Jamie Jackson

I'm bumping this back up to see how folks are doing, and if anyone has any new drills they are running. I had to take about a 3 month hiatus from shooting to recover for a surgery I had. Getting old sucks... I'm back to shooting the Dot Torture drill, FAST Test, and running Bill Drills to try and improve my split times while maintaining accuracy... always a challenge for me... I'm using the 6" circle with the 1" square for the Bill Drills. https://pistol-forum.com/showthread.php?2124-Printable-Targets I was working with some friends that are relatively new to shooting yesterday, and as they are new (Randy knows them...Tammy & Alex), incorporated some ball & dummy rounds into mags I loaded for them. I do the same for myself as It helps me practice malfunction clearances. It helps me diagnosis fundamentals for them. I also use the six 2" circles and practices non-dominate (weak hand) shooting from 3-7 yards with my J frame BUG. 3-5 yards are fine, I struggle with 7 yards...but accept the challenge. I've printed out the 3M drill Randy posted above and will be running our group through it our next range session. I should have already done this...I'm a slacker... So, what are you folks doing?

GTG, TGO David recommended Aholster in a previous thread. I picked up a left hand model for my 9mm Shield. It's an excellent holster, good price and very thin, yet sturdy. By it's design it actually stays in the friggin' pocket when you draw! And you don't have to worry about an inadvertent mag dump while the guns in your pocket, something I've experienced with soft pocket holsters. It conceals quite well in my carpenter jeans. Here's the links: http://www.lefthandholster.com/pocket-aholster.html http://shop.aholster.com/product.sc?productId=1&categoryId=1

Well Prayers and the NRA certainly didn't hurt anything...

Thank you hipower. So really the current pricing is not outlandish all things considered then. fwiw I not really looking at purchasing a .22 mag at this time...but I've been known to pick up a box or two of ammo just in case I need some at a later date.

I believe the rumor was addressed a year or so ago when someone e-mailed Winchester...something to do with an employee not knowing what they were talking about? Am I misremembering this?

I've used W 231 for a very long time. It's a very fine powder and meters extremely well. I've loaded 10's of thousands of rounds of 45 acp with it, as well as 9mm and .38 spl. I've even blown up a Glock 21 with it because I screwed up and double charged a case. 11.4 grains will tear up a darn Glock!! But Glock replaced it, even knowing that it was my fault... (late 1990's). fwiw that was my only double charge and I load at least 10k of handgun rounds each year. Pay attention folks! As I mentioned, it a very fine powder and it doesn't take much powder in a case to reach max load data. As long as you don't get distracted, as I did, and pay attention, as I didn't, it's a great and economical powder.

Thanks for posting this GTG. That's a nice looking pen and doesn't necessarily scream "Weapon!" LOL I can definitely see the utility of this. Do you have a version to use as a "trainer"?

Excuse my ignorance. I haven't owned a .22 mag since the late 1960's, early 1970's...it was one of those convertible single actions (.22 and .22 mag cylinders) and I sold it before enlisting in the Navy. What was the general pricing for .22 mag before the Newtown madness? I realize prices will stay higher than pre-Newtown...but curious nonetheless.

Welcome to you and the missus Bob. The local USPSA, IDPA, Steel and 3 gun are located in Oak Ridge at ORSA, for when you get settled in and such. Links below: http://orsaonline.org/ http://orsaonline.org/iclubs.asp?id=4 http://orsaonline.org/faq.asp

H 335 is my favorite powder for 55gr 5.56 loads. I believe I have chrono data for that very load...if I can find it...I need to be a better bookkeeper! I've found it to be a very accurate handload, using range pickup brass as well, out of my 22 year old Bushmaster. I do inspect, sort, and trim & prep my brass...anything funky gets toss into the brass scarp bucket. So far so good.

Reading the above discussion about making shotgun slugs reminded me a couple of articles I read via Western Rifle Shooter's Association a few years back... the article's were entitled "Turning Ballistic Water into Wine" (1&2) and cover much of what Dolo mentioned. Good stuff to know! The articles were a bit more expansive in Chuck Brant's original blogspot, but these still have useful info imho. It looks like his included links are still functional as well. http://chuckbrant.com/turning-ballistic-water-into-wine-2/ http://chuckbrant.com/more-turning-ballistic-water-into-wine/ Western Rifle link below...worth subscribing to if you have an interest: https://westernrifleshooters.wordpress.com/

I believe folks are referring to Tessalon Perles (Benzonate 100mg). It's an antitussive or cough suppressant medication that's prescription only (to best of my knowledge) for short term use. I've given it to a lot of patients and it seems to work well for them. I've never taken them myself, but my wife has used them with good results. https://www.drugs.com/cdi/tessalon-perles.html

