Jump to content

ReadDude

Members
  • Content Count

    210
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Feedback

    100%

Everything posted by ReadDude

  1. Most likely did not have enough lubrication on the brass. I have done that with .30-06 only when I under lubed it.
  2. It is far from you, but Aires Jewelers in Morris Plains is great and meets all your criteria. I bought my wife's engagement ring from Ron when he was still in the warehouse over 25 years ago and my family continues to use them for significant items in life since then. It's our 25th this year, and I expect we'll be there in the next few weeks to look at new settings to commemorate the occasional :-) They are high quality, so prices are often much more than mall schlock, but you will see excellent diamonds and unique settings and you will definitely get better value. Remember though, jewelry has huge markups where ever you go, don't ever look at a retail purchase as a financial investment, it will never pay off, only be happy with what it represents in the gift (or proposal!) http://airesjewelers.com/ 3 Harrison Avenue Morris Plains, NJ 07950
  3. BTW, heed the call for a strong mounting surface for the press. I am reloading .30-06 and the 1" plywood over a 2x6 frame still flexes (with one of the lag bolts into the 2x6). I am going to build up the surface to at least 2" with another layer of plywood (I reused an old workbench I built that was plenty strong for its original purpose.)
  4. Guys, I did not attend, but was taking my son and his friend up to the .22/Muzzeloader range to teach his friend how to shoot for the first time, we figured .22LR was a better place for a 15 year-old young lady than trap shooting. Well anyway, a couple of folks came by around 1pm and mentioned a "large group with just a few folks shooting". They seemed to be favorably impressed and did notice the NJGF shirts on at least one of your backs. I told them of the forum and they liked the idea of a virtual online group that sometimes meets in the flesh :-) Anyway, as a range report on the rifle range, things were a bit of a mess, someone has been shooting glass bottles and leaving quite a mess on the 25 and 50 yard berms. There were also loads and loads of unpoliced shotgun hulls and even a couple .30-06 cases! One of these months, I am going to try to make a Saturday though, sounds like a very good time! As to the learner, she will be fully ready for trap shooting next time :-)
  5. Xtreme Does seem to be a very good deal on bullets, I had not looked at them before. Lots to learn. I am going to give them a try, Thanks! As to primers, I hadn't purchased online due to hazmat fees, but I may do as you say and buy a big order to spread out the cost. I had been picking them up in person when I could. I think things are starting to get better on supply so maybe I can make the cost savings thing really work for so I can shoot more and spend just as much :-)
  6. Well, I guess I need to find better sources of plated bullets then, primers and powder. With the dearth of reloading supplies, I have found that for pistol, the primers about 3.5 to 4 cents per round, powder is about 1+ cents per round and bullets are 15 to 17 cents going with plated bullets (I prefer to not go lead) for .45 ACP. that means I can't beat 20 to 22 cents per round before equipment costs are considered. that is a good savings, but it is surely not 1/3 of retail... For 9mm, I haven't I found cheap plated bullets that are any cheaper meaning that in the end, I am still around 20 cents per round and I can buy new in bulk for 30 cents if I am patient. Still some savings, but not like what I see with rifle ammo where I am easily saving 60-70% without really trying when compared to new retail.
  7. I started from scratch myself by reading "ABCs of Reloading" (http://amzn.com/B004GUSBP6) that I downloaded for free from Amazon for my Kindle (with a Prime membership). This book is about theory and approach to reloading with significant focus on safety and tool choices, etc. It is not a reloading manual. Once I read that, I figured I understood the concepts, then as others mentioned, I bought the Hornady and Lyman books and read their intro materials for more cook book understanding of what to do and buy. I then went out and purchased equipment (I have largely decided to go Hornady, but that is not really important here.) From there, I decided exactly what I wanted to reload first (.30-06 for an M1 Garand), did my research on the exact loads I wanted to create, then bought supplies as they came available, collected brass, etc. At that time, the youtube videos, powder websites, etc. all become helpful to understand questions, figure out how to use my tools, fix problems, etc. BTW, The High Road (http://www.thehighroad.org/) has an excellent forum for reloaders that has asked and answered about every possible question in the world about reloading. This forum here has helped me a couple of times as well. I would suggest a question that needs to be answered up front: Why do you want to reload? cost savings, accuracy? fun? This will help direct your later choices. I decided initially to focus on fun and creating better more accurate loads for my M1. This targetted all my choices for the 1st year. In retrospect, pistol reloading has its advantages for a beginner (simpler preparation of the brass) and If I started over, I would likely have started reloading for my .45ACP first and I would likely have made different purchases based on that decision. With that said, I have been taking my old surplus .30-06 brass and making it significantly more accurate with reloads at less than the cost of the original surplus ammo, so i am getting it all, fun, accuracy and cost savings. Actually until I reloading 5,000 rounds of .30-06, I'll probably never totally amortize the initial equipment costs :-) Pistol cartridge reloading is hard to save much money on, but you can get accuracy and match to your pistol with fairly simple process.
