I also frequently order from midway. I needed a digital scale and midway had the best price for one. I've even ordered a few knives from them as well. However, I've never bought ammo though... I may have to consider otherwise... I got a box of 20 .40 gold dots for $22 at the gun show. I am curious what they are priced shipped to my door from midway. hmm.

For reloads, I get my bullets from Berry's MFG. Best prices I've found for bulk bullets.

[Edited on May 6, 2011 at 10:51 PM. Reason : .]

5/6/2011 10:50:06 PM

I order hard to find rimfire ammo from midway

5/7/2011 12:43:05 AM

Okay. So not so bad. At least they went bang as I hoped/planned. But otherwise, I am severely disappointed with accuracy. It's horrible! With factory Federal 180gr I was able to shoot a 2" group at 25 yards (bench-resting).

Basically, I started with the initial loadout per Hodgdon's HS-6 spec, with slight variation:

7.4 gr charge
1.128x" OAL
165gr (actually I weighed each bullet in at 164.8 gr) plated round

I have a digital scale that is accurate to 0.1 grains and a digital caliper that measures out to 0.0001". With that said, I made sure each round was as close as humanly possible to one another...

15 Yards Bench-rest.
5.75" group


25 Yards Bench-rest
7.75" group


So how do I improve the accuracy? Increase my charge by .2gr and try again? My range is from 7.3 gr to max load of 8.0gr. I guess that's really the only option here isn't it?... I didn't clean/tumble the brass, but it's also not dirty as if they've been found laying outside where it's been weathered and dirty either... Just "normal" once fired blazer brass.

I mean, I was bench-resting. I really don't believe I could have messed it up.



[Edited on May 7, 2011 at 6:02 PM. Reason : .]

[Edited on May 7, 2011 at 6:06 PM. Reason : .]

[Edited on May 7, 2011 at 6:08 PM. Reason : .]

5/7/2011 5:57:35 PM

^ Typo. Make that a 3" group with federal 180gr bench-resting.

5/7/2011 7:51:52 PM

id like some direction on the best way to go about selling my saiga carbine.

i posted in classifieds but was hoping maybe for a more "craigslist" type solution.

carolina shooters forum is nothing but people only selling things of offering crappy trades. you dont even get lowball cash offers there.

anyway, sorry if this seems like an advertisement- just seeking advice.

thanks!

5/7/2011 7:57:40 PM

hmm, I've always had good luck on CSF.

gunbroker? ebay for firearms!

5/7/2011 8:35:10 PM

I develop my rifle loads by choosing a projectile and powder and loading 5 rds each at half grain increments from starting load to max load. Shoot 5 shot groups and see what happens.

5/7/2011 8:43:37 PM

What powder are you loading? Some, power pistol for instance, suck dick at lower charges. Some tend to be the opposite and lose accuracy as you approach maximum. Either way, you can be fairly certain the bullet is okay and primer won't make that big of a difference, so if you do make up 5-10 rounds of various charge weights, you should be able to find out at what level that charge and your pistol get along. Only then will you be able to make small improvements by playing with bullet profiles/weights, differing OALs, and even different primers.

I don't know jack about .40, but I'd make the OAL pretty long for starters. The closer it is to the rifling, the better, as far as accuracy is concerned, but pressure can be an issue if the bullet doesn't get a "running start". Generally, the magazine will be the least common denominator in OAL area, so you can't get that close to the rifling anyhow. With a new gun, I generally load them until they will just barely fit in the mag(to where they drag against the walls of the mag) then seat the bullet another five or ten thousandths.

5/7/2011 10:41:03 PM

After a bit of research, I believe I found my issue. I am more than likely over crimping the bullets, which is a big no-no for berry's plated bullets. I believe I may be causing jacket seperation, which would ruin accuracy. Berry's MFG also suggests maintaining velocities below 1200fps, which will not be an issue since even at max charge the vel. is 11xx fps. I'm going to make 3 more batches, increasing charge by .2 grains and compare accordingly.