BTDT David. Mine went from viral to bacterial and therefore required antibiotics...and my "flu swab" was negative, and I had the influenza vaccine in 2016 for the 1st time since 1975...because it was mandatory for my workplace. (Emergency Room). We've seen quite a few people with obvious influenza. I would guess that 75-80% had the flu vaccine. Not all of them "popped positive" for our flu swabs, which is not unusual. Our physicians will generally, usually, treat them based on symptoms and examination, and if within the first 24-48 prescribe anti-viral medications (as most folks know, antibiotics do not work against viruses.), but a virulent virus can weaken the immune system and allow a bacterial infection to set in...therefore requiring antibiotics...it's a conundrum my friend. fwiw in the over 40 years that I have not had the flu vaccine, I also have not had the flu... Even the CDC will admit that the flu vaccine is only effective about 50% of the time,even though they tout that the effectiveness is close to 90% at other times...it's not even near 90% from what I've witnessed over the past decades. Not even close... Physicians are hesitant to prescribe antibiotics without sound cause, and for good reason, as antibiotics have been so over-prescribed, or inappropriately prescribed, for so long that we are running out of effective antibiotics to treat some pretty virulent bacterial infections. That said, if you are hacking up green phlegm, febrile, and have an elevated white blood cell count...well, antibiotics might just be in order... Disclaimer...this is not medical advice, just and opinion and observation.

LOL. Same here Randall! I unholster several times a day. Done safely, appropriate backstop etc. It's free drawstroke practice. I use my carry gun as my "nightstand" gun lying beside one of my Surefire's. I have my jeans on a chair at bedside with holster, spare mags, flashlight, BOK, cellphone, BUG etc. If, God forbid, there is a fire or other emergency and I need to unass the area quickly, then I'm ready. We have 2 small yappy and territorial dogs that sleep in our bedroom. Their hearing is better than mine!

Good interview and worth the time to watch imho...Thanks for posting this Sam.

I'm glad to see this trend. I think 2.ooohhh hit the nail on the head. How long this all will last is anybodies guess. The anti's will not rest, so it's great to be able to affordably purchase things you believe you'll need in the future, or even just simply want/choose to own. But there will most likely be a time in the near future when we look back at this time as the "good ole days". Just my ever devaluing $0.02 worth...

I've never used these before, and quite honestly I have more than enough magazines for my perceived needs ... but Graf's is running a heck of a special on these right at this moment. They are running them at $4.79 each for the 30 rd mags, but they limit you to 4 per order. So if you're needing some other gear from Graf's (decent reloading gear pricing) this might meet your needs. fwiw the reviews I've seen on these are quite good. I'm just glad to see pricing coming down on guns & gear. Hopefully it's a trend that'll continue for awhile. https://www.grafs.com/retail/catalog/product/productId/74528

I clicked the like button before the Ruskie's took it away!

I really liked the A. American series Wilson. Entertaining Gun Guy Post Apocalyptic fiction. The Bracken Trilogies are usually free to download a couple of times a year on Amazon. I'm actually rereading them and on book two right now. Forstchen did a remarkable job on his little novella "Day of Wrath (Dies Irae)"...he just didn't seem to maintain his mojo in "One Year After" imho.

I didn't care much for "One Year After" either. The library, or at least a few months of Amazon reviews is what I'll wait on. It looks like we're having a bit of a slump in this genre.

Glad to have you onboard Mark. Welcome to TN and to TGO!

Congrats to David and to all that post here! There's a wealth of information here, and shall we say, some interesting discussions? Joined in '09 myself. Tempus Fugit!!

I've not tried CFE powder, but have loaded quite a few Berry's over the years using same weight load data for the round... with many different powders. You can even e-mail Berry's for suggestions. I've found them quite helpful and very prompt. I hope this helps. This is from Berry's FAQ section: Question: Do you have load data available? COL or OAL? We do not research or publish the load data. Please consult load data books or your powder manufacturers' website for load information. You can use published load data for lead/cast bullets or low to mid-range FMJ data, as long as it is the same weight bullet. Berry's offers our standard plate bullets which can handle velocities up to 1,250 fps and 1,500 fps for our Thick Plate (TP) versions. https://www.berrysmfg.com/faq#FAQ3

I have a Dillon 550 and have had that sucker since '89-'90 or so. It's currently set up for 9mm and I handload between 10-15 k of 9 each year. I still use my Lee, which I've had since the mid-1980's for 5.56 and .38 spl. I learned the basics on the Lee and neither press is worn out yet...believe me, I've tried LOL. As has been mentioned, Dillon customer service is second to none. They rebuilt my 550 for a nominal fee a few years ago...so I reckon it'll outlast me. Please excuse the mess, but I love being able to crank out a few rounds of whatever I need when I have the time or inclination. I am so habituated to hand feeding the brass I'm not sure that feature is something I need. Hand feeding the brass allows a last minute inspection and I still easily manage 300-400 rounds an hour. We (as a group) cast and powdercoat our 9mm rounds, purchase our components in bulk, so we have an affordable source of accurate and functional handgun rounds. Over the past several years, with the component shortage we had, we developed several powder use options and a chronograph proved invaluable in that endeavor. Welcome to a great and fruitful learning experience.

I've cared for numerous patients with ITP back in my ICU days (decades). Sorry to hear this. You make a good point Mike. All medicines are essentially poisons. (Risk benefit ratio thing). Many illnesses preclude medications that are common OTC preparations. Knowledge about a person's own conditions and the effects of medications on those states are necessary. I see the end effect of this lack of knowledge more than I'd like. Doctor's and Nurses need to do a better job of "teaching" than they usually do. Hope you feel better soon.