In today’s world, the cost of ammunition is astronomical compared to three years ago. I have mentioned this before, but I like to pick-up shell casings that people leave behind. Shell casings or brass is one of the four components of reloading and happens to be the single most expensive one.
The downside of range brass is that you really don’t know what you are getting. I have discovered that military brass has a primer crimp that removing adds an extra step. Imported ammunition also tends to have some variation as well. In this find, I have had at least three different casings that I have managed to pull the rim off of the shell holder causing a lot of extra work.
Once the case is stuck in the die, get ready because it is not coming out without some work. Step one is disassemble as much of the die as you can. Good luck because the parts are not separating without force. Then I have to drill out the base for a threaded tap. I tap a hole for a bolt. The bolt goes in against a stack of nuts and washers to eventually pull the stuck casing.
Even once the casing is out, there are still parts possibly stuck in the casing or the die. I have to split the casing to get those parts out or drive a punch through to get remaining parts out.
So much for free. I bent two decapping pins on trying to remove primers. Those are ten dollars a piece. You add all the extra effort for brass prep and it really seams like it is not worth the time and cost.
There may come a day when I do make that decision that it is not worth it. I am hoping that with enough experience that I can feel that something is going to happen before it actually does. Or maybe some day I will recognize headstamps that are more problematic than others. At this point, I recognize some of the ones that are working better and that is a start.
Fortunately, this is only a problem with one rifle caliber that I reload. Most hunting brass is shot on the rifle range and that is much tidier than the private bays of mostly pistol distances. Straight walled pistol cartridges are not a problem but the calibers that I shoot are no where near as common at this time.
End Your Programming Routine: I find reloading a really zen experience. It is part of the reason why I pick-up range brass because I hope that I can get enough to do another batch. That being said, I don’t like damaging or breaking parts and it certainly doesn’t help the bottom line argument. I will power through this batch and get better.
As a follow on to last week, I have been doing a reloading series using up all of my stored brass to make room for the actual components that I want to store and need to reload in the future like primers, bullets and powder. Also in this time of scarcity, then beggars cant be choosers so I have started to utilize websites to filter what might be in stock at certain stores.
What I have been doing is looking at a powder and filtering what is in stock. There were three Alliant rifle powders that said “On-Sale” for $19.99. I thought, what a deal, other brands were running $35-45 a pound. I thought to myself that I am going to get my limit of 1lb based on the price (this is partially why there is actually powder on the shelf).
When I arrived at the store, I went to the reloading section, found the powder shelf and it was there. But when I looked at the price, it was $50.99. There was no indicator of sale either. So, I grabbed it and went around looking for some help. The gun counter was swamped as usual and nobody was in sight. After about five minutes of standing around, I decided to just go to the register.
When I got to the register, I said to the cashier “before I buy this, I just want to verify that the price.” I explained what I saw online and what was on the shelf. They looked it up and called a manager. The manager said that they were going to honor the web price but that their cost was $30/lb. So, I was buying it at less than they were paying for it. If it weren’t for the 1 lb. limit, I would have been tempted to buy some more.
Somebody messed something up. My guess is that this was one of these changes that were applied programmatically and somebody didn’t check the output. Like I said, this price was applies on all powders of a certain brand. They went and pulled all the powders off the shelf right after my transaction. This event probably caused a somebody a long day with tech support.
Components are still hard to find. I only bought this powder because of the price. It actually was not my first choice. But, my first choice is not on the shelves. This will work. Actually, I did more research after buying it and have discovered that published loads are for the longer/heavier target bullets. So, while I got a deal on the powder, I am going to end up paying double for the bullets to use with it.
That’s OK because I am still in the experimental phase. To date, I haven’t shot more than a single, popular bullet weight. I have no idea if my rifle will be accurate, so this will be another data point using these target bullets. The price we pay for science…
End Your Programming Routine: When I saw the price, I didn’t believe that it was true. In fact, it really wasn’t. But because I suspected something was wrong and questioned it, I came out on the right side of the deal. I was prepared to put the powder back on the shelf but I didn’t end up having to, because I asked. If in the situation, you should too.
This is a tribute to the old ‘Tacticool’ Thursday with a new way of looking at things. I was thinking about some decisions I made years ago and how that actually faired through my testing of it. I don’t want to be too obtuse, so let’s just get into it.
