Did you keep your first

nsf003 · August 22, 2002, 09:30 PM

Loaded cartridge, that is. When you first started reloading, did you keep your first cartridge for memory's sake or did you shoot it with the rest of them? If you kept it, did you sign/date it?

I kept mine, a 30-06, 180 grain softpoint, 51 grains of powder IIRC. It is signed and dated down by my reloading table.

Your stories please.

nsf

co772 · August 22, 2002, 09:50 PM

I am eyeing my first cartridge right now. It is a 9mm with 125 Gr. LRN, 3.6 gr. W231 powder, and a Win. small pistol primer. However, this was only loaded about 2 hours ago! I think I will shoot it tomorrow.

co772

dsteinman · August 22, 2002, 09:56 PM

Nope. It was fired downrange along with numbers 2,3, and so on..

Didn't keep my first sqeeze either. Maybe I am just not the sentimental type..

Kcustom45 · August 22, 2002, 10:25 PM

I still have my first 4 that I made, but only because they have a dangerous amount of powder in them (didn't have the scale calibrated). They are marked with black magic marker so I KNOW not to shoot them. Still don't really know what I am going to do with them, but for right now they have a home on top of my bench.

C.R.Sam · August 22, 2002, 10:46 PM

dsteinman

First reload over 60 years ago.
First squeeze probably a great grannie.
Both downrange long ago.

Sam

griz · August 23, 2002, 12:10 AM

I shot it. I was also pleased it left the barrel. Somewhat higher standards now.

clown714 · August 23, 2002, 06:54 AM

it went down range

clown

Johnny Guest · August 23, 2002, 10:05 AM

- - -I know I didn't consciously save it. But I probably have a couple of rounds from that general era someplace. First time I run across a .30-06 case with a Remington RNSP in it- - - The .30-30 bullet, actually--I'll know it has a moderate charge of 4895 powder in it, and is from my first 100 rifle handloads.

Same with an old 9 mm case, either "W.R.A. Co. 9 m/m Luger" or one of the old Canadian military cases, with a Speer 146 gr. half-jacketed HP bullets seated over TOO MUCH Unique. First batch of pistol loads. Sometime around 1966, IIRC.

Glad you opened this thread, nsf003 - - - I really NEED another memento of "Long, long ago, in a galaxy far, far away."

Best,
Johnny

Desert Pete · August 23, 2002, 11:57 AM

I remember how happy I was when it went off and actually hit the target, and didn't blow up in my face. Didn't know any one who reloaded before I tried it. Just read a couple books, got a Lee Target model Reloader for the old trusty Rem700 .270 and had at it. 30+ years ago. Those days powder was $5 or $6/pound, bullets about $5/hundred, primers about $6 or $7 /thousand. But, no, I don't have that first cartridge.

Art Eatman · August 23, 2002, 01:00 PM

I was staying with my uncle, summer of '50 (That's 1950, Dennis.) He gave me a 1917 Enfield in '06. I was watching him do some reloading. He played Tom Sawyer: "You want to try it?" I wiped the slobber off my chin and loaded up maybe ten rounds. He sent me off to try them out. Nothing bad happened.

After that, he figured slave labor was cheap, so guess who did a bunch of reloading?

He had an old Pacific "C"-type press. His scale was the old style, where you put weights in the pan for the load you wanted, and then adjusted a screw-type weight along the balance bar.

I'd press a thin sheet of graphite down on the case necks as a lubricant behind the jacketed bullets.

Dupont IMR 3031 and 4064 was $1.25 a pound.

My first "very own" reloading tool was an old Lyman 310 Tong tool. All steel. Gave you a heckuva grip!

I started UT in the fall of '51. Kept my two rifles in my dorm room. No hassle...

, Art

stans · August 23, 2002, 01:11 PM

My first reloaded round went down range a long time ago. I was so happy that I had not blown myself up or damaged the gun that I kept on shooting. My first reloads were not all that great. They were 357's loaded with 148gr DEWC's and 158gr SWC's loaded on a Lee O-frame press using Lee dies. I never could get great accuracy, then I discovered that the powder through the expander button was far from perfectly round. A set of RCBS dies was purchased and I have not looked back.

