"Teaching a man to fish": or : free .224 jacketed bullets...almost

The following is the current method I use to produce very low cost jacketed bullets out of .22 rimfire range pick up brass and a lead core. A lot of people are familiar with cast bullets being made at home but this is a step up from that.

First I secure a good supply of rimfire brass and wash them with hot water and a drop of dishwasher soap, then sort by head stamp as I try to keep the variables down so I use one head stamp/make for one run since the point form die sometimes must be adjusted for that jacket in particular. The cases after they dry get derimmed in the .22lr jacket maker (no picture at this time sorry) and each one is examined for flaws. The brass then goes into a small toaster oven I drug out of the dumpster a while back to anneal. I leave them in until they take a very dirty brass color...these will now be suitable to form into bullets.

The next step is to find something to fill the jacket. I go with lead cast cores so that is what I'll cover here. These drop at .180" and will get formed in the first die of a 3 die set to create a very uniform core. Below we see the raw core not yet squished into a core ready to be seated.

Above core prior to being swaged for diameter and consistency, Below after core is run in die. Note flaws all removed and very sharp cylinder look.


So we have a formed core and a formed jacket lets put them together. This step is as involved as the individual chooses to make it. De-greasing the core and the jacket is one such step, Bonding the jacket and the core is another as well as adding any ballistic tips or partitions as one sees fit. Below we see the core simply dropped into the jacket (not yet upset) and the excess lead from the last step coming out of the side of the die.
Now we need to make the jacket and core upset to .224 and make sure the core is in the jacket in a uniform manner so it wont offer inconsistencies. Below we see the jacketed core exiting out of the die (picture removed for editing, I will have this back in sometime this week sorry). It is now a uniform .224", The core and the jacket are as smooshed together as they are going to get without the use of chemicals. Now the jacketed cores will go into a container being glass or plastic. After I am done with that run of cores they will get sprayed with a film of my own homemade lube of 99% alcohol and Lanolin and shaken to distribute evenly then allowed to dry. This is a very slick lube and is used prior to all the other steps (I don't use it to form the lead cores however. The jacketed core is set tip down into the die and the press is slowly but firmly manipulated.

Above we see the finished product a short, large meplat 55gr bullet ready to be cleaned up and loaded. The last step I take is to dump bullets into a old t shirt put a small drop or two (for every 50 bullets) of Brasso and for 10 or so minutes polish them (by rocking the old shirt back and forth) so they are nice and shiny and all the lube and dirt is removed. Remember do not push these "free bullets" faster than 3,000 FPS or the thin jackets might come apart mid flight. The Corbin book claims 3,400 FPS but I have yet to try it. The thinner jackets and soft lead work very well on varmint but not on medium game. Bullets as large as .257" can be made with the rimfire jackets but they are lighter plinker bullets where as the RF jacket is the perfect length for a 55-62gr bullet. I figured that I need to make 8,000 of these free bullets to get the cost of the die set and press back but one should not look at the cost of the setup like that. Instead its a "give a man a fish, teach a man to fish" kind of thing. I'll never have to buy varmint bullets for my rifles ever again. And the joy of being able to supply myself with handfulls of these is tramendous.

Good Enough For Them, Good Enough For Me : or : Retirement From The Street Beat

Each year the big handgun manufacturing companies produce new updated models and generations of their products and really push to get their handgun in the holsters of the law enforcement officers and swat teams around the United states. Some departments upgrade every so often and upon doing so might choose to sell back their carry guns if they are switching to a new model or make. Police trade in weapons are common at one of the bigger gun shops here in Columbus and I try to keep my eye out for these as they are some of the best deals around. They are kind of like mil-surp but not as abused or dropped as much (as the case might be with some french firearms ararar). The latest addition is a Beretta 96D in 40 Short and weak....er I mean S&W for short....or wait what did I mean? The D is a Double Action Only (DOA) firearm. This particular set up has no safety other than a fireing pin block, Where if the hammer was pulled and released or the gun was dropped and the trigger was not being pulled the firing pin would not strike the primer. I aquired my example after a friend picked one up and allowed me to try it out. I liked the mild recoil and simple controls (lack of safety and easy break down) and the price out the door $277 didn't hurt. I figured one would be a welcome addition to the line up. The gun came with 2 mags and some holster wear which is fairly common (duh). And since another person carried this gun everyday, trained with it, broke it in and proved it as it were I feel comfortable after I run it through its paces having it close at hand in a time of need.


The other two police trade ins I've aquired might have been from a armored truck company or something of the sort. These are two S&W revolvers one being a k frame 65 (357 Mag stainless) and the other being a 10 (38Spl blued). The 10 I picked up first for $267 OTD, and the 65 was $264....REALLY good prices for S&W revolvers that have been carried more than shot. They show holster wear but the action is sound and the 10 will handle +p loads....which I've been feeding it on a regular bases since I like a 160gr full wad cutter almost going 950FPS out the 4" barrel. I've been using that same load in the combat matches with great success so far knocking the steel down in a hurry. The 65 has not been shot much since I only have 28pcs of 357mag brass on hand, most of which is on its 6th loading.

