practical_man

Thanks. I have been looking at the Athlon quite a bit. Mixed reviews are what initially kept me from buying one. Some years ago My initial foray into optics wasn’t fruitful. I purchased a couple of mid priced scopes that turned out to be lemons. Once burned, twice shy. I will look at Athlon again. Might be the ticket.

Looking for opinions on a decent mid-tier optic for moderate ranges. Primary use will be experimenting with Rimfire Long Range shooting. Possibly transition to a cneterfire rifle later. Budget is a constraint so top shelf optics are out of reach. (I know, buy once and cry once or buy cheap and cry twice. Still, kids complain bitterly when you don’t feed them so budget matters.) would like to stay below the $1k price point. Looking for something like 4x on the low end, 15x or so on the high end. Not stuck on these magnifications though. In my limited experience with optics I like the ability to find targets at lower power and Zoom as required. First Focal Plane, side focus, repeatable adjustments, and durable are required features. Would like to stick with mil reticle and mil adjustments. Plenty of elevation is also helpful, thought I plan to use a tapered scope base to add some elevation for longer ranges. also interested in advice about bases and rings. First experiment will be with a Savage MK 2 FV. I can shoot out to about 500 yards locally. The idea is to practice with the rimfire on wind calls and accurate ranging with the reticle. I’m a complete novice in longer range rifle work. Please help me get started with decent gear for the task that won’t break either budget or morale. thanks -John

I like this stock as well. Bought a couple from PA on sale. Good fit without a lot of wobble.

Frog Togs are good for light duty and cheap enough. Other poly coated nylon products are more durable, Fashionable, and expensive. Depending on your need it may be worth investing in a rain suit. I recommend against gore Tex or similar products. GoreTex is mostly hype. I’ve worn the issued ECWES since the first generation came out in late 80s. It’s neither breathable nor rain proof. Sweat doesn’t magically evaporate through the pores and water leaks in the seams. I’ve also tried several brands of commercial GoreTex rain gear and boots. All expensive. All uniformly disappointing performance. I advise friends to avoid GoreTex and similar products. Buy good poly coated nylon wet weather gear for when you are stationary. When moving you will sweat and be wet anyway, so stow the snivel fear and get to work. Put on snivel gear at the halt. Warmth. A mid or light weight polar fleece type jacket is useful. Relatively durable. Effective insulation. Inexpensive. Doesn’t stop wind at all, so you may need another layer under or over it. Layers are the important part of dressing for the cold. Cotton absorbs water and chills you, so avoid cotton fabrics when you expect to be cold and wet (unless working around flame hazards that cause synthetics to melt). Wool is better, but expensive and a pain in the neck to care for. Footwear shouldn’t be neglected in cold and wet conditions. Good traction is always important. Properly treated leather hiking boots work well. All that said, I don’t shoot matches in the rain or mud because it’s neither fun nor safe to run around in the mud. I did that for a living once, people got hurt often from falls. Bad juju. Rain gear for a light shower is a different matter.

Stick makes good suggestions. buy a chronograph today. Measurement tools are important to Handloading. A chrono is useful for checking performance and safety. A decent one can be had on sale for around $100 from the usual retailers. I have a Caldwell and a magnetospeed. The latter doesn’t work well with pistols. I’m looking seriously at a LabRadar for convenience. good calipers. Good beam scale. Both are important. Clean your brass before sizing. I just dry tumble my brass is corn cob media from the local welding supply. A little liquid car wax added to the media keeps the dust down and adds some shine. Wet tumbling was not for me. When developing your load, chamber check in your guns. They are the ultimate go-no go gauge and you already have paid for them. Plunk test is a good start. Buy components in small batches till you find out what work for you. Some Bullet profiles can be problematic in some chambers. Once you find what works, buy in bulk and on sale. I get primers and powder from Powder Valley in Kansas, Natchez in Tennessee, , Brownellsand occasionally Mid South. Always on sale. Always when a free of cheap hazmat fee. Of note, Hornady Action Pistol bullets come on sale in the spring and fall. They’re good bullets for semi auto pistols, and can be had for around $0.10 delivered to your door when on sale. Sadly they don’t make HAPs for revolvers so we have to wait for the nearly unobtainable Zero brand JHP for wheel guns. precision delta JHPs have also been accurate for me. They have occasional sales. Lead or coated bullets are cheaper. Various opinion on different suppliers. I’ve tried a bunch. They’re all about the same as far a smoke and fouling. Some are more consistent diameter than others. Bayou Bullets have been decent performers for me. There are a ton of powder choices that work in 9mm. I’ve been experimenting with BE-86 as a low flash alternative to power pistol. It seems promising. Try a few and see what you like. Then buy a couple 8 pound jugs of that. Primers. everyone has opinions on this. I’ve settled in Winchester for auto loaders and Federal for revolvers. Federal are softer so they work well in match revolvers. I think they are too soft for high pressure open gun loads, other have different opinions. Winchester Primers work, are consistent performers, and generally available. I have used CCI primers with good results; they seem to have a harder cup and require a form hammer strike to light them. Great for Service Rifle loads. as a side note, I tried some Eastern European primers during the great Scarcity in the 44th POTUS regime. Mixed results. Not worth the trouble as long as the major US brands are available. Best advice: Take your time and learn deliberately. Get a notebook and document everything about your process and components. That way you can make adjustments based on recorded data, rather than recollection. Get a mentor to help you. My current notebooks also include cost data. I didn’t always do that, but it seems worthwhile now. You should only record data that you will actually use. That’s likely to change over time. machine maintenance is important. Clean and lube your loader on a schedule you can support. It saves headaches. I use the calendar rather than round count.

