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Reloading supplies...


Croc Holiday

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7 minutes ago, Iron Biscuit SASS#108048 said:

Hi, about to jump into reloading as well for the 38, so I am following the thread closely.    May I ask, how do Ringer Bullets compare/ work for folks?

thanks

 

I've bought several bullets from Ringer, mostly .44 caliber; fast service, good product, no worries at all.

 

Looks like he's switched to all coated bullets now though.

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On 1/20/2019 at 8:42 AM, Chief Rick said:

Brass - buy direct from Starline

 

Starline ...  but not always direct.  Sometimes MidwayUSA or Grafs have a better price or inventory Starline is out of. 

 

Grafs 20 minutes north,  MidwayUSA 45 minutes west, Starline 90 minutes west.  

 

If you're shooting 38 or 357,  once fired can save you half and are reasonably easy to find.  Check indoor shooting ranges, gun shows.

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26 minutes ago, Iron Biscuit SASS#108048 said:

I know coated bullets cost more, but do folks feel that is the way to go?

 

I think coated is the way to go for cowboy distances: hands stay cleaner, dies stay cleaner, bore stays cleaner. Don’t like coated for long range at all due to uneven distribution of coating resulting in decreased accuracy that doesn’t manifest itself at shorter distances.

 

At least that’s what I tell myself.

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2 hours ago, Deadshot Dan said:

Alright here's one for all the soot lord's.  Can ya shoot these moly coated bullet's with the holy black without additional lube ?  I'm almost guessing no.

 

wipe everything down(cylinder faces especially) and run a bore snake or patch down the rifle barrel every 2-3 stages and they'll work just fine. Same as uncoated smokeless lubed bullets; they'll work just need a little in match maintenance. I usually do all that anyway just to make sure takes less than five minutes and I'm ready for posse duties.

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2 hours ago, Lead Friend, SASS #53635 said:

 

I think coated is the way to go for cowboy distances: hands stay cleaner, dies stay cleaner, bore stays cleaner. Don’t like coated for long range at all due to uneven distribution of coating resulting in decreased accuracy that doesn’t manifest itself at shorter distances.

 

At least that’s what I tell myself.

 

I agree, but I would say it's more about quality control, rather than coated vs. non.

I have settled into shooting Outlaw Bullets and Ringer's coated bullets (I'm from Tennessee and it's about availability and support of the local supplier). I spend a lot of time testing my loading recipes on paper and I have not made the correlation of accuracy issues between coated vs. non. I have seen poorly made coated bullets reek havoc however. I have been told that some coated bullets are run through a resizing die at the end to assure consistency.  Again, quality control.

 

A word on Nickel; I was given a couple thousand rounds of range brass from the PD long before I started CAS. I just couldn't stand looking at them sitting on the shelf so I started using the Nickel cases for practice and informal monthly matches (up to three matches per month).  I found that they were much easier to clean. Less work is better right? After a year of experiencing case failures, I found  that Nickel does in fact crack sooner than brass. I also found that detecting a failing case is easier to identify and send to the recycle pale than brass. Failure was always consistent and almost predictable. After over 8,000 reloads, I have never had one single failure that caused a gun jamb. Again, quality control.

 

In State matches I use brass as I can not shake the stories of Nickel failure. This is mostly a mind game for me which gives me one less thing to worry about.

When my inventory of Nickel cases in the recycle pale is greater than the reload pail I will never go back to Nickel unless someone gives me another bucket for free again.

 

My point is, quality control. Some reloading processes lend themselves to less control of the finished product. If you have access to Nickel and refuse to use it because of the tales of impending failure,  your concern may not be justified. Is there greater chance of failure? Sure, because Nickel has a shorter life span. But then you realize this and pay closer attention to your cases. Brass failure, when out of mind will bush wack you without warning because you may be paying less attention. If you can practice more because you have a bucket of free Nickel, then I would consider going for it!  I am sure there are hundreds of stories of failed Nickel jams, but is it about the Nickel or Quality Control in the reloading process?

 

Just my thoughts...

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Several clubs in this area still use pistol knockdowns frequently.  I use nickel plated cases for my 158 grain knockdown loads and regular brass for my 125 grain loads.  Makes it easy to tell the difference at the loading table.

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All the variables in reloading scratches me right where I'm nerdy haha.

 

After weighing cost I think I've got my plan.  New Starline brass will cost a little more per round to start then already loaded GA rounds ($.29 ea vs. $.26 ea).  If I buy 1000 from GA that gets me what I need to play for a while as well as some brass to reload.  That and it'll give me the ability to take my time to get supplies together, do more research and maybe try a few things out.  Rushing usually leads to regret with me. 

 

 

 

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7 hours ago, Deadshot Dan said:

Alright here's one for all the soot lord's.  Can ya shoot these moly coated bullet's with the holy black without additional lube ?  I'm almost guessing no.

Yes-

I use 'Bore-Butter' for gun lube with BP. Sloppy lube the guns.....

Carry a can of WD-40 with you.

Bore snake or rod and brush-It's your choice.

OLG

 

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19 minutes ago, Half Deaf Hoss Deveraux said:

All the variables in reloading scratches me right where I'm nerdy haha.

 

After weighing cost I think I've got my plan.  New Starline brass will cost a little more per round to start then already loaded GA rounds ($.29 ea vs. $.26 ea).  If I buy 1000 from GA that gets me what I need to play for a while as well as some brass to reload.  That and it'll give me the ability to take my time to get supplies together, do more research and maybe try a few things out.  Rushing usually leads to regret with me. 

I have usually recommended that folks keep their brass from the git-go when starting up in cowboy action shooting.  As they will most likely want to start reloading shortly.  

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27 minutes ago, Marshal Chance Morgun said:

I miss be missing something. Are you saying that you can buy loaded rounds cheaper than the brass alone?

 

Sorry.  No, that's the cost of a loaded round using brand spankin new brass and a coated bullet.  New brass alone was $.13 ea.

 

The cost to reload buying new brass vs. loaded rounds from GA is pretty minimal.  Once I have the cases for reloading the cost is significantly less.  Like $.09 - $.13 ea.  

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That’s your cost for the first run with new brsss. Amortize that new brass number over ten runs and you won’t even know the difference. There’s a lot to pay attention to when reloading for the first time. New brass eliminates one variable. That’s one less thing to pay attention to when you have to pay attention to everything. At a minimum, with used brass, separate and box by headstamp so you know what you like and what you don’t and why.

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