Firing reloaded cartridges for the first time

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brantleyallen

New member
I have hand loaded my first set of cartridges.

Nosler .270 130g Ballistic Tip
Winchester cases - fire formed in my rifle from factory ammo - neck resized
Winchester WLR primer
IMR 4895 powder (IMR 4831 was my first choice, but unavailable)
OAL 3.31"
Tikka T3 Lite .270 rifle

My charges are 41.5g to 44g in .5g increments. The Nosler Reloading Manual Volume 1 shows 46g to be the most accurate, but is also the Max Load for this powder. I'm just working my way up.

I'm sure I've done everything right. I'm still a little nervous about pulling the trigger the first time.

Any suggestions?
 
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ojibweindian

New member
As long as you stay within published load maximums, and you've carefully assembled your loads, you most likely have nothing to worry about.
 
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Sevens

New member
God no, on the notification.

If you shoot a nice group, feel free to share that info afterward.

Folks who don't reload are sometimes very skeptical and wary about anyone's reloads. Some ranges simply don't allow them whatsoever. It's a bit of a slippery slope.

As for your first shots, I would fire a couple of factory rounds down the pipe first in a rifle. Fouling shots, if you will. If the rifle is freshly cleaned, that is. Why not take a clean bore out of the equation for the group you intend to shoot?

Given your post, how well you know your powder range, your source for data, you attention to detail with regards to primer, COAL, et all: you have nothing to be worried about. Your biggest problem will be eliminating that stuff from your trigger control and sight picture.

Your components are high quality, your ammo is going to perform.
 
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Sevens

New member
Were you guys a little nervous the first time you fired your first reloaded cartridge?
Click to expand...
Yup, a little. I was shooting .38 Special, 158 grain Speer LRN pushed by Green Dot out of Federal brass from a 6-inch .357 Mag, S&W model 686.

Fired two rounds in to the berm at 50 yards with my head turned. But I was 17 years old at the time.

You are good to go!
 
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Dingoboyx

New member
I was the opposite, I couldn't wait.....

I had a hard time teaching myself how to do it. I started handloading when I joined CAS. All the guys that hand loaded in CAS when I started, basically said NO to helping me (or anyone else) nor would they allow someone to observe them reloading (to try and learn) I now know why, it is because they all have their 'secret recipe's' with 11 different herbs and spices to make their own 'winning' mousefart loads that you can almost see the projectile hitting the target :eek: I myself, like REAL loads :D mine nearly go thru the plates :eek: This, and the usual CLASH of ego's I had to look elseware for learning.
Anyway, long story
.44-40 & .44 rem mag (Vaquaro's)
So, I went and bothered my local gunshop, bought lots of stuff (which the ego's in CAS, told me was 'All wrong' I set up my press (Lee Aniv. 3 hole turret) lee dies (carbide) and first started reloading by learning how to de-prime & FLS(crushed a few cases) and prime with auto prime (hand), bought scales, used Winchester 231 (all I could get), Bought a mold made my own projectiles, learned how to seat them (demolished a few more cases) and then how to crimp them (squashed even more cases) :eek: All with the assistance of the guy from the gunshop (he was a bit reluctant to give solid advice, in case he was culpable if I accidently went into orbit)

Anyway, I went to the range, loaded them up in my trusty 44-40 Win. Little big horn & let them rip, No fear, I didnt know enough to know the dangers (I did know I had used less powder than the max reccommended, I knew that much) They worked fine in the rifle, so let rip in the pistol too.... no probs. Anyway, I soon discovered Trail Boss, now I just load 'em up to projectile deapth and stick the heads on :D
Now I have it all refined, can make 'em in my sleep, have a case tumbler and FCD's and pump them out by the 100's.

My best advice is to make sure the primers are seated correctly, (not too high) and in the right way :eek: and start using less powder than the max & build up from there, til you get the hang of it, & that they 'Look' right.... you cant go wrong and no need to be scared they will blow up your gun. Like I said, I did try them first in the rifle, more metal between the case and me.... but they worked ok from the word go....
 
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Sevens

New member
I "get" the protecting of the "recipe" that gives them success.
But turning your back on someone who wants to reload is a pretty lousy thing to do. Not good mojo. Here, you have a chance to get someone started properly.

Some folks are wired differently, I suppose. Hell, we see that right here in this forum.
 
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jal5

New member
Yeah I felt a little nervous the first time shooting my reloaded 243s. But I was all smiles after the first batch because I did it! More nervous shooting the old Bayard pistol I had restored even with factory .32 rounds...it hadn't been fired in at least 50yrs by my estimate as it was from my grandfather. But it worked out fine and really was fun to shoot a piece of history.

Joe
 
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brantleyallen

New member
As a new shooter, I thought I just couldn't shoot. I changed to the Remington Accu-Tip 130g, and my patterns tightend up considerably. My brother said I could tighten it up even more if I loaded my own rounds.

I had taken my brother's advice and kept all my spent casings. When the opportunity came up, I bought a complete reloading system from a local law enforcement officer at a REALLY good price.

After I go through my initial purchase of the Nosler bullets and the 4895 powder, I want to try some other bullet/powder combinations. So far, it's been a lot of fun.
 