So we see here 3 great guns that have done their civil duty only now to be loaned to others and not dread their fate all for $808....The wheel guns are great for those learning to shoot combat matches or just want to plink. and the 96D will be great for trigger control training, yes the pull is heavy but if your a experienced shooter and don't like Glocks then this might be a good option for you.

Soft brass and stuck cases!

I have not had hard wired internet to my computer for a year..today I finally wired up the network cable in the new apartment. So I'm gonna get back on here and try to get new stuff out now!!!!!!!



While sorting through a small container of .223 brass that has been buggered up too much to use again for .223 reloads I got the idea I would try out a set of .300 whisper dies that I got for a good price not long ago. .300 whisper is the .221 fireball blown out to 30 caliber if I remember correctly and therefore much shorter than .223 Rem. Long story short I did not use enough lube on a particular brand of brass that tends to have a soft case head and rims are easily stripped off. The die set was a RCBS set where the decap assembly and expander ball goes out the bottom of the die. SOOO if you have a stuck case in the die...you can't take out the stem to use a stuck case remover. Esp if the expander ball is somewhat stuck in the neck of the case that is in the die. So my lathe to the rescue I turned the case head off as it was sticking out of the die still (duh?)
The next thing was to sort of bore out the last bit of case head so the stem could be removed all the way out the front of the die ( my dad pointed the fact I could remove the stem out after opening the hole up to 30cal but I was worried about wall thickness for my threads). After doing this a standard stuck case remover can't be used because I have successfully removed all the material it would have used to remove the case.
Next using the lathe I took the largest tap I could find and threaded the case that still resided in the die. You only need about 3 full threads and a bolt that is the right size for this.
After that I tossed the whole shebang, bolt threaded into the brass and the die into the freezer. HA I did learn something in physics. After about 20minutes or whatever we put the die in a rubber jawed vise and with a brass rod gently tapped from above. After a few taps the bolt pulled the brass out with it and I cleaned the die and checked for any damage.
Lesson learned....USE enough lube...I've had this problem more than not lately.

Lee's Hand Held Press

Lee precision produces a little reloading press one can use without the need for a reloading bench. Their Lee Hand Press retails for around $39.98 and will fit standard Shell holders, Dies and their universal priming unit which I've seen sell for about $5 from Lee dealers at gun shows. The priming unit screws into the top of the press, you place the shell holder of the case you are priming and the priming arm is inserted into the ram and your set to prime. The press I used was a gift from somebody I worked for at OSU who no longer reloaded and thought I could put the press to good use as well as the priming unit, loading tray and RCBS 45 ACP dies. I have seen the Lee Hand Press before but didn't think highly of them as all my presses are green, orange or blue. So would this little Lee Hand Press stand up to the rigors of reloading on and off the Wonderwolf bench?

Some people who reload go as far as taking their equipment to the range to load small lots of ammo to fire through that particular gun right then and there. All your brass should be already prepped and primed mind you so you spend less time at the range doing what you would usually just do at home. Not to mention handling primers at the range can be tricky. So once your at the range you look at your notes at what you've tried and pick out the next incremental load or combination. Taking your prepped brass you simply throw the powder charge then seat the desired bullet with the hand press. No clamping your Rockchucker or Orange Crusher to the shooting bench or your tail gate. Now I didn't have any testing like this to do over the colder months here in Ohio so I took the press with me to the indoor range here on campus to find a regulated load for my 38/200 Webley with fixed sights. The press did fine and took a little getting used to as far as not having a hand free to guide the case and bullet up into the seating die. All my brass was primed and belled only needing powder and a bullet. So how does this press do other operations of reloading other than just simply seating a bullet? For this test I had sized and belled a few hundred pieces of 9mm luger brass while seated on the couch watching a movie (another benefit of the hand press!). Priming with the handpress is like priming with any other non auto priming unit on a single stage press. Place the case and primer in their given areas and with the "feel" of things seat the primer slowly but firm and consistent.I was pleased with the press overall but I would not use it for large production runs. Only on load testing trips to the range and such. The power zone is on the upstroke because you close the handle to lift the ram you must be careful not to smash your fingers in between the ram shaft and the handle when it finally closes all the way. This press is not something for the beginner to start with. For lots of reasons just stick with a bench mounted press for those just starting out.

Part 3: HD shotguns-last word

The shotgun we have focused on in the last two articles is at the bottom of the picture. Middle is a 870 wingmaster built as a home defense shotgun, and top is a Chinese copy of the Winchester 1893 shotgun Browning designed and later revised for use as a trench shotgun (1897). These are great examples of what could be used for a home defense shotgun though I recommend you use what you have or what your comfortable with(or can afford). If all you have is a single shot pardner in 20 gauge you got for your birthday when you were 17 then use it. But whatever you do practice with the it so using it is 2nd nature. I would just as soon use the 93 as the 870 the bump in the night can't tell the difference when you rack the slide anyways. For now I'm done with the 870 build as I did it way under budget and I don't feel the need to add too much more to it. A shell holder adds width, but its handy to have 6 extra rounds on the gun if you need to grab it and run. you can get up to 17 or 18 rounds on/in the gun if you add a stock shell carrier as well but again width is added and the use of a sling becomes uncomfortable. If I wanted to recover some of my costs I could sell the take off parts like the stock set and end cap but I think I'll save those for future projects or acquisitions. A surefire tactical light would be nice practical add on without getting too far into tacticool in my opinion. It keeps you from having to rely on the lights in the house and the surefire is a fairly blinding flashlight if your on the recieving end of one.

