lmccrock

After reading this and remembering that my neighbor has had some hogs on his property so I may have some on mine, I surveyed the safe. Best choice I have is M1 rifle with bayonet attached. Or maybe slugs in the 590 -- also with bayonet attached. Lee

For the first one ... what Guy said. Buy the first complete. Get to know the system and what it takes to keep it running. Unless you have a specific match or competition in mind, 20" flat-top is good. Then modify the working gun to your heart's content or build a second from parts. Lee

Behind the head electronic muffs, prescription glasses, and boonie hat. The muffs have a strap that goes on top of my head, and the hat is a size larger to accommodate the strap, i.e., hat goes on outside of muffs.. My hearing is not that sensitive, so I do not need to double-plug, however, if I were shooting indoors, I might reconsider. My last shoot-house-stage was not a problem, but I do not shoot one of them open blasters. Lee

For me, the new anti-histamines do not work well, although I have had some luck with Flonase (now available in a generic!) at bedtime to make getting going in the morning easier. I never had runny eyes, but they sure itch sometimes. Benadryl? Effective, but anything that says "Warning: May cause drowsiness" usually knocks me out and Benadryl does that. Not a good idea the night before a match. Due to the base ingredient of Sudafed (pseudoephedrine) being readily converted to meth and additonally being rough on blood pressure, a decongestent based on phenylephrine (sp? too lazy to get up and find the box) is pretty available. Not so hard on the BP. Ask your doctor. Lee

231....Clays....Titegroup....try them all I used 231 for a long time in 45. I tried Titegroup; mostly because I wanted to use the same powder for different calibers and 231 has issues with my .38 loads and TG was supposed to help that. TG uses less powder than 231 for the same velocity, but was not cleaner for me (plated and lead loads). I just got some Clays (because the Titegroup is running out). So I will try that also. Lee

Major PF for rifle is 320. My M1 carbine is not really accurate enough for real rifle matches, but would work fine for the short range match locally. If that is what you have, then go ahead and start with it. If you feel the need to upgrade, then it is not necessary to spend $3K on an AR. Get a feel for the matches you want to go to and equip accordingly. Lee

I have been using the Silencio Nighthawk for about a year. BTH but there is also a strap for over-the-head. I do not like earplugs and I wanted to wear a bread-brimmed hat outdoors (settled for a Boonie hat) and the Nighthawk works fine. Uses 2 AAA batteries. Not a perfect seal; the NRR is 21, I think. Good enough for outdoors limited handgun, shotgun, and comped 223. Also, comped 308 in a range setting is ok. I can tell when an open handgun goes off. Lee

I sometimes shoot the Texas Tactical Carbine match, and always with my 20" barrel + Benny-comp AR. Seems like the gun is longer than some of the bays Anyway, it has a Simmond ProDiamond. I leave it on to give me some practice for when I go to matches which have rifle shots. The close shots take some attention, and the T.T matches have some targets that are pretty much point shooting. Just turn it down to 1.5x and try it both eyes open. Thinking about a shorter upper for the Austin (er, Henly) matches, but I will likely keep the same sight and lower configuration. Lee

The best way to find a lost item is to replace it...... Lee

An important question. From Kelly's confirmation email: What is on the menu? Lee

This schedule is handy: Central Texas Schedule It says "As of 2/15/2005" but it is more current than that. Lee

Is that a regularly scheduled match, or an occasional thing? There is nothing on the website about a 3-gun match; the Events link displays a blank page. Lee

230gr Billy (RNL moly coated) pushed by 4.3gr Titegroup yields me ~170pf. It was sensitive; going from 4.2 to 4.3 to 4.4 changed PF 160 to 170 to 180. I just chrono-ed 230gr Rainier RN plated at 168 with 4.4gr (although I also shortened the OAL and reduced crimp compared to the Billy Bullets). All from a 5" Para P14-45. Lee

Louder than before? Could be a fan or hard drive near failure. Possibly a fan has already failed. Not sure if this is an issue since Firefox is running. Do other programs run fine? I use Firefox 99.5% of the time, and IE for the rest since some web designers use Microsoft-specific tools. Some reviews say that different anti-spyware programs find different problems, so go ahead and run Ad-aware and the Microsoft tool (which may have been downloaded for you with the XP updates). Just for fun, open Explorer, click Tools->Manage Addons and see if anything unusual is there. The only time it happened to me, Spybot found the problem, but it was interesting to actually see them, too, in the browser Add-on window.. Lee

