Sidewinder

Gregintenn, I may load some on the Rock Chucker later. I've never re-loaded anything with brass this thin before, and I thought I'd like the portability. Doubt I'll be re-loading at the range, but may move around a little locally.

The MidSouth 45 grain soft point is exactly what I'm looking for, and the price range works for me too. Any experience with them to know the price range where they will consider free shipping? David is trying to come up with some for me. I'm not sure what his price will be, if he does. Thanks for the links.

Yea, I have a bunch of the plastic bullet boxes too, and like them as I can stick my reload data right on the lid. And, you're right about the hand loads out performing the factory loads. I haven't done any 22 Hornet loading, or shooting, yet but it seems the 45 grain bullet is the sweet spot for the round. I just hope it is for the two barrels I'll be shooting it from. Both are Contender barrels, one a 10" pistol barrel, and the other a 21" carbine barrel.   Thanks for the link, I just may try some of them when they get them back in stock.

It'll be a while before I can attest to the whole loading process on my new hand press. I thought I had some 45 grain soft point bullets, but it turned out they are 50 grain soft points. When I put the reloads back in the factory box, I try to duplicate the load so I'll know what I'm shooting. I called David yesterday, to see if he had any. He was in Indianapolis at a gun show, and said he didn't have any there, but may have some at home. I have the primers and powder, just holding on the bullets. Maybe one of his suppliers has some. At any rate, I'm on hold for some .224 dia. 45 gr. soft point bullets.

Thanks DWarren123, I'll give him a call. I guess he probably does a gun show most weekends, huh? I emailed him in the middle of the week, thinking that would be the best time. I'll call the number on his website.

I sent David an email this morning, looking for some 45 grain, soft point, .224 dia. bullets, but haven't heard from him. I got his email address from his website. Anybody know if all of that information is still good?

Doves are hard enough to hit anyway. Hate to connect, and see them fly far enough away that you can't find them...but you know they are crippled. That's bad for both sides... the dove and the hunter. Good quality ammo in 7 1/2 is my choice. If you re-load, you can load up some special loads, just for doves.   Good luck Monday.

Sorry KahrMan, I have zero experience with 28 Ga. and Whittaker. But that sounds like a pretty good price to me. Do the specs look pretty good on them? Were you going to use them for dove, or general all around small game...or clays? You know RIO...is made right here in Tennessee, at least I think they still are, and they are usually priced pretty good. I reload most of mine, and usually only buy duck loads, or when I need some hulls for re-loading. If you buy them, let us know how you like them, and how they perform.

I reload on an old rock Chucker, single stage, for pistol and rifle, and MEC 600 Jrs for shotshell in .410, 20 Ga., and 12 Gauge. The progressive presses are faster...and it you hit a glitch, can mess up a lot of materials, if the mistake goes unnoticed very long...often after the renegade loaded round makes it to the final stage. But...they're fast!   As for manuals, I usually try to pick up some freebies where I buy the powder. I have reloading manuals also, but like to see Alliant publishing loads for their powder. You won't always be able to get the free loading manuals...but the time to ask is when you're buying! They may have a spare held back, just for buying customers.   Also, as Patton and Jonnin have mentioned, the latest for the brand of powder you're loading is usually available online.   Good luck! It's fun... but, be sure and follow the loading instructions and safety instructions to the "T". Never load a recipe from a buddy, or anyone else, unless it's a published load by the powder manufacturer...no matter how long they tell you that they've been shooting it.   One more cardinal rule...at least for me anyway. I never shoot anyone else's reloads, and I will not allow anyone else to shoot one of my reloads. Mistakes are easily made, during some distraction, like a phone call. If you're throwing powder, and get interrupted...it is a good idea to dump the powder load, re-measure, and re-throw the load. Old saying...it's better to be safe than sorry!   Have fun...but please be careful!

For those living close to Murfreesboro, there should be some .22 LR available right now! I just left there, and they got three cases of 225 round Remington Golden Bullets. Three boxes including taxes was $37.08. That's about .054 cents a round. When I left, just a few minutes ago, there was two full cases (20 boxes) and one extra box left. I got mine at around 8:30PM and it's now just 9:10PM. There was no one waiting! So there should still be some there.   Just giving my TGO friends a heads up. This was the Old Fort Parkway Wal-Mart.

For those living close to Murfreesboro, there should be some .22 LR available right now! I just left there, and they got three cases of 225 round Remington Golden Bullets. Three boxes including taxes was $37.08. That's about .054 cents a round. When I left, just a few minutes ago, there was two full cases (20 boxes) and one extra box left. I got mine at around 8:30PM and it's now just 9:10PM. There was no one waiting! So there should still be some there.   Just giving my TGO friends a heads up. This is the Old Fort Pkwy location.