Below we see two folding stock versions of HD shotguns.
Great for tight hiding places and rafters. 870 and a Moss 500

Part 2: From Doves to Defense-Finishing Touches

"Subject to change without notice" is something I always keep in mind when told something or giving information to others. I had talked of chopping the full vent rib barrel down to use for this project but I managed to acquire a factory 18" 870 combat barrel from a gentleman at the local gun show. I got a straight up trade on the 18" barrel for my 28" field barrel which would need a new bead after the chop. So I'm sorry to say you wont get to see pictures of 10" getting hacked off of the field barrel. I simply took the 870 in the gun show with me to see what kind of things I could find to help my project along. Taking the gun to the show when you are looking for parts for it is a good idea as in the majority of the cases you can make sure its the right part before you leave the table. And in some cases especially if it is a "Jesus part" (the word uttered as it springs across the room never to be found again) the person selling the part can install it properly for you for little or no cost.
Now we have something that looks a little more like a combat style shotgun we have a shorter barrel that will be handy in tight spaces and a stock that keeps the thumb out of the way from bashing the nose. The next few things are not needed but since I have access to the equipment I figured I should refinish the receiver in a parkerized finish. Parkerizing helps protect steel from corrosion and wear and is pleasing to the eye as you will see in the following pictures.

870 Receiver before being sand blasted and parkerized.

After being sandblasted and parkerized.

We see just how much better the receiver looks with just about an hours worth of effort put into the gun. The cheap painted on finish would not have lasted very long with the rugged storage conditions and use the gun will see. The gun appears to be a new off the shelf police or military model. But in fact little over $200 has been invested into the gun so far. I understand that not everybody has the access to equipment to do these kinds of things but I feel that anybody resourceful enough can come up with ways to do a durable finish such as this. I did not bother to parkerize the barrel as it had minimal wear but I did refinish the bolt and forearm/rails. The trigger pack/guard is aluminum and does not take the parkerized finish. Along with the 870 I also parkerized the RPK a friend and I built over the summer. The key to getting a uniform finish on the gun when you parkerize it is making sure you use a good quality brake cleaner after you've bead blasted to remove all the oils and dirt. Although I took my time in doing all the prep work the right way that did not prevent somebody else from putting a part on top of my receiver while it was in the park tank. A small blem is the result but it will not harm anything in the long run.

The last two pictures also show the right side of the receiver of before and after. From this point on we are pretty much finished with the project that I had set out to do. A magazine tube extension is optional to add a few additional rounds to the gun. I happened to have a factory magazine tube on order that is only adding $20 to the whole project cost. $225 is the total investment after the tube extension shows up. Not bad when you look back at what we started with. A 3 point sling might be made but only used in combat matches where switching from the shotgun to another weapon may be required. The 3 point sling will not be on the gun for its home defense role as it has no role on a gun you might grab at 3am unless you are putting on a whole battle outfit with sidearm (rolls eyes).

Part 1: From Doves to Defense! Shotgun Alteration.

There are few reasons these days why an off the shelf shotgun with a mid length barrel and 3 or 4 round magazine would not suffice for a home defense shotgun for the average home owner or apartment dweller ( Ammo choices need to be kept within reasonable limits as over penetration can be a factor in thin walled apartments). For the average gun enthusiast an off the shelf HD shotgun would work....however we are not the average gun enthusiasts that simply purchases a ready made HD shotgun off the shelf. Now I'm not talking super tacticool with quad picatinny rails and a GPS unit with the newest bottle opener that whatever tactical unit deployed somewhere your not supposed to know where they are, but somehow you do because you have "friends", uses and swears by and as such every other armchair warrior will discuss at length as to why its better than the same tactical bottle opener made by Mall Ninja gear outfitters inc. I'm talking about something that is practical as a defense shotgun recycled out of a field shotgun that maybe has seen some better days, or something you simply picked up at a gun show or pawnshop for a song. In this case my "seen better days shotgun" is an 870 Remington Express Magnum, This version was built with a cheap finish and cheap wood or synthetic stock depending on what the customer wanted. From what I can tell it was built to compete with the Mossberg 500 line of shotguns.
Although its the Remington brand "economy version" to be honest looking over the shotgun it looks and feels like its a well built operational shotgun that just got a cheaper exterior finish and slightly rough internal workings as working the slide some things will need smoothed out! I picked up this full vent ribbed 28" barreled Express magnum 870 at a gun show for around $150 which I thought was a nice price even though cosmetically it was rough. I've owned a old Westernfield (Sears brand) Mossberg 500 clone (One of the better ones) for a few years now as a combat shotgun and have owned other true Mossberg field guns but have sold them as I've gotten away from shotgun's for occasions other than social emergency's. Any field hunting I would do would now be with a double barreled side by side that was gifted to me while I was in High School.

