plus injure yourself to.

DE

 

[OEF_VET]

Roadkill,

Thanks for the tip about the cotton tip. I'll try that next time.

The only cause I can think of is I cleaned the Lee Dipper before using it. That may have been the first round I put powder into, and the powder got damp in the dipper. From now on, I'll be sure to dry the dipper out with a cotton swab also.

Frank