Shot my first hand loads

[natomasboy]

Hi everyone,

Today I shot 20 rounds of my first hand loads. My load data was as follows:

180gr hard cast lead bullets
4.2gr of Bullseye
Winchester .40SW brass

I went to Sac Valley Shooting center to check out that range and it was very nice and folks were real friendly. I started with 20 rounds of 180gr Blazer TMJ to warm up and then shot the hand loads. I was amazed at how the recoil was so much less on the hand loads. Not a single jam and it felt like shooting a 9mm on my .40 Sig p229.

Also the powder smoke of the hand loads were more noticeable than the Blazer rounds. I'm not sure if that's just how Bullseye powder behaves.

Lastly, there's accuracy. I tried the loads using a bench rest and they were to my great surprise more accurate than the Blazer rounds. The groups were very tight at 15 yards about 1.5" apart where as with Blazer 2" apart. I wonder if it's because the recoil was so much less that I had better control of the gun or if the round itself was just more accurate. I'm thinking the round since I was on a sand bag so recoil should not have made that much of a difference.

I did experience that OMG moment right before I shot the first round. I honestly closed my eyes hoping that my gun wouldn't explode. All 20 shots fired very well that I'm confident in keeping the settings on my press to go mass production of 100 rounds (since that's all the brass I've got).

I'm officially hooked!!

[tamalpias]

welcome to the reloading world. Just 10 years ago I was in the same shoes as you. To bad you did not have pics to show us.

[bruceflinch]

The Blazer is a fairly hot load. When loading for accuracy, the best loads are usually mid-range on the powder wt.

Congrats!

What kind of press are you using?

[swerv512]

Nice job not blowing yourself up...
I remember shooting my first reload out of a rifle- i practically shot it from the hip just in case.

[krzgoat]

I think we all remember pulling the trigger on that first reloaded round. Fun stuff.

Glad to hear it went well. Welcome to the world of reloading.

[natomasboy]

welcome to the reloading world. Just 10 years ago I was in the same shoes as you. To bad you did not have pics to show us.

Here's the one that I'm going to post above my work bench!

I've heard the stories of guns blowing up, hot loads, double-charges, incorrect seating, etc.. so you can imagine I was so nervous!

[gotgunz]

I have noticed that of all my empty cases the Blazer Brass casings clean up the best for reloading.

My std load is:
180 grn lead TCFP
4.4 grns of w-231 (recently changed from 5.0 grns)

[natomasboy]

The Blazer is a fairly hot load. When loading for accuracy, the best loads are usually mid-range on the powder wt.

Congrats!

What kind of press are you using?

A Lee turret press. But I don't use it like a turret yet but use it more in single-stage. I tend to do everything in batch where I first size and prime all the cases, then expand and add powder to all the cases, etc.. My batch size is 10 rounds and I double-check everything, check the powder measure, etc.

"Fear is a good thing" is my motto!

I will say this, the Lee mounted auto-disk powder measure is amazingly accurate! It may not give much flexibility on controlling the grains since the auto-disk measures are fixed but it is very consistent.

[WileyWilly]

Also the powder smoke of the hand loads were more noticeable than the Blazer rounds. I'm not sure if that's just how Bullseye powder behaves.

Typically, the lube on the lead bullets causes the extra smoke.

WW

[xrMike]

I will say this, the Lee mounted auto-disk powder measure is amazingly accurate! It may not give much flexibility on controlling the grains since the auto-disk measures are fixed but it is very consistent.

Agreed. If you want more control over your charge weight, try this:

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewproduct/?productnumber=150005

It lets you dial in the exact charge you want, to .1 of a grain (that's if you're using ball or flake powders; I don't know how it works with extruded, never tried that).

[natomasboy]

Typically, the lube on the lead bullets causes the extra smoke.

WW

But I didn't put any lube in the bullets.

[ar15barrels]

But I didn't put any lube in the bullets.

They came with lube on them.



The blue line is the lube.

If you buy plated bullets such as Berry's, you won't get as much smoke.
Of course the plated bullets are more expensive.
You will get over the smoke when you realize the cost savings.

The only plated/jacketed handgun bullets I load anymore are for when I shoot night matches and I can't have the smoke obscuring my vision when the flashlight illuminates it.

[Inkman]

Ain't that the truth. I can deal with the smoke just fine for the cost savings.

[Revoman]

Bullseye, plus lube equals a little more smoke, at least in my experience.

[nn3453]

If you buy plated bullets such as Berry's, you won't get as much smoke.
Of course the plated bullets are more expensive.
You will get over the smoke when you realize the cost savings.

Don't know. I'd rather spend a bit more on plated bullets than have high lead levels in my bones and blood. You could argue that it doesn't matter, but I want to live long enough to find out.