Peter M. Eick · August 23, 2002, 03:01 PM

The first round is long since gone. It was a 30x30 winchester with a 150 grn seirra soft point and 3031 powder and winchester brass and primers. I loaded it with a lee load all or hand tool. I remember it worked well but did not kick as much as factories. That was the spring of '76 (1976 that is, if there could be another......)

blades67 · August 23, 2002, 04:36 PM

Nope.

Boondocker · August 23, 2002, 08:10 PM

It was 15 years ago I think. It was on my Lyman but I cant remember if it was rifle or for pistol. I am only 44 and I cant remember it must be 06 150 Sierra over 3031 or 357 148 dewc over accurate #5. I still have my test shells I used for seating and crimping. I went out in the back yard and tried them out oh what a wonderfull feeling it was. Later my wife told me she had the phone in hand just in case we needed a ambulance. What a woman. Boon

DAL · August 24, 2002, 05:03 AM

You know, I actually did keep my first reloaded cartridge, a .357 Mag., up until about 3 months ago (I loaded it in 1987). Why? Because I screwed it up and seated it WAY too far into the case and I didn't have a bullet puller. I got a bullet puller later and I finally disassembled the darn thing.

Thanks for bringing up an old memory.
DAL

HankL · August 27, 2002, 07:18 PM

No, but I still have one of the #8 pellets that came out of the Bobwhite Quail that I had for breakfast around here somewhere.
That was around 64. 1964 that is Sam.

I remember my first squeeze as well as that quail breakfast, both with fond memories! Now, don't tell my wife about the quail breakfast

Ala Dan · August 27, 2002, 08:23 PM

I sent it down range; fired from a 4" barrel Smith &
Wesson model 57.41 magnum!

Best Wishes,
Ala Dan, N.R.A. Life Member

loach · August 30, 2002, 08:01 AM

Just made my first yesterday...

.260 rem
6.5mm Hornady 129gr Interlock SP
new Remington brass
40.5gr IMR4831
CCI 200 primer

My first two had the bullet seated too deep, so I figure I'll keep them (marked so I won't shoot 'em by accident).

coonan357 · September 1, 2002, 01:14 PM

my first reload was a .357 round I put together , I shot it with the first 100 lot I made ( a little nervous as anyone ) after I shot it I went down range and dug the bullet out of the backstop and saved it with the casing , they now reside in my collection of old cases . so I shot and saved the peices .

August 22, 2002, 09:30 PM	#1
nsf003 Senior Member Join Date: January 12, 2002 Location: South Central PA Posts: 574	Did you keep your first Loaded cartridge, that is. When you first started reloading, did you keep your first cartridge for memory's sake or did you shoot it with the rest of them? If you kept it, did you sign/date it? I kept mine, a 30-06, 180 grain softpoint, 51 grains of powder IIRC. It is signed and dated down by my reloading table. Your stories please. nsf __________________ Christian, American, Heterosexual, Pro-gun Conservative. Any Questions? Molon Labe! Lets Roll!

August 23, 2002, 03:01 PM	#12
Peter M. Eick Senior Member Join Date: August 3, 1999 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 2,991	The first round is long since gone. It was a 30x30 winchester with a 150 grn seirra soft point and 3031 powder and winchester brass and primers. I loaded it with a lee load all or hand tool. I remember it worked well but did not kick as much as factories. That was the spring of '76 (1976 that is, if there could be another......) __________________ 10mm and 357sig, the best things to come along since the 38 super!

August 23, 2002, 04:36 PM	#13
blades67 Senior Member Join Date: April 22, 1999 Location: Chandler, Arizona, USA Posts: 6,014	Nope. __________________ Guns cause crime like spoons cause Rosie O'Donnell to be fat! I hunt, therefore I am.