Here we see the painted stock and barrel and get an idea
of the overall condition of what we're starting with!

I couldn't help but pick this 870 up with the idea to resurrect it as a Defense shotgun for a easy project. Wanting to keep the conversion as cheap as I could but using components I know have been proven I first decided to change the stock and forearm out. I hunted around online stores and auction sites for a set of Choate (Choate machine and tool) stock and forearm as I know their older version fits me well as my dads combat shotguns sports their stocks. They are slim and the length of pull fits me well. I picked up a set of Choate's older version of their pistol grip stock and forearm for around $55 after shipping. Installation was easy but did require a little tool to install the forearm nut. Now the gun fits me better and the pistol grip keeps my thumb away from my nose, Buck shot and Slugs had beaten my nose up in the past with the shorter pull of traditional stocks and the subsequent placement of my thumb. ( pics of stock set up to follow in part 2 as I've deleted all the pictures from my camera at this time on accident.)
We have a nice start dressing the gun up for slightly more social occasions other than the old dates it used to keep with turkeys and dove. The next step in the project is to smooth out the action as it still seems rough like it came from the factory and seeing the lack of wear on all the internal parts this would lead me to believe that the gun might have been carried for a decade in the truck but only a few boxes of shot have gone through it. There are several ways to go about honing the internals to smooth out the workings of the Remington 870 but my method was a bit course yet very effective. Using the finest sand paper I could get my hands on (from my tool box) I rubbed the abrasive off into the action and worked it several times. Yes it wears the finish down but we're going to refinish the whole thing so no worries there. I was careful not to take things too far with this process as it does not take much. After I had done this a few times I took the entire gun apart and gave it another good cleaning. Even before I applied a light coat of oil the gun cycles much smoother and did not require as much force to pump forward as the bolt used to stick towards the rear. After this process is complete I made sure to get all the remaining grit out of the action and trigger pack as long term damage can result from it being left in.The next step will be to alter the barrel and get the gun ready for a Parkerized finish which will include sand blasting the whole works.

Did you know WD-40 was developed for missile parts? (random sorry)

Summer has come and gone...again. I spent 2 months of my summer working with the FEH (First Year Engineering) Program here at OSU moving offices around for them and doing a little paper work (yuuck) as well. On top of that I kept working my normal job at UPS so I was working 9-9 day in and day out with little downtime. But I can't complain I got paid well for all of it and I have lots of money saved up. I just gotta remember where all I put it ( most of it I think is wrapped up in new toys in the safe...opps)! Also this summer I moved closer to the OSU campus which will benefit me in many ways...However the space I moved into is rather small compared to where I moved out of (pics to follow later). The reloading set up is still the same though I will have to revise a few things to get the best use out of the space. I was lucky enough to get out and do some shooting and testing this summer esp with Brittany who is really picking up on this whole gun culture thing. It's actually really fun to watch her develop her skills. Here is a peak at some articles I have planned and hope to publish on a more regular basis. Bullet swaging for the 41 magnum, more case conversions (woot), Building a combat shotgun out of a field gun, building a varmint rifle in the workshop and much much more.. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do not hesitate to comment on articles or ask me to clarify things I've written about. This whole blog is here to help you and the comments you leave help me to become better at writing these sorts of things.

The case of many calibers : or : Why you should give all your range brass to me!

Brass, In this day brass is rising more and more in price. Formed brass, as in what we shooters use and pick up at the range is no exception. So to this I'll admit that I am a brass rat.....and damn proud of it! I go to the local range and scrounge every bit of brass I can lay my hands on...but its not to turn it into the recyclers but to recycle it myself. My father taught me the importance of picking up brass before and after a session at the range. I even pick up Berdan primed cases WHY? because they have infinite uses in the many tinkerings I do. Practicing/testing case forming methods in dies, annealing experiments and for the possible use as jackets for bullets down the road. One case (pun intended) is the 7.62x25 which is a hot loaded brother to the 7.63x25 (30 Mauser). I have 100's of these cases I've picked up at the range for several years and continue to do so. I didn't know why until just a few weeks ago when I read on a idea to convert them to boxer primed brass for 30 Mauser (a lathe comes in handy for this project). The big problem is getting that primer out of the case. A simple lathe project is making a hydraulic piston you insert into the mouth of the case after filling it part way with water. The water can not be compressed and it blows the berdan primer out. Another operation you can do with this piston is "water forming" the case by inserting it into a sizer die and whacking the piston with a mallet the same way you would to decap it. However instead of having a void under where the primer would pop out the spent primer would seal up the case and cause the case to fill to the die it has been placed in. I have lots of brass cases for which I don't even have a gun for yet 50BMG, S&W 500 (I don't officially own one of these yet), 375 H&H, 378 Weatherby, 38spl, 9mm, 270 Winchester, 243 Winchester, 30-30, 357 sig, 22-250 and the list just goes on and on. Its a good idea for any serious reloader to stock up on all sorts of brass "just in case" they obtain a firearm in that caliber. Or need to load some ammo for a friend.

