Bad range trip...

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Warren

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but still better than working!

I went there to shoot the Alaskan but I underestimated the cost of .45 Colt. 24.99 for 50 cowboy loads! That plus the 1.50 per .454 round -minimum six- I was going to shoot a .45 and then a .454 just to see the difference,but I had not brought enough cash to cover those plus the other stuff I needed to buy. With my CC maxed out I had no options.

The Alaskan did feel great in my hand though. Very well balanced.

So I decided to shoot something else, namely a Styer in 9MM (They didn't have any of the .9MM guns that the newsies always go on about) And in a word it sucked.

I only shot 50 rounds of Independence brand ammo but had 4 FTFs and two failures to lock on an empty mag.

Took it up to the desk when I was done and they strippped it but there was nothing that looked wrong. Not a lot of build-up, nothing broken. The gun has only been in the case less than three months so I cannot see it being "shot out" already.

It's accuracy was really poor, all over the target. It shot 6 inches high at 21 feet . It would not place two consecutive rounds in the same region except with really careful aiming. My SIG on the other hand will pop holes one on top the other all day long with mimimal aiming. I've got the targets to prove it, too.

So I was mildly interested in buying one before shooting it but now, it is a definate PASS.

I am interested in hearing about differing experiences. So if you like your Styer, let me know why. Maybe I just got a lemon.

Warren
 
Yeah, a buddy learned the gun was the cheapest part of ownership when it came to the 454 :what: He only shoots it a few times a year and mostly for hunting. Fun gun to shoot tho when you win the lotto!
 
Indepence ammo sucks.....

if it is what I think it is. I bought a box of 380acp and experienced about what you did. As for as a Steyr goes, the wife and I have one each for carry. Her's is a 9mm and mine is a 40. Nicest pistol I have ever fired. I really like the triangle sights. Both pistols, actually three as the wife has a M9 as well as a S9, have been 100 percent trouble free. I am shooting my own reloads so I KNOW the ammo is good. We both can shoot quarter sized 20 shot groups at 7 yards right at point of aim. The only colt 45 gun I have is a Ruger revolver. I reload that too. I have never bought a box of commercial ammo for it..........Never shot a 454......chris3
 
STOP BUYING GUNS AND GET A RELOADING PRESS!!!!!!

:D

I reload my .45 Colt with cast 255 flat nose, shoots ultra accurate. A box costs me something around $2 not including any brass purchase. I use range scrap lead for the bullets, free for the picking.

That Styer was likely fine. Sounds like the ammo you were shooting was underloaded, weak. It wasn't tossin' the slide back far enough to cycle reliably. You need hotter ammo. Reloading would cure that, too! :D
 
I don't think a rental range is going to let you shoot your reloads in their gun. Seems like they would have checked it out and furnished suitable ammo; assuming the gun was functional at all. Cost them a sale, sounds like.

You can cast bullets from wheelweights. Might help to add a little tin but some folks use them as is. Casting good bullets takes some equipment and experience. Me? I think it is sheer drudgery and only cast for my .38-55. Pistol bullets are too cheap to bother with scrounging lead, cleaning it up, casting, sizing, and lubing bullets for short range.
 
10-ring. Did you ask the range people to come shoot the pistol at 21 feet?

One time I had a course and a Lt. Colonel complained that his borrowed pistol was inaccurate. It was all over the place. So, the instructor, well past 60 years old, took the pistol, loaded the same and fired it rapid fire with an impressive grouping.

I am not questioning that the pistol is a lemon. I am only suggesting that I do this same thing when I have a problem with a firearm.
 
"It's accuracy was really poor, all over the target. It shot 6 inches high at 21 feet . It would not place two consecutive rounds in the same region except with really careful aiming. My SIG on the other hand will pop holes one on top the other all day long with mimimal aiming. I've got the targets to prove it, too."

No offense but is there any other kind of aiming?

If you are able to carefully squeeze off a shot and get it to hit where you want, then the gun is shooting well. If you are just slapping the trigger and making lead go down range, it is not the guns fault.
 
