jmaass
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Posts posted by jmaass
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I took classes from Jerry Barnhart (2 days) and Matt McLearn (2 days).
Both double-plus excellent!
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I'm so flipping frustrated that I need to vent. So it's been about six years since I hot-roded around on a unix box. My boss gives me not one, not two, but three oracle installs to do on Linux. Okay, it's a workload but it's good experience I think to myself. Since it's a full time thing on my part time hours, it's going slower than they want. 'Course they could care less that the white papers floating around on the web for each install are at a minimum 50 pages - Um, yes, that does mean it's a bit complex to use linux for oracle - miss one environment setting and you're toast. So what do they do? Give my job to another guy who left to go to India for a month. I still get to do the installs but "I'm not supposed to worry about the deadline." Ten emails from the project manager later and it still feels like pressure (Is it done yet? What's the hold up? Do we just need more effort? - I'll show you effort you sorry geek!). Each patch is like poison and to top it off, after following the vendors wishes, I have a problem.
And....my A/C is dying a slow death so my home office is a sweltering 93 degrees. I have 10 four year olds arriving for a bday party on Saturday and piles of things to do to get ready. I'm just about ready for an adult libation!
All stressed up but no where to scream!
1) Users of home offices should not use A/C - EVER. It sets unreasonable expectations of comfort. I have eight computers and no A/C. 93F? Big whoop - add a fan, work naked, wet towel on the neck.
2) There are many, many free hours when you normally sleep. What's wrong with all those dark hours? No kids, and it's cool(er). Sleep for 3 hours during daylight. That's all.
3) Adult libation = Red Bull = Starbucks Frappuccino Mocha. Mix them both together if needed.
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Jeff,
I fold up a (red) shop rang and use it between my hand and the ball handle. Maybe I picked that trick up from you...
The sock has the advantage of not falling off when it's not being held. I used a soft fuzzy sock to keep the blisters down and absorb any sweat from the hand.
I mispoke about not using the roller handle on my RL1050: it came with the roller handle, and it serves the same purpose as the sock on the RL550B / RL650 ball.
Except it doesn't absorb much sweat. Hardly any, really!
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Bill can wen get an update on how your pistol is doing? I am ordering a High cap Caspian frame for father's day and I would like to know how your gun is performing because I am thinking of sending it to Matt to have it built. Thank you
You cannot make a better choice of gunsmith for competition guns than Matt McLearn. He's meticulous, stresses reliability, and the final product is just what you ask for.
To top it off, he's a nice guy, completely honest, and one heck of a shooter!
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Of the powders that you use in your reloading, what is the cleanest for you for loads that run the gammet of, say, light plinkers to full power rounds.
I have used Unique, Blue Dot, HS-7, and a couple others. I was just wondering what you guys liked. I load for 38 special, 357 mag, 40 S&W, 10mm, 45 acp, and 45 colt.
My brother likes AA#5 for 40 and 45 acp. I am looking for input on Accurate Arms, Alliant, Hodgdon, IMR, and Winchester powders.
Just curious, and it may lead me to some new powder choices to try.
Bill
I've always been fairly unimpressed by discussions of "What powder is the cleanest", but I never spent any time trying to figure what in my psyche made thiese discussions unimportant to me. It hit me tonight: asking what powder is cleanest is akin to asking "what powder smells nicest in the can". The answer to both questions is: "It Just Doesn't Matter!"
I've shot my (tightly-fitted) 9x21 open guns with SP2 until the inside was black with the gooey crap that Vectan SP2 leaves over time (perhaps 1500 rounds). The guns showed no loss in reliablility and no change in accuracy, so why should I care whether SP2 is a "clean powder" or not?
The measure of a powder is primarily performance. Pick a powder by what works to give you least percieved recoil, suitable accuracy (for your use), and consistantly sufficient Power Factor (if you are shooting in a sport that requires that measure). If it runs without over-frequent cleaning, great. If not, clean the gun more often.
Pick a powder that provides the shooting performance you need, not some measure of good houskeeping!
BTW, SP2 smells great in the can!
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Sorry couldn't reist.
I love my new Bedell Open gun and have given up on the prospect of a DR. sight.
I have about 2k through the gun. I will be coming home for business for a couple of weeks. Should I have it hard chromed while I am home?
IMHO, No.
If you *ever* decide to make a change to the gun, the chrome will make that a difficult/impossible/expensive proposition.
I hard-chromed my first custom gun (a Clark Custom Heavy Recoil Master), but since then everything is blued.
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I went the other direction with my Buckmark 5.5 Target by making it lighter. The gun is set up for Steel Challenge. Bruce Gray slab the sides of the bull barrel in addition to milling out most of the barrel under the full length scope rail.
I don't think a comp will do much. There's not much recoil to start with and not much pressure to work a comp.
I also went the "lighter gun" route with my Buckmark Target 5.5, by having a 'smith chop off 2-inches of barrel and recrowning.
"Buckmark Target 3.5" shown below:
It's quick target-to-target for pins and steel, and accurate enough for 50 yard steel.
