manureman

Doc I bought that set up a number of years back and have never tried it, mainly due to reading about how hard it was to set up properly. Is there any truth to that? It just really doesn’t look that complicated to me. I’ve got a bunch of military brass that has the staked primers that are a real pain compared to the crimped. The stake pockets leave raised spots on the case heads several thousands high was wondering if the RCBS set up might not mash them back out some ? Do you have any experience with that. Thanks

Az don’t know if they still make them the same way or not but clay pigeons used to have pitch in them and that’s what “they say”kills hogs but they don’t bother cows. Jim

Cows are very curious animals and use taste to figure out a lot, they’ll usually ,after getting shocked the first time or two by an electric fence , smell it then lick it and then they’re educated. From that time on they will smell every electric fence they see , I don’t believe they smell it being on but that they’re noses are sensitive enough to feel or sense it because they can tell if it’s hot or not , if it’s on they won’t bother it , if not they ignore it and ride it down. Calves will chew on beer cans, Walmart sacks, soda cups or anything else litter bugs throw out driving by. Last year the power company replaced the poles on the big lines running from Bagnel dam at lake of the Ozarks to St. Louis. They gave the old ones to any of the land owners that wanted them. I got a huge pile of them , a neighbor kept some to use for corner post but changed his mind in favor of used oil field pipe and sucker rod so just burned his. His cattle , every single last one of them died in a short time , turned out they had ingested the ashes and the creasote in them killed em . Power company bought his cows cleaned up the burnt spot and went back around and picked up any poles that had been left that people decided they didn’t want. Actually it wasn’t the power company it was an out of state line building contractor company. Az do you have anything in them plastic barrels that pistols don’t shoot through? I bought several this morning that have removable lids to use . Was planning on 2 or 3 layers of used carpet to line the inside then filling the center with sand. May just have to use backstops on everything it just gets old having to drive out to the farthest ones to see if your on target, it ain’t a straight drive to get to the farthest ones I have to shoot diagonally across a creek bottom from ridge to ridge and up into a clearing in the timber I pushed out with a skid steer, eats up a lot of time. I’m just to tight I guess but I can’t hardly stand to fence cows out of a place just to have to mow it to see targets, I was raised to believe if I had a blade of grass standing I needed a cow to stand over it and eat it. Jim

I don’t have any experience with public ranges to speak of and have always just set up something on the farm to shoot at. Usually some kind of scrap leaned against a tree and a rolled up coat and truck for a rest to shoot off of. I’m wanting to set up a range here for my family and friends ,I’ve got 7 grand kids so far and everyone comes here to shoot.I bought some steel spinner targets and shot them a little bit and would really like to set up several steel targets especially out at long ranges. But I stopped shooting them because of my cattle ,I’m concerned about them getting hardware disease ( metal in their guts) from all the shredded lead and copper of the fired bullets they might ingest while grazing. Have you all that have experience with steel targets seen anything that might reduce the chance of my cows getting their bellies full of scrap? Ive got a bunch of old light poles that I’ve thought about using to build small 3 sided structures 4ft x 4ft x 4ft or so putting a foot or so of sand in the bottom of and putting the steel targets back in them to catch most of the bullet fragments . I really can’t afford to fence off a thousand yard strip and I need the grazing too so I’m hoping you all may have some ideas to keep ole Murphy out of my cows. Thanks Jim

Az since you mentioned a brass hammer, I believe I’d clamp something round the cross bar would fit over in a vise put the scabbard on it to protect the blade and see if you could bend it back straight might need a cheater bar and finish it up with your brass hammer without tearing it apart. Jim

Thanks guys I sure appreciate all the advice, I’ve ordered both molds and the sizer so I’m getting closer. Jim

Az thank you sir I’d never seen that pointy one. I’ve yet to cast my first bullet , what’s your opinion on 2 vs 6 cavity molds. Tony did you send your Rossi to Steve’s guns? I ordered a video and a parts kit from this guy , it made a world of difference but I’m sure someone who’s done more than a couple would have the experience to get better results than I did. Both my guns are early models and have the front sights on the barrel band, they’re probably fine for my use but I’d like to have them converted to barrel mounted. Was your Rossi guy reasonable on price and turn around time. Jim

