jaredr

search function is definitely your friend on this one, will add the following +1 for dillon .223 die set. their carbide expander ball is worth every penny, and to get a carbide expander from RCBS or redding is an extra charge that will ultimately cost you about as much for one of their sizing dies + expander ball as you'd pay for the dillon die set. Also - i've had completely amazing service from dillon on their dies - couple of problems (all my fault, like hammering the sizing die down ona bent decapping pin and actually putting a dent in the bottom of the sizing die). Dillon actually fixed all of my boneheaded moves for free and never once said anything like "how the heck did you do that". I'd buy their stuff all over again just for that. -jared

+1 for power pistol for 9mm lead and jacketed. not at home so i don't have my data at hand for lead - would load 6.0o gr under 124 gr FMJ for a sedate plinking load, 6.8 gr (max load) for +P 115 gr JHP. recall it was around 5 gr or so under 125 gr LRN for plinking load out of my S&W M&P. -jared

hey, not sure that I know you but I could be that buddy... picked up a CMMG conversion from Brownells and had a miserable experience with it. Llike you mention above, it wouldn't go a magazine with a malfunction or two. Brownells service is awesome, swapped it out for another which was (believe it or not) worse and wouldn't go even a few rounds without failing to feed or fire. next step for me is whipping out the dremel and some craytex bobs to see if I can smooth things out, otherwise it's back to brownells and then a dedicated upper. bummer, as I really liked the idea of training with my centerfire AR (same trigger, optics, handguard etc.) without having to build up a replica on a dedicated upper (at significantly greater expense). -jared

sincere condolences Brian, and prayers for you and your family. i'm so glad that you and your brother were able to be there with her.

interesting - can't really tell, but looks like he fabricated a 120gauge upper for (i'm guessing) a transferrable class-3 lower? I thought I was doing really well just being able to swap out my gas rings thanks for the link, always amazing to see what people can come up with. -Jared

aboslutely right, another reason why i'd check headspace before firing. if i buy a new bolt from brownells and it doesn't headspace, i can just send it back to them and ask for a replacement (or actually buy a few, keep the one that headspaces and just return the others). If I'm "checking my headspace" with live rounds, brownells (or most other vendors) will probably be more reluctant to take back my once-fired bolt... as other posters have commented, it will probably work fine. i've been the exception to that rule so am more paranoid now on this one. -jared

think the key phrase here is "if everything is in spec". Would strongly advocate getting a headspace gauge and cheking your current bolt in the new upper. they're only $30 or so at brownells. I went on faith before and found that new bolt didn't quite headspace on my new DPMS barrell, but i didn't figure that out until after I'd had to mortar the rifle a dozen or so times as that was the only way to clear a live round from the chamber. doh! -jared

+1 for AA2230 for .223, i've got about 8K rounds loaded on my 1050 (i know, only about 2 days worth of loading after brass prep with very consistent powder throws (spot checks show i'm usually within .1-.2 gr ona 24gr powder drop. for pistol, i've had very consistent results with WW231 and Power Pistol. Have read unhappy reports about unique but i've found it to be okay, usually within .2gr on an 8 gr powder throw (which is less consistent then a ball powder but for .45 colt at 30 yards, that's sufficient consistency for my purposes). -jared

sounds like you may be new to reloading bottleneck rifle cartridges. what you're seeing is (most likely) caused by your reloaded rounds not being resized sufficiently - the rounds expand slightly on firing and if you do not resize and push the shoulder back, then the cartridge will not completely chamber when you drop the bolt and the (now slightly too far forward neck will jam into the throat causing the cartridge to stick. Randy's suggestion above of just trying some factory rounds to check and make sure it isn't the gun is not a bad idea, but ultimately you need a headspace gauge to check your reloads (or at least your resized cartridge cases) and make sure that you've resized them sufficiently to fit in a SAMMI-spec chamber. The 650 owners manual has a good section on how to use a headspace gauge (not being a smartass - it's not entirely intuitive). take a look and post if you have some questions. also, if you do a search on .223 resizing, you'll probably find some hits as well. -jared

believe that's called fishing in a barrell

gmantwo - what caliber/cartridge are you using for those 217 yd events? curious to know what it takes to reliably knock over a 23lb plate from +200 yards away!! (serious question - can't find an emoticon thingy that indicates you're not being a smartass...), thanks, Jared

came across this thread earlier in the month and picked up MHI from amazon. great read!!

