leroy

Food for thought:__________________ I propose we vacate the middle east and make a radical isolationist decision to run our vehicles on ethanol. We can stimulate the economy by building ethanol processing plants and raising corn and soybeans. We also can get the benefit of telling the rest of the world to grow up, take care of their own interests, and we get the supreme joy of telling the arab pirates of the OPEC nations to starve. We can also do the most important thing i think we should do as a nation and people; we can stop the hemmoraging of the bravest and most dedicated among us by stopping the sending of our military folks to fight in foreign wars with one hand tied behind their backs to bleed and die for a bunch of thugs that view us as mercenaries and think they can buy and sell us as a people like cattle. If we have any corn or soybeans left over, we can sell it back to them at a base parity price of one peck of corn or soybeans to a barrel of crude oil. I, for one, would be more than willing to give about $4 per gallon for motor fuel if we adopted this philosophy. Whadda ya think!??? leroy the isolationist

Me too Brother!!!!.... Keep up the good work! leroy

Folks:________________ You may want to take a look at this. A brass deflector. It is inexpensive, well made, unobtrusive, and removable. Link here:TC Accessories Brass Deflector AR-15 A3 Steel Matte - MidwayUSA TC Accessories Brass Deflector fits Picatinny Rail Steel Matte - MidwayUSA . These will work with a tarp standing up or sitting at the bench. Hope this helps, leroy

mb:______________ When you do your next batch of reloads, you may want to run a chamfer tool around the outside of the case mouth as well as the inside. That will bevel the brass just a tad. Sometimes you will find new brass that has a small burr on both the inside and outside of the case mouths. It must show up from the factory trimming the cases to final length. All that being seid; I would almost bet that you've fixed the problem with "easing" the edges of the chamber. Hope ya got it fixed leroy

Greg:_______________ Is your mini glass bedded? thanks, leroy

Thanks for posting this good news! Keep up the good work. leroy

I like this car!!! Looks to me like Teutonic Engineering at its best!! keep up the good work! leroy

Sending up the prayers. leroy

We are blessed to have the moderators and "benelovent benefactors" we have here on TGO. I, like LINK, have noticed that several forums (...the one you mentioned and the 1911 forum...) are swallowed up with timidity and "political correctness" when "controversial" issues are discussed (...magazine ban, etc....). They seem to be obsessed with being like "Silent Sam the Service Man"; and jealously guard that anonymonity with an iron hand. I believe they have this strange idea that silence on "hot button" issues will somehow make them less of a target for the "anti-gun" crowd. I see this as incredibly naive thinking at best and downright stupidity at worst; but that's just me. I was called down on the 1911 forum for using too big a font. The moderator said it was akin to "shouting". When i replied that i couldn't see the default one; he essentially repeated the "shouting" pronouncement. I dont post there anymore. I think they are childish; let them have their delusion. Remember the famous words of Jesus; He said:"....Woe to you when all men speak well of you....". I'll close with the famous Churchill quote: "...You are known just as well by your detractors as you are your admirers...". There are simply some folks that you do not want to like you, and some forums you shouldn't be associated with if you are wise enough to have an opinion. Dont worry about the childish. Keep up the good work. leroy (...currently serving out a self-imposed ban from the "childish" forums...)

Glad to do it!! leroy

Pellisippi State does them on a regular basis too. You might want to check them out. leroy

Skindog:______________ No such sthing as "stupid questions". These are legitimate questions that need answering. RE: The bluing question. I wouldn't worry about the bluing being rubbed off. I think that is part of the charm of these old shotguns. I would never re-blue one of them. It won't hurt anything as long as you keep them wiped down (...i always use a moisture displacing lube like Birchwood Casey Sheath or whatever else is on sale...) and i think they look great that way. Every time you re-blue a gun, the re-bluing guy will try to polish them a bit. It rounds the edges of the weapon and lightens the engraving and stamping. It also lowers the resale value. Remember, these old shotguns are from 60 to 90 years old. That's a long time to be around. RE: The hunting question. The model 97 and it's later brother, the model 12 has probably killed more sporting game than any other pump shotgun in existence. They were made for hunting. If you like handling and shooting it; by all means hunt with it. You are having the privledge of experiencing what the old timers experienced and seeing for yourself exactly why these old shotguns are so great. The model 97 (...and the model 12...) are the "fathers" of the Browning BPS. RE: Similarity in manufacture. My guess is that the cimmaron is built exactly like the old guns using CNC tooling and better steel. The chinese guys are bad to "reverse engineer" things by taking them apart and making them exactly like the original; which aint a bad thing in my opinion. That is exactly how the italians did all the cap and ball colt copy black powder revolvers. I don't know that for sure; but i would almost bet a paycheck on it. This question may be answered in a Cowboy Action Shooting Forum or from this guy (...link here: CVV Home Page/ ...). You may need to check out a Cowboy Action Shooting forum for details. Just Google for it. RE: Any of the old winchesters should be ok shooting modern low brass (...standard velocity...) shells. We've shot the high brass buckshot loads thru our twenties model with no ill effects. All that being said, i would have a good gunsmith look it over if it looks a bit loose. Hope this helps. leroy

