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.357 mag.

gamestalker

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If your one of us old school guys and like wheel guns I have a method to increase the effectiveness of your's. I have a S&W .357 mag with a 4" barrel. I lapped the barrel and reloaded my factory brass.I use 23 grains of H110 with a 110 grain JHP and its delivering just over 1830 fps on my chrony. No high preasure signs and accuracy is absolutly unmatched. My son has a used, or rather unusable kevlar vest I"ve been testing my reloads on, and these reloads are blowing right through it. These projectiles are nothing special, they are out of the box speer 110 grain JHP. I also did the same thing with the 9 mm and it as well is delivering velocities of well over 1600 fps and going through the vest as well. Oh, the point I was making here is the factory loads for both of these weapons do not accomplish this task at all and perform poorly in comparrison. Lapping the barrel in my opinion is a major factor in achieving accuracy and increased velocities of this magnitude, and as well reduce the barrel wear by decreasing friction. Prior to lapping I was geting 110 FPS lower velocity +/- 10 fps. Its not that I'm trying to build bullets capable of penetrating a vest, its just a way for me to evaluate the effectiveness of my gun and reloads in addition to using my chrony. All the reloading data I use is authorized data from my reloading manuals. Reloading is only safe when performed by individuals who take the time to learn and use the entire process as written in the instruction manuals and one should never step outside of those guidleines, ever!Relaoding is not childs play. Approach what you are about to do, not with aprehension, but with respect, and a measure of caution, and you will not go wrong. And please don't just flip to the max loads, work up to those loads using the lighter charges listed until you have reached the max or desired load whileobserving preasure signs as you go, and you'll have no problems or dangerous out come. I say this because of the numurous individuals I've knownpersonallywho have distroyed thier guns and injured their selves over the years. When done correctly, reloading is a very rewarding and cost effective measure in the shooting sports. It can also produce some of very finest ammo you'll ever experience.

There is still a lot of us experienced reloaders out there, so please feel free to post your questions and one of us old timers, or young guns,will do our best to help you with problems, or what ever it isyour wanting to know.

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357luvr

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How often should I do a QCT (Quality Control Test; i.e. - checking to make sure whatyou just did was done right)? I wouldn't say that I hate reloading, I just really don't like it. The only reason I do is because I don't have enough money to support my ammo consumption. The problem is, when I manually prime the cases, it sometimes feels like I got one in but I obviously didn't since when I pick it up to insert the bullet, powder falls out the bottom of the case. I don't even catch that about 1/3 of the time.

Just so you know, I'm using a single stage press, I reload 50 at a time, I'm looking for quanity instead of quality (most of the time), and I use ahand held priming tool. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
 

Loneviking

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How often should I do a QCT (Quality Control Test; i.e. - checking to make sure whatyou just did was done right)? I wouldn't say that I hate reloading, I just really don't like it. The only reason I do is because I don't have enough money to support my ammo consumption. The problem is, when I manually prime the cases, it sometimes feels like I got one in but I obviously didn't since when I pick it up to insert the bullet, powder falls out the bottom of the case. I don't even catch that about 1/3 of the time.


You're doing something wrong. Do you have a tray for holding the cartridges between the different stages of loading? I usually use a Lee hand primer and I'll prime about 50 cases, checking them after priming to make sure the primer seated. I prime one, stick it in the tray and then continue priming. Once I have 50 or so, I'll go back and double check to make sure the primer seated right.

Another thing that helps is a desk mounted, large magnifying glass with a light. Mount that on your work table and you can catch flaws in the cases and see easily if your primers are seated or not. Then, and only then, add your powder and then the bullet.
 

357luvr

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Yes, I have a reloading tray. I usually check about 1 in 5-10 cases to make sure the primer has been seated correctly. The problem is, I only miss like 1 in 15 of them. So the chances of spotting the one that I miss is slim to none. I guess I'll just have to 'get back to basics' and check each one. That will slow me down quite a bit but that's better than wasting powder and/or bullets.
 

