The firearm thread

[jrandom]

With my injured back making it very hard to ride the bike I decided that I should sit down at my workbench and load some rounds for my firearms.

What flavour of press do you use?

Fulla at the gunshop's trying to get me to buy a Dillon. Tempting, as I plan to put a few hundred rounds per week through my IPSC rig in due course, and I don't fancy spending multiple hours reloading every weekend. I certainly can't afford to shoot that much centerfire factory ammo!

[Dai]

What flavour of press do you use?

Fulla at the gunshop's trying to get me to buy a Dillon. Tempting, as I plan to put a few hundred rounds per week through my IPSC rig in due course, and I don't fancy spending multiple hours reloading every weekend. I certainly can't afford to shoot that much centerfire factory ammo!

For precision rounds and large caliber BP, I used a single stage press. RCBS,

for bulk loading using modern propellants I use a Dillon 650

for bulk black powder loading I use a Lee turret, 4 hole.

[jrandom]

for bulk loading using modern propellants I use a Dillon 650...

Question answered, ta.

I'll probably go with the same.

[Swoop]

Have a look at the Hornady Progressive as well. A nice little unit but I'm not sure how it compares with the Dillon, pricewise.

[Dai]

Have a look at the Hornady Progressive as well. A nice little unit but I'm not sure how it compares with the Dillon, pricewise.

Hornady make really good equipment. I havent used it myself, apart from their dies, but have nevere heard a bad word.

The Dillon is impressive. They have a lifetime gaurantee. They function very well once set up. They are consistant, if you do your part.

With the 650 you are theoretically capable of producing that many rounds an hour. Count on about 400 per hour as you will have to fill primer tubes, keep the case hopper full and the powder measure full.

A very good rule of thumb is to weight he powder charge every 20 or so rounds. I have seen measures get out of wack.

[pritch]

At the outset my friends advised me to buy quality so I bought RCBS...

Some years ago now I was considering loading some .32HBWC loads. The RCBS powder measure blurb claimed that it could measure the whole range of loads but really it did not do loads for the smaller cases at all well. The blurb also claimed a "lifetime" guarantee, but we all know that when you are at the other end of the world that may not mean too much.

Anyway I wrote RCBS a letter explaining that I had owned the press some 20 years but that there were serious shortcomings with the equipment at the (ultra?) light load end of the scale.

About two weeks later I was thinking as I walked to the mail box that I could almost be due for a reply. There in the box was a package bearing US$15 worth of postage which contained a new rotor specifically for light loads. The package bore the declaration, "Replacements under warranty - No charge"

I was (and still am) bloody impressed!!

[Wolf]

You can get a 200 round mag for the Ruger 10/22. Now why would than be any more dangerous than a 10 round mag.

Could get a serous case of OOS/RSI loading the damned thing...

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, anyone?

[Wolf]

All the farms I grew up on had at least one rifle - usually .22 or a "sporterised" SMLE, taught to shoot (and strict firearms safety) by my parents since I was old enough to sit on a lap and squeeze a trigger, been licenced since I was 18.

I've owned a variety of A-cat firearms over the years including a 7.62x51R Mosin-Nagant rifle, a Russian-made 7.62x39 SKS (not the Norinco knock-off) and a .243 Miroku Lever Action (Japanese-made Browning, VERY nice!)

Back in the days before the MSSA bullshit (and may the politicians who penned it die of syph) a friend had an L1A1 which we took out for a bit of a shoot - figured that if anyone ever fired one on full auto the whole country would hear it, it was deafening enough on single shot. Beautiful rifle!

Had a beautiful Brno .22 bolt action, threaded for a sound moderator, that I'd fitted out with a 4x40 scope but some bastard burgled my house and stole it (but they never found the bolt or magazine). Great weapon - action like oiled glass, very reliable. First night I fired it, I'd bumped the sights up to 300m range by accident and fired 5 shots of "sub-sonic" hollowpoint through the moderator at a possum - missed it with every shot and the possum just sat there staring into the spotlight, oblivious to the projectiles flying over its head. I took the .22 semi-auto, loaded with normal supersonic ammo, off my hunting buddy and I was so pissed off at my own lack of accuracy (didn't realise that I'd fucked up the sights) that I snapped off a hasty shot and missed. The possum heard the crack of the unmoderated .22 and fucked off quick.