  8. Hit 3 of 5 arrows within a pie plate size area on a target (sometimes paper, sometimes a 3D Deer target) from I believe 15 yards. I would practice 10, 15 and 20 yards at pie plates affixed to your target bag as a realistic training for the test. also, go over for the vitals area on the deer in case he is asked to shoot at a 3D target. Big thing, make sure he trains with the gear he is going to use that day, including cocking system for crossbow, clothing, etc. the day I took it years ago, it was much colder than when I trained and I almost failed before realizing my jacket was interfering with my release and causing issues.
  9. I just want to post this since I thought of this thread while driving in the NJ Turnpike South on our way to Six Flags (so it is Central Jersey for those of you keeping NJ vs. South tallies)
  10. go to the actual e-store and look in the ammo inventory. they didn't add it to the main ammo page. for example click on the .223 e-store link, then start navigating the store-front and you will see them.
  11. ordered! never have too much surplus ammo :-)
  12. I have the one with the scope mount (and I bought the Mossberg package with the Bushnell scope). It hold zero well even with taking it on/off the receiver and works well as a deer gun out to about 75 yards pretty comfortably. I use my Mossy as a trap gun most of the year and put the slug barrell on early NOV to sight it in every year for 6 day and it meets the need just fine.
  13. My son got a boating only license at age 16 and it is exactly the same license but endorsed as boat only. Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
  14. ugh, ugh, ugh, My family and I were in Sandusky for non-firearms related reasons (roller coasters!) 3 weeks ago and it never even dawned on me that I should drive over the CMP store.... My son is an M1 Garand junkie too.
  15. At Clinton, at the rifle range we made a target frame like they describe on the website (I made a 2x6 base drilled in the base to hold 4' steel rods with a 2x4 on top to hang targets. we sometimes hang stuff on strings (like stuffed animals, and other stuff that doesn't break into a million pieces) off that frame as well so that target height is the same as a paper target. that works well if you are want to shoot slugs at something other than paper. I guess you could try cans sitting on top of a 2x4 the same way just be a boy scout and carry out what you bring in. For .22LR we bring the steel and orange plastic spinners and the orange bouncy balls and put them in front of the 25 yard berm. that is a great way give the kids something to plink for hours. My son and his friends will go through 200 rounds (ouch!) of .22 in the time it takes me to sight in my muzzle loader with about 8 rounds :-) We too try to carry a lot of junk out after visits as well, people leave lots of crap around and it is amazing how folks just let it pile up.
  16. no slugs or air guns allowed at shotgun ranges. they are for trap/clays shooting only. Some WMA actually have rifle ranges (e.g., Clinton) that allow slug for shotguns and air rifles, muzzle loaders and rimfire guns. Clinton has special rules for targets as there is a risk of ricochet there. follow those rules and bring your own frames to hang your targets, etc. See: http://www.njfishandwildlife.com/ranges.htm
  17. I agree, the 1/4" ratchet is the way to go, I also bought one of these handy tools from garandgear.com to make sure I didn't torque the barrel too much, it is a good middle ground between "hold between the legs" and put it in a vise. http://www.garandgear.com/m1garand/detail/30-m1-tools-and-gages/flypage/71-gas-cylinder-wrench?sef=hcfp Now, here is a question, how often to you take apart the gas piston system and clean that part of the gun? Should I do it every time I take it to the range? I have heard "don't take it apart too often to reduce damage and accuracy" vs. "clean it every time to keep the gun in tip-top condition". I shoot a mix of hand loads using IMR4895 and old HXP surplus ammo and it gets to the range for 60-80 rounds about every 6 weeks. I have a recent release CMP H&R in excellent condition and almost 100% original parts as best as I can tell.