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Dingoboyx

New member
My sentiments exactly 7's

I actually asked one of the ego's at my club if I could just stand in the corner of his reloading room, and promised not to say a word, just observe, to see what reloading 'looks like'..... got a flat NO, sorry excuses, excuses.... :barf:
Oh, and he lives 5 minutes walk from my home!

I know exactly what their secret recipe is now anyway (didnt take long) it's trail Boss, but about half of what I put in mine :D I have the Knack of getting a few extra do-nuts in my cases(without crushing them.... thats bad) purely because the 3 main ego's in the club complain my rounds are too hot (and loud) One whined at me the other day "WHY DO YOU LOAD THEM LIKE THAT!"
I said politely "Coz I cant squeeze any more powder in":D I actually load up a little extra and shake each case (like a scientist shaking a test tube) so I can get the max Trail Boss in, & still get the projectile to back down enough.... then I ALWAYS follow one or more of them to the loading table :D Just coz I can .....

See, I am not as childish as they are, so there :p
 
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Pathfinder45

New member
"what If I Blow Myself Up?!?!?"

I think you may as well use your reloads for even the first fouling shot or two. Because, if you have the slightest doubt about the safety of your untried loads, you're just gonna flinch anyway. After you realize that you're not going to blow yourself up, you will shoot a better group with confidence. Eventually, you will become so much more confident of your reloads that you will begin to look down on factory ammo as inferior. I have bought factory ammo on the occasion because it was cheap and I wanted the brass. So I just plinked them off in a rapid fire, off-hand training session and loaded 'em back up with, "something real". I have never hunted deer with factoy ammo. By the way; the .270 is great; it's my main center-fire rifle. I've used lots of different powders and bullets in it. The 150 grain Nosler Partition is my favorite bullet for maximum loads. Every charge of powder gets weighed when I use extruded powders, [They are still my favorite for accuracy and max loads]. But I like ball powders for cheaper practice ammo at less than maximum pressure because it meters though the powder measure so uniformly that the whole process is a lot faster. Then I only weigh every tenth charge to make sure all is well. I use magnum primers with ball powders. Good luck and good shooting!
 
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brantleyallen

New member
I started out with a set of 8 casings and bullets and went through every process until I was comfortable with it. It took me more than an hour to get my bullet seating die set just right so when I remove the die and put it back in the press my cartridges were the same every time.

I'm measuring everything: case length, case width, neck width.... I weighed EVERY charge. I measured EVERY cartridge for OAL. I seated my primers and looked at them with a magnifying glass and saw they were a little crooked and reseated them, they are evenly inserted now.

I had used the Nosler method of determining OAL, though I think I can still push it out a little more.

I understand that EVERYTHING makes a difference.
 
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Pathfinder45

New member
Let us know how it goes.

I recommend cleaning the primer pockets before re-priming. I've never used the powder you are using nor IMR-4831. By far, the most outstanding powder I have used in the .270 is the long-discontinued Norma N-205. I have recently obtained some Norma MRP which is supposed to be a more consistent version of the, "same thing". I hope so, but I'm waiting for snow to melt off my 300 yards-plus shooting site before I try it. In my .270, all powders and load combinations gave acceptable to mediocre performance at 100 yards; with none being astounding. In your rifle you will likely find loads that will group 5 shots into an inch or less at that range. I haven't done better than 1 3/8" with anything. My best load probably only averages an inch and a half. But here's why it's the best: It shines at 300 yards. Most of those better looking groups fly all apart at 300 yards; some well over 12". But my pet load that's not particularly impressive at 100 yards will reliably put 5 rounds into 2-1/2" or less at 300. It's a bullet stability thing. A lot of shooters seldom shoot paper targets over 100 yards and their load development tends to be based on that range. That's fine for a .30-30; but the .270 is essentially a long range hunting caliber. A, "one inch group at 100 yards equals a 3 inch group at 300", is a theory that seldom works out in reality. Try 140 and 150 grain bullets as well as your 130's. My best load uses Nosler's 150 grain Partition over a maximum charge of N-205 for about 3,000 fps; leaving very little to gain by switching to a 7mm magnum.;)
 
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brantleyallen

New member
thanks for the tip.

I'm very interested in shoot further distances. I haven't found a range in my area that is more than 100 yds. There is some public land north of me. I'm going to call them and see if they allow shooting on it.
 
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Shoney

New member
You should be more like the guy I used to know. When he started reloading, he was extreemly nervous aboout pulling the trigger on his first loads. He casually convinced his wife that he was giving her the "honor" of shooting the first of them.:eek:

And no!!!! they aren't married any more.:D
 
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flashhole

New member
I always called it the Pucker Factor. That tight butt feeling you get when you are about to touch off your first reloads. Mine was a 300 Win Mag. Don't you know I read, re-read, and read again, everything I could to make sure I did it right. Then I triple checked everything. The consequences of not doing it right can be down right painful. That was many years ago and today I won't even consider shooting factory stuff except in my shotguns.
 
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brantleyallen

New member
Update:

success!!! Nothing blew up and the tightest pattern was .43 MOA, measured center to center on the widest gap.

However, I had found that I had accidentally use 140g bullets instead of the 130s mentioned in the first post. I discovered this after they were loaded and BEFORE I went to the range. The loads were still in spec so I didn't have to redo them.

Lesson learned: measure EVERYTHING, BEFORE you (I) start.
 
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