Ideal rate of twist (MLP firearms and shooting thread)

[scott1970]

Who casts their own bullets? If you do, do you hard cast lead alloys? If so, where do you source the raw material?

I’ve cast tens of thousands. I hustled old wheel weights from every tire store in the area. Overall, I had great success, but I give the credit to the patrol car. Nowadays it seems there are too many zinc and steel weights.

I’ve played with alloy blends and water quenching to drive up the BHN, but I saw no appreciable benefit from it. All I do is cast straight wheel weight alloy, powder coat, and shoot.

Scrapyards deal in salvaged lead, so they may be an option. If you don’t want to cook out the garbage from scrap lead, go to Rotometals and order super clean lead already blended and ready to cast.

 

[scott1970]

For fast turnaround I prefer to run two four or six cavity molds simultaneously. I can crank out an easy thousand pretty quickly.....providing the old Lee 4 20 pot is cooperating.

Brand wise a cheap Lee aluminum mold works just fine. My pride and joy happens to be a phenomenal H&G 215 gr .41 Mag mold. I’ve had success with a variety of them....Lee, Hensley and Gibbs, Lyman, RCBS, and Mihec from Slovenia which is a brass work of art.

 

[edro]

Hey, my time is valuable! I charge the shit outa me when I reload....

Only problem is the last four checks I wrote to myself bounced.....

 

[scott1970]

Casting, powder coating, and loading takes time, but it’s a hobby which helps me unwind and gives me endless piles of quality ammo in the process. I’ve yet to get a bunch of ammo from lying on the couch watching a football game.

 

[edro]

Scott, even prepping cases takes me to my happy place... Therapy..... Helps me get my mind right...
I enjoy getting my tub of cleaned brass, trimming, and then running them through the stations on my motorized prep machine.... I even like the feeling in my fingertips of the brush rotating inside the case... Order and symmetry is soothing to the soul... Getting in the groove and the world goes away for a bit...

 

[Bigfoot410]

ehb, scott1970 and Rob all say the same thing about reloading. = therapy. I must start doing it too I think. I used to reload shotgun shells for duck hunting, but never found it therapeutic.

Hope maybe I hit you guys up for what I need to get equipment wise. Once I get my house done, I'll need a new hobby. Doing upgrades as my shitty back allows.

 

[Hamtone]

 

[Hamtone]

View attachment 364788

I wanted to add my .45 cents to the thread lol

 

[Bigfoot410]

View attachment 364788

Ya know, we all drool over awesome guitars and shit, but damn man, this makes me drool more. I hate you guys.

 

[cybermgk]

Hey, my time is valuable! I charge the shit outa me when I reload....

Only problem is the last four checks I wrote to myself bounced.....

ok, that did make me chuckle.

 

[Roberteaux]

ehb, scott1970 and Rob all say the same thing about reloading. = therapy. I must start doing it too I think. I used to reload shotgun shells for duck hunting, but never found it therapeutic.

Hope maybe I hit you guys up for what I need to get equipment wise. Once I get my house done, I'll need a new hobby. Doing upgrades as my shitty back allows.

Some guys hate the shit out of reloading, Foots...

It's tedious and time-consuming... it calls for the reloader to be paying full attention to what he is doin', lest disaster come to pass. It calls for a meticulous approach, eyeballing everything the whole time.

But as Ed, Scott, and now I will say: that is the appeal to most of we who actually enjoy reloading. To others, however, it is Tedium Incarnate.

Some tend to reload strictly to save money. Right now ammo prices are so low for the most popular cartridges, that while one still may save money doing it-- especially with uncommon or less popular cartridge types-- the savings in cash never balances out the amount of time one spends reloading.

Some of my friends were into PPC and the like. They tended to go for "progressive" reloading equipment... turret presses, automated presses and the like... because they were shooting scads of ammo and man, it does make a difference when you're reloading the stuff yourself... but the guys with progressive presses always seemed to be doing what they did mainly to achieve a sort of balance when it came to time spent + component cost.

Guys such as Ed and myself never got beyond single-stage presses, and that's probably because all along, we didn't *care* about the time, and instead approached the whole business as a satisfying hobby. Most of us didn't shoot up as much ammo as the competition guys to begin with, though, and so lowered cost wasn't such an attractive feature of the process.

