Trapper

The best Springfields were the ones marked Devine, Tx. Elmer Balance is the original maker of the M-14 and Springfield Arms was his company until he got into a probelm with the Gov't who claimed he was selling full automatic upper AR-15's. If you know anything about an AR, you know that's BS. But the Gov't applied enough pressure that he sold the company and it's changed hands a few times before Springfield is the company it is today. Elmer is still alive and well today making match 1911 barrels for competition shooters. He makes the best. He also makes all of the barrels for the High Standard 1911. The new Springfields are a mixed bag. Most are decent shooters but there are some that are crap when they leave the factory. My brothers SOCOM was crap until Elmer worked it over. It's a dandy shooter now. If you need any M-14 stocks, call Elmer, he has about 1700 of them left over in all configurations. He's in the phone book. I've found the biggest issue with any of the Gov't parts guns is that the op rod and the timing is more critical than with a Springfield op rod. That means if you are reloading for it, you pretty much have to use Ball-C2 powder or in the close burn rate or expect issues like the heads of the brass ripped off leaving the shoulder and neck still in the chamber. Chamber pressures need to be real close to 50,000cups- not much more and not much less. The Springers generally don't have the issues and are more forgiving.

Quote:Any other weaknesses? Yeah, every time you think about shooting it you're gonna have a hormone attack. When yer away from it the longing to be close to it is gonna spoil yer day. And then there is the urge to mate. No, not with the gun but to have more....many more......many, many more........more, more....And then there's the saliva that runs outa yer mouth when yer at a gunshop and they have a different model....that you need....more of....and more...

The gun...or guns, are for sale over at EGuns. It is not a set of Glocks but 2 CZ 52 in 7.62 Tokarev put together at the rails. Despite comments at the linky, there is no way the recoil is going to be reduced or canceled. Interesting but it begs the question why anybody would do this. Contrary, the advertisement on the sale does not list these as full auto but as a double pistol. If you read German, here's the sale page: http://www.egun.de/market/item.php?id=31...866bb04f3c2af6b

I've had the Gold Cups. I would describe them as being a little on the fragile side. They usually come with a light recoil spring and if you are not aware of it you'll beat the thing to death with standard ammo. Match ammo is loaded to the lighter side. The rear sight was always an issue. My last Colt 1911s were of the Special Combat version and they have been extremely accurate and reliable out of the box. I have done absolutely nothing to either one and can shoot them with the best of them. You probably don't want to spring the bucks for one and if you are looking for a great shooter, I'd suggest the standard Gov't model and mod it to do what you want.

I don't really find his results amazing- I'm a Colt kinda guy. I have the Colt Special Combat Gov't models in 38 Super and 45ACP. Both shoot far better than most are capable of holding either offhand or from bags. They are almost rifle accurate with the right ammo. The 45 likes 200 gr bullets better than the 230's but groups at 25 yds are still under an inch with 230's. If you are looking to spend a little more than $1500.00 for one averagely, they are worth the wait to get as they are truly a Custom Shop pistol....unlike a Kimber Custom Shop which comes off of an assembly line. http://www.coltsmfg.com/Catalog/ColtPistols/ColtSpecialCombatGovernment.aspx

The American Rifleman did an article on the Pattersons and Sam Colt, while a mechanical whizkid, was not the sharpest tool in the box when it came to business. The first Colt gun shop went bust and there were not many of the Pattersons made by comparison to later models. The main creditors actually finished the last of the Pattersons and sold them for cheap. The Walker model was his first huge success which was named after Colonel Walker of Texas Ranger fame.

I don't suppose you had to kiss the guy on the lips, did you?

