Darrell

I take your point, but apparently you missed mine. I hate it when some anti-whatever person tells me I don't "need" a 20-round mag, or a 200 hp motorcycle. It has nothing at all to do with "need". But the point I was trying to make is that the entire component and ammunition shortage that we're experiencing is caused by hording. Ammo and primer manufacturers say they're operating at full capacity. Every primer being manufactured is going straight to the ammo factories, and ammo won't stay on the shelves. So if Joe Blow bought 10,000 primers a couple years ago, but he only loads 500 rounds a year, then he bought, by my definition, more than he needed. Now old Joe sees that those primers he paid $30 a k for are selling for four times that, and he decides to put them on the market. I don't see that as capitalism, but as profiteering. Joe contributed to the current mess by helping to screw up the supply and demand signal, which is essential to capitalism, and then when he sees the opportunity he takes undue advantage of a situation he helped to create. I try to keep ahead of my needs of components, too. I sure get that. But I'm pretty resentful of those people who are now selling primers for over $100 a brick or 22 ammo at the prices mentioned by the OP.

I have molds for most of my calibers, too, but cast bullets are limited when you start shooting higher velocity rounds. I don't see myself casting for 6mm CM or 270 Wby M. I do cast for 30 cal with pretty good results, and for most of my handguns, too.

Or maybe their management has a business model that allows for reasonable profit, and their marketing folks value customers that have done business with them in the past, and hope those same customers will do business again in the future.

There's capitalism, and then there's profiteering. I see nothing at all wrong with a guy making a buck on something that's in short supply, but as Biden says, C'mon man! I'm seeing guys selling primers for over $100 a case. The thing that bugs me about that is that the guy who has primers to sell right now is among those responsible for the shortage; one who went out and horded way more than he (apparently) ever needed. Full disclosure, I've always bought primers by the case and powder in 8 pound jugs. But I shoot it up. I think there are probably guys who bought 5000 rounds of .22 when they only shoot 100 rounds a year. Kind of like buying two Costco packs of TP when you already have plenty at home. We live in strange times, and I think they're going to get stranger. Perhaps, like the great TP shortage, eventually people will figure they have enough ammo and shelves will begin to fill again and the primer manufacturers will be able to sell to us peons again. And maybe I'll be one who buys more primers than I figure I really "need". But I won't be selling it later at four times what it should be worth. OK, rant over.

I think I must be on his regular route. I may put a dish of cat food out there and see if I can get some closer pics. My property shares a boundary with the Catoosa wildlife area, so I expect to see plenty of critters in the future.

That's a good sized fox. This pic is of a fairly large coyote, I've seen him in the daytime, in the same spot for perspective.

Thanks guys! Fox didn't even occur to me. I appreciate the input from the experts! Once in the early morning (back in WA) I saw a litter of red fox kits playing in a field. I stopped my motorcycle and whistled at them, and to my surprise the came toward me! I realized that I'd made a mistake, fox shouldn't think people are their friends, so I waved my arms and yelled as scared them away. That was a very cool experience!

The other photo

My game cam captured this critter walking beside my driveway a couple of nights ago. I've seen bobcat here, and at first glance I figured this was a bobcat, but look at the tail! I've seen several cougar in the wild, and it appears that this guy has that distinctive black muzzle of a cougar, but look at that tail! Is it a mutant bobcat with a giant tail? Possible a second cat behind the first? A second (much poorer) photo only shows one animal, and I'd take that for a racoon. But the first pic sure doesn't look like a coon to me. Thanks!

Well, the problem with the internet..... that crimp already looks excessive to me. I've always figured the lightest crimp that keeps the bullet from moving during recoil is the right crimp. There's no picture of the unloaded bullet, but it looks to me like the bullet that's seated deepest has the crimp around the body of the bullet. That DOES mean that more pressure is going to build in the chamber before the bullet begins to move. Just as an experiment, seat one or two bullets at each depth in unloaded cases, then use an inertial puller to knock those bullets out. I'm guessing that the deeper-set bullet is going to take considerably more effort to pull than the shallower set bullet. The deeper you seat the bullet, the higher the pressure will be due to reduced case volume. But so long as you're not compressing the powder AND your cases aren't showing signs of overpressure then you're okay. But crimping that much is going to wear your cases out much more quickly than light crimps. Remember that brass hardens as it's worked. Every time you fire the gun the brass expands to fill and seal the chamber. The more it moves, the sooner the case mouth splits. Some powders are dirtier than others. If the smoke and residue are a problem then Red and Dirt are right that you may want to try another powder. Or maybe even a different brand primer.

