should I buy a p226 tacops????

Forum Rules Firearms Safety Firearms Photos Links Library Lost Password Email Changes Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.

View the original article here

Should I care series 70 or series 80 1911?

I had a Colt 1911 Series 80. When I discovered it wasn't true to what I used in the service I decided I didn't like it and sold the gun. This was years ago so the remorse is mostly passed but as I look toward my next 1911 I'm trying to decide if I really even care between Series 70 and Series 80.

Many good 1911 names, I've discovered recently, manufacture only or mostly series 80 guns. In particular, I was looking at some of the Sig 1911s that I understand are Series 80. Many of the high-end Colts are still Series 80.

Reading comparisons between the two models by some top gunsmiths, it seems that the Series 80 is the safer of the two and, except maybe for very serious target or competition shooting where you want really light triggers, there's nothing to lose with a Series 80.

So, I guess I'm looking for reasons I might regret buying this Sig from Buds. I'd rather know before I buy rather than after.

Any other feedback on Sig 1911s would be appreciated as well.

View the original article here

gonna buy my first press kit what should I get

Welcome to the forum and to reloading. Thanks for asking our advice.

Aside from eye protection and manuals, you only need three things (physically) to load good ammo. (Of course, you would be severely limited in some ways, but capable of producing one round at a time, but safely.)

Press because fingers are not strong enough to form metal
Dies because fingers are not accurate enough to form metal to SAAMI specs
Scale (or calibrated dippers) because eyeballs are not accurate enough to measure out gunpowder.

A set of calipers would be a good idea, too, just to verify dimensions.

Everything else can be done without, substituted for or improvised until you can afford to buy good, quality gear.

But it is more efficient and cost effective to get equipment that fits your needs now and for the near/foreseeable future.

We could target our advice better if you shared some information about yourself: (What I use has no relevance to you if our needs are not similar.)

What calibers will you be reloading?

What quantities will you be reloading for those calibers? (Per month)

How much time will you be willing to devote to those quantities?

How large of production runs before swapping calibers?

What is your budget for the initial purchase?

Will you want to get your entire setup at once or, after an initial setup that does all you need, add accessories and conveniences as your experience suggests and finances permit?

Will you be putting your gear away after each session or leave it set up permanently?

How much space will you devote permanently to a loading area, if any?

Do you want it to be portable?

What are your shooting goals? Cheap ammo? Ultimate long-range accuracy? Casual plinking, Serious competition - what kind? Cowboy Action Shooting? Strictly hunting? Personal defense? Skills development?

Lost Sheep

View the original article here

Should I or should I not?

I can't even begin to start a list of the guns I've traded for other guns. Me too.

Unless youre very well off, its really the only way to get to play with as much as you can, when the urge hits (Im OCD when it comes to guns and urges ).

If you "really" like and have to have the Rhino, then keep it and start saving. If the Rhino is no longer floating your boat, throw it overboard and move on.

Just a suggestion here if you do decide to get rid of it. Dont trade it, youll just take a beating. Sell it on consignment, youll make out a lot better.

__________________
“The enemy is anybody who's going to get you killed, no matter which side he is on.”
? Joseph Heller, Catch-22

Zeitgeist - The movie

View the original article here

How much of the action should I bed?

Yesterday, 10:03 AM How much of the action should I bed? So I'm getting ready to glass bed the action on my Remington 700 CDL. I've been doing my research and there seem to be conflicting opinions on how much of the action to glass bed.

Do I....

1) bed the front of the action around the recoil lug and extend it out to the end of the barrel (with tape to get a .020" float) like the midway tutorial on youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMsxHL3nIZQ

2) bed just around the recoil lug to 2ish" in front, and just float the barrel

3) do the same as 2, but also bed the tang (like this: http://www.rdprecision.net/diy2.html)

4) do I bed the whole action, leaving the tang untouched for alignment (like the 6mm BR tutorial at http://www.6mmbr.com/pillarbedding.html)

or
5) what is your method?

I am sure all of the above are valid methods, but 1, 2 or 3 would certainly make things easier, and I'm not trying to make more headache for myself than I have to. Of note, I don't think I need to pillar bed my stock from what I have read, but I'm open to any advice.

