Load DataReloading EverythingLee PrecisionWideners
MidSouth Shooters SupplyRepackboxTitan ReloadingRotoMetals2
Inline Fabrication
Page 3 of 5 FirstFirst 12345 LastLast
Results 41 to 60 of 99

Thread: What to make of an American Rifleman artilce

  1. #41
    Boolit Grand Master

    imashooter2's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    PA
    Posts
    7,899
    Yes, I believe it all. Just look at this board and you can see that casting is the domain of aging eccentrics, most of whom built their lead stashes years ago. Once lead wheel weights disappeared as “trash” every gas station wanted to be rid of, the writing was on the wall.
    ”We know they are lying, they know they are lying, they know we know they are lying, we know they know we know they are lying, yet they are still lying.” –Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn

    My Straight Shooters thread:
    http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...raight-shooter

    The Pewter Pictures and Hallmarks thread:
    http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...-and-hallmarks

  2. #42
    Boolit Master
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Mentone, Alabama
    Posts
    1,139
    Quote Originally Posted by Tar Heel View Post
    Realistically speaking you also need to account for your time and energy costs.
    I've never bought this line of thinking simply because it requires that I'm spending my time casting and reloading rather than doing something I could be getting paid for and it's not true. For most of us, reloading and casting is what we do with our time when we are not working. It is therefore not reasonable to consider the cost of our time as we're paying ourselves through our work rather than someone else paying us for our work.

  3. #43
    Moderator


    Winger Ed.'s Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    Just outside Gun Barrel City, Texas
    Posts
    9,484
    When I first got into re loading, ammo of the day would hold a 2" group at best with a off the shelf factory rifle.
    I wanted better.
    Just my first basic attempts & hacking around with re loading got me closer to 1" with the same rifle.

    40-odd years later, even though hand loaders have greatly raised the bar for factory ammo accuracy, I still do it.
    I do it now as a hobby, and don't look for it to save me money, or be cost effective any more than I would try to justify
    how building and flying RC model airplanes would.

    Same thing with hunting and fishing. I do it because I want to.
    By the time I figure in the price of a hunting trip, or buying a boat to fish out of---
    Whatever I bring home is about the most expensive meat there is.
    In school: We learn lessons, and are given tests.
    In life: We are given tests, and learn lessons.


    OK People. Enough of this idle chit-chat.
    This ain't your Grandma's sewing circle.
    EVERYONE!
    Back to your oars. The Captain wants to waterski.

  4. #44
    Boolit Grand Master
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
    Location
    Northern Michigan
    Posts
    8,901
    A lot of hand wringing that makes little sense.

    People who enjoy reloading and casting will keep doing it.

    People who reload and cast to save money will keep doing it.

    People with oddball calibers that have to reload and cast do not matter. They are not a big enough market. They will buy custom reloading and casting stuff or change over to something more common.

    If reloading was dead, primers would not be over $100/k.

    I hope RCBS drops their loser and slow moving offerings and focuses on stuff that sells. I have been trying to get a .223 X die for a year.
    Don Verna


  5. #45
    Boolit Master


    Walks's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2016
    Location
    SoCal
    Posts
    3,028
    I no longer have any friends left who cast. I have only a few friends left who reload either. And those are only for 1 or 2 calibers for Cowboy Shooting. My local indoor range closed last year, after 39yrs. And I've been looked at as a sort of freak because I loaded My own ammo. I'm sure none of them ever got close enough to even notice I was shooting cast bullets. I gave up trying to interest anyone there in reloading about 10yrs ago. The range stopped selling reloads at least 10yrs ago. Can't remember why.
    I cast and reload My own ammo, because I don't know any different. I was raised in a Shooting/Reloading/Casting Family. My Dad said I was hanging off a press handle when I was about 3yrs old. I was priming 9mm cases with a Tong Tool by 5yrs old.

    RCBS is a corporation. They look at the bottom line only. Just look what has happened to Lyman in the last 10yrs. Almost everything comes out of china, and there is NO technical service at all.

    And I agree most magazines and writers are nothing but shills for the gun/ammo companies.
    I HATE auto-correct

    Happiness is a Warm GUN & more ammo to shoot in it.

    My Experience and My Opinion, are just that, Mine.

    SASS #375 Life

  6. #46
    Boolit Master

    Land Owner's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Location
    Mims, FL
    Posts
    1,864
    Quote Originally Posted by Grayone View Post
    I have helped get started at least three young men with reloading to follow me...
    ^^^ Same here. ^^^

    THAT is the least I can do. I also own rural property adjacent to a VAST "wildlife pump" of State-owned real estate. I have taken innumerable Dads and sons, Grandads and grandsons, family, friends, my sons and their friends to hunt and shoot there. We have eaten pretty well off of that land. We have sent cast and jacketed bullets down range to our heart's content. Land ownership was the first step and foremost encouragement in creating an arsenal. Everything else was a watershed from there.

