analog_kidd

Sorry, posted my fail report here: http://www.tngunowners.com/forums/ammunition-reloading/50201-made-my-first-big-time-reloading-mistake.html Used a recipe from a couple of manuals. I did trust my Lee disks, but then remeasured and found it to be half a grain off. Short story is I had two rounds that squibbed. I suspect that only the primer fired.

OK, so after my last go around and failure at loading .38spl, I want to test my theory that with the brass only less than 1/2 full of powder that the primer may be flashing over the powder and not igniting it. But, I don't want to get another bullet stuck in the barrel if the powder does not burn. A buddy of mine, who has reloaded for a while, came up with an idea of loading a few rounds of brass with a primer and the powder, then wadding up some paper to act as a plug in place of the bullet. Load it into the gun and see which I get, a pop or a bang. Granted pressure will be less than if a bullet were inserted, but I should be able to determine if the powder is igniting. Has anybody ever tried something like this. Any other suggestions?

Used to have an old truck that developed some rust inside the well below where the widshield is, near the base of the wipers. Eventually it rusted through and when it rained, water would pool up in the floorboard of the passenger side. I'd get an inch of water sometimes. At the time, I didn't have money or skills to repair the leak, and I got tired of always sponging out the floorboard, so I took a drill to the floor and created a drainhole. Problem solved!

Dang, now I wish I had ordered more. They look great!

Well, I got curious and pulled the bullet out of one of the rounds I made so I could measure the powder. I found that it had 4.2gr inside the shell, and I was aiming for 4.8gr. I see that the Lee Auto Disk wasn't spot-on perfect, but I can't imagine that half a grain difference would have caused such a squib. I'm convinced that what happened is the powder is not filling the brass enough, and since the shell is less than half full, when the bullet is horizontal the powder does not come up to the primer. I think what is happening is the primer is flashing right over the powder and not igniting it. What pushed my bullet out of the round and into the chamber was just the explosion of the primer. The lack of just about any recoil at all and the very low report also makes me think this is true. I'm thinking Unique is not going to be the right powder for this round. Does anyone else here reload .38spl? If so, what powder do you use and how much?

I've been thinking about getting a scanner to pick up Oak Ridge PD too. Which model did you end up with and how much did it cost? Do you know what the "feature" was that enabled the new one to work?

Ironicly, the ACLU offices will be closed for Christmas. Maybe they should lead by example and just ignore Christmas all together.

I'm using Alliant Unique, which for 9mm nearly fills the case. What would be a good powder to switch to that would fill the 38spl case? Also, the Unique seems awfully dirty to me. Is there a different powder I should be using?

Well, the two bullets were stacked up together, and the back of the last bullet was just inside the breech of the barrel. I set my OAL at 1.45".

It's a snubbie.

You know the Smith at the gun shop wondered if the primer went off and fired over the powder, igniting it improperly. Your theory actually holds more water, as that is kind of what it felt like. I had rounds that I had just reloaded for 9mm and .380 from the same powder, and they all fired as I expected.

Still seems like I had the load waaaay under charged. It really didn't feel like the round went off. I would think if it were just one disk off, I'd still get a stronger recoil than I did. Also, I remember there case only being about 1/3 full. Does that seem right to you all?

I went through one about a week ago. It was a yellow light I ran, made a split second decision to run it and not slam on the brakes. Was 3/4 of the way through the intersection when the camera flash went off. Not sure if they'll ticket me or not. I'll fight it if they do. I think as long as you're over the white line before the light is red, you're OK. We'll see.