gamestalker

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Hey, I'm glad to see your trying to get it right. But as the other fellow said, you are doing someting incorrectly. When you seat a primer you should be able to easily see the primer without having to waste any time at all. When you seat a primer it should be seated just below the head of the case. In other words, it should be below the surface of the primer pocket slightly, other wise you will experience mis- fires and or gas leakage when you fire the round which will be visible by a black residue around the primer. What style and brand of primer seating device are you using? If your really serious about reloading and it sounds as though you are, you should buy an inexpensive single stage press, Lee makes a good one and RCBS, which is what I use, makes a real good one and its not very expensive at all. The RCBS is called a Special, they also have the Rock Chucker and it comes in a nice kit with the primer rods and primer die as well as other needed equiptment. I think the whole kit is around $90.00 or $100.. But its really the right way to go. Make sure you use a scale to check your powder scoops or what ever type of volmetric measure your using as these measuring devices are not realiable to the extent that you can just start loading powder charges without first verifying the charge they are scooping or dropping. Andjust to be safe I would recomend using the slowest powder burn rate possible as that will help to eliminate or reduce the possibility of a double charged case as well as reduce the risk of a heavy charge becoming as serious anissue. Tell me what you are loading and what powder you are using. Oh, you said you are having trouble with the powder falling out the bottom of the primer pocket. That really scares me because even if your not seating the primersdeep enoughthe powder wouldn't fall out. What primers are you using? Give me the number; example CCI #550 or #500 and so on, and the caliber of the cartridge. I think you might be using the wrong primer for the cartridge your loading. Large pistol and small pistol primers are entirely different sizes and I'll bet your using the wrong ones for what your loading. One is smaller or bigger than the other. Write back soon so myself and others can assist you with your reloading so you don't damage your gun or injure yourself.And please don't try to use the reloads you've completed until you get back to us, we don't want you to get hurt.

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gamestalker

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In the begining stages of reloading you should do them, QCT,often and I would also check to be sure each cartridge has been charged before seating the bullet. Back to the primer issue. A small pistol primer or large pistol primer has nothing to do with the physical size of the gun, it is refering to the primer classification. Example; A standard large pistol primer would be a #300 and the magnum #350 and would be used for a 44 mag. or 44 special, thats just one application. A 500 standard small pistol primer is a #500 and the magnum small pistol primer #550 and would fit a 9 mm parabellium, again that is just one application. This is another reason why you need an instruction manual to reload so you will know what the entire process is all about. The magnum primer is only for certain loads which is describedin the loading manual. depending on the type and amount of powder used will estaqblish the need for either a standard or magnum primer. Follow the advice of the fellow that said use a nice bright light over your loading tray so you can easily inspect each case before seating it. I hope you are using a resizing die other wise you are going to have a very serious out come. Bullets will either fall out of the cases or they will fall down into the cases and without being resized the presaures will get extremely high most definitly producing dangerous results up to and including you getting hurt. Don'tskip any steps in the reloading process ever! Do you have a good reloading instruction book? If not Speer sells an excellent one that will take you through the process one step at a time. They're isn't one single step in reloading that can be skipped. You are building an explosive device in all practable manner of speaking,and if done correctly it is safe. But if done incorrectly it will produce uncontrolled preasures in the tens of thousands and will turn your gun into a hand grenade. Even an accompished reloader follows the steps, its not like baking a cake where you can guess on different aspects of the process. One seemingly little mistake like an incorrectly seated bullet can cost you your life or at the very least distroy your gun!

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357luvr

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First off, thanks for all of your concerns. I respect the reloading process and approach it with caution.

To be honest, I'm not reloading at the moment. I have just recently switched to the 44 and don't have any dies yet. I mainly reloaded 357 in the pastand that's what I'm basing all of this off of. I don't currently have a 357 so that's why I'm not reloading at the moment.

Now as to the questions you ask, I don't know. The extent of my knowledge about reloading is that ifI pull the lever enough times a bullet is going to come out. I know how to change between the 2 calibers that I (used to) reload. Basically everything was set up by my uncle who's been reloading as long as I can remember. Pretty much all I know is that I was using Allied 2400 or Power Pistol (2400 for 357, PP for .40) powder.

