Garrison Joe, SASS #60708

Both the serial and that "current date" note both are horrible quality. Neither the 4 nor the 1 in the altered image would pass muster. BUT - In a year, AI generation will be copying fonts and handwriting so it will be impossible to spot by 98% of folks. Have come to believe that ALL altered (non-original) photos posted to any "publication" media (yeah, the technology is there to manage that) should have big disclaimer watermarks put on them. I have even thought about starting a software company to register, archive, and certify "original content" so that folks can tell by whom and when the original image/text/video was created. Utilizing blockchain technology to provide digital ownership and authentication. Kind of a modern copyright. We are at the point where nothing posted digitally can be trusted, since the cost barrier to publication is now ZERO and the level of identity checking is also NIL. good luck, GJ

I usually find close performance correspondence between Clay and Red Dots. Same bulk, too. good luck, GJ

1 - It's not unfired BP that damages the cases. 100 year old BP-loaded cases can still be in good shape. BP fouling gets very corrosive - that is why it is important to thoroughly WASH cases that are used with BP to get the fouling ALL out, BEFORE storing or loading those cases. 2 - When some nickel plating of brass is done, the manufacturer does not get the brass properly prepped. Hydrogen embrittlement occurs during nickel plating - that weakens the case. That will then let cases split when reloaded and fired. This is the origin of the cowboy shooting rule of thumb - "Never use nickel plated cases in your rifle" - because rifle extraction is pretty weak. A split case in a toggle rifle will have to be removed with a cleaning rod often. A split case in the revolver can more easily removed, and does not prevent firing the rest of the cartridges. 3 - Theory - you did not get some BP fouling washed out of cases back 15 years ago when you loaded them. Then the corrosion proceeded due to the fouling, not to the fact you put BP or Pinnacle sub into the cases. The nickel cases probably were some that had been improperly plated, and had hydrogen embrittlement problems. The two problems together resulted in the nickel cases splitting, but not the brass cases. Two problems combined to generate unexpected failures. good luck, GJ

The Remington STS and Nitro 27, Federal High OverAll and Win AA are most of the few brands of hulls with 100% brass headcovers. A magnet won't stick to the headcover. All others have a steel headcover, with a plating to cut down on rusting of the headcover. As for aluminum head covered shells - I have yet to see one. Don't trust the COLOR on the surface of the metal. Silvery headcovers are steel with a cadmium plating. If you have a brand that is silvery and a magnet refuses to stick to the headcover - I'd like to hear about it. Thin steel sheet has very little spring-back when it is made into a headcover (the cap shape of the hull). Brass has good spring-back. When fired, shotshell headcovers expand with the 11,000 psi (for a factory load, roughly) that comes from firing. Then the brass ones spring back down to size, the steel headcovers don't spring back hardly at all. I find that the ability to get shotshells to shuck easily has to do with metal of the headcover. Brass shucks easy, steel (without or with plating) are harder to shuck. I don't believe the ribbing makes much of a difference in how easy a load is to shuck. The plastic hull walls have some spring-back, just like brass. It just happens that most steel head covered shells are ALSO made with ribbing, and are also lower-cost to manufacture. good luck, GJ

YEAH, for a long time. On a Dillon 550. First - you DO NOT want to run a .45 auto resizer! It's 0.007" too tight and it splits a lot of C45Spl cases during sizing. Extra work on the case that is not needed AT ALL. Yes, the Dillon .45 Colt expander plug is the right thing for expanding back out to the right size for a slug. Seat and crimp with a .45 Auto Rim die myself. A .45 auto puts a taper crimp on, and you want a firm roll crimp on the C45S. Another way, usually involving lathe work, is to use a shortened .45 Colt crimp die. The SEATING step can be done with almost any die. It's the CRIMPING part that is finicky. Since I'm on a 550 with 4 stations, and always run a powder check die, I seat and crimp with a single SEATER/CRIMPER die. Made for .45 AR. Most other die combinations are less than desirable. I even run a LOT of trimmed .45 Colt cases, because I find the Starline C45S cases have pretty short case life. The cut-off cases work real well and rarely split. good luck, GJ

Could be lots of cowpokes hitting the server to find out stuff about EOT! GJ

Love Norma's brass - which is mostly rifle calibers. GJ

There of course are differences between a timer holder and a Timer Operator. Laid out one difference above. 😆 GJ

The TO is responsible for supervising the number of rounds fired. A really good TO could have assisted the shooter by saying "One more!". At which point the shooter would probably have the "light go on" that a P had just been earned. But he could have saved the "round not fired going to count as a miss" penalty by putting another round on any revolver target. good luck, GJ

The instructions as printed in the stage instruction sheet seem to me to say exactly what you wrote in the OP. No difference in the target order, the round counts, or the requirement needed to be awarded a bonus. "A miss cannot cause a procedural" - this "shorthand" rule of thumb is not applicable here. The P was earned by the 9th shot being placed on a target other than the one specified (target #3). When the shot #9 was fired at target #5, that was the P. The "round not fired counts as a miss" is due to the 10th round found in the revolver at the unloading table. good luck, GJ

A P when the 9th revolver round did not get shot on the last of the triple-tap targets, and a miss for not firing the 10th round. I'll say no bonus earned for the revolver set, as the bonus could only be earned by firing the tenth round (and that shot hitting the distant revolver target). So, P and a miss (for round not fired). And only the bonus for the rifle set can be awarded. good luck, GJ

Battle Borne grease unless it turns faster than 100 RPM. Used to be Mobil 1 but I like the no-color of the Battle Borne synthetic. good luck, GJ

Ballistic Products has been about 15% too high on prices since the Old Curmudgeon passed on. IMHO. good luck, GJ

Will work fine for .38 special and 105 grain bullets. Start with minimum loads published by Hodgdon (aka Winchester powder distributor) and work down to a load that fulfills your wildest dreams. Hodgdon data has a 125 grain cast bullet load with a minimum charge of 700-X of 3.7 grains. I'll betcha that would be a great charge weight for the 105 grain slug, too. good luck, GJ

This is designed to ALWAYS happen if the primer is set to flush, or even better, to 0.003" (3 thousandths) deeper than the case head. Measure to see if you are seating deep enough. If you are not, look for WHY. If no one else has problems, it's probably something YOU are doing. good luck, GJ