Never got into hand-loading but I've done more than a little repair/restoration - reblueing, restoring the stock to pristine condition etc. Great fun, very satisfying. Lucrative, too - sold a number of firearms for more than I what I paid for them.

Would love to get cats B and C but I just don't have the time and money to devote to it. Not just the cost of pistol safes and the firearms but club membership, hand-loading gear (cheaper in the long run than buying ammo).

I've also wanted to get into black powder in the past - seen a couple of replicas that I'd love to own and shoot - but again it's costly and other things take priority.

I missed out on a couple of off-ticket pistols (ammo no longer available so I could legally buy them) including a pin-fire French pepperbox "fist pistol" (the "velo-dog" pistol with the folding trigger for "safe" storage in your trouser pocket, close kin to the infamous "Apache" pistol that had a knuckle-duster grip and a small folding bayonet (more like a pocket knife). Seriously fucked off that I missed out on the fist pistol, that's one excellent collector's piece.

[Jonny Rotten]

hey guys

i was looking today at buying a savage .17 riffle with a target barrell for shooting hares and rabbits at distances like 100-200 meteres.....

does anyone on here own a .17 just wanted to know the pros and cons of them compared to a .22.... so far all i know is there a higher volicity round shoot flatter and more acurate over long distance's but can be quite affected by wind...

any other info that anyone has with there experence with these rifiles would be great to hear about....

cheers

[jrandom]

does anyone on here own a .17 just wanted to know the pros and cons of them compared to a .22

.17 HMR? I'd have one!

Certainly if you plan on shooting rabbits over 100m, you'll find your .17 much more suitable than a .22LR. Given the choice, I'd prefer a rifle in a 5mm centerfire varminting round throwing the same bullet weight as a .22LR downrange at an extra 1000fps over the .17, but if you have a chance to buy a good .17HMR rifle second-hand at a sharp price, you probably won't regret it. Cheaper to feed than a centerfire, but at about three times the price of the average .22, they're certainly not cheap to buy new.

[mstriumph]

wow
i've never SEEN a rabbit over 100m

SUPERbun!!!!!


woulda thought an elephant gun woulda been more appropriate .......

[Jonny Rotten]

.17 HMR? I'd have one!

Certainly if you plan on shooting rabbits over 100m, you'll find your .17 much more suitable than a .22LR. Given the choice, I'd prefer a rifle in a 5mm centerfire varminting round throwing the same bullet weight as a .22LR downrange at an extra 1000fps over the .17, but if you have a chance to buy a good .17HMR rifle second-hand at a sharp price, you probably won't regret it. Cheaper to feed than a centerfire, but at about three times the price of the average .22, they're certainly not cheap to buy new.

this is the description of the one i was looking at:

Savage 93R17F

"Caliber .17 HMR Overall 39.5'' Barrel 20.75'' Twist 1 in 9'' Weight 5 lbs Magazine 5 rounds Stock synthetic Scope bases. Features: AccuTrigger, blued bolt-action, free-floating, button-rifled barrel, swivel studs with detachable magazine. Supplied with 3-9 x 32 Scope and Simmons Rings."

also comes with bag and some ammo.....
im looking at a target barrel model so its more acurate over long distances theese retail for $595 for one with out ammo or bag.

ive managed to get ahold of the importers factory in albany who recons he will do it for 495 with bag and ammo.... not bad aye

[Smokin]

I had a play with a remington 17hmr last year at the easter bunny shoot, Long story short, After spying a pair of furry ears at god knows how far away and then instanly seeing nothing but a pink vapour of fluff I just knew I had to have one.

[Deano]

I know feck all about guns...but i know what I like....and firing off 5 or 6 rounds in quick succession from a pump action shottie is the business.....

I fired a mate's large bore rifle (for deer - can't recall calibre) and it was hard to aim straight , even at 50m......

[Jonny Rotten]

I had a play with a remington 17hmr last year at the easter bunny shoot, Long story short, After spying a pair of furry ears at god knows how far away and then instanly seeing nothing but a pink vapour of fluff I just knew I had to have one.

yeah there spossed to be great for snipering things over long distance. ill have to try get my hands on one for a play at the range but i think i might be sold on theese so far