__________________
"All right, they're on our left, they're on our right, they're in front of us, they're behind us.... they can't get away this time"
Lt. Gen. Lewis B Puller USMC Last edited by marineman; Yesterday at 10:06 AM. Yesterday, 01:06 PM ~ Rear of recoil lug, rear only.
~ 1?", +/-, of barrel forward of lug.
~ Around both stock screws, top and bottom.
~ Rear tang.
~ Bottom of front receiver ring.

When the job is finished;
~ The stock should be very loose.
~ No metal touching anything but bedding.
~ The mag box should be loose.

Additional;
~ Freefloat first. I use layers of 10mil pipe tape.
~ "Glass" needs to be below centerline of receiver when finished.
~ If not using pillars then leave some wood so that the action can "bottom out" when screws tightened. Remove this wood later.
~ Take your time tightening action screws, give the bedding material time to ooze. It may take 5-10-15 minutes to tighten.
~ Some release agents are too thick for precision work. I use Johnson Paste Wax.
~ Double check, then triple check, everything before actually mixing the bedding material. Make sure you have the tools, cleanup and work space are ready and close at hand. Give yourself plenty of time.

Last edited by Mainspring; Yesterday at 03:07 PM. Yesterday, 03:32 PM Thanks a ton all! I really appreciate the tips, I'm ordering acraglass, is there anything better I should consider?

Also, Mainspring, that sounds like a very reasonable approach... I basically "float" the receiver except around where the loads are. I hadn't thought of doing the bottom as well, but that does make sense.

Two questions from that: If I put a release agent around the stock screws, will that keep the threads from getting bunged up or do I need to do something more? Also, you said free float first prior to doing the bedding... that makes sens, but how much float do you recommend? I had heard .020....

I guess I'll have to do this in three parts, float the barrel, bed the receiver, and then bed the areas where the stock screws enter (which is the trigger guard and magazine cover).

__________________
"All right, they're on our left, they're on our right, they're in front of us, they're behind us.... they can't get away this time"
Lt. Gen. Lewis B Puller USMC Last edited by marineman; Yesterday at 03:59 PM. Yesterday, 03:47 PM In the past, I've always bedded the whole action, front to back and sides. I "ALWAYS" pillar post bed and I bed the bottom metal also, with the pillar post locking the top and bottom together.

There is an enormous amount of work involved in the way I bed mine but it has always been very effective for me and is not something I would recommend for a first or even a second time of bedding one.

My next one I'm going to try something different that won't be near the amount on inletting. Instead of doing the whole action, I'm going to bed the front and rear and leave the center free floating. However, it will still be pillar post bedded. For max results, I even recommend swapping the factory aluminum bottom out for steel.

Under stand, to do it right, it's a hellavalot more involved than just putting a little epoxy in there. Trust me, I've done bunches and just had one kicking my butt because I didn't get it perfect. A bad bedding job can make a rifle do all kinds of that screws up accuracy.

I also do something a little different for the placement of the action. I remove that pressure point at the front, then I put a small amount of epoxy three or four inches up the barrel from the recoil lug and tighten the action down to let that dry. This will keep the front of the action in the proper position. Some wrap tap around the barrel until it’s making contact with the stock but I prefer the dab of epoxy. Then I’m sure it’s right. I DO NOT inlet the barrel channel (unless I've installed reinforcing rods or bedding the barrel also) until after I’ve bedded the action. I will make sure the first couple of inches have approx 1/8” clearance for epoxy. Then I inlet the stock 1/8” for the action, leaving about 1/8” of the stock under the rear tang to keep the rear of the action at the proper height.

Another problem you will run into with those small fore ends on their walnut stock usually need to be reinforced. This is accomplished by cutting channels in the fore end and bedding reinforcing rods in it. If you don’t reinforce it, you need to remove plenty off wood so if for sure will not touch the barrel at any time. Not real pretty on a nice stock.

