ReeferMac

2k of the Sellier & Bellot should hold me for a spell... $22/case! Will let you know if I have troubles. They had a good deal on .22 there as well, so I grabbed 500 of those. And 500 of Berry's Bullets for 9mm.... Dang, gets more expensive every time I go shopping! LOL! - K

Thanks guys! For self-defense loads, I only carry commercially prepared Ammo (Speer Gold Dots and Federal HydraShok). I'm using the reloads at the range only.

Thanks for all the info folks! I was looking at the Sellier & Bellot...especially @ that price. LGS wanted $56/1k CCI's!! I'll be in Bristol for work on Tues., so I suspect there will be a 'lunch break' in Cabela's! Thanks again. - K

While I realize this is probably akin to the 'ford vs. chevy' debate, I'm new to reloading and am in the market to purchase some primers. I got my first 1k rounds w/ CCI 500 sm. pistol primers as they were highly regarded (and what the store had for sale!) Unfortunately I've had a few primers not go off. They were struck, when put back in the gun they went bang, and I'll be the first to admit I'm new to reloading, so operator error is my first guess... however it's left me not being totally satisfied. I'll be at/near a Cabela's store this week, and they carry a selection, so am interested in possibly trying an alternate brand. I'm reloading 9mm rounds, should I consider a 'magnum' pistol primer? Is one brand more sensitive than another? What's the deal w/ "Match" Primers? Appreciate any knowledge and experience you care to share. Thanks. - Kevin

I know... thankfully it's an air-conditioned indoor range! Worst part will be getting back into my truck at the end - there's no shade to park under!

Thanks Prag, I kinda figured it would be dead (rarely see more than 1 car there when I go on weekends), but wanted to see if there were any drills appropriate for the longer distance. I'll give that link a look, thanks again!

Thanks, I may give that a shot. The range is kinda funny though, it's setup to be used at 50-feet, all targets must be moved all the way back to the range (not allowed to shoot-short, as you can strike outside the baffles). If nobody else is at the range, you're allowed to setup a stand anywhere on the range, to adjust your distance (e.g. 10-feet, 20-feet, etc.), but the target must be at the back of the range. Obviously if other's are shooting, it's not safe to be standing halfway downrange! Any drills that are good for pistol at 50-feet? I'll also have my .22 rifle, so can plink away all day and work on my small-bore accuracy as well. Thanks again.

Per Keyholder agreement, I have to 'work' a 2-hour shift as RSO at the indoor range at Oak Ridge Sportsman's Association tomorrow from 2-4 (anyone wanting to come down, feel free!) The other night I made up a bunch of rounds, so if you had a couple hours and some ammo to waste (at 50-feet, range is fixed), what would you do? Which drills would you practice, what (type of) targets would you practice on? - K

Interesting, I'll check that out Ballz! - K

Thanks, I'll give that a try, but probably pass on this round (and one other I noticed). I was inspecting some of the other rounds a little more closely, and was surprised to see some deformation in a few others (though not nearly this severe). Frankly, I'm kinda surprised? I thought the seating die was supposed to straighten the bullet better before pushing into the case? I'm not bragging, but I've aimlessly seated ammunition before while watching TV/Movie, and I'm positive I've sent crooked bullets up into the press, w/ the expectation that they will get straightened out...? Can't say I recall seeing one pushed out this bad, however? Shrug... 198 rds to use when I'm at the indoor range @ ORSA on Sunday (got key, now I've gotta pull RO duty, schucks... ) Thanks again for the help everyone. - K

That's what I get for loading during the Stanley Cup... (go pittsburgh! )

Putting some rounds together for this weekend, had one produce a little push-out on the brass? Is this round safe to use? It's only on half the shell. Looks like it was seated a little crooked (brass pushed it back straight)? - K

The wife was going to order one of these for me for Father's day.... she forgot. Went on the website and placed a 'reservation', if they get enough additional orders, they'll go back to press (familiar w/ this issue from my days in the print-biz - you need a minimum number of copies to make a print run economically feasible). Says they are 1 order away from going back to press. So if you didn't get an order in on-time, saddle up to the website, you still have a chance! (but you probably won't get them in-time for father's day) - K

I agree caster. We have background checks and classes where the instructor is able to fail a student... yet sadly, like creating a child, there's simply no test for 'stupid'.