I know the average shooter in where a box of 50 rounds will last them a year might not reload and that is understandable. To some reloading is a mysterious event that takes place in dark basements and backyard shops. Modifying brass for the rifles in your collection to some is even more mysterious. "Why take the time to make brass when you can get 20 pcs for $X" I've heard numerous times. And I've often wondered why I alter brass from one caliber to another however I take a huge amount of joy in learning along the way while making brass for rifles I have no brass on hand for. A close friend who recently purchased a .308 Remington 700 Sniper rifle wanted me to make up some reloads for him. I have .308 Winchester dies on hand here at my place in Columbus but no unprimed brass (I have 20 or so primed cases all from pull down ammo). I went through my "Rifle brass range pickup" bin that sits near my reloading bench and pulled 50 pcs of 30/06 brass that had badly deformed necks from actions closing on them etc. I trued them up with a pair of pliers as best I could and ran them through my .308 die without the decapper. This is an important step as you will have to pull the decapper, neck expander through that long tube you are making out of all the excess material the neck is being formed from ( you NEED the neck expander if you are necking brass UP! as you will see in the pictures bellow). I try not to anneal before I do this kind of major reforming via dies as the shoulder tends to fold and collapse on itself. If you are simply expanding the neck out on a case put the case into a pan of water so as only the neck is sticking above it and anneal the neck. If you anneal the shoulder and you attempt to expand or shrink the neck diameter the downward force on the now softer shoulder most likely buckle it and fold it into itself (if you annealed correctly). I start with the die out half way ( so as to work in the rockchucker's "power zone") and take it down in steps running the case up backing it out and turning the die perhaps 1/3 of a turn or so, taking the time to remove the case every three or so strokes to re-spread the lube so as not to create any dimples from hydraulic pressure caused by excessive lube in that one area. This also helps if you are doing major reforming so as the shell holder does not start to bend the rim and deform the base from constantly pushing and pulling on one area (This is important as to keep the rim from becomming weak and breaking resulting in a stuck case, I'm just trying to keep all the dust that has built up on my stuck case remover box intact).


So back to this .308 project out of .30/06 cases at hand. After we have made a goodly sized handful of reformed cases we need to trim the excess off the neck. A plumbers tubing cutter works well for this as does a trim die though I admit I have limited experience with the trim dies. I prefer to cut with a tubing cutter, anneal the shoulder and neck, Install the decapper and sizer ball back into the FL sizer die and carefully start the case slowly as the inside diameter is greatly reduced and will need to expand a great deal to slip over the neck sizing ball. After this function is performed the first time you might notice the neck looks a little funny not a straight and true profile you would expect. Chamfer the mouth of the case so as to get rid of any fold overs from the case mouth and run the case through the die several more times till it looks more uniform and measures more closely to what its supposed to. Remember we have work hardened the brass a great deal at this point so annealing is a critical process if you don't want to loose those cases during the final loading stage or perhaps the upon the first firing. I promise I will write a article in the near future on annealing and explain the process a little further!

Left is a case that was formed in 6.5 jap dies out of a 30/06 case the base was lathe turned and then after I noted a slight flaw in the neck I decided to grind a profile of the case to make sure I still had subtible wall thickness which you can tell is spot on.

Center is a 22-250 case formed in 6.5 jap dies and the belt lathe turned off. ready to be fire formed.

Right is a 22-250 case after fire forming to 6.5 Japanese. slightly undersized but still works very well.




(ABOVE) All of these are 22-250 cases that were run through the 6.5 japanese dies without neck annealing. Since these were being necked UP the expander ball had to be left in Would annealing the necks of these cases saved them? Most likely NOT as they were ridden hard by the previous owner that left them at the range.



(ABOVE)
Left we see a 22-250 case that was annealed at the neck before it was sized up. A collapse resulted in that attempt

#2 It is rather hard to tell but the rim is badly deformed from being left in the same position after each stroke. The case kinda sits higher, Also you can see the formed belt that would be lathe turned off.

#3 We wee the same thing as the first case but with an atempt using 30/06 brass. Note the shoulder on both of these were annealed. My next attempt will be JUST the neck.

#4 we see a badly oversized case that was run through the die. The ring at the neck resulting in excess material not cut off before hand. It is possible with time and effort to salvage this case although running it through a 30/06 FL die minus decaper/expander might help the base form more easily.

Loomis Battery Michigan Historic Artillery Match : or : And you thought $1 per shot was expensive !

*Note- I'm sorry this is not so much of an article as just pictures and captions.