I bought my wife a new S&W revolver last month. Been reloading for my 9mm almost a year, so figured I needed the supplies to load for her gun too. Bought all the stuff and cranked out a couple of rounds to take to the range to verify I had the right recipe. When I was loading the powder, it seemed like there just wasn't enough in the case. All the recipes I found show that there is less powder than for my 9mm, even though the .38 spl brass is way bigger. Anyway, I doublechecked my numbers, they looked right, so I made half a dozen or so. Well, I took them, the gun and my wife to the range. I let her fire off the first few rounds. This was the first time the gun has been fired. Then I loaded up my reloads. When I fired off the first one, it was less recoil than even a .22, and even less of a report than a .22. My wife said she thought she saw the target jump, and I thought maybe there was something wrong with that round, so I fired off another one. Same exact results. I opened the cylinder, adn to my horror, there was a bullet lodged in the barrel. I tried pushing it out with a pencil, but it wouldn't budge. We were headed to the gun shop after the range, so I brought it in to the Smith adn he pounded on it a while adn said he needed to take it to his workshop. He asked if there was more than one bullet in the chamber, I said I didn't think so. He checked anyway, and turns out there was both bullets lodged in there. Now I'm really freaked out. Keep thinking about how I could be wishing for a new hand for Christmas. This could have been a really bad day. Anyway, I'm one to always try and learn from my mistakes. I came home checked my numbers again, and everything looks right. I don't understand it. I was hoping that someone here could school me on what I did wrong. Here's what I used: 125 gr. Berry's Bullets, copper washed, hollowpoint Alliant Unique powder, loaded 4.8 gr, using the 0.53 Lee Auto Disk Still can't believe that .38spl uses less powder than 9mm. And to top it all off, my wife got to shoot the gun once before I broke it, so I feel like a real dope.

Oak Ridge Walmart has a well stocked ammo case. Went in last night, and they have 4 different brands of .380 ammo. Clerk said that the plinking .380 and the hollow points were the same price. I can't remember the last time I saw their case so full.

I've been using MS Security Essentials for several months now, and I love it. It just works. There is none of the other junk installed along with it like the other big name AV makers. You don't get the firewal, adn Identity Guard, etc. What you do get is good AV protection that is free. I'm pretty sure it runs on XP too.

There are a few other reasons to make a will. What if you both go at the same time somehow? You may need to decide a contingincy plan, like kid's inheritance. You may want to make arrangements for younger kids that may need to be cared for. If you're going to make a will, make a living will too. It will outline your desire for how to be cared for if something tragic happens. You can say when to pull the plug, or how you feel about organ donation.

You can watch it on CastTV.com

Did you just burn the .ISO file to the CD? If you look at the CD in a working PC, and all you see is the one .ISO file, then you burned it incorrectly. You should see several files on the CD. You need to use another application that reads the .ISO file and extracts the information contained inside the file, copying that data to the disk. Google search "Burn .ISO to CD" to find a free utility to do the extraction and burn. I think ImgBurn or ISO Recorder are two free options. If you already have Nero, Easy CD Creator or another CD burning application, you may already have the tools you need. Most major CD burning software can do it.

Add 2 more to the list

Thanks for the info!

I have had really good luck with the Offline NT Password Editor Offline NT Password & Registry Editor. It works the same way as the above. Burn the image file to a CD, or copy it to a floppy or USB drive (if your PC can boot from USB). Reboot and follow the prompts. This free software has been around for years. If you know someone that has a volume license with Microsoft, they can obtain DART or Diagnostic And Recovery Toolset (formerly Sysinternals ERD Commander). I think it is the best and easiest to use. It will boot up a special copy of Windows from the CD, then allow you to use the Locksmith utility that is built in to change the password to anything you like.

How do I know when it's time to replace the media in my tumbler? I've been using the media that came with my tumbler and cleaned maybe 400 pieces of brass. It seems to be cleaning ok still, but I do see some residue building up on the sides of the tumbler. Also, several have suggested using a squirt of liquid car polish to help shine up the brass. If I add the polish, can I still reuse the media. Does it make it gummy and therefore require it to be replaced sooner?

I have one of these filters, and it is pretty difficult to pump, even after a good cleaning. In my mind that means it's doing a good job filtering. It's not bad to use on the occasional backpacking trip, but I wouldn't want to use it every day for an extended period of time. I bought an MSR Hyperflow, and it is a delight to use. Water flows pretty easy through it, it's easy to clean, and it is super light. I don't think you can filter as many gallons before having to replace the filter though.

Cherokee Military Surplus is a cool place. Lots of stuff jam packed into a small shop. The owner is a really nice guy, but will flat out talk your ear off. So be prepared to have a good exit strategy.