My experience matches that of hardknox00001. I joined when Howard switched, and kept that up for many years, but just finally it was too much, and I don't miss it all that much. It _is_ better than terrestrial radio, I'll grant them that, but not THAT much better that I'm willing to spend that cake nor put up w/ the BS.

You can get 1 radio and multiple 'bases'. They usually re-transmit on an FM frequency, so you tune your car/tractor radio to an un-used FM freq., then set your Sirius to re-broadcast @ that freq. I had it in my 2 cars and home-system for several years like that, worked fine. I had 1 base in my car, one in the wife's, and one for my garage, but only had 1 unit/device and subscription. - K

Thought not a "Yeti", we bought one of those hi-performance Coleman coolers from Walmart a couple years ago for camping... think it was about $65? Get 2-3 days out of the first round of ice (usually 2 bags and some freezer-packs from our freezer). Significant improvement over the old-days, when I was buying 2-bags of ice per-cooler per-day.... Beer cooler still needs a bag or two every day, but it keeps getting emptied, and new beer's thrown in there? - K

Well I think I'm getting the hang of things... put a few hundred rounds downrange w/ the missus today, not one failure. Even tried a variety of bullets (HP and FMJ's), at different load strengths, and found one that was a little too hot (brass showing signs of deforming). Now I need to save up my cake and stock up on components instead of buying commercial ammo! Woo Hoo! - K

Well, the wifey and I were busy looking up things to do this weekend and came up w/ these links: 5 of the Most Beautiful Waterfalls in East Tennessee The Best Waterfalls on Tennessee's Cumberland Plateau LocalHikes - Detailed Hike Information - K

I've got a Desantis like this that I use for my M&P compact 9. It's actually quite comfortable to carry, and I find it easy to draw. I wear in the 5 O'Clock position, and find that the upside-down and canted angle 'works' for my wrist. I can pull it out and get on target fairly quickly. I imagine carrying w/ the firearm oriented straight up-and-down would require more vertical draw, and my elbow and wrist start to ache just thinking about that movement. I've actually been looking for a replacement as my current holster is getting worn and 'sloppy'. - K

South Fork is nice. I enjoyed the time we spent at Rugby, it was pretty neat. A little further East, but we recently hiked Frozen Head State Park, and it was enjoyed by all. My youngest is 9, but the trails were well maintained and not too steep, easy for wee one's. - K

Interesting, thanks for sharing! I've been in the market for a new holster for my M&P as the leather one I have isn't very 'snug' anymore. I was hoping to get an Alien Gear OWB, but theirs doesn't cant/tilt the same as my Desantis, and I dunno if I want to draw straight up from a 5 O'clock carry position where I like to wear it. - K

http://nypost.com/2016/05/19/nypd-checking-ammo-after-knifemans-jacket-stops-cops-bullets/ Four of the shots that cops fired at a madman waving a knife in Midtown failed to penetrate his jacket — which was not bulletproof — and the NYPD will now check the weapons for malfunction, law enforcement sources told The Post. “The bullets we have may be defective and that’s very disturbing,” one source said. “When we fire our weapons, we want to make damn sure that our bullets hit our target — neutralizing our target.” A sergeant and an officer fired a total of nine rounds at 46-year-old Garry Conrad on Wednesday, with one of the shots killing the depressed Broadway stagehand who refused to drop the blade at West 49th Street and Eighth Avenue. Four of the bullets got lodged in Conrad’s Carhartt jacket, sources said, adding that he was not wearing a bulletproof vest. OK, all you .45 ACP guys can dog-pile on the smaller calibers! - K

I ran a batch of 3.6 grains, and it was a real creampuff compared to the 3.9s. I was surprised such a small diff. in powder made as big a diff. in my hand? - K

Where? I couldn't find that (admittedly, site doesn't work too well w/ my browser) (Or, if you remember the load off-hand...) Put together about 300 rds. over the weekend, mostly @ 3.9 grains (as I've used it and it works), put up some @ 4.1 grains, and made 2 sets of test-groups w/the Hornady XTP 115 grain bullets at different charges (min and max listed) to see how they perform. - K