Skindog:_______________ If you are asking about the old Winchester 1897; they are (...in my opinion...) the finest pump shotgun you will ever handle or shoot. The problem is that parts are getting hard to find and the shotguns are becoming antiques instead of working tools. We have a couple of them; one from the 1920's and one from the mid fifties. They are riot guns and they work great. The 97 has no disconnector, so they will slam fire when you pump them while holding the trigger back; so be careful. The guns shoot great. They are all steel and have the usual steel shotgun heft. The stocks are always good; and the action is smooth (...if the gun is clean and it hasn't been mistreated....). The ones that "takedown easy" are the "takedown models". Be aware, there are some solid frame 97's that you cant take down. As you can see; i'm a near worshiper of the ole 97. All that being said; if you intend to shoot one much, i sugguest that you get one of the chinese copies that the cowboy action guys use. I really like the cimmaron model. Link here: Shotguns - Cimarron Firearms - Old West Guns and Cowboy Action Shooting Firearms,#. You can usually find them on Gunbroker for about 500 bucks. For more reading check this out: Winchester Model 1897 Riot Gun. In my opinion, the two greatest firearms that John M Browning invented were the Winchester model 97 and the colt 1911. Hope this little bit of cheering helps!! leroy

Excellent choice. Highly recommended. leroy

Being a bit suspicious; a phrase comes to mind here. That phrase is "...spread the wealth around...". I'm a pretty old guy, and been foolin with firearms since the early sixties. I've seen "revolutions in firearms" come and go. With the police and military industry; it's always about doing business with your friends; no matter what the buying agency says. They sometimes "cook the data" to prove a point and steer a contract (....imagine that!...). It has been my experience over the years that folks (...like Kimber, for example...) make real good stuff. That means most everybodys "stuff" is equally good. That causes you (...the interested buyer, contractor or supplier...) to "gilflirt" the data (...all very honestly, of course--complete with testing procedures, charts, diagrams, data, and hardware...) to make something look bad; say reliability with mags known to have problems, using ammo that will hang on anyone's feed ramp, ect -- you get the picture --- to justify your purchase to provide "enhanced reliability (...or whatever else you are seeking to prove...). I simply refuse to believe that one of the two companies (...springfield is the other...) that dethroned Colt (...as much as i love 'em...) makes an "inferior and unreliable pistol". I simply wont buy that notion. I am open to entertaining the thought that a feed ramp may need a bit of polishing or a magazine may need an $8.00 spring kit. I simply refuse to believe that Kimber is a second class vendor. Again, i'm a suspicious man. In the interest of full disclosure; I neither own a Kimber nor a Springfield. I own Colts. But if i was looking for another 1911 type pistol; i would'nt hesitate to buy one. I trust Springfield, Kimber, and Colt far more than i trust polititians, government purchasing agents, and political pals who sell guns; but that's just me. Food for thought. suspicious leroy PS ---Refer to the "Words to think about" section below for more thoughtful opinion on this matter

I love this!!! Keep up the good work! leroy

Glocksters advice here is a good starting place. "Back in the day" we used to shoot lots of 222 and 223 in bolt guns with 1 in 12 twist barrels (...i know that is an oddity today...) 55 grain hpbt (...or spitzer flat base---couldn't tell much difference out to about 200 yds...) bullets (....it dont matter the brand; they are all good...) and a "stiff load" of ball powder. They would all shoot well enough for ya to lay a dime over them at 100 yds with a good scope if you can hold it that close. The 223 aint too finicky as to loading as long as the powder charge is "stiff" or near maximum. I also agree with Glockster's observation RE: stick powders. I could never find much of an improvement over the ball type powders when shooting the 222 or 223. I cant give too much advice on AR type loads, because we just started fooling with them after 30 years or so of making fun of them. "Back in the day", the 1 in 12 twist AR's were a joke to us old bolt gun men. That being said; they aint a joke anymore. I'm working on loads for a 1 in 9 HBAR carbine right now. It already shoots better than i can. Plan to use WW748, Hornady A Max 55 grain spitzer flat base bullets (...they were on sale...) and military brass. Hope this helps leroy

Probably running out of contract work. Hope they can re-start with something that doesnt depend on the whims of government. leroy

Lester passed on a "pearl of wisdom" here with the interchangeable toolheads speech. This solves bunches of problems with fiddling and re-adjusting everything with a caliber change. We do this too: Hope this helps leroy

Interesting read, indeed!! Thanks for posting it. leroy

LINK:____________ Watch and buy the ones on sale. It dont matter, Trijicon, Truglo, Meprolight, XS. On a handlgun they all work the same. I've got both trijicons, champion and meprolight. They all work well. Dont worry about "warranty" issues. What R1000 said about the licensing issue is why there are only one or two "real" suppliers of tritium vials. Somebody (...like Trijicon or Meprolight...) encapsulates the tritium in the little vials, the sight guys just machine the sights and insert the vials. Hope this helps leroy

To add a bit to what Rightwinger says above; i've got a Dillon 650. They (...like the 550...) work very well when you dont keep changing components (....like bullets....). I found my Dillon used (...believe it or not...). Had to rebuild some of the consumable parts (...springs...). They are great for volume pistol loading. I'm sure they work well for rifle calibers; i just never load 'em on the dillon. Have fun. leroy

This is the answer. My problem is that i like 'em all!!! leroy

Looks to me like you are well armed!!! Have fun and shoot a lot!! leroy

STI makes good stuff. I'd like to have a full size 38 super myself. Keep up the good work. leroy