Recent content by .38 Special

I wonder if a snubby thread has ever lasted more than a page or two before turning into a capacity debate. I personally carry a snub because the 340pd is the lightest thing I can get that still offers real horsepower: I'd rather have five rounds of .357 than ten rounds of .380. Am I "adequately...

I am completely bonkers for the .45 Colt. From a practical standpoint, if you have a single-action Ruger chambered for the cartridge, you have just about everything a revolver man could need. Are you a practical man? I guess I'm not; if I didn't have a Bisley flattop in .44 Special, I'd start...

For most folks, I'd say the price is about right. For @Mark_Mark I'd recommend holding out until an engraved one shows up for a hundred bucks. The .44-40, for what it is worth, is an annoying cartridge to handload.

Eliminating the graphite - and increasing your crimp, if it's not already pretty firm - may net you a slight increase. Other than that, though, I think you may have to be satisfied with what you've got: it's not out of the ordinary. If you really want to max out your velocity, you'll need to...

At 6'1", my ideal weight is 170 pounds, but I never get below 180 anymore. Even that little bit of a spare tire is enough to make appendix really unpleasant for me. I honestly don't get how it could be comfortable for anyone, but I'll take your word for it. ;)

I have very little experience with the round in rifles so can't comment about it. Your velocities with a 4" barrel are about what I would expect. What led you to believe they should be higher? I don't see any need to decrease powder charges, unless you are noting pressure signs. It looks to me...

I've tried it, and between the comfort issue and the morale issue, I just truly don't get it. For one, the gun butt digs into my gut, no matter how fit I am. It's just so physically uncomfortable that I really don't understand how anyone can tolerate it. And for two, the gun is pretty much...

I'm beginning to suspect that triggers matter less to mediocre shooters - or put another way, it takes a pretty good shooter to be able to take full advantage of really nice triggers. On a handgun, I'm a total trigger snob. On a rifle, just give me a crisp 3.5 pound pull and I'm happy. I've...

I'm another who simply carries his CCW gun - usually in the same way; strong side IWB or OWB, depending on the gun and the clothing. Of course, folks who carry things like .380 autos will worry that they don't have enough horsepower for the task. I consider that a clue... :neener:

Wadcutters aren't very stable. Especially with light loads, tumbling is to be expected beyond some distance. For example, I used to shoot Hornady HBWCs in front of 2.7 grains of Bullseye out of a 6" PPC gun, and holes would just start going oval at 50 yards. By 75, they were full-on keyholes...

Some cartridges have developed a reputation with particular powders, and in those cases, that powder often will be the one with which I start. These days, though, availability has become the gold standard. We are to the point where when I see a powder offered for a fair price, I buy it and then...

I like them and have been using them for decades. I do occasionally get one that seems very tight. With use, those ones tend to get a bit easier. I do like to spray some WD-40 or Ballistol onto them, for cleaning effect and to ease the pull-through.

That's a good point, but that's why I recommend a 6-holer. I actually think an aluminum "gang mold" might be the best of all, in that it's big enough to be fairly stable, but light enough to manage - I once had an 8-pot iron mould that actually gave me tennis elbow! - and of course, such molds...

Oh, and just a note about the tinsel fairy: it's both simple, and massively overstated. The entire trouble arises from getting water underneath the surface of the molten lead. The water will turn instantaneously to steam, expand explosively, and blow molten lead around. This is obviously a bad...

Pretty much everything above can result in disagreement, of course. Everyone has their own ways, and a lot of them work. I will, though, vouch for everything I've written: I sometimes still do things exactly that way, and it still works as well as ever.