What I have is good enough! Why does my brain keep looking for things to change!?

[Daekar]

Thanks to the wisdom shared by members here, in the past few years my gun safe and reloading have both been totally transformed. I haven't bought factory centerfire ammo in years, and some of my guns have never seen a factory load. For the most part I'm all in on cast-friendly shooting and simple firearms. My needs, modest as they are, have been completely met.

• Concealed carry pistol: S&W Model 60 3" (Revolver, 357 magnum)
• Backup CCW/Plinking pistol: S&W Model 63 (Revolver, 22LR, with grip and sight identical to CCW)
• Suppressed pistol: Kel-Tec P17 (Semi, 22LR)
• General-use rifle: CZ-452 UltraLux (Bolt, 22LR)
• General-use rifle: Henry H015 (Break, 357 Magnum)
• Suppressed pistol: T/C Encore (Break, 357 magnum)
• SHTF Rifle: m59/66 SKS (Semi, 7.62x39)
• Varmint Rifle: Howa 1500 (Bolt, 223 Rem)
• Full Power Rifle: m91/30, K31, k98k (Bolts, 7.62x54R, 7.5x55, 7.92x57)
• Wife-friendly bedroom defense: Marlin Model 60 (Semi, 22LR)
• Shotgun: CZ Redhead(?) (Break, 20ga)

As a guy who generally doesn't hunt unless there is a problem to be solved, there is nothing I need to do which is not addressed by this collection. I have no interest in long range hunting, so the fact that my full-power rifles aren't scoped doesn't bother me. If for some reason I need to go to Maine and shoot a moose, I'm pretty sure any of those military cartridges would work with the right bullet at iron-sight ranges.

Each gun that I reload for has a bullet and load already determined. I can shoot them all reasonably well.

Despite this, my brain is constantly suggesting things that I need to change or buy.

• Should I have the barrel of the Henry cut down to 16" and threaded so it will accept my suppressor?
• Should the suppressor live on that gun or on the Encore?
• The deer in our area are so brazen that I could easily pop them with my Model 60 while doing outside chores, but my carry load for that is in the 38spl area, should I increase the power of the load I carry to address that possibility?
• Should I increase the power of the load I carry because the cylinder only holds 5 shots?
• Should I get a Kimber K6S 3" and go through the trouble to install adjustable sights so I have a J-frame sized gun with 6 shots?
• Should I get a CVA Scout in 45-70 and buy the dies/molds for that? If so, how heavy should the bullets be? Is there a point if the 35-245P mold for my Encore does the job on deer?

Part of me feels like this is God's way of telling me I have too much free time to think.

[huntinlever]

As a terminal overthinker, I feel your pain. Sincerely. It's a constant war with me to say, my 45-70 is good out to 150 and my .338 WM good out to my maximum desired hunting range, loads are great as is, anything on the continent, and my son's 30-30 and 30-06, same. All, good to go. So, stop. I will always find something to change or buy to make it "better" even if it doesn't, or "better" is meaningless given my aims.

[Winger Ed.]

[*]Should I get a CVA Scout in 45-70 and buy the dies/molds for that? .

Definitely.
I'd lean more towards a Marlin, but life is not complete until you have at least one .45-70.

Unless buffalo season comes back, I'd stay with boolits in the 350-ish range.
If ya start off with the heavier ones, it might take you awhile to figure out which end of the rifle is more dangerous than the other.

[huntinlever]

life is not complete until you have at least one .45-70.

Then, it's really not complete until you have a CVA Optima 2 in 50 cal, a closet full of BH 209 and mag primers, and, and, a completely new bowhunting arsenal and both .45 LC and .44 Mag Ruger, and, oh .45 ACP govt., and new turkey gun, and the .22LR Marlin and, um.....

[Electrod47]

I sorta worked out all my best loads for the 18 calibers, long guns, shotguns, pistols and revolvers. Still I seem to have a serious hang-up centered around my side arms, holsters and furniture on my various .22 rifles and semi auto's furniture. I have "at least" six sets of grips for each side arm. 6-10 holsters and gun belt rigs for each. Not to mention a plethora of red dots and do-dads for the .22's. Old man's Barbie Dolls.
Just spent an hour fitting a new set of grips for the .44 just arrived ( 3 month wait, suppose to be perfect fit???) Yeah, Right. I need an intervention.

