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Dirty Rod

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Everything posted by Dirty Rod

  1. Grafs has been the cheapest Ive seen. I haven't checked the Cabelas sale price but Grafs always beat the Cabelas sale price when I've checked.
  2. That was my experience. Lots of folks like it but it wasn't for me.
  3. Where did you find it? Gunbroker, guy in TX had 10 lbs he was selling. Bit pricey, but I'm literally out. thought about taking all 10 lbs, but decided to not be greedy and contribute to the problem Thx. I've been living off of the 20 lbs of 231 and other assorted powders for the past 3 years and I'm now down to my last 4 lbs. About to get desperate here.
  4. I assume you have a good scale, check weights, and several reloading manuals. Those are almost as important as the press itself. The Hodgdon web site is also a good place for reloading data.
  5. Over the last five years I've turned into a gym rat. The one thing I do get out of the gym often is motivation. Lots of folks in there just showing off, lifting with bad form, throwing weights, etc however you can spot the folks that know what they are doing and learn from them. Most have no issues giving tips, suggestions, or even working out with you. A good gym partner can help push you past plateaus and help with progress. I started off at home with an elliptical but ended up in the gym 4-5 days a week. Three years later I'm down 70 lbs of fat and up 18 lbs of muscle. I'll be 50 this month and I'm probably in the best shape since high school. Gyms may not be for everyone but they have their place. Keep doing what your doing. If you are seeing progress then that's all that matters.
  6. Good for you! Never to late to get started. Congrats and keep it up.
  7. I've done several multi-day classes shooting 500-600 rounds a day. A wipe down for the gun and mags and a couple drops of oil at the end of the day was all that was needed unless it was raining and muddy.
  8. I wouldn't focus much on the round count. Loading up mags and the other things you mentioned definitely maximize your time but, if you only get 100 or 150 then I'd just make sure those rounds count. 200 is generally what I bring for pistol but there are many a day where I go home with rounds left even though there is plenty of time left. All depends on the drills I have planned for the day. Make sure you dry fire and practice draws at home so, when you are at the range, you can set up your targets and focus on drills and shot placement. I'd make sure you have a plan and specific drills before you get there. Since brass is a huge piece of the reloading cost I wouldn't sacrifice the brass. If you make sure your extractor/ejector is tuned to throw your brass behind you then you should be able to get most of it during the break. Just my two cents.
  9. I shoot those same MG and occasionally those same Xtreme when I can't find MG or Berrys and I load them the same. As mentioned, there are slight differences in velocity but it's minimal and doesn't affect the performance.
  10. You are fine. If you measure the bullets themselves you will see there are variances in the overall and ogive lengths.
  11. I've heard of the 50/50 mix before. What does it accomplish? Walnut cleans better for most however corn cob makes brass shine better so, for many, it's the best of both worlds. You have to try it to see if you like it better. I didn't see much difference just more dust so went back to just corn cob.
  12. You can use your combo dies in the 550 and just leave the 4th station empty but a lot of loaders find that crimping and seating separately allows for better control of those operations especially since your brass won't always be the same length when you crimp. Also, if you use different brands of bullets, as many do when one brand is not available, you often have to adjust the seater die since bullets have slightly different profiles resulting in different OALs. I had a couple of combo sets and used them for one operation or the other.
  13. Lots of folks start out with the press and one powder measure and quickly get tired of spending 15-20 mins adjusting dies and charge weights so they end up with separate complete toolheads for each caliber. I ended up with six toolheads and a second press because I didn't want to spend the time to change from small to large primer either. Like you, I don't enjoy spending long hours in the garage reloading so separate toolheads is the ticket if you want the fastest changover. I don't run .40 but you can certainly run 231/hp38 for both 9 and .45 although you should plan for a second and third powder option not to mention that your guns may work better with a different powder. Win231 has been scarce for several years and is just now showing up in places. Fortunately, I stashed 12 lbs away a couple of years ago but I'm down to my last 3 lbs. I've been able to find WSF and Unique for which I had worked up loads as well otherwise I would have been scrounging for powder. Agree with using the dies you have until you have a preference for one brand versus another.
  14. I'd list all the upgrades you intend to make, price it out, and then decide. If you are doing the work yourself or know that you only want sights and trigger then I agree with upgrading what you have. But, since you are looking at the Spartan, I assume you may also want other upgrades so, if you are looking to add a beavertail, combat hammer, etc you will end up spending quite a bit by the time you refinish the gun so it might be more cost effective to go a different direction. By the time I was done upgrading my old SA I had about $2k into it. Great gun now but I could have gotten to the same place for quite a bit less.
  15. Works very well for me for 230gr FMJ and plated. 6.1gr @ 1.260 is almost as accurate as my 231 loads.
  16. I can save you five bucks if you want mine for $35 shipped. I opened the bag but didn't peel any tape backing or anything. I'll take it if he doesn't.
  17. They are available in Brian's store. Not sure which press you are looking to cover but here is a 550 cover. http://www.brianenos.com/store/dillon.550.html#access Under Reloading Machine Accessories on the Dillon site.
  18. I use all brands on my 550s but I think my x39 dies are Lee.
  19. Using 1680 or 4227 and 123gr Priv I'm loading x39 for ~.29/round. Since my Colt can't run steel either I opted to reload when brass cased x39 passed $.43/round and became scarce. The most expensive part is going to be brass which you don't find much at the local ranges. 1680 is a bit hard to find but 4227 is around and works just as good with 123gr bullets. I recently saw an add for Yugo at $265 per 900 shipped so that's an attractive option. Keep in mind though, that if you ever want or need to reload, the Yugo brass is berdan primed so you can't salvage the brass. Yugo is very accurate stuff but, for a few cents more per round, you can probably find some reloadable brass elsewhere.
  20. I'd keep a spare but I've got a couple with over 40k rounds on them.
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