Chuck, I have fired lots of 38 rounds from a Mdl 10 loaded with 231: lead, plated, jacketed. I have not had your problem. I wonder if the cylinder has some hard fouling that may not swab out with solvent and may need a pick? Clean out the carbon once, and you are good for a long time. If I started reloading for 38 again, I would try Titegroup. Supposed to help with position sensitivity (which is a problem I DID have). Lee

I have not used Red Dot. But it could be position sensitivity: if the powder is closer to the primer, it ignites more readily than if it is closer to the bullet. I do not believe that ~4 grains of any powder in a 45acp case should have a problem, but I thought I would mention it. To test: lower the muzzle, raise up to firing position, and fire. Then tip the muzzle up (pushing the powder back to the primer), lower to firing position, and fire. Difference? Then there is a problem. My experience was light loads of 231 in a 38 spec revolver. Lee

arstechnica.com and hardocp.com are blogging sites which have reviews and forums. Hardocp's forums have a "hobbies" forum complete with a firearms section. There is also sharkyextreme, which provides recommendations for building PC's and tracks memory and CPU prices. As do other sites. Lee

Ed Ames throwing a tomahawk on Johnny Carson's show. Lee

I have a Glock 17. NOWHERE in the manual does it say "Do not shoot lead bullets". They clearly state to only shoot factory ammo, but I think all guns I bought with a manual say that. I cannot say about the manuals for the .40 models. Lee

The PIN from the Nov/Dec ("J-Go") cover did not work (nor did some variants) and is barely legible anyway. The Sept/Oct PIN worked fine, logged me in, and is very legible. Lee

For me, cheek pad, step ladder, something. The only use I have for a scope on a carry handle is load development on a bench. The way my eyes are these days, the scope helps to keep a more consistent POA than the iron sights. Lee

(Edited after my reply crossed with Dillon's. I am pretty sure the powder is 4895, not 4985.... ) General disclaimer: I have not reloaded for a Garand, but I am planning to. The reloading issues are common to all floating firing pin, semi-auto rifles (I have reloaded 223 for my AR; some issues are in common). Primer seating? Checking for primer protrusion is always a good idea. A 550 will have no problem fully seating a primer into a clean primer pocket. However, if the 30-06 brass you start with is military surplus, the primer will be crimped in. De-priming and priming will then be harder on a 550, but a single stage will not really be much improvement. Either way some primer pocket prep is required, and that means an added step, either a swage or reamer. Both remove the crimp; the swage keeps the metal, the reamer clears it out. Either way, this is a one-time deal. I have avoided doing this (my 223 brass is commercial), but I have this really large pile of 30-06 brass which has crimped primers and reloading for the M1's is coming. Talk to Dillon about the getting the right die for full-length sizing. It is possible to get a neck-only die which is appropriate for bolt rifles, not semi-auto. Since you already have the 550, it will not hurt to start with that. See if it works. Any added tools (dies, case gauges, etc.) can be used with a single stage if you choose to. Worst case, use the 550 in single-stage mode. Lee

Buy a second computer. Use one for home stuff, and the other for work-while-at-home. Some people do not have room in the house for 2 full computers (keyboards, monitors, etc.). A company called KVM has a switch box which allows you to use one keyboard and monitor, and switch them to 2 different computers, reducing the amount of desktop space required. At work, one time I mis-typed a work-related URL by one letter and got a porn site. I quickly learned how to clear the browser cache and URL history. Stuff happens, even innocently. So knowing how to clear the browser caches (Temporary Internet Files in Microsoft-ese) is good. Perhaps knowing the company policy on personal use of company computers would be a good idea. Regardless, what OS are you running? It is possible with Windows XP to set up users, and install software only for that user. So, from your home PC, create a login such as "TriggerT-Work", install PC Anywhere, then do work stuff. Work is separate from home. How to do that is in the Windows Help. Lee

Great for 3-gun. The only issue my CM has is sometimes it does not pick up the next shell after firing a Remington Reduced Recoil slug. It does not fail very often and usually picks up the slugs fine. This has happened twice, during matches, of course. I usually shoot 1 1/8 oz, 3 1/4 dr birdshot, which can be found around here for around 3.29/25. I do not seek out the lowest cost Walmart promotional loads, so I do not know if those run in the gun. Lee

Harley, Are you SURE there is not an AGP slot? Sits parallel to the PCI slots and would use the back panel cutout like a PCI card. AGP has been standard for years, even on systems which use integrated graphics. A PCI video adaptor will not have better performance than on-motherboard (integrated) video using shared memory, so the Vista experience might not be any better. Lee