Understand also, a good bedding job will show no signs of being bedded when the barreled action is in the stock. Very important on a nice stock, most of mine are old, rough looking stocks so I don’t mind the epoxy showing a thin line around the action.
Be sure you put several layers of electrical tape on bottom, sides and front of recoil lug and remove it after the bedding is cured. If you don’t, it makes getting the action in and out of the stock extremely hard. Don’t forget to remove the spot of epoxy placed in the barrel channel

Plumbers putty and Johnson Paste Wax are your two best friends when bedding an action.

I’ve also tried one with the aluminum V-Block, the jury is still out on that, but so far, I don’t see where it’s any better, or even as good and my bedding, and cost a heck of a lot more. Plus, it’s even more work.

This is the 223 I just did. It doesn't show but the barrel channel looks like it's bedded also because of the reinforcing rods in it, but it's free floated. I use two layers of heat shrink on the barrel to free float it when I have to install reinforcement rods.
Enough wood was removed to make the whole epoxy bed 1/8" thick, but tappers into the wood at the very edge so it doesn't show beside the action.

Last edited by BKeith; Yesterday at 06:43 PM. Yesterday, 03:59 PM Originally Posted by marineman Also, Mainspring, that sounds like a very reasonable approach... I basically "float" the receiver except around where the loads are. I hadn't thought of doing the bottom as well, but that does make sense.Floating would be an appropriate description. As the bedding material oozes around everything, some will get to where you don't want it in the final product.

After the bedding material had hardened, I then go back and spend a considerable amount of time removing material from where I don't want contact.

Originally Posted by marineman Two questions from that: If I put a release agent around the stock screws, will that keep the threads from getting bunged up or do I need to do something more? Also, you said free float first prior to doing the bedding... that makes sens, but how much float do you recommend? I had heard .020....Don't be stingy with the release agent on the screws and the receiver threads. I drill out the holes in the stock before bedding, then add some bedding material to the hole. When finished, those holes need drilled out so that the screws don't touch the stock.

How much to float is always a variable. On a target rifle with a synthetic stock, who cares, as long as it doesn't touch. On a wood stock, that has the ability to warp, you still want the rifle to look nice while still being floated. I use two layers of the 10 mil tape, but I'm also willing to come back later and remove more wood if the need arises.

After you have floated the barrel, and just prior to dropping the action into the stock for bedding, wipe some bedding material on any bare wood to seal against moisture.

Today, 03:17 AM Might I suggest not trying to do it like the picture in my post. There is a lot more to that bedding than meets the eye.

For the front, do from the recoil lug to the magazine opening and only go up approx 1/2 way between the bolt hole and the top of the receiver on both sides. Take that slot approx 1 1/2 inches in front of the recoil lug up the barrel.

For the rear, leave just enough wood on the very back for the action to sit and and support it, to maintain proper height. You can't fill in any of those slots in the stock because they are for the safety and bolt release. Get epoxy in them and you will have to grind it out.

Use plumbers putting to fill all the recesses in the stock you don't want epoxy.

Take the trigger out of the rifle and use the plumbers putty to fill in all the machined slots and holes in it so expoxy can't get in them.

Rub EVERYTHING down with Johnson's Paste Wax you don't want epoxy to stick to, and I mean everything, even inside the bolt channel.

Use vinegar to clean off any exess and "oh craps". Get plenty of Q-tips.

I use Scotch Electric Tape to hold mine together while it's curing, many wraps pulled nice and tight on each one.

All times are GMT -8. The time now is 07:54 AM.

View the original article here

What Life Should be Like - The Laramie County Shooting Sports Complex

We just got back from Cheyenne where we went as a vendor to the Wyoming Sportsman's Gun Show.
While there we had the opportunity to visit the adjacent Laramie County Shooting Sports Complex and meet with Keith Tast, the facility manager. All I can say is - if only we had such a well run well equipped facility !!!
It was built within the past 2 years. State of the art 14 lane indoor range - indoor archery and air pistol - outdoor range which they're building out to include skeet and trap - fantastic staff - Volunteer Instructors willing and eager to help new shooters - Full class schedule including Hunter Safety and Concealed Carry - it's just plain awesome! The NRA has provided grant money to the facility - they offer NRA programs and have volunteer NRA certified instructors

It about brought tears to my eyes. In Metro Denver gun owners are being made to feel like pariahs at best, it was such a moving experience to see a municipal facility dedicated to shooting sports education, training and enjoyment.

