Concealed Carry in the News

[da_man1974]

1 hour ago, Saved.One.by.Grace said:

Do you have much experience with the Gen 4 Glocks?  My Glocks are Gen 2s and Gen 3s.  Never shot a Gen 4 of any caliber.

I'm a collector and a shooter, but not a hunter (not that I have anything against hunting).  It's just not what I'm interested in.  I've gotten into a little bit of gunsmithing and will be getting into reloading soon, energy permitting.  I have all the equipment needed for reloading .40 S&W.

I reload now.  IT is a lot of fun

[The_Patriot21]

4 hours ago, da_man1974 said:

Yeah I thinking my next handgun will probably be a 40 or a 10mm.

But I also have my eye on 6.5 creed more.  And have been wanting a 25-06 for a long time as well.

.40 is my favorite caliber for conceal carry, depending on the gun. .40s do have a noticeable snap to them...and in guns like a glock, yeah, I avoid them like the devil. My first .40 was a taurus pt 24/7, kick wise it was only slightly less then a glock, but not as accurate, which is why I sold it. I was wanting a sig p226 or 229, for their solid steal frames, but couldn't afford them so i settled for a sp2022, even though it had a poly frame like the taurus and the glock, it was half the price. And I was very pleasently surprised, kick wise it was the smoothest firing poly framed .40 Ive ever shot in my life. It even had less kick then my dads fnp40, which is a heavier pistol, and combine that with the double/single action external hammer, I am very much in love with that gun.

For my time out in the woods where i dont care about conceal carry...nothing beats my springfield 1911. absolutly my favorite handgun. Ive heard good things about the 6.5 creedmore, in fact the 6.5 is a pretty balanced bullet, I have an old arisaka in 6.5 x 50, and i like how the bullet flies. very, very stable, and i know the 6.5 is even better, with far better range.

I don't do any pistol reloading yet, though im getting setup for .45 long colt, I do reload for most of my rifles, however. I enjoy the process, the work, the load development, and i especially love the results-cheaper, more accurate ammo. I probably spend most of my time reloading for my AR, believe it or not ive found .223 to be one of the more challenging rounds to reload for.

[da_man1974]

19 minutes ago, The_Patriot2017 said:

.40 is my favorite caliber for conceal carry, depending on the gun. .40s do have a noticeable snap to them...and in guns like a glock, yeah, I avoid them like the devil. My first .40 was a taurus pt 24/7, kick wise it was only slightly less then a glock, but not as accurate, which is why I sold it. I was wanting a sig p226 or 229, for their solid steal frames, but couldn't afford them so i settled for a sp2022, even though it had a poly frame like the taurus and the glock, it was half the price. And I was very pleasently surprised, kick wise it was the smoothest firing poly framed .40 Ive ever shot in my life. It even had less kick then my dads fnp40, which is a heavier pistol, and combine that with the double/single action external hammer, I am very much in love with that gun.

For my time out in the woods where i dont care about conceal carry...nothing beats my springfield 1911. absolutly my favorite handgun. Ive heard good things about the 6.5 creedmore, in fact the 6.5 is a pretty balanced bullet, I have an old arisaka in 6.5 x 50, and i like how the bullet flies. very, very stable, and i know the 6.5 is even better, with far better range.

I don't do any pistol reloading yet, though im getting setup for .45 long colt, I do reload for most of my rifles, however. I enjoy the process, the work, the load development, and i especially love the results-cheaper, more accurate ammo. I probably spend most of my time reloading for my AR, believe it or not ive found .223 to be one of the more challenging rounds to reload for.

I have reloaded a lot for my AR and my standard 223.  I have a digital powder scale that takes like 30 mins to warm up so I usually wait until I have a pretty good bundle to reload.

With one of my reloaded 223 rounds I hit a golf ball at 100 yards.  

[The_Patriot21]

Just now, da_man1974 said:

I have reloaded a lot for my AR and my standard 223.  I have a digital powder scale that takes like 30 mins to warm up so I usually wait until I have a pretty good bundle to reload.

With one of my reloaded 223 rounds I hit a golf ball at 100 yards.  

right now my favorite load is using 68 grain hornandy BTHPs with Hogdon CFE223, I take heads off of prairie dogs at 3-400 yards with those things out of my AR. deadly rounds. Im experimenting with 69 grain Sierra Ballistic tips now, but will have to wait for a little while to get new dies, the RCBS dies I have no keep breaking the decapping pin on my progressive press, and im getting sick of replacing it, so im saving up to get a better die set.

