mike_f

Sorry that you're not seeing any elk. In which area(s) of Wyoming are you hunting?

The proper rhythm certainly helps. Also consider getting a powder baffle to help with charge weight consistency (didn't see one in photo). They're cheap & help charge weight consistency with all types of powder grain shapes. https://www.rcbs.com/powder-measure/accessories/powder-baffle/545.html

I lived in what is now Unit 391 for several years (Green Mountain). It's pretty much the suburbs of Denver. I hunted near Kremmling and Walden, pretty much hours from anywhere and it was still crowded. Would imagine it would be more crowded that close to Denver. It's been a long time, but I muzzleloader & rifle hunted for deer & elk on public land in Colorado. I can only echo what Handsome Rob stated. The places that I hunted on public land had vehicle access/trail heads. It was almost like instant little towns sprang up during rifle season.

I have a couple 1-4x Kdots that I bought about 15 years ago. Back then they were somewhat known as the "poor man's short dot". They're still working fine, but with 15 year older eyes, I've found myself wanting a little more magnification. I've also seen the recently released Meopta Optika6 1-6x24 SFP scopes that go for about a third of the price of the one DBTN reviewed. Haven't seen many reviews on the Optika6 1-6x, but I wonder where they cut corners to sell it for a price so much below the Meostar 1-6x. https://www.meoptasportsoptics.com/us/produkt/optika6-1-6x24-sfp-13156/

Have you ever used the older Meopta 1-4X K-Dot scopes? If so, how do they compare to the 1-6x in your review (besides the extra 2x)?

Could pepper spray be used effectively if you're under assault in this type of situation?

My understanding is that they size the gas entry hole in the gas tube (make it much smaller than normal) to restrict the amount of gas transmitted to the BCG. Less violent recoil (compared to a barrel with an oversized gas port), and less gas exhaust from the gas tube/BCG. I would be interested in their estimate of how long it lasts. Gas tube metal is pretty thin, don't know how many rounds it would take to see erosion of the smaller entry hole in the gas tube.

Here's another possibility that might work with your constraints: The BRT EZTune Gas Tube reduces gas system flow and corrects excessive gas drive from barrels with large gas ports or for use with a dedicated suppressor. The EZTune Gas Tube replaces the standard CAR length gas tube and requires no modifications or removal of the gas block, making it ideal for barrels with pinned muzzle devices or gas blocks. After installation, it requires no user adjustments or maintenance. It is available in several port sizes to meet many small frame AR applications. This items consists of 1 gas tube and pin. Installation requires removal and replacement of the gas tube. Installation is extremely easy and should take less than 10 minutes, start to finish. https://blackrivertactical.ecwid.com/BRT-EZTUNE-Gas-Tube-Carbine-p103167251 At $55 it's more expensive than the forward assist vent suggested earlier though. They ask for several parameters regarding how you use your rifle (barrel length, type of ammo, buffer, spring, BCG, suppressor make/model) to determine which gas port size would be appropriate. I have used gas blocks from BRT, they've been of good quality and have worked well. I have no experience with these custom gas tubes, however.

It's because of how the different quantities react in fires. Loaded ammo just kinda "pops" one at a time. Jugs of powder and 1000's of primers can really accelerate fires. Here's a NSSF video on YouTube that shows Firefighters demonstrating what happens with loaded ammo.

Nice review (and scope). I have a few Meopta riflescopes and an ancient Hermes spotting scope that have always served me well.

I am by no means an expert with a pistol, but I had some tips from instructors that have helped me. You probably have already tried this, but one thing that helped when shooting smaller pistols was to actually get more of my finger past the trigger face. I had been purposely trying to get just the tip on the trigger face. Inserting almost to the first joint help reduce the pistol movement when the trigger broke. Another tip was to think about gripping the pistol like you're squirting water out of your hands (like a water fight in the pool). I was death-gripping the pistol and evidently that's not what you're supposed to do. Stolen image to illustrate what I tried to describe:

Just downloaded the form from ATF and it looks like it's still there. Screenshot:

Where's that varmint barber hidin'?

I've had oil analyzed by Blackstone Labs for my F150 that has 240K miles on it. A couple of years ago I was having transmission trouble and before I put money into the transmission I wanted some indication of the engine health. If I had both the engine & transmission were at the end of their life, I wasn't going to sink a bunch of money into it. The analysis showed that my engine was in good health - no unusual element amounts; no detected fuel, water or antifreeze. So I went ahead and had what I thought was a transmission issue addressed. Turns out it was a problem with the coil packs (not the transmission) that was making it shift funny. I also used Blackstone for front differential analysis when I changed the gear oil and it looked cloudy. I was worried about water being in it. Turned out that it was OK too, nothing unusual, good viscosity, and no water. Never determined why it looked cloudy, but it still continues to function normally.

