GUNS & ROCKETS

Good .380 ammo seems to be hard to find locally. YMMV.

9x18mm Makarov ammo is impossible to obtain now. Many shooters switched to other less popular calibers when the ammo famine hit just to be able to keep shooting.

Picked up an Umarex Makarov air pistol through Walmart over the Holidays. Nice shooter.

Personally I don't care for the 380's. I lean more towards 40's.

.38 pistol ammo has about the same stopping power of a BB gun. Sure, it will kill/stop IF YOU ARE LUCKY AND HIT THE RIGHT PLACES. Getting something with good stopping power means that when you use the firearm defensively, you stop the criminal rather than kill them since you can hit less vital areas. .38 (especially .38 specials) only stops when you hit the person in a vital organ, which unfortunately also kills them. .45 ACP is pretty good actually...

The only reason law enforcement uses 9mm is because of overpenetration concerns. (could also have to do with being able to carry more ammo...) But if you use the right bullet such as hollowpoints or frangibles, it shouldn't be too much of a concern even for larger calibers.

40's are what State, City & Sheriffs use here. For the reason of not fully going through and individual and it an innocent bystander.
Also the reason they use groved hollow points. The local Sherif does a thing every year for the schools.
9mm was very popular and still are for availability of the round and cost. Also yearly games and marksman trials.
They could use the same handgun as they are use to patrol with.
Stopping power of a 9mm is less than a 40 or 45 acp. So size of target comes into play.
Have to be ready to kill, or rapid shoot when a large assailent is needing putted down.
A 40 can easily kill a teenager of average size by bleeding out if hit arm or leg.
If you local Sheriff also does a class for you kids, I urge you attend with them. You will learn more than you think.

o1d_dude said:

Good .380 ammo seems to be hard to find locally. YMMV.

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Great sale on .380 at freedommunitions right now. I don't own a .380, but a friend does and said that it's the best price he's seen in a while.

And we've done plenty of ballistics tests (there are also a few online). 9mm is fine if you pick the right round.

swatkat said:

Great sale on .380 at freedommunitions right now. I don't own a .380, but a friend does and said that it's the best price he's seen in a while.

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I don't own one either.

Back in the dark ages in Texas I had a Manurhin PPK in .380 that was pretty nice pocket pistol. I have no idea what what became of it. Ex probably made off with it. All my ex's live in Texas. LOL!

a manurhin?
cannot believe you guys know this great rare french pistols...in fact copies of walthers ...but have you ever fired their revolvers? finest pieces, comparable with Korths...I get mine, a 6" MR73 in few weeks now... built 1982...


Gesendet von meinem iPad mit Rocketry Forum

On a first come first save basis, I managed to find 2-pounds of Alliant Unique pistol powder this past weekend. My wife and I went to Nashville, TN and when we do, I always stop at The Reloaders Bench in Mt. Juliet. As luck would have it, they had just finished stocking a case of the Unique, with a limit was 2-pounds per customer... so I grabbed a couple... Finally a reason to get started on 9mm and 38 Special re-loading. I de-capped; re-sized and tumbled roughly 1000 9mm and 300 38 Special. I have another 600 38 left to do.

Although tedious, I love case prep work... for therapautic in my opion.

I was a USPSA Limited B shooter. But had to stop competing because of carpal tunnel syndrome. I was shooting with an STI Executive 2011, 5" barrel, S&W .40. Modifications: Grip, Trigger job, and grip safety disconnected.



[video=youtube_share;9N4LQKJIPlw]https://youtu.be/9N4LQKJIPlw[/video]

Gator target in background of first picture is classic.

Competition is a good thing. Sorry to hear of CT affecting your ability to do so.

o1d_dude said:

Gator target in background of first picture is classic.

Competition is a good thing. Sorry to hear of CT affecting your ability to do so.

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That was a regional event, "The Gator Classic" 2013. I sill have a few of those targets in my closet. I kept then when we broke down the range.