When I got into reloading was about the time I started thinking heavily about preparedness. It also happened to coincide with the last big run up on firearms and ammunition. The decisions that I made during that period probably didn’t fair as well through this period and I am going to talk about what and why I have changed my thinking.
It occurred to me as I started writing that I probably need to stop trying to name generic periods of ammunition surplus versus shortage. It feels like it is more el nino versus la nina. It seems to be a cycle where we are more in drought than we are in normal years. For context and clarity, I will use specific years in my following assessment.
When Obama was elected in 2008 there was a run on firearms and ammunition. That lasted until late 2010 and then things were in surplus until Sandy Hook occurred in 2012. That period lasted until Trump was elected and then there was surplus from 2017 to the pandemic emergence in April 2020.
We are still in this cycle of disruption. For instance, certain calibers like 9mm are highly prevalent and affordable on the store shelves. But then there are other calibers such as .357 magnum that I have not seen in the store since 2020. It was for that reason that I wanted to start reloading. If I can’t buy it, I can make it.
My dad is a reloader so I have been saving cartridge cases my whole life. So, while I didn’t have the reloading equipment, I had all of my brass all the way from when I was a youth and knew that someday I would start doing it. I purchased my first set of equipment in 2012 so I started watching the component market. In every drought, primers are the first reloading component to disappear.
I decided to make sure that I had primers in surplus. In previous droughts, gun powder and bullets were available. As it turns out in this current shortage, primers are still absent on store shelves, some bullets are available and powder is very hit and miss. What this means is that while I can probably assemble some kind of formula that will go bang, it is highly likely that I cannot put together the exact components that I want.
In addition to this I also decided that I wanted to have some new brass in storage. This is the portion of the decision that I wonder the most about. Reloading is by it’s definition loading brass that has been fired. So, if I have fired it once, I should have most of it to reload. During my recent batch of range trips I made some brass (by shooting at targets) but didn’t have or couldn’t get powder and bullets.
What is the lesson here? I am not talking about specifically ammunition here. I am talking about holistic decisions. If I don’t have the components to load the entire cartridge then I really have nothing. In addition to that, I have stuff taking up space that I really don’t need and stuff I need that I don’t have.
Yesterday, I talked about having three drills. In fact, I have well more than three drills but I have three drills that are essentially the same. I don’t even really want three drills but I hope to save them and give them away to someone that might appreciate it. If we are hanging on to stuff for a potential purpose, I can understand. But, if we are hanging on to stuff because of a false premise, that is wrong.
Another false premise I had to change in the last five years were my college textbooks. I went to school in the emergence of the internet. Books were the only resource that we had and so I saved my subject specific textbooks in Chemistry. Five years ago, I realized that I haven’t been a chemist in 15 years but I still couldn’t part with them. My sunk cost fallacy was that was thousands of dollars worth of books that still had value. My problem was that there was no market value for them. Ultimately, I ended up dumping them in the recycling bin.
I can truthfully say that I hadn’t looked at the textbooks in 20 years and I haven’t even missed them in the five years since. Ten years ago, I went through purging of music, books and movies it was the same thing. I think sometimes we like the idea of having things more than actually using them. I have a whole box of miscellaneous cables that need to go, you get the point.
At least in America, I think that we are all used to having more than we need, including space. It is easier to give up space than to deal with our emotions and true need. I am sure that it is human nature to optimize the activities that are in our interest zone. I am simply encouraging you to evaluate stuff and the whole process for a happier and healthier future.
End Your Programming Routine: Just like Animal Farm, my story here is an allegory on an error made on a false premise. If I want to retire I need a plan, if I want to become a doctor I need a plan, if I want to shoot in an ammunition blackout, I need a plan. I am guilty of holding off on decisions many times, I live it. I also know that there is no one else to blame but myself for that habit. If and when you make a plan, you need to stop and evaluate whether you are on the right path or not.
Admittedly, it has been three weeks since I went to the range and got this data. On that day, the temperature was 87 degrees. It was the farewell to summer for sure because we are finally back to normal, Oregon weather. For the uninitiated, temperature is important when gathering range data because this is about measuring results of a chemical reaction.
The warmer the outdoor temperature, the more likely the reaction happens faster. This ultimately translates to velocity. This is what leads to the rabbit hole of reloading. It is possible to develop cold and warm weather loads. For today, I am going to ignore the fact that it was warm but I will keep the data point for some other day. I do have to say, my measurements were higher than I expected by quite a bit.