This is a shining example not just of an excellent county government, but also of just what the NRA can do for a willing community in terms of grant money and program support.

Congratulations to all involved!

View the original article here

New here... what should I do?

Boolit Mold Join DateJun 2013LocationValhalla (georgia)Posts2

Hey guys, I've been devoting myself to reloading this year and I feel that I've gotten a safe handle on my "go to loads". All my work has been for my .357 mag revolver.

I've mostly been using Lee equipment so I'd like to stay in that area. I've got about 1200 158gr lead cast bullets from my LGS. They are **** in my opinion. They are cast so hard that I have yet to find one that has deformed after it hit my backstop nor is there any evidence that they engage the rifling in my 4 inch barrel.

All my xtp bullets and other factory jacketed bullets are on-spot, accurate and hit the target and expand.

As I understand, a good cast bullet should be just as accurate as the jacketed bullets, healthier on the barrel, and be able to perform at high velocities with the proper BHN, gas check and lube.

Is there any problem with me melting these crappy bullets down and making a good 158gr LSWC? I feel like I'm spinning my wheels with my current loads.

If so, does the lube need to be removed from each bullet first?

I've got about 70lbs of pure lead ww and 30lbs of pure lead ingots... please advice, thanks. Animal out!

Melt them down, or sell them to someone with a tighter barrel. The lube will float or float and burn off. Be prepared for a flame.

First though, slug your barrel. Find out what the actual size is.
Then you can start working on casting slightly larger boolits.

As for high velocity performance, define high velocity.

Boolit Mold Join DateMay 2013LocationmichiganPosts14

Throw them in the pot and stand upwind until it quits smokin' .
But the best part about a hard cast bullet is penetration. If the bullet isnt leading in the barrel, and the load is accurate, why worry about expansion?

Welcome to the forum. If they are not engaging the rifling, you got a problem. Are they accurate at your shooting distances? Are they leading your barrel?

If they are not accurate and you are experiencing lead, melt 'em down. If you are satisfied with accuracy and have no leading, you got a choice to make. I presume by now you've done some checking on the forum to see enough about alloys and relative hardness as applies to accuracy and leading to know what works for a lot of us.

I have some hard-cast commercial boolits, but I almost never use them. They sit in a couple of boxes waiting for that day....... It'll come some day. Probably when some guy wants to be me which causes more lead deposits: undersize and hard or correct size and somewhat softer......

It is hard to get a man to understand something when his salary depends on his not understanding it.

Is there any problem with me melting these crappy bullets down and making a good 158gr LSWC? No, sounds like you've got plenty of pure lead to soften 'em up with. If so, does the lube need to be removed from each bullet first? No, I'm with Zymurgy50 - "Throw them in the pot and stand upwind until it quits smokin" If the bullet isnt leading in the barrel, and the load is accurate, why worry about expansion? Hunting? Besides, isn't that one of the main benefits of casting your own? You decide what aspects are most important to you and build it to your specifications.

2 things to remember.....never, ever, bash Lee products (they are a sponsor), never, ever, ask why it takes a year or more to get anything.

they got mad and pulled their sponsor thingy for a week a while back when they got told their products needed improvement.
guess how long it was until they come out with an improved product and was told it was much improved.
we ain't here to accept whatever is sold, we go elsewhere or fix it and talk about it.

it's all an educated guess,,,, till the trigger is pulled.

the more i find out about shootin boolits, the more it contradicts everything i ever learned about shooting jaxketed.

nor is there any evidence that they engage the rifling in my 4 inch barrel.

I don't care how hard a cast bullet is, if it is groove dia. or larger, you'll see rifling marks on it when it is fired.

Have you checked the dia. of one of these bullets that has been fired ,but has no rifling marks on it ?

Bashing is one thing, respectfully speaking the truth is quite another.