OAL is perfect AFAIK. No FTE or FTF, either at the range or when I racked the slide for an entire mag.

Powder is Hodgdon HS-6, which has been recommended by several forums. It burns pretty fast which compliments my short barrel. I will say that my loadout was pretty clean too My .22lr smokes more than my .40 did.

[Edited on May 7, 2011 at 11:15 PM. Reason : .]

5/7/2011 11:13:35 PM

Just because you got flawless function, that does not imply a "perfect" OAL, if you're looking for accuracy. A relatively large range of OALs will function reliably(unless you have a really picky gun), but all of those choices are not created equally, accuracy wise.

5/8/2011 12:04:07 AM

^ You are right. I don't know what I was trying to say in regards to my OAL. It works?

5/8/2011 12:48:02 AM

The .40 S&W is a particularly finicky cartridge when it comes to OAL because starting pressure can vary so wildly with seating depth (that is also what makes setback so dangerous). It is a fairly tough load to get dialed in, especially if you don't have a chronograph.

As for components, try different powders. I had pretty good results with AA#5 in the .40. You noticed that you loaded them wrong, but as a rule of thumb when you load plated bullets, you must load them as you would cast lead - Light crimp and relatively low velocity. Loading them from a recipe for standard jacketed bullets will make them pretty unpredictable.

As I mentioned, be very, very careful about setback either in transit or in chambering. The .40 can get really hot, really fast if that bullet gets shoved back too far. Don't want you accidentally KB'ing anything in your first week of reloading.

Quote :

"id like some direction on the best way to go about selling my saiga carbine."

+1 Try gunbroker. I have had luck selling stuff there when I just could not get it to sell here. I will agree that on CSF you are much more likely to get trades than ever actually sell anything. I have sold a couple of things through CSF, but have traded tons of stuff, and know exactly what you mean. Keep it up on CSF and just let people know you are not interested in trades.

Alternatively, if you want to make it more "marketable", you can do a full conversion and take it over to Saiga Forums. You would have much better luck getting rid of it that way.

[Edited on May 8, 2011 at 7:35 AM. Reason : .]

5/8/2011 7:31:01 AM

+1 on gunbroker. I've had some good and bad buyers, but I always get what I want for what I'm selling. There is someone somewhere who can not find what you have locally. I just sold a shot gun barrel for $250 when the best offer I could get locally was $50.00.

5/8/2011 9:48:52 AM

On the Gunbroker thing...is there someone on here with decent Gunbroker feedback who would be willing to list 4-5 guns for me? I can handle the packaging and shipping, I'll just send you pics and description and you list it. Just PM me what you would be looking for for a commission.

5/9/2011 10:14:13 AM

can someone post these in the thread?

id like comments on whether or not my modifications were tasteful!

fundamentally they were to make the magazine 922r legal, but i think it turned out good-looking and comfortable to shoot...

thanks!

http://img593.imageshack.us/g/676a0543.jpg/

[Edited on May 9, 2011 at 3:12 PM. Reason : i believe you have to copy/paste the addy]

5/9/2011 3:06:53 PM

you can do it yourself (don't have to be premie or anything). use the image tags (click on the little yellow button that looks like mountains or something). paste your link to the photo in the box that pops up. or you can just type out the image tags

oh but that's at imageshack & they don't allow hotlinking anyway

[Edited on May 9, 2011 at 3:44 PM. Reason : ]

5/9/2011 3:39:54 PM

^^ surplus mags are cheap, grind the top of the mag catch down to accept them. install a bullet guide to improve feeding. most importantly MOVE THE TRIGGER TO THE "CORRECT" POSITION! buy a tapco fcg, remove the bottom plate install new trigger.

the trigger makes it shoot MUCH better. cleans up the trigger pull a lot! aside from that no problems with the upgrades of furniture.

5/9/2011 9:31:15 PM

It's been two months since I filed for my CC Permit here in Wake Co and I haven't heard anything yet.

Have any of you filed recently and heard back? Just curious if their backlog might can be judged from that.