Hell, I don't even run automated case prep equipment. Everything I've got here is straight out of the 19th Century, and I like it like that. It enables me to pay even closer attention to the fashioning of cartridges. And when you load as many (or more) rifle cartridges as handgun cartridges, you need to be paying attention because there's more to the process with rifle food than handgun food.

And so any person contemplating reloading should first ask his or her self, "Why am I doing this?" If it is to save money, don't forget to factor in the time spent.

Find a person who reloads, and get the sucker to show you how he does his thing. You will be able to figure out pretty quickly if this is something you'd enjoy doing-- or if it would bore bloody hell out of you or make you want to hang yourself.

It's not an action-packed pursuit by any means, and that's no matter what kind of gear one uses to do the reloading with. The reason one can find simple presses and lots of other good stuff for reel cheep is because many a man has tried it out, only to find that he hates doing it, that it bores him-- that he has other things he needs to be doing with his time.

But if you're one of those guys who would be happy sitting around with a caliper in one hand and a jeweler's magnifying glasses in the other, peering into primer pockets to see if they need scrapin'... well, you might just be a reloader!

Last thing: it ain't rocket science. Even the most advanced procedures, which call for things like chamber measuring devices and bullet comparators, are not exactly Einstein-only endeavors.

Basically, all one really needs is to be able to follow instructions, and to avoid thinking that he's got more on the ball than professional ballisticians and propellant chemists.

After that, one needs a goodly dollup of patience as part of their personal makeup.

So really: find a buddy who reloads for centerfire rifle and handgun ammo, and sweet-talk the dude into letting you see first hand what's called for in the overview.

And of course, we're always here to answer any questions you might have.

--R

 

[Hamtone]

Some guys hate the shit out of reloading, Foots...

It's tedious and time-consuming... it calls for the reloader to be paying full attention to what he is doin', lest disaster come to pass. It calls for a meticulous approach, eyeballing everything the whole time.

But as Ed, Scott, and now I will say: that is the appeal to most of we who actually enjoy reloading. To others, however, it is Tedium Incarnate.

Some tend to reload strictly to save money. Right now ammo prices are so low for the most popular cartridges, that while one still may save money doing it-- especially with uncommon or less popular cartridge types-- the savings in cash never balances out the amount of time one spends reloading.

Some of my friends were into PPC and the like. They tended to go for "progressive" reloading equipment... turret presses, automated presses and the like... because they were shooting scads of ammo and man, it does make a difference when you're reloading the stuff yourself... but the guys with progressive presses always seemed to be doing what they did mainly to achieve a sort of balance when it came to time spent + component cost.

Guys such as Ed and myself never got beyond single-stage presses, and that's probably because all along, we didn't *care* about the time, and instead approached the whole business as a satisfying hobby. Most of us didn't shoot up as much ammo as the competition guys to begin with, though, and so lowered cost wasn't such an attractive feature of the process.

Hell, I don't even run automated case prep equipment. Everything I've got here is straight out of the 19th Century, and I like it like that. It enables me to pay even closer attention to the fashioning of cartridges. And when you load as many (or more) rifle cartridges as handgun cartridges, you need to be paying attention because there's more to the process with rifle food than handgun food.

And so any person contemplating reloading should first ask his or her self, "Why am I doing this?" If it is to save money, don't forget to factor in the time spent.

Find a person who reloads, and get the sucker to show you how he does his thing. You will be able to figure out pretty quickly if this is something you'd enjoy doing-- or if it would bore bloody hell out of you or make you want to hang yourself.

It's not an action-packed pursuit by any means, and that's no matter what kind of gear one uses to do the reloading with. The reason one can find simple presses and lots of other good stuff for reel cheep is because man a man has tried it out, only to find that he hates doing it, that it bores him-- that he has other things he needs to be doing with his time.

But if you're one of those guys who would be happy sitting around with a caliper in one hand and a jeweler's magnifying glasses in the other, peering into primer pockets to see if they need scrapin'... well, you might just be a reloader!

