Category: Gun Care & Gunsmithing

It’ll save you money, and confuse hippies.

These guys show you how you can make jacketed bullets for .223 out of fired .22LR cases.  This is pretty damned cool, but I’m not sure I want to go that far down the reloading rabbit hole.

So I have decided that I am in need of a progressive press.  The main thing keeping me from practicing my shooting more is the fact that for guns other than .22LR, I’m either stuck paying in limbs for ammo, or spending hours at the reloading press.  I can reload about 50 to 60 rounds per hours with the single stage press.  What takes me an hour to load, I can shoot in 10 minutes.  This has to change, especially if I get into action shooting sports.

I know there will be myriads of folks who will say “You just need a Dillon.” but Dillons are expensive, and while I like the idea of a no-nonsense warranty, for all practical purposes, I’m not likely to need unusual warranty service.  I’ve had a reader who has graciously offered to send me his Lee Pro 1000 that he’s no longer using, and it’s a tempting offer, since I’m already using their stuff, and it’s working fine for me.  But if I choose Lee, and make an investment in caliber kits, I could be sinking money into something I might just decide to upgrade later.  Should I go whole hog, and just get a quality press?  If I go that route, I’m torn between the Hornady Lock-N-Load AP, and the Dillon XL 650

Here’s what I want to reload, in order of volume:

1. .45ACP
2. 9mm
3. .44 Spl/Magnum
4. .223 Remington
5. 6.8 SPC Remington
6. 30-06

Now if I have to do 6.8 and 30-06 on the single stage, I’m not going to be all that broken up.  Though, the 6.8 would be nice to do on the progressive, if only because I would shoot it more if reloading speed weren’t an issue.  I’ve been considering this review of all three progressive presses, which says good things about the LNL AP.  I’ve also been looking at Chris’ review, and also here and here, which is largely favorable to the Hornady.

What to do, what to do.

Well, the old bench of evil turned out to be too small, too unstable, and I hated the fact that the only way I could mount the press was on the side.  I decided to go to Sam’s Club and get myself a new bench of evil, where I could mount the press the right way.   Now every time I decap and resize a piece of brass, it’s like I’m playing a slot machine, only with this slot machine, I win every time!

Now I’m thinking about upping the ante toward a progressive press.

Robb has a concern I have been all too familiar with.  One reason I switched from Hoppes No. 9 to using Gunzilla as my gun cleaner of choice, is that I don’t have to worry about some burly gun owner coming up to me, giving a sniff, and saying “My my, is that amazing fragerance Hoppes No. 9?  Enchanting!” and giving me a wink.  Gunzilla, if it has an odor, I think sorta smells like olive oil.  It’s that mild.  In fact, I’m pretty sure the stuff is basically biodiesel, or maybe biokereosene.

I don’t think I could field strip and reassemble an AR-15 this quickly.

Tam has the digs on the Smith & Wesson gun lock issue.  I have a 629, and have never used the lock, or had it engage unexpectedly when shooting.  I use the gun to shoot IHMSA Field Pistol, Production category.  I only carry it in the woods, and even then, I usually have the Glock as a backup.

That’s not to say I like the lock being on there, though.  Too many gun manufacturers seem be interested in having their guns not be illegal in a lot of the nanny states (like Massachusetts, where S&W is located) that mandate this crap.  I would like to see the industry write off the states that pass this stuff, or at the least, do multiple versions if they really feel the need to exploit those markets.

Last night I decided to completely disassemble my Nagant 1895 to troubleshoot a problem with the double action trigger.  When I would squeeze the trigger, the cylinder would rotate, but the hammer wouldn’t cock.  Worked fine in single action mode.  Upon taking it apart, I discovered that at some point, someone had apparently whacked the trigger with a punch in order to push some metal up so the double action fly on the hammer would catch more properly.  I believe this was done to make up for a weak double action fly spring, which was allowing the fly to push in too readily, rather than catching on the trigger.   I took out the fly screw, and stretched out the fly spring, and bingo, it started working again.  I may have to order a new fly spring if it happens again.  There is actually a place you can buy Nagant parts (and from whom I shamlessly ‘borrowed’ the above image).  I decided to write this up, because I couldn’t find much information on Nagant troubleshooting, I’m guessing because most people faced with a broken 1895 Nagant revolver just ceremoniously bury it in the back yard, then scrounge the sofa for the money to buy another one.  But to me, the death of any gun is a tragedy, so I will commit myself to making sure this one stays in working order.

Ruger is issuing a safety recall of the SR-9.  Apparently it’s possible for the firearm ti discharge if dropped with the safety in the off position.

The company said it is reworking the design of a new trigger group that prevents firing when dropped and will retrofit at no charge all Ruger SR9 pistols with serial number prefix “330.”

Better be sure to send yours in if you have those serial numbers.  Fortunatly, I don’t think most of us drop our guns that often.  I don’t recall that I’ve ever done it.

A commenter in Paul’s post over at HuffPo gives a pretty good education on how Lauer Custom Weaponry’s Duracoat process works.  For the sake of brevity, I’m only pasting the relevant bits:

I am a frequent purchaser of Lauer products and the only travesty I see in this report is the fact that the Wisconsin dealer charged $200 for the Duracoat (your first error, its not “paint”) job. I’ve done several, and $200 seems a little steep.

It’s actually a neat process. You have to completely disassemble, degrease, and bead blast the firearm first with 120 grit aluminum oxide, then parkerize, then duracoat, making sure that you have the correct “paint” to hardner ratio between 10:1 and 14:1 (personally, I find an 11:1 ratio just right).  It requires a good bit of tools an know-how. Air compresser, media-blasting gun, air brush (I use a Paasche dual-stage) parkerizing solution, heat tank (or a good sized crock pot), and a few other odds and ends.

The end result, if done correctly, is a beautiful, rock-hard, durable firearm finish resistent to holster wear, self lubricating, and, which happens to come in a multitude of colors.

No doubt it’s expensive, now that, thanks to Bloomberg and the Brady Campaign, Lauer is now the hottest name in Duracoat.  Clearly if we don’t get this technology off the streets immediately, we can expect drug dealers and gang bangers to immediately start procuring bead blasting equipment, parkerizing solutions, and heat tanks, and to begin reading up on hardener ratios.  If this scourge is allowed to continue, they’ll soon be so obsessed with Duracoating, they won’t have time to sell drugs and shoot up street corners!