5/10/2011 4:05:09 AM

I would definitely call. I've never known wake county to take that long to issue a permit....not even during the months directly after Obama took office.

5/10/2011 8:32:51 AM

Well, I guess I'll give them a call to check tomorrow. My brother's was filed the same day in another county, but is also taking a while.

They said they'd email and call, but I haven't received either notification.

5/10/2011 6:51:34 PM

haha they email now? they barely could figure out the laminating machine last time I was there- moving up in the world!

5/11/2011 2:04:14 PM

Tested 7 more loads of .40. 2 of them look quite promising. I was able to get the grouping down to 4.5" at 25 yards. Not too shabby. This is pretty much on par with factory loads, so I am VERY pleased. with a bit of tweaking and better shooting, I'm going to get it down to 3.5" or better for sure next time I head on out.

5/11/2011 2:47:11 PM

I just called downtown to check the status of my permit. The lady said that they've been taking close to the full 90 days lately, but that I could expect it any time now. She also said that rather than calling or emailing that they would probably just mail it to me directly now, once it's complete.

5/12/2011 3:14:27 PM

i know this has been covered many times but i plan on taking the CC course in July. Whom should I contact?

5/12/2011 3:31:46 PM

^^Damn, that sucks. I have had a lot more demand in recent months but didn't think it would be enough to add another two months to the wait.

^PM me. I dont have my July dates finalized, but I can pass them on once I do. $60 for ncsu/tww

[Edited on May 12, 2011 at 3:36 PM. Reason : .]

5/12/2011 3:35:15 PM

Any advice on shopping for O/U shotguns? I shot clay for the first time, and I enjoyed myself maybe a little too much. I've heard some of the basics on the Mossbergs ans Stoegers, but some people online also talked how the Huglu's out of Turkey are also a good value. I'm hoping not to spend too much given that this will be the first one (under $1k, 600-800 range preferably). What sort of things should I be looking for?

5/13/2011 5:04:32 PM

Just found out I'm moving to Kentucky. I've lived most of my NC time in Wake and Cumberland counties, notoriously hard to get Class III sign off. I can't wait to up my collection.

5/14/2011 3:23:23 PM

My CC permit showed up in the mail today. It's expiration is 4/24/16... wonder if they forgot about it until I called them Thursday, or it if just took some time to get the card printed up?

Either way,

5/16/2011 9:19:19 PM

^^^ check out some of the field grade berettas i've got a 686 that is great for what i need. you can occasionally find them used. look for longer barrels 30" preferably , also look for screw in chokes.

5/16/2011 10:16:46 PM

Im a noob in this thread, but I would like to become more involved in this area. I have a CCP, but it usually just sits in my car.

How does one get involved in shooting matches? I would love to go into a pistol house and shoot a course like on CSI or some similar cop show. Is that un realistic?

I read a few pages back about IDPA, but not much was said. There is a place in fuquay that they support, but not much info. does anyone go to these matches on the regular that can show me the ropes?

5/18/2011 9:38:57 AM

I shoot IDPA on occasion at PDHSC. You can view match schedules at shoot2live.com

Additionally you can shoot 3-gun at 37PSR or the actual combat match at the real Range 37, range37combatshoot.com At the former you'll find shooters of all types, at the latter you will see some guys that are professional skill level, but not sponsored civilian shooters.

5/18/2011 9:58:49 AM

***DISASTER ALERT***

So I had my GLOCK 27 in my gym bag along with a chocolate protein shake; well the shaker top broke and spilled all 48 oz into my gym bag. The gun and holster were totally submerged and well, chocolate covered. What can/should I do to dry the gun and holster out?

Would sealing them in rice help dry out the internals?

5/19/2011 11:54:13 AM

pull it apart and clean it

5/19/2011 2:20:35 PM

^^ Just take the gun apart and run water through it and then clean it like you normally would. It is a Glock, it can take much more abuse than that and still work perfectly fine.

