BJB

I sometimes wear a slip on neoprene knee sleeve when shooting but it's not for structural support or anything like that. It simply helps keep my knee warm when it's cool weather. If all you're having done is some meniscus work then you have nothing to worry about. They'll scope you and you'll be back on your knee that very day.

Sure, don't worry about it. It's really a minor surgery. I ran races for over 30 years after the 1st surgery. I have a fake knee now and still compete at a decent level in USPSA. Do your physical therapy as prescribed and it'll be fine.

@TroyCHenley & @GJM, thank you for the replies. So, ordering primers/powder online and having them shipped to your home by paying shipping/hazmat like in the lower 48 is not an option in Alaska? Or, it is available but you just have to pay more shipping/hazmat charges? Or, you’re required to use a shipper like @TroyCHenley mentioned to get any appreciable quantity of reloading components? @GJM, I plan to put up some berms and build my own bay on some property north of Homer. That’s where most of my rounds will be expended. I find practice very fun. The Snowshoe range at Kenai looks to be a legit range and they run some USPSA and Steel Challenge (Being from Arkansas, I found it funny that they state that they run matches there until it reaches zero degrees......then you should call and check to see if it's cancelled). And maybe could compete up at Birchwood now & then for bigger matches. That’s just gravy on the potatoes though as most of my shooting will be in practice at home. We're looking at summers now anyway, May through October or the like.

Any of you Alaskan sourdoughs out there?

For those that currently live in Alaska, or have recently lived in Alaska, could you peruse the following and give me your insights please? ………especially with the post-chinese flu supply chain problems. We are contemplating a move to Alaska, the Homer area. I am currently a high volume shooter, predominantly USPSA, but other genres as well. Is ordering reloading components and having them shipped to Alaska as simple as paying 2 hazmat fees since stuff has to go through Ketchikan and/or Whittier? Or is there more to it than that? I searched through old threads and found some information but not everything was clear to me. I order components in high volume too so if it’s just 2 hazmat fees then that’s no big deal to me. Can you folks that have direct first-hand knowledge on the subject please educate me with the latest? 1) Hazmat components: powder & primers. 2) Bullets: I shoot mainly coated and USPS flat rate seems like the way to go vs UPS & FedEx. 3) Lead for casting: I’m starting to cast/coat my own bullets now so how is shipping lead to Alaska? 4) Existing components: I currently have over 60 pounds of powder & about 85k primers, so can I ship that to Alaska somehow? Thank you up front for your information.

You'll likely need to up it a couple tenths to get the same velocity.

@Kravi Look in the USPSA rules under APPENDIX E1. Make sure you're measuring correctly.

More than likely, yes, you'll need to crimp because you'll probably need to flare the case when seating. If you use lead, coated lead, or plated then you'll have to flare the case to prevent scraping during seating so you'll then taper crimp. If you use jacketed then the bullet shape will determine if you can get away without flaring. I would think you'd need a bevel base jacketed bullet as any other base might have troubling sitting on the case mouth as you go to seat and can buckle the case mouth a little. I flare and then crimp all my pistol rounds regardless of bullet used. Not much flare is required, just enough for the bullet to sit without toppling and to avoid scraping during seating...... 0.385" or so. I do not flare/crimp .223 and .308 as I use boat tail bullets. They sit very nicely in the case mouth during seating.

That press would do just fine for your stated goals. You can seat primers on it and not have to buy the hand primer. You can buy a cheap digital caliper and digital scale for about $30-$40 each online. When measuring powder to set your Uniflow drop do groups of ten drops and get the average. RCBS sells a 3-die set for 9mm, get the carbide. The seat/crimp die is one die, but I suggest do the seating & crimping as two separate steps.....just back the seating stem out when doing the crimp. No need to trim or de-bur 9mm, but you might want to get a de-crimping tool for small pistol primer pockets in case you get ahold of some crimped military brass. Also, think of how you'll clean your brass prior to loading. Most use some sort of tumbler but that isn't a must for small amounts of brass. A case gauge isn't a must for small amounts either as you can gauge the reloaded rounds in the G19 chamber itself after removing the barrel from the gun. A loading block would probably be handy when using a single-stage. I don't know what you have available in your neck of the woods but if you are going to plan on reloading you really need to look at acquiring your reloading components right now. Looks like there may be another interruption in the supply chain for reloading components, especially powder, according to several sources.....at least here in the States.

@sloppyrice, From what you detail above, I would suggest a simple single-stage press. A lot of guys will suggest a progressive press, and yes, progressive presses can produce a lot more, but that isn't your goal. With your above stated metrics in mind I would suggest you look at a single-stage press reloading kit from RCBS as these kits have much of what you need to get started. Possibilities include: Rock Chucker Supreme Master Reloading Kit (https://www.rcbs.com/rcbs-kits/rock-chucker-supreme-master-reloading-kit/16-9366.html) Rebel Master Reloading Kit (https://www.rcbs.com/rcbs-kits/rebel-master-reloading-kit/16-9251.html) Explorer Reloading Kit (https://www.rcbs.com/rcbs-kits/explorer-reloading-kit-2/16-9288.html)

Cases from different head stamps can vary greatly in weight. Take a handful of empty hulls of different manufacture and weight each one and see the variance. Most of the difference will be in the case head, in particular the case web.

I bought a box of the 130gr back in 2020 to chrono & group it.....just to have the data. I used a Stock 2, so close enough to a Shadow 2. It has a more rounded bullet rather than than the flat meplat on the 150gr. It fed & functioned 100% in the pistol. Recoil was mild. PF was 127 and that's a little low for me. I prefer about 135 PF. I didn't like the 25 yd groups as compared to my reloads but it was serviceable ammo. 10-shot groups at 25 yds was about 5". My reloads are about 2.5". That was all with iron sights off a rest. If I were in your shoes and had to use factory ammo and found a good price on the 130gr stuff I wouldn't have any worries. Shoot it and enjoy. (As an aside, look for bulk Blazer Brass 124 gr somewhere like sgammo.com. It's PF was about 136, produced about 4" groups at 25 yds, it's usually available somewhere, and it's cheaper than Syntech by about 4 or 5 cents per round.) The same day I chrono'ed & grouped the 130gr Syntech I did the same for the 150gr to have a comparison. The 130gr gave a PF of 127.1 w/ about 5" groups @ 25 yds. The 150gr gave a PF of 135.2 w/ about 7" groups at 25 yds. 25-Jan-2020, 50 deg, Tanfoglio Stock 2, 4.5" barrel: 130 gr Syntech: 979, 976, 958, 978, 978, 950, 981, 976, 980, 996 Avg=978, ES=46, SD=11, PF=127.1 150 gr Syntech: 905, 900, 896, 897, 900, 902, 901, 905, 907, 898 Avg=901, ES=11, SD=4, PF=135.2

Real quick & easy to flip it, load 10-20, and measure.

flip the seating stem to the flat side.

Yes, this is fairly common with the larger grain extruded powders like Varget when having to funnel down to a small case mouth like a .223.