RCNet

Please report back after you get it figured out.

Yes, this is a one day match on Sat. August 11th.

I've got the bug!! ...and I have this forum to thank (blame). When I was a child, I played a little with R/C sailplanes and cars, but really thought it would be cool to have a heli. Eventually, school and life got in the way and my R/C activity faded away. I'm at the point I need a good midlife crisis, but already have the sports car, and a girlfriend on the side is just too much work. That's when I saw this thread and started thinking about those days of old when I really wanted a R/C heli. What better way to have a midlife crisis, than to revert to your childhood.... So, I went out a couple of weeks ago and bought myself a Blade mSR X helicopter so I could start learning to fly a heli. I'm having a blast, even though I'm still only working on my hover. I've already upgraded to a new Spektrum DX6i transmitter and the Phoenix Sim software, and of course I'm investing in an ample supply of batteries and spare parts (aka "tuition"). I'm driving the cat, dog, and wife absolutely nutty by buzzing around the living room 10-15 times a day in 5 minute bursts. The coffee table has become my impromptu heliport. I see this as only the start of great things to come. I'm already eyeballing a collective pitch helicopter like the mCP X as my next step, and then on to something bigger.... The only downside is that I've just started flying, and I can already see it nibbling into my shooting budget...

The Columbia Cascade Section and Albany Rifle & Pistol Club will be hosting a Level 1 Range Officer Seminar at the Albany Rifle & Pistol Club in Shedd OR on February 4-5, 2012. Albany/Shedd is located about 2 hours South of Portland OR. The cost of the class is $40 and the only prerequisite is that you be a current member of USPSA. The instructor for the class will be Carl Schmidt The class will begin at 8am on Feb 4th, and ARPC has made arrangements with the local Phoenix Inn in Albany OR for a special rate for people who are traveling in from out of town. The discount code to use is "ARPC" and arrangements can be made by calling the Phoenix Inn directly at 541-926-5696, or toll free 888-889-0208. Please contact Roger Nettles treasurer@columbia-cascade.org for additional information, or to register for the class. The registration deadline is January 20, 2012.

I saw an advertisement in this month's Shooting Industry Magazine that Howard Leight is about to release a new Impact Pro electronic muff which has a NRR rating of 30. Certainly bigger than the Impact Sport, but better protection. I'm eager to see what they are all about when they hit the market. Here's the ad, Dec2011.pdf

There is a free MacOS X native ballistic calculator available. It's the open source GNU External Ballistics Computer. http://sourceforge.net/projects/balcomp/ It's not been updated in a while, but seems to work pretty well. It has both PPC and Intel versions as well as binaries for other platforms. It might be worth taking a look.

While I've not used their 9mm bullets, I really like the Powerbond .40 and .45 plated bullets. Very consistent, and nicer plating than Rainier, but they are pricier. Website: http://www.powerbondbullets.com/

Sort of dopey....

Amen!! I started "drinking the Kool-aid" back in the mid-90's and haven't regretted it one bit. I probably need to think about replacing my circa 2006 iMac, but it still works so well that I'm having a hard time justifying it. Although that new MacBook Air is calling out to me pretty loudly....

I have a friend who had "EARTH FIRST! We can log the other planets later" on her Volvo.

We had a Moen in the kitchen which started to leak after about 8 years. I recently replaced it with a Delta pull-out faucet with the fancy touch control and really like it. Installation was a snap and the instructions were very clear and understandable. The construction and quality of the faucet seemed very good. The price was also surprisingly good at Home Depot for having the advanced features.

I think you are talking about the forcing cone. It tends to get black along with little circles on the face of the cylinder. I've always used Flitz metal polish paste and a little elbow grease to clean those areas up on my S&W 625 and 629. All it takes is a dab of Flitz on a clean patch, rag, or small piece of paper towel and then just start working it on the area with your fingers. Re-apply a little Flitz as needed as you rub and it comes off. You don't need to scrub really hard, but moderate pressure and just keep working the areas and it will clean right up. You can wrap a patch, with some Flitz on it, around the tip of a toothpick or dental tool, to get down into the seams where where the forcing cone meets the frame if you need to.