    The SC-DNR tried a "Take One - Make One" campaign for recruiting new hunters, a dying breed according to the circa 2010 State's Wildlife Management officials, who's in-state programs, and distributed Federal funding, rely on the sale of hunting licenses. Then, the DNR changed the deer management rules in 2017, creating a protected "slot" for small antlered deer and sincerely reducing the number of doe deer allowed (wise choices), BUT doubling the cost of licenses and fees for non-residents, eliminating (imo) up to 30% of licensees. The legislature effectively said, "Our land. Our deer. Go home!"
    Go figure...

    There is no license required to reload ammunition or cast lead - only the study of why and the execution of how - safely. These are hobbies of choice and finance. I think it appropriate to recruit, distribute FACTS, encourage, manage expectations, Mentor, and at all times HAVE FUN.
    If it was easy, anybody could do it.

  7. #47
    Boolit Master
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Posts
    1,379
    Quote Originally Posted by JohnH View Post
    I've never bought this line of thinking simply because it requires that I'm spending my time casting and reloading rather than doing something I could be getting paid for and it's not true. For most of us, reloading and casting is what we do with our time when we are not working. It is therefore not reasonable to consider the cost of our time as we're paying ourselves through our work rather than someone else paying us for our work.
    I agree with your point that those of us who do this for fun, as a hobby, could care less the cost. I propose that those who do it simply for the economics of it, not as a hobby, are deluding themselves. When I saw the price of a box of 45 Colt cartridges a few weeks ago, I realized that at this time, the only way I could afford to shoot 45 Colt was to handload it. In good years, perhaps I could load it myself at the same price as commercial ammo - factoring in time and energy costs, but I didn't because, as you said, I would be doing that anyway.

    Your point is received.

  8. #48
    Boolit Master
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Posts
    1,379
    [QUOTE=imashooter2;5336999]Just look at this board and you can see that casting is the domain of aging eccentrics, most of whom built their lead stashes years ago. /QUOTE]

    Hey now! I am not an aging eccentric! I am an aging DEPLORABLE! Big difference mate.

  9. #49
    Boolit Grand Master
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
    Location
    Northern Michigan
    Posts
    8,901
    Its not about the bean counters my friends it is about reality.

    Read the OP

    RCBS is getting out of casting stuff. When is the last time you recommended a mold design that is only made by RCBS? No big deal when they exit this market

    RCBS is getting out of shotgun reloading. I only knew one competitive trap shooter who used the RCBS Grand and it was given to him as he was sponsored by them. MEC owns the hobby market. Spolar and Ponsness-Warren own the high end market. RCBS is nothing.

    Progressive Reloaders...who has ever recommended one on this forum? None of the large volume shooters I have known have ever used RCBS progressives. I owned one (Green Machine)...the worst *** ever inflicted on the reloading community.

    NOTHING surprises me about the OP. It was about time they focused on their core business and that is NOT casting, shotgun reloaders or metallic progressives.

    Stop bashing the "bean counters". The "bean counters" who allowed RCBS to get into shotgun and progressive metallic reloaders hopefully were terminated decades ago....along with the engineers on that Green Machine.
    Don Verna


  10. #50
    Boolit Master
    Join Date
    Feb 2015
    Location
    Central Iowa
    Posts
    1,427
    When it comes to casting everything RCBS is over-priced. I got into casting about 8 years ago and have picked up a few used RCBS items. For any of their new stuff there are significantly cheaper or better options out there. They have been riding the coat tails of prior success for a long time.

  11. #51
    Boolit Master
    Join Date
    May 2013
    Posts
    3,572
    I wish they would go back to what the company is named for, rock crusher bullet swage, rock solid press and bullet swage dies at bout the same price of regular reloading dies.

  12. #52
    Boolit Master
    Daekar's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2020
    Location
    Virginia, USA
    Posts
    614
    Quote Originally Posted by farmbif View Post
    I wish they would go back to what the company is named for, rock crusher bullet swage, rock solid press and bullet swage dies at bout the same price of regular reloading dies.
    I had no idea that's what the name stood for! Boy, if they offered that kind of thing at a reasonable price I would be swaging every boolit I make... too bad.
    I'm a big fan of data-driven decisions. You want to make me smile, show me a spreadsheet! Extra points for graphs and best-fit predictive equations.

  13. #53
    Boolit Master mehavey's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    Posts
    1,524
    Uuuuuhhh...

    Would you believe:
    < Rock Chuck Bullet Swage > ?
    (`Started w/ a die to swage .22 rimfire cartridge cases to form jacketed varmint bullets )

    Last edited by mehavey; 01-17-2022 at 01:17 PM.

