Running Dog

I have had 40+ years in jewelry fabrication and tumbling with S/S and ceramic media is common and has been used for decades. The chemicals you use and the metals you tumble will have different effects and the media will make a difference. I'm not sure if pins are the best shape (of course they do work) ,but there are alot of different shapes and different results. Check this site http://www.riogrande.com/home/ for some ideas, prices,etc. They are in the jewelry biz so prices are high , but you might get some useable info and find different sources.

Changed avatar photo's and now it works. Maybe the old one was over sized for an up grade I wasn't aware of...

Do a search on Massad Ayoob ,he's a long time LEO and does expert witness defense work for gun related court cases and would agree with everything posted by GigG. As far as springs & guide rods, I put in 22# springs for shooting hot loads (10mm) & so need a guide rod that can be dis-assembled. Other than that the factory set up is just fine.

The problem with rolling yr own ,right now, is components. I have found primers on auction type sites and bullets here & there ,but expect to pay double what it normally would cost. There has been brass on this site ,but so far I always find out too Late! Ialso have picked up ammo by getting on "alert" lists at several sites.

Hi, My avatar photo is still on my profile page ,but no longer appears on my posts. I have tried to reset the photo I use ,but no success. Any ideas? Thanks,David

Thanks Jack & everyone else too. Still doing my home work. Sounds like something simple just to get my feet wet is the way to go !....David

@ Hi Power Jack, Sorry to be so long in replying; I really don't know what the ultimate round count will be. Most of my time is in the Fl. Keys where it's illeagl to shoot, so my blasting is done in the summertime in Ky. I may move somewhere fairly soon and will then be shooting on a regular basis( I want to get into some competition) and the round count will jump, but don't know which caibers yet. I also have limited funds right now,but see the way things could go in the near future and do not want to possibly be at the mercy of Big Brother & Big Business to be able to get and/ or afford ammo. As to the set up cost, I am just now pricing equiptment and asking questions for a little reality check and appreciate all the feedback(and education) I'm getting from those with reloading experience. thanks, David

Hi, I'm starting to set up for reloading(can't afford the Blue Koolaid, plus don't know if it's worth the extreme $ to quality ratio) and wondererd what experienced Lee users would reccomend as a good press to start with. I will be loading mostly .223, 10mm, .45acp to start, but will eventually gear up for my other calibers (.45 lc, 9mm,38spl,.40, .44mag, .308,.454). I've read the Lee progressives don't have the power to comfortably re-size full/necked rifle. I don't want single stage so lean towards the 4 hole turret, but don't know about "Classic" vs. Auto index and don't know if I'm on the right track at all! I also don't know if a kit is better than putting everything together separatly. If this question has been asked please point me in the right direction, if not any advise would help at this point. Thanks, David

It's all man-made.........I have a 92fs that I Inherited .......was my dad's duty weapon; has soooo many rounds through it I'm surprised it hasn't cracked , melted down, caused the internet to crash,altered the election and generally brought humanity to a screeching halt; yet it keeps on running like the energizer bunny and I put ??????????? rounds through it with nothing more than a wipe & a dab of slide glide....Luck o' the Irish? Oooops I mean Italians!......Cracks? I don't see no stinkin' cracks!

Colorado actually has pretty great open carry laws. Anybody (who can possess a handgun in the first place) can open carry. You need a permit (issued by the county sheriff) to conceal a handgun on your person. However, private properties may of course post and enforce restrictions, and many movie theaters here do just that. Side note: membership-in-good-standing in a national shooting sport replaces the state's training requirement, which was convenient. All that said, I too would like to add my +1 to sympathy for the victims. I hope justice will come swiftly and surely, and that the survivors and families of the victims are able to find some small comfort, or at least closure, from it. The whole city of Aurora is a no carry zone,whether you have a ccw or not and so is the theater. Even if someone brought down the shooter they would be committing a felony for carry,for discharging a firearm inside the city limits, could possibly hit a bystander in the chaos and would stand a good chance of getting shot by the cops when they finally show up and everyone points at the guy standing there with pistol in his hand. Sadly this is a hayday for the anti's and the gov't drones pushing the U.N. treaty,high cap,semi-auto & scary looking rifle ban. Check the violent crime stats. since the U.K. & Australia disarmed their citizens over similar events. Frightened people don't vote with their brains in gear.

As for cutting carbon fiber; I worked in boatyards for many years doing fiberglass work for a living and have built many high performance sailboards and have cut more carbon fins and masts than I can remember (too many resin fumes!) and all I can say is it ain't rocket science. Wear at least a good dust mask and cut it with your favorite cutting tool. For a clean cut on a non-tapered tube use a fine diamond blade in a chopsaw (power miterbox) and dress any fur with fine sand paper. Abrasive blades work better than blades with teeth for a clean cut. If yr really anal wipe a little epoxy resin on the cut edge to seal it. By the way if yr on a budget or don't have a chop saw , don't want to buy an abrasive blade....whatever....A hacksaw with a fine blade, 220 grt on a wood block to square it and 400grt wet or dry to smooth it will work too...........

Another choice is DPMS 3G1, I picked one up last year from shooters supply in Lexington ,Ky through Gunbroker for around $1100 ....Miculek comp,18' stainless bbl. 1x8 twist, JP adjustable trigger, JP free float rifle length front that comes rail less so you can put rails where you need them, Magpul CTR stock, Hogue pistol grip. Since my shooting budget is a bit modest I put a MTAC 1x4 on it and for me it points well, and is as accurate as I am! I priced putting things together starting with several different bare bones guns and this priced out better for what I wanted.......Just my 2cts.........

Alamoshooter, Just a thought......... My ears have been ringing & roaring since around age 12 when my brain dead cousin touched off a 12ga. a couple feet from my right ear, then there was a tour in 1969 firing a 4.2 in. mortar & countless M16 rounds without ear protection, then there have been 35 years of power tools being fired up next to me before I could get my muffs on and years of hunting without ear muffs and those fun days at the range when the proud owner of a .50 BMG super-sniper with a brake that bitch slaps you even with your muffs on ,not to mention 100's of rock concerts!!!!!!!!! But something I have found that really takes the ringing to another level is ASPIRIN ! Luckily that one isn't permanent, but if you ever take some ,and alot of us our age do for alleged heart attack prevention , you will have ringing ears and if you quit the aspirin the roar will fade back to normal after a couple of days.

You need to zero for your ammo and have that zero be flexible enough that you don't have to deal with crazy hold offs & too much math under stress. Like Wasp said BDC is calibrated for M855 and with that ammo a 50 meter zero would be a little over 1" high @ 100m and 1.5" high @ 200m, but with that zero @300m your hold off would be over a foot ! Not good! Sounds like you got it workin' ........Punch some holes & have some grins!

I have a MTAC 1x4 and agree it does not light up in bright sun, but I like black in bright conditions and don't turn it on if I don't need it. I do like the BDC and dot setup ,can shoot with both eyes open on 1x and the eye box works for me too. If I were back in the suck and shooting at bad guys again I'd get get the best the gov't had, but with my budget these days and shooting for fun I'm happy with the MTAC and think it's good glass for the $.