Great looking gun Mitch. It looks even better in person, and I liked it so much that I asked John to do something similar to the open gun he is building for me. It won't be quite as dramatic since the slide is shorter, but I'm eager to see the result. I think you may have started a trend. Roger

00bullitt what bolt knob are you using in this picture? It looks to me like he is running the Briley bolt handle. I've got the same thing in black on my SLP http://www.briley.com/boltopreratinghandle.aspx

+1 for Parallels. I've been using Parallels since it was released and love it. I just recently upgraded to the latest release and it runs fine on my first generation Intel iMac. I've used it mainly with Windows XP, but have also played with the beta of Windows 7 as well. Windows 7 was a little sluggish, but XP runs great (even with the occasional 3D game). I've also used Parallels with a couple flavors of Linux over the years and it's never let me down. For what you are wanting to do it sounds perfect. With some of the available interface modes it offers you don't even have to feel like you are running Windows at all.

One way to get a discount on Photoshop is to go take a evening Photoshop class at the local community college. If you are enrolled in the class it makes you eligible for the student discount from Adobe. I have a friend currently in an advanced photoshop class and she just purchased the Photoshop CS4 Extended package (suggested retail $999) for $170 with the student discount. She said the class is really helpful getting started with Photoshop if nothing else to provide a roadmap to all the features and functions which are rather intimidating. A pretty powerful alternative to Photoshop is an open source program out there called the "GNU Image Manipulation Program" or just GIMP for short. It's multi-platform (windows, mac, & unix), free since it's open source, and user supported. That means you may have to be a little computer nerdy to figure it out, but there is a pretty good selection of tutorials and manuals online. There is a good size library of plug-ins and it will do anything you can do with Photoshop. You can find more info at http://www.gimp.org

I really like my American Security BF series safe. It's well put together and has a higher fire rating than the comparable safes I looked at when I did my shopping. http://www.amsecusa.com/

+1 for Cyberduck. I've been using it for years. http://cyberduck.ch/

I really really like your idea of using the 80/20 rails. My bench does double duty with everything else I do and this would be a great solution to allow me to do everything without my press always being in the way. I don't have a big butcher block surface, but could come up with something else to inlay the rails and make it nice and sturdy. What series/size of 80/20 rails did you use in your application? Thanks, RCNet

I'm averaging about .22 myself. I also use Sheep Dash to test reaction times as well. It not only is visual, but you can close your eyes and listen for the sheep to make a run for it and see how well you react to audible stimulus as well. I'm usually a tad bit slower with ears alone.

glockstan, I've not tried isquint, but if you have a mac, there is no better or easier converter than Handbrake. http://handbrake.fr/ It's free and incredibly powerful. RCNet

That mix with 230gr Rainiers yields 168pf in my Kimber, but with the spread I kept dropping a few below 165pf and decided to go with 4.8gr to provide a little cushion. What is the extreme spread you see with that load?

Alzo, I've just started reloading and came to the same conclusion you did. The powder is the least expensive component of the round and I calculated it would be only $7-$15/1000 more to load with VV than some of the other brands I was considering. With all the praise I hear/read about VV powders, that didn't seem like a whole lot. I've only found it locally in 1lb containers, and I pick one up whenever I stop by Sportsman's Warehouse so that I always have 2lbs in reserve in case there is a dry spell. I wish I could find it locally in 4lb containers, and have considered mail ordering it, but with the shipping and hazardous cargo charges, it's still just slightly cheaper buying it 1lb at a time. RCNet

I'm just getting started reloading for my Kimber and so far I've settled on... 230gr Rainier RN 4.8gr N320 WLP Primers OAL 1.26 It averages about a 170pf.

Jimmy, I've got a six pack of the Paper Target Stands from GT Target http://www.gttargets.com/paperstands.htm They've worked great for me, and the included carrier makes them quick and easy to transport. RCNet