We may also find ourselves in a position to compliment Lee on one of their products. Don't be shy, go right on ahead and compliment. Many of us have on occasion, done just that. Mike

I saw Elvis at 1000 feet. John Force

Boolit Mold Join DateJun 2013LocationValhalla (georgia)Posts2

Since Mr. Lee is a sponsor of the forum... I'd like to say that I've enjoyed learning with his equipment and literature...

Now, the main thing that I wanted to know is if it was okay for me to go ahead and melt these bullets as is. I know how to make ingots, I just don't know much else at this point. I'll have to do some research before I pick up a mold and start cooking bullets.

But to answer a few questions...

The velocities I'd like to achieve are 1300 and up. When the SHTF, I will run out of jacketed stuff at some point.
Barrel is leading even with 4.5gr of Hodgdon Clays and Fed 100 primer.
No evidence of rifling on fired bullets.
No expansion on impact--not a problem for range time, but I'd like my lead to expand in the case that I need them for defense.

I'm a better shot with a traditional recurve bow than I have been with these cast bullets.

My pal and I bought a bunch of boolits from a weird guy at the gun show. I asked the alloy and he said "hard". I ask what specifically was in the alloy and he said "hard". I asked how much, he said "CHEAP".

They leaded no matter what gun we tried them in. We TL them to no avail. Mixed with pure lead 50/50 and my lube they were still kinda hard but shot well.

Most of us here size our revolver boolits just large enough to need a bit of force to push a nekid boolit through and empty cylinder MOUTH.

I just light the smoke with a match and let it burn.
J

"The .30-06 is never a mistake." Townsend Whelen
"It's what we think we know already that often prevents us from learning."
French physiologist Claude Bernard

We may also find ourselves in a position to compliment Lee on one of their products. Don't be shy, go right on ahead and compliment. Many of us have on occasion, done just that. MikeI have nothing positive to say about that.

It's no problem to develop a .357 Magnum, non-leading, 1300 fps load without a gas check.

As mentioned, slug the barrel and all the cylinder throats. Any of Lyman's Cast Bullet Handbook's will have many loads from which to choose.

My high velocity load runs to 1400 fps, using a non-gas checked Lee 358-158 RF. Experimentation and patience is all it takes.

.

1.I would slug the barrel first and see what it is. There are threads about how to do that. Buy an appropriate sized sizing die.
2.When melting down the slugs don't use your casting pot. It will gum it up. Use an old stainless steel pan or a cast iron one.
3.I would add 3 to 1, pure lead to the hard slugs. Pistol boolits don't need to be very hard. Fit is king.
4. Return and report so we know how it turned out.

Animal

Check out the stickies in this subforum. Top 10 cast boolit tips and some tips that may help are good starts. There is so much information here that the NRA should be donating to castboolits.com (all respect due intended).

Try a forum search: 357 magnum 158 swc

See all the success. If ive learned anything here (and its been a lot more than that), you are better off controlling your own variables with lead alloy cast.

Good shooting, fun, and accurate to ya

You may not post new threadsYou may not post repliesYou may not post attachmentsYou may not edit your postsForum Rules

Abbreviations used in Reloading
Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt"

View the original article here

What are the essential reloading supplys that a small gun store should carry?

I am new to the forum, casting and reloading. My first reloader and manual is to be hopefully delivered today. But the question I posed came from a conversation I had with my brother-in-law this morning at his recently opened (6-8 mo ago) small town gun/boot store. I stopped by for a minute at his store and asked about business. I asked what was selling well and what was just taking up realestate. He was able to identify several displays of items that had not done much. I talked with him about my new hobby and asked if he'd considered selling reloading supplys. He indicated that he'd had a number of requests for reloading supplys and wouldn't mind carrying some if he knew what to carry. He shared with me that a customer had come in looking for a specific powder and asked him to special order a pound of it for him. He did and the powder + shipping was close to $50..... the customer did not prepay and um, has not yet come to pick up his powder. We also talked about how if he was ordering bulk he could spread that hazmat cost over several items and still be very competitive with online dealers maybe.