This is using a 158 grain jacketed hollow point by Speer and Alliant Power Pistol powder. The grid shows velocity by powder charge.
7.7gr
7.9gr
8.1gr
8.3gr
8.5gr
1
1424
1436
1435
1459
1432
2
1420
1419
1430
1437
1515
3
1407
1407
1422
1464
1458
4
1366
1460
1440
1455
1531
5
1375
1385
1428
1491
1472
6
1367
1395
1406
1474
1424
7
1419
1420
1457
1428
1430
8
1354
1368
1391
1448
1437
9
1346
1365
1427
1459
1474
10
1388
1473
1468
1429
1493
Mean
1387
1414
1431
1455
1467
3 Sigma
26
33
20
18
34
Energy
675
701
719
743
755
Now, that is some tight data. Everything did what it was supposed to do. I base that opinion on the standard deviation numbers. Surprisingly, published velocity is is only 1078 fps. My variations from this recipe include a Winchester Small Pistol Magnum primer instead of CCI 500. I also used a standard Speer jacketed hollow point instead of a Speer Gold Dot hollow point. This was also measured from a rifle with a 16″ barrel, not 10″. So, these are some variables that could possibly make a difference.
It could also be me or my equipment. I was organizing data over the last weekend and I noted in my reloading book that my electronic balance was reading 20% more than the mechanical balance. It is very possible that these are overcharged. I really need a third source to check my equipment. Nevertheless, I am much more pleased with this combination over the last one.
I will summarize last month’s findings here: same bullet, same primer, Universal powder. The published velocity for that load was 1100 fps. I used the same rifle. I would say that this one underperformed.
5.8gr
5.9gr
6.0gr
6.2gr
6.3gr
Mean
949
932
925
943
1055
Before we declare a winner, velocity is not the end all measurement. There is also accuracy. The truth is, I haven’t even bothered to test this yet. My rifle is not sighted in and I haven’t even tried at this point. But, where I go from here is that I repeat this test on the rifle range and try to shoot groups. I can ignore velocity because I have enough data to tell me that the change is very small between starting and ending. This is the process of developing a custom load for your firearm.
What I can say from this experiment is that I have some ‘low velocity’ bullets that are not supposed to exceed 875 fps and it looks like the Power Pistol powder is not a good choice for that bullet. But, Universal probably is. The low velocity bullets are softer and exceeding the recommended velocity will cause the lead to accumulate inside the barrel.
Don’t forget that measuring velocity from a pistol should be quite a bit less than a rifle. So, it is possible to have loads that are too fast in a rifle but fine in a handgun. Aren’t you glad you just buy ammunition and live in bliss?
End Your Programming Routine: In this time of ammunition shortage which is even worse for reloading components, I have heard some advice. We probably won’t get our choice of what we want, so we just need to work with what is available. I have no hesitation substituting primer brands or bullets as long as you heed the fundamentals.
Rolling around to another Thursday, today I am going to finish off the conversation that I started last week on the ballistics of my reloads for .357 magnum. This was my first trip to the range with my chronograph. Look at all the junk I have to take, I am thinking of getting a larger range bag since mine is chronically full.
Since I provided the raw data last week, I am going to skip entering it this week. But, below I am going to provide the calculations from that data. What I can tell from the data is that charge weight makes very little difference in velocity unless it is the highest charge,
I think that it is worth pointing out a couple of things. Given the choice of charges and based on this data, I would choose the smallest load of 5.8 grains just based on performance. This actually ignores one variable that I didn’t test and that is accuracy. It is possible that one of the four charges is more accurate than the other three. The truth is, that would be the true choice. So, I will have to test that in the future.
5.8gr
5.9gr
6.0gr
6.2gr
6.3gr
Velocity
949
932
925
943
1055
3 sigma
327
284
161
131
168
Energy
316
305
300
312
391
What I didn’t get was close to the published velocity. The data suggested that I should get 1050-1150 fps. It could be because I substituted components. I really don’t think so, but it is possible.
Now, theirs was measured on a 10″ barrel. However, I had a 16″ barrel and would expect to get similar to better velocity. To show what a difference barrel length makes, I also shot some factory .38 special on my range trip.