I asked for mold recommendations about a month ago and got some good advice from Doc Hess and Az , and Doc was kind enough to mail me some of his .44 cal slugs. I was hoping to find a bullet I could use in my .44 revolvers and lever guns in both .44 mag and .44special, and believe I’ve done just that. I was worried that my lever guns might not want to feed the 44 specials after reading about some having that problem but in my rifles (Rossi 92s) they actually feed slicker than the magnums . And I’m very impressed with the powder coating. I started with 44special and worked my way up to maximum magnum loads in my guns. All shot very good and I had no problems with leading. I don’t have a crony so I’m using my reloading manuals for estimates on velocities and that’s in the 1400fps range in the revolvers and a rough guess of 200 or 300 FPS faster out of 20 inch rifle barrels. I loaded up till I had ejection problems in the revolvers and the same load pierced a primer in a lever gun then I backed off a full grain. I had a few of the to hot load still loaded so I pulled them down and was surprised to see that even after being crimped very ,very heavy ( to feed properly in the Rossi’s and being pulled the powder coat still looked great and the diameter was unchanged . To say I was surprised and impressed is kind of an understatement ! Doc I hate to keep pestering you but I don’t see a bullet profile in Lee’s current catalog that matches what you sent me , could you please give me the number off your mold . And do you recommend a 2 or 6 cavity mold? And what size sizer are you using ? They work so good I want to stay as close to what your doing as possible.Thanks again Jim

That is sharp ! And I never would have dreamed of there being mesquite in Hawaii. Jim

Merry Christmas folks, hope you all have a great holiday season . Jim

Just picked up a .38 for the wife off of Grab a gun.com. They’re like most places some things they have pretty good deals on and others not so much but they’re worth a look. Taurus had a pretty good price on their little.38s plus a rebate not long ago and I almost grabbed one just because but didn’t just because..... We live in the sticks and with me driving a Truck I’m gone a fair bit when the wife gets home at night . She got her concealed carry permit years ago and I bought her a pistol ,she doesn’t pack it but keeps it in a pistol vault by the bed but she heard something walking a few nights back on her way into the house and it booger’d her so naturally just a few days after the rebates ended and the prices went up she decided she needed one to keep locked in the glovebox of her car. Picked up a stainless Taurus 856 ultra-lite, a 6 shot .38 revolver with a 2 inch barrel for $229.00 delivered plus the transfer on my end of course, a fair price I thought. She has run 200 rounds through it and it’s now cleaned and loaded with Hornady Critical Defense and locked in her glovebox where it’ll spend the majority of its life. They had the best price I could find at the time on it but I noticed other things I’d seen cheaper other places so who knows. Jim

Sorry to hear that Tony don’t know what your after but Graf and Sons are good to deal with. I had sent them an order a while back and they actually called me to see if I had renewed My C&R, I had but just hadn’t sent them a copy so they waited on me to do it then gave me a break on a scope. Primary Arms has also treated me very well and has the reputation for excellent customer service. Hope you find what your after. Jim

Got em Doc thank you very much! They look great. Do they need run through a sizer yet before I load them? Jim

I’ve spent a ton of money with them over the last few years and have no complaints with the quality of they’re parts. Had a dust cover on a gen 2 PA 10 in .308 that wouldn’t close because of a faulty detent . Sent them an email explaining the issue and asked them to just send me a new cover and let me change it out vs shipping the entire upper back and they had me a new dust cover in just a couple days. So I’m tickled with that but ... I get several emails from them every day and have for several years and I’ve looked at 99.9% of them and I swear every time there is a mass shooting I’ll never order from them again . The smoke don’t have a chance to clear and they’re sales end and prices on ARs ,mags and ammo go up EVERY SINGLE TIME. Kinda rubs me the wrong way but I heal up and send em more money every single time. Jim

