Very First Reloads

[lizziedog1]

Who can remember their very first reloading experience? Can you remember the gun it was for, the equipment you used, what about the recipe? What about the results?

When I was fifteen my parents bought me a Marlin .30-30 for Christmas. My older brother bought me a couple of boxes of ammo for a present. I had some saved up money and purchased a scope and mounts for the rifle. I remember trying that factory ammo and being a bit disappointed.

I saved up some money and bought a Lee Loader, some CCI primers, a can of IMR 3031, and Sierra 170 grain flat tips. My father made me a nice wooden mallet to use. I assembled a dozen rounds using the dipper that came with the Lee Loader.

I took these to the range and remember that I was firing groups at one hundred yards that were hovering between one and one and a half inches. It put those factory rounds to shame. I was hooked on relaodigng and have never looked back. This all started in the mid 1970's.

Tell me about your first realoding experience? Who else started on Lee Loaders?

 

[rajb123]

....gun was 30-06 bolt - remington 700 - 1974. loads were made with Lee loader. target results were similar to factory loads but less costly. ...used handloaded ammo for first deer kill in fla.

 

[nplaggie07]

My father in law got me started in reloading. First reloads were for my Kimber 1911. If I can remember correctly they were mixed brass, hornady fmj, and 5 grains of unique. After firing three or four rounds and realizing the rounds were ok I was hooked.

I now reload for my 25-06, 38/357, 45 colt, 9mm. The best feeling was this year taking my first hog and deer with my reloads for the 25-06.

 

[LiveLife]

Who can remember their very first reloading experience?

I had a reloading mentor who walked me through the first reloading experience but I sure was scared when I did my first rounds on my own. I was even more scared to shoot my first reloads. When nothing blew up and bullet hit my POA, I jumped up and down celebrating. Other shooters thought I caught a ricochet.

Can you remember the gun it was for

Sig 226 and Norinco 1911 heavily fortified with Wilson Combat parts.

the equipment you used

I was taught on both Dillon 550 and Lee Pro1000. I ended up buying the Pro1000 for me due to economic reasons.

what about the recipe?

I did both at the same time using 115 gr FMJ RN/230 gr LRN and 5.0 gr of W231.

What about the results?

Results from the reloads were more accurate than factory ammo I was using to shoot matches with (PMC and Sellier & Bellot FMJ RN).

 

[Glock20]

A buddy and I back in the mid 70's. His model 70 Win in .270 and my model 721 Rem in 30-06. RCBS single stage and hand weighing powder on a beam scale. I can't recall the recipe, but it was data from a manual. I remember my buddy's father telling us to "load by the book" and we were smart enough to know bad things can happen if you don't.
The results far exceeded factory ammo back then especially with bullets. Nosler Partitions were and IMO still are some of the finest bullets made.

 

[MEHavey]

Back in `69-`70 when I was a churchmouse 2nd Lt, a gunsmith took me under his wing and oversaw my building a Springfield`03 from pieces in his parts bin. As part of that mentorship he also led me through the ABC's of reloading for it, even giving me an old Texan C-Press and scale in the bargain.

The press is long-ago replaced with an Orange Crusher and lots`n lots of other guns/cartridges/innumerable dies ... but I've still got/shoot that Springfield, and I still check my new-fangled do-all Chargemaster with that Texan scale.

Both are classics now.

 

[357 Terms]

I started with the Lee loader in 357 and 45. A plastic mallet and an old sturdy kitchen table. I still have and use the lil depriming rod and the same mallet when I deprime my 357 brass for triming.

 

[nambu1]

Lee loader for a 303 Brit. given to me by my father-in-law. He had the rest of the componets except the bullets. That snowballed into a bench with 3 presses and a lube sizer.

 

[69Falcon]

Two years ago, my buddy and I learned how to reload with his father. Started out loading .30-30 with Speer 170 FP's.

Last night, I gave my father a reloading walkthrough as we reloaded sixty rounds of .308 Winchester start to finish.

 

[Funshooter45]

I started out with a Lee single stage. I remember I loaded up 10 .38 special rounds to shoot in a .357 Ruger Blackhawk. I think I loaded up the minimum .38 load for it because I was so afraid it would blow up. I didn't have calipers so I used a factory round as comparison. I didn't have a mentor, just a book. It probably took me 2 hours to load those 10 rounds I was so paranoid about it. I don't even know if I aimed the first 3 shots. I was just delighted they went off period and didn't blow anything up.