Update on the Lee Hand Loader. I've just finished de-priming & full length case re-sizing my first box of 50 Winchester Super X, with the hand loader, and all went well. I had ran them through the tumbler first. I used the Dillon case lube, on a cotton swab, in the case mouths, and rolled them in it for outside case lube. The little hand operated Lee Loader worked real good, and was not hard to close, for the de-priming / full length re-sizing operation. I wiped all of the excess lube off with a terry cloth towel, and have them back in the tumbler again. When they come out this time, I'll inspect, trim to length size them, debur/burnish the edges, then open the case throat just enough so that the bullet will sit straight until it enters the seating.crimp die. Then I plan to prime all of them with my Lee Auto Prime hand primer.   I probably won't be able to charge and seat the bullets yet. I have to make sure I have the bullets I need. I'll re-use the old box, so I'll try to re-load as close to the original as possible. This Winchester Super X box was 45 Grain Soft Points, so I'll try to duplicate that configuration. The box says these were varmint loads, and I'll stick with that. I plan to use Lil Gun for powder, but have to check my bullet supply. May have to take a trip to The Reloader's Bench in Mt. Juilet and see Larry about some bullets. Probably other things too...never can walk out of there with just what I came for! Bet you all are the same way.

I sure hope the quail populations come back in all areas of Tennessee. Quail is my favorite bird to hunt... and I love eating them too. Sadly, I've not heard, nor seen, and quail activity around the Murfreesboro area for years now. If the coveys are small, no matter where they are, I hope the hunters will give them a pass, and let them recover. I keep hearing the cause for their decline is habitat, coyotes, turkey, and fire ants, but can't honestly say what's the cause myself. What do you quail hunters out there think?

Agree 100% 221. My normal deer rifle calibers are .243 & .30-30. I do have some pistol barrels, for my TC Contender, that can fill in as well....357 Mag., 7-30 Waters, and .30-30. Like gregintn says, all of us need to consider "every" shot, and make sure it is a clean humane kill shot, to the best of our ability. R Bert, these vids were probably taken somewhere else...maybe Florida or Texas...dunno.

Thanks Gary, Tennessee Gun Owner is the site to get educated on! I had no idea they made them that small. But, it's good to know that they do. Tedious work, I'm sure.

Dwarren, Thanks for the heads up. I've been working a stick pin point in the threads, and screwing the screw in and out, after soaking in some Bore cleaner. They're going in a lot farther than they were. I'm thinking if they were gently chased with a bottoming tap, I could probably screw the mounting screws in until they bottomed out on top of the chamber. I don't have such a tap, so I guess I'll keep doing what I'm doing. It's slow, but I do see some progress.

Thanks for the link...I like this setup. For the outside of the case, I just lay a bunch of them on a tin lid, spray them down, then roll them around on the lid, let dry, and then proceed. Never tried the baggie method. Are you concerned about any of the case lube getting into the inside of the case? have you seen this case neck graphiter sold in any of the local stores, or gun shows? I'm afraid to use my credit card on the internet these days. I could do a postal money order, if they'd go along with that. They could hold up shipping until they got the money order.

I see some videos online where a pig is taken with the .22 Hornet. Probably too light for the larger hogs. I picked up a copy of the 2014 - 2015 Tennessee Hunting & Trapping Guide the other day. Guess I'd better brush up on the regs sooner than later.

Thanks for all of the help Omega. I bought one at Academy this afternoon. I forgot to ask if they carried the Lee Case Lube. I have case lube that I use when loading with my Rock Chucker, it is Dillon Case Lube. I know it's a liquid, whereas the Lee Lube is a paste. The instructions that came with the loader, calls for lubing inside the case mouth with a Q-Tip, with Lee Case Lube. I've never done this on any case mouths before...afraid it might contaminate my powder. Do you do this with your hand loader?   P.S. this hand press is aluminum, but has the Breech Lock feature.

That's funny!

Thanks Spikehunter. I appreciate the information. Update...I bought a Rynite buttstock and forearm, that had an early model Contender frame with it. Now, I can leave one dedicated as a pistol, and the other as a rifle. I'm a "wood" guy, so the plastic stuff will take some getting used to...plus, it's feather light! That's ok for a .22 Hornet, but I'm just glad I'm not shooting some fire breathing caliber through it. I'll still keep my ear to the ground for a decent wood set, that's reasonably priced.

I bought a small supply of EEZOX to try. Haven't had the time to do the prep and apply yet, but hope to soon. Thanks for the link. Looks like this Mil-Comm TW25B might also be a good thing to have in my gun cleaning kit.

Let me rephrase that...100LL stinks. The good old red 80 octane, we used to have, didn't stink like the new fangled 100LL. I'll bet it may really have a pleasing aroma in a V- tail Bonanza though! What do you think?

I'm setting up a Contender rifle, with a 21" .22 Hornet barrel, and a Rynite furniture. I'm hoping to be able to use it for small game and varmints. I re-load, so I should be able to work in some pretty flexible loads, to cover the bases. If you hunt with a .22 Hornet, please share your hunting adventures with us...good or bad.

I've heard that farmers with feed lots have a good bird population. Know any? Wish I did. I'm hoping to get invited to a dove shoot somewhere myself.