DRAGON64 said:

On a first come first save basis, I managed to find 2-pounds of Alliant Unique pistol powder this past weekend. My wife and I went to Nashville, TN and when we do, I always stop at The Reloaders Bench in Mt. Juliet. As luck would have it, they had just finished stocking a case of the Unique, with a limit was 2-pounds per customer... so I grabbed a couple... Finally a reason to get started on 9mm and 38 Special re-loading. I de-capped; re-sized and tumbled roughly 1000 9mm and 300 38 Special. I have another 600 38 left to do.

Although tedious, I love case prep work... for therapautic in my opion.

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I used Unique in my .357 for around 400 rounds, not a bad powder. Vast majority was Hercules 2400 at Magnum loads. At 18-20 grains per load a pound can lasts a long time

DRAGON64 said:

On a first come first save basis, I managed to find 2-pounds of Alliant Unique pistol powder this past weekend. My wife and I went to Nashville, TN and when we do, I always stop at The Reloaders Bench in Mt. Juliet. As luck would have it, they had just finished stocking a case of the Unique, with a limit was 2-pounds per customer... so I grabbed a couple... Finally a reason to get started on 9mm and 38 Special re-loading. I de-capped; re-sized and tumbled roughly 1000 9mm and 300 38 Special. I have another 600 38 left to do.

Although tedious, I love case prep work... for therapautic in my opion.

Click to expand...

Last/first of year I finished loading several hundred .38Spl. Loaded a variety of loads; 140gr wadcutters, 124 and 140gr Ranier plated bullets. I use a single stage press, so, like you say, case prep is everything (and therapeutic). I use Unique, but I prefer Green Dot. It's lower density than Unique, and less smokey. Seems to work great in .38/.357 and .45 Colt Cowboy Action loads.

I'v used Unique a lot for hand gun loads, it is smokey but a good powder to use. Bullseye is another powder I use and like it as well.

dave carver said:

I used Unique in my .357 for around 400 rounds, not a bad powder. Vast majority was Hercules 2400 at Magnum loads. At 18-20 grains per load a pound can lasts a long time

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I was glad to finally have lucked up on some pistol powder... I'm usually a day late. Looking forward to my first loads.

sooner.boomer said:

Last/first of year I finished loading several hundred .38Spl. Loaded a variety of loads; 140gr wadcutters, 124 and 140gr Ranier plated bullets. I use a single stage press, so, like you say, case prep is everything (and therapeutic). I use Unique, but I prefer Green Dot. It's lower density than Unique, and less smokey. Seems to work great in .38/.357 and .45 Colt Cowboy Action loads.

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I have 158gr LRNFP for the 38-Special and 115gr RN for the 9mm... only 500 of ea for now, I'm sure I will need more. Waiting on new trays and some case trim products to support the two case types I have.

Getmore said:

I'v used Unique a lot for hand gun loads, it is smokey but a good powder to use. Bullseye is another powder I use and like it as well.

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I did not know anything about the powder, other than what I gleemed out of my three reference manuals. I made a list on note cards for powders to look out for, and the store I purchased from made it easy for me... all they had was Unique... When I got home I did read some reviews of the powder; most everyone loved it, but some disliked the smoke and mess that was left from shooting. The 38-Special and 9mm should do well for me for a long time, as long as I can find bullets. I may never get through the first pound anytime soon, and may trade the second pound locally for other products... like primers!

I've been known to shoot a bit.

[video=youtube;aOeFu09dr4Q]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOeFu09dr4Q[/video]

DRAGON64 said:

On a first come first save basis, I managed to find 2-pounds of Alliant Unique pistol powder this past weekend. My wife and I went to Nashville, TN and when we do, I always stop at The Reloaders Bench in Mt. Juliet. As luck would have it, they had just finished stocking a case of the Unique, with a limit was 2-pounds per customer... so I grabbed a couple... Finally a reason to get started on 9mm and 38 Special re-loading. I de-capped; re-sized and tumbled roughly 1000 9mm and 300 38 Special. I have another 600 38 left to do.

Although tedious, I love case prep work... for therapautic in my opion.

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There's not to much in my neighborhood so i usually use GUNBOT to search were I can get some powder, ammo, or bullets. Sometimes the vendors even offer free shipping!!

https://www.gunbot.net/reloading/powder/

DRAGON64 said:

I did not know anything about the powder, other than what I gleemed out of my three reference manuals. I made a list on note cards for powders to look out for, and the store I purchased from made it easy for me... all they had was Unique.