[HWooldridge]

You're just working on "continuous improvement". It's OK to undergo changes that make life better.

[Froogal]

I pretty much already have what I might need for just about any situation that might present itself, but I have only ONE of each except for a double barrelled coach gun, and I don't have even ONE of those.

[cabezaverde]

No shotgun?

[pworley1]

You always meed at least one more.

[frkelly74]

I also have everything I will ever need, and more. More toys than I can ever play with given the everyday chores that I am tasked with. Plus I do not have the energy I used to have. But when something pops up like a K31 with a scope mount and all the load development done, ready to almost clean a 100 Yd target, I drool. No one gets younger.

[Daekar]

I pretty much already have what I might need for just about any situation that might present itself, but I have only ONE of each except for a double barrelled coach gun, and I don't have even ONE of those.

CZ makes a fine looking SxS with exposed hammers that I have been drooling over for years...

[Daekar]

No shotgun?

It's the bottom one, I almost forgot it!

[45workhorse]

Soooo, what you are really saying is, "LIFE IS GOOD"!
Enjoy it!!!!!!

[lar45]

I agree, you really need a 45-70,
Just one more

[beemer]

Most of us here, especially us older guys got past the what you really need thing years ago. We like guns and to the last will see something we would like to try out. I was out this mourning and saw a couple that I think would be fun. I didn't buy anything but you never can tell what will pop up.

[Froogal]

No shotgun?

I have 3 shotguns, but I don't own a side by side coach gun.

[Froogal]

CZ makes a fine looking SxS with exposed hammers that I have been drooling over for years...

EXPOSED hammers!! YES!

[W.R.Buchanan]

Guys this Phenomenon is rampant among people who are anal retentive and/or perfectionists.

I have a very Simple Philosophy about Gun Ownership and Load Development.

I tend to buy mostly used guns, mainly so I can work on them and make them Run Better or Look Pretty. There have been exceptions, and I have bought a few New Shotguns and Rifles, and Pistols. The only new gun I am currently waiting for Ruglin to produce is an 1894 CB 20 Short Rifle in .44 Magnum which I will buy new. Probably the "Last" new gun I will ever buy. Never say Never.!

Now on to loading, and please pay attention to this next part.

There is 2 kinds of accuracy. "Mechanical Accuracy" and "Practical Accuracy." They are NOT the same thing!.

With the first one you put the gun in a vise and shoot it, which will supposedly yield the absolute best accuracy of that gun and load. I have watched guys chase loads at the range trying to find the absolute most accurate load they can do,,, only to find out that they can't shoot well enough to be able to use it to it's fullest extent. IE: They can't out shoot the gun.

Practical Accuracy is what matters, and that is finding a load that shoots as well as YOU CAN! Considerations that need to be addressed are what type of gun it is (Some guns are inherently more accurate than others) and what it is going to be used for. As well as your expectations for that gun? And Your Physical Ability to shoot said gun.

I very seldom have had to go beyond the first load I try for any given gun. Example: For my Ruger Scout Rifle .308 win. I asked some guys what powder they used for .308 loads? they all said IMR 4895 or W748/BL-C2. Since I already had IMR 4895 I went to the Lyman Book and found a load of 45 gr. That is what I used, and it produced a 7/8" 5 shot group at 100 yards on the third group. First group was 1 1/4" and the second was about the same. I'm am officially good to go and I have not ever used any other load in that gun! Cast Boolit load for that gun is 16 gr of 2400 which is also good for the .30-06. Surprisingly I also load my .30-06's with the exact same load. Which was published as the "M2 Ball Load" for Garands. That gun shot a 4.5" 3 shot group at 500 M off a rest at Piru CA one day which I thought was pretty good shooting?

