Dolomite_supafly

I have used Lee, RCBS and Redding dies and they all work equally well. No need to spend the extra money on dies unless the caliber you are laoding is only available from one of the others. I am a huge fan of Lee equipment and for the money they can't be beat. Now if you are wanting the best there is then Lee may not be the top choice. Lee progressive presses are problematic. I have a 1000 and have never had more than a dozen rounds get loaded before I had to clear a problem. I bought an aluminum press like you are considering and it is definitely well worn now. I guess I loaded about 3,000 rounds then it got too loose for my likes. The aluminum press with the steel ram wore the aluminum out. Lee cast iron single stage presses are really good. I really like the single stage used primer dump system. I bought a Lee Classic Cast after the aluminum one wore out and it has been rock solid. I have thousands more rounds through the Classic Cast and it is still just as good as day one. Dolomite

I have ordered from Factory sales a couple of times. One thing I do not like is the wait for the items seemed a bit long. I know I waited about 2 weeks for a set of dies once. But their prices are definitely the cheapest you are going to find on factory Lee stuff other than maybe on Ebay. Dolomite

Micrometer to measure OAL of the loaded round. To clean the cases buy some Lemishine at Walmart. Soak the cases overnight in a mixture of hot water and a teaspoon of Lemishine. It makes the cases come out almost as clean as tumbling. You will need to rinse them and let them dry. You need to make sure you clean brass before sizing them because a singel piece of sand can ruin your dies. It will leave a burr and every case after the burr will have a scratch. Dolomite

Chris Bayless B & B Firearms 5417 Tazewell Pike Suite B Knoxville, Tn. 37918 He told me he was looking at $20 transfers. He is on Tazewell pike just down the road from Murphy rd. Dolomite

You are going to be mildly surprised at how easy it is when you are done. It is OK to be concerned but not nervous. As long as you are an average shooter you will pass with flying colors. Dolomite

I personally see no reason to remove it from the holster. I remove the holster, with the gun inside, from your belt and set it down. I make sure to put the belt back in the first loop or you might get it wet (yest I speak from experience). Then when I am done I again put the holster, with the gun still inside, on the belt and tighten it back down. After all you are dropping your pants so you have to undo your belt and pants anyway. May as well keep your gun and holster together to prevent accidents. A holstered gun is about as safe as it gets. And removing and reholstering a gun only increases the chances of a ND. My 1911 hasn't been out of its holster in well over a month. I see no reason unless I am either giving it its quarterly cleaning, practicing shooting or using it to defend a life. During the warmer or wetter months I will soak it down with oil about once a month but other than that it isn't removed. It has probably been 400-500 rounds since the last cleaning. And I shoot it regularly with practice loads then load my carry ammo at the range and in the holster it goes until the next range session or annual cleaning. Dolomite

I will just give you a quick run down of the Sport and why it is such a great gun. 1. The barrel is a 5R rifled barrel. 5R barrels are known for their accuracy regardless of caliber. For whatever reason they just shoot and shoot well. It also increases the velocity by virtue of how the rifling is laid out. 2. The barrel is Melonite treated. Melonite treatments are far better than any chrome lining as far as hardness and durability. It also offers an exception amount of corrosion resistance. It is more than just a surface coating like chrome, it actually treats the metal and goes subsurface. 3. The bolt is properly heat treated. This is very important for the long term durability of the firearm. It ensures the headspace will remain in spec longer than those bolts that are not heat treated properly. Poorly heat treated bolts will either wear prematurely or break from being too brittle. 4. It has a barrel twist rate of 8 This twist rate allows you to fire the heaviest bullets that can be fed from a magazine, up to 80 grains. And because it isn't a 7 twist (like most others out there) you can also fire the lightweight varmint style bullets without fear of the jackets seperating. 5. It comes ready to fire. It comes with a Magpul rear sight while most competitors, even those 100's of dollars more expensive, do not. The sights have been proven for several years now both by those in harms way as well as the weekend shooter. It also includes a Magpul magazine which has also been proven for seveal years now. 6. It is built to the same specs as all other AR's This means you can upgrade and swap parts to build a gun that suits your wants or needs. And because it is an AR most of the work can be done by the owner and if it is a milspec part it WILL fit. 7. The price In reality if any other maker were to offer the same features as the Sport has they would be asking 100's of dollars more. The 5R barrel and Melonite treatment were once only offered on high end guns. And included in the price is a warranty that is among the best in the industry. Up until about 3 months ago the Sport flew under my radar. It wasn't until I was asked about them that I took a serious look at them. I have since become a huge fan of them and recommend them to anyone who wants a quality gun that doesn't break the bank. And if I were in the market for one I would buy a Sport. Dolomite