I'll start a new thread after I get enough money to reload some 44 ammo and tell you exactly what I'll be using. So far all I know is that I'll be using the the same powders, 240gr. bullets, used brass, and either CCI or Winchester primers. Most of what I get will be coming directly from my uncle and he will to the initial set up of the 44 dies.
 

gamestalker

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Well I'm glad you'll have someone to help with the process. But FYI, powder that works for one caliber may not work for another and can produce extremely high preasures. Same goes for primers, a #300 primer won't work for a .357 mag. or a #500 won't work for a 44 mag or special. Regarding the 2400 powder it is used for both the .357 and the 44, just different amounts. Just be careful and don't ever assume orguess on specifications, everything in the reloading process is in exact specified conditions and can't be guessed at. If you were to think that under loading a catridge is a safe way to guess on the powder charge because you don't have a scale, powder scoop and chart, it can and mostlikely will produce dangerous results, injuring you and distroying your gun. You mentioned a .357 and a 44 magnum. Those 2 weapons are high preasure guns as it is and to accidentaly load the wrong charge or use the wrong primer is asking for a serious and dangerous experience.I'm continuing my opinion about your post because I'm worried you are attempting to continue loading without the proper tools, equiptment, and loading specifications that are an absolute in this proces and can't be excluded. To state that you are having problems with powder falling out of the cartridge is to say at the least an obvious indication you are using a primer made for another purpose and will not work at all for that cartridge. I'm betting you are not using a powder chart, scale or scoop or other volmetric measuring device. I'll do anything I can on line to help you with this but you have to be honest and tell me what you have for reloading supplies, books, dies, powders, primersand so on and then I will tell you what you need to purchase to do this safe and the right way and then we will start at square A and you'll learn the proces correctly. I think I can speak on behalf of all the other reloaders out there when I say, we care about your safety and want you to get the most out of your experience which is why myself and others have responded to your questions. I'm glad to see your open minded and accept criticisism well. In this particular hobby there is no room for big headed or I know it all character issues. I've been loading since around the early 1980s or so and I still listen to the advice of others. There is always something new to learn and especially when working with the new powders, presses, cartridges that are constantly being developed. So good luck and don't be affraid to ask any of us questions,. That is what we are here for.

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357luvr

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Again, thanks for your concern. It means a lot to me.

I don't have time to go and check but I'm either using a Lee hand priming tool or a Frankford Arsenal one. The problem is not that I'm using the wrong sized primers, it's just that(for whatever reason that I can't seem to figure out) I don't put a primer in every piece of brass. Here's an example of what's happening;

I set out 50 pieces of cleaned brass onto a reloading tray. I deprime/resize the brass on all 50onone step (no QCT done as I can visually see the primer fall out), I'll then prime all the cases on another step (QCT done about once every 5-7 rounds), I'll then add the powder using the powder dispensing die that has already been checked, rechecked, then done all over again to ensure proper amount is loaded each time. I do that whenever I change calibers and after all 50 are loaded with powder, I visually look over them to see if anything is obviously wrong. I then load the bullet using the bullet seating/crimping die set to a medium to heavy crimp. Once that is done, I visually inspect the entire cartridge for any obvious defects such as missing primers and such. I'll also compare the overall length of every 10th round produced against a round that I know is safe to compare it to.

To date, I've only had one squib. That was during the time when I had a Taurus 617and hadn't quiteperfected the powder loadat that time.All other rounds produced were of the same quality that you would get from factory ammo other than the fact that it costs half as much.

Sorry if I missed/didn't answer any of your questions, it's been a busy day. If there's anything else that you'd like to know or comment on, please feel free to do so. I will try to answer any and all questions as soon as I can.

Thanks for all your help guys!
 

gamestalker

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OK, now it makes some sense. You're actually doing it right, its just one of those things and certainly not a dangerous circumstance, just a frustrating one when you have to clean up spilled powder. Ispill powder once in a while when I'm loading on my Mec because I forget to lower the handle on the powder stage, big mes, and even worse if its on the shot stage.In your first couple of posts you were rather vague and it concerned me that you might not know much about the reloading process as I've seen happen before. But on a different note, I would like to influence you to switch to a single stage press as it is quite a bit faster and easier to work with compared to those hand held mechanisms. You'll also start to view the process as a lot more rewarding by switching to fixed press. I'm not much for the progressive or completely automated ones as they really take away from the quality and pretty much produce the same thing as factory, with exceptionfor the ability to customize the particular component and powder variations. But as I've stated before, I reload for a different reason than most people. Its all about producing match grade ammo for me even though I'm also enjoying the cost cutting advantage of it all. I turn my brass,sort it all according to its brand and other things that can effect the performance in the slightest way, but thats what you can do when you reload. I can put 5 rounds in the same whole at 200 yds. with my 7mm rem. mag. consistently, something thatwould bean accident with factory. And though loading for my handguns isn't as entailed, I still get some amazing performance with my reloads. My .357 gets over 1800 fps and my 9 mm loads are over 1600 fps without sacrificing accuracy.I tried one of those hand held things that Lee makes many years ago and loaded maybe a box or two before I decided to invest in an inexpensive RCBS set up, the loads were fine,butthe processwas so cumbersome. What I do like about those hand held presses is if your hunting or just generally away from your fixed press you can still get some necessary loads made. I was on a hunt in the eastern part of Arizona with some friends back in the 1980s and one of the guys forgot his ammo and I had my hand held stuff with me and was able to load him up for the hunt. That also became a turning point for that guy because he was so pleased with reloads that he finished the hunt and went out and bought a complete reloading set up and never went back to factory again.

