Bill T

I was wondering if anyone out there has stumbled on to a sweet load in the .300 Win. Mag. with 210 grain Berger VLD bullets? I'm loading with IMR 4831, but also plan on some loads with Reloader 22. My plan is to shoot these out of both my Kimber 8400 L.A. Police Tactical as well as my Savage 110 FCP-K, seated out to .010 to no more than .020 off the lands. I just loaded up some Sierra 180 Gr. Matchkings with 71.6 Gr. of IMR 4831. I'm using Federal Gold Medal 215-M Magnum Benchrest Primers with everything. I have high hopes for both of these rifles, so if anyone has an exceptionally good recipe to share, I'd love to hear it. Thanks in advance, Bill T.

It's a Kimber Model 8400 L.A. Police Tactical in .300 Winchester Magnum. It comes from the factory with a 20 MOA steel rail, hand lapped bolt lugs and raceways, and a trued up bolt face. The barrel is cut with a match chamber and is hand lapped as well. The action is glass bedded. I mounted a Bushnell 3200 Elite Tactical 5-15X in Leupold Mark IV steel rings. They lapped in very nicely. I've had it to the range to sight it in and check functioning. With cheap Federal "Power-Shock" ammo it grouped well under an inch all day. The barrel cleaned up very easily with no time wasted with "brake in's". I'm going to load up some 190 grain Sierra Matchking's with 72 grains of IMR 4831 for starters. I'm going to order a set of Redding Precision dies tomorrow from Midway. I have a set of Lyman dies in .300 Win. Mag., but I want something better. The micrometer adjustable seating dies makes it much easier to seat just off the lands. Kimber test fires these rifles at the factory, and won't let them out the door unless they go 1/2 MOA or better. I'm hoping this will be a very good long range performer. Bill T.

The way it was explained to me is that "spin drift", and the Coriolis Effect are 2 different things. Spin Drift is caused by the gyroscopic effect of the bullet itself, and the Coriolis Effect is caused by the rotation of the Earth. It is the force that makes a Hurricane spin. Think of it like trying to play catch on a merry-go-round. If the merry-go-round is not in motion, throwing the ball at each person would result in a normal flight path of the ball. If you turn the merry-go-round in a clockwise direction this would cause the ball to appear to drift to the left as it traveled. To "hit" the other person it would require you to lead them to the right so their flight paths would connect. Much like NASA did with the Apollo Moon shots. They aimed at a theoretical point in space where they calculated the Moon would be when they got there. They were amazingly accurate every time when you consider the Moon was 240,000 miles away when they launched, and they slipped right into Lunar orbit only 60 nautical miles high from the Lunar surface. The absolute slightest error would have caused them to miss the Moon entirely, or else plow right into the Lunar surface. Bill T.

After I purchased my Bushmaster BA-50 .50 BMG rifle I discovered this stuff, and now I simply will not mount a scope without it. http://www.mountsplus.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=MSP&Product_Code=LLR-SGR-NR1&Category_Code= It is a type of powdered rosin very similar to the stuff gymnasts use on their hands to prevent slipping. All you do is clean both the inside of the rings, as well as the scope tube with alcohol, then using a small model airplane paint brush, apply it to both of the ring halves, and the caps. Carefully set the scope into place, gently set the caps on, and torque as you normally would. Your scope will not move! This stuff will not harm the finish of your scope, rings, or rifle. This stuff is used religiously by .50 caliber shooters. If anyone needs extra holding power, .50 BMG shooters do. Mounting Solutions Plus is also very good to deal with, and they ship promptly. One container will last the average shooter a lifetime. Bill T.

This is a pre Charles Daly "Baby Eagle" from Magnum Research. The gun runs flawlessly, and is quite comfortable for it's size and weight. Personally I prefer a heavier weapon. What initially drew me to this gun was it's price, combined with it's all steel construction. I don't mind Aluminum in guns, but do prefer steel. The only issue I had with it was the feed ramp was a little on the rough side, but after a little polishing it came in bright and beautiful. For the money, (I paid under $500.00), I think it is a nicely constructed, reliable gun. Good firepower in a small enough piece. Bill T.