I reload 45 ACP for under a nickel a round using quality components and bullets I cast. I can buy cheap primers and miserly powder and drop the cost to <.03 a round. Buying all the components is still under .13 a round. For 223 I do not load blaster ammo. I load what I would consider match grade ammunition. .09 in powder, .18 for the bullet and .03 for the primer. So for .30 a round I have a bullet loaded with 69 grain SMK's that is capable of groups under .3" center to center. I have found no factory ammo that can match that accuracy and very few that can match or beat the cost. For me the benefit is in quality not savings. Dolomite

In order to get 7-8 loads on each piece of brass you need to do one of two things. Either anneal the case necks or use a neck sizing die and a Redding body die (two seperate operations). If you are using one of those mandrel types that pulls the mandrel back through the case neck you are work hardening the brass a lot. I know I would get 4-5 loads per peice if I didn't anneal the case necks. After that I would start to get splits. At one point I was obsessed with annealing brass. Since I have started using the Lee collet die and a Redding body die the primer pockets wear out before the case necks do. Also, to save time do not measure each case to see if it needs trimmed. Measure about 10 of the lot and if any come in over then trim all of the cases. I found it easier and quicker to just trim all of them than to fool with measuring every case. Here is my all in one station for trimming and case prep: I trim the brass, then uniform the flashole, then chamfer the outside, then the inside then trim to length again because the brass will move around a bit during the other steps. I took the piece of angle aluminum and rilled and tapped it 8-32 for all the tools to thread into. It literally takes me about 15-20 seconds per piece of brass. No need to recheck OAL of your loaded bullets. Once you have your die set the OAL should stay the same. If you are using a Lee and afraid the seating pin will back out just use some electrical tape to hold it in place. Or use a sharpie to put a witness mark to see if it is backing out. You didn't mention it but if you are using a electronic scale you are slowing your production down. Dolomite

There are jurisdictions that the corrections officers go through the same academy as the road officers. They get bonded, vetted and carry a firearm just like a road officer. Also, a lot of the jurisdictions make their officers spend some time in corrections before allowing them out onto the street. They use it almost like a probationary period. After all if you can deal with the madhouse that is corrections you can probably deal with the public. And to think that corrections officers are less than road officers is a bit skewed. Think about it, the majority of the people a road officer interacts with are not criminals while 100% of the people a corrections officers deals with are criminals. I have worn the hat of both and I will say that the corrections part of the job was by far a more stressful job on a day to day basis than on the road. How often do you hear of a road officer getting crap thrown on them (literally)? I can say it happens very often in corrections. Now corrections officers do have the luxury of knowing that every person they interact with is a criminal. But you also have to have some very thick skin. And one of the worst parts of corrections was the politics and the highschool hes aid, she said games. Not trying to minimize the road officers dangers because they have to deal with the unknown on every traffic stop or call. Could be the little old lady coming from church or the little old lady who just killed 1/2 dozen people. But to say that correction officers are not LE is not right. With things getting worse and worse on the road I am glad I made the decision to not go back out on the road anymore when I worked LE again for a while. That is when I realized that corrections officers had a lot to deal with as well. Prior to my work in corrections I had a jaded view against corrections as well. It has been a long time since did either job but I recognize that it is more dangerous for both now that it was when I worked in LE. Dolomite

The only time you can your time as a value is if you are reloading instead of going to work. You can find components a lot cheaper than you have listed. Walmart sells primers for $30.90/1K. Dolomite