Anyway, it doesn't sound like your having any real difficulty to speak of but if you should have questions feel free to ask, any time.

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357luvr

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Thanks, like I said, I'm not reloading at the moment and will be several months before I can but when that day comes, you can bet your paycheck I'll be asking some questions. You see, I have a 44 magnum lever action rifle as well and I'd like to get the best accuracy possible from that particular weapon. Range is going to be the problem. The farthest that I can shoot on my property is about 60-75 yards. Of course using iron sights with like 20/50 vision, that's about the extent of my range anyway. It'll be my deer rifle if I get a chance and am able to sight it in before this upcoming season. So far I've only fired 3 rounds through it and they all hit within the kill zone of a deer but that was 3 carry rounds for the revolver that I just decided to use in the rifle. I'll be able to get some more ammo and give it a thorough testing sometime within the next couple weeks and hopefully I won't be disappointed. Either way, thanks for all your help and your concerns.
 

gamestalker

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Alright, I have one of those 44 mag. rifles too and just love it for brush hunting deer and javalina. When you start reloading for it try out a 200 grain Speer hollow point with 27.5 grains of H110 and you'll be getting around 1650 fps or better! You can even go with the 225 grain bullet and you'll still be around 1600 fps with that H110 powder. Drop your charge down to no more than 25 grains though with the 225 grain bullet. Drop 1 more grain of H110 off the load, (24 grains)for the 240 grain bullet if you like the heavier bullet choice. Velocity willstill bein the mid 1400 fps range. All those loads work welll in the 44 mag. handgun too.

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nova

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About being able to shoot though the vest...are you using a clay or gel block against the back of the vest? Most soft vests will easily be defeated otherwise if its just hanging there (instead of being against a medium that replicates the human body).
 

357luvr

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gamestalker wrote:
Alright, I have one of those 44 mag. rifles too and just love it for brush hunting deer and javalina. When you start reloading for it try out a 200 grain Speer hollow point with 27.5 grains of H110 and you'll be getting around 1650 fps or better! You can even go with the 225 grain bullet and you'll still be around 1600 fps with that H110 powder. Drop your charge down to no more than 25 grains though with the 225 grain bullet. Drop 1 more grain of H110 off the load, (24 grains)for the 240 grain bullet if you like the heavier bullet choice. Velocity willstill bein the mid 1400 fps range. All those loads work welll in the 44 mag. handgun too.

gamestalker

I'd really rather stick with the powder that I have, or will have I should say. That will definitely be the 2400 for the rifle loads. It's the slowest burning powder that Alliant makes and should do pretty well with an 18" barrel. As for the bullet, I haven't made my decision but $ will be the biggest factor. However I am going to try and produce some of my own hunting rounds using one of the following bullets; Barnes, XTP, Cheapest JHP I can get. I'm looking to stop the deer in it's tracks (I have only one (bad) tracking experience and I don't wish to repeat it) if possible and I think the Barnes bullet will do that best. But for half the cost, I'm very interested in what the XTP will do. Also on a semi-related question, do you have any experience with the LEVERevolution rounds? How do they feed and/or perform.

What kind of rifle do you have? I have a Puma with an 18" ported barrel and Hi-viz sights. It's about 25 rounds old and I'm really having difficulties with it smoothly cycling. Basically there's no lip on the barrel like what pistol barrels have and the flat point of the bullet is hitting the bottom of the barrel instead of going in the chamber. It's a very poor design but I'm hoping everything will solve itself after a few hundred rounds.

