Thank god I came to my senses!!

Thank god I came to my senses!! Hello all!! I recently posted about how I was suffering from 1911 fever and that the only way I could afford one now was to sell my chiappa rhino 40ds .357. THANK GOD I came to my senses!! It is my second favorite revolver I own next to my precious s&w 686!! ( thanks to all who posted replies to me telling me how much I would miss my rhino if I sold it) matter of fact, along w/ a 1911, I would love to own another rhino!! Anyone else ALMOST sell a gun only to realize what a huge mistake it would've been?

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Thank you to all that share their knowledge.

Thank you to all that share their knowledge. I wanted to thank all of those here that share their knowledge and expertise with those like me, new to this hobby. Brian, Unclenick, BigJim and many others not only respond accurately, but do so in a way to encourage learning. I have been skulking among the forums for about six months now, and decided I had something worth sharing. It might be a tad long introduction.

A little background - in December, my best friend told me he was going to build his own AR-15. Knowing him well, and also knowing he wouldn't make that claim without some research. We talked about for the ensuing weeks, and thanks to him he pointed me in direction of videos out there by pros building their own rifles (thank you ITS Tactical and others!). With more reading and research I ordered a lower receiver and other parts from different suppliers. Was kind of a fun treasure hunt right in the thick of abnormally high demand. I was successful in building my rifle piece be piece, and verified at the range soon after. I probably would not have purchased a rifle straight off the shelf, but thru building one, the knowledge of what is going on each time you pull the trigger is priceless.

So, then the ammo crunch and bare shelves at Wal-Mart, shooting my rifle becomes difficult for a bit, and empowered by my recent creation, immediately began to research reloading. ABCs, Modern, Lyman's 49th and endless Internet info. I was leaning single stage or turret, but really liked the Dillon 550. I know a lot of people here think single stage was the way to start, but my best friend had a good nugget of wisdom again. He said I could load one round at a time on a Dillon too, then could 'grow' into the full progressive function when ready. And I give a methodical engineering approach to most things, and decided I would go slow enough to always be safe. Also my shop is free from distractions - a bonus room off the garage. Saw that there was an 8 week wait on the Dillon in April, and pulled the trigger. HA!

While waiting, I picked up a tumbler, puller, scale, calipers, trimmer, prep tool and commenced to prepping the brass I had been collecting from range visits. I was going to load .45 ACP and .223 specifically which covers all weapons. My wife also likes to shoot, so reloading was a no-brainer. Received the press two weeks ago and set up all my dies, and loaded two different loads in both calibers to test. Went to the range yesterday and I can now say I successfully loaded both types of ammo. ))). The .45 with a 4.7 of Red Dot was smooth as silk through the Glock and Kahr. With my test .223, my first two shots at 25 yds in my rifle, checked with scope, and I split the upper arms of the X and the lower with the 2 shots (24.3 gns of TAC). So once again, thank you to all that share experience here for us laymen - it is much appreciated.

__________________
When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty. - Thomas Jefferson

I swear by my life and love if it, I will live for no other, nor ask another to live for me. - John Galt

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Thank you for your help!

I want to thank everyone at the Cast Boolits forum for the help you have been to me. I don't say much on the forums, but I read here a lot and learn much. I'm sure there are others like me whom you have directed in the proper way to cast boolits and produce excellent and economical ammo.

Tonight I had my second casting session. I am using a hot plate that I modified according to instructions I gained from 375Ruger (modified the safety feature) so that the hot plate would get hot enough to melt lead. I used a small cast iron pot and pressure cast using a Lyman ladle. I used 50/50 coww and soft lead cable sheathing. I learned about this mixture from this forum.

I cast using two 2-cavity molds--a Lyman 311440 and Lee 309-120r. I cleaned the molds using carb cleaner and a paper towel. I lubed the molds using 2-cycle oil according to directions I found here. As I learned on this forum, I did not use any mold release or smoking the molds. The boolits dropped right out of both molds without difficulty.

The Lyman mold was fabulous! I preheated the mold by dipping it in the lead, and I only lost the first 6 or so boolits. The rest looked great, and drop at .312. This should be great in front of 16 grains of 2400 in my 30/30 (a load which I learned on the forums, too.) I have a Lee sizer that I polished to .3095, so I can size them if necessary.

The Lee is a new mold, so I lost about a third of the first boolits with wrinkles. I'm not sure why. It could be oil, or the mold too cold. But the rest of the boolits look great, and they drop at .309.

I tumble lubed the new boolits using White Label Lubes' 45/45/10 lube, of which I learned about here. I will be using aluminum gas checks that I learned about here, as well.

As you can see, this forum has had a great influence on my casting. Other than my stepdad who casts (and who lives 400 miles away), this forum is my casting mentor. Thank you again for all your help. It is greatly appreciated!

Blessings,
Glenn

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