Tom

I got a chance to fondle the Mk. III and 22/45 today. I don't care for the 22/45 grip/frame. My favorite shop had a Mk. III in SS with the extra long slab side barrel. I think that's the one I neeeed!

An armorer installed it, he also designed it. I met him at the range and he wanted to try it in my pistol so he installed it. I wouldn't hesitate to install it myself. It's a simple replacement part and requires no fitting.

I've got the itch for a nice .22 target pistol. Ruger's offerings have always caught my eye. I'm thinking 6" bull barrel, slab sides or fluted. any opinions on the Mk. III or 22-45. a used Mk.II would be fine also if I could find one locally.

It's based on a .308 I guess false.

I think I need one!

I shot my first 50 reloads last night. They all functioned flawlessly. They were loaded them on the light side. The powder gives off an orange muzzle flash but there weren't any sparks. I'm happy. There is a certain satisfaction from making your own stuff and it works well the first time. I used Mixed brass picked up from the range. 155gr TMJ bullets from Rainier 7.4gr of IMR 800x Wolf primers OAL 1.125" +/- .003" Taper crimp ~.001

I have 2 manuals and the instructions for the die. All they seem to say is "not too much" "just enough so it holds the bullet". I'd sure like to have a spec.

Thanks for the reassurance. I did mean less than .001 crimp. The case diameters were measuring about .420" and after the crimp they'd be about .419".

I loaded my first batch of .40 S&W and gave them a "light crimp" (according to Lee) which was about .0005-.001" with their "factory crimp" carbide die. How much crimp do you usually give a rimless cartridge? I don't want to crimp them too much. With that much crimp I had to beat the @#$% out of my puller to get my tests apart. Also How much do you usually expand the brass. I did it just slightly, maybe .001-.002" and it seemed to work fine. I don't want to give them too much. Without crimping it still seemed like I had to beat the heck out of the puller to get them apart.

At least guy in the lane next to you wouldn't get hot shells down his jacket like he would when you're shooting an autoloader.

Makes sense to me too. It's interesting that they are listed as if the entire set as "carbide". I don't think they person that wrote the description had a clue what they were writing about.

I received my hardware today. The Hornady and Lee parts seem to be very well made. The "carbide" die set only has carbide in the sizing and crimping die, the other two are regular steel.

A couple of weeks ago I reported that some UltraMax factory reloads I had purchased from Midway were not sized correctly and I had a couple failure to fires. I emailed Ultramx, their quality assurance guy called me and had me send the 2 boxes I had left back to them so they could inspect it. I spoke with him today and he said it was their boxes and trays but not their ammo. The bullet was not the type they use, the primers were not the type they use, most of the primer pockets were not reamed and the ones that were are different than the reamers they use. He's sending it back (at my request) and sending me a free box of their ammo so I can see the difference and know that they don't sell junk like what I sent him. so I called Midway... I got attitude from the customer service rep when I explained the situation. "Sir we don't manufacture anything here, we didn't put our own stuff in those boxes." "That's not what I'm saying, what I am saying is I bought ammo from you, it's defective, I have sent it to the manufacturer and they are saying it was not made by them." "I'll give you the contact info for the person I dealt with at UltraMax." She spoke to her supervisor who is going to call me later today. She alluded to giving me a refund. I find it interesting that there is someone counterfeiting already discount ammo. I'm glad I am going to start making my own, If there are quality problems I'll know exactly who to talk to...

It seems like the gunsmith would have been able to hone and lap it to make it smooth. Is there something different about a 710 that makes it more difficult to work on?

I just ordered 1000 "once fired". Have you got a stash/good source?

I noticed that your photos had a nice stand in them. Thanks for sharing the secret!

no lube needed with carbide

good point! I'll need more bushings for other calibers anyway. At least I remembered to order the the correct shell holder. Hornady has a special right now for 500 bullets free with a press purchase. That's worth about $90.

I just ordered a Hornady LNL Classic kit http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?productnumber=749997 and a set of Lee carbide dies http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?productnumber=622255 along with an assortment of bullets from Midway. I bought powder, brass, and primers from Widener's. Nobody local had primers, and I had a hard time finding them online. anything I'm missing?

I know some agents for the US Postal Service carry guns. (besides the occasional "gone postal")

I can't find much on it except it's called a "sniper grip". I've seen them on other tactical rifles with a pistol grip but always thought it was a weight. I say toss it.

I think it's just a weight to make it a little more balanced.

Thanks for the link. Very informative.

That's a great deal. now if I could score some small pistol primers for loading .40...

Can cast lead bullets be used in a semi-auto? If so I'm thinking it would be great for inexpensive reloading of range ammo. I notice all commercial loads seem to be copper jacketed.