watkibe
05-23-2011, 01:09 AM
I have been a reloader and boolit caster since sometime in the early 80's, except for a break due to a health problem for about 7 of the last 11 years. I felt like I knew what I was doing, I had standardized all my loading and casting practices, and it was pretty much "written in stone" (kinda sounds like at work, eh ?)So, I am finally getting up to speed again, not just making ammo, but shooting it too.
I have been running into a bunch of small, dumb, or weird problems, and have to figure each one out as it comes up. I realized that I, like Col Kurtz (in Apocalypse Now), "have spent too much time away from the command structure, and have developed unsound doctrines and practices.
So, it's back to what one of my mentors called "First Principles". I dug out the LBT book "Jacketed Performance with Cast Bullets"(so old it has the Arizona address), Dick Lee's 2nd ed. of Modern Reloading, and Dean Grennel's ABCs of Reloading and started reading.
I'm shocked at how much I had forgotten, or worse, remembered wrong !
The time and gas money issues associated with scrounging for cheap or free casting alloy are beyond my means anymore, and so I finally gave in and actually bought some good RotoMetals Hardball alloy. I bought some new LLA. I'm loading tumble lube boolits unsized, because Lee says they usually work best that way, instead of always sizing them anyway like I used to, "because I know best". I'm measuring everything more often and more carefully. I'm looking at everything a little more closely and carefully. Most importantly, I'm following directions for the first time in a long while. I haven't fired any of this new batch of boolits yet, but I'm excited and looking forward to it.
Even my shooting of other ammo has improved lately, go figure, lol !
I have been running into a bunch of small, dumb, or weird problems, and have to figure each one out as it comes up. I realized that I, like Col Kurtz (in Apocalypse Now), "have spent too much time away from the command structure, and have developed unsound doctrines and practices.
So, it's back to what one of my mentors called "First Principles". I dug out the LBT book "Jacketed Performance with Cast Bullets"(so old it has the Arizona address), Dick Lee's 2nd ed. of Modern Reloading, and Dean Grennel's ABCs of Reloading and started reading.
I'm shocked at how much I had forgotten, or worse, remembered wrong !
The time and gas money issues associated with scrounging for cheap or free casting alloy are beyond my means anymore, and so I finally gave in and actually bought some good RotoMetals Hardball alloy. I bought some new LLA. I'm loading tumble lube boolits unsized, because Lee says they usually work best that way, instead of always sizing them anyway like I used to, "because I know best". I'm measuring everything more often and more carefully. I'm looking at everything a little more closely and carefully. Most importantly, I'm following directions for the first time in a long while. I haven't fired any of this new batch of boolits yet, but I'm excited and looking forward to it.
Even my shooting of other ammo has improved lately, go figure, lol !