GunFuPanda

A good deal for a good reason - I'm in!

I just started reloading too - I'm doing 9mm and .40 S&W for now. I picked up a Frankford Arsenal Quick-n-EZ dry tumbler kit (dry media tumbler plus a sifter-n-bucket assembly) off Amazon for about $65 that I've used a few times now and I'm pretty happy with it FWIW.

I intended to calibrate it, but hitting the "CAL" button (and the "MODE" button, for that matter) didn't change anything - according to the instructions, that should've made the display flash "CAL" a few times and then flash "50.00", but in my case the readout just sat on "rECAL" indefinitely. I'm looking at balance-beam scales now, thinking it might do me good to keep it analog...

So I was well into reloading my first batch of ammo, when I got stopped in my tracks by the PoS digital mini scale that came with my RCBS kit. When I turned it on (for the first time ever) it said "unSR", then "rECAL" and won't do ANYTHING else no matter what buttons I press or batteries I change. Anyone else ever had a problem like this? (There's a moral somewhere in here about always testing your gear as soon as you get it, but that ship sailed weeks ago...)

Enh, drink what ya like. Letting someone else tell you that what ya like isn't "manly".... well, that isn't manly. That said, and getting back to the OP, just tried the Southern Tier Imperial Pumking for the first time, and it was also the last time. It's all pie-spice flavor, all up in your face, no actual beer flavor detectable at all. Ya gotta have balance! So all y'all who dig on the occasional pumpkin ale avoid the hell outta that one, is my advice.

I agree with that, however.,, Now that you've said it, it makes so much sense that I'm kinda having a "DUH!" moment. Kinda like the doctor who keeps looking for "acetylsalicylic acid" when all he needs is an aspirin... (Seriously, thanks for clearing that up!)

So I've decided to reload, and I'm in the "learning stuff and gearing up for it" phase of things — I've read a couple books, watched some YouTube vids, and read through a few threads in this here forum, but I'm still a few material purchases away from actually being able to do it for real. I just bought an RCBS kit that came with the Nosler Reloading Guide 8, which, while I'm confident I can use the data in the manual to make the cartridges I want, has some data that I don't really know what to do with. Now, I don't think Ballistic Coefficient and Sectional Density are super-relevant to me at this stage of the game, but the one that I just can't figure out is the BARREL Length/Make data. For instance, under 9mm Luger it lists the Barrel Length/Make as 4" Douglas, and for .40 S&W it says 4" S&W. However, I'm under the impression not every 9mm handgun out there has a 4" barrel, and I'm reasonably sure they don't all have Douglas-made barrels. So, since this particular manual doesn't seem to include a key or explanation for its charts (and a couple rudimentary Google searches didn't help at all), I'm bringing it here: How relevant is that information to me as a reloader, and even if it isn't particularly, just to satisfy my curiosity what the heck does it actually mean?

Oh yeah - rented a Beretta 96 last time I went to the range, just to see what shooting .40 is like, and I genuinely liked it! Maybe it was just the Beretta I rented, but I'd describe it as "beefy" rather than "blasty." Either way, though, I'm a fan.

Thanks, all! My 1st was an M&P 9mm Pro. The new purchase is a CZ-75B in .40 S&W, which I'm REALLY thrilled about. However, NJ being NJ I'm waiting on permits to pick that one up.

Hello fellow NJ shooters! I'm a new-ish shooter (it's been about 6 weeks since I purchased my first firearm) and after weeks of kinda reading stuff here I figured it was time to join. See, I'm Cereza's husband, and it's getting to the point where it's not fair to keep making her ask my newbie questions for me. And oh, will there be questions, especially since I just bought my second gun! Looking forward to learning and, hopefully, contributing!