michael_aos

It seems like they're both "the same" now that I've put S&A flat MSH / mag-wells on them. It could be the something with the extended beavertail and "memory groove" on the "Loaded" grip-safety. It just struck me as "odd" how much more difficult the .38S seems to be to shoot accurately than the .40 S&W. It had me thinking maybe switching from the factory "arched" MSH to the flat MSH was more than cosmetic. Mike

I've got a few Springfield 1911's. For the point of this discussion, I'm comparing the Springfield "Mil Spec" .38 Super -vs- Springfield "Loaded" .40 S&W. Each have had the factory MSH replaced with a S&A MSH / magwell. When I shoot the .38S (with any ammo, but ~130PF handloads in this example) I seem to shoot low / low-left about 80-90% of the time. If I'm REALLY careful and try really really hard, I can get it to shoot where I'm pointing it. It seems to be very sensitive to my grip and it SEEMED yesterday that if I concentrated on apply more pressure to the bottom of the MSH, it shot more toward the POA. The Mil-Spec originally shipped with an arched MSH, and the "Loaded" shipped with a flat MSH. The "loaded" doesn't seem to be NEARLY as grip-sensitive. Shooting ~170PF handloads, it tends to just shoot where I point it without nearly as much effort. I also spent some time shooting my Browning BuckMark Micro Nickel and it's like a little laser-beam. I just THINK about hitting the target with it, and it just happens. For example, on a 6" plate-rack at ~12yds, I can get 4.56s from the buzzer (which is good for me) or thereabouts every time but with the .38S ~130PF my best time was 9.98s and it's not uncommon for me to take a MINUTE with several reloads! I didn't have the .40 S&W to compare times that day. For grins I shot it in 3.14s with my Ruger K10/22T. Under different circumstances I've shot the plate rack in ~6s with the .40 S&W, which might mean something, but not sure what. So anyway, the question is, could the flat MSH be a factor in why I seem to have such a hard time hitting anything with the .38S? Mike

My choice would be the Leupold 4.5-14x40mm, PR Long Range.

I think I'm going to buy 6000 Federal small rifle primers so I can do .223 as well. And 4lbs of VV N320. That will get me started with the 1K bullets I ordered the other day, and I'll order another 5K bullets at a later date. Mike

I finally found Hogdon Clays on the price-list. I just really didn't know what I was looking for. Looks like I'm going to order VV N320 and some small rifle primers. Mike

When you says "Clays", is that Hodgdon International Clays or Hodgdon Universal Clays? Mike

Thank you for the links. I ordered 1000 Montana Gold 180gr FMJ directly from Montana Gold for $79.65 + $5.00 shipping. Now I see Powder Valley sells the same Montana Gold bullets for $61.00 (plus the same $5.00 shipping). They also do quantity 500 for $32.50, which would have been plenty for starters. Darn in. On to powder & primers. Mike

I thought I was asking this in another thread, but I must be saying it wrong. WHERE do you order your reloading supplies from? Specifically bullets, powder and primers? Thank you. Mike

OK, I found the Montana Gold retail site. $84 for CMJ, $88 for JHP and $79.65 for FMJ (shipped). I'd also looked at Zero bullets from ROZE Distribution. Small pistol (right?) primers have an additional $20 HAZMAT fee from ROZE, so I may look for them locally. Powder...? Mike

I'm not actually planning to shoot IDPA, so I don't NEED to make minor. I just figured I'd be less-likely to blow myself up if I start out with a light load. Could someone recommend a good online source for components? I'm thinking I'd like to work with quantity 1K for starters. In fact I'd even consider quantity 100, but that's typically more expensive. I don't really want to order in quantity 10K until I figure out what I'm doing. So -- CCI primers, Clays or Titegroup powder, Montana Gold bullets. Mike

Why JHP's? I guess I was thinking relatively inexpensive / cheap. Mike

Where should I order from? Credit-card in hand. Just need some links. Mike

Any good keywords / phrases to search for? I'm pretty good at referring back to previous threads I've read, but I've never read any threads about reloading before. Mike

OK, I bought an RL550B in .40 S&W. I've got 1000 pieces of roll-sized once-fired brass. I actually bought this setup to load 170PF "long" IPSC loads for Limited IPSC. I'm thinking for "starters" I should do something light to get familiar with the process. Something around 125PF. So I need: What bullets do I order? From where? What primers do I order? From where? What powder do I order? From where? What's the deal with case-lube? Where do I buy it? How do I apply it? Newbie here. Oh, and I guess I need to know OAL as well. I'm currently using 10mm magazines, so "IPSC" length would be a plus. Otherwise I do have some factory .40 S&W magazines with the little spacers on the back. Mike

I was watching American Shooter tonight and they did a segment on the Cooper scout rifle. They said several companies are introducing new models based on the concept. Anyone heard who they are? Mike

I finally got a place to put my RL550B. Now I just need to figure out if I'm going to try and build a bench, or buy something pre-made.

When I started looking for something for 3-gun, I was told: Major brand 20" barrel nothing heavier than an HBAR Brake preferred I went to my local firearms supermarket and gave them my specs. There were ~12 AR's in rack, but as I went through my list we eliminated the 16" barrels, then the heavy barrels, then the ones without brakes. And then I was left with an Armalite M15A4. So that's what I bought! :-) Mike

I've replaced the ILS mainspring housing with a S&A mag-well. Also replaced the trigger with one from an SA "Loaded" model. And aftermarket grips, and a new recoil-spring & shock-buff. Does Springfield work on products that have been modified? I had talked to them before about fitting a 9mm barrel and they quoted me $175, complete. I finally bought a reloader and hardware to load .40 S&W. Nothing is set up yet though. I actually bought a used Springfield "Loaded" 9mm toward the end of our local all-steel matches but ran into magazine problems. I also find I prefer shooting .38S loaded to ~130PF -vs- factory 9mm ball ammo. Mike

Maybe this is the excuse you need to move to OS-X? Mike

Oops. I never really played with OS-9. My first Mac was a 266Mhz iMac which I bought in 1999. Ran LinuxPPC from day one. I moved to OS-X 10.0 in March '01. Sorry, Mike

Here's the list of cameras that "just work". Mike

OK, I've been around and around and around. I've driven my friends insane, asking them which scope I should get (if any). The guy who has helped me the most with my "gun questions" keeps telling me to avoid anything with the word "Tactical" in it. Says the Leupold Tactical scopes are OK, but not worth the money. That my money would be better spent elsewhere. I'm finally ready to just leave my MOR gun with the Bushnell 4.5-14x50mm alone for a while. It's good enough for now. I tried putting a Burris 4-12x32mm R/A on my Armalite M15A4 using the Armalite 1pc, 1" scope-mount but I can't mount it quite far enough forward to get the eye-relief I want. Next step was going to be a Swan Sleeve, but I've read that might make the mount too tall and I'd lose my cheek-weld. I've got the Leupold 1.5-5x20mm for 3-gun. That's a no-brainer. I'm just wanting something with a little more magnification for "fun" shooting. 6" plates at 400yds from a bench, for example. I can get the MR/T mentioned above (designed with short eye-relief specifically for the AR) on sale tomorrow for $598. Otherwise its more like $730. If this is a decent scope, I'd like to jump on this deal and just be done with it. Or should I just skip it and spend my money on gunsmithing & reloading stuff? Is there a another "AR friendly" 9x or 10x scope I should be looking at instead? Mike