[da_man1974]

Just now, The_Patriot2017 said:

right now my favorite load is using 68 grain hornandy BTHPs with Hogdon CFE223, I take heads off of prairie dogs at 3-400 yards with those things out of my AR. deadly rounds. Im experimenting with 69 grain Sierra Ballistic tips now, but will have to wait for a little while to get new dies, the RCBS dies I have no keep breaking the decapping pin on my progressive press, and im getting sick of replacing it, so im saving up to get a better die set.

I have been using nosler bullets with IMR powder.  I have a buddy who works and Nosler so he can sometimes get me a deal on their seconds.

[The_Patriot21]

4 minutes ago, da_man1974 said:

I have been using nosler bullets with IMR powder.  I have a buddy who works and Nosler so he can sometimes get me a deal on their seconds.

i use Noslers on my .270 on occasion, not often, usually just when the gun stores out of hornandy. when comparing Noslers 140 grain ballistic tip vs. Hornandys 140 grain SST, I find Nosler does a little more damage to my intended target, but is slightly less accurate, and when Im deer hunting i prefer accuracy over damage. 

With that said, ive never tried factory seconds reloading...dont really have a good source for them out here, and If I have to order them in, well after paying shipping I might as well just buy the regular ones off the shelf from a local gun shop.

with that said, I use IMR powder varients in all my rifles except my AR, I started out using IMRs 4064, but I didn't like how dirty it was, I switched to CFE223 on a friends suggestion, and finds it burns much cleaner, and i dont have to compress the load (which I did with the IMR)

[SavedOnebyGrace]

16 hours ago, The_Patriot2017 said:

.40 is my favorite caliber for conceal carry, depending on the gun. .40s do have a noticeable snap to them...and in guns like a glock, yeah, I avoid them like the devil. My first .40 was a taurus pt 24/7, kick wise it was only slightly less then a glock, but not as accurate, which is why I sold it. I was wanting a sig p226 or 229, for their solid steal frames, but couldn't afford them so i settled for a sp2022, even though it had a poly frame like the taurus and the glock, it was half the price. And I was very pleasently surprised, kick wise it was the smoothest firing poly framed .40 Ive ever shot in my life. It even had less kick then my dads fnp40, which is a heavier pistol, and combine that with the double/single action external hammer, I am very much in love with that gun.

For my time out in the woods where i dont care about conceal carry...nothing beats my springfield 1911. absolutly my favorite handgun. Ive heard good things about the 6.5 creedmore, in fact the 6.5 is a pretty balanced bullet, I have an old arisaka in 6.5 x 50, and i like how the bullet flies. very, very stable, and i know the 6.5 is even better, with far better range.

I don't do any pistol reloading yet, though im getting setup for .45 long colt, I do reload for most of my rifles, however. I enjoy the process, the work, the load development, and i especially love the results-cheaper, more accurate ammo. I probably spend most of my time reloading for my AR, believe it or not ive found .223 to be one of the more challenging rounds to reload for.

Since I started shooting with a Glock 22 (.40 S&W), I haven't shot a gun whose kick bothers me.  My typical handgun stance (it used to be called strong isosceles) spreads the recoil down both arms to my shoulders.  It's actually quite pleasant.  I have powder and dies for reloading .135 grain hollow points to about 1350 fps without going over the upper pressure threshold.  I forget what the energy is but it's about the same as a .357 mag without the magnum primer.  I also have a couple of .357 Sig guns which produce energy close to a .357 mag.

My two favorite guns to shoot I don't use for self-defense.  I have a CZ52 which shoots a 7.63 x 25 Mauser which is just a blast to shoot.  The other gun is a Hi-Power 9 mm clone from Argentina.  It's a joy to shoot and amazingly accurate.  I was told Argentina bought the machinery for making these guns from FN.  Who knows but I like the gun with Hogue grips.

I bought a MAK-90 (AK47) back in the '90s before prices went up (now they're down of course) and I built a couple of ARs: one with a 28" fluted barrel, bipod, Magpul stock, etc.; the other a 20" model with mostly DPMS parts.  I'll be replacing the stock at some point and I have a bipod for it too.  I'm missing glass on all models, just collapsible iron sights.  There's no reason to reload because I have ample ammo.  None of the guns have been fired yet.  It's the engineer in me that just wants to build/assemble things.  I use to build my own computers too.  You don't save any money but it is fun.