Here's a few pics of my baby;
pix1847362328.jpg

pix1847362296.jpg

pix1847362406.jpg
 

357luvr

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Hey gamestalker, do you have any reloading manuals that show a comparison between H110 and Alliant 2400 and or Alliant Power Pistol? The price that my uncle is offering is just a price that I can't turn down but you can never have enough gun powder and I might just be able to catch a few sales.
 

gamestalker

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Honestly the 2400 is just about doing the exact same thing as the H110in terms of pressures and velocities. Its a very good slow burning powder. If your confortable with it than I wouldn't change. The 2400 is producing some excellent velocities, almost 2000 fps with a 200 grain Speer hollow point magnum bullet. These bullets are not expensive and have produced excellent results on deer for me on several occasions and they have a bonded or hot core design that just about eliminates separation problems completely. I once shot a bull elk with a Speer Hot Core 130 grain bullet with my .270 win.. The shot was not a good one in that I had to shoot him from behind and the bullet traveled straight up the back bone through every vertebrae from thebutt up to the base of his neck and the bullet never separated and retention was 87%. I love Speer products. I've dropped a lot of animals with their bullets over the years and have never had one fail, not even on bear with a small projectile.And the Barnes is also an excellent bullet, just more expensive because you only get 50 rounds to a box. But because the Barnes is solid copper they are a longer bullet which might solve your feeding problem too.So far as your feeding problems are concerned, I would pick up some lapping compound, lead type, and lap the ramp, the spot where you saidthe round isgetting stopped. Often times the manufacturer will leave some tooling marks that will create feeding problems. I lap all my new firearms and not just the action. I lap every moving part and the barrel too.But if your not experienced with lapping actions and barrels its best those areas bedone by an experienced professional or you could damage the action and barrel or other functions.If you lap the feeding ramp just be careful not to over do it. You will be able to see the polished surface and thats all you want to do, is polish the ramp, making it smooth. I've had a simular problem with a lever action 300 Savage and a 30-30 Winchester. Both were Marlin rifles and were doing pretty much the same thing. But being that this is a 44 mag. round it might not be as easy to fix the problem because of the short bullet, soI would start with lapping and also shooting a bunch of rounds through it to break it in. That might be all you have to do. Other wise you might have to have someone work on that ramp or other feeding mechanismsa little more extensively, but I doubt it.

And by the way, thats a really nice rifle you have there.

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357luvr

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Well I figured out how to cycle the rifle correctly. I was pausing briefly between two separate motions of push and then pull. I now know that was MY problem NOT the gun's. I now make one smooth continuous push/pull motion. Basically the way my friend compared it to shifting a muscle car. RIP IT AND RACK IT! That's what he said and I couldn't agree more.

I've completely reversed my opinion of the Puma, I was thinking this was more of a show gun than a working gun. Now well two words come to mind when thinking about it; One's 'kick' and the other well let's just leave the other word to your imagination. lol Oh and thanks for complimenting my rifle, it's the second coolest gun I've ever owned. The first was a bushmaster that I ended up selling for $700!!!:banghead::uhoh::banghead:

As for the reloading powder, I'm going to be getting about 12.5 pounds of powder for just $75. I think you can appreciate the deal that I'm getting. I had considered replacing the Power Pistol powder with Alliant Unique powder. But there's just no way that I would pass up getting the ~$6 per pound deal that I'm getting now.
 

357luvr

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What kind of bullet drop am I going to be looking at with my rifle? I was guessing that at 100 yards, it'd drop about 1.5" Can you give me some bullet drop ratings preferably for 25, 50, and 75 yards? Thanks!

Edit to add; This year I'll probably be hunting with 240gr. Speer GoldDot 44 magnum rounds. I really can't afford to do but so much practice before this season (things are kinda tight right now), especially with hunting rounds so I'd like to take as much of the guess work out of the equation as possible.
 

gamestalker

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I certainly understand your circumstances and share simuliar isues as your's.