Last thing: it ain't rocket science. Even the most advanced procedures, which call for things like chamber measuring devices and bullet comparators, are not exactly Einstein-only endeavors.

Basically, all one really needs is to be able to follow instructions, and to avoid thinking that he's got more on the ball than professional ballisticians and propellant chemists.

After that, one needs a goodly dollup of patience as part of their personal makeup.

So really: find a buddy who reloads for centerfire rifle and handgun ammo, and sweet-talk the dude into letting you see first hand what's called for in the overview.

And of course, we're always here to answer any questions you might have.

--R

I grew up re-loading with my father. I have not messed with it as an adult, but will someday. For the pistols you can dial it in some, but there is so many factors to a great pistol shooter, ammo isnt typically one of them. On long range rifle shooting, on the other hand, you can blueprint, tweak, and play around until your little heart cant take it. I love that aspect of it, for legit match shooting.

Then your ammo exceeds your weapons ability, then that requires some blue printing and tweaks lol

Then the shooter needs some blueprinting and tweaking lol

 

[Deftone]

Springfield Armory Loaded Target 1911 in 9mm.

 

[scott1970]

I pulled the trigger on reloading a dozen years ago after I purchased my first sub machine. A buddy loaned me his old Dillon 450 (never seen once since), I bought the components, and he taught me how to load.

After I decided it was for me, he took his 450 back and set me free. My bench now has two 550s, a single stage, and an old turret salvaged from a dumpster down in Texas.

Any of y’all tried the Forster Co-Ax single stage? My friend has one, and it is off the charts nifty. I keep threatening to buy myself a Dillon SDB but always seem to forget.

 

[KSG_Standard]

One of the things I like the most about reloading is that you can turn an accurate rifle into a real tack driver, if you're consistent, careful and methodical. You can make rounds that exactly fit your rifle and that outperform factory loads.

 

[scott1970]

My range mower bit the dust this morning after the shaft snapped off. I can’t complain, because I got years of service and lots and lots of mowing from a mower which cost $99 new.

Off to buy a new range mower.

 

[45WinMag]

My Colt 607 repro stock arrived today. Only one guy makes these currently, and his are virtually indistinguishable from the original (except for an internal improvement in the locking mechanism). Incredible work. He is on FB as 607stock.

This is an early attempt by Colt to make an AR15/M16 carbine with a telescoping stock. Very few were made. Below is a pic of an original.

I have the cut down handguards and the rear handguard retainer (a repro). Will source a barrel after I get a tax stamp (these are 10"). Next step is engraving the replica markings and milling the lower.

 

[JonCanfield]

Just got this today - well, sort of. It's in the CA 10 day jail. Springfield 1911 .45ACP Loaded model

 

[Hamtone]

Just got this today - well, sort of. It's in the CA 10 day jail. Springfield 1911 .45ACP Loaded model
View attachment 365047

SA's triggers are the bomb. After 1k or so through mine I need to pull it apart and clean the milling debris. Factory grease, use/milling, little gritty now.

The loaded RO and mine are essentially the same weapon, grips, rail, and color is about the only dif.... Maybe sights.

 

[Roberteaux]

@Roberteaux and @cooljuk, how do you like the SBA3 brace for the AR pistols?

Is it a suitable "stock"?

Yep!

As I said in the post that I did to present the build, it shoulders very much like most submachine guns.

You kind of hunker over the ass end of the receiver a bit. The firing position is a bit more compact than firing a rifle, but it's not uncomfortable or cramped.

I like that brace a lot... especially because of the fact that the thing has position locking system for stock extension that's basically the same as what one gets with a telescopic stock on an AR carbine... but also because I don't have to go with a proprietary buffer tube.

The shouldering is comfortable enough... not like the Shockwave "Blade" brace or a few others I examined before deciding to go with the SBA3. Got that H2 buffer in the tube, and recoil is essentially nil, same as with a full-sized rifle chambered for .223/5.56.

I noticed that I made a mistake in my earlier post while discussing the barrel I used with the build. It's not a Ballistic Advantage barrel, and is instead one that was fabricated by Battle Arms Development.

I've fired about 500 rounds through the pistol now. The SBA3 brace is perfectly suited to my particular needs and purpose.

--R