MCgunner, can you use old tire weights for making your own cast bullets? In my area the tire stores have 5 gallon buckets full of used tire weights.
Click to expand...

Absolutely! The little metal thingys are a bit of a pain to dig out, but they float on the molten lead, ain't that bad with a proper scoop. Just that I use a Lee lead pot with the pour spout in the bottom and the valve stem thing goes through the pot and hides the metal tabs sometimes, you have to dig 'em out. It's a good alloy, though, with a bit of antimony. Yes, you can add some tin to get a little more velocity out of it, but up to about 1000 fps, I don't have problems with that. For my .357s, I have a gas check mold, 158 grain, I use to avoid the leading.

Casting is kind of a chore, but I'd as soon cast as sit around on a weekend watching some stick and ball sport on TV.:rolleyes: That's all my old man ever did, step dad, sat around every weekend and didn't leave the friggin' TV, game after game. I'd be out in the woods shootin' squirrels. Didn't care much about football even though I played in highschool and understand the game. It's just a game, after all. Hunting is life.:D So, when I've got time on my hands or it's a rainy day and I can't go fishin', I'll cast or reload at my leasure. I have more free time than money to buy bullets. And, I like the fact that I have a standard load, always a source of the same bullet, know what it's going to do, where it hits in my various firearms.
 
I've tried Independence in three calibers and had mixed luck . The .45 ACP is just fine through my S&W 4506, but then again, that gun will feed rocks. Accuracy is acceptable. I don't care for the brass - the primer pockets are too tight. Out of about 1000 mixed brass reloads, the Independence cases were the only ones that had FTF's (although there were only 4).

The .380 was junk. I couldn't hit air with it out of my PPK. Just to be sure, I had my son load a couple of mags with Independence, and 2 with S&B, then not tell me which one he was handing me. I got good groups with the S&B, shotgun patterns with the Independence.

In .30 Carbine, the Independence ammo was about the best stuff that I've used in both my M1 and Blackhawk. Magtech was also excellent. YMMV.
 
Reloading is the only way to go with the big calibers. I buy commerical bullets and am able to load .45LC for about $7 a box. Plus, reloading is a helluva lot of fun in and of itself! From .38 to .44mag, it's been years since I've bought commercial handgun ammo.:)

Best,
Jeff
 
Absolutely! The little metal thingys are a bit of a pain to dig out, but they float on the molten lead, ain't that bad with a proper scoop. Just that I use a Lee lead pot with the pour spout in the bottom and the valve stem thing goes through the pot and hides the metal tabs sometimes, you have to dig 'em out. It's a good alloy, though, with a bit of antimony. Yes, you can add some tin to get a little more velocity out of it, but up to about 1000 fps, I don't have problems with that. For my .357s, I have a gas check mold, 158 grain, I use to avoid the leading.

Casting is kind of a chore, but I'd as soon cast as sit around on a weekend watching some stick and ball sport on TV. That's all my old man ever did, step dad, sat around every weekend and didn't leave the friggin' TV, game after game. I'd be out in the woods shootin' squirrels. Didn't care much about football even though I played in highschool and understand the game. It's just a game, after all. Hunting is life. So, when I've got time on my hands or it's a rainy day and I can't go fishin', I'll cast or reload at my leasure. I have more free time than money to buy bullets. And, I like the fact that I have a standard load, always a source of the same bullet, know what it's going to do, where it hits in my various firearms.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info guys. My friends father used to buy little ingots, we used to make split shot for fishing out of the ingots, until he figured out where all his ingots went LOL.

MD
 
casting bullets

I read where wheel weights contain arsenic, so be sure to cast outside or with a good exhaust fan ! Also other bad stuff in them.
 
Pete F--

With my P220 I an bring the gun to eye level, shoot and hit in the 10 or 9 rings constantly, with the Styer I had concentrate much more to get it to do that, and even then it was not certain I would put two shots within 3 inches of each other.
 
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