2″
16″
1
784
1031
2
751
1094
3
773
1131
4
788
1131
5
762
1154
6
783
1159
7
762
1143
8
778
1143
9
776
1113
Average
773
1122
3 sigma
35
117
Energy
172
363
What is the difference between .357 magnum and .38 special besides case length? It is pressure of cartridge during ignition 35,000 vs. 17,000 psi respectively. What I didn’t say with this data is the bullet is slightly lighter at 130 grains. Granted, this is a lighter bullet but the equalizer number is the energy.
Looking at the energy of 363 ft*lbs for .38 special versus 391 ft*lbs for .357 magnum I would deem this load as inadequate. Energy and velocity are not everything there is something to be said for accuracy as well. At least on the surface, I am definitely not getting the full potential of .357 magnum with this load combination.
If you remember a pound of powder is 7000 grains. And if I loaded 100 rounds averaging about 6 grains each for 600 grains I still have 90% of a pound left. It is good enough to make plinking rounds but given the choice, I would look for another powder.
End Your Programming Routine: I have done this exercise with several different powders and bullet weights. So, expect more of this in the future. Given our current state of reloading component shortages, it is unlikely that I am going to readily find a replacement to try any time soon. Of course, I am going to focus on what I currently have to get the most information on what I have on hand. I found the process enlightening, I hope that you did.
If you listened to my podcast on Monday, then you got a sneak preview to what I was going to talk about today. After all of these years, I am finally getting around to testing some of my reloads. I needed/wanted some validation data before I resumed doing any further reloading.
Now, I don’t know if you have been aware of what has been going on the last couple of years but in case you have been in a hole, reloading components are really hard to find. Fortunately for me, I loaded this ammunition in 2017. The challenging part is that replacing it is going to be challenging with the lack of components. Listening to Gun Talk the other day, I heard that some powders won’t even be made for another year. Good luck finding primers too. Fortunately, I have some of both.
What was my setup? Well, here is my source for my loads, the Hodgdon website.
My starting point is the second line, but I included the first line for comparison. I can’t possibly inform all the nuances of reloading today but you should know pushing a lead bullet too fast can cause barrel fouling. I interchange bullets sort of willy-nilly as long as we are talking about the same type bullet construction. My rule is as long as the weight is the same and it is copper jacketed, it should be safe to load with published data. If using lead bullets, make sure you are not using jacketed load data to start with until you have some idea of what you are doing.
Not everything is perfect. The cases I used were mixed head stamp instead of Winchester, the bullet I used was a Speer 158gr hollow point instead of a Hornady XTP (also a jacketed hollow point) but the powder was Hodgdon Universal and the primers were Winchester.
I have another secret, I also mix and match primer brands with starting point loads. This is not an endorsed reloading best practice. You can find tables ranking primer ignition and granted, I am not an expert but we are in a time when you have to work with what you can get. My best guess is that you might effect accuracy or not be able to duplicate published data but I really have my doubts that changing primer brands is actually dangerous.
The way I initially choose my starting point loads was to cross compare powders that work across multiple cartridges. I also look at multiple sources, availability and so on and pick a direction. I literally wrote down a list of powders that would work and went to the store to see what they had. Lest you think that you can buy this stuff online – you can. But it has to ship under a specific HazMat banner so it costs quite a bit more for small quantities. Purchasing local is almost always the best deal, but again this is a matter of getting it or not.
I load 100 cartridges at a time. So in this case, I loaded 20 – 5.8 grains, 20 – 5.9 grains, 20 – 6.0 grains, 20 – 6.2 grains and 20 – 6.3 grains. I fired all of them and measured the velocity. I am working on my 1000 round trigger job concept and my rifle is not even sighted in so I just shot for velocity measurement.
There are two other variables to consider. One is the barrel length. Mine was fired out of a Rossi 92, 16 inch barrel. In theory, this should give the highest possible velocity compared to a shorter barrel. You can see the published load used a ten inch barrel. The other is the outside temperature. This day was a smoky 80 degrees. In theory, the warmer the outside temperature, the more velocity you are going to get. It has to do with the theory of reaction, gas/pressure etc. You don’t want any more science today.
Without further adieu, here is the raw data.
Since I have given you all of the tools to calculate the results, you can go ahead of me if you like. I am going to save the analysis for next week and I will let you in on a secret, I am withholding some information that will be helpful on my overall prognosis. Nevertheless, what is presented is the basic starting point looking at the data.