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That's why I have a list of alternative powders for each cartridge that I load. Some stores seem to cater heavily toward one manufacturer, so you go with what you can get.

I'm going to have to stay away from guns for now. I really have no reason to have them at this point, and it's just going to be another money sucking hobby anyways.

I'm a gun enthusiast myself. I'm also a re-loader. Problem is, I had to hang it up about 10 years ago when I met my wife (family life took over). I still shoot occasionally, but lately only my .44mag.

I've been itching to get back into it, but the cost of reloading supplies is ridiculous now. I have boxes of bullets (500 per box) that cost me $22. Today, that box is like $80. Like WHAAAAT???!!!!! Not to mention the extra cost of powder, primers.

I just can't afford to shoot anymore. I used to keep 1200+ of each caliber, ain't got much of each anymore.

Benzee1 said:

I'm a gun enthusiast myself. I'm also a re-loader. Problem is, I had to hang it up about 10 years ago when I met my wife (family life took over). I still shoot occasionally, but lately only my .44mag.

I've been itching to get back into it, but the cost of reloading supplies is ridiculous now. I have boxes of bullets (500 per box) that cost me $22. Today, that box is like $80. Like WHAAAAT???!!!!! Not to mention the extra cost of powder, primers.

I just can't afford to shoot anymore. I used to keep 1200+ of each caliber, ain't got much of each anymore.

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I hear that! I used to spend a decent amount of money on Firearms and related products, but everything has been too expensive to make it practical to shoot all the time like I used to.I'm usually down to my modest reserves which I don't touch and my Carry Loads, and can only afford a couple of boxes of training ammo now and then when I see a good price.
There is a Gun Show coming up on the 7th and 8th of Feb. at the Barre Municipal Auditorium, only a 15 minute drive from my house. I'll be going both days most likely and will see if I can spot any deals. I have lots of gun parts that I can bring and use to trade with if need be to keep any cash I have to spend to a minimum.

Firearms can get pricey, but in some cases, 20 to 50-rounds of my favorite bullet can still be cheaper than a G-motor... and lasts much longer than the "woohoo! That burned real good!" (2 to 3 seconds of burn time). I don't know prices of yester-year firearms, as I am a relative newcomer to the sport, but just like rocketry, tis fun to reload your own... and in some instances, reloading can become cheaper than buying from a gun shop.

That being said, I just received 7-boxes of 8mm Match ammo (PPU 200gr) for my M48 Mauser, and hope to finally get out and shoot the rifle this weekend. Since I live on 50-acres, barring any rain, I should have the field all to myself!

I shoot a lot of SASS, and sometimes USPSA. A few years ago, I suffered through radial tunnel infringement (same nerve, but up in the elbow instead of the wrist).

I spent about 9 months shooting mostly USPSA style, with a 1911, left-handed.

I didn't suck, but I was pretty slow... had fun, though.

Benzee1 said:

I'm a gun enthusiast myself. I'm also a re-loader. Problem is, I had to hang it up about 10 years ago when I met my wife (family life took over). I still shoot occasionally, but lately only my .44mag.

I've been itching to get back into it, but the cost of reloading supplies is ridiculous now. I have boxes of bullets (500 per box) that cost me $22. Today, that box is like $80. Like WHAAAAT???!!!!! Not to mention the extra cost of powder, primers.

I just can't afford to shoot anymore. I used to keep 1200+ of each caliber, ain't got much of each anymore.

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Yeah, if you can find powder. A few years ago, it was primers, now it's powder.

Fortunately, what I shoot the most of is black powder cartridge in SASS, and BP is still pretty available.

Rockets and guns? Shoot I'm a fan of rocketguns!

Does RPG count?

Gyrojet?

YodaMcFly said:

Yeah, if you can find powder. A few years ago, it was primers, now it's powder.

Fortunately, what I shoot the most of is black powder cartridge in SASS, and BP is still pretty available.

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Try spending months working up loads for your favorite cartridge/rifle combo, get 'em shooting pretty darn sweet, then have to set shooting aside for a few years. When you get back to it, you find out they no longer make that particular powder, or your favorite bullet.

Frustrating.