Blindfire I wouldn’t recommend trying this with a dremel. I speak from some experience in that regard. It can be done that way but it takes a bunch of sanding wheels and quite some hand sanding to polish things out. Not efficient. Prone to error. Holding the parts and dremel at the same time is a challenge even with a good bench vise. The deburring wheels Toolguy uses are a little spendy but they are great for all sorts of metal working jobs. Even touching up your edged tools for the yard. They are efficient and leave a nice finish. Real time savers. If you have a bench grinder or dedicated buffer the 3m wheels are great. Toolguy is a fantastic machinist and exceptional revolver operator/builder. If he tells you something you can bank on it.

MikeBurgess thanks! Those are the details I needed, especially the grit. I will give the epoxy putty a try. A few few years ago I met a guy named Warren that convinced me it was ok to modify stuff I already owned. So I no longer fear whittling on grips or paying a really talented machinist to improved revolver performance. As a smart guy once told me: buy all the points you can afford and then practice till you can earn the ones you need. I also use thumbs forward in revolvers for the same reason you do. I don’t have huge hands, but my trigger finger does run into the thumbs down grip. Moreso with the j frame EDC than the big N frame.

MikeBurgess please do tell about those grips. It looks like some abrasive applied in an epoxy. Very interesting to me. -John

I know certainly that brake cleaner will remove Aluma Hyde and Krylon in large chunks. Don’t know about the product you mention.

I’ve found nothing wrong with HP-38 in 38 SPL. After trying a bunch of other powders, I stocked up on HP-38 for pistols. Clays is also good. I no longer use it in 12 gauge so there’s none around for pistol use.

PM sent

Get the adjustable comb. You will probably want it sooner than later. I bought my citori with the plain stock. As I got better, I sent the stock off to Graco to have an adjustable butt pad and comb added. It wasn’t cheap, but it was money well spent to get the gun to hit where I look. ETA: my comb is raised about 1/4”. Not much but it makes a huge difference on the scorecard.

I use imperial sizing wax for rifle rounds. It works great for that. For pistol I use DCL thinned with alcohol. In a pinch I have used imperial sizing wax for pistol too. Lube 1 case in 10 and things run smoothly. Just another alternative

You’ll like those guns. Shooting tip #1. Keep your head on the stock and watch the target. Or as my coach used to say: keep wood on wood!

Your powerlifting background will serve you well in shooting. Front squats are awesome for it. I suggested the bells to learn technique. The one handed kettlebell swing is a great way to add stability by strengthening glutes, improving hip and hamstring flexibility, and maintaining stability against a moving mass (like recoil). Your powerlifting shoes put you in a good posture. Sadly, most suck for running. You might find a similar geometry in a trail running shoe. I just wear regular boots. You can over come the foot problems and maybe beat them back a bit. My plantar fasciitis improved a lot when I started squatting heavy (for me) again and stretching the eccentric chain.

Your stance is dominated by quadricep and hamstring strength. Squats will help with both. Starting with kettlebell or dumbbell goblet squats will help you learn what it feels like to keep your weight forward of midline.

I use 14/40. It works fine. I bought 50# several years ago, gave half away to friends and still have plenty left. Add a little liquid car wax and a used dryer sheet to keep dust down and tumble away. I use the cheap media rotary separator from MidwayUSA to separate media and cases afterward. That works fine, but a little messy, so that must be done in the garage!

Protocol Design .100 wide front and his Rear sight are a great combination. I really appreciate how deep the notch is on his rear sight blade. The deep rear notch really seems to help line things up when I’m trying to shoot at speed.

^^This a Sharp pocket knife will remove those finger grooves in short order. You will likely expose some of the hard plastic under the rubber. Cover that with a little truck bed liner from you favorite auto parts store. Maybe add a little silicon carbide grip if you feel so inclined. (I didn’t, but might soon) Shape the grip to suit your preference and then order custom set that duplicates that profile.

I have the bushnell 1-4. It isn’t a true 1x at the bottom, if that bothers you. That scope lives on a 22 LR for reasons similar to yours. The eyebox is a bit narrow but very useable for offhand and prone both. Glass is clearer than the Primary Arms 22 scope it replaced. I think i paid about $125 for it on sale from Natchez or MidSouth. It works well for a 22 trainer.

Assuming that the safety is fit properly and works as intended. Have you considered the simple option of a dimple in the safety so the detent has better engagement? Or a stronger detent spring? Could the detent spring be broken or the plunger too short? If you remove material at B in your diagram it will likely change engagement with the sear leg, requiring some adjustment there as well.

MJ i use Varget in my 550. It’s like cutting corn flakes with a spoon. Annyoying for sure. I havent noticed terrible variance but quit looking years ago. Load holds the 10 ring at 600 yards, which is better than I can hold with a sling and open sights these days.

Pics? it sounds like you are using a metal magazine and the corners of the feed lips are scratching brass a bit. If that’s the case, load away.

Alex MC is tight on target. The new MiM parts need that bump. The old forged parts don’t have it.

Showing my ignorance... will the SP-01 or Shadow magazines fit the full size CZ 75 ? i have no idea what the frame differences might be.