Every father and son who get along reasonably well should have a annual road trip/ pilgrimage that they embark on with other males to "bond" and have fun. The road trip that my father, our family friend Roger and myself embark on once a year trip such as this that also happens to involve live fire cannon matches, field guns, mountain howitzers, siege mortars and coehorn mortars. The annual Loomis battery civil war artillery match which takes place in Grayling Michigan is a one of a kind shoot that holds the famous "bacon creek" match for rifled guns (3" bore) at 1000 yards (might have been at 1200 yards this year but I'm not sure) Where competitors attempt to place 3 shots onto a sheet of newsprint at that distance. Its been done on several occasions which is really something when you think of these overbore muzzle loaders and the technology of the day back then.
This year my father finally finished building (still needs painted) a 24 pound coehorn in which we shot in the coehorn match with. Seven shots and the closest five are scored via string method from a pegged flag down range. Every year I learn something new and interesting about all the guns at the shoot and how they were utilized, how their sighting systems work and the different types of projectiles they fired.
During the 600 yard smooth bore gun match on Saturday competitors shot at a block house demo target with round balls 3" on up to show just what solid shot could do. This was not nearly the destruction could have been would they have been shooting bar shot or chain shot but the demo block house and some trees behind it took a severe beating.
This is what my dad does, he studies the history and a few weekends every year he lets loose with guys that every time they pull the lanyard they are letting $20-$50 fly downrange. Although this year I think dad let loose a little to much. As I was directing him to reposition our gun onto the target we had our first casualty of the match dad put a little too much UMPH into moving the gun and his pants couldn't take it.
My favorite gun at the match this year was a 3.2 Span Am cannon that was being restored to its former glory. Its a breech loading gun that has a interrupted thread locking system for the breech. The breech plug is a newly manufactured one by the match host and I was lucky enough to see the testing shots. Along with the 3.2 span am gun there were little hotchkiss cannons that are also breech loading. One of these would round out my collection very well if I could save up the money for one. All in all its a great way to spend a weekend if your a history buff, gun nut or just want to see some really unique. Check with the Grayling tourist info center for future match dates.

Born of fire and Vodka! ; or ; 12 ton press and Mt Dew!

Gunsmithing as I mentioned earlier is a practical hobby and skill (kinda) I enjoy. You definitely have to have a feel for it. Though I'm not a master at it I'm fairly in tune to the workings of a firearm and what makes them work and tick. I've worked on a goodly amount of firearms in my short time on this earth but there is one gun that no matter WHO is using it....It will never FAIL TO JUST SIMPLY WORK. The AK-47 Family of firearms has been a popular gun for the home builder lately. For about the same price as buying one off the shelf (so to speak) you can build a legal semi auto AK-47 (so long as you have the pre required tools to do so....we did....and then some) In the case of the RPK I have $254 in it exactly


Usually to build one of these AK's or its clone one needs an assortment of punches and hammers. Cold chisels, a good anvil, leg vice or LARGE table top vice, welder (optional), large case of Mt. Dew, hydraulic press, $0.23(0_o) in pennies or so to use with the press to protect the barrel and perhaps an adapter for a air hammer to rivet rivets in.

The above picture shows my very good friend using a tig welder to weld up the front sight on the RPK after I atempted to remove it to install the new bipod (one was not installed when I got the kit). I gave up and simply busted the rivet out of the bipod to install it.

This being the 3rd AK clone that we've built we tried something a little different when it came to the receiver. In the first place it was the wrong receiver it was in fact one that was intended for a folding stock AK however it was on sale and I needed a receiver for the project (cost was $40). To fill/patch the large holes we cut and ground patches out of the old receiver which was actually a little thinner than the new receiver...not sure why. But after the receiver was patched up I had Anthony just weld the rear trunnion in as I did not want to mess with locating and drilling holes for the rivets that had to be put in!

The RPK's actually had the front and rear trunnion spot welded to the reciever so I had my friend spot weld the front after I drilled holes in the receiver. It serves to stiffen up the receiver being the RPK was built as a LMG( in theory). Now you gotta remember this was a Russian design made for the dumbest peasant to use. These things JUST FREAKING WORK. I've yet to have a jam in any of my builds, however we did run into a problem with upper rail length in my friends Romy G but that was fixed with a buffer welded in front of the rear trunnion so the bolt would not pop itself out of the reciever.

These builds are fun and if you have the few tools that are needed it can be a relativly painless build. The first one I did (the Yugo underfolder) proved to be a hard first build as the folding stock assembly had a lot of jesus parts (JESUS....small part springs across the room)

NRA convention 2008: or : Tactical Road Trip with Dad!

Awhile back the NRA held its annual Convention. This year it was in Louisville Kentucky and well within a tactical day road trip for my dad and I from the mid Ohio region. We get there and the size of the show is just enormous. I enjoyed meeting and shaking hands with industry leaders as well as famous faces. The convention is a great place to get Q's answered and handle and get a close up look at firearms you've always been curious about or interested in. My wish list grew a little bit as I looked over a few big bore rifles and reproduction's that really caught my eye.
Here we see my dad taking a close look at a Trapdoor Springfield reproduction by Uberti. As you can see by his hat and shirt he is a Artillery buff (watch for future articles on his heavy weight hobby this summer). The convention did not offer a lot for sale although I did purchase a book or two that have been on my wish list. All the big names in the firearms industry was there. Sig, S&W, glock (with the gunny)...and all sorts of poster girls going through sharpies like dirty underwear signing posters. I got to handle some very unique weapons as well as classics like a Merkel Double rifle, Thompson's and sharps rifles. As well as view a display of older S&W revolvers. The various CZ 550 models on display really caught my eye. They seem like a good solid rifle with lots of options including express sights. My focus was mostly on the Big bore magnums. Here we see ones chambered in .404 and .500 Jeffery. Impressive to say the least!