You did listen to my podcast on Monday didn’t you? You will see that I have some values highlighted in red Those to me are the outliers. You will also notice that I have some blanks, those were the results of missing the chronograph. Since you listened, you know my theory and how I am going to handle them next week. I will give you this week to catch up and listen to the podcast.
End Your Programming Routine: This is the culmination of years of kind of stumbling around in the dark. My next planned range trip I have a very similar exercise planned with a different powder. As a scientist, I can only make educated decisions with data. I don’t know how far I can actually take this given today’s shortages but I will probably have enough data to decide to keep looking at components or work on dialing the current ones in.
The other day, I was in a local store and I saw more ammunition on the shelves than I have seen in almost two years. I won’t say that the problem is over by any means but it got me curious about some other locations and specifically components.
Last night, I had the occasion to go to the larger nearby city for some specific lightbulbs I couldn’t buy locally. I thought that I would stop in to Sportsman’s Warehouse to see if that matched my local experience. Again, they had some ammunition, pretty much what they have had recently 9mm, 40 S&W, 7.62×51, 6.5 Creedmoor and 12 gauge goose and duck loads. I did see a few boxes of 38 special, 22WMR, 44 special, 223 and 5.56 and that was new.
This post isn’t another inventory report on who has what, where. As I said in the first paragraph, I was looking for components not just ammunition. And the good news it seems like you can buy bulk (handgun) bullets but still not powder and primers. I have talked about my position before but I thought that I would hone in on my specific situation to give perspective.
Reloading became popular in the 1960’s. It was a way to get much better performance or specific results out of a firearm. So for instance, if you buy 45 Colt factory ammunition, it is loaded for maximum pressures not to exceed what could still be fired in an Colt 1873 Army revolver. The new Ruger Blackhawk can handle pressures up to the SAAMI limit (not the 45 Colt limit) which is three times that amount specified for the cartridge. Hence, you get the +P designation that you will see on a box of ammunition.
Still using that example, the 1873 originally used softer lead bullets. There is a phenomenon causes lead to foul the barrel if travelling too fast. This is why using a copper jacketed bullet is preferable if loading to higher pressures. Since the 45 Colt uses the same bullet diameter as the 454 Casull and the 460 Smith and Wesson there are a lot of selections of construction and weight to choose from (if you reload).
If you already own a 45 Colt, then you might already know all of this including loads safe to shoot in an 1873 are marked ‘Cowboy’ meaning lower velocity and soft lead bullets. Specifically, there is a specification for the pressure and construction that will prevent you from harming yourself if you are shooting something 150 years old. Confused yet?
I reload because I enjoy it. I also reload from the preparedness aspect. This time, I was unprepared in a way. From the last ammo shortage (2012-2016) I learned that primers were unavailable for years, I got those. Bullets are now somewhat available (and I have some). Powder is still scarce. So while I have a little, I don’t really have enough to load the primers I have.
The idea with reloading is that you find the right powder, primer, bullet combination that makes your firearm perform at its best. Where I am in the journey is that I have loaded some but haven’t done a whole lot of testing. Therefore, I held off on really having the stuff on hand to weather an ammunition shortage like I had planned. Now that we are here, I don’t have the options or the knowledge that I would like.
I suppose the industrious ones bought whatever they could find. I have seen a lot of trade requests for powder and primers happening over the year. In fact, a number of my bottles I haven’t yet opened because I just don’t do that much rifle shooting and I have been waiting to build up enough brass to run a batch for testing purposes. The powder on the left were what I wanted to try first.
End Your Programming Routine: So, that is my interest in components. Before all of this hit, I was building a starting point inventory and didn’t quite get there. Now all of that has been on hold for several years with no end in sight. Just because one powder can work in two cartridges doesn’t mean that it is optimal either. The only way to get there with the knowledge is to do it. With that, I hope it clears up soon.
From what I have seen on TV, the time when the weather shifts in Alaska from below freezing to mostly above freezing is called ‘Breakup’. The ice in the rivers that have been frozen over start to break up. Icebergs can end up floating down the river and damage equipment and structures. It seems like a time that is tumultuous and semi hazardous and there are a lot of unknowns.
We are in the breakup period of pandemic buying of guns and ammunition. I am speaking mostly about ammunition and components to reload in this context. There is some availability and the prices have started to stabilize a little bit. It really depends on what it is you are looking for. What I have seen is the auto pistol calibers 9mm, 40 S&W and 45acp and not really the revolver cartridges 38/357, 44, 45. And if you are looking for anything obscure…good luck.