I think I enjoy reloading more than shooting. And it can be economical, too, particularly if you're shooting certain big-bore cartridges. Not too long ago guys were telling me that they wouldn't even consider reloading 9mm because it was so inexpensive, so I happily picked up their brass and tossed it in my tumbler. The brass is the expensive part (at least before people started to think that primers are worth $100 a 1000) and if you can pick it up once-fired from a friend or acquaintance that saves big. Most of the brass you find laying on a range is once-fired, as reloaders take their brass home with them. And there are on-line sources that specialize in once-fired brass. I guess the one expense that's hardest to quantify is your time. I find it enjoyable and relaxing to spend a couple hours at the bench, but if you'd rather be doing something else or find it a chore, then maybe it's not for you. You don't need to spend a fortune on equipment, either. I still use an ancient CH single-stage press for a lot of my reloading. That was the first press I ever bought and even though I now have a setup that will load MUCH more quickly, I still enjoy the single-step process for low-volume loading. I just used it to load 40 rounds of 6mm CM a couple days ago. I think Lee still sells an expensive "starter" setup that has everything you need to get going. Right now would be a tough time to get started as it's tough to find primers, and projectiles are getting harder to find, too. But it's my opinion that it's absolutely positively worth doing.

I've been an NRA Life Member for 40 years or so, but in the past few years I've really come to question the organization. As other here have stated, it's long past time for WLP to go. The thing that bothers me most, I think, is that the NRA magazine hasn't addressed the controversy except in a purely defensive way. The new president wrote a puff piece about how great LaPierre is, and how evil the NYC AG is, but not a word to address the real issue of spending huge money on trips, clothes, and "interns". I like the NRA, and want it to be hugely successful, but the salary and perqs that go to WLP are entirely out of hand.

6.5mm = .264, right? I have an old .22 scope with no bell at all that would snug right down to that barrel. I'd be willing to swap straight across for that scope you have that doesn't fit.

I usually stop at Outdoor Junction if I go that way. I bought some match 22 from them at a fair price, but I don't recall that they had much powder on-hand. I probably should give them a call. Thanks for the reminder.

It looks like this thread has been inactive for couple of months. I'm looking for a reasonably local store that keeps a good stock of reloading supplies. I get over toward Knoxville occasionally, but mostly I stay to the Crossville-Harriman area. I made several stops in Crossville last week looking for slow powder (H1000) with no luck, but I did find a five pound jug of Trailboss, which I like. Not a single primer in any of the three shops I stopped at.

I just bought a Ruger Precision Rifle after a fairly long search. The few I saw for sale on-line were priced as much as a grand over the best (but not-in-stock) prices I saw. I paid about $200 more than those best, but unavailable, prices from an out-of-state dealer and had it shipped to my local dealer. My guess is that with the apparent Biden win prices are heading north and supply is heading south. Biden was pretty open about his desire to see those scary black rifles and high-capacity mags banned. With the house continuing to be controlled by Pelosi and the like, and with a couple of RINOs like Collins in the senate, he could see some success in restricting arms that we're all used to owning.

Same here. One guy has some powder to trade, which would suit me just fine. But it isn't worth five bucks to me to find out if he still has it and whether we can work out a way to meet to make a trade. I've used Armslist several times in the past and found some great deals, but I'm unlikely to pay a fee just to respond to an ad to see if we can work out a deal. I understand that Armslist needs to make a buck just like everyone else, but I think this particular model needs to be tweaked somehow. I'm guessing that the owners of Armslist are getting an earful and will work out something "better".

"My favorite lever gun is my Marlin 1895 in .45-70 with a 16" barrel." That's got to be my LEAST favorite! First time I pulled the trigger on mine it busted my middle-finger knuckle good! Blood and bad words everywhere! I learned to keep my pinky outside the cocking loop and my middle finger well back. I think that's the only lever-action gun that's ever bit me like that. It IS a good shooter with much lighter loads, though.

I've got a big 50 that I rarely shoot, but I'd like to shoot it a lot more often. The problem is finding a place to shoot it safely. I joined the local shooting range a couple years ago, and when I signed up I specifically asked if shooting a 50 was allowed, and was told that it is. The second time out one of the other shooters pointed out a sign that I hadn't read that said "no 50 BMG." I brought it up with the BOD and apparently I was given bum dope by the guy I originally spoke with. I still enjoy the range and take other rifles there, but darn it! And like Chucktshoes above, I have an unfired AK that I got when my father died 20 years ago. I've not even bought ammo for that rifle. I take it out of the safe to fondle it once in a while. With the scarcity of reloading components these days, it sure likes like it'll be a lot more expensive to shoot anything often! I was looking for some large magnum rifle primers and slow powder last week and found exactly NOTHING.

I understand what you're saying, but I disagree with you. The poster has to pay to place his ad, and that's fair and reasonable. But I've often responded to an Armslist ad and found that the item was already sold, received no reply at all, or found that the item didn't suit me. The membership fee is fair, I have no complaint with it, and if I used Armslist all the time I'd surely pay up. But it doesn't seem reasonable to me to expect a person to pay $4.00 for the privilege of responding to an ad.

+1 for the RO in 9mm. What a great firearm!

Greetings all. My wife and I moved to Tennessee from Washington state about two years ago, due in no small part to political reasons and gun rights. We built a house in Crab Orchard, and we feel like we're finally home. I enjoy shooting and reloading, but I'm pretty casual about the shooting part of it. I really like experimenting a little with the reloading, particularly with light loads for centerfire rifle cartridges.