About the bullet drop. If you sight in at 100 yds. you won't have to worry about any bullet drop up to 100 yds.. And honestly speaking in terms of ballistics, the 44 mag. is not presenting an issue of drop at 100 yds. Anything closer than that will be at most an inch high. I think you said your using open sights, didn't you? That being the case your only going to have less than an inch at the barrel which will only effect you at point blank range, about an half or 3/4 inch low at point blank range. That is due to the fact that line of sight is above the point of bullet path at extreme close distances, less than 20 feet. With my 44 mag rifle, and I have a scope on it, I sighted in at 150 yds. and everything closer than that is only effecting my shot placement by about an inch and a half, not enough to make a difference regarding kill zone. Make sure you sight in from a good solid rest and use a couple or 3 bags of rice to use as anchoring points at the back and front. Proper sight in is the key and most individuals don't, and never have, sighted in their guns properely. What ever inconsistency you get at say 25 yds. it will be quadrupled at 100 yds.. If for instance your a 1/2 an inch to the left or right at 25 yds. it will be 2 inches or more off at 100 yds. I wish I had some way to send pics on my computer or knew how to. I'd send you some pics of my guns and the paper targets that show one hole groups at 20 yds. and 1 inch groups at 100 yds. with my .357 handgun and so on. All made possible with the use of a good rest. I've used several of the expensive ones available at sporting good stores and find that using rice bags is just as good if not better! And never use those bipods that mount on rifles. They are not stable enough to sight in with. In fact, I bought one for my 7mm mag. used it a couple of times before I sold it to a friend. It isn't worth a crap. Using a branch is better than a bipod any day.

When you start reloading for that 44 mag it will completely resolve thie cycling issue you are having. The consistent pressures you'll get with the 2400 powder will again totally alleviate having to compensate any problems. I've had the same problems with just about all of my auto loaders and reloading took care of it. Its amazing just how much better reloads are than factory. In mostinstances nothing is wrong with the gun, its the type of powder factory is loaded with, fast burning powder, because it takes about half as much, saving the manufacturer money.

Hey, would you mind telling me how I can order my powders from the distributor your getting the great deal from? even if I can get it at $10. a lb. I'll be getting a super deal. I really don't care what brand of powder I use so long as it is a good slow burn rate to maximize velocities, and produce excellent ballistics.

My oldest son just bought a Bush master. He just came home from Afghanistan in April and went out and bought a bunch of cool shooting and hunting gear.

Hey you were asking me the difference between the 2400 and H110. Well for the most part the difference is really the name. They are both producing just about the same results and they are both about the same burn rate too. But just for the information here is the specs from my Speer manual. For the 240 grain 2400 calls for 22.2 grains to get 1756 fps. The H110 calls for 24.4 grains and gives you 1808 fps. And if you use the 225 grain bullet you'll actually sacrifice velocity. THe real increase in velocity is with the 200 grain bullet with 2400 producing 1965 fps (24.8 grains) and the H110 producing 1942 fps (27.0 grains). The H110 is a little bit slower and cleaner burning than the 2400 is. But not enough to to worry about. The H110 is my personal prefrence, but I wouldn't hesitate to use the 2400 if that was what was available at the time. I'm pretty much Hodgon loyal for my handguns and Reloader powders for my rifles. Nothing wrong with the other slow powders out there, just personal prefrence.

Gamestalker
 

357luvr

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That's a completely new (and different) way of thinking to me but I'm pretty sure you're right. What I'm referring to is sighting in at 75 (I know you said 100 but see below for the reason I'm saying 75) yards and just aim dead on out to that range. I didn't realize that the bullet dropwas that reasonable. Basically everyone's always said sight for 50, adjust for 25 or 75 yard shots. But that would mean I'm thinking when I should be shooting. So in regards to bullet drop and everything, I'm just going to sight it in for 60-75 yards and go from there.

Basically the reasoning behind sighting in for that close of a range is because this will be a brush gun pretty much. The longest range available to me under practice or hunting situations is only going to be a 60-75 yard shot and a lot of that will possibly require going through brush. I'm not going to try to shoot through trees or anything stupid like that but if a few leaves are in the way 5'-10' in front of the target then so be it, I'm taking the shot. I know that hittingANYTHING will cause some deflection so it's best to take only clear shots but in a lot of situations that I will be in, that may or may not be possible.

Oh and just to make myself clear, I no longer have a cycling problem with the rifle I have. Basicallythe way it's designed,when you cycle the weapon, it pop's the cartridge into the air a little bit and you need to be pulling the lever back when theround is in mid air. Sounds flimsy but just doesn't work any other way.

As for the powder,it's a family member that's offering it to me. He has roughly 16lbs of powder that he stockpiledback before the economytook a dump. He wants to keep the open containers that hold about 3-5lbs worth of powder. He's willing to sell me the rest for $75. That's at least one partial container of 2400 and 2 of the 4 containers of Power Pistol.
 
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