The whole convention was a very worthwhile trip. But I would not go out of my way to travel long distances for it more than once a decade. It's nice to see what is out there and see famous faces in our culture. But unless the convention showed up in my backyard again I won't make a point to go. Though if you get the chance please do go. Take the kids, a Camera, backpack and a notebook. There is something there for everybody and you will have fun. Take somebody who is just slightly interested in firearms. They will enjoy themselves. Here is My Dad again with a marlin guide gun in 45/70....we ended up seeing the whole show and getting back to my apartment in less than 12 hours.

Made in Japan! : or : Buy one get the 2nd one cheaper!

My good friend who purchased the 6.5 Carcano I mentioned earlier on this site has also been longing for a Japanese rifle as well after seeing his grandfathers WW2 war bring back in his relatives small gun collection. I kept half an eye out for a rifle that would suit him and me being a rather patient person I happened upon a listing of a small Japanese rifle collection that was being sold. I called and inquired about the different models and such but the seller didn't even know all that much about them other than one was "big jap" and the other two rifles were "little jap". The prices given to me on the phone seemed reasonable so I told my friend to get out of bed and that we were gonna go look at some guns today!

I looked the 3 Japanese rifles over as well as the other WWII circa rifles that the gentleman had up for grabs but I was focused on the 7.7 jap type 99 rifle for my friend. We agreed on a price for it and then I looked the little type 38 6.5 carbine over..."I have no use for it, and I don't need another groundhog gun" But I put down a offer thinking he would pass on it but he took. We walked out of there paying $140 for the two rifles and me thinking...."I really shouldn't have done that"

I don't know what possessed me to randomly purchase a rifle of such vintage and origin but I did. And like most people who do random things they try to rationalize their decision "it will make a great groundhog gun" I told several people who asked why I had purchased it. Then upon reading "Bolt Action Rifles" by De Haas I came to the conclusion it was a perfect plains game rifle round and barrel length. And that it is indeed one of the strongest rifle actions ever made! Bullets I have as they will be cast from the mold we got for the 6.5 Carcano project. Brass will be made with anything with a base diameter that is appropriate for the 6.5 jap and is long enough. pretty much anything that uses the 30/06 as a parent case will work. .270 winchester being the top pick from what I can tell. Run it in steps through the sizer die and turn off the remaining belt in the lathe at home. I have a goodly amount of range pick up brass to make both 7.7 jap and 6.5 jap brass from though I should think no more than my friend shoots that 50 pcs should be sufficient for him and I think 50pcs should do for me as well.



Above you can see a 6.5 Cast bullet and a 6.5 that is lubed loaded into a modified 22-250 case that has been run through a 6.5 carcano sizer die to form a belt that has been roughly hand filed off. The Carcano head diam is only .001" larger than that of the 6.5 Japanese. Next to the dummy round is a 6.5 Japanese round by Norma then a 7.7 Japanese round. 30/06 brings up the end to show case size comparison and conversion feasibility.

Ruger Blackhawk 45 long colt follow up!

-Above picture Lyman 454424 , 452423 , 452389 Note nose profile and meplat of first two

After having the Ruger Blackhawk out to the range a few times since its been getting warmer and warmer and trying the 252gr lee mold, 454424 lyman 255gr and the 185gr 452389 mold as well as already cast 200gr SWC's and 230gr RN I've come to some conclusions.

The lee 252gr Mold has too much body/shank and not enough ogive/nose. It therefore does not stabilize enough from what I can tell in the tests I have run. it seems to just tumble out of the barrel which ends up as poor results and keyholes on paper. I'm not sure what is causing this but my guess as stated before is the nose to body proportion.

The 200gr SWC's offer a nice plinker load and the 230gr RN is a nice bullet as well. The king of the crop so far is the 454424 Keith style 255gr mold with its generous meplat and sensible size of driving bands lube grooves and ogive. It is accurate with 2400 powder but non of the Unique loads I loaded and tried seemed to work all that well. The slower 2400 powder worked just fine and gave a good performance. Though further testing will be done until a all around load is settled on I imagine it will resemble a load right out of Sharpes book ("The complete Guide to handloading" of which I now own several copies). Black powder loads are a thought though but will be given no serious place outside of the accuracy testing and general range work. My goal is a accurate load that will have stopping power suitable for anything in North America...yes I may be guilty as being another person trying to magnumize the 45 Long colt but I think its a not so much of a question as can it be magnumized as a challenge.

Shot loads are something I plan on working on as well. Though #12 shot is ideal for any handgun or revolver shot load...I have access to only the shot I have from breaking down range pickup shotshells that were discarded (So anything between #6's and #8's I'm guessing). A 45 gas check will be used as the top wad and if I can get away with it a cardboard wad will be used as the lower. Although my concern is the fit of the lower wad keeping powder from working by. Perhaps a 45 wad punch should be invested in as I would use it for wads for the sharps as well as for punching out wads for this beast.

