lunker

I had sent this to a member here, but figured I would make it a general distribution and see what the members thought. I was hoping to get some advice. Currently I reload exclusively for pistol but would like to branch out into rifle. I am somewhat familiar, as I have done it on friend's presses, but had not been involved in the case prep and preliminary setup (i.e. the important stuff). The only two calibers I would be loading for are 223 and 308 at the current time. It would be for an AR in 223, and a bolt action and a CMP Garand in 308. I would like to start acquiring what I need to do this. I have a Dillon 550B progressive press. I would imagine that as I start out I would be using it as a single stage though (i.e. running all my cases through one stage, then running them all through the next, etc) when loading for rifle. At least at first. An experienced reloader here recommended the WTF trimmer. I was considering one, but had a question about case length. I know the WTF trims based on a measurement from the shoulder. I could see this working well if you are using brass that all has the same headstamp, but i know there are length differences between different brands. This would mean that the overall length of the cases will vary after trimming, if the body length (from rim to shoulder) is different between pieces of brass. Is there a solution to this? Would I run them through a sizing die first? Are there any dies you recommend? Dillon pistol dies are pretty good for pistol, but i have found I needed a Lee Full Length Crimp die to get my ammo to fit in match barrels. The consensus on the internet is that their carbide rifle dies are really good. I have read that the RCBS X dies are decent at maintaining the length and longevity of brass. I have an 8lb jug of Varget, but I would rather deal with ball powder for metering in my Dillon. It doesn't handle flake or stick powder measurement as well as ball. My old 10mm loads with 800X powder had too much variation for me to feel comfortable shooting max loads. Does anyone have any good 223/308 ball powder recommendations? Lastly, I can't throw that much money at this yet with my wife due with our first child in early September. Otherwise I would look at a Giraud trimmer and a nice powder thrower, etc. Thanks in advance for your recommendations.

Thanks. I was waiting on AimSurplus for these.

I had the same sizing problem on my guns with tight chambers (on my Dillon 550B). I went to the Lee factory crimp die and that has taken care of the problem.

Are huskies OK in our sweltering NJ environment? I was thinking they were the perfect dog if you lived way up in Maine or Michigan.

Hey Nick, I missed the one day sale. I wanted the rifle safe. Can you post again if you see another sale on them? Thanks.

Sounds like I need to shoot these out of my 4" barrel revolver. The Rossi carbine has too much barrel. Next batch gets loaded a little hotter. My initial post mentioned blue dot. That's what I used in my magnum loads. I was using Trail Boss in the load that went wrong. Thanks for the advice Griz.

That is probably it. These were mousefart loads. Probably around 700fps.

The jacket made it to within 3 to 4 inches of the muzzle.

I was shooting my Rossi 92 357 lever gun in the Central Jersey pits yesterday with a few forum members. I was using Montana Gold 158 JHP bullets, CCI small magnum primers, and blue dot powder. One of the shots sounded muffled, but I saw the water bottle I aimed at explode. Taking the cautious approach, as suggested by me fellow shooters who heard the same thing, I ejected all the live rounds and looked through the barrel. There was an obstruction. I stuck my aluminum squib rob down the muzzle and look what popped out the breech. The bullet must have separated from the jacket. It ended up hitting its mark. I have never had this happen before. Montana Gold ammo is top quality stuff. And these bullets were from long before the Sandy Hook madness, so it's not a current quality control problem. Just a cautionary tale. I'm not sure what would've happened if I shot the next round.

The state police are the last folks I would call. If your uncle is a Jersey resident, it is OK. Period. If he files taxes or has a driver's license, you are good.

It is a nice feature, and it is a pain. I used dental floss to keep the tension on the the spring. Fed it through the bho hole, then snipped the floss when I was done.

I would graduate to pussycat 38 special target loads. Usually the revolver is big and heavy enough to soak up most recoil. It is also much easier to control fire with a heavy double action trigger than with a semi-auto.

On a beater, scratches/gouges = character

+1. The reason I sold my M9. Sent from my ADR6410LVW using Tapatalk 2

Try some poutine. It is the food of the gods. There is a casino just outside the city, on the Isle de Trois Soeurs.

See you guys there! I am bringing a few cases of clays, a foot activated thrower, and a few shotguns.

From what I understand, there is no universal standard mid-length gas port size. That might account for some of it. Also, PMC bronze is some slow ammo.

I think you are fine with the 14.5" upper, but I did want to mention one difference I found between 14.5" and 16" mid-length uppers. The 14.5 is somewhat less gassed than the 16" barrel. I had a Spikes 14.5" Mid-length upper on a Noveske lower and was hoping to use a rifle length spring, buffer, and buffer tube in my A1 stock. That setup had feeding/ejection issues with 55 grain PMC 223 ammo (worked better with 5.56). I bought the Spike's buffer spacer, a carbine length spring, and a carbine buffer (still used the rifle buffer tube) and it worked perfectly. I now have a 16" Daniel Defense rifle, and the rifle buffer spring/buffer setup works fine in it. I know they are different rifles, but don't be surprised if the 16" barrel behaves slightly differently (i.e. chucks brass further, etc) because it is able to scavenge more gas than the 14.5. This is one of the first articles that comes up in Google search. http://www.03designgroup.com/technotes/carbine-vs-mid-length-gas-system

Use a brass punch and drift the front sight a little to the left.

There is another thread about used Smith & Wesson Model 19's for sale for $350 at TopGunSupply. You could not go wrong with one. Awesome shooters.

Nothing feels better than a 4" k frame 357. $350 for a Model 19 4" barrel shooter isn't bad. I paid double that for a mint 19-3 snubbie.

For fun, a dedicated 22 is the way to go. Browning Buckmark (not the Buckmark Camper though, cheap plastic rear sight base) is my favorite. A conversion kit for your Beretta is good for training, but you don't need a permit for it.

Check with Shane at TJ Sporting Arms in South Toms River. By the way, you probably know this, but a flash hinder is perfectly legal on a bolt action rifle. Don't make the change if it's only for compliance reasons.

Is there a specific law written to thwart competing buybacks? Or is there something inherently restricting in our NJ firearms "privileges"? I am of course only referring to long arms.

The only reason to consider other bullets is if you intend that gun to be for home defense. Wad cutters are target loads, and have very different recoil characteristics than self defense loads. Practice with what you will use in "real life".