Lee Loader

I kinda' feel all alone


jd

I am here. Reload about 50 rds a week in the winter. The forum is slow from what I see

I quit shooting. No place or time. Components are too valuable to burn. In 15-20 years I will have plenty to catch up on when I retire.

My move off of the ranch brought me to a halt. No place to shoot. Hunting, particularly hog hunting, drove my consumption of components for load development and proficiency. It's coming up in two years, I can't believe it, and I just haven't put anything downrange.

I went back through some of my components yesterday out of the blue; plenty of everything, just nowhere to shoot.

Still reloading, casting and shooting some, but not as much due to primer shortage, well basically no primers available around here for the past two years. Also had surgery last year that slowed me down for about six months and wife is still suffering from long covid, so I'm the only one that has a job here and have to help out around the house more than I already did.

Not complaining, that just how it is, and you do what you have to do, but I still get to enjoy my hobby and can get out about ever couple of weeks to shoot a little. With Winter coming on, and basically no outside work to tend to, I'll get to spend more time casting and reloading.

I was forced to take a break from both reloading and shooting this Fall due to heart surgery. Recovery is progressing really well; time is flying by. I have been a little frustrated by the scarcity of posting on both of Ranch Dog's forums. Haha. My hope had been to kill time following along virtually with all the rest of us hunting, shooting, and cartridge stuffing. Oh well.

I'm back at the bench as of only a couple of days ago, dropping smokeless into .45 Colt cases and sealing it in with various cast and jacketed slugs.

There's quite a lineup of empties in the cue. .44 Mag and Special for a buddy, .22 Hornet for one of my drillings, .32 Long and H&R Mag, and 8x57jrs for another drilling and its inserts, shotshells in 3 gauges, what am I forgetting?

Soon the surgeon will release me to start absorbing recoil. That will be the day when I Really smile.

I guess I'd better get back down to my shop, fire up the wood stove, and start pulling those levers, right? I feel like such a slacker. haha

Since March until about the first of November I was working 50-70 hours a week . Weekends were 36 hr between shifts . It's 20-25 miles to go shoot so I work out some of this and some of that then it's a rushed session and I spend the 12 hr shifts on the weekend figuring out what to change ......but then I work on something else and repeat .

I don't really have any hunting/shooting buddies here ....

It's just tough when you don't have a lot of time ...... In addition to the stupid hours we've taken in 3 grands 11 mo , 2&3 . Because I'm stupid I guess .

I did get a little bit of 6.5 CM to form 6.5×50SR Japanese. It comes out almost perfect pushing the shoulder up to make the 1.94 from the CM 1.8?? . Still need a .272 cast and a .270+ paper patch for the 1927 Type 38 Carbine.
The sister Type 99 in 7.7×58 is closer to a long chambered 7.92×57J which works out for the 8×57 neck die that leaves a .316 neck ID for the .318 cast and .317 patch .

I rebarreled a Savage 110 in 7×57 being able to feed a 3.99 06' takes care of any length issues. I can land jam a cast 7mm-168 at 179 gr to show .15 land contact easy . It's just not good . The 287-150 NOE is better but only has the gas check and base band in the case to touch. So I'm going to set it back and ream the chamber to remove about half of the free bore .

Dad's 25-06' is just going to have to be driven like a racecar hard and fast with the 260-120 NOE to close it up below 2" . It has the 1-12 twist and just barely gets 120 jackets right dropping back to a 115/117 gr closes stuff up an inch . I wasn't worried about weight in it with the Unique loads as I wasn't working above 10-12 gr and it shows 14-15 gr .... Well these are weighing 125 gr .....they are shorter than the 120s and about the same length as the 115s . I'm at the part where I can look at just shooting a 80% case of 4831 and 28-2900 fps MV........

I poured a whole mess of H&G #130s for the 45 ACP that I haven't even gotten close to loading.

I got a new to me LEE 358-158 RNFP 6 cav . I've been meaning to buy one for about 10 years . I can run a pile of those in a couple of hours . It's I think it's probably the best 38/357 bullet I have ever shot in about 7-8 different guns .

I think I've shot about 150 rounds in 3.5 years ........ Sadly I don't think I've shot over 25 rounds in a setting since the morning my Dad passed away in July of 18' .

I think I've lost all desire to hunt much of anything . I more or just slept the first 2 whole weekends I had . Spent an afternoon in the woods , made myself sick . Apparently the hardwoods aren't someplace I'll be able to hunt .

I sold 2/3 of my property, but I have a agreement with my neighbor that I can use my 100 yard range and hunt on the back property. I am still in a lot of pain and have trouble walking from last years failed back surgery.
It is a good thing that I can drive my 4 wheeler to a foot from the deer stand inside of a giant ( 8 foot diameter trunk ) live oak. The stand overlooks a 150 yard field to woods.
I have enough components to last for over a lifetime as I learned to stock up after the Clinton shortage.
I just wish there were more people around here that liked to make their own ammunition.

Never quit. Just slowed down. I figure if I pace myself, I have enough primers to last the rest of my life. If primers ever come back I will pick up the pace.

Haven't been to range since 2020 and no room to store any more rounds. Gave up competition as my shoulder just won't put up with holding up a handgun for longer than a minute or so. Lots of components including primers but until I start burning up what I have no sense making more.