I was able to buy 45 Colt brass and and bullets a couple of weeks ago. I do already have some primers and powder, so I have enough to load a batch. I slowed my roll on reloading about two years ago, it did coincide some with the pandemic but also my economic status and the activities I was engaged with (remodeling). By the time I had time and money to shoot, There wasn’t anything to replace what I was shooting so I tempered a bit.
The real reason that I stopped reloading was really that I didn’t have enough data to continue to reload. Meaning, I have done a lot of planning (and reloading) but really haven’t shot much to speak of. So I didn’t want to keep going without getting some feedback on how I was doing. Can you imagine loading 1000 rounds of really poor shooting ammunition? It would be a waste of a lot of time and money.
Every load is kind of a controlled experiment. By changing one variable, the entire load must be tested again for optimum performance. In some cases, substituting one component for another is not a direct replacement. Take a look at the picture above. The lead bullets are the same weight as the jacketed ones. Lead versus jacketed bullets perform differently. One of the advantages of jacketed bullets is that they can travel at higher velocity because Lead can coat the inside of the barrel if the bullet is pushed too fast.
Another item to consider is that bullets of the same weight and density (and diameter) should be roughly the same length. However a heavier bullet will almost always be longer. A longer bullet is seated more deeply inside of the case so that when the powder ignites, there is less overall volume and therefore the bullet exits with higher pressure. All this is to say that bullets cannot just be willy nilly substituted from the load data.
If you are knowledgeable about reloading then this is all old hat. 45 Colt was first introduced in 1872 and this was in the black powder era which is why the case is so tall. There are still firearms around from that period and overly high pressure can actually blow up that firearm. So, you need to know what you are loading for and the boundaries for what you are shooting.
The same can be said for primers and powder, etc. Above is some guidance that I have used to load 250 grain loads. In this case, I have 200 grain bullets now. I think that the best way to proceed and learn something is to use the same powder and primer and only change the bullet weight. Looking at the 250 grain load guidance, you can see that the starting powder charge is 5.0 grains and can be loaded up to 6.2 grains of powder. When you look at the 200 grain ranges, the powder goes from 6.4 – 7.7 grains.
I don’t know what the ‘leading’ threshold is for velocity and pressure issues. I am presuming that Hodgdon has done the research and and would be conservative in their recommendations. I will probably load some through the spectrum of powder weights to see if I can determine any differences.
End Your Programming Routine: Don’t be scared, this is relatively safe and fun if you are diligent and follow good practice. I like the idea that I can make my own custom loads and especially save some money at the same time. I also like the idea that I can makeup what I need based on the application that I am using i.e. hunting vs plinking vs bear defense. I have been guarding my stash of ammo and components watching how this whole ‘breakup’ unfolds. But it does seem like spring is here.
I finally made it to the range last weekend. It was the first time since August and I had some goals that I wanted to accomplish. For one, I have had a rifle that I have owned since 2016 and have only test fired, not sighted in. I also made changes to some of the parts and I didn’t really know if those changes effected the function or not. This trip was planned for April of last year before the pandemic closed the range so I have been looking forward to this for quite a while.
One of the problems for a reloader with a semi-automatic rifle is that spent brass is flung out of the rifle as it is fired. In the past, I have been able to find most of the brass, but sometimes it is muddy or you step on them as they are fired which is less than ideal. Fortunately in the AR platform, Caldwell has a solution for this. This range trip was also a first for this gadget as well.
I have to say that it worked pretty well. I didn’t get close to the 100 rounds before it was full. I would say that by about twenty or so, the weight was heavy enough to pull it out of place but it is pretty easy to unzip the bottom and empty it. I could have made some effort to make sure that the device was mounted more securely but I was mostly shooting off of a bench and working on sighting in so I rolled with it.
One downside I would say is that the brass catcher interfered with visibility of the action. I cant say for sure that it actually interfered with the function but I did have a few issues.
On two out of three magazines, I had issues with initial charging. That very easily could have been the magazine. I have heard that people typically load 28 instead of 30. Again, this is the second time I have shot this and I haven’t even tried all the different magazines I own. I did experience one failure to eject. At this point, I am going to attribute that to the brass catcher. I suspect that it can interfere with the flight path of the empty casing.