The "V" in 41V50 is for Vandium. It makes for a harder, more corrosion resistant version of the 4150 alloy. Not saying the standard 4150 or 4140 is substandard but the 41V50 is a bit better. When you add the melonite treatment it makes an even better barrel and probably makes most steels equal afterwards. Dolomite

All you need to do is notify the ATF as they are the only ones concerned with your NFA item. On a can or AOW nothing more than a letter is required but on all other NFA items you must comlete a 5320.20. Although not required you may submit one for the can you are taking to Florida. http://www.atf.gov/forms/download/atf-f-5320-20.pdf Dolomite

I would recommend a smith to do the work. Those "drop in" beavertails generally do not fit well and can actually pinch your hand. Adding a beavertail correctly to a GI requires the frame to be radiused and blended. This will make it neccessary to refinish the firearm. They do make a jig to make it eaiser but it is still not foolproof. And if you screw it up you need to find someone to tig the metal back in place. Then there is the fitting that must be done internally and although it isn't that difficult it is easy for the gun to be unsafe unless it is done perfectly. It literally is a matter of a few strokes with a file between safe and unsafe. The beavertail only prevent the trigger from being pulled. It is still possible for the gun to fire if the trigger isn't pulled if the gun is fired with the thumb safey not properly fitted. The trigger is pretty much a drop in part but it will require the beavertail to be fitted to it. Then after that the thumb safety needs to be fitted to the new trigger and in most cases it requires a new thumb safety because the old one was fitted to the previous parts.. And if you make any major trigger adjustments after the other parts are fitted you may need new to buy all new parts. The thumb safety is what locks the sear in place and makes the gun drop proof. If the thumb safety is not properly fitted it is possible for the gun to be dropped and it go off. Or worst case scenario the gun is able to be fired with it engaged. You also need to make sure you leave the right amount of clearance or you will get the hammer riding on the sear which is not a good thing. The hammer is about the only part that would be as close to drop in as possible but like all the previous parts it will require the parts that interact with it to be fitted. You basically start with the trigger and adjust it with the hammer until you get waht you are looking for. Then you need to fit the beavertail so the hammer will not fall when it is not depressed and the trigger pulled. You do this by slowlt filing the leg down until it clears the trigger bow. Then after that is working how you want you must fit the thumbsafety the the new trigger position which is generally farther to the rear than the factory one. This, for me, is also the trickiest part of the whole process. When done it should lock the sear in place when engaged. I know it sounds easy but it is not and this is the reason why most 1911 smiths charge what the do because it is a tricky, time consuming process to do it correctly. It can be done by a novice and there are plenty of videos and instructions on the net. As a person who has ruined a lot of parts figuring out what works and what doesn't I will say that the odds of a novice getting everything right the first time is pretty slim. It is possible to do it but if you screw up you may not know it until the gun accidentally goes off. Dolomite

On top of what the others have said. Sling plate as well as a forward sling point. SIngle points are fine and dandy until you have to run after you have transitioned to a pistol. Avoid bungee type slings as they tend to increase the bouncing around of the gun as you move if it is hanging. Something that allows you to carry spare batteries, maybe not for optics but for flashlight or muffs. Also some lube would be good as well. I would also look at a forward vertical grip because it can give you more strike force. For me it also makes it easier to shoot. They are not illegal on rifles with a 16" or longer barrel. Also, not part of the firearm itself but I would have hearing protection with the gun. I like electronics that amplify low level sounds. I would also add eye protection as well as a good set of gloves to the items to go with a bug out gun. Dolomite

Watch that link. It runs a script that caused some problems with my laptop. Might do better to copy and paste the article along with a cold link. Dolomite

Do a search: http://www.ammoengine.com/ This is updated daily. And this one has actual UPS shipping rates and is user submitted: http://www.gun-deals.com/ammo.php Dolomite

I believe most laws are based on religion more so than the Constitution, Declaration of Independence or Bill of Rights. And it is the prevailing religion in a society that most of the laws are based upon. Look at the laws of countries that believe in other religions to see there are stark differences between their laws and ours. Dolomite

