CRIMINAL DEFICIT

There's no way to rule innocent men.

The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren't enough criminals, one makes them.

One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws. Who wants a nation of law-abiding citizens? What's there in that for anyone?


But just pass the kind of laws that can neither be observed nor enforced nor objectively interpreted and you create a nation of law-breakers.

Ayn Rand

READY TO LOCK-N-LOAD.

The final box of necessities arrived this week, and I was able to take the first steps away from "relying" on factory 9mm. I'm taking the process very slowly - not only for safety reasons, but also to be become very familiar with how to best approach the process.

I've spent a few hours with some cleaned shells, the seating and crimp dies, and a caliper. Along the way, I've learned that OAL for 9mm is a rather relative thing depending on who writes the load data. It's a place where the process becomes a combination of science and intuition, backed up by a lot of careful testing and observation at the range. Most people entering the world of reloading have little difficulty understanding the importance of min/max powder loads, but proper seating depth takes more study and research.

After much reading and seeking advice from experienced reloaders, I believe I have a good starting point for loads. My first rounds will be using HS-6 powder, CCI primers, and Hornady 124gr FMJ bullets. I'm also going to stick with small batches - perhaps 5-10 of each version, using near-minimum powder levels.

I'm still pondering which variable to adjust first, but I believe that I'll leave the powder weight as a constant, first concentrating on finding the best OAL for my P99. Once that's established, I'll slowly experiment with varying the powder amount.

Though I'm anxious to begin, it will be put aside for a couple of days... I'm getting away for the weekend with The Bethy, and quite honestly the reloading can wait a bit longer. ;)

On a side note - if you want to learn more about reloading and are looking for a good community of people to discuss it with, I recommend stopping by a recently-created forum - GlockPost.com. Don't let the name fool you... it isn't a Glock-specific forum in the least. No one cares what gun you own nor what press you use; you'll find fun conversation with a very diverse membership, as well a lot of valuable advice for starting this hobby. Whether you are new to the hobby or have reloaded for years, we'd like to have you stop by.

You won't find a lot of KoolAid at GlockPost.com... but if you BBQ, we'd love to hear your recipe. ;)

ALMOST THERE

When I decided to start reloading, I made the decision to purchase the equipment in stages. Budget-wise this was a smart thing, and gave me extra time to do a lot of reading before starting to work with explosive components. In the meantime, I'd created shopping lists on Midway and Midsouth Shooter's Supply. Dies, a shellplate, a caliper and other various parts were on the lists. A couple of items - such as the pistol measuring rotor - were on "out of stock", but I decided by the time I was ready to purchase the retailers would have everything available.

Last week, I checked the lists again for completeness and was troubled to see that not only were certain items still not in stock, but others had either become "out of stock" or gone on backorder. Apparently I'm not the only person taking a step away from factory ammo, as rather common items (such as 9mm dies) were completely out of stock.

After a lot of searching, I came upon Grafs.com and found everything I needed was in-stock. However, some items were nearly sold out. I decided it was time to finish purchasing what I needed, else run the risk of having to wait until retailer back orders arrived (whenever that might be).

The package arrived on Monday, and I spent the evening prepping all the dies and installing them into the press. Along with the parts, I ordered a can of Hornady One-Shot Gun Cleaner & Dry Lube. It absolutely degreased the parts, and left a very slight dry film for protection and lubrication. Avoid the brake cleaner, the teflon spray and the alcohol... this product is simply wonderful, and I wish I had used it from the beginning.

The caliper, scale, and a small order of bullets should arrive by Friday - so unless I've left something off the list, I'll be ready to start making some test rounds.