Recent content by TheHappyGunner

I'm 21 years old and I have astigmatism in both eyes. This makes shooting anything other than peep sights (like on my Garand) very uncomfortable. My astigmatism is caused by keratoconus (a coning of the cornea) which is solved by wearing a hard, small contact lense that produces a false, new...

Thanks beefyz. I've decided to try 45, 45.5, 46, and 46.5 gr Varget in HXP brass with Winchester primers. 46.5 gr exceeds max in the Hornady manual, but I've read that their manual is very conservative. Do any of these loads seem problematic with 150 gr bullets? My Garand is in exceptional...

Thank you for clearing that up, Don. Any experience with Varget in your Garand?

Hello again, guys, I've done my homework, I've read my manuals, and still I have a question. Apparently, Varget has a similar burn rate to more common Garand powders like IMR 4064 and IMR 4895. I have tried both of these powders but decided to try some Varget. The Hornady reloading manual...

I happen to know the guy at my local gun shop well. For a blued Colt Series 70 1911, we settled on $1,065 tax included. So a couple months, eh?

Hello all. I usually stick to Rifle Country, so this is my first post in the Autoloader section. I am 20 years old but I'm turning 21 in April. I have heard that Colt availability is "spotty", so I went ahead and ordered one today, two months before my birthday in April in hopes that it will get...

Hey guys. I've been looking around at Colt 1911s in my local gunshops here and I've noticed something. The colt on Series 70 repros seem to be.. emaciated. Very skinny, and almost cartoonish. Is this the normal marking for new Colts? It seems that whenever I see the Colt logo elsewhere the...

Yes, I full length size all of my brass. What is "shoulder setback"?

Alright, good information here. Thanks. I make sure that I REALLY seat that primer in its pocket. I check all primers and don't load the case with poser until the primer is BELOW flush. Just another question. I gauge all of my case lengths with calipers. I do NOT use brass that is too long (over...

Yes, 3.240" is the Hornady length I was remembering. The bullets I'm seating have no cannelure, but I don't crimp anyways. So is my seating depth OK? I have read (and am a member of) the CMP forums, but I like to get fresh opinions. A breath of fresh air, so to speak. I loaded a blank down to...

Ok guys. Some of you may remember seeing my last thread concerning my M1 Garand loads from a couple of weeks ago. Well, now I've got a new load. Here it is: 168 gr Hornady BTHP Greek brass Remington primers 43 gr IMR4895 Cross referencing my Lyman and Hornady manuals, it seems 43 gr is...

With no basis for these theories, here are some of my thoughts: 1) To me, the short magazines seem more fit for hunting. A cut down mag tube means less weight, even if only a little. When lugging around a rifle that already weighs around 8 pounds, I would think any less weight would be ideal...

I'll also call BS on the Mauser action freezing up in the winter. Soldiers urinating on their guns in order to turn the bolt? The weather would have to be FAR colder for a bolt to freeze up THAT bad. And even then, I would think the Mauser bolt would perform better than the Mosin bolt in the...

More great and useful posts. Thanks a lot guys. The trigger pull on my Garand is actually quite bad. It's two stage is fine and it break cleanly with NO creep, but the final squeeze is probably 5-6 lbs. Maybe more, maybe less (but not much less!) I would like to keep this Garand as "stock" as...

Thanks for the replies, guys. Like I said, this is the first handload formula I have tried, and I anticipate trying other powders soon. My Lyman manual says that they expect 4065 to perform the best with flat based 150 grain bullets like I'm using, so I'll probably try that out next. Also I'll...