My number has been on the "do not call" list for at least 5 years now and I still received calls. When I switched to Verizon the calls got much worse even though I had the same number. It all stopped when Verizon did what I mentioned above. Dolomite

You need to call around to Walmarts in different areas. My local Walmart has prices way cheaper than you listed. Your Walmart will match my Walmart's prices. I know Tula 223 is under $5 a box at mine. Federal 9mm is under $10 a box. Dolomite

But he can tell your wife to leave his property. Also, last time I checked a person isn't property. Dolomite

Or maybe try some cayenne pepper. Buy a few dozen spice containers of cayenne and mix it in with water then use a garden sprayer to cost the trees. Or maybe some bitterent like alum or the like. Or if all else fails sit out in a lawn chair and shoot them as they surface. And if you don't have the time or want to I am sure there are a few on here that would love to kill that problem beaver for you. Dolomite

I think everyone is confusing my stance in allowing people to make choices on how to manage their own property as an anti gun stance, but I am far from anti gun. I believe that people should have the right to carry their firearms and protect themselves where ever they are as long as it is within the law. I have wrote letters to representatives asking for language be put into the recent pro gun legislation holding those who ban guns on their property be responsible for all damages. But I also believe that a property owner or business has a right to fire employees if they are doing something the employer does not like whether it be bringing a gun on the property or showing up late for work. The employee has a choice to either comply with the rules or policies of the employer or leave and find work elsewhere. If jobs weren't so hard to find right now people would be leaving those employers they don't like, I know I have walked away from an employer or two because their rules didn't agree with mine. Employees do it every day with drug testing, financial backgrounds as well as criminal backgrounds. The employees concent to this as a condition of their employment. An employer can make a rule that no red trucks are allowed to be parked in the parking lot. Yes it is stupid and most won't agree with it but it is not against the law. But as the property owner it is his choice whether a red truck will be parked on his property or not. I am just saying that an employer can set whatever condition of employment they choose providing it is within the law. As it stands right now he doesn't have to allow a person to bring a firearm onto his property. It is the employees responsiblity to do what the boss asks in order to remain employed. As far as screaming fire in a crowded theater there are laws governing that. And as I said before this has nothing to do with the Bill of Rights, Free Speech or the 2nd ammendment. It has to do with an employer's decision to not allow people to bring something he doesn't agree with onto his property. And really it doesn't matter what the item is, if the employer doesn't want it on his property it is his choice. It is not a matter of guns, it could be any object that the employer doesn't want on his property. Dolomite

If you call your service provider, I know Verizon does, they will remove you from a telemarketer list they maintain. If not you, by default, consent to these receive these calls. I did not know it until I called to cancel my service because I was receiving calls all the time. Also, make sure to have them remove you from the messaging list as well. They are two seperate lists. Until I did this I was getting texts at 2am-4am every night about a free IPad. Dolomite

The biggest difference between a 5.56 chamber and a 223 chamber is the throat or the amount the bullet jumps to get to the rifling. There are other differences but those are more about relaibility in a dirty enviroment than safe firing of the firearm. In a 5.56 chamber there is a longer throat to allow the extra pressures of the 5.56 cartidge to dissipate some before hitting the rifling. On the flip side a 223 chamber doesn't have the longer throat because it doesn't need to dissipate those extra pressures like the 5.56. Now if you fire a 5.56, with its extra pressures, and do not have the throat for it pressures can spike well beyond 223 or even 5.56 pressures. Is it enough to blow a gun up? I can't say but the spike can't be good for long term durability. This is why I always say make sure you have a hardened bolt in your gun, they help ward off premature failure. I have never heard of a 5.56 blowing up a 223 chambered gun. Not saying it never happened or never will but I have never heard of it. Now I have measured the throat on quite a few 223 only bolt guns. And every one of them has had a throat long enough to easily fire 5.56. As a matter of fact most of them had throats longer than 5.56 chambers. The 5.56 chamber tends to be "looser" all the way around for reliability and as another person said this sacrifices potential accuracy. The Wylde chamber is looser than even 5.56 chambers except the throat diameter is .224. Dolomite