August 24, 2002, 05:03 AM	#15
DAL Senior Member Join Date: October 15, 1999 Location: Colorado Springs, CO, USA Posts: 653	I remember my first one... You know, I actually did keep my first reloaded cartridge, a .357 Mag., up until about 3 months ago (I loaded it in 1987). Why? Because I screwed it up and seated it WAY too far into the case and I didn't have a bullet puller. I got a bullet puller later and I finally disassembled the darn thing. Thanks for bringing up an old memory. DAL __________________ Reading "Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal," by Ayn Rand, should be required of every politician and in every high school. "Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect everyone who approaches that jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but downright force. Whenever you give up that force, you are ruined." --Patrick Henry, during Virginia's Convention to Ratify the Constitution (1788) "When citizens fear their government, you have tyranny; when the government fears its citizens, you have freedom." --Thomas Jefferson GOA, JPFO, PPFC, CSSA, LP, ARI, NRA

August 27, 2002, 07:18 PM	#16
HankL Senior Member Join Date: March 11, 1999 Location: The Sunny South Posts: 2,174	No, but I still have one of the #8 pellets that came out of the Bobwhite Quail that I had for breakfast around here somewhere. That was around 64. 1964 that is Sam. I remember my first squeeze as well as that quail breakfast, both with fond memories! Now, don't tell my wife about the quail breakfast __________________ Check 6

August 22, 2002, 09:50 PM	#2
co772 Junior Member Join Date: March 27, 2002 Posts: 14	I am eyeing my first cartridge right now. It is a 9mm with 125 Gr. LRN, 3.6 gr. W231 powder, and a Win. small pistol primer. However, this was only loaded about 2 hours ago! I think I will shoot it tomorrow. co772

August 22, 2002, 09:56 PM	#3
dsteinman Member Join Date: August 12, 2002 Location: Sterling, Va. Posts: 36	Nope. It was fired downrange along with numbers 2,3, and so on.. Didn't keep my first sqeeze either. Maybe I am just not the sentimental type..

August 22, 2002, 10:25 PM	#4
Kcustom45 Senior Member Join Date: May 4, 2002 Location: Indiana Posts: 146	I still have my first 4 that I made, but only because they have a dangerous amount of powder in them (didn't have the scale calibrated). They are marked with black magic marker so I KNOW not to shoot them. Still don't really know what I am going to do with them, but for right now they have a home on top of my bench.

August 22, 2002, 10:46 PM	#5
C.R.Sam Senior Member Join Date: October 29, 1999 Location: Dewey, AZ Posts: 12,858	dsteinman First reload over 60 years ago. First squeeze probably a great grannie. Both downrange long ago. Sam

August 23, 2002, 12:10 AM	#6
griz Senior Member Join Date: July 31, 2000 Location: Middle Peninsula, VA Posts: 1,588	I shot it. I was also pleased it left the barrel. Somewhat higher standards now.

August 23, 2002, 06:54 AM	#7
clown714 Senior Member Join Date: October 13, 2001 Location: ga Posts: 395	it went down range clown

August 23, 2002, 10:05 AM	#8
Johnny Guest Moderator in Memoriam Join Date: August 28, 1999 Location: North Texas Posts: 4,123	Most probably long since fired - - - - - -I know I didn't consciously save it. But I probably have a couple of rounds from that general era someplace. First time I run across a .30-06 case with a Remington RNSP in it- - - The .30-30 bullet, actually--I'll know it has a moderate charge of 4895 powder in it, and is from my first 100 rifle handloads. Same with an old 9 mm case, either "W.R.A. Co. 9 m/m Luger" or one of the old Canadian military cases, with a Speer 146 gr. half-jacketed HP bullets seated over TOO MUCH Unique. First batch of pistol loads. Sometime around 1966, IIRC. Glad you opened this thread, nsf003 - - - I really NEED another memento of "Long, long ago, in a galaxy far, far away." Best, Johnny

August 23, 2002, 11:57 AM	#9
Desert Pete Member Join Date: August 6, 2002 Location: Texas Posts: 44	I remember how happy I was when it went off and actually hit the target, and didn't blow up in my face. Didn't know any one who reloaded before I tried it. Just read a couple books, got a Lee Target model Reloader for the old trusty Rem700 .270 and had at it. 30+ years ago. Those days powder was $5 or $6/pound, bullets about $5/hundred, primers about $6 or $7 /thousand. But, no, I don't have that first cartridge.