All I have ever used to lubricate my firearms is Mobil 1 Motor Oil, ATF, (Automatic Transmission Fluid), and for very high pressure friction points like bolt lugs on bolt action rifles and hinge pins and trunnions on O/U shotguns I use a small amount of STP. I have never had a a gun rust or fail because of a lubrication issue in over 35 years. Gun oils and greases are overpriced "snake oils" in fancy packaging, nothing more. Know what your getting when you spend $8.00 for a bottle of "Castrol / Hoppes Synthetic Gun Oil"? Castrol Syntec Motor Oil. You can buy it all day for around $4.50 @ quart, or pay $8.00 for 4 ounces of it in a fancy brushed Aluminum pump bottle. Same with a lot of these "Gun Greases". Go into any auto parts store and you can buy a large tube of Moly Grease that will last the average shooter a lifetime for a couple of bucks. It's as good, or better than these miracle gun greases they sell for over $10.00 for a 1/4 ounce! If you like the fancy hypo type applicator, you can get one at Walgreens, CVS, or most any other drug store for around .25 to .50 cents, and it's refillable too boot. Mobil 1 can be tailored to your climate just as you would if you used it in your car. If you shoot or hunt in very frigid climate it comes in a 0W-20 grade that won't stiffen up in cold weather. Here in Arizona we don't get much cold weather, but in the Summer it can get blistering hot so I use the 20W-50 grade. It has a nice viscosity that won't run off metal and dry up in a few days like some of these water thin gun oils like "Rem-Oil" will. ATF is a very clean non gumming lubricant that works well for lubricating semi autos and fast moving parts like slides and even trigger mechanisms. All 3 of these products can be purchased at any auto parts store for around $10.00, and will last the average shooter for years. I won't overpay for these gun lubes that do nothing better except make you poorer. Just my opinion, your mileage may vary. Bill T.

This is my Glock 30 and you can see how the guide rod protrudes out the front of the slide a slight bit. The gun functions just fine and field strips normally. Nothing wrong with the operation at all. Has anyone else noticed this on their compact Glocks? I'm told it's perfectly normal to have this, and it won't effect function or reliability in the least. I just would like to hear from some people who have this same thing on their pistols. Bill T.

I own and shoot both. One above is a Sig P-226 SCT Model that ships with the 4, 20 round factory magazines. The other is a P-226 Stainless Elite. Of the 2 I have to say I like the Stainless Elite better. It's a little hard to describe but the gun seems to feel and balance better in my hand. That's not to say the SCT is "bad", it's not. I just prefer the bit of added weight it offers as well. Also, Stainless Steel frames are notably more rugged than Aluminum. Both of these guns are equipped with night sights. Bill T.

I used to dislike this weapon. Then a few weeks back my wife got me this one from Cabela's. They had a sale going on them. These were all Italian made guns. I know many are made here at the Accokeek, Maryland plant. The day before, I went there to look at a Glock 17-L long slide "target" model, but they wanted $720.00 for it. I love Glocks, and have several of them, but $720.00 is just too much so I came home disappointed. She went there to pick me up a couple of Allen Assault Rifle Cases for my 2 Yugo Underfolders, saw this Beretta, and grabbed it. After extensively handling it I'm starting to like it. I've always thought they were too big for a 15 shot 9 MM, but we both have large hands so in that regard it is a lot like my Glock 21's. The trigger takes some getting used to, but overall it's not a bad piece. Bill T.

I purchased a Dillon Magnum FL-2000 back in 1985 or there abouts. It's still going strong. I use it a lot because I like nice clean ammo. Usually a load will run overnight out in the garage. I couldn't even begin to estimate the number of hours on it. If and when it goes I'll drive right up to Scottsdale and buy another one. When that happens it will most likely be the last one I ever buy because I'll probably be dead by the time it goes! Bill T.

This is my Bushmaster BA-50 set up. I went with Smith Enterprises .50 BMG Rings and a AR-15 steel riser also from Smith Enterprises. My reason was this set up will allow me to go to most any scope on the market without having to purchase additional equipment. My current scope is a Bushnell 3200 Elite Tactical. But as you can see I have plenty of room for a much larger objective if I choose to go that route. I can't say enough good about the Smith Enterprises rings. They come with beautifully matched steel, double flanged, 1" bushings that fit so well, they just "snap" into place. Again, if I want to go to a 30 MM scope, all I have to do is lose the bushings, and I'm all set. None of this stuff was cheap, but I like the versatility it gives me. Bill T.