I am not the greatest shot with this Ruger BH yet. My natural point of aim and hands are so used to S&W grips and balance that this is a whole new horse I have to learn. It really seems to like the heavier bullets though I have not been able to go any heavier than the keith 255. A lighter Keith style 454423 mold has shown up at my door and bullets have been cast, lubed and sized. I need to get some serious target work done to compare the lighter bullet to the heavier Keith although I'm thinking the heavier bullet will outperform this slightly lighter brother. But only burned powder and punched paper will be able to tell.

So far I've been going over just caliber and bullet follow ups. The gun itself seems to be getting better with time. Grips are still going on and off of it until I find something that really feels natural to my hands. The sights are ok and what little midrange shooting I did with it last range trip I was happy with the results. 4 out of 6 shots hit the clay pigeons I was aiming at at just under 50 yards.

#1 way to be disowned by your history buff father : or : Trade a live horse and $100 for a dead horse?

After obtaining the 1874 Sharps Long Range Express rifle only a few days ago I had it in my plans to sell the H&R 1871 45-70 that I started with. A mentor friend (Doug) who was at the same gun show that I purchased the 1871 at told me if I ever wanted to sell it to let him know. So last weekend when I went home I caught up with him as he was still interested in the rifle. But he didn't have any cash handy though he offered up a partial trade. What did he have to trade? A Original Trapdoor Springfield either model 1878(73?..stamp is in question..see pic) or 1884 (I'll get to this in a bit). I looked the rifle over as best I could with a bore light and such. Doug never shot the rifle as he was afraid to after hearing stories about the weaker actions. I was well aware of the stories myself but have never heard of any specific cases only that the trapdoor action failing. For some odd reason I actually traded the H&R 1871 and $100 for the Trapdoor Springfield that Doug was afraid to shoot...this all makes sense so far right? trade a working rifle and $100 for something that was more than 100 years old and people are afraid to shoot...hehe. So I take the rifle home to take a closer look at it.....it looks like somebody took a pipe wrench to the rear of the barrel at some point in time though there was still life left in the 3 lands and grooves in the barrel. Then my dad saw the rifle....."You got a Trapdoor Springfield....my son is an idiot" was pretty much what came out of his mouth. I was taken aback greatly at this comment. My father #1 called me an idiot on a choice of firearms.....that just does not happen. And #2 my dad who is a Civil War Expert/all around History buff looked down on the Springfield trapdoor so much as to call his son an idiot who had just obtained one (eh maybe those 2 reasons go hand in hand...I dunno). Now what have I done?...did I make a mistake? Looking over the rifle the front sight is very thin and the Rear Buffington adjustable sight looks like something a target shooter would greatly appreciate but perhaps not a foot soldier. The action locks up just fine and the big 16 ton hammer is that of the 3 click tumbler model. First is the safety I assume then the notch that allows the action to be opened then one more back and the hammer is ready to strike the firing pin and fire the rifle. The only thing missing so far as I can tell after taking the rifle down is the ejector spring and pin that helps the ejector kick a fired case out (lathe project). Right now all I have is an extractor instead but thats not going to hurt me anytime soon. I figured I would go ahead and slug the barrel to see what I have to work with. I started the first of the 3 round balls I usually run through a barrel to get bore and groove measurements. 3/4 of the way down the barrel was just fine the slug went in and on its way down with little force after taking the initial shape at the muzzle. Then about 5" left till the breach it stopped....dead....I gave the 1/4" brass rod that we use for slugging rifle barrels and gave it a good "ram rod" motion and the slug pushed its way down and out of the action. I took a look at what I had and I was dumbfounded. A good sized groove was carved into the slug at 6 o'clock and at 11 o'clock. We thought it must have just hit the ejector ramp or something so we pushed the other 2 lead balls through the barrel carefully. Same thing. I then took a closer look down the muzzle with a small flashlight and saw the culprit. A solid burr about .03" high was sticking straight up near the throat of the chamber....The very LONG chamber I realized. The burr at 11 o'clock was very hard to see but it was much smaller than the 6 o'clock burr. Were these related to the tool marks on the outside of the barrel? and perhaps the long(er) chamber? which is over 3" long by the way. I really would like to get this rifle back into working order. I think it still has life in it but I will take the same precautions with this as I did with the Damascus double barreled shotgun I cut down due to a flaw in the barrel. No need to rush things but Depending on further observations we will see if the burr will shoot out or not. Though I think if one can be had and done at a reasonable price a barrel liner will be in order if things do not play out well for this fine old rifle. Also the tang needs some attention due to some seperation from the breach plug.

Now on to the model of the rifle. In the little time I've had to research the rifle I have narrowed it down to 3 years though most likely I'm thinking its a 1884 due to the rear sight and serrated trigger. The breach block appears to be dated 1878...however...the 8 looks a bit like a 3 further research is needed on the breach block to determine its year. However it will not dictate the year of the rifle overall. since parts were made standard and could be swapped around. Follow up articles to come!