First Time Shooting My Reloads

[Texas by God]

Saving money by reloading varies by cartridge. There's no way I could have shot so many 38-55s and 44-40s this past year if I had to buy loaded ammo! But I seldom load .223 and 9mm because ammo is inexpensive.

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[Alan in Vermont]

I've now gone out twice and fired almost all of the rounds I loaded, so I need to load some more. They are the most consistent rounds I've ever put through that pistol. They are accurate. They are predictable. And they are mine.

Maybe a little later in the summer, 1968, I mail ordered a Lee-Loader in 243 Winchester. It arrived in the mail one afternoon when I was asleep (I was working nights then) so I checked it out that night before I went to work. The next morning I took my time getting home, usually about an hour trip so I could get to our nearest city with a gun shop (that had components) after they opened. 100 primers, one box of Speer 80 gr. bullets and a can of IMR-4064.

I loaded 2 rounds, nothing bad happened, so I drove a mile or two out of town to a little sandpit back in some woods. Fired those two rounds at the remains of something, probably a bottle in those days, in the far bank. They both fired, both hit just about where I was holding. Been doing it ever since.

[owejia]

Glad to hear your Dad will be there to help smooth the learning curve on your casting adventure. Experience is the best teacher, the more you cast the easier it becomes. Success in you new endeavor.

[Sweet McAwesome]

Well Gentlemen, On Saturday my dad and I set up my Lee 4-20 pot, downloaded the calculation spreadsheet from here and melted some lead (and tin). What a learning experience that was! It's amazing how much of a difference the little details make.

So we decided on the weights of the lead and how many grains of tin to use and measured it all out, set up the pot and figured out the best way to ventilate my shed (not too difficult, considering I have a roll up door on one end and a 3 ft swinging door on the other end, and a window in the middle). Then we got to work. The first bunch of bullets I cast were wrinkly due to a cold sprue plate, and I wasn't squeezing the mold handles tight enough, leaving excess lead "wings". But as the mold and sprue plate warmed up, and I figured out what I was doing, I had some success! Over all, after a couple hours of setup and education, I ended up with 38 good boolits that I'll load and actually fire on Friday morning. It is a great feeling.

Thanks again for all the support and knowledge you've given! What an amazing community!