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Has anyone tried Hodgdon Lil Gun or Ramshot Enforcer in 38 super or Supercomp? I'm starting to work on loads for a new gun and was curious, couldn't find any references in searching the forums for anyone using these.
Hodgdon has a Lil' Gun load for 130gr bullet on their web site: http://www.hodgdon.com/data/pistol/38supaut.php. This suggests that it might be suitable with somewhat lighter bullets in .38 Super as well.
Ramshot Enforcer looks like it'd be too slow burning for .38 Super.
You are, however, asking the wrong question from the start. The first question is "what powders are people using successfully".
(Actually, as I think about it, the FIRST question should be "What weight bullet do I want to use?", and from there "What powders are people using successfully with xxx grain bullets?").
NEVER, EVER select your powder of choice based on what you happen to have on hand from other calibers. You'll almost always end up with a disappointing load that is not going to help you win matches.
ALWAYS select your powder based on what will work best in the caliber and bullet weight you are loading for. You can get an idea of where to start from finding out what powders large numbers of people are using now.
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I like the idea of non-USPSA/IPSC courses of fire in the BE forum match. So let's take it to extremes: a 100-round freestyle field course that may or may not exactly be 8 round friendly. Plenty of harder and farther targets mixed in with the in-your-face hosers. Plenty of places to pre-place magazines or--gulp--moon clips.
And yeah, I'm thinking of how to balance stage points.
Only three reloads for me (28 +1, 28, 28, 15) with 13 left over for extra shots!
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I'm pretty much resigned to the fact that $130, or so, for a timer is money well spent, if I'm going to practice and improve in any kind of disciplined fashion. Thinking about the PACT ClubIII, since I can easily rent a chronograph at my range for the few times I'd use it.
My concern is that I mostly shoot in an indoor range, and while it's very seldom crowded (perhaps one or two other shooters in my immediate vicinity), I worry abotu the timer picking up their shots, as well. Are these things fairly selective? Can I crank the sensitivity down, so that it will just pick up my shots, and ignore someone 20' away (although they might be shooting a centerfire rifle)? I think I'm asking for too much....
Thx
I've used a couple of different PACT models indoors, and found that if I put a piece of electrical tape over the microphone pick-up, it could be made to limit it's sensitivity. Add another layer of tape for more attenuation.
Even with no other shooters, I've seen problems with the timer hearing the echo of my shots off the far wall and sides of the range. The tape helps.
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I've never tried the roller handle on my RL550, XL650, and now RL1050 presses.
I learned very early that the ball handle hurt the hand after a short session, especially if it was warm and a small amount of sweat was involved.
Long before the roller handle was available, I threw a sweat sock (a clean one!) over the ball.
No more pain, and it stays in place.
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I was cruising around considering different powders for my 38 Super and stumbled on to this. If you have any, better check your lot numbers.
THC
That recall is two years old (notice is dated).
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Vectan SP-3...
Doesn't sound lioke anybody has tried it. Anybody know where it falls on burn rate?
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Google shows inclusion of SP3 in a couple of burn rate charts, none in a format I like. This is one:
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I ordered some 7625 to try for my new open gun ( that isnt here yet). Tried it over the chrono yesterday and I really liked it. I have been using N350 for the last couple of years and thought it was the best all around powder for a super I had
The problem with 7625 has been inconsistancy between lots.
Each new lot purchased required re-development of the load, and chronographing to confirm.
They might have gotten a handle on this by now, but a few years ago it was a real concern.
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Didn't know the Word template was done By Jeff Maass himself.
I re-arranged some IPSC material (form B for lev. III sanctioning) and long-time seen Italian match brochures to have all what I needed/wanted to see in the right place.
If the template was made by someone else earlier, well, let's credit the people who deserve it (i.e. Jeff)!
To give credit where due, the templates were created by Ken Wagner A-28672, who is currently an inactive local (Central Ohio) Limited Master.
The original set goes back 8 or 10 years, and I suspect that he created them after being tired of trying to read my hen-scratched course design documentation. We made adjustments over the years to try and keep up with changes made by USPSA/IPSC and Micro$oft.
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If you paid them to load to your specs, and they were off by 0.050", I would suggest they give you your money back. It's just not that hard to do it right, especially when being paid to do it right!
Pressure can increase greatly for small decreases in OAL. That doesn't mean that the loads they delivered are unsafe, but they definately need tested in your gun before you depend upon them.
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There have been some reports of problems reading the IPSC Loads Lists from my web site.
I recently upgraded from Adobe Acrobat 5 to version 6. With that came a backwards compatibility problem for those using Adobe Reader or Acrobat versions 4 or earlier. My documents won't be the only one: if you have an old Adobe Reader or plug-in, you should seriously consider upgrading (free) to a newer version at http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html.
There is a compatibility setting that allows generating new documents compatible with Adobe version 4, and I've re-generated the .38 Super and .40S&W IPSC Loads Lists to be so compatible. Hopefully this will solve viewing problems for some.
I'll take this opportunity to remind everyone to grab the IPSC Loads Lists only from my web site at Maass' IPSC Resources.