  18. So, I have to provide a Range Report: Loaded up some Titegroup at 5.0. 5.1 and 5.2 with the Berry's FP 185gr bullets at 1.190" OAL/COL and headed out for an afternoon at EFGA. All of them shot well from the P250 (didn't bring the 1911), I was better prepared to test accuracy (brought my bench rest bag for the pistols) and found that all of them shot reasonably consistent with the 5.1 and 5.2 gr versions were slightly more accurate than the 5.0 (and closer to Point of Aim). The 5.2 showed the least powder residue and fouling in the barrel. I think I am going go with the 5.2 going forward. I also had a good day with the M1, my son and I had a ball shooting the M1 at 100yards with reloaded Hornady A-Max 155gr. I think I have found the sweet spot on the load for a 100 yards. Bench rest hitting 3 out of 4 in the black is a good day for my old eyes on iron sights! The Reloads are a great step up from the HXP surplus I started with.
  19. Well I am using it to feed an 870 in 20GA so good info! The Herters is definitely an attractive price after Remington and Estate all seemed to jump $10/case in the past year (when you can find them.)
  20. Thanks Griz, I am going to continue with 5.0gr with the shorter 1.19" length (already loaded for tomorrow!) After comparing the 185gr Berry's to the 200gr Frontiers, it turns out they are about .06" different in length and I was loading the Frontiers at 1.245", so 1.19" is almost exactly the same depth in the case for the Berry's (I think I am getting a handle on this :-) As has been said many times, there is nothing like hand-loading to really start to understand all the working parts of firing a successful round down range!
  21. BTW, I did a bit of digging on 1911forum.com, handloads.com and a few other random places. It seems that 1.195" appears to be the consensus length for 185gr Berry's bullets. I tried the shorter 1.1.35 and they were seated way too deep in the dummies I created. I am going to go forward with 1.195" in the next rounds I load.
  22. Agreed, I do like the clothes. I got a decent deal on a couple summer shirts yesterday, no sales tax advantage though.....
  23. Stopped by the new Cabelas in DE today on the way from from a work trip. Nice easy access off I-95! I am a Hamburg, PA guy normally, it is much closer to home. The DE store is probably 1/3 smaller, but nicely laid out. I only quickly ran through the ammo and reloading aisles. No .22LR, Lots of 9mm and .45. I was looking for trap loads in 20GA and that was almost impossible to find, lots of heavy 20GA and 12GA loads. The reloading section is kind of small, there was a few rifle powders on the shelf, no pistol powders. lots of primers, but no large pistol, only magnums. Store and staff were very friendly (like Hamburg) but the big win is no sales tax! I bought some pistol ammo for that reason alone :-) BTW,anyone tried the Herter's (Cabelas private label) Shotgun ammo? I bought a couple boxes of their 20GA target loads, it was cheap @ $5.99/25, just hope if feeds well.
  24. Thanks for the additional feedback. I have carefully reviewed the source data I was using (Hornady 9th, Lyman 49th and the Hodgdon website.) I think i ended up seating the bullets a bit too high. I assume FP plated bullets probably better match SWC than HP type bullets. I was using COL lengths of 1.213" from the HP instead of a 1.135 for the SWC. That may have actually been a part of the reason for the feed issue. Would having the bullets seated too high have an impact on the burn rate? I assume that additional space in the case would have an impact, but again I am not too sure of the exact physics. My uneducated guess would be too much room to start and the burning gases expand quickly and the powder spreads before fully burning) So what do folks use for a COL for Plated 185gr FP bullets? Would the 1.135 be a good place to go? I am thinking of reseating to the shorter length and trying again at 5.0gr before changing things. I also assume that a shorter length will definitely raise pressures since the volume is smaller so very important to stay on the low end of the powder range. BTW, i also reviewed the powder charges, Lyman and Hodgdon both agree that 4.9 or 5.0 is the starting for FMJ bullets, that was the basis my using 5.0 as my starting point. Interestingly, the Hornady book has a much higher start for the Jacketed SWC than Hodgdon for the same bullet (5.0gr for Hodgdon vs. 5.5gr for Hornady, with the same COL on apparently the same Hornady JSWC bullet, but with different primers (Federal for Hodgdon and WLP for the Hornady recipe) This .45 Auto reloading is way more complicated than when I started reloading .30-06 for my M1 Garand. I found perfect matches for supplies to match the Hornady book's M1 tested recipes!
  25. i was shooting off hand, so I can't say to too much but the groups were consistent with when shooting factory loads (3-4" at 5 yards). The rounds had decent recoil, and not light as far as I could tell. So, unburned powder is usually a sign of under pressure on the load. It was the low end of the range. I will tick it up a .1 in a couple steps with a few rounds and experiment a bit. BTW, after asking this question, i did some google searches and on the highroad.org the comments were consistent with your observation (and more black soot on the casings, which i had too) I guess that is good feedback. As I noted, I am starting very conservatively since the plated bullets don't really have official load data around. BTW, the same load on the 200gr burned cleaner, but that make sense as the bigger bullets usually take a slightly lower range on the powder. As to the sizing, lesson learned :-) Thanks!
×
×
  • Create New...