Pretty impressive firearm....okay, not a firearm, but a rifle. I don't remember the exact air pressure in the buttstock but it was something like 800lbs and would fire several hundred times before needing to be pumped up again. As I remember though, the pump had to go thru something like 1500 strokes to fully pressurized the cast iron buttstock. I often wondered why there were not more weapons like this during the Civil War. Rapid fire, for the time- extreme accuracy with a rifled barrel, no need to clean after shooting several shots like most front end loaders of black powder days,no powder to keep dry, can be fired in any weather including the rain, shooter only had to carry ball, just a bunch of features that apparently meant nothing to the armys of the Civil War. But then again, the War Dept for the Union thought the Henry rifle was a POS. What a difference it could have made in the war. Just ask Gen Custer about what a repeating rifle can do against an army of single shot rifles.

I don't own one but the folks I shoot with down in the country have several. All of their RIAs will shoot with most any Colt Match and they definitely will shoot with my $1500.00 Kimber. Bad part is the RIAs have a better trigger than my match Kimber but they do require a break in. I've had a RIA Longslide on order for about a year now and if it's any where near as good as the folks down on the country RIAs, I'll feel like I've screwed somebody- yeah, they really are that good. I think they are the deal of the day when you can find one. The CEO frequents the 1911 forums a lot and will answer any issues you might have. http://forum.m1911.org/forums.php

My bro has a Sig 2340 that has the 357Sig barrel. Shoots fairly decent but it's no match gun. If you intend to reload for it, you might wanna research the PIA that it is. Not all bullets will work with those of a longer profile not working at all because of COL. The actual correct bullet diameter is .3555 which means there are few of the correct diameter. The best powders are those that fill the case 100% or near it as the bullets have a tendency to fall into the case when seating them. It's due to the extremely short neck of the case. Frankly, while I load his ammo, I don't think there are any advantages of having one over any other round. I believe that the 357 SIG will soon be gone and be just a blip in shooting history. Most of the gunshops around here don't even carry ammo for it even though the LEOs use it for their carry arm. Here's some reading for you: http://www.handguninfo.com/Archive/www.Pete-357.com/357.safety.reload.htm

Here's a review on it. Considering whose name is on it, I don't think you can go wrong. http://www.handgunsmag.com/featured_handguns/hg_a45_200803/

At $600.00 US it's not a steal but it's not bad either. For the money, I'd much rather have an all steel Baby Eagle in 45ACP and spend the rest on components. I've yet to see one that wasn't a tack driver. Downside to one is that there are few after market goodies available for them. Or a nice CZ would be a good choice. Both of the above are a lot cheaper than the Ruger. But as we all know, picking the right gun for you is a personal thang.

For those that do not have the History Channel or cable TV, it's available for a short time on Hulu. Here's the linky: http://www.hulu.com/watch/213948/top-shot-sharpshooter-surprise#s-p1-so-i0

Quote:Do you do your Kegels at the same time? My prostate is just fine.

http://library.constantcontact.com/download/get/file/1101537435875-8/45+Auto+warning+_2_%5B1%5D.pdf Certain Federal ammo in 45 ACP is considered dangerous to you and your firearm. Make sure to check the run numbers against any you might have.

And I thought I was the only one. I use a 25lb short bar and do the same thing, but I'm a big guy. It helped me a lot. On a good day I can shoot almost the same group offhand as I do from bags and that's not bad considering most of my pistols are 1" group guns at 25 yds from bags. Unfortunately, my little brother is still the better shooter. He practices with a Super Blackhawk at a 6" steel plate at 100 yds. He does not miss......the little creep.

The 1911 is the one most would say but I like the Model 71 and the High Power more. I'd love to find a pristine 71 that I could afford- they're big money now. I have several High Powers in 9mm and 40SW. They all run flawlessly.