Happy Thanksgiving

Does a man good to get out of that seat and move around . I got myself in a fix a few years back with blood clots in my legs from sitting to long, I’m told I’m very lucky to still be around . Don’t make the same mistake I did and end with DVT or worse . Rob get out of that seat every couple hours and move around a little. Jim

Yea I didn’t offer any info at first but was told one of the guys is real serious about his job and would probably open it to see what was in it and supposedly lives to make mountains out of mole hills and it would probably be better just to avoid any possible problems.... probably good advice. Sorry for the inconvenience but I do appreciate it , thanks again. Jim

Doc I just came through the plant and asked the guards and they got all squirrelly acting about it even after explaining it wasn’t live ammo just the projectiles (simple bastards) so we better do it another way. I sent you my address and I’ll gladly pay you for the bullets ,postage and your aggravation just let me know. And please don’t get in any hurry or make a special trip just whenever you think about it and it’s convenient for you . Thanks Jim

You guys are great! That’s the mold I was eye balling .Az having just dipped my toe Into this I’d forgotten about the lube till you mentioned it and my leverguns are Rossi too, they’re actions felt like they were full of gravel till I ordered a dvd off line on how to slick em up, really helped things a lot but I still have concerns but you’ve helped ease my mind on that some. Doc I’d love to come have you walk me through it and just have a chance to visit with you but the reality of things is it just ain’t gonna happen because of my butt being in a road tractor seat at night and a farm tractor seat in the daylight and seems I just can’t get caught up. Had a wiring fire on my combine and have been waiting on a harness to get it up and running so I’ve still got corn and beans to get in and for that matter I ain’t even got all my hay home yet ! Seems I’m getting a lot slower a lot faster than I ever expected but I really do appreciate your offer a bunch. I would like to try a few of those bullets but I don’t want to drag you out that time of night over something like that. How about if it wouldn’t be to much trouble you PM me your address and I’ll Mail you a $20.00 or two and you mail me about a dozen or so at your convenience? Guys thanks again you really are a big help . Jim

Haven’t ever cast a single bullet yet but after Doc’s advice a while back I’m fixin to start. I’d sure appreciate some advice on .44 cal. molds , I’d like something I can load down to 44 special or up to .44mag and use in both revolvers and lever guns, and I kind of worry about them feeding in the lever guns so I’m thinking a round nosed style might be best and in the neighborhood of 240 or so grain . I understand I’ll probably need to powder coat em for the magnums. Kind of a tall order for a single bullet but seems some of you all are well educated in this business so thought I’d ask before ordering. Thanks Jim

That stinks FC I’m really sorry to hear it. Not that it’ll fix your camper or make you feel a bit better but I pulled oversize loads for several years when I was driving over the road and the ones that were oversized because of the length behind the axels were by far the most difficult and my least favorite and think most folks doing it feel the same. I’d way rather pull something that was to tall, wide or heavy. I really got into some messes with stuff hanging out the back. I never could understand why I was required to have escorts for height/width but never length out the back only overall length??? Length out the back was far more trouble and STRESS. Good luck hope it all turns out well. Jim

PayPaled you $45.00 Tony thanks! Jim

Yep and can anyone say Vince Foster.

Tuscumbia, the central part of the state 45 minutes northwest of Fort Wood and 20 minutes will put you on the Bagnell dam strip at Lake of the Ozark's, a big tourism destination. Two hour drive will get you to Bass Pro in Springfield, an hour the other way puts you in Midways parking lot up at Columbia or afew more miles Graf and sons over at Mexico And a little west of us is Starline brass and Sierra bullets, if your a gun guy this part of the country can be real hard on your checkbook and we’re a constitutional carry state so a gunaholic like me stands absolutely no chance ! Thank you for the invite I’m somewhat familiar with your area from truckin and I’ve got family in your state Aunts and Uncles are all gone now but a whole bunch of cousins from where your at to over in Cajun country in south Louisiana. Love to hear the women from down that way talk they just melt my heart with they’re accents. Jim

Piss on em ! Come see me when ya can your welcome here in Missouri and I’m sure we can find all kinds of orneriness to get into! And I’d like to meet you in person Jim