In the following years to come, I will pay more attention to all of these variables. The goal of this trip was to function fire all of the changes and get the sight reasonable at 100 yards. A firearm that is not sighted in is really not useful beyond point blank range. Plus, with the ammo shortage, the cost is astronomical at this point so I am going to put off more heavy shooting until things calm down a bit on the market.
My plans for the next range trip is to spend some time on shotgun slugs and sights. I have some new sights that I want to get sighted in and I figured that zeroing on a slug would be the best way even though I would primarily plan to use buckshot with it. After all, a shotgun is most advantageous with shot because I have better rifles.
Even though I have the shotgun interlude planned for next month, my goal this year is to get my Rossi 92 tuned up. It needs sighting in as well as it shot 10 inches to the right at fifty yards. I didn’t have a punch to make the necessary adjustments as this was the first time I have shot it beyond 25 yards. I need to spend some time deburring sharp edges and probably will spend some time smoothing the action as well. Those will be iterative efforts. Both this one and the AR were supposed to be more plinking toys with inexpensive ammo. So much for that.
Another Thursday has rolled around, seems like we were just here. I have little to report as of the last week, I have spent most of my time adjusting to my new schedule. I am trying to target better bedtimes for appropriate rest. This is one of the things that I have identified as a success criteria this time.
I know that I was in a state of chronic fatigue. It definitely took some time, I would say probably a month to six weeks to begin to feel rested again. That is not typically a luxury that a working person has, taking a month off to recover. It definitely plays a role in what I am going to accomplish moving forward as well. Night time has overflow capacity to spill what you are working on into time that you should be getting ready for bed.
Maybe sleep patterns are ‘Tacticool’ to some, but they don’t fit my definition. This week, I have been advising my dad on some reloading tips. He is a reloader from way back. Reloading goes along with frugality, hunting and the rural lifestyle so it seems to fit the bill as something I was exposed to as a youngster. I should say too, we weren’t big shooters growing up, needless to say that we didn’t do it often.
That is why when I shot some of the loads he made up thirty years ago, I had some issues. I had bullets that weren’t well seated and cartridges that didn’t chamber to name a few issues. I mentioned it a few years ago and now that he wants to load some rifle cartridges, he was asking my opinion about what was wrong. Reloading is not difficult but does benefit from a meticulous approach. I would also say that it does require a minimum level of equipment to get started. Even the various starter kits don’t provide everything necessary to get started.
Take calipers for example. While not strictly necessary, case length and overall cartridge length are critical measurements to properly chamber a round. No kit that I know of contains calipers. And what if the case length is too long, how do you correct that? Brass has to be trimmed. My dad does not have a trimmer (good luck finding anything these days) so I loaned him mine.
Reloading is an entire hobby unto itself. Some obsolete cartridge brass can be manufactured out of others. You can get into bullet casting from lead. Then there is what load/bullet perform best for your firearm. Wildcatting is making your own cartridges.
Even if you have zero interest in reloading, having a manual can be useful. I have several and I also use online manufacturers sources as well. There is always cartridge information, specifications and loads showing what is popular and potentially available. These days, the internet can do many of these things but I think that it is helpful when developing a load to cross check multiple sources because errors can have serious consequences. It should also be noted that there is a warning to only use current, professionally published data is recommended. Just because you can do something doesn’t mean that you should.
I also keep a log book of my loads because each firearm potentially performs best with a different load combination. I am not at the point where I can say that I have mastered all of those variables for each firearm so I keep track and make notes after shooting. The thought is that at some point I will aggregate all of the data points and refine my loads to the best performing suggestions.
Everyone in the firearms community by this point knows that everything is in scarcity and reloading components and tools are no exception. So, unless you have been collecting all of the materials pre-pandemic this is not a time that you will likely get started. I would say that I had all of the tools for four years before I made my first cartridge.
My long term strategy was to 1) set a minimum factory ammunition goal 2) shoot enough factory ammunition to build a brass cache for reloading 3) build enough reloaded ammunition to maintain a sufficient inventory (for times like these) and then 4) build enough components stock to weather a long term outage. You will probably never have everything that you want, but I would say that I have some. I think that I talked about the last shortage being only primers which I do have plenty for now but not bullets or powder for experimenting.
If you think that you might want to get into it at some point, save your brass, buy a manual and build a workspace. Secondhand reloading equipment is good value as well if you can find it. Maybe you know someone that does it and can teach you or help you or share equipment.
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