Pistol reloading is actually simple providing you are a person capable of details. All you need is a press, dies, and components. Data is all over the net. You might go by Lee Precision and look at their vids online. It will have a Lee slant to it but you'll get the idea. As far as bullets, depending on what you want to do determines the bullet. I won't shoot lead bullets. That's a personal preference for me as it makes a nasty mess of the gun and I don't have to deal with the possibility of leading a barrel. LOTS of folks shoot lead, I prefer plated for target and plinking. Most bullet makers have a self defense bullet. I prefer the Remington Golden Sabres across all calibers. The Gold Dots are another fine one. Hunting bullets I prefer the XTP line but there are certainly others that perform function. There's a lot of info on the net for your review. Loads of info on bullet performance if yer hunting gelatin monsters. Just pick a brand and type and get started. You'll be trying the different types and brands anyway as that's part of the fun of reloading. Here's some data on bullet testing for killing gelatin monsters: http://www.brassfetcher.com/ Movies at Lee http://www.leeprecision.com/html/HelpVideos/video.html If you have gunshows in yer area, that's a good place to pick up used equipment. RCBS guarantees their equipment forever to whoever has it. You can't go wrong with RCBS. Lee is an economical line of equipment and it's a great starter line but if you shoot a lot, it's not the best out there. Make sure to get a good balance beam scale too. The RCBS and Ohaus line are the standard. The scale is one area I wouldn't try to buy cheap. Get a good one. Hope some of this was helpful.

The COL listed in the data is the COL that was used to develop that data only. Every gun is different and so will the achieved velocity and pressure. Some will run hotter, some won't get near the performance. All data that you see is guide, not an absolute. Always approach max loads with caution looking for signs of pressure on fired brass after each shot. As the internal capacity of a case gets smaller, the more critical the COL is when approaching max loads. An example would be a comparison of a 300 Win Mag versus a 9mm pistol case. You can move the 300 COL around the listed data and it will hardly effect the pressure even at max loads. The 9mm case is another issue. At max loads, seating a bullet another .010 deeper will probably raise pressure enough to be unsafe. Going shorter than the published data on a 223 case is only critical if you are shooting max loads and then it depends on the particular rifle. Some have longer throats which allows for the bullet to jump to the rifling and reduces pressure. Most often you'll find best accuracy with a powder that fills the case about 80%, using about 80% of max data and the bullet seating at max length. Once you have found a load that shows promise, dial in accuracy by adjusting COL in .005 increments.

If the buldge is small and is the only area that the case is deformed, remove the stem and primer punch from the sizing die, lube just the area that will be sized, push the round far enough into the die to size the effected area, and it should be ready to go. Obviously, do not attempt to rezise the complete loaded case- shoulder area only which means the case will probably only go into the die amybe a half inch at most at the shoulder area. If it requires more than that, I'd suggest getting a collect bullet puller like an RCBS or a Forrester and pull the bullets.The bullets will be reuaable as well as the powder if done correctly.

Yessir, Ramshot TAC. It burns ultra clean and is extremely temperature stable.

The 748 you are buying is a decent choice for the 223 cartridge. If you research it, you'll find that 748 and H335 are both commercial pulldowns from the military powder WC844. With the use of the heavier bullets that our military is now using, WC844 has been replaced. All NATO ammo is now speced to use TAC becuase it has detergents to keep the actions cleaner and it's far more temperature stable. Getting accuracy out of the 223/5.56 case is probably the easiest out there considering it is a near scaled down 308 case. So most any medium buring powder will usually work. If you have an AR platform, you might consider using the TAC powder over the 748 or H335. Accuracy has been extreme using this powder with match quality ammo coming out of hunting loads.

Other options would be AA5 or HS-6, both are ball powders and meter like water. I can't say that I shoot many lead bullets but for accuracy with plated or max loads with jacketed bullets, these are the best I've used.

There are various other ways to clean brass like Iosso which is a liquid dip. It does a super job but it's not a cheap date. If the cases are reasonably clean and just need to be brightened up, a cup of 9% vinegar in a qt of warm water with just a drop of Dawn works good. Rinse well and I put mine in a bread pan, put in the oven at 150F for about 20 minutes and they're ready to load. Make sure not to use too much heat in the oven as temps beyond 350F makes the brass too soft. When you do decide on a tumbler, look around at the various suppliers like Natchez, Midway, and others as well as Harbor Freight carrys a vibrating tumbler. Don't pay a lot for it and I'd suggest avoiding the Lyman red media...unless you like cleaning the red rogue off of the brass.