Using your reloads in competition for the first time: awesome

[NicVerAZ]

Ok, I have had more interesting "first times" than this, but showing up with your own reloads at a competition (even if just Tuesday Night Steel at Rio Salado), vs the traditional white box, and successfully shooting without one single issue is pretty awesome.

Congratulatory self pat in the back.

124gr FN Berrys with 4.0 of 231 and just the right amount of OAL and the right amount of crimping (this time). Much more accurate than the commercial stuff too, more predictable recoil and flip.

Great feeling overall.

Thanks for all the advices!!! Great forum.

[Youngeyes]

Good for you. That's how it's supposed to feel.

[e-mishka]

Awsome. I started reloading only few month back and felt same way.

[njl]

It's a good feeling...but watch out for the opposite. Showing up at a match with your reloads and having multiple squibs.

I still have a dillon bin full of .45acp SP primed brass and Zero 230gr JHP bullets I pulled after having 3 squibs (at two matches) from a batch of about 150. Of course, all the ones I pulled had the expected charge of Clays. I've been reluctant to load any more SP .45 brass since then, and probably won't do it with Clays. I may give those components another try using WST.

[Giant81]

Even though I've been reloading and training with my reloads I don't feel completely comfortable running them in competition yet.

of the 400 or so rounds I've reloaded and shot, I tend to have at least one or 2 rounds that go 'plunk' instead of bang. So far none have left a piece of lead in the barrel, but it just doesn't make me feel very comfortable yet. As I train more with them, I'm sure I'll get more confident in them and I'll probably be using them in our next competition in May.

[buckaroo45]

That's why I preach quality over quantity when reloading. I think too much of my toys to blow one up.

[NicVerAZ]

That's why I preach quality over quantity when reloading. I think too much of my toys to blow one up.

Indeed and that's what I do as well. A 100-count (one box of primer) will take me 25 to 30 minutes to make, and that includes visual inspection of every step, especially powder drops. You can train your eye to detect changes in powder charges and I would suspect one can make the difference between 4.0 and 4.5 or 3.5. It is actually very obvious.

You need a case gauge: I grab a bunch of cartridges in my right hand, hold the gauge between two fingers of that hand, then drop cartridges one by one into my left hand, use the left hand to drop check and place each round in the box, primer upside. At the same time, I check each primer. They need to be flush, inserted properly and obviously not backward.

Again, what's to check:

• Powder charge - Again: visual inspection to make sure you have SOMETHING and obviously not a double charge.
  
• OAL - Sample a few, visually detect those that are obviously out of tolerance when the rounds are in the tray.
  
• Case gauging - Use a case gauge on ALL the rounds.
  
• Primers - Inspect them all BEFORE when they are fresh out of the box and in the flip tray, "sunny side up", to make sure they are all fine. Then make sure they are all flush and inserted properly. Dimpled primers are usually not an issue but I personally put those in my "trainers" bag.
  

In the batch I made yesterday, I found one round with -.08" OAL, one case which was damaged and would not drop check (disassembled immediately, primer punched out).

In my previous batch I had 1 cartridge which failed drop check but which I could fix in the crimping die, but again put in the "trainers" bag. I also had one backward primer (disassembled immediately).

When I am at the competition, I align all the rounds before filling my magazines and inspect them all. Those I dislike for any reason go in my "trainers" bag, which is simply a ziploc bag where I put all the rounds I will only use while training. So far, none of these have failed, but I expect one to vindicate me one of these days.

This sounds like a lot to do but, with time, this becomes automatic. If you buy bulk, you save at least $7 a 50-count of 9mm, meaning a $28 saving an hour. Maybe it's less than what you make an hour at work, but it's still worth it economically, plus the extra satisfaction of shooting your own, more accurate, ammunition.

[The Contender]

Competition is the best way to test your reloads. If its gonna fail it'll be under pressure for sure!