5/19/2011 2:35:51 PM

You may have to do a little more work cleaning out the trigger mechanisms and firing pin/safeties, but it should be just fine after cleaning and oiling.

5/19/2011 5:06:14 PM

its ruined

sell it to me on the cheap

5/19/2011 5:13:18 PM

^x6 if you want to shoot a shoot house the closest place around is Range 37 PSR. the thing i like about is you don't know the layout before you go in, you don't know where the targets are or if they are threats or non-threats. they set up the shoot house for the infidel gun fighter league (it's a 2 gun match using rifle and pistol) if you're familiar with an AR you can usually borrow one from someone there. as far as the IDPA matches around here they are set up to shoot from cover and move and shoot, but you know where all the targets are and which one you're supposed to shoot before the buzzer. if you want some more info or want to try to make it to a match sometime get up with me.

5/19/2011 6:31:54 PM

Yeah i would definitely like to get more involved. I have shot a AR a few times, but I don't own one yet. I can borrow one from a buddy to bring with me though. Both the shoot house and IDPA sound pretty awesome. I need to get practice with my gun, I have only shot maybe 400 rounds so far and thats all just standing at the range.

5/19/2011 9:34:10 PM

Had the weapon broken down; going to soak the parts, clean, dry, lube. The hoslter....

5/20/2011 2:17:48 PM

what kind of holster?

5/20/2011 2:23:07 PM

Little Bear IWB

5/20/2011 3:47:53 PM

Range 37 PSR seems pretty cool, anyone do their Infidel Gunfighter League stuff?

5/20/2011 3:49:23 PM

^ every chance i get.

5/20/2011 9:17:00 PM

Hey TWW gun folks,
I'm sure this question has been asked 20x in here, but anyone know who can competently train gun n00bs around Durham? As far as, gun maintenance, shooting basics, laws, etc. I am looking at taking a NC-CCH class. Or do I have to know to shoot one first? I'd rather know the basics before I start pulling the trigger.

And I am currently looking at breach vs. pump action shotguns for the house. Not sure on a handgun.

5/21/2011 12:42:32 PM

Not sure around durham, but most ranges offer a 'guns 101' or similar class that starts from 0 and takes you through gun safety and basics, many also have a 'guns and self defense in the home for women' type classes.http://www.wakegov.com/firingrange/trainingclasses.htm has a good class list, and they are a great indoor facility. 1 on 1 training is needed as well, as is plenty of practice. All that said, you can often find folks on TWW, like myself, whoa re willing to put in an hour or 2 of basic gun safety and shooting time with folks so long as the ammo and range fees are paid by the other person. I literally cannot count how much ammo has gone through my guns int he course of showing other folks the ropes.

5/21/2011 1:28:43 PM

If you're willing to drive to Garner one afternoon, I'd be happy to bring a couple things to the range and go with you.

As for home defense shotguns, you may want an autoloader rather than a pump unless you are willing to practice with it a lot. Remembering to actually pump the thing and do it with enough gusto to cycle completely, while under stress, is more difficult than most would think and does require some muscle memory.

5/22/2011 8:29:24 AM

Quote :

"And I am currently looking at breach vs. pump action shotguns for the house"

pretty easy decision IMO

5/23/2011 7:29:59 AM

^^I agree about getting an autoloader. I currently have a pump 12ga, but would like to trade out for an auto loading 20 gauge... that way my fiancee might feel more comfortable using it if I weren't around, and honestly, I worry that I could forget to reload after a first shot in a high stress situation. I have been out practicing with it before, and definitely had a *click*click*click* situation where I forgot to rack another round.

5/23/2011 6:42:11 PM

go dove hunting with a pump and it'll be second nature after a while

you'll be trying to slide the forearm on your autoloaders

5/23/2011 6:55:32 PM

haha I've never been any sort of hunting before, other than squirel with a .22lr and that was only twice



I'd love to go, I just don't know anyone who does it, and it is something I don't feel comfortable going and doing on my own

5/23/2011 7:02:19 PM