  14. #54
    Boolit Master
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    South Western NC
    Posts
    3,820
    Quote Originally Posted by Tar Heel View Post
    ...Gun magazines hold little interest for me anymore due to the less than interesting content, noise about plastic wonder nines, and mediocre writing prose. I have of late, wondered if I have "reached the end of the internet."
    When I got bit - hard - by the gun bug the rage of wildcats was passing and the hobby of home gunsmithing was rising. Seems every monthly gun magazine (and there were many) had at least one "how to ..." article that made buying one or two of them somewhat important.

    The gun writers of today hold no interest for me anymore ..... We have all seen wonder cartridges come and go. I chuckle now when I see yet another 7mm STW or Easterner, or Northerner, or Super Mag, or other ridiculous name being touted. This is not new material - it is simply a rehash of old material with a new name. Hunters will migrate to existing capable cartridges. Long range shooters will eventually migrate to existing extremely capable cartridges.
    Sadly, I fear that the change has been driven by the changed buying audience. First, most of the old magazines are gone and, second, those remaining (and the newer ones) have to satisfy today's gimmick oriented buyers.

    The character writers of the golden era are gone or almost all gone. Elmer held our interest because he wrote of real cowboys. Skeeter was a real character too. Massad Ayoob was a real lawman.
    <PLEASE include at least Bill Jordan, P.O. Ackley, Nolty and Francis Sell>

    They all had character and that personality came through in their writing. Today's articles are sterile, politically correct, precisely worded and styled targeted marketing. They have no seasoning - either flavorful or experienced.

    The American Rifleman used to be a great read and was jam packed with information. Now? I don't want hearing aids, toy trains which are "gold plated", silver coins, or goop to slather on which will make women fall at my feet. Can you believe that advert?
    I opened an old stored box a few weeks back and in the bottom was a small stack of Rifleman, Gun's & Ammo and Gun World magazines from the late 60s to late 70s; I've had a great time reading them again. Today's buyers wouldn't give them a glance; neither the old articles nor the adds had anything of interest to today's plastic gun "wannabees".

    The sad part may be that our experiences may die with us. I just don't see the youth having the interest we had and was fueled by great writers, great companies making product, great shooting clubs, and of course less fear about gun owners in general. Times are changing I fear.
    Yes.

    I think we can safely believe that the downward drift of gun magazines is only a reflection of our society at large. Thing is, it's not our kids fault that they have been wossified and stupified by our supposed modern "liberal" educators. WE, the we who are old enough to know better, have allowed it to happen to them.


    My whine for today:

    I pray for God to protect our military and especially our women in uniform. By succeeding in physically watered-down training, some very brave young women have falsely been led to assume they are combat ready. I suspect the best of our precious young women in arms will last - maybe - 48 hours in sustained combat and then be emotionally broken for life by PTSD.

    The political leadership's (?) current watered down, wossiefied training standards and very low recoil small arms will put everyone at risk in blazing battles. But I suppose the surely coming hordes of mixed sex (and ambivalent sex) body bags will have the gleeful public approval of our most strident women's libbers and air headed university educators when real SHTF. ???

    Anyway, it isn't just watered down guns and gun magazines that show us where America is today and what I see really doesn't look very good.
    Last edited by 1hole; 01-17-2022 at 03:45 PM.

  15. #55
    Boolit Master
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    South Western NC
    Posts
    3,820
    Note: RCBS means Rock CHUCKER (aka, a groundhog), not rock crusher.

    The first of the Rock Chuckers followed the more heavily built, and too expensive for simple reloading, bullet presses. A Rock Chucker is NOT a bullet press.

    After WW 2 reloading components soon returned to the retail market. The best bullets made with fired .22RF cases were NOT equal to what Fred Huntington (RCBS) and Vernon Speer were selling for not much so home swaging took a rapid death dive and has pretty much stayed dead.

    Of course home bullet swaging presses and dies ARE still very much available if anyone ready to pay for them. I think the new stuff works better than the old and, adjusted for inflation, it ends up effectively only costing the average worker about the same percentage of a month's pay that it always did.

    Do a web search for corbin bullets AND Walnut Hill bullets. They have everything you will need to make most of your own cheep bullets.

  16. #56
    Boolit Master
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    South Western NC
    Posts
    3,820
    Quote Originally Posted by Thumbcocker View Post
    One YouTube poster, the "Yankee Marshall " posted some time back that lead was poison and should be taken out of bullets since we have non lead alloys and polymer projectiles now. This guy posts about self defense and such.
    "This Yankee guy" is wrong; solid lead IS NOT a poison. We have long had a lot of people, usually military vets, happily living with bits and pieces of lead scattered throughout their bodies with no "poison" harm.