I posted this a while back on another forum. A few people who were thinking of reloading had asked about costs associated with it. I thought it might be helpful because with the rising cost of ammunition over the last couple of years, many shooters are considering the alternative of reloading to help cut costs. A lot has been written about how much, if any, money is actually saved when everything is taken into account. This is a cost breakdown for the 2,350 rounds of .223 I finished loading a few months back. As I said, a fellow on another forum, who was interested in reloading for his AR-15's had asked me. The brass I used was mixed headstamp. CCI, Remington, Winchester, Lake City, S&B, and a few others I'm forgetting. This brass was obtained from on line sources on the web. I processed it all the same. First I resized and deprimed all of it with a RCBS Small Base Sizing Die. Then I processed all of the primer pockets on my Dillon 600 Super Swage, because some of them were military with crimped primer pockets. I then trimmed all of them to uniform length on my Giraud Powered Case Trimmer. After that they went into the tumbler for several hours and received a polish with ground corn cob and Dillon Rapid Polish added to the media. The final step was to run it through my Dillon and crimp with a Lee Factory Crimp Die. They turned out very good. My total investment in this batch of .223 was: Brass---------$20.00 total. (It was free, but I paid the shipping). Powder-------$65.00 for 8 pounds of AA 2230C. (25.0 Gr. per load X 2,350 = 58,750 Gr. 58,750 divided by 7,000 Grains per pound = 8.39 pounds of powder total.) Primers-------$59.38 for 2,350 primers @ $25.00 per thousand. Bullets-------$172.21 (2,350 Winchester 55 Gr. FMJBT from Midway) Boxes--------$52.00 for 100 boxes and trays from Midway. (Actually $26.00 because I used only 47.) Grand Total = $342.59 By comparison the 1,000 rounds of Remington UMC FMJ in .223 pictured above cost me $371.00 delivered from Natchez, (over a year ago). Reloading can be extremely cost effective but you must find good sources, and buy in bulk. Here are 2 very good sources for brass, bullets, and powder. If you are willing to do a little Internet hunting, brass can be found quite inexpensively. It may require cleaning, and primer crimp removal, but tools to do that can be purchased cheaply, and the amount of time added to the operation as a whole isn't much. http://www.gibrass.com http://www.patsreloading.com Now let's make some adjustments, then do the math to find out just how much, if anything, I really saved. Before we do that we need to make one critical adjustment. The $371.00 I paid for the 1,000 rounds of Remington UMC is LONG GONE. Rising fuel prices along with non ferrous metal prices have driven that number to new heights. Especially when you include shipping. If you buy locally, whatever you save in shipping you'll eat in sales tax. So it's pretty much tit for tat. The Glendale, Arizona Cabela's 2 miles from me as of last week, charges $10.00 a box of twenty for Remington UMC .223. Let's roll with that figure. Cabela's is a very large retailer, and while others might stock ammo a little cheaper, Cabela's most always has it in stock which is important because you can't very well buy what a store doesn't have when you need it. So, using Cabela's $10.00 a box of twenty price for Remington UMC 55 Gr. FMJ .223 ammo that comes to: $500.00 per 1,000 plus 8.1% Arizona sales tax. That's $540.50 per thousand. $540.50 X 2.35 = $1,270.17 for 2,350 rounds. So as I type this it would cost me $1,270.17 to walk out of Cabela's with the same 2,350 rounds of .223 that cost me a grand total of $342.59. Now let's do the math. $1,270.17 - $342.59 = $927.58 Savings over what it would cost me right now to buy the exact same thing 2.5 miles from my home from one of the biggest shooting and hunting retailers in the country. Now let's talk time. Resize and deprime all 2,350 cases....... 9 hours. (That's only 4.3 cases a minute, but I'm 55, and not the fastest guy when I reload.) I tumbled all 2,350 cases over 2 nights while I slept. Adding the time to install plus remove 3 loads, (I use a Dillon FL-2000).......2 hours. Again I'm slow. Run all 2,350 rounds through my Dillon Progressive.......Approx. 300 rounds per hour. Yeah, I know they say 500 to 600 rounds per hour, but that's not very realistic. You have to include refilling powder measures and primer tubes, plus taking a break once and a while. 2,350 Divided By 300 R.P.H. = 7.83 hours. But let's be generous and call it 9 hours. My wife has nimble fingers and she enjoys boxing and labeling them for me, but I'll toss in another 3 hours for that as well to keep things on the up and up. So, the grand total in time invested runs: 9 Hours (Resize and deprime) 2 Hours (Putting in and removing from tumbler) 9 Hours (Yanking the handle on the Dillon) 3 Hours (Labeling & Boxing) .................................................. ........... 23 HOURS TOTAL $927.58 Savings Divided By 23 Total Hours = $40.33 PER HOUR. $40.33 per hour is a damn good wage, let alone getting it for doing something you enjoy in the comfort of your own home. So in conclusion I would say reloading is still worth it, but you must buy your components wisely, and use good equipment. As for "earning" $40.33 per hour doing it. Let's just call that icing on the cake. That cake will get more and more "frosted", as ammo prices just keep getting more and more expensive. And rest assured THEY WILL! Bill T.

This is my Savage 12-F/TR. It's in .308. I've been very pleased with it's performance and accuracy. I need to work with it more, and plan to. I've been busy setting up other rifles, but now with the cooler weather coming to Arizona, and with me back to working weekends only, I'll have plenty of time. Bill T.