 

[dwhite]

First reloads

Bought a Winchester 670 in .30-06 from a friend of a friend in 1979 (still have it!). It came with a whack-a-mole Lee Loader, a can of IMR-3031, some primers and 150 grain Speer bullets.

Read the information sheet that came with the Lee Loader and went to work.

I then moved to .38 Special/ .357 Magnum when I bought my Ruger Security-Six. This of course necessitated the purchase of a Rockchucker press and two sets of dies.

It's been a great hobby!

All the Best,
D. White

 

[ricebasher302]

I used my uncle's RCBS setup to reload some .243s when I was about 16. I used 100 gr. core-lokts. Can't remember the powder, but I used a beam scale and 40 rounds took all the patience I possessed at the time. Results were pretty good basically matching factory loads out of the Rem 700 I was using at the time. I do know that the loads successfully harvested some deer.

 

[James2]

First relaods? That has been a while back............... 1957 (age 17)
Rifle: 30-30 Mod 94
Press: Herter's
Dies: Herter's
Scale: Webster
Powder: 3031
I think the only other tools I had was a deburring tool and a Lyman manual.

I don't remember the bullet or the primer. They worked just fine. They cost lots less. I shot lots more. I shot that 30-30 like most kids shot a 22. I was happy.

The salesman at the local gun store, who sold me the tools, gave me some instruction, but it was minimal. I read the book and dove in. No regrets.

 

[Hondo 60]

My first press was a Lee Single Stage (still have it)
and I was reloading for a S&W Model 10 (still have it too)

Had to learn by reading (Lyman's 47th manual) because no one in my immediate family is in to guns, hunting, reloading etc.

My Uncle was (mom's brother) big into all that & fishing too, but he died when I was 12.

 

[Rafterman191]

My first reloading experience

I hope it will happen tomorrow!!!! See my post about the in law!!!

 

[Funshooter45]

No, Rafterman, don't do it tomorrow. I read your other post and you have a bit to do before you crank out your first load.

 

[Jwbfx4]

I actually started almost a year ago now. I used a lee single stage press and dies and was loading for my 45acp 1911. I started with 5.0gr HP-38 and a 230gr RN Plated bullet.

I got over my nerves after the first 4 shots, and the next six showed great accuracy.

Since then I have became addicted and picked up a few more calibers.

 

[Rafterman191]

No, Rafterman, don't do it tomorrow. I read your other post and you have a bit to do before you crank out your first load.

Sorry Funshooter45, must do it, can't....control....myself....must......reload

 

[ljnowell]

My first reloads were for a Glock 21. Winchester brass(that I had shot), 200gr plated bullets, IMR 700x. I used Lee dippers and a winchester primer. I loaded them on one of the Lee single stage presses that sells for 25 dollars. It was a great experience.

Now I use a turret press w/ auto indexing, a powder measure, beam scale, and all the little doo-dads and thingamajiggers that go with it. You usually come a long way from where you start.

 

[colonelhogan44]

.357 magnum
180 gr Hornady xtp
13.5 grains of H110
CCI small pistol magnum primer

Lee Turret press

 

[Rafterman191]

My first time, .45 ACP, 230 gr FMJ, 5.4 grains of Green Dot, Winchester large pistol primers, loaded them today, shot them about 10 mins ago. Loaded 5, shot 5 no hiccups!!

 

[GLOOB]

.357 magnum, for a SW 686
158 grain Berry's plated HP
6.6 gr Unique... or so I thought. Scale was off and I really had around 6.9-7.0 grains. This made for a pretty hot starting load!

The other memorable thing was setting the seating die. I thought I had the seater backed out, but my first round came out looking like a wadcutter.

 

[Rafterman191]

I must say, I had a few dummy rounds that I really tried to seat the bullet!! I mean really seat that sucker in there good and it looked like discounted can of tomato soup when I was done!!

 

[DM~]

I learned reloading from my dad, it was in the late 60's... We were loading 30-06's on a RCBS jr. press, for his Rem. 742. It REALLY sno-balled for me, and soon i was really into it heavy, loading pistol/shotgun and for several rifles, also casting lead balls for the ML i had at the time.

DM

 

[FlyinBryan]

cant remember my 1st ones exactly. (either 12 or 16g shotshells)

i do remember they were on a mec 600jr, back in the early-mid 80's.