On my .45-70... I started with a 325 gr boolit (RCBS 45-300 RNGC) and 25 gr of 5744. This was going to be for Short Range Silhouette (50,100,150,200 Meters) and that produced a trajectory that was unsatisfactory so I bumped the charge 2gr. until I got what I wanted with Recoil that would allow me to shoot 50 rounds in a morning with only a Tee Shirt between me and the gun and not suffer any pain. I got to 33 gr and it did what I wanted, but just to be sure, I tried 35 gr which produced noticeably more recoil for no significant improvement in the trajectory, so I backed off to 33 gr and went to the bench to shoot a group. I shot a 5 shot group at 1 3/4" / 100 yards with the Lyman Receiver Sight the first time!(Acceptable Accuracy!) and then shot it at 150 and 200 Meters to get the Exact Elevation Offsets I'd need to dial into the rear sight for each stage of the game. The people watching thought 1 3/4" at 100 yards with iron sights was pretty good shooting from a Marlin 1895 CB26 Levergun? Done!

That happened in 2009! And nothing has changed on that gun since.

This all plates out as "One Less Thing to Think About While Trying to Hit Targets While Concentrating on the Shooting Side of the Game."

For my Pistol Loads I have relied heavily on Load Data published by Brian Pearce of Handloader Magazine. He has written Definitive Articles on some of my most favorite Cartridges and now he is a friend. My .44 Spec/Magnum are mostly from him, however my Magnum loads were settled on by 1978 long before I ever knew him. Side Note: Brian and his Sons Shoot more in one week gathering load data for the articles he writes, than the vast majority of us here shoot in Years, or in most cases our lifetimes. I consider him to be,,, "One that Knows!" Maybe a subscription is in your future?

The other thing that matters is "YOU!"

How well can you actually shoot? If the best you can shoot a 1" gun is 3",,, then you don't need to keep searching for a better load. You need to load up a bunch of ammo and go shoot something! Practicing Offhand and Field Position Shooting can be just as much, if not more fun, than sitting at a bench burning powder trying to eek out that last few thousandths of an inch.(Bench Rest Shooters excepted)

I do a lot of shooting with Pellet Guns in my Shop. I have several and they are set up with Iron Sights and Scopes and I shoot "Standing Up like a Man." This is to refine my Sight Alignment and Sight Pictures and work on Muscle Tone to actually hold the guns steady enough to make the shots I try. I find that the older I get, the harder it is to hold that gun steady so I try to shoot more to keep in shape. This is because the main type of Sport Shooting I do is either Short Range Silhouette or Full Range Silhouette both of which are done from the standing position. I also shoot some National Match which is done from Standing, Sitting and Prone Positions. But I sight the gun in at all ranges off a portable bench rest so I know exactly what the Elevation Offsets are going to be for each Range that get dialed into the Scope or Receiver Sight. You can't accurately shoot with a "Hold Over" since your Sight Picture will be different at every different range..

Note: I have been using the same loads for all of those guns for many years, and see no reason to change simply because they do everything I need and want.

I would advise that people reading this post have a good look at what they are trying to accomplish in their Shooting Hobby,, and find a load that does what they want,,, and then go shoot something!.

Randy

[AnthonyB]

I am an instructor for Project Appleseed. It is a history and American heritage program cloaked behind shooting instruction, but there are some real shooting truths to be found there.

Qualifying as a "Rifleman" with Appleseed requires 4MOA from field positions. Proper sling use highly encouraged, any other support not allowed. A Rifleman can control the "Rifleman's Quarter Mile" and a bit further.

That is my standard for when to quit working on the load and start working on me.
Tony

[charlie b]

I feel for you. About 10 years ago (I'm 70 now) I went through all my guns and decided on which ones I really didn't shoot or use. Started getting rid of them. Picked up some more that I wanted. About that time was when I decided I wanted to get serious about rifle shooting. Pistols were relegated to tools for self defense so I got rid of the 'extras' I had accumulated I don't like to 'plink'. Don't hunt. Don't go out in the woods. Live in a med size town.

We are down to my minimum. 4 guns are heirlooms. Then we have the wife's 45. My 9mm. My two rifles for paper punching.

I have still thought about buying some more and even came really close a few times, but, I just can't justify in my mind why I would buy something and then not shoot it or use it.