Both. Moisture and humidity are firearms and ammunition's worst enemy. Bill T.

I thought I would post this because so many people at one time or another ask how long reloads will last. Yesterday I took my new Savage Model 110 FCP-K out to the range to wring it out. I gathered up a lot of different .300 Win. Mag. ammo I had laying around. I found a yellow plastic box of handloads I had loaded up way back in 1975! These rounds were loaded in a Lee Loader because I didn't have a press until I bought my first house in 1976. They were loaded with 220 grain Hornady round nose soft points that, if I remember correctly, I loaded up in anticipation of an upcoming bear hunt that never materialized. So the rounds just continued to gather dust until I found them yesterday. After all of the serious shooting and grouping went well I decided to get rid of this old ammo. My club range has steel plates set out at 200 yards. I loaded up the Savage with the old handloads and went to work. Every single one went bang, and accurately too I might add. These rounds were stored in a 20 MM G.I. issue ammo can for literally decades, (34 years to be exact). They got no special treatment such as sealer on the primers or case mouths. I loaded the powder, then tapped in the bullet with a plastic mallet, per Lee's instructions. This should lay to rest any worry about handloads "going bad" with age. At least from my perspective it does. If stored in a dry environment the shelf life of most any kind of modern ammo is all but indefinite. Bill T.

These photos give you some idea of the sheer size of the Ace Extra Large .50 BMG Case, as well as it's construction. These were taken on my California King Brass Bed. The other case in the photos is a really nice Bucheimer that I use to transport my 30" barreled Browning Citori, and BT-99 Trap Guns in. Overall I'm pleased with it's construction, as well as it's size. Bill T.

This is a good super slo-mo video of what happens to a scope on a .50 BMG. This is a super expensive Accuracy International semi auto .50 BMG. The entire scope base lifts up as the scope flexes. For what A. I. charges for their weapons you would think they would provide a stronger set up. Bill T.

Simply because the Smith Enterprises Tactical Rings were the absolute strongest I could find. Not even the Badger Ordnance "Max 50" Rings have double cross bolts, or are wire EDM'd. These rings allow the strongest mounting possible for either a 1" or 30 MM scope, without having to change out rings. You pay for it, but you have the best, strongest, and most versatile mounting system available. Scopes, regardless of price or size, don't have a long life expectancy on a .50 BMG. I've talked to .50 shooters who have had the lenses fall out of $1,800.00+ Nightforces in less than 100 rounds. Bill T.

This is my mistake for the confusion. The inserts supplied by Smith Enterprises are in fact STEEL and are matched to the rings. The rings reducers I have pictured are Delrin. I ordered them because the Brownell's catalog does not show, or specify that the steel inserts are included with each set of 30 MM Smith Enterprises Rings. This was a very pleasant surprise when I opened the box. I now have a set of Delrin inserts I have no use for. I'm not complaining because the steel inserts supplied with the Smith rings are double flanged, and fit the rings so exactly they "snap" into place. More ring makers should do this. It makes the rings far more adaptable to just about any scope manufactured. This is the Brownell's web page that added to the confusion. They don't mention the fact steel inserts are supplied, or show it in the photograph. http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=26094/P..._TACTICAL_RINGS I'll most likely return the Delrin inserts with my next order. Bill T.

Those bushings come supplied by Smith Enterprises with their rings. They are wire EDM machined to match the rings. Bill T. http://www.smithenterprise.com/spec/Rings_WEDM_0.50_BMG.pdf

I haven't fired it yet. I just got everything put together yesterday. I located some powdered Rosin and ordered it. It should be here in a few days. When it comes I'll pull the ring caps and apply it. Most of the .50 BMG shooters I've spoken with all use it and say they've never had a scope move with it. Cheap insurance to be sure. After that it will be range ready. Bill T. http://www.mountsplus.com/miva/merchant.mv...all/LLR-SGR-NR1

Here she is with everything mounted up. As soon as the Rosin comes I'll pull the ring caps and apply it, and she'll be ready for the range! Bill T.

This is what I plan to go with on my .50 BMG Gentleman. It's been ordered, and is on the way from Brownell's and Midway. Smith Enterprises Rings. (Wire EDM Cut 4130 steel.) Smith Enterprises Delrin Reducer Rings, (30 MM To 1") Smith Enteprises Base, (Also wire cut 4130 steel). Bushnell 3200 Elite Tactical 5-15X 40MM

http://www.snopes.com/politics/guns/blairholt.asp They're at it again! Bill T.

For anyone who might be interested, this place really has good prices, as well as choices in .50 BMG ammunition, components, and information. Bill T. http://www.50bmgsupply.com/