Long story short, he was kind enough enough to send a good number of his product along for testing. It's always a good time when the box on the front porch is stamped with this:
Inside the box were these:
500 9mm bullets:
500 .38 Special/.357 Magnum bullets:
And 1000 rounds of .45 ACP:
(SWC shown, I forgot to get a picture of the LRN, sorry!)
So, I've got a whole bunch of bullets (heh, I can now use that term correctly!) as well as this:
That's a good 50 or so pounds of .45 ACP, 9mm, and .38 Special/.357 Magnum brass I've been saving over the past five or so years. I've had numerous friends offer to help me get set up reloading, with gunsmith and all-around good egg Wally of York Arms even gifting me with some nice reloading equipment as a way to get my feet wet.
Well, it's time to start reloading.
Wally has graciously offered to help get me started and walk me through the process. I've got some other business (quite a bit, actually) that requires me to head up his way (first on the list, of course, is to visit my two York Arms lowers and work on a plan for completing same). I'm going to bring the press he gave me and we're going to get set up and run me through the process, then have me crank out as many rounds as possible under the watchful eye of Wally.
Thanks to Ryan at SNS Casting for sending the bullets out to me. I'm hoping to get these bullets loaded up by the end of the year, and with good cause. My gun club's indoor range is set up for lead bullets only - it's a simple angled steel plate that deflects rounds down into a sand pit - and this will allow me to shoot pretty much all of my handguns during the winter months. I took a quick look at the four different bullet types sent, and while I'm far from an expert on ammunition components, I'm impressed by the quality of these bullets.
The real test, of course, will be turning these bullets into complete rounds and then shooting them - which, not coincidentally, is also the fun part!
That is all.
8 comments:
Jay, do you need to blur out the name on the package?
Does your indoor range allow you to shoot magnum loads? We are not allowed to at Riverside in Hudson.
Oooooh baby!
I need to roll a whole lot of .45 one of these days; I'm down to a few hundred rounds of factory ammo - which I tend to keep tucked away for a rainy day.
His prices are competitive with my regular supplier, and the quality looks good. I look forward to hearing more, and he may well see an order from me.
Well, it's about damn time!
As another plus, you may find it easier to find places online that will ship components to MA then it is to find places that ship ammo.
I cut out the middleman and cast my own.
Cool beans!
Welcome to the club.
A couple things.
Use a logbook to record each lot you made and what went into it.
Especially when you start out, double check every load.
Spring for a good scale. It'll save you alot of headaches.
Ask Wally about a good powder for you load. There's alot of factors in picking the right powder.
Good luck! And stay safe.
Oddly, I found that I needed my MA pistol permit to buy component bullets, but not to buy a bullet mould. Logic faults seem not to be a concern. For mounting the press, consider a length of 2" steel pipe, with the press bolted to one flange, and a flange at the bottom, bolted to a steel rim, with or without tire. Sturdy and mobile.
"My gun club's indoor range is set up for lead bullets only - it's a simple angled steel plate that deflects rounds down into a sand pit"
You need to come and shoot in the United States sometime. There's an indoor range within walking distance of my house that is climate controlled and has a bullet trap that will take .50 BMG.
Anyway, totally cool that you're learning to reload!
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