[The_Patriot21]

I enjoy building to, built my AR and I used to build/sell custom computers. And whether you save money or not kinda depends on what your doing...if your after a high end gaming computer I can usually beat the prices from major brands, sometimes by up to 50% but if your just after a basic computer, no I really can't compete there price wise, just quality wise.

Same with ARs. I got about $1200 into my AR. A comparable perform AR from ruger when I made mine would have been in the $2000+ range. Of course though you can walk Into cabelas and walk out with a basic DPMS already made, for half that.

I reload, not because I necessarily need the money. Sure with my higher calibers like my 270 and 303 British it's cheaper, and with some calipers they don't even make anymore, but with my AR  it costs roughly the same per round to reload as to just buy the cheap stuff at wal-mart. 55 grain American eagle fmjs where I'm at run about .35-37 cents a round, and that's about what I pay for my reloads.

Why I reload for my AR is because first I enjoy the process, and the challenge, and 2 I enjoy the quality and results. Sure I can get American eagle fmjs for .37 cents...but that same 37 cents gets a 68 grain boat tail hollow point custom loaded to my gun.

And what most people don't realize is just how finicky .223 caliber rifles, particularly with ARs with ammo. Sure you can run cheap ammo through it and have decent accuracy, and if that's all you ever shoot well, you'll never know the difference. But once you start load development, well, you will! Being an engineer I imagine you'll enjoy the challenge to, I went through 3-4 different types of powder and 6 different types of bullets before I found a combination that truly shined in my AR, and I just did up a batch of experimental rounds with a 6th. 

I honestly think you'd enjoy reloading...and once you got into it you wouldn't do it to save money, you would for the same reason you like to build computers/guns, for the challenge of building/developing your own load.

[SavedOnebyGrace]

46 minutes ago, The_Patriot2017 said:

I enjoy building to, built my AR and I used to build/sell custom computers. And whether you save money or not kinda depends on what your doing...if your after a high end gaming computer I can usually beat the prices from major brands, sometimes by up to 50% but if your just after a basic computer, no I really can't compete there price wise, just quality wise.

Same with ARs. I got about $1200 into my AR. A comparable perform AR from ruger when I made mine would have been in the $2000+ range. Of course though you can walk Into cabelas and walk out with a basic DPMS already made, for half that.

I reload, not because I necessarily need the money. Sure with my higher calibers like my 270 and 303 British it's cheaper, and with some calipers they don't even make anymore, but with my AR  it costs roughly the same per round to reload as to just buy the cheap stuff at wal-mart. 55 grain American eagle fmjs where I'm at run about .35-37 cents a round, and that's about what I pay for my reloads.

Why I reload for my AR is because first I enjoy the process, and the challenge, and 2 I enjoy the quality and results. Sure I can get American eagle fmjs for .37 cents...but that same 37 cents gets a 68 grain boat tail hollow point custom loaded to my gun.

And what most people don't realize is just how finicky .223 caliber rifles, particularly with ARs with ammo. Sure you can run cheap ammo through it and have decent accuracy, and if that's all you ever shoot well, you'll never know the difference. But once you start load development, well, you will! Being an engineer I imagine you'll enjoy the challenge to, I went through 3-4 different types of powder and 6 different types of bullets before I found a combination that truly shined in my AR, and I just did up a batch of experimental rounds with a 6th. 

I honestly think you'd enjoy reloading...and once you got into it you wouldn't do it to save money, you would for the same reason you like to build computers/guns, for the challenge of building/developing your own load.

The big reason I haven't got fully into reloading yet is I only have an RCBS Rock Chucker single stage press.  I might just get a progressive press from Dillon and use the single stage for de-priming.  I've got a decent tumbler, brass for all calibers, and small pistol primers.  If I want to do .45s, I think I'll have to get some large pistol primers.

[The_Patriot21]

2 hours ago, Saved.One.by.Grace said:

The big reason I haven't got fully into reloading yet is I only have an RCBS Rock Chucker single stage press.  I might just get a progressive press from Dillon and use the single stage for de-priming.  I've got a decent tumbler, brass for all calibers, and small pistol primers.  If I want to do .45s, I think I'll have to get some large pistol primers.

possibly, though with .45 ACPs they make brass with both large and small pistol primers. kinda dumb, but theres really no standard there lol. I actually do most of my reloading via a lee single stage press. The only rifle calibers my progressive will do is .223 and 7.62 x 39. it will do all pistol but i havent gotten into pistol reloading yet.