I've had a LNL Progressive press for several years. I bought it used from someone on this forum. Prior to that I reloaded rifle & pistol ammo on a single stage press for about 20 years. The LNL Progressive has worked great for me. I load pistol ammo (primarily 9mm & 45ACP, but also some 45 Colt) similarly to what you outline above. I use it for throwing powder, bullet seating, and crimping on a separate station (if I crimp them) for rifle rounds(5.56, .308, 6.8SPC, 30/06, 7mm Rem Mag, 7.62x39 and probably others I'm forgetting). I do rifle brass prep separately (varies depending on caliber/use) and prime with an RCBS Auto Priming tool. I use a Giraud for rifle case trimming - hurt to pay for it, but it is a huge improvement for trimming large batches of cases. The only things I've added to the press are a lighting kit, double bullet tray, and roller lever from Inline Fabrication: https://inlinefabrication.com/collections/hornady-lock-n-load-ap-ergo-roller-lever None of those are required, but nice to have. The roller lever is much more comfortable for me that the original Hornady lever.

Part of my job when I lived in Colorado was dealing with water rights. For those of us that live in areas where there is a surplus of precipitation, surface water and ground water; it seems preposterous. But in arid areas it is well established law with its own separate court system. It's kind of like mineral rights - you can own the property, but not the mineral rights to the property. Nearly all residential property owners in Colorado do not own any rights to the water that falls on or flows through their property. The standard joke is that in Colorado water doesn't flow downhill, it flows towards money.

Wow, those are especially beautiful!

I was already looking at Primary Arms - the black SB Tactical A3 brace is on sale for $80. Lowest price I've seen. https://www.primaryarms.com/sb-tactical-sba3-pistol-stabilizing-arm-brace-black You people are a bad influence.........

Graf's booted me off my dealer account a couple of years ago because I didn't spend over $2K per year with them. I still use my Brownell's dealer account frequently and can still use the discount coupons with it. ETA: Haven't bought a C&R firearm in a few years though. I haven't seen much new being imported.

I've drilled gas block dimples on 3 Faxon barrels using the SLR jigs. Two of the barrels were their "pencil" barrels with 0.625" gas block journals. I was worried about getting through the nitride, but the bits went through it. I went really slowly because I was worried about drilling too deep. So I drilled a little & checked, a little more & checked. I was so focused on that I didn't ready notice it being difficult getting through the nitride.

For relatively compact set of maps I like the "DeLorme Atlas & Gazetteer" maps that are published by state: https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/p/575993 (DeLorme was recently purchased by Garmin.) They're also sold at brick & mortar stores, Amazon, etc. I've found them to have enough detail to be useful for both road and terrain navigation. Not as good as a city street maps or 7.5 minute USGS topo quads, but a decent compromise. Also, since they're bound books, there's no map folding required.

I agree w/ owejia, unless it was stored under extremely harsh conditions it should be fine to shoot. I've shot mil surplus ammo from the 50's that was fine. Mil ammo tends to look tarnished (compared to commercial ammo) even when it is brand new. The brass has the discoloration on the shoulder/neck from annealing and they don't polish the brass. As long as there's no actual corrosion (blue/greeen/white deposits) forming on the brass that will feel noticeably more rough than "normal" brass, I'd have no problem shooting it.

I had 2 fluorescent fixtures that had gone out and was trying to decide which LED bulbs to buy, so I bought the bulbs from your link. I installed them today and they work great. Thanks. We have 2-bulb fixtures and I tried them with only 1 of the bulbs from TGO David's link. It seemed more directional than the fluorescents, even though one LED was probably as bright as the previous 2-bulb configuration. So I put both 2 LED bulbs in each fixture and like it much better. For those considering converting existing ballast fixtures, here's a pic of the conversion instructions that came with the bulbs. All you need are 2 wire nuts (not included with the LED bulbs) and a pair of wire cutters. I wanted to keep the old fixtures because they were from the 60's/70's and are much more substantial than the typical new manufacture ones sold currently.

You might want to look into which type of 7.62x39 gauge you want. There are SAAMI, CIP (European), and various country of origin gauges - all with different values. I'm not suggesting that you do this, but I have used a selection of various factory 7.62x39 cartridges with a piece of scotch tape on the case head as a "poor man's" no-go gauge. Again, I'm not suggesting that anyone else do this.

Thanks. I don't upload photos to TGO. I put mine up on a free Flickr ( https://www.flickr.com/ ) account and then link to it.