Over the years, other folks have, either at my request or on their own, hosted copies of the IPSC Loads Lists on other web sites. Once I established my own web page to allow people to download the Lists, there was no longer any reason to have multiple sources! The only guarenteeed current versions are on my site.
Some of the very out-of-date lists (some as old as 1998) I found with Google:
http://ww2.whidbey.net/deadeye/Maass_40S&W.htm
http://ctgrenoblois.free.fr/Download/Data38sup.pdf
http://www.gunmuse.com/manuals/Reloading/IPSC40SWLoads.pdf
If you are the webmaster of any of these sites, please remove the old lists!
Everyone is welcome to link to the IPSC Loads List page on their web page. Because the exact page URL may change, I'd prefer the links go to Maass' IPSC Resources page at http://home.columbus.rr.com/jmaass/index.html.
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There have been some reports of problems reading the IPSC Loads Lists from my web site.
I recently upgraded from Adobe Acrobat 5 to version 6. With that came a backwards compatibility problem for those using Adobe Reader or Acrobat versions 4 or earlier. My documents won't be the only one: if you have an old Adobe Reader or plug-in, you should seriously consider upgrading (free) to a newer version at http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html.
There is a compatibility setting that allows generating new documents compatible with Adobe version 4, and I've re-generated the .38 Super and .40S&W IPSC Loads Lists to be so compatible. Hopefully this will solve viewing problems for some.
I'll take this opportunity to remind everyone to grab the IPSC Loads Lists only from my web site at Maass' IPSC Resources.
Over the years, other folks have, either at my request or on their own, hosted copies of the IPSC Loads Lists on other web sites. Once I established my own web page to allow people to download the Lists, there was no longer any reason to have multiple sources! The only guarenteeed current versions are on my site.
Some of the very out-of-date lists (some as old as 1998) I found with Google:
http://ww2.whidbey.net/deadeye/Maass_40S&W.htm
http://ctgrenoblois.free.fr/Download/Data38sup.pdf
http://www.gunmuse.com/manuals/Reloading/IPSC40SWLoads.pdf
If you are the webmaster of any of these sites, please remove the old lists!
Everyone is welcome to link to the IPSC Loads List page on their web page. Because the exact page URL may change, I'd prefer the links go to Maass' IPSC Resources page at http://home.columbus.rr.com/jmaass/index.html.
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The Renaissance Fair aspect to the Cowboy Action shooting has always, ahem, bemused/amused me, but now it's plain damned annoying.
It's always seemed to me that if they want to enhance their authenticity, they should arrange to have raw sewage running in the roads, horse droppings sprinkled everywhere, half the competitors drunk, and actual operating whorehouses on the periphery.
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Thanks for the reports: the problem must be at the other person's end (never trust yahoo.com)!
BTW, the IPSC Loads List web page gets an average of 425 hits a week!
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I've had a report that my IPSC Loads List Page is not reachable.
It's at Maass' IPSC Loads Lists
Could I get some others outside of my ISP to verify that all is well, and report back for me?
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Agreed. BTW, Jeff, how about including reloading data on Major9 loads now that it has been approved? I have looked at your collection of 9x21 data for loads under 1.155" OAL and yo do have some there, but what about a seperate section for 9x19 only w/ cautionary notes? Thanks for the excellent website Jeff! DVC TY44934
I'll gladly create a "9x19 Major IPSC Loads List", but to do that requires people to send me their proven loads. I requested input on the IPSC Mailing List a long while ago, and got only two responses.
If you know of good "9 Major" loads, send them on!
Information I need for the List:
Your Name
Your Email Address
Bullet Type
Bullet Weight
Powder charge and type
Cartridge OAL
Chronoed Velocity / Power Factor
Gun / barrel length
Other Notes you think are important
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Good Grief!
You could get a lot of practice in the time it takes to use that method to mark a few cases!
Put the loaded rounds in a 100-round box, headstamp up, and drag a colored "Sharpie" pen across them. Ten quick lines (5-10 seconds) and 100 rounds are marked.
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It depends on the caliber, power factor used, and specific gun.
For my 9x21 IPSC loads, I find that the primer pockets get loose before anything else wears out. I start each year with 2000 new cases, and keep them segregated by the number of firings. After seven or eight firings, I stop trusting them to hold the WSR primers, and swap the cases out with new. This with Tanfoglio cases.
Except for split cases, I don't think I've ever worn out a .45ACP.
How Many Times Do You Reload The 9mm In Major
in 9mm/38 Caliber
Posted
As a checkpoint for Major 9, I've been loading 9x21 for a long while, and my gun still likes power factors around 180. Not wimpy loads, but loaded to 1.200" with 115gr JHP .
I've found that I can use 9x21 brass 10-11 times. The sign that the brass is toast is that the primer pockets get loose (you can feel it when seating the primers).
I keep careful track of my brass, and replace it all (2000 at a time) when I reach 10-11 firings. I value reliability above all else, and it makes no sense (false economy) to take a chance on a primer backing out and resulting in a "stoppage".