  17. #57
    Boolit Master Thumbcocker's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    East Central Illinois
    Posts
    4,490
    Quote Originally Posted by 1hole View Post
    "This Yankee guy" is wrong; solid lead IS NOT a poison. We have long had a lot of people, usually military vets, happily living with bits and pieces of lead scattered throughout their bodies with no "poison" harm.
    Never said he was right or that I agreed with him. Was quoting to make a point about the possibility of casters and loaders being potentially thrown under the bus by the current generation.

    Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk
    Paper targets aren't your friends. They won't lie for you and they don't care if your feelings get hurt.

  18. #58
    Boolit Master curioushooter's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Location
    Southern Indiana
    Posts
    906
    "Yankee Marshall"

    This individual is breathtakingly ignorant and basically a living joke. It was a waste of timing viewing enough of his "content" to learn this, but alas, that was years ago, before you had reviews of reviewers.

  19. #59
    Boolit Grand Master

    jonp's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2013
    Posts
    8,281
    Quote Originally Posted by Tar Heel View Post
    MidwayUSA, Cheaper Than Dirt, Grafs, Cabela's to name a few.
    In years past when everything was normal.

    If you can load 9mm jacketed by the box of 50 for $9.95 then great. Realistically speaking you also need to account for your time and energy costs.

    I bought many a box of 9mm from Cabela's for $9.95. Then there was 7.62x54R at $17.95 per 20. I couldn't buy the brass alone cheaper than that so I bought the box of cartridges to get the brass!

    The point is when supply chains are running and the shelves are stocked, prices drop. They drop to the point that common ammunition is cheaper to purchase than it is to make.
    Can you buy it now for that price? Doubtful
    I Am Descended From Men Who Would Not Be Ruled

    Fiat Justitia, Ruat Caelum

  20. #60
    Boolit Master curioushooter's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Location
    Southern Indiana
    Posts
    906
    This is a great summary: "Guys I work with who are mid twenties to early thirties have never seen The Wild Bunch, For A Fist Full OF Dollars and wouldn't know what western character Richard Boone played on TV nor that Rowdy is where Clint Eastwood got his start. Heaven forbid I bring up High Noon. Cowboy action shooting twilighting? Imagine that. These guys like my Blackhawk and think it's amazing I can smoke 6" plates at 25 yards with it. Meanwhile, they love their latest version of whatever plastic fantastic wondernine they can't hit a pie plate with at 10 yards consistently but I don't think it matters to them, they like hearing it go BANG!"

    I am not as old as many of you gentlemen, with only slight graying on my temples presently, but I started posting here when I was in my mid-20s. And STILL have never owned a plastic firearm, nor ever will.

    I went to the range in 2019 (yes, last time I went to a pistol range due to COVID) with my dandy 44 Special Blackhawk and my S&W 624 (also 44 special), a few green boxes full of H&G403s over either 7.5 grains of Unique or 12 grains of Blue dot, or 16.5 grains of 2400.

    The range has a 10 yard, 15 yard, 25 yard line for pistols, and a 50 yard line right next to it for rifles, but you can shoot pistols on any range. The were a crowd of mostly 20s - 30s guys and like one girl (with some plastic 22LR pistol) sitting there shooting large paper targets (like 2'x2'). Looked like shotgun patterns. Just a lot of bang bang bang, jam, awkward yanking on slides, RO reprmainds. Just annoying. Had the usual tupperware from the looks of it, in 9mm and 22LR judging by the cases all over the place.

    Finally get around to testing my unique loads. Got sights dialed in. Working great on paper. This is mostly what I came with only loaded a dozen Keith loads for fun at the end. By this point after seeing me bring back a few targets they knew whatever I was doing was working pretty well. The RO was talking to me some about my "hardware." Shocking that ROs don't know that 44 Special is still a thing. Seemed to think the only "forty-fouuur" is a magnum.

    Decide to move over the 50 yard line to have fun with those Keiths. They have a some 8" plates on chains.

    First Skeeter load at 50 nails the plate. This came out of my 624, which has a 6.5" barrel. One of the guys on the end drifts over and starts asking me stuff. "That a 44 mag?" Me: "no, it's a 44 special" Get out the Keith loads. Totally not expecting it to work since I had the sights dialed on on the Skeeter loads for both the Blackhawk (which annoyingly lets its rear sight lever pin drift out) and the Smith. Load six Keith loads into the 624. Wanted to let the guy hear a real bang since it seemed to be the most important thing to him.

    First shot off and it nails the steel with a loud clang followed by the sound of the chain makes when the chains go from being slacked to fully extended, a sound that isn't heard when a regular handgun round hits it.

    Guy just looked astounded. Like this was impossible. I told him he should check out silhouette shooting, where people use handguns at 200! He looked at me like I was making it all up.

    "You made those bullets out of lead!?"

Page 3 of 5 FirstFirst 12345 LastLast

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check