I reloaded my first rounds this past weekend...

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tsanford405

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Well, this last weekend I loaded up my first rifle rounds. I used a Lee Loader Classic set, which my dad got me into. He had some old ones for the calibers that he used to use, I thought they were interesting and a good buy, so I grabbed one up for my 7mm Rem Mag. He let me use his Ohaus 505 scale, which seemed to be very accurate.

I purchased my reloading stuff from Cabela's, but they didn't have the powder or the primers that I wanted. So I ended up with CCI 250 Large Rifle Magnum Primers (wanted the Federal 215's), H4831 (I wanted Reloder 22, and ment to buy IMR4831, but this has some good "beginner" loads too), and some 160 gr. Nosler Partition's. I found on data.hodgdon.com that the max load for this set of items was 60.0 grains with a COL of 3.29". So I loaded up 25 rounds, 10 at 58.0, 10 at 59.0, and 5 at 60.0. I will load up some more when I get the time so that I can test the groupings with these loads.

I was surprised at how simple the whole process was. It was a lot of fun. The longest part was setting up the bullet seat depth, after that it stayed almost perfect, even though you "hammer" it down in the case. My mom recently had surgery and she was recovering on the couch in the other room, and I set off one primer... I got a laugh, she got scared half to death. :evil: Whoops :) Guess I will do the next reloading at my apartment, and not on the dining room table at the parent's house. I figured my dad would want to be there though for my first time (loading my own cartridges).

I will hopefully get a chance to let off a few rounds this weekend if the weather is nice. I will update the post on what happens. I also found some Reloder 22 last night at my gun range for $4.00 cheaper than Cabela's would have been, yes! I am going to work up some loads with that, and let you all know. I am happy to join a hopefully strong fraternity of self-loading gun "enthusiasts." :D
 
Congrats and welcome!

Tsanford405--Good on you! Of course, after you've fired your new "firsties," we will require a range report.

Welcome to the fraternity of reloaders. Sounds as if yr dad was helping you learn--good. An experienced reloader @ yr elbow is a Good Thing when you're starting out.

You oughta invest in a book titled The ABC's of Reloading put out by Krause Publishing www.krause.com if you haven't gotten it yet. LOTS of good how-to advice, and more importantly why-and-why-not-to stuff. Belongs on every reloader's bookshelf, IMHO, well thumbed.

And you do already have a loading manual, no?

Anyhow, welcome to the club.
 
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Now you are hooked.................suggestion. Keep detailed records of each load. Pay close attention to OAL, I have found in my guns it makes a BIG difference in group size.
 
throw your wallet on your Dad's scale and write down the number.....

it will never be that heavy again....:)

but hey...

a fat wallet is just a pain in the a$$ anyway. :D

welcome aboard!
 
Welcome to THR.
Document all the info on your loads. It can prove invaluable later.:)
 
Congratulations and welocme to the addiction. Just remember the most important thing about reloading, let somebody else shoot the first ones until you know they are safe.:D
Rusty
 
Another good book is the lee modern reloading manual. Funny i have a lee loader too. I have never set off a primer. Could have been due to the magnum loads. One recommendation, get a lee hand held primer installer. Makes it a lot easier and safer on loading primers. One thing you will find out is that cci magnum primers normally dont go off that easy as federal primers. Those little things are easy to set off. Any how welcome to the reloading board.
 
I think what may have set the primer off, was residue in the primer pocket. I cleaned all the rest of the primer pockets out with a little dremel/brush, and loaded up the rest and it seemed to fix the problem. now all the primers seat perfectly, and I haven't set one off.

Oh well, life's a dance, you learn as you go! :eek:
 
I have loaded 1000's of dirty primer pockets in pistol calibers without incident. I would look elsewhere for the culprit.:)
 
First Reloading Experience

I just bought a great new S&W Model 25-9 from a local dealer. When he plopped a box of ammo on the counter he said, "Save your brass and bring it back in. I'll set you up in the back and teach you to reload." That seems like a great offer and I'll certainly take him up on it. What I want to know, though, is what I should expect to pay for the materials. He'll let me use the machines for nothing, but I figure I'll have to pay for the powder, bullets, and whatever else. Any thoughts?

Steve K.
 
Oh for Pete sake. Now another one has been hooked on reloading...Will the habit...Aah...Hobby never end. Will we never find a cure for this terrible time wasting travesty...:D

Welcome to the "club" tsanford405...:)
 
costs

Shadowpdf--For costs of reloading, see the sticky @ the top of this forum regarding that issue.

Whatever the dealer charges you, consider it as tuition--he'll be teaching you, no? And he wants to sell you the supplies when you get hooked on reloading, if not the machines also--so he's not too likely to irritate you by charging an arm & a leg. It'll be less than a comparable box of factory-loads, whatever the actual amount, so you can hardly lose on the deal.

Consider investing in the book, The ABC's of Reloading put out by Krause Publishing www.krause.com and reading it before rushing out to buy any equipment. It will help you decide what you need, what you want, and what you can put off 'til later. This is a how-and-why manual that covers the gamut of reloading.

You'll also need a loading manual when you start reloading on yr own--My go-to manual is Lyman's 48th edition but there are several good manuals out there. Do NOT use loads suggested by anonymous yahoos on the I'net--including me, unless they jibe very well with loads from a published source.
 
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