August 23, 2002, 01:00 PM	#10
Art Eatman Staff in Memoriam Join Date: November 13, 1998 Location: Terlingua, TX; Thomasville, GA Posts: 24,798	I was staying with my uncle, summer of '50 (That's 1950, Dennis.) He gave me a 1917 Enfield in '06. I was watching him do some reloading. He played Tom Sawyer: "You want to try it?" I wiped the slobber off my chin and loaded up maybe ten rounds. He sent me off to try them out. Nothing bad happened. After that, he figured slave labor was cheap, so guess who did a bunch of reloading? He had an old Pacific "C"-type press. His scale was the old style, where you put weights in the pan for the load you wanted, and then adjusted a screw-type weight along the balance bar. I'd press a thin sheet of graphite down on the case necks as a lubricant behind the jacketed bullets. Dupont IMR 3031 and 4064 was $1.25 a pound. My first "very own" reloading tool was an old Lyman 310 Tong tool. All steel. Gave you a heckuva grip! I started UT in the fall of '51. Kept my two rifles in my dorm room. No hassle... , Art

August 23, 2002, 01:11 PM	#11
stans Senior Member Join Date: November 9, 2001 Location: Virginia, USA Posts: 838	My first reloaded round went down range a long time ago. I was so happy that I had not blown myself up or damaged the gun that I kept on shooting. My first reloads were not all that great. They were 357's loaded with 148gr DEWC's and 158gr SWC's loaded on a Lee O-frame press using Lee dies. I never could get great accuracy, then I discovered that the powder through the expander button was far from perfectly round. A set of RCBS dies was purchased and I have not looked back.

August 23, 2002, 08:10 PM	#14
Boondocker Member Join Date: January 15, 2000 Posts: 47	It was 15 years ago I think. It was on my Lyman but I cant remember if it was rifle or for pistol. I am only 44 and I cant remember it must be 06 150 Sierra over 3031 or 357 148 dewc over accurate #5. I still have my test shells I used for seating and crimping. I went out in the back yard and tried them out oh what a wonderfull feeling it was. Later my wife told me she had the phone in hand just in case we needed a ambulance. What a woman. Boon

August 27, 2002, 08:23 PM	#17
Ala Dan Member in memoriam Join Date: August 13, 1999 Location: In The HOT, Humid, and Mu Posts: 6,116	Nope, I sent it down range; fired from a 4" barrel Smith & Wesson model 57.41 magnum! Best Wishes, Ala Dan, N.R.A. Life Member

August 30, 2002, 08:01 AM	#18
loach Member Join Date: February 20, 2002 Location: Columbia, SC Posts: 38	Just made my first yesterday... .260 rem 6.5mm Hornady 129gr Interlock SP new Remington brass 40.5gr IMR4831 CCI 200 primer My first two had the bullet seated too deep, so I figure I'll keep them (marked so I won't shoot 'em by accident).

September 1, 2002, 01:14 PM	#19
coonan357 Senior Member Join Date: January 26, 2002 Location: in a state of confusion and disbelief ! Posts: 726	my first reload was a .357 round I put together , I shot it with the first 100 lot I made ( a little nervous as anyone ) after I shot it I went down range and dug the bullet out of the backstop and saved it with the casing , they now reside in my collection of old cases . so I shot and saved the peices . __________________ N.R.A. Lifer and proud of it ! You can't argue with a .357 Mag. Well, you can try, but you'll end up bleeding an aweful lot. -GEORGE HILL 4-08-2002 My Coonan is Not For Sale please do not ask!