i've found for long range handgunning it is easier to keep the front sight fixed at a constant place (typically a 6:00 hold so I am not obscuring the target with the muzzle) and then drop the rear sight as I work out the trajectory. same effect as "holding over the target" but since I'm keeping the muzzle under my line of sight, i have a better chance of seeing where I am hitting, and most importantly, i have better visual reference on where my sights are. by this, i mean if I keep my front sight fixed at 6:00 on the target, then I can judge how much elevation i'm getting by exacly how far my rear sight notch is below the front sight. my $.02. -jared

read this thread a while and it stuck with me... working with my son on a 2nd grade school project, here's the mattel hot wheels parking garage built with packaging from 2600 winchester small pistol primers

awesome

excellent post!! thanks for taking the time to put all of this up on the forum. both work fine in this case -jared

if you give them a call they'll fax you the owner's manual. they're at 800 732 0706. -jared

absolutely, would love to take a look, thanks. -jared

another +1 for the VTAC sling. I have both padded and the original unpadded - if you're taking a class where you'll have it slung much of the day (or carry your rifle for a living) you may prefer the padded version. if you're only slinging up when you come on the line for a match, the unpadded would probably be fine. on the other hand, i think once you try it you'll really appreciate it and will incorporate it into your range practice, so if you pick up the unpadded version you may feel it a bit during longer range sessions. my $.02 - the ability to quickly adjust sling length is really useful, can go from comfortable offhand standing to kneeling to prone and in each position very quickly adjust sling length so you've got enough tension to stabilize your position. can't see how i would shoot without a sling like this now. also, the vtac differs from the vickers in that you can lengthen the vtac significantly more so if you're transitioning to weak side the sling doesn't get wrapped too tightly around your neck. if you don't shoot weak side rifle this may not matter to you. -jared

like many, i'd snap up a .22 conversion if one were being sold...

This is excellent, thanks for your time and effort!\ -jared

agree and disagree. I'll usually work a specific drill against the timer, trying to determine where i start to fall apart as I increase speed. once i figure out which drills i am weakest on, I'll usually put the timer away or back the par time way off and work on technique for that drill. as I start to improve, then i'll work at building the speed back up. MEU SOC qual drill is a good example. running a timer, i am ok on par times for drills #2 -8. Drill # 1 i have lots o problems, so first take the timer off completely, working on just accurate fire (2 rds standing, 2 kneeling, then slowly work out transition to prone). Then when I've got it down (or at least sufficiently improved to move on), I'll re-introduce the timer but only to the first 2 out of 3 firing positions (standing and transition to kneeling). after two range sessions, I still don't have that down with sufficient speed and accuracy to introduce the transition to prone, so I'll stay on the first 2 positions, slowly increasing time until I'm ready to make it harder by introducing the 2nd transition (into prone). do think you've got a great point about dropping the timer and working on accuracy first. if you can't make the hits on the clock, just get rid of the clock and work on making the hits. do think that the timer adds value by introducing some stress and giving you real feedback about exactly how long it's taking you to deliver the accuracy you want. -jared

thanks for the post, look forward to hearing your feedback once you get it out to the range. i've pretty much decided on a savage for my next bolt-gun as they seem to be a great value, trying to decide between the 20" precision carbine and the standard 24" model 10 that (I believe) is now being shipped with a muzzle break. is your .300 win mag an accu-stock model? gather from your other posts you already have a couple of savage bolt guns, keen to hear from you on how the accu-stock model(s) compare to the older models you may also own. -jared

The primer has to be out before anything. /thread drift/ not if you bought the super-swage with the case-feeder attachment, also known as the super 1050 i shouldn't laugh, that was how I talked myself into a $1500 press instead of buying a $100 case swager... on the other hand, it's an awesome piece of equipment that has exceeded all of my expectations, so I have no complaints /end thread drift/

i have about 25K rounds through my KISS bulletfeeder on a 650 - mostly .45 ACP 200 gr LSWC and .38 special loading either 125 gr rn or 147gr truncated nose .355 bullets (taper crimping). have generally no problems running lead projectiles through the bulletfeeder but you do need to stop every 500 - 1000 rounds and do a diligent cleaning of the bullet collator wheel and the inside of the feeder assembly (including the bullet dropper). Issue is that bullet lube collects on those surfaces and produces a sticky buildup that will impair function and (eventually) introduce jams. I also use spray a bit of hornady one shot to in the collator bowl when adding new lead bullets to help them slide down the spring guide and through the dropper with a bit less drag, but this only forestalls the cleaning cycle a bit. truth is that I only mind the cleaning intervals required by lead projectiles when i have been previously loading jacketed bullets. loading 9mm ball, you can literally sit there for hours like a monkey playing a slot machine - between the case feeder and bullet feeder, you just keep your eye on the cartridge as it advances past the powder drop and check the powder charge. induces a zen-like feeling of relaxation... my $.02 -jared