Locally our biggest game is the white tail deer and wild hogs (usually 150-300lbs). Most common calibers I see around camp are 30-06, 270, 30-30. ARs have become very popular over the past few years for target shooting but I've not seen one in deer camp. Most common shotgun is the 12 ga for rabbit, squirrel, duck. Most common pistol calibers I see are : 9mm, 45 auto, 357 mag, 38 special, 40 cal probably in that order. I of course see tons of 22lr in pistols/rifles, the odd 32 auto to 45 long colt plinker, the 243 to 444 deer hunter, 7.62x39 to 308 hog hunter and 20/16/410 squirrel hunter but I would estimate that the above mentioned bolded cal/ga represent 80+ % of what I actually see people shoot in East Texas.

So, what would you see as the essentials for reloading supplys? What dies for what calibers. What powders for the most common loads. What primers for the most common usages. What molds, ladles, brass, reloader kits, manuals would have the broadest appeal. So, what would you put in a 12' wide x 8' tall retail space? What might bring the best bang for his investment, what would turn over most often?

1. Pistol powder (brand, name, applications)

2. Rifle powder (brand, name, applications)

3. Pistol primers (brand, name, applications)

4. Rifle primers (brand, name, applications)

5. Dies -

6. Molds -

7. Reloaders/kits -

8. Brass -

9. Reloading/Casting Manual -

10. Bullets -

11. Other essentials -

View the original article here

What should I do? Custom cast .725 slug or .725 "E" reamer to the bore???

Hope someone can help.
I am back to a shotgun i mentioned before; which has a .720 bore, then a constriction where the forend screw female shank was welded to the barrel (it also is full choke down to .701, but more on that later) and I am working on getting rid of that constriction first.

I got a set of 12ga bore hones and have been honign away at the area of the constrcition. And honing...and honing...and honing... and the constriction i still there. I suppose I will either succeed eventually, or wear out the abrasive on the hone. Either way, its taking like forever to make minimal progress. The bore is nice and shiney though!

I am thinking there must be a better way, and am thinking either fire-lapping out the constriction, or taking a bore reamer and just re-boring the area of the constriction.

If I fire-lap, I will need to pay a custom
caster to make some .720 diameter BHN ~15 slugs that have a long bearing surface -smooth sides as opposed to ridges or "rifling" or lube grooves- to hold lots of firelapping paste (I have the LBT type by Veral Smith ready to go), but are hollow base so they can obturate to the bore and remove the constriction. I know that the mold for these are available (ex these: http://cdn2.armslist.com/sites/armslist/uploads/posts/2011/11/18/232135_01_cast_shotgun_slugs_12ga_for_re_640.jpg but without the cross bar running through the skirt) but I dont have one. So thats me $timulating the economy with that purchase, plus the reloading (which i consider fun) etc.
Other consideration on that would be wether i would risk splitting my barrel as the above slug swaged down to .700 at the fixed full choke?
To be honest, i am almost ready to just lop off 2" of barrel and re-install the front sight and make it a cylinder bore.

Or...

brownells sells bore reamers in both "D" (.656" - .718") and "E" (718" - .781") ranges, plus the centering bushings;
http://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-tools-supplies/barrel-blanks-tools/reamers/shotgun-reamers/gilchrist-precision-choke-reamer-16-12ga-d-reamer-sku170-100-104-4974-11147.aspx
and
http://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-tools-supplies/shotgun-tools/choke-tube-tools/choke-bushings-prod25284.aspx
which i can use to just ream out the constriction, and the whole bore for that matter. I was thinking of taping some sandpaper to a dowel and using that, but that is too sloppy. Problem here is that each reamer is $93-99, and I would need both to get the constriction to .72, plus about 12 bucks each for 2 bushings. The whole shotgun cost about 100$.

I am looking for advice, experiences, etc: what would you do?

I am trying to make a nice slug shooter out of this gun. Is that too much to ask?

C-

View the original article here

Should I wipe off the bottom of my BOOLIT?

I am using the Lyman 4500 with the heater. Its getting quite a bit of lube on the very bottom of the BOOLIT. I ve been wiping them off before I load em. I ve been using Lyman Super Moly. I also have Lyman Alox Bullet lube tubes that I will use next.

Any suggestions would be great.

View the original article here